Page 1 of 8 The Common Table for Church Vitality The Virginia Annual Conference November 10, 2016 The Common Table met on November 10, 2016 at the United Methodist Conference Center, Glen Allen, Virginia in room 120. Members present were: Bishop Sharma Lewis (Bishop) Rev. Marc Brown (Director of Connectional Ministries and Chair) Mr. Warren Harper (Conference Lay Leader) Rev. Kathleen Overby Webster (Cabinet Representative) Rev. Rob Lough (Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries) Mr. David Dommisse (Conference Treasurer) Rev. Chris Bennett (2018) Ms. Jennifer Lee (2020) Ms. Martha Reed (2017) Rev. Susan Reaves (Annual Conference Secretary, without vote) Also present was Ms. Bev Myers (Executive Assistant in the office of Director of Connectional Ministries) and Mr. Paulo Lopes, Director of Ministries with Young People. Ms. Iris Smith, Ms. Rachel Miller, Rev. Jonathan Page, and Rev. Don Gibson were not present but excused. Chairperson Marc Brown opened the meeting at 10:01 with a word of welcome. The members of the table introduced themselves. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from the September 15, 2016 meeting of the Common Table for Church Vitality. The minutes were approved as written. Rev. Brown prayed. He then lifted up I Samuel 3:11, Then the Lord said to Samuel, See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. He presented the questions, What is God about to do in the United Methodist Church that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle?
Page 2 of 8 and What is God about to do in the Virginia Conference that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle? Those present broke up into groups of three. When the members of the Common Table reassembled, they shared the ideas discussed in the smaller groups. One thing that would make the ears of anyone tingle included was the mission work being carried out in our communities: by local churches, through United Methodist Volunteers in Mission and through UMCOR. Things that are coming in the next few years in campus ministry will make the ears tingle. The Board of Discipleship is about to roll out a focus on black churches. Sixty people from the Virginia Conference will be going to the 2017 Convocation for Pastors of Black Churches including 13 people from the cabinet. Also moving from maintaining the institution to building the Kingdom of God will make ears tingle. Bishop Sharma Lewis shared with the group that she had survived her first Council of Bishops. There were 66 active bishops and 84 retired bishops meeting at Saint Simons Island, Georgia. The thirty-two people appointed to the Commission on a Way Forward were affirmed. There will be three moderators for the group. They will have their first meeting in January. Human Sexuality will not be the only topic examined. They will also be talking about the unity of the church. Bishop Lewis described the Extended Cabinet Summit that took place in Jacksonville, Florida on November 2-4. There were 800 people in attendance. There is a strong possibility of a called General Conference around February or March 2019. The Annual Conferences were asked to take a week to pray for the Commission on A Way Forward. Conferences were also asked to come together and have a conversation about human sexuality and pass information gathered during those discussions on to the Commission on a Way Forward. It was also noted that
Page 3 of 8 the Virginia Annual Conference could vote to set aside the original delegation elected to the 2016 General Conference and elect a new delegation to be sent to the called general conference. Bishop Lewis said she has reminded and will continue to remind people that we are in the disciple making business now and in the future. That work will not be suspended because there will be some kind of decision in 2019. Bishop Lewis excused herself and the meeting continued. Rev. Glenn Rowley, Director of Justice and Missional Excellence joined the meeting and reported on his area. Currently, the Annual Conference s international initiatives are in Mozambique, Cambodia and Brazil. We have just renewed the commitment to Cambodia for four more years. Rev. Rowley will be leading a trip to Cambodia in January 2017. A group will be going to Brazil in July. We are working together with the Missouri Conference to develop clergy in Mozambique. He is also working with native people from the Virginia Conference. Rev. Rowley reported that 9,000 homes along the coast of Virginia were affected by Hurricane Matthew and other storms this fall. He noted that he inherited the Commission on Ethnic Minority Concerns and Advocacy (CEMCA) and will be working on issues around race and gender in the future. He closed his report by noting that mission is foundational to discipleship. Mr. Paulo Lopes, Director of Ministries with Young People spoke about launching the team for Young People s Ministry. It took time to gather the people and begin meeting but it has come together. Everyone on the team commits to spending eight hours together once a month. Relationships have developed. The group has a covenant, worships together and has a ministry action team. They also receive coaching. They have reached out to Campus Ministers to become part of the team
Page 4 of 8 and eight have joined in. The goal is to eventually have a network of teams throughout the conference with homegrown coaches. Mr. Lopes reported that as he was traveling around the conference he received feedback about the School for Children s Ministry. There seems to be a need for expanding that beyond children s ministry to include ministry with youth as well. This has resulted in the creation of Young People s Ministry on Tour which will take place at five different locations. There will be a way for participants to stay connected beyond the events. Ballots for the election of Associate Directors were passed out. The five directors voted upon were Director of Inclusivity and Lay Leadership Excellence, Ms. Cheryl Edely-Worford; Director of Justice and Missional Excellence, Rev. Glen Rowley; Director of Congregational Excellence, Rev. Mark Ogren; Director of Ministry with Young People, Mr. Paulo Lopes and Acting Direct of Communications, Ms. Madeline Pillow. All directors were re-elected by written ballot. Ms. Pillow continues as acting Director of Communications through February 2017. Treasurer David Dommisse presented the treasurer s report. Year to date receipts for 2016 are up slightly from 2015. There has been an increase in the 401 and 405 apportionments. Second mile giving is down by 20% compared to last year, but the Imagine No Malaria campaign ended in 2015. The campaign brought in $516,474 in 2015. Mr. Dommisse gave a breakdown of Line 401, Conference Mission and Ministry. He reminded everyone that anything left in that fund will be transferred into Conference Reserves at the end of the year. This happens every four years. Chris Bennet prayed and the group broke for lunch.
