Dear Lay and Clergy Members of the Annual Conference,
I want to provide you with information for the upcoming called Annual Conference session.
In February, Bishop David Graves announced there would be a special session of the Annual Conference held on Saturday, August 20, 2022. The purpose of the special session is to vote on any matters related to local church disaffiliations within the South Georgia Annual Conference. (Read more here)
The meeting will begin at 10 am and will be held via Zoom. It is anticipated that the meeting will last no longer than one hour.
As a reminder, the called conference session will consider only matters pertaining to this call; no other business can be considered.
Who Votes
Elected lay members will serve as the voting lay members for the called session. Clergy membership of the annual conference is defined in ¶32 of The Book of Discipline.
Change in Lay Member
If there has been a change in the lay member(s) representing your charge since June, please communicate the change to Meredyth Earnest at meredyth@sgaumc.com by August 7.
Cost
During the 2022 Annual Conference Session, the conference voted to update Standing Rule number 3.1.9 to establish a registration fee for single-one day sessions, whether in-person or online. Therefore, the registration fee for the August 20 called session is $10 per member. The deadline to pay is August 7. As always, retired clergy not serving a church and clergy on medical leave are exempt from this fee.
How to pay: The Administrative Services Office is handling registration payments. Click here to pay online via Vanco. If you prefer to pay by check, you can mail a check to “AC Registration Fee”, PO Box 7227, Macon, GA 31209. Please clearly indicate who the payment is for and what church. For payment questions, contact Melissa Thomason at mthomason@sgaumc.com or 478-738-0048.
Voting Credentials
Conference members are required to pay a registration fee in order to participate in the called session. Along with retired clergy not serving a church and clergy on medical leave, only those clergy and laity who have paid his or her registration fee will receive voting credentials. Voting credentials will be issued on Tuesday, August 16. No Voter IDs will be issued after this date.
Online Voting Platform & Technology Needed Technology Needed
We will be utilizing GNTV’s online voting platform. This is the same system we have used for the past three annual conference sessions. You will need an internet-connected device such as a desktop or laptop computer with speakers, tablet, or smartphone. You will access the session using a web browser (i.e. the platform you use to get on the Internet, such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.). A webcam is not necessary. Only videos of conference leaders will be shown during the session. You will also need to either open a separate tab in your internet browser window to be able to vote, or choose to utilize a second internet-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to use solely as a voting device.
Timeline
- July 8: Last day a local church can inform their District Superintendent that they wish to have a called Church Conference to discuss disaffiliation
- August 5: Last day a Church Conference can be held to vote to disaffiliate at the August 20, 2022 session
- August 7: Deadline to email meredyth@sgaumc.com with any changes in lay member
- August 7: Deadline to pay registration fee
- August 8: Report of disaffiliated churches to be voted on will be posted on the conference website and an email sent to voting members
- August 16: Email with session zoom meeting link and Voter ID sent to voting members who have paid the registration fee (Please note: no Voter IDs will be issued after this date)
- August 20: Called Annual Conference Session, 10 am via Zoom
If you have questions specifically related to the disaffiliation process, please contact your district office. If you have questions related to the August 20 called session, please email me (meredyth@sgaumc.com) or Kelly Roberson (kelly@sgaumc.com).
Grace and peace,
Meredyth Earnest
SGA Conference Secretary
