October 2022 Annual Conference Sessions
Your Guide to the Sessions
Two Special Annual Conferences will be held:
- At 9 a.m., the first Annual Conference will convene for the sole purpose of closing three church properties using Paragraph 2549.3 of the Discipline.
- At 9:30 a.m., the second Annual Conference will convene for the solely to vote on the request of 10 local churches that seek to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church over matters of human sexuality using Paragraph 2553 of the Discipline.
Voting Members
Clergy and lay members with voting credentials use the button below. Your credentials were emailed to you on Monday, October 24. If you need assistance email [email protected]
In order to help members prepare, several resources are now available:
Updated October 24, 2022, following Oct. 24 Annual Conference announcement
- View the agenda for the Annual Conference sessions.
- View the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about disaffiliation.
- List of churches disaffiliating and the amount of the disaffiliation (pdf)
- Voting credentials were sent to Annual Conference member emails on October 24.
- A Test Your Tech session will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 27 for members to make sure their devices are compatible with the Lumi platform prior to October 29. More information about this session was included in the email containing member voting credentials.
- Members can email [email protected] during the October 29 Annual Conferences should they need technical assistance.
- A livestream will be available to non-members to view the proceedings. The link will be made available at https://vaumc.org/ac2022oct/ closer to the event.
A webinar was held Oct. 24 and is available below. The webinar panel included the Rev. Denise Bates, Dean of the Cabinet; the Rev. Dr. Steve Summers, Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Connectional Ministries; Mr. Steve Brown, Conference Chancellor; Mr. David Dommisse, Conference Statistician and Treasurer; Mr. John Fuller, Executive Director of VUMPI; Ms. Kathy Lutman, Conference Trustees; Mr. Carl Moravitz, Conference Trustees; Mr. Andrew White, Conference Trustees Attorney; and Webinar Facilitator Ms. Madeline Pillow White, Conference Director of Communications.
Additionally, other Special Annual Conferences are now scheduled so that any churches seeking approval to disaffiliate through Paragraph 2553 will have enough time to be considered for ratification by the Annual Conference body before the 2553 legislation lapses on December 31, 2023 . The upcoming Special Annual Conferences solely focused on disaffiliation using Paragraph 2553 will be held:
- Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 9 a.m.
- Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 9 a.m.
- Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 9 a.m.
No Paragraph 2553 disaffiliation issues will be dealt with at the June 2023 Annual Conference session. All preparatory matters for disaffiliation must be completed 30 days prior to the called Special Annual Conference sessions. Further information will be forthcoming about these upcoming dates.
Questions concerning the logistics of the two Special Annual Conferences may be directed to the Rev. Dr. Steve Summers at [email protected].
Updated 2022 Annual Conference Rules