Dear Lay and Clergy Members of the Annual Conference, Conference and Agency Leaders,
Happy New Year!
Our 2017 Annual Conference Session, set for June 4-7 on Jekyll Island, will be here before you know it. The Conference Program Committee, the Local Arrangements Team, and the Coastal District are excited about welcoming everyone to our new venue: the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
We are looking forward to being led by our new Episcopal leader, Bishop R. Lawson Bryan. Since Bishop Bryan arrived in our conference, he has been rallying us around the vision of God making us “Alive Together in Christ,” based on Ephesians 2:5. Throughout our annual conference session, Bishop Bryan will challenge us to identify and celebrate together what makes us alive in Christ so that we will long even more for those experiences in our life together as an annual conference and in our local churches.
Bishop Bryan has invited Bishop James Swanson to be the preacher for our Opening Worship Service on Sunday evening, Bishop Michael Watson to be our Memorial Service preacher, and Dr. Lovett Weems to be our teacher for the conference. Bishop Bryan will preach our Ordination and Commissioning Service on Monday evening of conference.
We want to make the most of our location at the beach. On Tuesday afternoon of Annual Conference, we will break a little early at 4:30 p.m. so that we can enjoy a beach party with one another and with our families. Also, there will be a “summer camp” during Annual Conference for elementary-age children of conference delegate families led by our conference's Camp Connect leadership team.
We know that you are making your plans to attend. We sent an email to delegates on October 17 with information about hotels and other information. If you are a new delegate, we hope this earlier email was forwarded to you by the previous delegate. If you haven’t made your hotel reservation, you will want to do that as soon as possible because many of the hotels have already filled up, and others are filling up quickly. We initially blocked 630 rooms for annual conference, and by our count, about 500 of our delegates have already booked their room for Annual Conference.
Also provided in the October 17 email was information about the conference schedule, parking, deadline for resolutions, and banquets. In this email, look for additional information: updated schedule, obtaining a Book of Recommendations and Reports (BOR), registration fee, voting rights, constitutional amendments, a per diem expense reimbursement offered to retired clergy and at-large lay delegates, changes in lay members, and displays.
We look forward to a great conference and your participation.
Schedule
The 2017 Annual Conference Session will begin with an Opening Worship Service on Sunday evening, June 4, at 7:00 p.m. Conference will conclude with the Sending Forth Service on Wednesday, June 7. Below is a tentative schedule of events. A more comprehensive and final schedule will be provided in the Spring of 2017.
Sunday, June 4
3:00 PM Registration Begins (Sunday registration ends at 6:45 PM prior to the Opening Service)
7:00 PM Opening Worship Service, Bishop James Swanson Preaching
Monday, June 5
7:30 AM Extension Ministry Breakfast
8:00 AM Registration Reopens (8:00 AM – 12:00 noon and 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
9:00 AM Laity Session
9:00 AM Clergy Session
10:30 AM Opening Plenary Session
Board of Ordained Ministry Report
12:00 PM Lunch Break
2:00 PM Afternoon Plenary Session
5:00 PM Dinner Break (Methodist Home Barbecue)
7:00 PM Ordination/Commissioning Service, Bishop Lawson Bryan preaching
8:15 PM Reception for Ordained and Commissioned Ministers
Tuesday, June 6
8:30 AM Limited Retiree Registration until 10:30 AM
9:00 AM Morning Plenary Session
11:00 AM Retiree Recognition
12:00 PM Lunch Break
1:00 PM Gathering for Families of Deceased Clergy
2:00 PM Memorial Service, Bishop Michael Watson preaching
3:30 PM Afternoon Plenary Session
4:30 PM Beach Party
Wednesday, June 7
9:00 AM Morning Plenary Session
11:00 AM Fixing the Appointments/Sending Forth Service
12:00 PM Adjourn
Hotels
The following Golden Isles area hotels have rooms blocked for our conference. Please reserve your room now to ensure availability. Ask for the South Georgia United Methodist Church group rate when booking. Note that each hotel has a date when the room block will close. We have updated this list to show the latest availability. If you have any questions about hotels, please contact Rev. Wayne Racz at wracz@epworthbythesea.org or 912-638-8688.