Page 5 of 8 Martha Reed presented the program request for the Disaster Response ministry from Rev. Rowley s office. He is requesting $7,000 per year for four years to train first responder when there is a disaster. A program request was made to start a restaurant from Journey United Methodist Church. This is an outreach ministry of the only new church start south of the James River since the late 1800 s. They are requesting $7,325. There was a certain lack of detail in the request but it is a creative and innovative extension of the church in a rural setting. Mr. Dommisse suggested that for reasons of liability the church may want to set up a separate entity for the restaurant to protect the district since Journey United Methodist Church is not a chartered church. Approval would be dependent on a contingency that Rev. Brown and and Mr. Dommisse will discuss related to setting up an entity separate from Journey. Ms. Suzanne Spencer requested $300.00 for a Faith Based Conference on Aging at Lynchburg College. The planning team includes people from regional health centers, agencies on agency and Ms. Mary Kemper, new President/CEO of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries. Rev. Chris Bennett gave an update on the Ministry Accelerator for ministries receiving funds through program requests. There will be two tracks in the upcoming year. Those who participate in the first track will be in an intensive learning environment and then spend time with a mentor to as they work to apply what they have learned. The second track is for those ministry groups which need to work on structuring their ministry. Rev. Bennett is requesting $4,000 for the ministry accelerator program. The Program Committee recommended all four requests. They were accepted unanimously.
Page 6 of 8 Mr. Dommisse spoke about the need for information data integration between the various departments of the Conference. Currently data captured by one department cannot be easily migrated to other departments. Clergy Excellence, Pensions and the Common Table each has its own system for gathering and using data. There is a need for a data base manager who is project oriented and can help people with the data they need. The Texas Foundation has helped the three Texas conferences integrate data. Mr. Dommisse would like to research the Texas Foundation s approach to data handling. A proposal was lifted up by Mr. Dommisse on behalf of the data team for $10,000 to allow the team to partner with the Texas Foundation with the stipulation that any unused portion of the $10,000 would be returned to the Virginia Annual Conference. A motion was made to approve the proposal and it was seconded. The motion was unanimously approved. Rev. Brown reported that the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center (VUMAC) is no longer a part of our conference but is still listed as part of the administrative agency of the conference. There is no ministry taking place there now. When the property is sold and all the debts are settled the remaining funds will come back to the Virginia Conference. Rev. Brown made a motion to remove VUMAC from administrative agency and this was seconded. The motion was approved. Ms. Bev Myers, spoke about the Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries. Membership is $25.00 for a year and the fall event has been $25.00. It is a way to support, educate and provide spiritual enrichment. The Virginia Chapter, Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries (PAUMCS) desires to be recognized by the Conference as an agency. Administrative agencies have administrative responsibilities and are grouped together under section V.B of the Virginia Annual Conference standing rules. This
Page 7 of 8 would require an annual report to the Conference. The motion was made by Rob Lough to recognize the PAUMCS as an agency of the Virginia Annual Conference. The motion was seconded. The motion passed. Rev. Jim O Quinn and Mr. Jim Branscom, former treasurer of the Annual Conference presented a report on the Virginia United Methodist Housing Development Corporation which provides affordable housing for the disabled. The Virginia United Methodist Housing Development Corporation was started 40 years ago and owns 22 properties in the Annual Conference. Mr. Branscom is the treasurer and Rev. Jim O Quinn is a clergy board member. In the past the board was not inclusive in terms of gender and race. However, by using the Conference Nominations process it has become more diverse. They would like to start appointing their own board members. The Conference Leadership Development and Discovery Team could bring forth names to act as an information pool for their Board. They are in a sound financial state. They no longer want to be an agency of the conference. They would like to be in a covenant relationship with the Conference. The Virginia United Methodist Housing Development Corporation wants to be able to continue to bear the name of Virginia United Methodist but they and the Conference would hold each other harmless. They will ask the Chancellor of the Conference to look over their by-laws. Rev. Rob Lough, Chair of Higher Education and Campus Minstry, brought a report about RISE a new church start that the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry contracts with to provide Campus Ministry at James Madison University. Rise has asked for $100,000. Money will be received contingent on their continuing to be a United Methodist Church entity.
Page 8 of 8 Rev. Brown noted that the personal committee meets on Nov. 30. The Council on Finance and Administration would like a preliminary budget by January. Rev. Brown led the group in prayer and adjourned the meeting at 2:43.