Tentative General Conference dates publicized
Special Session of General Conference 2019, St. Louis, MO After the pandemic-caused postponement, the new prospective dates for The United Methodist Church’s General Conference are Aug. 31-Sept. 10, 2021. The Council of Bishops disclosed the proposed dates, including...
What is ministry going to look like as we move out of the pandemic?
Join a live webinar event hosted by the Back to In-person Worship Work Group (led by the Rev. Alex Joyner) and Mission and Ministries Work Group (led by the Rev. Doug Forrester) on Monday, April 26, 2021 at 7 p.m. to learn more. Bishop Lewis and members of the work...
District Alignment April 2021 Update
Bishop Sharma Lewis and the District Alignment Team (DAT) shared an update about the ongoing work of district alignment in the Virginia Conference on Feb. 8, 2021. In 2020, this team, formed by Bishop Lewis, worked to answer the question, “How can districts most...
Youth Protection and Barriers to Abuse FAQs
Additional FAQ’s: General Health and Safety, Annual Health and Medical Record, Shooting Sports program, Family Scouting Information Adult Supervision Q: The Barriers to Abuse say that there must be two registered adults present for all...
From Bishop Lewis: Reignite the Call for Clergy in the Virginia Conference
View as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: “The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no...
From Bishop Lewis: An update on singing during COVID-19
View as pdf March 25, 2021 Dear Virginia Annual Conference: You may be asking: When we will sing again? The Bishop’s Work Group on Return to In-Person Worship has been steadily and frequently reviewing the latest studies and guidance around singing and wind...
Conference Applauds the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Virginia
A letter from the Virginia Conference Board of Church and Society Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in the Commonwealth on March 24, 2021, making Virginia the first state in the south to do so. The Virginia Conference of the United...
Abolishing the Death Penalty
Group working toward abolishing the death penalty The Peace and Nonviolence subgroup of the Virginia Conference Board of Church and Society is providing information about Abolishing the Death Penalty. It will be a major focus of the upcoming General Assembly. The...
Bishops Reconsider May 8 Special Session of General Conference
For Immediate Release Monday, March 22, 2021 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church met on Monday, March 22, 2021 in an additional meeting to consider pressing matters related to the Council’s work. After much conversation, the...
COVID vaccinations for clergy and church staff
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) released a guideline defining ‘Clergy/ Faith Leaders’ as Frontline Essential Workers on Feb. 23, 2021. With the new guideline, clergy are available to schedule a...
From Bishop Lewis: Violence Against Asians and Asian Americans
Dear Virginia Annual Conference, As I reflect upon living in the Atlanta area for 28 years, my heart was heavy and saddened to hear of the shootings on Tuesday by a lone gunman at three Atlanta-area spas. Six of the eight persons killed were Asian Americans....
Scouts Have Big Impact on Virginia Juvenile System
The experiences of Annual Conference are everywhere; particularly when you are not looking for them. This works for me when I show up each Saturday of Conference with my Boy Scout uniform on. This happened this year when a conference attendee came up to me and...
Tips for deducting Scouting expenses on your tax return
February 14, 2020 Bryan Wendell Scouting Tips 143 Comments UPDATED: This text, first published in 2011, was updated March 20, 2020, with 2019 tax season info as well as the news that the filing deadline was being pushed back because of the...
Video, article share best practices to deal with ‘Zoom fatigue’
View the short, humorous corresponding video to this article at www.vaumc.org/return or on the conference Facebook page as part of the COVID Connection video series. View video and article at https://vaumc.org/zoomfatigue/. The Return to In-Person and the Mission...
The Kingstowne Communion becomes new church charge
By: Madeline Pillow White View "Bright Spot" video about the new church charge at the link. The youngest church in the conference is now The Kingstowne Communion in the Alexandria District. In early January 2021, an organizing charge conference was held for the...
Bishops call Special Session of General Conference, create timeline for moving forward
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the further postponement of the 2020 General Conference, the Council of Bishops (COB) is calling a Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church (UMC) to be convened online on May 8, 2021. According to...