Villas by the Sea (Jekyll)
800-841-6262; 1175 N Beachview Dr, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
closes 5/4/2017
Mini Villa/Studio, $115 (Island) 5 rooms
One Bedroom, $135 (Island), $145 (Ocean), 5 rooms (all booked)
Two Bedroom, $209 (Island), $229 (Ocean), 25 rooms (all booked)
Three Bedroom, $299 (Island), $319 (Ocean), 15 rooms (6 remaining)
Hampton Inn & Suites (Jekyll)
912-265-3733; 200 S. Beachview Dr, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
closes 5/2/2017
Standard Room, $200, 70 rooms (2 remaining)
Studio Suite, $220, 70 rooms (2 remaining)
Holiday Inn Resort (Jekyll)
912-635-2211; 701 N Beachview Dr, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
closes 4/18/2017
Guestroom (Island), $159, 20 rooms (all booked)
Guestroom (Ocean), $179, 20 rooms (all booked)
Oversized Guestroom (Oceanfront), $189, 80 rooms (14 remaining)
Oceanfront Suite, $229, 5 rooms (all booked)
Jekyll Island Club Hotel
800-535-9547; 371 Riverview Dr, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
closes 5/2/2017
Total Guest Rooms (Not Specified) 120 rooms (60 remaining)
Run of House, $179
JICH Suite, $299
Ocean Suite (One Bedroom), $299
Ocean Suite (Two Bedroom), $399
Days Inn (Jekyll) (ALL BOOKED)
912-635-9800; 60 S. Beachview Dr, Jekyll Island, GA 31527
closes 5/2/2017
Guestroom (Island), $130, 22 rooms
Guestroom (Ocean) $140, 25 rooms
Oceanside Suites, $200, 28 rooms
Comfort Suites (I-95) (ALL BOOKED)
912-267-4440; 25 Ashton Dr, Brunswick, GA 31523
closes 5/4/2017
King, $84.99, 10 rooms
2 Queen, $89.24, 10 rooms
Epworth By The Sea (St. Simons)
912-638-8688; Arthur J Moore Dr, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
closes 2/1/2017
Turner Lodge, $112.50, 15 rooms (all booked)
Robertson Inn, $84.60, 17 rooms (all booked)
Reynolds Efficiency Apts, $84.60, 7 rooms (all booked)
Pitts/Booth Motel, $75.60, 16 rooms (all booked)
Reynolds Motel Rooms, $59.40, 5 rooms (4 remaining)
Hampton Inn (Brunswick)
912-261-0939; 128 Venture Dr, Brunswick, GA 31525
closes 5/15/2017
Standard QQ, $119, 25 rooms (13 remaining)
Embassy Suites (Brunswick)
912-264-6100; 500 Mall Blvd, Brunswick, GA 31525
closes 5/1/2017
Single, $134, 10 rooms (1 booked)
2 Queen, $144, 5 rooms
NOTE: Prices do not include taxes, including the Georgia $5/night hotel/motel tax.
NOTE: Some Jekyll Island properties may also charge a "resort fee" on top of the room price.
Receiving the Communications Needed for the 2017 Annual Conference Session
As a delegate to Annual Conference, you will receive several important communications leading up to Annual Conference. The purpose of these communications is to inform you of the matters you need to know about the ministry of the church, its organization, and any decisions you will be asked to make during the conference session. Because of action taken by the 2015 South Georgia Annual Conference, we no longer print and mail our communications. Instead, all communications related to the 2017 Annual Conference Session will be disseminated through conference emails, district newsletters and other district communications, our conference Advocate, and other conference communications. This saves us thousands of dollars in printing and postage costs each year.
Most of the business items for the conference session are contained in the Book of Recommendations and Reports (BOR). Inside the BOR you'll find a complete conference agenda, driving and parking information, helpful annual conference information, detailed reports from conference ministries, pension and benefits recommendations, conference budgets, and much more. One of the purposes of the BOR is to allow you to read the recommendations and reports before you come to conference. A good delegate is a prepared delegate. In late April or early May, the BOR will be made available in two ways. It will be made available for download as a PDF file at no cost, in its entirety or in sections, on our conference website (www.sgaumc.org/annualconference), and disseminated through other electronic means. You will also be able to purchase a professionally bound printed copy for around $5.00 through lulu.com. Ordering information will be provided when the BOR is ready. The Book of Recommendations will not be mailed nor will printed copies be available at the Annual Conference session. If you prefer a printed copy versus a digital download, you must print it at church, at home, or purchase one through lulu.com.
Please continue to visit www.sgaumc.org/annualconference often as we approach annual conference. Some reports that do not make the BOR publication deadline will only be available on the website. These reports will be important to have during the Annual Conference session.
Prior to arriving at Jekyll please download onto your digital device or print all the materials you want to have with you during the Annual Conference session. Although we have been told that the wireless internet capabilities will be better at the Jekyll Island Convention Center than in other venues, you may still want to download documents to your device prior to coming to be safe.
