Bishop Tracy S. Malone announces the following clergy appointments and/or changes of status which, unless otherwise noted, are effective July 1, 2024.
| 2024 Appointments | |||
| Pastor | Appointment | District | Effective |
| Warren Brown | Port Clinton Trinity & Bellevue Seybert Memorial UMCs | West Plains | |
| David Whitt | New London & Clarksfield UMCs | West Plains | |
#BeUMC
“I am United Methodist because it is my family’s legacy,” said Rev. Paige Boyer, pastor of Lodi UMC while sharing that the Church is where she has found home in all different ways. “The Church has always been the home where I can be who I am, where I can meet Jesus Christ, and where I can be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
E-mail Brett Hetherington to schedule a time to record your 1- to 2-minute video sharing your story of how your life has been transformed through the ministries of The United Methodist Church.
View #BeUMC stories & the EOC #BeUMC website.
Each episode of our East Ohio Conference podcast, Storyboard: Faith Witness Transformation, explores what it means to #BeUMC.
Episode 33 is titled “Influence, Connection & Impact: Just Action”. The episode features an ecumenical panel of clergy and laity discussing ways that churches and faith communities can respond to the ongoing negative legacy of redlining that, generations since its inception, continues to impact who can live where in communities throughout the East Ohio Conference.
For questions about Communications ministries such as the #BeUMC campaign, live-streaming, licensing, social media and more, please e-mail Rick Wolcott, executive director of Communications, or visit the Communications pages of the Conference website.
Annual Conference 2024
June 13 Laity Session to Elect Jurisdictional Conference Delegates
Lay members to Annual Conference will meet in a Laity Session at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 13 to elect delegates to fill out the East Ohio Conference delegation to Jurisdictional Conference. The planned session became necessary when General Conference delegates meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina approved the motion from the Committee on Credentials pursuant to Judicial Council Memorandum Number 1485 to “authorize a one-time exception to our quadrennial election cycle in order to authorize the credentialing of persons who were previously elected in 2023 as delegates or reserve delegates to the Jurisdictional/Central Conference.”
Lay members to Annual Conference will receive an e-mail this week sharing the nomination process and information about the Laity Session.
Annual Conference Registration Deadline is May 17
Annual Conference members will gather at the John S. Knight Center in Akron for the 55th session of East Ohio Annual Conference. The deadline to register is Friday, May 17.
Register for Annual Conference 2024.
Book a hotel room at a specially discounted AC 2024 price.
Pre-Conference Workbook Available Online
Members registering for Annual Conference 2024 can opt in to receive a printed copy of the Pre-Conference Workbook. The digital copy of this Workbook is already posted under the Resources tab on the Annual Conference website, www.eocumc.com/eoac24. The online issue can be printed by clicking on the print icon in the upper right corner. The issue is also bookmarked to make it easy to navigate. Access the bookmarks by clicking on the three-line menu icon in the upper left of the page and then clicking on the document outline icon.
The Pre-Conference Workbook is not being mailed this year to save on postage costs. Those who opt in to receive a printed copy will receive that copy at the John S. Knight Center when checking in to this year’s conference. There will not be any printed copies available at conference except for those who opted in during online registration.
Non-AC Members Can Participate in Annual Conference
All East Ohio Conference lay persons and clergy persons can watch the services and sessions of conference via livestream on the AC 2024 website. You also have four AC-related opportunities in which you can participate those days at the John S. Knight Center:
- Sign-up to be a volunteer at AC 2024 by completing this volunteer interest survey, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HBCQZZD.
- Sign-up to sing in the AC 2024 choir by e-mailing Joe Leaman, this year’s AC choir director.
- Sign-up for one or more of the 12 special events meals with guest speakers by e-mailing Melanie Thomas, Connectional Ministries office administrative assistant, or calling her at (330) 499-3972 ext. 102.
- Donate items to the Midwest Mission truck, which will be onsite at the John S. Knight Center Thursday, June 13 (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) and Friday, June 14 (8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.). View the list of needed items.
Learn more on the Annual Conference 2024 website.
General Conference
Postponed 2020 General Conference meeting in Charlotte
Nearly 800 delegates from across the worldwide United Methodist Church are charting the next quadrennium for the denomination during the postponed 2020 General Conference.
In his opening worship service sermon on April 23, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton said, “We don’t have any time for negative narratives and personal agendas. We don’t have any time for vendettas and last gasp jabs. Friends, we got work to do. Are you ready to do it?”
