Daily Christian Advocate

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1 Daily Christian Advocate Proceedings of the 2012 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church Whom Shall I Send? VOLUME XVIV, No. 1 Lake Junaluska, N.C. Tuesday, July 17, 2012 SEJ Conference sees changes This year s Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference will see changes from previous years. The work God has been doing and will do in each participant s life and through our shared experience will be unique. In this sense, conference is always a new experience. Delegates and guests familiar with the Jurisdictional Conference experience have come to anticipate a familiar pattern undergirding this dynamic spiritual event. The SEJ is known for vibrant opening worship, intense spiritual balloting process to elect bishops, inspiring celebration of ministry shared across the jurisdiction, and cherished fellowship with old and new friends in Christ. While seeking to preserve these familiar aspects, the 2012 conference will have a number of new dimensions as participants adapt to a shorter conference experience. The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference Planning Group responded to a motion made in the closing hours of the 2008 conference session calling for conference to be reduced by one day. This year s event begins on Wednesday and concludes on Friday. When you remove nine hours from the available agenda time, we knew that we would not be While balloting will be done with hand-held electronic devices and at a faster pace than previous years, conference leadership will be intentionally sensitive to the Spirit s movement as we monitor the pace of balloting. Dr. Brad Brady able to conduct conference without making significant changes to our processes, said Dr. Brad Brady, Jurisdictional Conference Secretary. The planning groups for the 2012 conference session reviewed every facet of the conferencing experience. Dearly held values and traditions are being protected as much as possible. Everything is being done to enhance the spiritual aspect of the gathering while making the best use of time and resources available. When the planning groups decided on the theme, Whom shall I send?, there was an awareness that what we are about in the discernment process around the election Continued on page 2 Today s Schedule 8:30 Nominations Committee (Susan Todd Lounge) 9:00 Committee on Episcopacy (Harrell Center 202) 9:00 College of Bishops (Terrace 319) 10:00 Delegation Page and At- Large Page Orientation (Stuart Auditorium) 1:00 Introductions of Episcopal Nominees (Coordinated by Committee on Episcopacy, Stuart Auditorium) 2:45 Round Robin Sessions (Shackford) 7:30 Nominations Committee (Susan Todd Lounge) 7:30 SEJ Racial Ethnic Delegates Meet Episcopal Nominees (International Room, Lambuth Inn) 7:30 Gilbert-Lambuth Presentation sponsored by SEJ Archives & History (Memorial Chapel) Inside Find the list of room assignments for the week, a UMNS article on episcopal elections, helpful information and how to meet the SEJ nominees for bishop.

2 Changes continued from page 1 of bishops is indeed part of God s dynamic work, said Brady. Electronic Balloting While balloting will be done with hand-held electronic devices and at a faster pace than previous years, conference leadership will be intentionally sensitive to the Spirit s movement as we monitor the pace of balloting. We will be prepared to take some breaks along the way as necessary to allow time for informal conferencing and to allow the process to breathe, said Brady. The tradition of having the presiding bishop read the ballot results and allowing for a formal announcement in the case of an election will continue. Once a bishop is elected, there will be a pause to allow the customary reception of the new bishop to take place. Anyone who has witnessed such a moment will never forget it, said Brady It is a holy moment when the realization that a person has been set apart for the work of bishop really is crystalized. Most people say the Holy Spirit s presence is palpable in that moment. In addition to the planning group s decision to move to handheld electronic balloting, the Rules Committee reviewed the Jurisdiction s plan of organization and rules to find ways to add more flexibility to the conferencing experience given the abbreviated schedule. 