New Conference Area Team sets goals for next two years

Written: 3/12/2008 and "borrowed" from the Troy Conference website

Following the Feb. 12 meeting of the Northeast Jurisdictional Boundaries Task Force, the New Conference Area Team (New CAT) met at the end of February in Cicero, N.Y., to plan the next steps in the move towards uniting Western New York and North Central New York, and all or part of Wyoming and Troy Annual Conferences.

Though it was clear that the Pennsylvania churches of Wyoming Conference and the Vermont churches of Troy Conference are welcome to join the new conference, it's likely that the two annual conferences will be asked to vote on resolutions recommending that the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference divide the two conferences along state lines. The Pennsylvania churches of Wyoming Conference are already planning to join with the Central Pennsylvania Conference. Troy Conference will decide in June whether to request that the Vermont churches of Troy Conference become part of the New England Conference.

The New CAT team identified four areas of work that needed to be done between now and July or September 2010:

• creating a vision for the new conference that emphasizes the mission and ministry of the churches and conference;
• developing relationships between the various constituents of the conferences;
• addressing the administrative and practical details of the merger; and
• establishing goals for the new conference.

While there have been many questions raised about the details and administrative issues involved in uniting four conferences, the team felt that it was important to concentrate on creating a vision that would “verbalize” the excitement, potential and hope that could come out of the creation a new conference.

“As we pull [the groups from four conferences] together, what can we say that guides them in this?” asked the Rev. Holly Nye, Conference Minister in Troy Conference. “What impact do we want to have in the community, in the world, in the dreams of who we can be? How should the presence of United Methodists in upstate New York matter to the world?”

She said she felt that part of the purpose of New CAT was to “dream what's possible for a new conference; the over-arching reasons for become one conference. We're the dream spinners.”

It was proposed that there be a gathering of the committees, boards and commissions from the four conferences in the fall of 2008. According to the Rev. Beth O'Benham, Northern Flow District Superintendent in the North Central New York, the point of the meeting would be for various groups to get acquainted and learn how each conference has been doing things and began planning for the work of building a conference.

The team also discussed being prepared to answer questions raised about the new annual conference by the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference, which will be held July 13 through 18 in Harrisburg, Pa.

The Rev. Steve Deckard, Director of Connectional Ministries in the North Central New York Conference, reported to the New CAT that the Northeast Jurisdiction Vision Table, at its February meeting, approved contributing $200,000 over two years to help the conferences involved cover the costs inherent in the realignment process— including transportation for meetings, legal fees, and consultants. The first $100,000 would be released in 2009, if the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference votes to approve the recommended changes.

The Four-Conference Boundaries Task Force had requested $300,000.

Additional money to cover the cost of boundaries realignment will come from each of the conferences. The four conferences have taken this into consideration in creating proposed 2009 budgets. It is estimated that each conference could be called upon to spend up to $25,000 per year over the next two years as the uniting process unfolds.

“We need to think in new ways,” said O'Benham, responding to the projected costs of shared meetings. “How else can we achieve the same ends? How can we trim traditional costs? How can we [work on these mergers] using creative stewardship practices?”

The New CAT delegated a sub-group to create a profile of the gifts and graces that might be needed by a bishop assigned to the new area. More people will be invited to join the sub group should the need arise. The description of the kinds of leadership hoped for in this new venture could then be shared with all of the Northeast Jurisdictional Delegations to consider when voting for Episcopal candidates.

Bishops are elected at Jurisdictional Conferences. In the Northeast Jurisdiction, Bishops Jane Middleton, president of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Council of Bishops and resident bishop of the Harrisburg, Pa., and Bishop Violet Fisher of the New York West Episcopal Area will be retiring this year. Bishop Susan W. Hassinger of the Albany Episcopal Area has been serving as interim resident bishop after Bishop Susan M. Morrison requested early retirement in 2006.

Normally, that would mean the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference would elect three bishops this year. However, if the creation of the new Annual Conference and Episcopal Area is approved, resulting in the reduction of an Episcopal area in the jurisdiction, the Jurisdictional Conference might only elect two bishops in July. Assignment of bishops will not be announced until the end of the Jurisdictional Conference.

Complications might arise if General Conference mandated that the reduction of episcopacy areas for Sept. 1, 2008. “If something happens that we haven't anticipated,” the Rev. Jan Marsi of Wyoming Conference said, “we'll know by July and we'll have a bit of time to respond.”