Christianity • Protestantism
36-627: The Western North Carolina Conference is an Annual Conference (regional episcopal area, similar to a diocese ) of the United Methodist Church . This conference serves the western half of the state of North Carolina , with its administrative offices and the office of the bishop being located in Huntersville, North Carolina . It is part of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference . The current presiding Bishop
72-541: A refusal to adhere to it and the United Methodist Book of Discipline. As a result, the traditionalist caucuses began to plan the formal erection of a new traditionalist Methodist denomination, the Global Methodist Church. The denomination's name was chosen in the spirit of a quote from the father of Methodism, John Wesley , who stated with regard to evangelism , that "The world is my parish." Due to
108-727: A traditionalist stance on human sexuality and in the United Methodist 2016 General Conference, the Church adopted more pro-life stances with respect to abortion. In 2016, at the United Methodist Church's General Conference in Portland, Oregon , delegates voted 428 to 405 to delay conversation on homosexuality and proposed a review of ecclesiastical restrictions, with the Book of Discipline's injunctions remaining in effect, that "homosexuality
144-447: Is Bishop Kenneth H Carter. The Western North Carolina Conference provides funding to five institutions of higher learning: The WNC Annual Conference is further subdivided into eight smaller regions, called "districts," which provide further administrative functions for the operation of local churches in cooperation with each other. This structure is vital to Methodism , and is referred to as connectionalism . The districts that comprise
180-614: Is a Methodist denomination within Protestant Christianity subscribing to views that were propounded by the conservative Confessing Movement . The denomination is headquartered in the United States and has a presence internationally. The Global Methodist Church was created as a result of a schism with the United Methodist Church , after members departed to create a denomination seeking to uphold "theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy." Congregations that left
216-560: Is a geographical division. In general, the smaller states in the United States hold one conference each, while larger states often include two or more conferences. Several annual conferences are held in other nations as well. With regard to the membership of Annual Conferences of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection , the 2014 Book of Discipline states: The voting membership of the conference shall include
252-550: Is a list of the episcopal areas and annual conferences of the United Methodist Church and the current Resident Bishops in each Episcopal Area as of 2023. The Western Jurisdiction is also served by the following active and retired bishops that lead other functions within the jurisdiction: Bishops are elected to four-year term and re-elected for life bishops are elected for life Bishops are elected to four-year term and re-elected for life Global Methodist Church The Global Methodist Church ( GM Church, or GMC )
288-460: Is a regional decision-making body within various Methodist denominations . Conferences are a key characteristic of the connexional (connectional) system of government in Methodism. Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge (a charge is one or more churches served by a minister under appointment by the bishop ). Each conference
324-529: Is incompatible with Christian teaching" and that "marriage is only between a man and a woman." Despite the UMC prohibiting the ordination of " 'self-avowed practicing' gay clergy" in its Book of Discipline , one Filipino and more than a hundred progressive American clergy in attendance at the General Conference came out as gay. Two major plans regarding the UMC's position on homosexuality were suggested at
360-489: Is one. The Lay Member must, at the time of election, be a professing member of the United Methodist Church for at least two years and four years an active participant in the church. This requirement may be waived for those under 30 years old in the Central Conferences, and is waived for newly organized churches. The annual conference also consists of a number of "at-large" members, also known as "additional lay members,"
396-605: The COVID-19 pandemic , plans to discuss and formalize the schism, inclusive of the creation of the Global Methodist Church, were delayed until 2022. In August and September of that year, the UMC General Conference was expected to vote on the proposal referred to as the "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation". However, Reverend Keith Boyette, chairman of the Transitional Leadership Council of
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#1732868553077432-479: The Institute on Religion and Democracy for a number of years, promoted what they saw as historic Methodist positions in various General Conferences , Annual Conferences , districts, and local churches. The United Methodist Church, spurred by its global growth, was moving "in a more traditionalist and orthodox direction" as a whole. Every General Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1972 continued to uphold
