Annual Conference Highlights …
The Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church opened in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Friday, June 7th. The theme for the session was “Abundant God, Beloved Community” based on scripture “I have come so that you may have life and have it in abundance”. As has become tradition of the Wisconsin Annual Conference, the session was opened by drumming by the Buffalo Creek Singers of the Oneida Tribe. Rev. Sue D’Alessio recognized the First Nations lands upon whom we gather.
Bishop Jung called the 54th session of the Wisconsin Annual Conference to order at 1:51p. “We gather here: It’s all about Jesus. It’s not you, it’s not me, it’s not us; it’s all about Jesus. … Are we listening?”
Bishop Jung noted this is the first Annual Conference following the postponed General Conference of 2020, which met in April-May 2024 in Charlotte, N.C.
Conference Statistician Don Cramer presented the Conference 2023 statistical report. Highlights:
- 310 of 396 churches submitted prior to the deadline
- 38,680 members in 2023, continuing trend of declining membership
- Average weekly worship 14,838 (up 1% from previous year)
- Average weekly Sunday school 2,816 (down 5%)
- VBS participants 2,756 (up 9%)
- Average church size is about 100. Median church size is 58 (50% have more than 58, 50%have less).
Sarah Sneider, Treasurer & Director of Administration presented the proposed 2025 budget, which is included in Action Item wc108: Proposed 2025 Conference Budget. See pp. 20-36 in pre- conference workbook.
- In 2023, Conference expenses were $195,511 under budget.
- For related information, see Trustees Report on Page 8 of the Reports of Boards andAgencies to the 2024 Wisconsin Annual Conference
- Questions going into 2025 budget year: Who will be our bishop, implications of sharing abishop with Northern Illinois, implications of just-completed General Conference,uncertainty in insurance industry.
- Other contributing factors in 2025: four district superintendents rather than five, lower general-church budget resulted in $346,135 less in Wisconsin’s share to general-church budget.
Rev. Steve Zekoff gave a report of the Shared Bishop Task Force. He gave a history of the conference and district identities affiliations in Wisconsin over the years.
- Wisconsin Conference membership is approximately 25% of what it was at the time of union (1968). Northern Illinois is roughly one-third the size of what it was then.
- Effective Sept. 1, 2024, the Northern Illinois and Wisconsin episcopal areas will be shared. This is not a conference merger. East and West Ohio also will share an episcopal area. At the recent General Conference, it was decided that an additional bishop’s position will need to be eliminated in the North Central Jurisdiction. It is not yet decided where that will occur.
- Possibilities of shared staff in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin.
o Cheryl Weaver will be the Conference Benefits Officer for both. - The Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Episcopal Area Office will be established separately from either conference office and will be located at the Wespath office in Glenview, Ill. Two assistants to the bishop and two executive assistants to the bishop will remain, serving in Chicago and Sun Prairie, respectively.
- Wisconsin will sell the episcopal residence in Sun Prairie, the proceeds of which will go toward the housing allowance for the next bishop. Northern Illinois similarly will do so with the Chicago bishop’s residence.
- Sara Sneider and Lisa Wink will be involved in establishing shared services and operations between the two conferences.
Revive!
Revive! Community Development Being Established to Assist Local Churches and Conference
Many churches of the Wisconsin Conference of the UMC are facing property challenges that inhibit our ability to live out our mission, “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!” Rather than our churches and properties acting as assets– they need significant repairs, have large expenses, and are greatly under-utilized. They have started to use a disproportionate amount of time, expense, and energy. Our local churches and the Conference at large are not equipped to resolve these issues. Therefore, leadership from the Wisconsin Conference and the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation are birthing Revive! Community Development.
Simply put, Revive! Community Development will help both the Conference and local churches successfully handle the many properties we steward through the lens of the Church’s mission, the community’s needs, and financial sustainability.
Planned services include:
· Church Consulting processes to Revive! congregations · Project Management and Construction
· Brokerage for Active Church Clients
· Property and Asset Management
· Brokerage of Managed Properties
Copies of Revive!’s business plan, an executive summary of the business plan, its Articles of Incorporation, and by-laws will be available during the 2024 Annual Conference session at the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation’s booth and at the registration desk.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung to retire
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, with Rev. Im Jung, has been serving the Wisconsin Conference for 12 years. This August he will be moving to a new conference. Bishop Jung has guided and supported us with visionary, spiritual leadership. He has visited, prayed at the altar, and met with members of every United Methodist Church in our Conference. Bishop Jung – and Rev. Im – have touched our lives and our ministries in countless ways.
2024 General Conference – a few highlights …
Sixteen new missionaries were commissioned on Thursday, May 2 during opening worship at General Conference.
Korean UMC Churches announce deeper support for Missionary Service. In the U.S., Korean American United Methodist churches integrate Wesleyan tradition with Korean spirituality and evangelism. There are 240 active congregations, more than 800 clergy, and one Korean American bishop, Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Annual Conference. Jung has served as president of Global Ministries Board of Directors since 2016.
By a vote of 523 to 161 after about an hour and a half of debate, General Conference delegates eliminated the 52-year-old assertion in the denomination’s Social Principles that “the practice of homosexuality… is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The historic decision follows days of delegates voting on the consent calendar —without debate — to reverse multiple denominational constraints on ministry with and by LGBTQ members. With the vote, delegates have adopted the entire slate of revised Social Principles submitted by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination’s social witness agency.
The Social Principles represent the denomination’s public stance on issues of the day and are not church law. Though those in favor of the decision found it a great cause for celebration, not everyone at General Conference agreed with the vote. After the marriage language decision, about 65 Africans and a smattering of others sang hymns and prayed together, while also making clear their view that the Bible does not sanction same-sex marriage and The United Methodist Church shouldn’t either. “We do not believe we know better than the Bible,” said the Rev. Jerry Kulah, a delegate from Liberia, coordinator of the traditionalist Africa Initiative and leader at the rally. Bishop John Wesley Yohanna of Nigeria predicted that the new language on marriage “will affect the membership of the church in Africa.” North Katanga Area Bishop Mande Muyombo said that African United Methodists will continue in a traditional understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman.
The last day of General Conference, delegates asked The United Methodist Church’s top court to respond to multiple legal questions — most of them about actions the denomination’s lawmaking assembly had just taken. The Judicial Council released five decisions and a memorandum on May 3 in response to a flurry of requests for declaratory decisions — basically rulings on questions about the meaning, application and effect of church law. Perhaps most critical to a General Conference that spent the last few days rolling back prohibitions related to LGBTQ ministry including same-sex weddings, the Judicial Council ruled that local churches could still set policies banning such services within their walls.
In Decision 1503, the church court said nothing in the Book of Discipline’s Paragraph 2533 “prevents the Board of Trustees of a local church from adopting policies prohibiting the conduct of worship services that include same-sex marriage ceremonies.”
In Decision 1500, the church court majority said it lacks jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of proposed amendments to the denomination’s constitution and changes to the Books of the Discipline that require ratification of those amendments.
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