May 18, 2023
The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church will hold its 2023 Annual Conference session Sunday, June 11-Wednesday, June 14 at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. The Service of Commissioning and Ordination will be held at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church. All services will be live streamed.
This year’s theme is, “When They Prayed” from Acts 4:31 with each day having a specific focus of how Biblical characters prayed.
Sunday, June 11: like Naomi… When we pray blessings on others, God redeems, based on Ruth 1:8.
Monday, June 12: like Nehemiah… When we acknowledge our shortcomings, God rebuilds, based on Nehemiah 1:5.
Tuesday, June 13: like Mary… When we rejoice and give thanks, God reveals, based on Luke 1:46-56.
Wednesday, June 14: like Peter… When we pray boldly, God revives, based on Acts 9:40.
Registration is live and we encourage you to complete this step as soon as possible. Pre-registration is $30 and on-site registration is $40. It is critical that as many lay and clergy members pre register in order to receive your correct voting credentials. Click here to register.
This year's mission offering will go towards new church starts and United Methodist places of worship. Click here to read more about Bishop Graves' task force related to church planting and revitalization. Click here to give.
To see the working agenda, click here. We will begin each day of annual conference with worship and communion. Note that opening worship will begin at 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 11. The clergy and laity sessions will be held in person at 8:00pm.
The 2023 Book of Reports is available online by clicking this link.
We invite all United Methodist choirs to participate in the opening worship mass choir, which will be on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at 6:00pm. Choir members will need to arrive by 4:00pm for warmup. The service will be at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama. Those who wish to participate are asked to register through this link. More here.
This year, we will once again be using VPOLL for our voting platform. It is administered by the same company that ran our electronic voting devices in previous years. This platform was selected to help ensure accurate voting with integrity and accountability while being fiscally responsible. We will once again have a representative from VPOLL helping us onsite and will practice our voting procedure on Monday morning.
Dr. David Saliba, senior pastor at Dothan FUMC, serves as the AWF parliamentarian. He offers some invaluable tips on understanding Robert's Rules of Order in this parliamentarian instructional video. Whether you are a seasoned member to annual conference or this is your first year serving, Dr. Saliba's video will help you prepare for conference.
On March 20, 2023, The United Methodist Church’s top court (The Judicial Council) made a ruling that allows the election of new delegates to the postponed 2020 General Conference that will now take place in 2024. Decision 1472 states, “Annual conferences are permitted to hold elections to fill vacancies in the General Conference delegation due to death, resignations, or otherwise, up to the maximum number of allocated delegates, provided vacancies cannot be filled with reserve delegates.” Those interested in running for lay delegate may complete this online form by May 22, 2023. Click here for form. After this date you must submit a hard copy of this form to a designated person at the annual conference check-in desk no later than one hour before the laity session begins on Sunday, June 11.
Health screenings will be available for active and retired clergy enrolled on the conference active and MedSupp health insurance plans. The screening is a fast-screening and will be held Tuesday, June 13th and Wednesday, June 14th. The screening is not mandatory, but clergy are encouraged to take advantage of the screening. Others not enrolled in the AWF health insurance plan are welcome to complete a health screening on a walk-in basis. Payment for those not enrolled in the AWF health plan is required at the time of screening. More here.
Join us for the spouse's lunch on Tuesday, June 13 at noon in the Ashland Place UMC fellowship hall. Please RSVP to Lee Ann Boykin. Click here for more information.
There are several groups that are independently organizing their gatherings including breakfasts and lunches. Click here to see list. Please contact these groups directly for any questions.
We are seeking youth who live in the Mobile and Baldwin County areas, as well as youth of clergy and lay members to annual conference, to serve as youth pages for the conference. Youth are defined as ages 12-18. If you are interested in serving, please contact celeste@awfumc.org.
We are pleased to recommend several hotels in the Mobile, AL, area. Click here for list.
Volunteers are needed this year including greeters, parking attendants, information desk attendants and ushers. Please complete this form if you are interested in volunteering at conference.
Updates related to annual conference may be found at www.awfumc.org/ac2023. We look forward to seeing you at conference.
