What happens at SEJ Conference this week?
Basic Schedule
Here is a quick synopsis of what will happen at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference this week:
The official dates for Jurisdictional Conference are July 13-15, 2016. However, delegates and others are already gathering at Lake Junaluska for meetings and opportunities to meet with episcopal nominees.
Check the schedule for the entire week.
At 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday (July 12) there will be introductions of all of the nominees in Stuart Auditorium, and then following lunch, each of the nominees will visit the various delegations in a “Round Robin” session.
(There will be livestreaming of all sessions on Wednesday through Friday)
The first official session of Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference will begin Wednesday (July 13) at 9:00 a.m. in Stuart Auditorium. The first business session is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and the first ballots for new bishops will be cast in that session. There may be up to four ballots cast prior to lunch break on Wednesday.
Between ballots there are business items and reports from committees and various groups across the jurisdiction. Many of the agencies and schools across the jurisdiction give presentations to keep the delegates and observers informed of the work of the church in our region.
Balloting is expected to continue until lunch on Thursday (July 14). After the election of five new bishops, the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy will meet with all of the bishops and will make assignments for the 2016-2020 quadrennium.
The announcement of these assignments is scheduled for 8:45 p.m. on Thursday evening. We will post that information on the conference website as soon as possible following that announcement. There will be follow-up stories and media when available.
Receptions will be held by each of the Annual Conferences at Lake Junaluska for the new and returning bishops at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday evening.
The consecration of bishops is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in Stuart Auditorium.
Participants
There are officially 376 elected delegates to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference representing 15 annual conferences (13 episcopal areas) and nine states, including: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
There will be reserve delegates and observers from across the jurisdiction/denomination present as well.
Important Documents of Jurisdictional Conference
All of the delegates to jurisdictional conference have been reading the
Advance Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA) (this was revised on July 1, 2016).
They have also been reading all of the bios and responses to questions from the episcopal nominees which can be found
here.
Episcopal Nominees
- Bryan, Lawson (Alabama-West Florida Conference)
- Fairley, Leonard (North Carolina Conference)
- Graves, David (Holston Conference)
- Grieb, Tom (Kentucky Conferencce)
- Haupert-Johnson, Sue (Florida Conference)
- Howell, James (Western North Carolina Conference)
- Lewis, Sharma (North Georgia Conference)
- McClendon, Tim (South Carolina Conference)
- McCracken, Sky (Memphis Conference)
- Scott, Robin (North Alabama Conference)
- Smith, Ted (BMCR of Virginia Conference)
- Sparks, Stephen (Mississippi Conference)
- Stuart, Farley (Red Bird Missionary Conference)
All of their information including bios, photos and responses to questions can found here.
It is possible that new candidates could be introduced from the floor during the conference, but these are the confirmed nominations from the various annual conferences at this time.
More information
SEJ Conference Website
SEJ 2016- WNCCUMC
Resources for Vital Congregations
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Books
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Serve Your Neighbor
GBHEM Leadership Resources
eLEAD
Living Faithfully: Human Sexuality and the United Methodist Church
Englewood Book Review
Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations
Ted Talks: The Golden Circle
Ted Talks: The Power of Vulnerability
Ted Talks: The Price of Invulnerability
Design Thinking
Meditations on the Ministry of All Christians
DISCIPLE FORMATION:
Be A Disciple
A Disciple’s Path; A Guide for United Methodist
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Adult Christian Studies from the Wesley Ministry Network
Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple Forming Congregations
WESLEYAN STUDIES:
Living As United Methodist Christians
Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials
Reclaiming our Wesleyan Tradition: John Wesley’s Sermons for Today
John Wesley Sermons: Anthology
REACHING PEOPLE:
Get Their Name
Evangelism & Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit
Canoeing the Mountains
Fresh Expressions
Fresh Expressions: Dinner Church
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: Reach New Disciples
Lewis Center for Church Leadership: 50 Ways to Reach People
Community: The Structure of Belonging
RESOURCES TO CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY:
Institute for Emerging Issues
Congregations 4 Children
GRANTS:
The Royce and Jane Reynolds Ministry Fund Grants
The Duke Endowment
OTHER:
The Appalachian District Church Vitality Team has been prayerfully seeking ways to help support you and the ministries of your local congregation during this COVID-19 pandemic. Together they have diligently researched and connected with others throughout the conference and our denomination to identify resources and offer them to you. We hope they will be helpful to you and bless you greatly in leading your churches and communities through this unprecedented time. We are very grateful to the District Vitality Team and other contributors for their great work on this resource.
This faithful team has created three documents, two of which you are receiving today. They include:
- Family Home Worship – designed to help families establish a regular worship space within their homes as well as a time where they can worship together.
- Tech Strategies – to help guide you in selecting effective tools and resources within your budget to best communicate in the digital world.
We believe these resources will be of great benefit to you. Also know that the District Vitality Team is available to answer any questions you might have in regards to the documents attached. If you have questions, you may email Rev. Howard Fleming at hfleming@wnccumc.net.