General and Western Jurisdictional Conference Delegate Nominees needed
Electing our lay and clergy delegates to the 2028 General and Western Jurisdictional Conferences will be a top priority when members gather for the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference in June. Before we can start our election process, we need to have nominees to elect.
Serving as a delegate is a profound honor and a serious responsibility. Delegates gather with United Methodists from across the globe to do the hard, holy work of discernment — debating legislation, building relationships, and helping guide the direction of a worldwide church. Travel expenses for full delegates are reimbursed based on a per diem set by the General and Jurisdictional Conferences. The PNW Connectional Table typically supports expenses for other members of the delegation.
As detailed on the Delegate Nominations Process page on the annual conference session website, conference members will elect 8 laity and 8 clergy to serve on our delegation. Currently, we have received three nominations for clergy and two for laity, which will be published along with other Pre-Conference Materials on or around May 15.
Nomination forms received by June 1 for clergy and by June 21 for laity will be published the following day to provide members with information and an initial slate for the election process, which will occur during our plenary sessions of Annual Conference. These dates differ due to our schedule: the Clergy Session is on June 3 (1-4 p.m.) via Zoom, and the Laity Session is on June 23 (2:30-3:50 p.m.), hybrid, the first day of our annual conference session. Time will be allocated at both the clergy and laity sessions for nominees who submit their paperwork by the dates to be briefly introduced to members.
Nominees also can prepare a single-sheet (8.5×11) promotional handout to be shared with conference members, separate from the Nominations Form. Materials submitted by June 21 will be shared digitally with members, pending approval by Rev. David Valera, Executive Director of Connectional Ministries (dvalera@pnwumc.org). Nominees and/or their supporters may print and distribute copies of approved materials in person at Spokane Valley UMC during the AC session. If you are considering serving as a delegate, please keep these deadlines (Clergy: June 1; Laity: June 21) in mind. In our diversity, we know that not all those willing to serve as delegates are inclined to nominate themselves, and some who might consider serving may only affirm that inclination with encouragement from others. As such, we encourage you to consider who among us might serve well and to have follow-up conversations to explore the possibility and to see how God might move among and through us. Please review the Delegate Nominations Process page for additional information