2 Daily Christian Advocate Four Proposed Rule Changes The Rules Committee will be presenting a number of rules and structural changes in the opening session, which are intended to streamline and add necessary flexibility to the conferencing experience, said Dr. Tim McClendon, committee chairperson. These changes fall into four categories. The first of the proposed changes is around the elimination of a number of committees. Some previously existing committees will have their work folded into other committees; others will be eliminated due to the nature of work. With a shortened conference our committee felt the need to adjust the structure for optimum stewardship of time and resources, said McClendon. We recognize that most of our business requiring action comes from one of our existing committees. We are not a legislative body in the same sense of General Conference. We are much more like the Annual Conference where the Committe on Finance and Administration oversees the financial work and proposes a budget for conference review, amendment and adoption, said McClendon. Likewise, the new Committee on Coordination and Accountability is able to review the work of all our ministries and make recommendations to the conference on their behalf. After looking at and considering all of these items, the Rules Committee will propose eliminating all Standing (Legislative) Committees. The second of the proposed changes deals with agenda items that were formerly required with shall language. The committee will recommend changing this to permissive may language. The specifications about how the agenda would unfold each day would be reworked to allow for flexibility each quadrennium. These proposed changes are a direct result of the shortened length of this year s conference session. The third of the proposed changes comes as a result of having two very active jurisdictional committees looking at the plan of organization and rules over the last quadrennium. The Committee on Coordination and Accountability along with the Committee on Finance and Administration are offering a number of suggestions that would provide clarification and help the plan of organization reflect best practices learned over the quadrennium. The fourth proposed change in the plan of organization will be to allow reserve delegates to serve as ballot tellers. Most delegations treat reserves as full members of their delegation. Allowing these persons to serve as a teller further incorporates reserves into the conference experience, said McClendon. These rule changes will be presented in the opening session on Wednesday morning, July 18. The Rules Committee will be asking delegates to adopt the changes and for these changes to be implemented immediately upon adoption. Some of these structural and rule changes are necessary so that we will be in compliance with our own rules as we begin our work together, said Brady. There will be an additional proposed change around the position of the Jurisdictional Conference Secretary that will be removed from the initial Rules Committee report for later discussion and action during the Committee on Coordination and Accountability report. The entire report of the Rules Committee is found in the Advance Daily Christian Advocate.

3 Briefings and updates on our time at the Lake Go Green - Get Your Free Mug Be sure to redeem your ticket for your free Lake Junaluska mug while you are here and use it throughout the week. This is a green initiative on behalf of Lake Junaluska. Receive Election Results via Text To receive up-to-the-minute ballot reports from across the denomination, text Elections to (615) and receive results as they come in. Provided by umc.org. Credentials Delegate and reserves name badges will be distributed on Tuesday, July 17, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in Stuart Auditorium. Any delegate or reserve who does not pick up the name badge prior to 1 p.m. can get theirs when the delegation meets in its assigned room at Shackford Hall immediately after the session in Stuart Auditorium for individual sessions with episcopal nominees. Bishops and bishop spouses will receive their name badges at the first meeting of the College of Bishops. DAILY CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church Sybil Davidson Editor Jessica Connor Associate Editor Matt Brodie Photo Editor SEJ Communicators Writers and Photographers With help from Brad Brady, Meredyth Earnest, Ken Howle and Stephanie Drum. Printed by Cornerstone Printing, Waynesville, N.C., Suzi VanderMeade, Business Manager Trolleys will travel from the Nanci Welcon Gym and the Welcome Center to Lambuth. Communicators will receive their name badges in the Press Room. Monitors will receive their name badges from Jennifer Davis at their Orientation Session. All others will receive their name badges at the front desk in Stuart Auditorium by contacting John Pinson. Conference guests are welcomed to attend the conference, but will not be issued official credentials. Child Care July 1 was the deadline for registering for child care. Walk-ins will be charged $25 per child per session on a first-come, first served basis. Child care is available in the Wilson Children s Building. Please contact the Day Camp office at or Jarrett Rutland at for more information. Parking Parking is available in designated areas across the campus. Security will be present to direct traffic. For persons staying in Lake Junaluska housing, there may