What happened Tuesday at Annual Conference?

By Jessica Brodie

Tuesday at South Carolina’s Annual Conference saw much business and holy conferencing, with voting on four amendments to The United Methodist Church constitution and the announcement of a virtual special session of Annual Conference this fall called by the bishop.

Called virtual special session is Oct. 18

Bishop Leonard Fairley has called a special session of Annual Conference this fall to review recommendations from the four Jeremiah Teams.

Set for Oct. 18 at 9 a.m., the Annual Conference Committee has determined the session will be virtual, which Fairley said would be best financially and otherwise.

Their work is ongoing, so the teams’ exact recommendations are not yet known, but the body will be voting on any recommendations the teams bring forward.

“Please pray for us as we continue to press forward in this work,” Fairley said.

The announcement of the special session came after the report of the Ministry Advisory Team, during the four heads of the Jeremiah Teams—the Revs. Millie Nelson Smith (Missional Priorities), James Friday (Strategy for the Black Church and Ethnic Ministries), Cathy Mitchell (District Alignment) and Fairley (Conference Staff Alignment)—gave updates on the work they have done so far, as well as their initial insights.

Fairley said as we begin to live into our current reality, “We have to begin to see with different eyes.”

“I still believe it is possible, somehow, to do more with less,” he said. “I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but I believe that.”

Amendment voting complete

South Carolina United Methodists joined their counterparts around the world Tuesday to vote on regionalization and three other amendments to the denomination’s constitution: expanding gender and disability inclusion in church membership; standing against racism and colonialism; and clarifying requirements for clergy-delegate elections. (See https://advocatesc.org/articles/amendments2025 for a full breakdown of each amendment.)

The language of the amendments cannot be changed. Votes were simple “yes” or “no” votes on four ballots.

The amendments were all passed by the required two-thirds vote at the 2024 General Conference. But because they will change the UMC constitution, they require ratification by at least two-thirds of the total voting members of all the annual conferences combined. (That does not mean a two-thirds vote at each annual conference is needed but rather two-thirds of all 127 annual conferences around the world.)

The results won’t be known until after all annual conferences—in the United States as well as in Europe, Africa and the Philippines—have held a vote. Votes are expected to be finished by October. Then, in November, the Council of Bishops is expected to tally all votes and certify any ratifications.

What else happened Tuesday?

Here is what else happened Tuesday:

Jeremiah Teams: The body heard a report from the Ministry Advisory Team, which has been working since November through Bishop Leonard Fairley’s four Jeremiah Teams to assess and then transform how the conference is structured, how it operates and how it aligns with its stated priorities. The four teams are Missional Priorities, Strategy for the Black Church and Ethnic Ministries, District Alignment and Conference Staff Alignment.
A raise for clergy: Committee on Equitable Compensation requested a 2.5 percent cost of living increase for 2026 to ensure pastors can continue to pay their bills given the large amount of inflation seen in the past few years.
Pension & Health: The Conference Board of Pension & Health Benefits reviewed their changes for the coming year, which impact clergy, deacons, lay employees of the conference and others under conference insurance. Those covered will see an increase in health care costs for this year, going up roughly $100/month in 2026. They also reminded the body they voted to forgive $3.4 million in unpaid direct billing costs for 90 churches. Currently, there 29 in arrears this year for a total of approximately $160,000; 20 of these had their direct bills forgiven in 2024, and of that 20, five have paid nothing toward their bill.
Connecting God's church: Pamela Goodwine Glover and the Rev. Millie Nelson Smith gave the report of Connectional Ministries, lifting up the various ways they work to connect churches and people across the conferences, including the new Connecting Children Cohort (thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment); campus ministries; disaster response and recovery; advocacy work with the General Board of Church and Society; scholarships and grants for ethnic and minority churches; and strengthening lay leadership. At the end of the report, youth delegates gave out stress balls with a message reminding the body what Jesus said: They will know us by our love (John 13:35). T-shirts with the same message are also being distributed, and all were invited to wear their shirts today to symbolize our connection as United Methodists.
Elections: Committee on Nominations elections for the various conference-related boards, councils, committees and agencies were approved.
Scouting ruling and incorporation updates: Kay Crowe gave the Report of the Chancellor, updating the body on her work and sharing that a 96-page ruling from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the Boy Scout bankruptcy case was recently received. The decision may be appealed, but it has affirmed the complete bankruptcy plan, which Crowe called “very good news.” As well, she continue to recommend that local churches incorporate as a South Carolina nonprofit corporation, but she noted that Section 2529 of the Book of Discipline must be complied with in that process. This section requires that the local churches must be organized and operated in compliance with the Book of Discipline and cannot sever the connectional relationship to The United Methodist Church without the consent of the Annual Conference.
Remembering departed saints: The Rev. William F. Malambri preached a memorial service on “In the Presence of God,” celebrating the lives of 52 clergy and spouses who died over the past conference year.

What else has happened so far?

Sunday kicked off with a Commissioning, Ordination and Retirement Recognition Service, while Monday saw a full day of business. Here's everything that happened: https://advocatesc.org/articles/ac2025-update1

Tomorrow’s lineup

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the final day of Annual Conference. In addition to the passage of the budget put forth from the Council on Finance and Administration, the body will finalize the rest of the business of Annual Conference, as well as fix the appointments of ministers for the coming year.