FAQs about General Conference postponement
The Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ) College of Bishops created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document to correspond with the press release that was shared on Thursday, Feb. 25, from the Commission on the General Conference about the postponement of the General...
Bishop Leontine Kelly: United Methodist Pioneer
Bishop Kelly was featured in a conference ‘Bright Spot’ video. View here… By Madeline Pillow White United Methodist Bishop Leontine Kelly preaches during evening worship at the first reunion of the former Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church in College Park,...
General Conference Postponed to 2022
Meeting on February 20, the Commission on the General Conference made a decision to further postpone the 2020 General Conference until August 29 – September 6, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minn. as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the safety of mass gatherings and...
Return to In-Person Worship Work Group Releases TAM Update
Date: February 24, 2021 Download pdf copy of TAMDownload Word copy of TAM The work group created by Bishop Sharma D. Lewis to help move back to in-person worship safely has issued its first update to its Technical Assistance Manual (TAM) since December 11. The new...
Girl Scouting: safety and well-being
There has been much talking, concern and wonder about how our supporting Outreach Youth organizations protect the youth in their programs. We have spent a good deal of time, effort and care with the Scout BSA (Boy Scouts of America) policy and efforts. The following...
Assistance for Texas through UMCOR’s Advance
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) responds to natural or civil disasters of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Through UMCOR, United Methodists extend loving care to people within the United States. When...
Renowned Scientist to Biden Administration and Virginia Bishop Discuss Importance of Vaccines and Safe Worship Practices
Richmond, VA/February 18, 2021 – In a wide-ranging, fact-filled, energetic, and informative interview, Dr. David Agus, a nationally renowned scientist, and long-time adviser to President Biden, speaks with Bishop Sharma Lewis of The Virginia United Methodist Church...
Sharing Our Stories: We must be mentors and nurturers
Observations from a self-professed 'old white guy' By Andrew Kissell I regularly hear things from my White brothers like, "Why do we have to rehash history? Why don't we just start doing something about racism?" "Why do we need to share our stories or even talk...
Bishop Lewis shares District Alignment update through letter, video
The District Alignment Team (DAT) was formed in 2020 with Bishop Lewis to discern, “How can districts most effectively order themselves for the adaptive challenges of the 21st century?” Through the team, we are doing bold and prayerful work – work that builds upon the...
Bishop Lewis announces retirements, appointments affecting district superintendents, and others
Bishop Sharma D. Lewis is pleased to announce the appointments of district superintendents effective July 1, 2021: Alexandria and Arlington districts – The Rev. Dr. Sarah L.K. Calvert Danville and Lynchburg districts –The Rev. Denise P. Bates Harrisonburg and...
Applications available for Virginia Conference Advance Specials
Partners in Ministry, The Serving Ministries at the Virginia United Methodist Conference is currently accepting applications for ministry organizations to be considered as Virginia Conference Advance Special. We believe that mission is essential to who we...
Clergy advocate to repeal death penalty in Virginia
By Jeff Brumley, Baptist News Global A group of African American pastors urged Virginia lawmakers Jan. 7 to abolish the state’s death penalty, equating it to lynching and a declaration that Black lives do not matter. The ministers’ press conference, held on Zoom, was...
Members of Black clergy call for end to death penalty in Virginia
The Rev. James Page, pastor of Galloway UMC, Annandale, was a participant. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: A group of African American pastors from across Virginia on Thursday, Jan. 7, called for the abolition of the death penalty in the upcoming Virginia...
John D. Copenhaver Jr. column: A Christian case for abolition of the death penalty
Legislators in the General Assembly soon will be voting on a measure to abolish the death penalty in Virginia. Support for the death penalty has been waning but it still is strong among Christians. White Protestants are the strongest supporters of the death penalty....
Tracy Fitzsimmons column: We can vaccinate 15,000 people weekly. Instead, we are forced to sit idle.
By Tracy Fitzsimmons Jan 28, 2021 Sometimes, good things really do come in small packages. In the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, this has come in the form of a small university partnering with a small health system and a semirural health district to get...