be parking in close proximity to the lodging although no spaces are reserved specifically for these guests. For those with Handicapped Passes, parking is available in front of Stuart Auditorium and Memorial Chapel. Please respect any reserved parking signs. Shuttle Services on Campus There will be several forms of public transportation on the grounds. The Lake Junaluska trolleys will be traveling from the Nanci Weldon Gym and the Welcome Center to Lambuth with stops designated by signage in between. In addition, golf cart shuttles will be transporting people between Stuart Auditorium and other parking areas. Food Options Terrace and Lambuth Dining Rooms Both dining rooms will be serving three deluxe buffet meals per day beginning with dinner on Saturday, July 14 and ending with lunch on Friday, July 20. The costs for meals in the Terrace and Lambuth Dining Rooms are: Breakfast - $9.00; Lunch - $11.00; Dinner - $13.00 ($29.00/day for meal plan). CoffeeZone There will be coffee and breakfast items for sale in front of Stuart Auditorium on Wednesday through Friday of Conference starting at 7:30 a.m. Lake Junaluska Food Service will also be selling box lunches for $8.00 (cash or check, no credit cards) under the tent by the lake on Wednesday and Thursday starting at 11:30 a.m. Emergency For medical or other emergencies please call 911. It will connect to the Haywood County Sheriff s Office who will dispatch the appropriate persons, including Lake Junaluska Security. Daily Christian Advocate 3

4 Offices, Meetings and Special Event Locations Offices Sunday through Friday Conference Secretary All day Harrell Center 101 Daily Christian Advocate (DCA) Editor All day Harrell Center 101 Conference Communicators & Media All day Harrell Center 103 Conference Communicators & Media After Hours Lambuth 102 Meetings and Special Events (Known as of July 13, 2012) Sunday, July 15 Nominations Committee 3:00 p.m. Susan Todd Lounge Monday, July 16 Nominations Committee All day Susan Todd Lounge Committee on Episcopacy All day Harrell Center 202 Conference Lay Leaders All day Lambuth 103 Directors of Connectional Ministries 1:30 p.m. Terrace 316 Secretarial Staff Meeting 2:00 p.m. Terrace 211 Mississippi Conference Insurance Group 5:30 p.m. Saville Room, Lambuth College of Bishops Banquet 6:00 p.m. Lambuth International Association of Conference Lay Leaders 7:00 p.m. Lambuth 104 Holston Delegation 8:00 p.m. Terrace 213 Tuesday, July 17 Nominations Committee All day Susan Todd Lounge Committee on Episcopacy All day Harrell Center 202 Delegation Leaders Orientation 8:00 a.m. Terrace 316 Conference Lay Leaders 9:00 a.m. Lambuth 103 Association of Conference Lay Leaders 9:00 a.m. Lambuth 103 College of Bishops 9:00 a.m. Terrace 319 Delegation Pages and At-Large Pages 10:00 a.m. Stuart Auditorium North Georgia Delegation All day Harrell Center Auditorium Western North Carolina Delegation 10:00 a.m. Terrace Auditorium A&B Florida Conference 10:00 a.m. Lambuth 100 Mississippi Delegation Lunch 11:00 a.m. Terrace 316 Kentucky Delegation Box Lunch 11:30 a.m. Lambuth 104 South Carolina Delegation All day Gaines Auditorium North Carolina Delegation 11:00 a.m. Good Word Resource Center Introduction of Episcopal Nominees 1:00 p.m. Stuart Auditorium Episcopal Spouses 2:30 p.m. Lambuth International Episcopal Nominee Round Robin 2:45 p.m. Shackford Hall SEJ Racial Ethnic Delegates 7:30 p.m. Lambuth International Virginia Delegation 7:30 p.m. Lambuth 100 Gilbert-Lambuth Presentation 7:30 p.m. Memorial Chapel 4 Daily Christian Advocate

5 Offices, Meetings and Special Event Locations Wednesday, July 18 Ballot Tellers Orientation 7:45 a.m. Stuart Auditorium Delegation Pages Orientation 7:45 a.m. Stuart Auditorium Nominations Committee All day Susan Todd Lounge Committee on Episcopacy All day Harrell Center 202 Kentucky and Red Bird Delegations All day Lambuth 104 North Georgia Delegation All day Harrell Center Auditorium GCFA (Peggy Sewell) All day Terrace 210 SEJ Deacon Luncheon Lunch Terrace 316 College of Bishops/Administrative Asst. Lunch Terrace Auditorium Committee on Journal (Organization) 2:00 p.m. Stuart Rehearsal Room Florida Delegation Dinner 5:30 p.m. Foundation for Evangelism Emory University Dinner 5:30 p.m. Charles/Jean Johnson s Home Alabama-West Florida Delegation 9:00 p.m. Lambuth 106 North Carolina Delegation 9:00 p.m. Youth Center Auditorium Virginia Delegation 9:00 p.m. Lambuth 100 Western North Carolina Delegation 9:00 p.m. Terrace Auditorium A&B Duke Divinity Alumni 9:00 p.m. Harrell 2nd floor porch Thursday, July 19 Nominations Committee All day Susan Todd Lounge Committee on Episcopacy All day Harrell Center 202 North Georgia Delegation All day Harrell Center Auditorium Kentucky and Red Bird Delegation Until 5:30 Lambuth 104 Committee on Appeal (Organize) 2:00 p.m. Terrace Auditorium Committee in Investigation (Organize) 2:00 p.m. Terrace Auditorium Virginia Delegation Supper Lambuth International Mississippi Delegation 9:00 p.m. Terrace 316 Alabama-West Florida 9:00 p.m. Lambuth 106 Memphis and Tennessee Delegations 9:00 p.m. Lambuth 101 North Carolina Delegation 9:00 p.m. Good Word Resource Center South Carolina Delegation 9:00 p.m. Gaines Auditorium Virginia Delegation 9:00 p.m. Tent by Stuart Auditorium Florida Delegation 9:00 p.m. Foundation for Evangelism South Georgia Delegation 9:00 p.m. Private Home North Georgia Delegation 9:00 p.m. Harrell Center Auditorium Holston Delegation 9:00 p.m. Private Home Kentucky/Red Bird Delegations 9:00 p.m. Private Home North Alabama 9:00 p.m. Private Home Friday, July 20 College of Bishops Luncheon Lunch Lambuth International Daily Christian Advocate 5

