Your Guide to the May 6^th Session, 2023

April 21, 2023

Annual Conference members,

On Saturday, May 6, 2023, a Special Annual Conference via Zoom Webinar will be held.

At 8:30 a.m., an optional Q&A will be held for any members who have questions concerning the Special Annual Conference.

At 9 a.m., the Annual Conference session will convene to consider the ratification of 64 local churches that seek to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church over matters of human sexuality using Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline.

Please review the information below in order to prepare:

1. Please read the Disaffiliation Reporting Guide. This guide includes the agenda for the Annual Conference session, the list of 64 disaffiliating churches and their statistics, and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about disaffiliation.
2. Voting credentials and information to log on to the Annual Conference session will be sent to Annual Conference member emails on Thursday, April 27. These credentials will allow members to both join the 8:30 a.m. Q&A and 9 a.m. Annual Conference session. Please note: Members have until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 4 to ensure they have received their Zoom credentials to the correct email address. Credentials will not be re-issued to new email addresses past this deadline.
3. In order to access the Annual Conference session, each voting member needs to have their own unique email address. (For example, two voting members cannot share an email address and both have an individual vote at the Annual Conference session). Members can make changes to their contact information through the UnityWeb Database. Changes can be made now until April 30 so credentials can be sent on time.
4. The Annual Conference session will be using the Zoom Webinar platform. All devices capable of accessing this platform will be able to log on whether Apple or Android phone, tablet or laptop/desktop devices.
5. Members should contact Zoom Support during the May 6 Annual Conference should they need technical assistance at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us.
6. A livestream will be available to non-members to view the proceedings. The link will be made available at https://vaumc.org/ac2023may closer to the event.

The last Special Called Annual Conference to consider local church disaffiliation under Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline is scheduled for Saturday, October 7, 2023.

Questions concerning the Special Annual Conference may be directed to the Rev. Dr. Steve Summers at [email protected].

All Annual Conference-related information will be posted on the Virginia Conference website at https://vaumc.org/ac2023may/.