An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge (a charge is one or more churches served by a minister under appointment by the bishop). Each conference is a geographical division. In general, the smaller states in the United States hold one conference each, while larger states often include two or more conferences. Several annual conferences are held in other nations as well.
Role and composition
The Annual Conference is the primary unit of denominational government. Regional groups of conferences within the United States make up the Jurisdictional Conferences, and outside the United States they make up the Central Conferences. The entire group of all annual conferences makes up the General Conference which meets every four years. Only the General Conference can speak officially for the church.
The Annual Conference is composed of an equal number of clergy and laity. Each charge conference elects as many lay members to the Annual Conference as they have ministers appointed to that charge. In most cases that is one. The Lay Member must, at the time of election, be a Professing Member of the United Methodist Church for at least two years and four years an active participant in the church. This requirement may be waived for those under 30 years old in the Central Conferences, and is waived for newly organized churches. The Annual Conference also consists of a number of "at-large" members, also known as "additional lay members," the number of at-large members being the number necessary (after the members elected by charge conferences are seated) so that the laity and the clergy are equal in number. First seated among at-large members are lay persons holding certain lay positions or offices designated by the Book of Discipline or by the Annual Conference itself. Among those officers are the lay leaders of the conference and each of the districts within the conference, as well as the Conference presidents of the United Methodist Men, United Methodist Women, the young adult organization, the college student organization and the youth fellowship. Also all the diaconal ministers, home missioners and the deaconesses under Episcopal appointment are lay members. When there are multiple congregations in a charge conference, members from each congregation in that charge are encouraged to become at-large members. After all lay members who hold their seat by virtue of office or position are seated and if additional lay members are needed the Annual Conference will elect any active United Methodist lay person who is interested in holding that position.
Among their other duties the Annual Conference elects delegates to the General, Jurisdictional and Central Conferences, and votes on amendments to the church constitution. Its executive committee, composed of its ordained clergy members, authorizes the ordination of clergy, also disciplines and hold accountable its members.
The following is a list of the Annual Conferences of The United Methodist Church (including the current Resident Bishops in each Episcopal Areas).
The conferences are also grouped into jurisdictions that appoint bishops for conferences within that jurisdiction. These jurisdictions are listed [1] as follows: ([2])
North Central Jurisdiction
Northeastern Jurisdiction
South Central Jurisdiction
Southeastern Jurisdiction
Western Jurisdiction
According to the UMC website [3], the North Central Jurisdiction consists of the following Annual conferences:
Dakotas Conference—Bishop Bruce R. Ough [4]
Minnesota Conference - Bishop Bruce R. Ough [5]
Detroit Conference—Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey (Michigan) [6] [7]
East Ohio Conference—Bishop John L. Hopkins [8]
Indiana Conference—Bishop Michael J. Coyner [9]
Northern Illinois Conference—Bishop Sally Dyck (Chicago) [10] [11] [12]
Illinois Great Rivers Conference [13]—Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton (Illinois)[14]
Iowa Conference—Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble (Iowa) [15]
West Michigan Annual Conference—Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey [16] [17]
West Ohio Conference—Bishop Gregory V. Palmer [18]
Wisconsin Conference—Bishop Hee-Soo Jung [19] [20]
"New Michigan Area Conference" (To be established no later than January 1, 2019)—Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey [21] [22]
According to its website [23], the Northeastern Jurisdiction consists of the following Annual conferences:
Baltimore-Washington Conference—Bishop Marcus Matthews (Washington) [24]
Susquehanna Conference—Bishop Jeremiah Park (Harrisburg) [25]
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference—Bishop Peggy Johnson (Philadelphia) www.epaumc.org
Greater New Jersey Conference—Bishop John Schol [26]
New England Annual Conference—Bishop Peter Weaver (Boston Area) [27]
New York Annual Conference—Bishop Jane Allen Middleton (Interim) (New York)[28]
Upper New York Annual Conference—Bishop Mark Webb [29]
Peninsula-Delaware Conference— Bishop Peggy Johnson [30]
West Virginia Annual Conference—Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball [31]
Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference—Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton (Pittsburgh) [32]
According to its website, [33] The Southeastern Jurisdiction consists of the following Annual Conferences:
Alabama - West Florida Annual Conference—Bishop David Graves (Alabama West-Florida)
Florida Annual Conference—Bishop Kenneth Carter (Florida) [34]
Holston Conference—Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor (Knoxville) [35]
Kentucky Conference—Bishop Leonard Fairley (Louisville) [36] also Bishop of the Red Bird Missionary Conference.
