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2009 Annual Conference

The Alabama - West Florida 2009 Annual Conference 
will be held June 7-10 at Frazer Memorial UMC in Montgomery, Ala.

"Partnership in the Gospel - Celebrating Together" 

Conference Quick Links 

• 2009 Annual Conference Online Evaluation - your input is essential!
• Recap Article
• Recap Bulletin Insert
• Bishop Leeland's Opening Worship Sermon (or view as a PDF here) Watch the video!
• Rev. Robert Spicer's Memorial Service Sermon or Watch the video!
• Annual Conference Photos
• Annual Conference Videos
• AWF Constitutional Amendments Voting Results
• 2009-2010 Clergy Appointment Book (as of June 23 2009) *revisions forthcoming 
• Dr. Wesley Wachob's Courtesies & Appreciation Report
• Daily Updates
• Follow us on Twitter
• Agenda *subject to change.
• Subscribe to AC 2009 E-mail Updates
• Order Form to purchase DVDs of services from Frazer UMC

Special Awards and Recognitions - A Celebration
Alice Lee Award:   Ruth Ann Powers spoke about the mission of COSROW and presented the Alice Lee Award to Rev. Mary Elizabeth “Libba” Stinson.   A special video presentation was shown featuring Alice Lee, for whom the award is named.

Denman Evangelism Awards:  Rev. Grant Parker introduced Lane Rees, Board Chairperson of The Foundation for Evangelism for the United Methodist Church.  Mr. Rees presented the laity award to Bill Harris of Trinity United Methodist Church and the clergy award to Rev. Jason Adams of St. Luke United Methodist Church, Pensacola, Florida. 

Local Church Heritage Award:  Rev. Ed Shirley, chairperson, Commission on Archives and History, presented the Local Church Heritage Award to Daphne United Methodist Church, Daphne, Alabama.

Annual Conference Presentation:  Rev. Mike McKnight, Director of Connectional Ministries, described the work of the connectional ministries office and introduced the staff.  He presented a special award to Curtis Henderson, recognizing his sixteen years of service as a member of the connectional ministries staff.

Representative of Historic Black Colleges:   Susan Hunt , Director of Mission, Advocacy and Ethnic Ministries,  introduced Courtneika Hudson, a student at Payne College and a 2009 Black College Fund Ambassador.   Ms. Hudson addressed the conference.

Foundation Scholar:   Terri Turner, executive director of the United Methodist Foundation, presented a brief report, including ministerial scholarships information.  She then introduced the first Foundation Scholar, Rev. Matt O’Reilly.

Pre-Conference Letter to All Clergy and Lay Members
Delegate Letter, March 2009

Conference Secretary
Dr. Shirley Woodie, swoodie171@charter.net

Brochure of Reports
Click here to download the 2009 Brochure of Reports (please note: this is a large PDF file that may take a few moments to download).

Direct Billing Proposal
Click here to view a Q&A document concerning the Conference Board of Pensions Task Force on Health Insurance Premiums & Pension Contributions proposal to the 2009 Annual Conference. This is a valuable document to conference members.

**Watch a brief video discussing the Direct Bill proposal (click the play button below):

Special Guests

• Dr. Jason Borders - morning Bible study leader: Who is He and Who are We? - Messiahship and Discipleship in Luke 9:18-27
• Bishop Joseph E. Pennel (retired) - preacher for the Service of Ordination and Commissioning:
  The Inadequacy of Words, John 1: 1-18 
• Rev. Jim Harnish - Teaching Pastor: Transformed Leadership for Transforming Congregations. 
  The mission of the United Methodist Church calls us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the "transformation of the world." Jim Harnish believes that the transformation of the world begins in the hearts of transformed leaders who are used by God to transform their congregations into vibrant communities that can be used by God for the transformation of the world. He will be sharing practical lessons he has learned about that kind of leadership from his experience as the pastor of a century-old congregation which has experienced that kind of transformation as described in his book, "You Only Have to Die." 

Latest News
Get your news in two new ways:

• Follow the action of the 2009 Annual Conference on twitter: www.twitter.com/awfumc
  

   

• Sign up for e-mail updates at www.awfumc.org/subscribe

Host Church: Frazer Memorial UMC
Click here for driving directions and here to view a campus map of Frazer Memorial UMC. All worship services will take place in the sanctuary. All business sessions will take place in Wesley Hall. All meals will be served in the fellowship hall.

Laity Banquet Features Steele Brothers & Mary Ellen Bullard Laity Address
(Dr. Steve Furr, Conference Lay Leader) Laity and clergy are invited to attend the laity banquet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 at Frazer. We are fortunate to have two talented brothers as our guest speakers. Jeff Steele is the Associate Athletics Director for Facilities and Operations at Auburn University. His brother, Kevin Steele, most recently the associate head coach and head coach of the defense at the University of Alabama, is the defensive Coordinator for the Clemson Tigers. This is the first time that this talk will be given the title of the Mary Ellen Bullard Leadership Address. The Bullard family will be present in honor of the event. Bishop Leeland and our scouting coordinator will be presenting the bishops award for scouting to one of our conference churches. Come and be inspired and renewed!

Childcare & Vacation Bible School
Due to a lack of registrations, the childcare and VBS have been cancelled for this year's Annual Conference sessions. Childcare during worship services will still be available; contact Frazer UMC and Montgomery FUMC directly for information.

Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Amendments will be voted on during the 2009 session of the AWF Annual Conference. These proposed amendments from the 2008 General Conference may be debated but not amended. For a PDF document of all proposed amendments, please click here. *(There is an error in Amendment XXV at the top of page 18  this document. The reference in the second paragraph in two places [one relating to the 2004 Discipline and the other to the 2008] should be to Article II and not Article I as printed).

For a PDF document of the rationale behind all of the proposed amendments, please click here.

• Frequently Asked Questions regarding Constitutional Amendments (PDF Document)
• Articles from Interpreter magazine concerning the Constitutional Amendments:
  Article by Rich Peck                
  Article by Scott Jones             
  Article by Eddie Fox                

Special Offering: Blue Lake United Methodist Assembly Campaign
Bishop Leeland has named the conference's Blue Lake United Methodist Assembly as the recipient of the 2009 Annual Conference Special Mission Offering. Read a letter that he wrote to all clergy concerning the campaign.

Click here to download a bulletin insert to use in your congregation.

Churches should collect donations toward the special offering in advance, make one check payable to the AWF Conference (marked "AC 2009 Special Offering"), and present it at Opening Worship on Sunday, June 7.

Conference Companion
In 2009, the AWF Conference Resource Center has once again created a journal where delegates can record the happenings of Annual Conference in order to formulate their report to their local church. Click here to download (a copy will also be available in each delegate packet upon registration).

Service of Ordination & Commissioning
The Service of Ordination & Commissioning will be held Monday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Montgomery.

First United Methodist Church of Montgomery plans to broadcast the Service of Ordination and Commissioning live via the internet. To view the internet broadcast of the service on Monday, June 8, follow the following steps:
1.        The broadcast starts at 7:00 p.m., CST, at which time the Choirs of First UMC will present a pre-service concert. The Ordination/Commissioning Service begins at 7:30 p.m.
2.       Go to the website of First UMC: www.fumcmontgomery.org
3.       Click on the blue circle that reads: “Click on the icon above to view our 11:00 am Sunday service”
4.       This will take you to the live broadcast. 

Housing

• Huntingdon College Housing Registration Information and Form

Pictorial Directory Photos To Be Taken in 2009
The AWF Conference will be taking clergy photographs to be included in the 2009 clergy photo directory at this session of the Annual Conference. If you are a clergy member of the annual conference, please make every effort to have your photo taken on either Monday or Tuesday at Frazer UMC. Click here to view an informational flyer.