Bishop Jonathan Holston stated in the Episcopal Address, “This moment in the life of our Church is not about how we restore who we are or who we were, or who we say we are or who we want to be. It is about this, and only this: how do we become who God needs us to be?”
In her sermon Friday, April 26 Bishop Sharma Lewis implored the delegates to fully rely on God. “I stand here this morning to challenge us that for the next several days we must decide as a denomination that we are going to trust in the Lord.”
In her portion of the Young People’s Address Alejandra Salemi spoke of the past few years while looking to the future. “No matter where we go from here. Whether we continue to stay, or others continue to go, I need you to hear this: The conversations around queer affirmation are not the last frontier for reaching justice, and liberation, or peace, or whatever our UMC goals are. There is still a lot of work to be done.”
View the sermons, learn more about GC & watch the livestream.
Worldwide Regionalization Legislation Approved
On Thursday, April 25 delegates by a vote of 586 to 164 passed the worldwide regionalization legislation presented by the Standing Committee on Central Conferences. Among other things, under the amendment that passed General Conference each regional conference would have the authority to establish and publish a regional Book of Discipline with legislation and provisions pertaining to church structures within its boundaries, including qualifications and educational requirements of clergy and specialized lay ministries.
Bishop Tracy S. Malone, who becomes Council of Bishops president on April 30, presided during the session that took up the regionalization amendment. She also worked with representatives from the standing committee, Christmas Covenant and Connectional Table as they worked on the legislation that eventually went before General Conference voters.
“We are a beautiful, diverse, international worldwide church and the regionalization plan is a reflection of what that looks like,” Malone said at a press conference after the vote. “Yes, it decenters the U.S., but it also dismantles colonialism giving a sense of agency, a sense of autonomy, while still keeping us connected missionally, still keeping us as one body – people called United Methodist.”
To be ratified, the amendment also will need at least a two-thirds total vote of annual conference lay and clergy voters.
Young People’s Ministries
Worship & Wings – June 16
East Ohio Conference young adults are invited to Johnson Center Chapel on the campus of Malone University at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 16 for an opportunity to network, connect and build relationships with one another. Recording artist Chandler Letner (@chandlerletnermusic on Instagram) will lead worship, which will be followed by participants eating hot wings and other snacks, playing games, and fellowshipping. For more information about this young adult event co-sponsored by CYF Camp, e-mail Tim Beck, Connectional Ministries office Young People’s Ministries co-director.
For questions about Young People’s Ministries opportunities, please e-mail Pastor Christy Suffecool or e-mail Tim Beck, Connectional Ministries office Young People’s Ministries co-directors, or visit the Young People’s Ministries pages of the Conference website.
Camps & Retreat Ministries
Summer Camp Offers What Children Need
Friendship and laughter, praise and worship, exploration and relaxation, faith development and leadership development – these are just some of the many attributes that EOC Summer Camp provides to children in your family, your congregation, and your community.
Campers are encouraged to invite a friend to experience Camp with them. Together they can have fun and adventures in nature learning about God’s Creation as they swim, canoe, pray, enjoy campfires, and do so much more.
If you have questions or would like to receive a Summer Camp 2024 brochure, call the EOC Camps office at (330) 499-3972 ext. 139 or send us an e-mail.
Learn more about and register for Summer Camp 2024.
For questions about Camps & Retreat Ministries opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Gary Jones, Connectional Ministries office Camps & Retreat Ministries / Spiritual Formation & Christian Education director, or visit the Camps & Retreat Ministries pages of the Conference website.
Events: April 29 – May 12
Click to view East Ohio Conference Calendar.
- Saturday, May 4
Transition Training - Saturday, May 11
Free Community Meal in Lakewood
To submit your event to the East Ohio calendar use this form. (The East Ohio Conference only accepts East Ohio United Methodist local church, conference and general UM events for listing on the Conference calendar.)
Classifieds
Details of listings may be found here.
Positions Available
- Director of Christian Education – Chagrin Falls UMC
- Church Secretary – Massillon First UMC
- Director of Youth Ministry – Mayfield UMC
- Treasurer – Perry UMC
To submit a classified ad please e-mail swilliams@eocumc.com.
To Subscribe
To subscribe to E-News and all East Ohio Conference news updates, enter your email address in the “Follow News via Email” widget on the right sidebar. Information from this E-News may be copied and used in your local church. The next scheduled edition of the E-News is Monday, May 13, 2024.
Deadline for submission is Thursday, May 9, 2024. Send articles to swilliams@eocumc.com.
East Ohio News 