One of the tasks of the Western Jurisdiction Conference, when it meets this July in Spokane, is to select lay and clergy persons to represent the jurisdiction as directors of the general church agencies, like the General Board of Global Ministries or General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. They also will select persons to serve in leadership positions in the Western Jurisdiction (WJ), like the WJ Council on Finance and Administration.
To complete this task, we need your help to create the ‘pool’ of persons to be presented to the WJ Nominating Committee. Are you interested in serving, or might you encourage someone to consider serving?
Click this link or the button below to access the form and self-nominate. Please consider whether God is calling you for this purpose. Nomination forms are due on May 31, 2024.
The Pacific Northwest Conference will consider the ‘pool’ when it meets in June. The WJ Conference will draw from the pools of all conferences in the WJ to fill the positions available. Thanks for considering this opportunity.
From the Western Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy
It is almost time for the next round of episcopal elections. In our jurisdiction, we have two bishops retiring, so we expect to elect two new bishops. However, decisions that will be made at General Conference could decrease that number.
Based on our experience and feedback received from the episcopal election process in 2022, the process will be different this time. The time frames will also be much shorter, due to the scheduling of annual conferences the month before jurisdictional conference. We want to maintain a value of wide invitation, but since there is less time for jurisdictional delegations to engage and vet potential candidates, we are asking annual conferences and caucus groups to engage in a robust communal discernment process by the end of June.
Each annual conference is invited to nominate up to two people who meet the basic qualifications for a bishop as described in Book of Discipline Paragraphs 401, 405, and 414. We encourage conferences to consider a broad range of potential nominees. Each conference has its own rules about how potential candidates are nominated. We encourage conferences to ask potential candidates to use the profile form that will be available on the WJ website, then make these profiles available to annual conference members in advance of your conference session. Regardless of whether that option is exercised, the conference secretary should submit profile forms from those nominated by the conference as soon as possible after your conference session, but no later than June 30. All conference-nominated candidates will have their profiles posted on the WJ website by July 2.
Nominations may also be made from the floor at the beginning of the Jurisdictional Conference session. This option is available to anyone, but especially to those endorsed by racial/ethnic caucus groups. Nominees will be asked to submit the same profile form for distribution to WJ delegates.
If you have questions, please contact Committee on Episcopacy chair Dan Hurlburt. We look forward to joining together in a time of prayerful discernment as we choose the next group of episcopal leaders for our jurisdiction.
Video Transcript | Download Video Report
Hi, I’m Rev. Shirley DeLarme, conference secretary. I use she/her pronouns. It’s been important this week for us to name our pronouns as a way of letting everyone know, whoever they are, that they are welcome here.
How good it was to meet in person for those who could do so. And how good it was to have options for those who needed another choice. And so, grace began to bubble up, literally. With a children’s plastic bucket filled with bubble wands, we were ready to play, to have fun, and to let the grace flow.
In a beautiful service of worship, we joyfully commissioned and ordained some of our favorite people, some of whom were past due because illness prevented them from being here last year for their ceremonies. Grace welled up, and bubbles floated through the air as we laid on hands poured out blessings, and celebrated. Retired Bishop Mary Ann Swenson added to the grace by preaching for the ordinands and for us all.
But that came after we did some hard work, mixed generously with play and laughter, and a hard pinch of grieving. We were mournful, and we cried together, we recognized so much loss from the pandemic, from violence and church closures, escalating climate change, persistent racism and more. In worship, we lamented and sought hope. And in our work, we took action.
Picking up the theme and Bishop Cedrick’s opening sermon, we challenged one another not to look so much in the mirror at that which is familiar and has served for a season, but to look out the window to see what lies ahead, to see who are our neighbors to whom we have not been so good, despite all the good we do. We have some window work to do, lots of window work. And some of that work. In fact, all of that work is urgent. We must look out and see what is beyond ourselves that needs our urgent ‘good neighbor’ attention. And not just some of us, but all of us. Not just the ordained or licensed but the laity. Not just some laity, but all laity.
Bishop Cedrick added the ‘L’ to his M.I.L.E, which he began in the previous two sermons this conference season. In our window work, it is urgent that we eliminate racism, the ‘E’ in Bishop Cedrick’s M.I.L.E., about which we will hear shortly. In our window work, it is urgent that we stand in solidarity with the Filipino people who know so much. So much violence that a state-sponsored by their own state, so we committed to standing with them and asking our congressional representatives to do the same.
In our window work, it is urgent that we address climate change as individuals and as clergy and laity, and also in our ministry settings with our church buildings and parsonages and offices, and also with all those who handle our investments. So, we press one another to divest from fossil fuels with our monetary investments. We petitioned General Conference to add fossil fuel screens to the United Methodist investment screens, and we pledged to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
This is big, but not impossible, especially when partnering with other agencies sharing educational resources and the possibility of adding a staff person to facilitate our work for climate justice. Appropriate mundane matters were tended to, routine business matters made no less important by being routine. We provided for retirement benefits and equitable compensation, moving allowances and special offerings. We wrestled over some rules and some issues of fiscal transparency.
