Dear Lay and Clergy Members of the Annual Conference, 

Good afternoon. I want to continue to provide you with information for the upcoming called special Annual Conference session. Please note in this email that the agenda is now available. The registration fee deadline is this Sunday, August 7. Please contact the Administrative Services office if you have any questions or concerns regarding the registration fee.

Grace and peace,

Meredyth Earnest
SGA Conference Secretary

Special Called Session Basics
In February, Bishop David Graves announced a special session of the Annual Conference held on Saturday, August 20, 2022. You may read the call here

The meeting will begin at 10 am and will be held via Zoom. It is anticipated that the meeting will last approximately one hour. A registration fee must be paid*** by Sunday, August 7 in order to receive voting credentials (details below in the "Registration Fee" area).

As a reminder, a special conference session allows only for business pertaining to the call; no other business may be considered.

If you have questions specifically related to the disaffiliation process, please contact your district office.

Agenda
(Subject to change)

  • Welcome & Opening Remarks
  • GNTV Online Webinar/Voting Instructions 
  • Organizing Motions
  • Attendance Vote 
  • Resolution Approving Disaffiliations of Local Churches 
  • CFA Report: Revision of the 2023 SGA Annual Conference Budget
  • Closing Motions 
  • Adjournment 

Guests
There will be a live streaming option on the conference website for guests to view the called session. No fee is required.

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

Registration Fee
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 meeting in-person or online. Therefore, the registration fee for the August 20 called session is $10 per member. The deadline to pay is August 7As 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 made out to the "South Georgia Annual Conference" to: AC Registration Fee,  PO Box 7227, Macon, GA 31209. Please clearly indicate who the payment is for and what charge/organization. For payment questions, contact Melissa Thomason at mthomason@sgaumc.com or 478-738-0048.

 Voting Credentials 
All conference members are required to pay a registration fee in order to participate in the called session, except for 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 (along with retired/not serving clergy and clergy on medical leave).

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

  • 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 disaffiliating churches & CFA report 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

***Retired Clergy Not Serving an Appointment and Clergy on Medical Leave do NOT have to pay the registration fee. Those clergy will receive voting credentials automatically.

 
 
SGA Conference Secretary: Meredyth Earnest meredyth@sgaumc.com