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Home | News > Annual Conference Committee asks: Please support your members!

Annual Conference Committee asks: Please support your members!

09-21-2009

Posted September 21, 2009

By Mark Manzi, Chair, Annual Conference Committee

The 2009 Annual Conference has been over for three months now. Hopefully by this time all lay members have reported back to their local churches the happenings of the Conference. You may remember that we conducted a detailed survey about many aspects of Annual Conference. The results were very interesting, and we will be using this data to help guide our planning of the 2010 Annual Conference, scheduled to begin on June 13, 2010. Over the next several months, I will be reporting on the planning for 2010 and your feedback on the 2009 conference.

Annual Conference is our largest and most important gathering of clergy and laity within the Northern Illinois Conference. Every year all clergy, deacons, licensed local pastors and an equal number of laity gather for 3–4 days to worship, hear reports and celebrate the ministries of our Conference. We also conduct business, set a budget, commemorate the lives of clergy and laity that have passed away and honor the many ways God continues to work through United Methodists in Northern Illinois.

A reality of attending Annual Conference is that it can be costly for lay and clergy members. These costs include the registration fee, travel, meals, lodging and time away from jobs. In the survey of the members of the 2009 Annual Conference, 52% of laity and 60% of clergy reported receiving some financial support from their congregations for expenses at Annual Conference. This means that a substantial number of attendees cover all their expenses out of pocket.

As your churches consider spending plans for 2010, we ask that you please consider budgeting to support those who will be attending Annual Conference in June, 2010. We want to ensure that our sessions are inclusive, regardless of ability to pay. Just as the General Church supports those attending General Conference, we hope our churches in Northern Illinois will support their members to Annual Conference.