And then, since the Board of Ordained Ministry told us we ought to permit some of us to retire, we celebrated our retirees and witnessed the beautiful ritual of passing the mantle from the class of retirees to the class of the ordinance.
It might seem that the work of this 150th annual conference session is complete. But truthfully, the real work is just beginning. The window beckons us to see and go and do likewise.
Dear Beloveds of the PNW annual conference,
At this year’s commissioning and ordination service, we will have an AC Member choir (both lay and clergy).
We will rehearse Wednesday, June 14, at 7 p.m. and perform Thursday, June 15, at the commissioning and ordination service. Both the rehearsal and performance will be at Mason UMC in Tacoma (2710 N Madison St, Tacoma, WA 98407).
The song we will be singing is “Show Us How To Love” by Mark Miller. You can preview the song and familiarize yourself with the music on this youtube video: https://youtu.be/_PTKfdgLuFg.
If you would like to be in the choir, please email pnwacchoir@gmail.com so we can know how many people to plan for at rehearsal.
Thank you so much! We can’t wait to sing together!
Rev. Justin White (he/him)
Joseph Lee (he/him)
United Methodist Followers of Christ in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference,
With this letter, I call the regular 2023 session of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference to meet on the dates listed within to attend to its regular business, gather in worship and explore impactful service opportunities.
This year’s theme for the Annual Conference Sessions held across the Greater Northwest Area will be “Go and do likewise,” centered on the familiar story of “The Good Samaritan.” In this parable (Luke 10:30-37), we find characters who exhibit attributes of servanthood, piety, mercy, and grace. Their intent and impact make a difference, especially considering the religious and historical context and societal norms present when Jesus first shared this story. These characters hold up mirrors for us to see ourselves more clearly and open windows to possibilities beyond our imagination.
As we come together this year, we continue our quest to find ways of gathering that will support our need to tend to our spirits, be in community, conduct business, and honor the space we may need between us at times. The world is changing. We must be nimble and attentive as we live within the parameters of our new realities. To this end, we will host AC2023 in person, with hybrid options available for those who choose to join online. All voting members will have the same access and privilege of participating regardless of the member’s choice to be in-person or online.
Our Area-Wide Conference will begin with the Bishop’s Installation and Opening Session at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Juneau, Alaska, which will be livestreamed on Saturday, May 20th (in-person participation will be by invitation only due to limited church capacity). The closing session for the area will be on Thursday, June 15, 2023, in the evening. The closing session will be livestreamed.
The Pacific Northwest Conference will host the main portions of its annual conference session June 13-15 in Tacoma, Washington, at Mason UMC and on the campus of The University of Puget Sound. We will commence with worship at 9 a.m. on Tues., June 13, and conclude early in the afternoon on Thursday, June 15, with the Commissioning and Ordination Service. A Memorial Service will take place on Tues, June 13 at 7 p.m., and a celebration of retiring clergy and recognition of Deaconesses, Home Missioners, CLMs, and Local Pastors will take place on Wed., June 14.
More details can be found on the PNW AC2023 website. Please contact the District Service Center if you’re unsure of your status as a lay member of Annual Conference.
Before these dates, Clergy Session will be held via Zoom (with GNTV voting) on May 24. Focus Sessions will also be held in advance of the conference via Zoom on June 2 and 3 (as needed) from 6-8 p.m.
Registration will be sent to members along with more information at a later date. Registration will be required to receive voting credentials, and the deadline will be firm because it is essential as we prepare for a new model of conferencing. Guests will be able to watch the proceedings livestreamed via each conference’s YouTube channel. As your new bishop, I am grateful to have this opportunity to serve with you in what will be my first regular session of conference.
There will be a Special Session on Sunday, May 7th, for the sole purpose of voting on the approval of churches that wish to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church. That is a painful reality, but it is their choice to do so. We will work diligently and faithfully with each of those faith communities and our conference trustees to ensure they complete their due diligence in advance of the Special Session. We will release a separate call letter and registration information for this session with more information closer to the scheduled date.
When we gather, it is possible that there will be several disaffiliating congregations unable to complete the process this Spring. That may necessitate another session in the Fall to allow all others who are ready to complete their process and leave The United Methodist Church before December 31, 2023, when the special provision in the Discipline allowing their departure expires.
As you might imagine, we have many details to work out between now and when we meet in Special and Regular Sessions. I solicit your prayers and your patience. I also hope you will consider how you and those in your ministry setting view yourselves (mirror) and look into your communities (window) as you live out the teachings of Jesus in Luke 10:30-37. What are you learning and sharing about service to and among others? Where is God calling you to show up and do good? What impact are you having in your community or through your organization?
I have faith that our conference leaders and staff will continue in stellar service to you. They will answer your questions as they arise. My request is that you “go and do likewise” in all the places God calls you to serve.
Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth