A report by Jan Samuels
We were pleased to host the Laity Session and the Laity Dinner at our beautiful FUMC Plano on Sunday afternoon June 5. The gathering was exciting as the attendees looked forward to another stimulating Conference. We were asked to dine at the table of someone we did not know. It made for great conversation and new acquaintances!
The Opening Worship was held at 7 p.m. at the awe-inspiring FUMC Richardson. The speaker was the energetic and humorous Bishop Cynthia Ferro Harvey of the Louisiana Annual Conference (the entire state of Louisiana). The remainder of the Conference was held in this wonderful facility with very capable and enthusiastic members acting as guides and volunteers in many areas.
On Monday, June 6, the Conference began at 8 a.m. led in song by global recording artist Reverend Doctor Cynthia Wilson from the Great Plains Annual Conference. She has led the music at many Annual Conferences in our North Texas Conference in the past. Her voice has a beautiful range from deep amazing tones to ethereal tones in the higher scale akin to the sound of angels, in my mind. She was outstanding throughout the Conference. Bishop Gregory V. Palmer of the West Ohio Area of the United Methodist Church was the Conference Keynote Speaker. He had a powerful voice which certainly kept your attention. His messages were strong with many instances of intermittent laughter. One statement has stuck with me in that it definitely gave food for thought … ”Prayers and thoughts have become work avoidance in the Methodist Church.” Hmmm.
This was the last Annual Conference for Bishop Michael McKee to lead as he will retire in December 2022. He has led and has been beloved since 2012. Scattered throughout the Conference were many tributes, both somber and hilarious, to this leader of a decade.
There were reports from Committees, Boards and Organizations of our Conference which made us realize the scope of the United Methodist Church in its education, love and prosperity in the North Texas Conference. Retiring ministers were honored and ordinands were welcomed with the inspirational ordination ceremony taking place on Monday night.
There was a resolution passed against Hate Crimes; a resolution passed by the laity and affirmed by the Conference with reference to Guns and Violence; a legislative item which was referred to the Annual Conference Planning Committee for 2023 requested the legislative items be presented and voted on at the beginning of the Conference rather than at the end for assurance that there would be time to take action during the conference; a legislative item promoting the Conference be held on the weekend in order for inclusion of the working members, which failed; and an item to provide clarity to disaffiliating congregations in our Conference which was tabled.
It was a wonderful time to renew friendships with those we saw from our church’s past: Shirley Tillerson from Rockwall UMC who grew up in our church; Rev. Don Renshaw who was our pastor in the 1980s who led our church in a time of phenomenal growth in our area; and Debbie Chapman who was a member of our church who became a minister and just retired. We cheered our Rev. Cammy Gaston as she very ably gave several reports before the group.