Live Online Streaming

Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church will make the following services availabele via live internet streaming:

• Sunday, June 7, 7 p.m. - Opening Worship
• Monday, June 8, 10:45 a.m. - Memorial Service

To access the streaming, please visit www.frazerumc.org/live . *Please note, the link will only work during the specific times listed above.

First United Methodist Church of Montgomery plans to broadcast the Service of Ordination and Commissioning live via the internet. To view the internet broadcast of the service on Monday, June 8, follow the following steps:
1.        The broadcast starts at 7:00 p.m., CST, at which time the Choirs of First UMC will present a pre-service concert. The Ordination/Commissioning Service begins at 7:30 p.m.
2.       Go to the website of First UMC: www.fumcmontgomery.org
3.       Click on the blue circle that reads: “Click on the icon above to view our 11:00 am Sunday service”
4.       This will take you to the live broadcast. 

Special Meals, Booths/Displays , and Delegate Packet Information
If you need to coordinate a special meal, reserve a display booth space, and/or have information supplied for the delegate packets, please contact Rev. Ed Deabler 

News To Note

• Clergy Spouse Gathering
• "Moving Day" for all Clergy Receiving a New Appointment is Tuesday, June 23.

Deadlines

• Information to be included in the Brochure of Reports - March 9. Contact: Traci Herndon
• The deadline for resolutions and petitions is 30 days prior to the start of Annual Conference (page 279 of the 2008 AWF Conference Journal; SR No. 4), which would be May 7. However, to be included in the printed Brochure of Reports, it would need to be turned in by March 9.
• Information to be placed in delegate packets - June 1 (must have prior approval from Rev. Ed Deabler)

Jane Walker Scholarship
$1000 Scholarship Opportunity for Women of the AWF Conference, provided by COSROW. Full details here.

Comments

1. Linda wrote on 1/17/2009 2:33:09 PM

How can a regular member of a church in the conference receive a copy of the 2009 Clergy Photo Directory following the Alabama-West Florida 2009 Annual Conference?

2. Traci wrote on 1/21/2009 12:19:37 PM

Linda: If you will send me your personal contact information (traci@awfumc.org) I can see about ordering one for you for a small fee.

3. Robert Powell wrote on 3/10/2009 4:08:25 PM

I thought when we changed our move day to July was a great change. Why are we now moving it back into June.

4. John Ed Mathison wrote on 5/21/2009 11:29:42 AM

President Barrack Obama’s Democratic allies in the Senate reversed course on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, and refused to finance the move to close Guantanamo Bay prison. They denied the request for $80 million because the administration lacked a satisfactory plan of what to do with the 240 detainees there.

Our Annual Conference will be asked to vote on 32 amendments to the Constitution which could drastically change the way the United Methodist Church does ministry in the future. The plan for putting these amendments into action has not been presented yet. Changing the Constitution is a dangerous process. We must be sure of the implications of this before we change the Constitution.

Therefore, we need to reverse the close vote of General Conference and vote against these amendments because no legitimate plan has been set forth. We can defeat the amendments now, then look at the plan that is being devised during this quadrennium, and if it is a good plan, have the amendments presented again next General Conference. If the plan is a good plan for the United Methodist Church for the future, we will be better informed and can make a responsible decision four years from now.

I urge a vote against amendments: III, IV, V, VII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XX, XXI, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII. (3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32).

For my comments on all amendments, please go to my website: www.johnedmathison.org.

-John Ed Mathison

5. Elaine wrote on 6/13/2009 5:08:13 PM

The FUMC website is wonderful!! I would love to receive the updates of the new appointments of the 2009-2010 ministers.

6. Meredyth Earnest wrote on 6/15/2009 2:45:12 PM

Appointment Book may be found here: http://awf.brickriver.com/files/oFiles_Library_XZXLCZ/Appointment_Book_2009_MASTER_FINAL1_MVS2E4JH.pdf