A look ahead at #PNWAC26
Members and guests of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference will meet online and in person at Spokane Valley United Methodist Church from June 23 to 25, for its 153rd regular session. This follows a Greater Northwest Area Opening on May 20 featuring an Episcopal Address from Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, legislative Focus Sessions (#1, #2) held online on May 28 and 29, and a successful Clergy Session on June 3.
From almost anywhere, you can watch much of our Annual Conference Session live on the PNWAC website at https://pnwumc.org/pnwac! Please review the Annual Conference Schedule for an overview of the sessions and to learn what will be livestreamed. You can also view conference materials, including legislative updates and worship materials, on the Downloads page.
As they do their work, lay and clergy members will explore the new United Methodist vision, “Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully, and Lead Courageously,” focusing for this conference year on loving boldly. In his call letter, Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth wrote, “We are challenged to love God passionately and, like Jesus, embrace and include people of every age, nation, race, gender and walk of life.
Some expected highlights
This year’s annual conference sessions will open on Tuesday, June 23, with worship and preaching from Bishop Bridgeforth. In addition to the normal plenary work of receiving reports and processing legislative petitions, conference members will also need to elect delegates to the 2028 General and Western Jurisdictional Conferences. The 2028 gatherings will provide the denomination an opportunity to consider structural shifts after several years of significant change.
On Tuesday, in a Laity Session following the opening plenary, lay members will elect an associate PNW Conference Lay Leader in addition to providing space for lay members to learn more about lay nominees for the 2028 General and Western Jurisdictional Conferences. As they attend to this work, pastoral leaders will take part in a Gathering of the Orders.
During the conference, members will receive updates and reports from conference boards, agencies, and area-level ministries. They will also process sixteen petitions on a variety of topics as they receive and process reports from the Focus Sessions held at the end of May. That work, along with the elections, will continue across plenaries on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Members will take some time to recognize transitions in ministry and in life. As is customary, on the first evening (Tuesday), members will gather for a Memorial Service honoring the lives of clergy members, spouses, beloved laity and bishops who died over the past year. The following day, a Celebration of Ministry Transitions service will provide space to celebrate retirements and honor appointments and assignments for the coming year. The conference will also honor Bruce Galvin for 50 years of service as he moves out of his long-held role as Conference Benefits Officer.
PNW Conference Lay Leader Falisha Hola will offer a Laity Address on Wednesday afternoon. Her first address in 2025 was a highlight. The body will also celebrate as several churches and leaders are honored for their efforts in discipleship and justice work. A Ministry Fair after dinner on this final evening will provide space for people to learn more about different ministries and opportunities taking place across the conference (and beyond).
Closing with worship
Throughout the conference, members and guests will have several opportunities to pray and worship together beyond the opening worship. Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank, resident bishop of the California-Pacific Annual Conference, will offer the message during a Memorial Service on Tuesday evening, during which we will remember significant passings over the past year. On Wednesday morning, Rev. Lisa Talbott, Assistant to the Bishop for Equity & Intercultural Competency, will join the body to offer a devotion.
Three offerings will be taken at the Opening, Memorial, and the Ordering of Ministry worship services, supporting local (Mission Community Outreach Center), regional (FāVS News) and global (the Endowment for Theological Education in the Central Conferences) projects. Members can give at any time (click here to learn more), and in-person attendees are also encouraged to participate in a drive to provide school shoes for kids.
On Thursday Morning, the Annual Conference will conclude with a Service of the Ordering of Ministry with Bishop Mande Muyombo, resident bishop of the North Katanga Area, preaching. Members and guests will invite the Spirit to join them in blessing new leaders and sending all out to bring the Gospel of life to the communities in which God has embedded us.