Voting Rights for Lay and Clergy Members
Below is a description of who can be lay members of the annual conference and vote and who can be clergy members of the annual conference and vote. Your official name tag, which you will receive at registration, will let the voting tellers know of your eligibility to vote. Lay Members can vote on the business matters of the annual conference and vote on Constitutional Amendments. You will note below that all clergy can vote on business matters, but the Book of Discipline stipulates that only Full Clergy Members (Elders and Deacons) can vote in the clergy session and on Constitutional Amendments. Constitutional Amendments to the Discipline were voted on at General Conference last May 2016, and this year they will be voted on by the members of the annual conferences across the denomination. You will receive information about these amendments prior to annual conference. They cannot be amended. We will vote and our vote tallies will be forwarded to the General Church and put together with all the other vote tallies to determine whether the amendments pass or fail.
Lay Members of the Annual Conference: Lay membership shall be composed of the Lay Members elected by their charges, at-large delegates of the district selected by their district superintendent, the Conference Lay Leader, Conference President of United Methodist Men, Conference President of United Methodist Women, Conference President of the Council on Youth Ministries, Lay Delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conference, Diaconal Ministers, Lay Staff of the Conference Office of Connectional Ministries, Lay Chairpersons of Conference Committees, Commissions, Councils, Teams or Boards, District Lay Leaders, District Presidents of United Methodist Men, District Presidents of United Methodist Women, District Presidents of United Methodist Youth, and one youth and one young adult by each District.
Clergy Members of the Annual Conference: Clergy delegates include Full Elders, Full Deacons, Associate Members, Provisional Elders, Provisional Deacons, Full-time Local Pastors, Part-time Local Pastors, Retired Elders, Retired Deacons, Retired Associate Members, and Retired Provisional Members who retired before 2013. The Discipline does not allow Retired Local Pastors to be clergy delegates or vote (¶320.5); however, Retired Local Pastors who have been serving under appointment leading up to Annual Conference can serve as clergy delegates and vote. All clergy delegates and lay members of the Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM) may attend the Clergy Session, but only ordained clergy in full connection and lay members of the BOM may vote at the Clergy Session.
Change in Lay Member
If there has been a change in the lay member representing your local church/charge, please make sure to pass this information on to the correct person. Please share the change with Meredyth Earnest at meredyth@sgaumc.com or let your district office know.
Registration
The registration fee for all pastors and lay members to Annual Conference is $20. Retired clergy not serving a church are exempt from this fee. You will pay when you register at Annual Conference.
Expenses / Per diem
Clergy and lay delegates who represent a local church shall have their expenses (including registration) paid by the local church (this includes retired clergy who are serving a church). Lay delegates who represent an organization and extension ministers shall have their expenses paid by the organization they represent. Retired clergy not under appointment and clergy on disability shall receive a per diem of $65 per day for each day attended. Lay members who do not represent a local church or conference organization shall receive a per diem on the same basis. Retired local pastors who are not serving a church do not retain their clergy status according to the Discipline, and so do not qualify for a per diem.
Childcare
Childcare will be available for infants through elementary age students. Infant through preschool childcare will be held for all worship services and business sessions at Jekyll Island Baptist Church, 501 Riverview Drive. A “summer camp” is being planned for elementary age children and will be hosted by the Camp Connect Leadership Team, under the direction of Suzanne Akins. More details and online registration will be available February 1. We are excited for a great gathering on "island time.” For questions, contact Allison Lindsey at allison@sgaumc.com.
Parking and Getting on the Island
In some of our previous venues, we have had parking costs connected to the area around the venue itself or to the hotels in the area. At Jekyll Island, there are no parking fees, but there is a fee to get onto the island. It is $6.00 per 24-hour period. For those who stay on Jekyll and don’t leave the island, it will be a one-time fee. There will be group transportation arrangements made available for those staying off the island. Even if you come on the island each day in your own car, you can time your entrances to conceivably pay only twice, since the $6.00 fee is good for 24 hours.
Banquets
If you have a group that would like to plan a banquet or special event, contact Dr. Wright Culpepper at wrightculpepper@comcast.net or 912.261.8512, ext. 101.
Displays
Display spaces are available to groups and agencies related to the South Georgia Conference. Display spaces for United Methodist Church agencies cost $75 without power and $80 with power. This is the cost passed on to us by the Convention Center. Other non-UM agencies and vendors also have the opportunity to set up displays. Please see the display policy for those prices and conditions. The display policy as well as the registration form to reserve booth space can be found at www.sgaumc.org/displays. Reservations for the space must be made by the May 1 deadline prior to the conference.
Resolutions
March 1 is the deadline for all Resolutions. The Resolutions Committee will consider only those resolutions received by March 1. For information on how to submit a resolution visit www.sgaumc.org/resolutions.
Questions
For questions regarding the business of Annual Conference, please contact Dr. Jay Harris at jharris@sgaumc.com. For questions regarding local arrangements or any general questions, please contact Bill Allen at billallen4@comcast.net or Kelly Roberson at 912-270-6172 or kelly@sgaumc.com.
