Dr. Christine Dodson shared a report about the upcoming Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference (SEJ) set for July 2024 at Lake Junaluska. Since there will be no episcopal elections, the NC Annual Conference did not need to put forth an episcopal candidate this year.
Dodson gave an overview of the work that will be done at SEJ which will include approving business reports and the budget, setting episcopal areas and leaders, and engaging in small-group dialogue to deepen our connection. The live stream of SEJ conference will be available at sejumc.org/sejumc2024. On Thursday, July 11, NC Conference Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton is scheduled to preside over the plenary session.
The faithful, dedicated North Carolina Conference delegates to Jurisdictional Conference have remained intact since their election in 2019. Although annual conferences do have the option to elect delegates to fill empty seats, the NC Conference has a full slate of clergy delegates with three reserves and a full slate of lay delegates.
Since the denomination is now back on schedule after the General Conference postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NC Conference will elect a new delegation at an upcoming Annual Conference meeting in accordance with the new NC Conference rules and The Book of Discipline.