Dear Friends:
Grace and peace from Jesus Christ.
You are receiving this letter because you are a member of the NC Annual Conference, either lay or clergy. You are therefore invited to attend the Special Called Session of the Conference to be held on Saturday, November 19, 2022, beginning at 10:00 am in Huff Concert Hall at Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC. The called session has previously been announced by Bishop Fairley; he is calling it to deal solely with the question of ratifying the disaffiliation agreements of the various churches in the NC Conference that have requested disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church. No other business is allowed per The Book of Discipline.
All clergy are members of the Annual Conference. Lay members are those who were elected to serve as lay members of Annual Conference for 2022 (or the elected alternate for the elected lay member if the elected lay member is unable to attend).
Methodist University is a gracious host, and we thank them for their hospitality. However, there is limited parking, so carpooling will be helpful. The University asks that we help them with security, so please keep the parking permit you receive in the mail and put it on your dashboard as you approach the Welcome Center at the entrance to the University; using the permit establishes you as a member of the Annual Conference. If you are not the lay member who will attend to represent your church or charge, please make certain that you give your alternate the permit to use so that they can readily enter MU’s campus.
Registration starts at 8:30 am. There is sufficient seating for all the voting Conference members. It is possible that any guests or visitors will have to stand as is often the case at sessions of the Annual Conference. The Session will be livestreamed, so watching from home is a ready option for those who will not vote at Annual Conference. We anticipate that the Special Session will not last past noon. Childcare for a limited number of children is available thanks to St. Andrews UMC, immediately adjacent to the University.
You can find the agenda, a pre-Special Session briefing video, and the Conference Board of Trustees report, including a list of churches asking for disaffiliation, on the NC Conference website at nccumc.org/scac2022.
I look forward to seeing you on November 19. Please keep the NC Conference and our ministries in your prayers as we honor the Lord and go forward as Bishop Fairley calls on us to do in his letter.
In Christ,
H. Gray Southern
NCC Secretary