Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

2007 Annual Conference Summary

ADVOCATE
The Mississippi United Methodist Advocate's daily coverage of the 2007 Annual Conference

June 11 Daily Advocate
June 12 Daily Advocate
June 13 Daily Advocate

DVDs
The United Methodist Hour is again offering video recordings of Annual Conference worship services and other highlights. To order DVDs of any service, click here.

ELECTIONS
The conference elected eight lay and eight clergy delegates for the 2008 General Conference and an additional eight lay and clergy delegates for the 2008 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. The jurisdictional delegates elected will serve as the alternates for General Conference.

GENERAL CONFERENCE DELEGATES ELECTED
Laity
Turner Arant
David Beckley
David Stotts
Bill Smallwood
Sara Hillman
Mary Ford
Jack Ramsey
Steve McAlilly

Clergy
Steve McDonald
Joe May
Bill McAlilly
Timothy Thompson
Sheila Cumbest
Ginger Holland
Mike Childs
Bryan Collier

JURISDICTIONAL DELEGATES ELECTED
Laity
Phoebe Hathorn
Kiah Hitt
Anne Harrington
Dalton Garner
Jack Walters
Kay Barksdale
Bill Scott
Elizabeth Cumbest

Clergy
Mattie Gipson
Embra Jackson
Andy Ray
Warren Black
Sam Morris
Phillip Heidelberg
Karen Koons
Tommy Artmann

GUESTS
Bishop Ivan Manuel Abrahams is the presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, which includes churches in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, and South Africa. He is an executive member of the World Council of Churches and is co-chair of the Social and International Affairs Committee of the World Methodist Council.

The struggle against apartheid has shaped most of his ministry, and he calls himself a graduate of the "University of the Streets." Bishop Abrahams studied at Rhodes University, University of Cape Town, and the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., and was ordained in 1982. Bishop Abrahams preached at the mission and memorial worship services, led a breakout session, and led Wednesday morning worship.

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The Right Reverend Duncan M. Gray III is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. The son and grandson of former Mississippi bishops, he became the diocesan bishop in 2003. Previously, he was rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Oxford for 15 years. Bishop Gray preached and shared in Holy Communion during Monday morning worship.

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Dr. F. Belton Joyner Jr. is a retired United Methodist pastor who spent 42 years serving churches in the North Carolina Conference. He is a visiting lecturer on Methodist history and Wesleyan theology at Duke Divinity School. Among Joyner's books are Being Methodist in the Bible Belt: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Parents, and Other Confused Methodists and Life in the Fish Bowl: Everyday Challenges of Pastors and Their Families. His newest work, The Unofficial United Methodist Handbook for Pastors, was just released. Dr. Joyner shared about "Being Methodist in the Bible Belt" on Monday and Tuesday mornings and led a breakout.

MISSION OFFERING
The 2007 Annual Conference Mission Offering received June 11 netted over $110,000 for ministries with children and youth in Zimbabwe and Mississippi. In the spirit of chabadza, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward has designated fifty percent of the offering for youth and children's ministry in Zimbabwe and fifty percent for youth and children's ministry in Mississippi.

"Chabadza" is an African word that means helping someone who is already at work in the field. At the 2006 Annual Conference, United Methodists in Mississippi and Zimbabwe partnered together and formed the Chabadza Covenant.