6 Jurisdictional conferences to elect 11 U.S. bishops A UMNS Report By the Rev. J. Richard Peck* The attention of the denomination will be focused beginning July 18 on the jurisdictional conferences, where 11 new U.S. bishops are expected to be elected in three jurisdictions. Like General Conference, the worldwide legislative gathering that met April 24 to May 4 in Tampa, Fla., jurisdictional conferences meet once every four years. Half the delegates will be lay people, and half will be clergy. The Book of Discipline, the denomination s lawbook, stipulates that each annual conference is entitled to send twice the number of delegates to jurisdictional conferences that it sent to General Conference. There were 606 delegates from U.S. annual conferences at the 2012 General Conference. The Council of Bishops establishes the beginning dates for the five U.S. jurisdictional conferences. Central conferences groups of annual conferences in Africa, Europe and the Philippines follow similar procedures to elect and assign bishops; however, they do not meet at the same time, and bishops are not elected for life as they typically are in the United States. Bishops are recommended to a particular episcopal area by a jurisdictional committee on the episcopacy comprising one lay and one clergy member from each annual conference in the jurisdiction. The assembly approves the assignments or asks the committee to go back to work. Simultaneous meetings permit the assignment or election of bishops across jurisdictional boundaries. 6 Daily Christian Advocate Retired Bishop Marion Edwards kisses newly elected Bishop Paul Leeland during SEJ Conference s Service of Consecration July 19, 2008, at Lake Junaluska. Bishops Edwards passed away in A UMNS photo By Bill Norton. Number to be elected Bishops must retire if they reach age 68 on or before July 1 of the year of jurisdictional conferences. They may choose to retire earlier. General Conference approved a plan that will result in one fewer bishop in four of the five U.S. jurisdictions beginning this year. The formula now entitles each jurisdiction with 300,000 church members or fewer to have five bishops. Jurisdictions with more than 300,000 members are entitled to one additional bishop for each 300,000 members or major fraction thereof. The following three jurisdictions will have elections: The Southeastern Jurisdiction already has one fewer than the formula allows; the jurisdiction will meet to elect five bishops replacing five retiring bishops. The Northeastern Jurisdiction reduced the number of bishops last quadrennium by assigning a retired bishop to one of the episcopal areas instead of electing a new bishop; the jurisdiction will meet in Charleston, W.Va., to elect three bishops to replace three retiring bishops. The South Central Jurisdiction will meet in Oklahoma City to elect three bishops, replacing four retiring bishops. Jurisdictions with no elections The North Central Jurisdiction will honor Bishop Linda Lee on her retirement. It also will receive a request from the newly formed Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area for funding of the expansion of a comprehensive high-quality video Continued on page 7

7 Bishops continued from page 6 conferencing system to allow the bishop, cabinet, staff and local churches to communicate effectively over the 234,755-square-mile area, and it will nominate people to serve on the jurisdictional and general church agency boards. The Western Jurisdiction Conference will honor host Bishop Mary Ann Swenson upon her early retirement and will nominate people to serve on jurisdictional and general church agency boards. Bishop Minerva Carcaño will deliver the episcopal address, and the assembly will focus on extravagant hospitality as it relates to immigrant brothers and sisters. Delegates also will continue the journey of healing relationships with indigenous peoples begun at General Conference and discuss plans for starting new churches. Voting There are 44 episcopal candidates now nominated in the 2012 elections. Delegates are free to vote for whomever they feel is most qualified and not bound to support their conference nominee. Each jurisdiction