This Week's Current Week in Review

The Current Week in Review

September 2, 2022

Haller to retire Jan. 1, three NCJ elections possible

Bishop Laurie Haller, currently on medical leave from the Iowa Conference, announced Aug. 29 that she will return from medical leave on Oct. 1, but will enter retired relationship on Jan. 1, 2023.

Her announcement is significant in that delegates gathering for the Nov. 2-5 session of the North Central Jurisdiction may decide to elect as many as three new bishops who, upon election, would be assigned along with the six active bishops, for a shortened period between Jan. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.

Retired Bishop Deborah Kiesey is currently overseeing the Iowa Conference along with the Dakotas Conference during this interim.

Delegates will first determine whether to accept the NCJ Committee on Episcopacy's recommendation to elect to complete a nine-bishop NCJ College of Bishops or whether to allow its decision in November 2021 to elect an eight-bishop college. The Committee on Episcopacy, chaired by Rev. Sara Isbell of the IGRC, is also recommending the reuniifcation of the Dakotas and Minnesota in a single episcopal area.

Bishops plan for the election of new colleagues

United Methodist bishops concluded their online summer meeting with preparations to welcome new episcopal colleagues in tumultuous times.

New bishops elected this fall will be taking leadership as the denomination deals with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and undergoes a fracturing unseen in any current United Methodist’s lifetime.

Even amid these challenges, the present bishops also used their meeting’s final day to celebrate the ways United Methodists are overcoming internal strife to follow Christ’s example.

The bishops heard how the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination’s disaster-response arm, has now received more than $27 million to help people affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

They also learned more about the #BeUMC campaign, which highlights why many people continue to live out their faith as United Methodists.

Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton had a message for all those who remain with The United Methodist Church: “We are in this together.”

Bishops call for rejecting 'idolatry of guns'

United Methodists will need to both pray and act to end the scourge of gun violence, says a letter the Council of Bishops released Sept. 1 to the wider church.

“As people of prayer, we followers of Jesus are called to be ‘counter-cultural change makers,’” the letter says. “To that end, we must reject the idolatry of guns and the distorted attachments to our right to own guns without safeguards for the communities of the world.”

United Methodist bishops unanimously adopted the letter Aug. 26 during the final day of their online summer meeting. Only active bishops vote on Council of Bishops actions. However, all United Methodist bishops signed the document.

The statement also will form the basis of a letter the bishops plan to send to the U.S. Congress and White House.

My almost 100 years as a Methodist

The Rev. Mel West, 98, reflects on his life and the church that helped shape it.

The trinity of family, farm and church were so intertwined that one could not think of one without considering the other two. On that foundation, West says he has had a rewarding life: “I have been a dairy farmer, a U.S. Marine, a candy maker, a teacher, a pastor and a humanitarian.”

Grappling with mixed news on given, church exits

The United Methodist Church has seen a slight uptick in denominational giving so far this year.

Still, that somewhat counterintuitive development comes as an increasing number of congregations are exiting the denomination.

At its online meeting Aug. 19, the General Council on Finance and Administration board heard an update on giving as well as the potential impact of rising church departures on the denomination’s bottom line.

The board also designated proceeds from the $12.7 million sale of the finance agency’s building with an eye toward sustaining the agency’s mission of stewardship and helping stressed church leaders in uncertain times.

Reach 1000 registration ends today

Today is the final day to register for the Reach 1,000 event Sept. 9-10 at Washington: Crossroads.

Keynote speakers for the events include Nicole Reilly, Michael Beck and Trey Wince.

Rev. Nicole Reilley is a United Methodist minister with 30 years’ experience growing congregations and making disciples. She has served in the local church as lead and teaching pastor in congregations from 60 to 500. She has given leadership at the Conference level as Director of New Ministries, where she equipped pastors to start and vitalize local congregations.

Michael Beck is currently the Director of the Fresh Expressions House of Studies at United Theological Seminary and Fresh Expressions UM Strategist for Path 1, Director of Re-Missioning for Fresh Expressions US, and Cultivator of Fresh Expressions for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He serves as the co-pastor of Wildwood UMC and St Marks UMC with his wife Jill, where they direct addiction recovery programs, a jail ministry, a food pantry, an interracial unity movement, and house a faith-based inpatient treatment center. Wildwood and St Marks are traditional congregations AND a network of thirteen fresh expressions that gather in tattoo parlors, dog parks, salons, running tracks, community centers, burrito joints, and digital spaces.

Rev. Trey Wince is a United Methodist elder whose ministry includes being a member of the Ministry Incubators team.

Trey never met a project he didn’t try to scale. His first job was a window washing enterprise that he started just so he could have his own business cards and pizza money. He has launched and led faith communities in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and New Jersey, and somewhere along the way he decided that pastors tend to be better at ministry when they aren’t busy struggling to pay the electric bill.

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Charge conference forms online

Forms for charge conferences which will be held in the fall are now available through your Church Portal Page.

To access the documents, click on Church Portal on the IGRC Homepage or go to: https://www.igrc.org/churchportal to find the log-in page. Select your District from the dropdown menu. This will trigger a second drop-down menu where you select your Church. The passcode is the church's six-digit GCFA number which can be found on the monthly remittance form for apportionment payments.

In preparation for charge conferences in the fall, the Finance Office has prepared two pages of information that will assist you in your budget building for 2023.

A document outlining the Clergy Benefits and Costs for 2023 includes action taken by the 2022 Annual Conference with regard to minimum salaries for full-time elders and full-time local pastors.

A second document Important Numbers for Charge Conference provides additional information and background. The Apportionment calculations and the Charge Conference forms will be published in the next few weeks.

Churches that have been identified as receiving an additional member to annual conference for equalization purposes should elect that person at the church's charge conference.