2021 Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference

Our Labor is Not in Vain, based on 1 Corinthians 15:58, was the theme for the 2021 Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. The event was held in two parts: a virtual clergy session on May 3 via Zoom and a hybrid session June 18-19. That session included worship and ordination services, a plenary session and a memorial service with limited in-person attendance streamed live from the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.

During opening worship on June 18, Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi ordained two deacons and 17 elders; commissioned seven provisional elders and five provisional deacons, received one new associate member and recognized the orders of four clergy from other denominations and received them into full clergy membership. They represented the classes of 2020 and 2021.

Conference Lay Leader Sharon Gregory reminded the new clergy that followers of Jesus are a diverse group of people living in many households in different countries across the globe, but as adopted children of God are all part of one big family. Diversity in the church is a gift from God that we have yet to fully unwrap, she said. 

Referencing the apostle Paul calling for unity among communities of faith in Galatians 3:38 and Ephesians 4: 1-6, Gregory emphasized that those in God’s family are called to live in “a way that our oneness in Christ may become real.”

She urged the ordinands to remember that “Jesus is the force which commands us to be in community and to go after those things which will make for peace.”

“The Bible says peace is one of the goals of the kingdom of God,” Gregory said. “Because of this we as Christians should …no, must ... make every effort to do what leads to peace, and work for it, work at it and work through it on all levels of our society.”

Members of the Board of Ordained Ministry, district lay leaders, clergy sponsors and a limited number of family members and guests attended the service, while about 1,000 others watched via livestream.

Moore-Koikoi led an 8 a.m. Bible study on June 19, based on the text from 1 Corinthians 15. She emphasized the importance of looking at Scripture in context to better understand the message. Context, she said, includes: Who is writing it; to whom; why and when — and perhaps the original language.

Plenary Session

Highlights of the plenary session were the Bishop’s State of the Conference Address and a video discussion between Bishop Moore-Koikoi and Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball of West Virginia exploring the possibilities as they share coverage of the Susquehanna Annual Conference, as well as Western Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, until the next jurisdictional conference.

In her State of the Conference Address, Moore-Koikoi acknowledged the significant challenges posed by the pandemic and an unknown future for The United Methodist Church. She pointed out that division and lack of clarity about the future of the church is not new. 

“During the early church, Paul had concern about what was happening with the seeds he had planted. Some of the early followers were concerned about whether or not it was worth continuing to stay on the journey,” she said.  Paul responded by writing, in 1 Corinthians 15:58,   “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

The bishop assured members that despite the challenges, their labor for the Lord has not been in vain. She then cited several examples of effective, innovative and life-sustaining ministries throughout Western Pennsylvania.

Memorial service

Families of some of the 116 clergy and lay members who passed away since the 2019 annual conference attended the 11:30 a.m. conference memorial service, with Moore-Koikoi preaching.

Retirees

The 2021 class of retirees was recognized during the May 3 clergy session. The 29 elders, two associate members and 12 local pastors represent a combined 1,042 years of service.

Legislation

Members of the annual conference voted either online or by mail and approved a motion to suspend the conference rules requiring in-person voting, and approved:

  • A connectional apportionment budget for 2022 of $8.4 million — $141,250 less than the connectional budget for 2021.

  • A slate of nominees for conference boards and committees

  • Items related to the merger of the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of the Susquehanna Conference into the United Methodist Foundation of Western Pennsylvania. The merger was also approved by the Susquehanna Conference and is expected to be finalized later in 2021.

As in 2020, legislative items that could not be acted on by the members of the annual conference were handled by the Connectional Leadership Table at its June meeting.  The items included:

  • Approval of three full-time conference evangelists: the Revs. John and Christine Zimmerman and Brittany Hartman

  • Items related to the minimum salary, housing allowance, pensions and benefits for clergy

  • Designation of special sundays/weekends in the conference.

Details are in chapter seven of 2021 Annual Conference Journal, which is online at www.wpaumc.org/2021journal.

Reports from each of the conference’s five areas of focus were presented on video. See them at www.wpaumc.org/AC-2021-Video-Recap.

Find links to legislation, budgets and other reports at wpaumc.org/AC.

The 2022 Annual Conference is scheduled for June 1-4 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.

Membership stands at 143,768, down 5,393 from the previous year.

-By Jackie Campbell, communications director