is allowed to establish the percentage required for election. The percentage is generally set at 60 percent of ballots cast. The voting process differs among jurisdictions, but provision must be made for delegates to vote for people who have not been nominated or endorsed. Conferences must provide information about people who receive 10 votes or 5 percent of the votes cast on any ballot. Most jurisdictions now use electronic voting rather than written ballots. The number of required The Southeastern Jurisdiction already has one fewer bishop than the formula allows; the jurisdiction will meet to elect five bishops replacing five retiring bishops. ballots varies from year to year. Occasionally a candidate will be elected on the first ballot, but generally several ballots are necessary. Some jurisdictions drop names of people who receive fewer than five votes. People who receive only a few votes will frequently ask supporters to vote for another candidate on a future ballot. Voting by ballot continues until someone reaches the required number of votes. The record for lengthy elections was established in 1980 in the Western Jurisdictional Conference. In that year, the Rev. Calvin McConnell attended as chair of a Rocky Mountain Conference campaign to elect the Rev. Jamison Jones to the episcopacy. After 47 ballots, however, McConnell was elected to that office. I hope no one ever comes near to that many ballots, McConnell told the United Methodist News Service. The new bishop s consecration service was scheduled for 1 p.m. but, since McConnell was not elected until 5 p.m., the service was at 9 p.m., long after the other four jurisdictional conferences had adjourned. I had to borrow a white shirt, tie and robe for the service, said the now-retired bishop. Candidates for bishop do not have to live within the jurisdiction where they are elected. In 1984, the Rev. Leontine T.C. Kelly, who died June 28, 2012, at the age of 92, was serving as pastor of a church in Richmond, Va. part of the Southeastern Jurisdiction when she was elected bishop in the Western Jurisdiction. She flew from the Southeastern conference to the Western conference when she learned she was a leading candidate in that jurisdiction. Assignments Bishops may be assigned to the same area for up to three quadrennia. Assignments take effect Sept.1, A newly elected bishop may not be assigned to the episcopal area in which he or she holds membership unless two-thirds of the committee on episcopacy members decide to ignore that restriction. In rare cases, an Inter-jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, elected by General Conference delegates, can transfer bishops across jurisdictional lines if the bishops and the jurisdictions agree. After the election of new bishops, each jurisdiction committee on episcopacy recommends to the jurisdictional conferences the assignment of bishops to their episcopal areas. New bishops are consecrated, not ordained. They remain elders in the denomination, but they become ordained members of the Council of Bishops instead of an annual conference. *Peck is a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference and former editor of Newscope, Circuit Rider, the International Christian Digest and the Daily Christian Advocate. He now edits UM Men magazine. Daily Christian Advocate 7

8 Meet the Southeastern Jurisdiction Episcopal Nominees The Committee on Episcopacy is sponsoring a process by which delegates and guests may become better acquainted with the declared episcopal nominees. A plenary session will be held on Tuesday, July 17, at 1 p.m. in Stuart Auditorium. All nominees will be given a few minutes to address everyone present. Round Robin sessions will be held in Shackford Hall beginning at 2:45 p.m. The break out sessions (room assignments listed at right) will be limited to delegates and reserves. Robert Beckum South Georgia Conference Larry Bryars Alabama - West Florida Conference Ken Carter Western North Carolina Conference Young Jin Cho Virginia Conference Sharma Lewis Black Clergy Women - sponsoring caucus Bill McAlilly Mississippi Conference Tim McClendon South Carolina Conference Deborah McLeod Florida Conference Alabama-West Florida Shackford 13 South Carolina Shackford 24 Florida Shackford 16 Holston Shackford 23 South Georgia Shackford 12 Kentucky/Red Bird Shackford C Memphis/Tennessee Children s Bldg #7 North Alabama Children s Bldg #6 Randy Cooper Memphis Conference David Graves Holston Conference Jonathan Holston North Georgia Conference Ivelisse Quiñones MARCHA - sponsoring caucus H. Gray Southern North Carolina Conference Farley Stuart Red Bird Missionary Conference Debbie Wallace-Padgett Kentucky Conference North Georgia Shackford 26 Mississippi Shackford 22 Virginia Shackford Auditorium North Carolina Shackford AB Western North Carolina Shackford 21 Stay Connected FACEBOOK TWITTER LIVE STREAM #sejumc 8 Daily Christian Advocate