Annual Conference 2019: Recent Episodes
Iowa Annual Conference UMC
Recordings from the 2019 session of the Iowa Annual Conference. With a focus on Being Difference Makers in Ministry with the Poor, the gathering was held June 7-11, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
Rev. Katie Dawson and John Rothlisberger are members of the Iowa delegation to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2020. John received the highest number of votes among the laity. Rev. Katie was among three who were tied for the highest number of votes from the Conference’s clergy. Rev. Katie and John joined Dr. Art McClanahan for a conversation just after the adjournment of this year’s Annual Conference to talk about the election process, how the delegation will stay connected prior to the worldwide denominational gathering next May in Minneapolis and the regional assembly in July 2020 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and ways by which Iowa United Methodists can support the 18 clergy and 18 laity they elected to represent them.
Speaking final words of blessing for the 2019 Annual Conference, Bishop Laurie Hall extended an invitation to “go out into the world and be difference makers, together!”
“I believe that the payment of apportionments is an essential spiritual discipline that bunds us all together, said Bishop Laurie, as she invited congregations to make a difference locally and around the world.
Speaking on behalf of the elected leadership to the Iowa delegation to the 2020 General Conference, Rev. LaTonya Calderon asked for prayers “for the work that is before us,” and for “God’s blessings to be upon us.”
Rev. Paul Smith invited the members of the Conference to “give your testimony” to family, to friends, “so that they can see you as you really are…something that claims them, something that changes them. He spoke during the Fixing of Appointments service.
Two Iowa Conference congregations received One Matters Awards. Letts United Methodist Church and St. Charles Parish were recognized for their focus on discipleship, including new baptisms and professions of faith. Dr. Jaye Johnson invited the Conference to congratulate “these two congregations for making God’s Hope for the World real!”
32 youth, from across all 8 districts, shared their own special look back at the 2019 Annual Conference. But more than humor, according to Rev. Steve Braudt, the Diakonos embody “what the church must become to survive and thrive into the future.”
Tyler Schwaller, a deacon in full connection, who self-identifies as “queer, clergy,” call for the creation of “spaces where we can come together,” in a moment of personal privilege. “Our Queer kindred should be a model,” he said, of supporting “one another when we don’t do the ‘both sides thing” because “our lives, our souls are at stake.”
Celebrating 150 years, “United Methodist women have been and will continue to be a dynamic community with God.” Lynn Calvert told the Conference, “I am so proud to be a part of this legacy of women who have looked out at the world and caught God’s vision of love and responded with more than 90 national institutions and international ministries.”
Gathering for the Service of Remembrance, Rev. Kiboko Kiboko reminded the gathered community that “We are here to thank God for giving to us all these people who have gone before us.” “We are here to continue to cry and mourn their passing,” he suggested, “and we are here to remember them.”
In her remarks to the 2019 Annual Conference, Treasurer and Director of Administrative Services, Maggie Biggs reported, “The Conference has been engaged in a long-term process of restructuring to focus on our priorities as well as lowering costs.” These changes are “guided by our mission, vision, and strategic priorities,” she noted.
In her remarks to the 2019 Annual Conference, Lay Leader Margaret Borgen spoke about the struggles that the church is experiencing. “Our struggle now is to move from where we are to become the church God wants,” she suggested, and “to use this time of disruption to learn.”
Speaking on the Healthy Conference Initiative, Rev. Barrie Tritle reported on the Iowa Annual Conference journey towards greater health. “Over these four years,” he said, “we have made major progress in addressing our need for clarity of focus and a clearly defined Conference Vision…to ‘Make Hope Real’”
“May you pray for a disruptive joy that reaches out to the margins, empowers others to become who God created them to be, and transforms all of us in the process.” That is Bishop Laurie Haller’s hope for the newly ordained and commissioned clergy of the Iowa Conference.
Rev. Bill Poland is the Director of New Faith Communities. He believes “our primary goal is not just to establish new churches, but also to facilitate the making of New Disciples and creating New Communities of Faith.”
“God’s grace teaches us compassion and wisdom.” That’s what Rev. Carol Myers told the members of the 2019 retiring class. It’s “God’s grace that gives us new insights and wisdom,” she added. Through God’s grace, “love always wins. Always.”
Rob Cook and Eric Mulanda, pastors of Mt Hope United Methodist Church in Lansing, Michigan, offered the challenge to “be willing to embrace the new thing that God is doing in our churches, in our communities, and in our world.” They offered the keynote teaching session for the 2019 Annual Conference.
Speaking on behalf of 1500 laity, deacons. Elders, and local pastors, Rev. Nate Nims shared a letter to the Bishop that called all to “join a movement of the Spirit that Jesus proclaimed.” He said, “the doors, hearts, and minds that we have shut for too long must be opened to the full grace of God” and we must no longer do harm to our LGBTQIA sisters and brothers.
In her Episcopal Address, to open the 2019 session of the Iowa Annual Conference, Bishop Laurie Haller offered a reminder to all present – “Remember, you are poor…you do not have the resources to save yourself, fix your problems, or change the world – but God does!”
"What unites us, as United Methodists, is our deep love for Jesus Christ," said Bishop Laurie Haller as she spoke to the Laity Session of the 2019 Iowa Annual Conference. She added, "We're also united by our determination to make a difference."
Rev. Rob Cook is the senior pastor and Rev. Eric Mulanda is the associate pastor of Mt. Hope United Methodist Church. They will present the keynote teaching session for the 2019 Iowa Annual Conference.