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July 14, 2016

Bishop-elect Graves Assigned to AWF Conference

The Rev. David Graves has been assigned to the Alabama-West Florida Conference and will serve as its bishop for the next four years. The assignment begins Sept. 1. Senior pastor of Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. in the Holston Annual Conference, Rev. Graves was elected Wednesday afternoon, July 13, on the fourth ballot. “I want to thank you, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, for putting your faith in me,” Rev. Graves said after his election. “So we go forth to win people to Christ, see the unseen, transform lives, and help the United Methodist Church change the world.” Full story here

Retirement Ceremony Recognizes Five Retiring Bishops

The SEJ recognized five retiring Bishops on Thursday evening, July 14. Bishop Paul Leeland read a responsive liturgy as part of the service and Clara Ester, AWF Jurisdictional Delegate, offered a prayer during the service. The following Bishops were recognized:

G. Lindsey Davis, elected 1996 
Larry M. Goodpaster, elected 2000 
B. Michael Watson, elected 2000 
James R. King, elected 2000 
Young Jin Cho, elected 2012.

Memorial Service Remembers Late Bishops and Spouses

The Southeastern Jurisdiction gathered this morning at 10:30am to remember six Bishops and five spouses who died since the last SEJ gathering. Three Bishops remembered served in the Alabama-West Florida Conference: Bishop J. Lloyd Knox (1984-1988); Bishop Charles W. Hancock (1988-1992) and Bishop William W. Morris (1992-2000). Mrs. Mariam Hancock, spouse of Bishop Hancock, was also remembered. Bishop Young Jin Cho of the Virginia Conference preached the sermon, "Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant." Dr. Sam Persons Parkes of Cloverdale UMC served as worship director and Martha Rovira, AWF Director of Hispanic Ministries, provided Spanish translation. 

Bishops release Missional Initiative

The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops on Thursday, July 14 released a missional initiative that was approved and adopted by the delegation.

A Missional Initiative of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference from The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops

The Bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction recognize the unique strengths, characteristics, and challenges of our Episcopal Areas. As leaders of the Church in the SEJ, we see a timely opportunity to increase our strategic thinking and action with regard to our context in the Southeast.  Further, it is our hope to continue to focus on the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. 

In Article V Paragraph 27.1 of the constitution of the 2012 Book of Discipline, the jurisdictions are given responsibility to:
    Promote the evangelistic, educational, missionary, and benevolent interests of the Church and to provide for interests and institutions within their boundaries. 

To that end, the Bishops of the SEJ recommend the following:

Forming a Southeastern Jurisdictional Missional Initiative for the purpose of focusing on the following: 

1.) new forms of church beyond the walls, 
2.) children and poverty, 
3.) unity and human sexuality, 
4.) making disciples,
5.) structure, finance and the future church. 

At the 2017 College of Bishops meeting in January, we will collaborate with the Conference Lay Leaders, the Committee on Episcopacy, and Directors of Connectional Ministries on this initiative. It is our hope that our collaboration will offer input to the commission being formed by the Council of Bishops.  We also will connect this work to the Four Areas of Focus for the United Methodist Church. 

We will assign a bishop and appropriate lay leaders to convene and guide the work of these five initiatives. We hope to then invite every delegate here this week to a gathering which will be held within the next eighteen months where recommendations will be received from the leadership of the Initiative. Expenses will be the responsibility of individual delegates. We encourage each conference to provide scholarships as needed. 

-The Southeastern Jurisdictional College of Bishops

AWF Delegates elected to General Agencies and Jurisdictional Committees

Three AWF delegates have been elected to serve on General Agencies:

  • Robert (Tripp) Gulledge III: General Board of Discipleship
  • Pat Luna: General Board of Church & Society
  • June Jernigan: UM Publishing House

Two AWF Delegates have been elected to serve on Jurisdictional Committees: 

  • Jeremy Pridgeon: SEJ Committee on Coordination and Accountability  
  • Frank Dunnewind: SEJ Council on Finance and Administration 

Click here for the full nominations report.

Go Tell it on The Mountain: SEJ Budget Reduces by Sixty Percent

(Sybil Davidson) - The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference approved a budget of $1,774,000 for the 2017–2020 quadrennium. The budget passed as recommended by the SEJ Committee on Finance and Administration and reflects a 60 percent reduction over the previous budget. Starting the report with song, Jim Allen sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain" before sharing good news from CFA. "This report reflects a faithful commitment to the ministries of the Jurisdiction and is projected to be sufficient for the ongoing operational costs of the Jurisdiction and its committees," explained Allen, chair of the SEJ Committee on Finance and Administration.  It will also provide a cushion should there be a need to fund emerging ministries or a special called session of Jurisdictional Conference. Full story here

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