468-636: The 2019 General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri : the Traditional Plan, which supported the denomination's current stance against same-sex marriage, and the One Church Plan, which called for the loosening of restrictions. Supporters of the Traditional Plan (who were aligned with the traditionalist caucuses), citing the Book of Discipline , succeeded in passing their proposal with a delegate vote of 438 to 384. Prior to
504-515: The April vote, discussion of possible schisms over gay issues had grown following a February special session that recommended the Traditional Plan. In late 2020, two progressively-aligned UMC-originating groups announced their establishment: Liberation Methodist Connexion and The Liberation Project. Despite the passing of the Traditional Plan in the 2019 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, several modernist United Methodist clergy announced
540-576: The GMC will have an episcopacy that will oversee annual conferences. Unlike the UMC, bishops within the GMC will be consecrated to serve for a set term, as opposed to a lifetime role. The role within the UMC of district superintendent will be replaced with that of a presiding elder . At its September 2024 convening general conference in Costa Rica, the GMC approved a constitution in which bishops function as "general superintendents," working collectively to guard
576-624: The Global Methodist Church, published a letter in January 2022 that expressed concern this General Conference would also be delayed. In February 2022, the UMC announced that it was examining again postponing the General Conference. Not wanting to wait for the General Conference to occur, some conservative United Methodist congregations left the United Methodist Church to become a part of the Free Methodist Church . The denomination launched on May 1, 2022. On 6-7 May 2022, leaders and delegates of
612-541: The UMC to form the Global Methodist Church opposed recognition of same-sex marriage and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy. Its doctrines, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology , are contained in the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline , its Book of Discipline , and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church . The church allows both women and men to serve as clergy. As of 2024 ,
648-497: The United Methodist Church regarding issues of human sexuality. Numerous United Methodist Congregations voted to disaffiliate from their UMC Annual Conferences and affiliate with the GMC. Structurally, the GMC remains very similar to the UMC. The annual conference is the primary unit of denominational government. Regional groups of conferences within the United States make up the Jurisdictional Conferences , and outside
684-571: The United States they make up the Central Conferences . The entire group of all annual conferences makes up the General Conference which meets every four years. Only the General Conference can speak officially for the church. The annual conference is composed of an equal number of clergy and laity. Each charge conference elects as many lay members to the annual conference as they have ministers appointed to that charge. In most cases that
720-539: The United States, conferences are grouped into the jurisdictional areas: Outside the United States the church is divided into seven central conferences (similar to US Jurisdictions): Each jurisdiction or Central Conference may comprise Episcopal Areas which are groups of Annual Conferences who share a single bishop. In the US, this is often a precursor to a reorganization or combining of multiple Annual Conferences into one due to churches closing or disaffiliating. The following
756-651: The Wesleyan Covenant Association met in Avon, Indiana . They selected Jay Therrell of Florida as their leader, replacing Keith Boyette of Virginia , who will remain in as a member of the GMC's leadership. Also, they approved core beliefs and policies for the denomination. In September, a group of UMC bishops in Africa suspended cooperation with the Africa Initiative and Wesleyan Covenant Association after accusing
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#1732868553077792-846: The Western North Carolina Conference are: Prior to July 2012, the WNC Annual Conference had 15 districts. Annual Conferences of the United Methodist Church This Methodism -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a church or other Christian place of worship in North Carolina is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Annual conferences within Methodism Christianity • Protestantism An annual conference
828-452: The annual conference will elect any active United Methodist lay person who is interested in holding that position. Among their other duties the annual conference elects delegates to the general, jurisdictional and central conferences, and votes on amendments to the church constitution. Its executive committee, composed of its ordained clergy members, authorizes the ordination of clergy, also disciplines and hold accountable its members. Within
864-624: The church for the GMC and that only individual churches can do so. However, the ruling does not apply to conferences outside the United States. The Romania-Bulgaria Conference had already voted to leave the UMC, and in June the Evangelical Methodist Church in Zagreb, Croatia , joined as a member congregation of the GMC. Four United Methodist conferences in Nigeria voted to leave and were received into
900-595: The church in the intervening period before the next general conference in 2026. The newly appointed bishops—Kimba Everiste of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ; John Pena Auta of Nigeria ; and Leah Hidde-Gregory, Kenneth Levingston, Carolyn Moore, and Jeff Greenway of the United States—joining former United Methodist bishops Scott J. Jones and Mark Webb of the United States and Johnwesley Yohanna of Nigeria in
936-563: The church is composed of nearly 4,500 congregations and a similar number of pastors. Christianity • Protestantism In the United Methodist Church, polarization started to occur between traditionalist Methodist theologians and clerics and those with progressive tendencies. Traditionalist caucuses within the United Methodist Church, such as the Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church , Good News, Concerned Methodists, Transforming Congregations, UM Action, Lifewatch , and
972-724: The districts within the conference, as well as the Conference presidents of the United Methodist Men, United Methodist Women, the young adult organization, the college student organization and the youth fellowship. Also all the diaconal ministers, home missioners and the deaconesses under Episcopal appointment are lay members. When there are multiple congregations in a charge conference, members from each congregation in that charge are encouraged to become at-large members. After all lay members who hold their seat by virtue of office or position are seated and if additional lay members are needed
1008-667: The division has been called. In the Evangelical Wesleyan Church , two annual conferences exist, the Eastern Annual Conference and the Western Annual Conference. It is presided over by a bishop . Annual Conferences in the EWC are invested with the responsibility of reviewing candidates for holy orders . ¶200 of The Book of Discipline of the Free Methodist Church states that: Annual conferences are
1044-528: The doctrine and practice of the whole church instead of being assigned to oversee individual conferences. At each future general conference, scheduled to take place every six years, the GMC's episcopal areas (groups of six to eight annual conferences) will nominate from their areas candidates to serve as bishops for the next six-year period. Following election to a six-year term, bishops are eligible to be elected to one additional term. The convening general conference also elected and consecrated six bishops to serve
1080-532: The following: all elders on the stationed, reserve, and superannuated lists; all conference preachers elected to elders’ orders; all conference preachers serving as pastors of organized Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist churches; lay delegates elected by organized Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist churches as provided in The Discipline. In addition, the annual conference shall include such nonvoting members as The Discipline shall provide. The principle of equal representation of
1116-466: The general superintendency of the GMC. The church also selected Mike Schafer of Texas as its first connectional operations officer, the lead staff member for the denomination, succeeding Keith Boyette, who retired after holding the role on a transitional basis. In May 2022, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church ruled that none of the 51 annual conferences in the United States can leave
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1152-468: The groups of working "to destroy our United Methodist Church" and attempting to raise the Global Methodist Church's profile. By July 2023, the Global Methodist Church reported 3,000 churches had joined the denomination. In September 2024, the GMC held its convening general conference in San José, Costa Rica . The nearly 1,000 delegates overwhelmingly ratified a new constitution and elected a set of bishops for
1188-427: The ministry and laity in the annual conference shall be maintained. In transacting the business of the annual conference the ministers and lay members shall deliberate as one body; but on the final vote on any question, at the call of one-fourth of the members, the house shall divide, and the ministers and lay members shall vote separately; and it shall require a majority vote of each branch to pass any question upon which
1224-470: The normative Free Methodist organization at the regional level that provides for reasonable spans of care for ministers and congregations, as well as the structure for effective kingdom expansion. Each annual conference in the Free Methodist Church shall be a member of a general conference. The Global Methodist Church launched in 2022 following significant differences of opinion and doctrine within
1260-413: The number of at-large members being the number necessary (after the members elected by charge conferences are seated) so that the laity and the clergy are equal in number. First seated among at-large members are lay persons holding certain lay positions or offices designated by the Book of Discipline or by the annual conference itself. Among those officers are the lay leaders of the conference and each of
1296-463: The transitional period until the next general conference in 2026, at which point the denomination will begin holding general conferences every six years. The doctrines of the Global Methodist Church, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology , are contained in its Book of Discipline and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church . Much like both the UMC and Free Methodist Church (FMC) ,
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