Memphis—Bishop William T. McAlilly [37] also Bishop of the Tennessee Conference.
Mississippi Annual Conference—Bishop James E. Swanson (Mississippi)[38]
North Alabama Conference—Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett(Birmingham) [39]
North Carolina Conference—Bishop Hope Morgan Ward (Raleigh) [40]
North Georgia Conference—Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson [41]
Red Bird Missionary — Bishop Leonard Fairley (Louisville)
South Carolina Conference—Bishop Jonathan Holston (Columbia) [42]
South Georgia Conference—Bishop Lawson Bryan (South Georgia)
Tennessee Conference—Bishop William T. McAlilly (Nashville) [43]
Virginia Conference—Bishop Sharma Lewis (Virginia)[44]
Western North Carolina Conference—Bishop Paul Leeland (Charlotte) [45]
According to its website [46], the South Central Jurisdiction consists of the following Annual conferences:
Central Texas Conference—Bishop J. Mike Lowry [47]
Great Plains Conference—Bishop Scott J. Jones (Kansas/Nebraska) [48]
Louisiana Conference—Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey (Louisiana Area) [49]
Missouri Conference—Bishop Robert C. Schnase (Missouri) [50]
Arkansas Conference—Bishop Gary Mueller (Little Rock) [51]
New Mexico Conference—Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe (Northwest Texas/New Mexico) [52]
North Texas Conference—Bishop Mike McKee(Dallas) [53]
Northwest Texas Conference—Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe (Northwest Texas/New Mexico) [54]
Oklahoma-Indian Missionary Conference—Bishop Robert Hayes, Jr. [55]
Oklahoma Conference—Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr. [56]
Rio Grande Conference—Bishop Jim Dorff (San Antonio) [57]
Southwest Texas Conference—Bishop Jim Dorff (San Antonio) [58]
Texas Conference—Bishop Janice Riggle Huie (Houston) [59]
According to its website [60], the "Western Jurisdiction" of the UMC consists of the following conferences:
Alaska Conference—(Seattle) Bishop Elaine Stanovsky [61]
California-Nevada Conference—Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño (Sacramento) [62]
California Pacific Conference—Bishop Grant J. Hagiya (Pasadena) [63]
Desert Southwest Conference—Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata (Phoenix) [64]
Oregon-Idaho Conference— Bishop Elaine Stanovsky (Portland) [65]
Pacific Northwest Conference— Bishop Elaine Stanovsky (Seattle) [66]
Rocky Mountain Conference—Bishop Karen Oliveto (Denver)
Yellowstone Conference—Bishop Karen Oliveto (Denver)
Outside the United States the church is divided into seven Central Conferences in three continents:
Africa Central Conference
Congo Central Conference
West Africa Central Conference
Central and Southern Europe Central Conference
Germany Central Conference
Northern Europe Central Conference
Philippines Central Conference
Eastern Angola Episcopal Area : Bishop Jose Quipungo
Eastern Angola Annual Conference
East Africa Episcopal Area : Bishop Daniel A. Wandabula
East Africa Annual Conference (includes Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda)
Mozambique Episcopal Area : Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala
Mozambique North Annual Conference
Mozambique South Annual Conference
South Africa Provisional conference
Western Angola Episcopal Area : Bishop Gaspar João Domingos
Western Angola Annual Conference
Zimbabwe Episcopal Area : Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa
East Zimbabwe Annual Conference
West Zimbabwe Annual Conference
Central Congo Episcopal Area :Bishop David Kekumba Yemba
Central Congo Annual Conference
East Congo Annual Conference (Previously Northeast Congo)
Kasai Provisional Annual Conference
Kivu Provisional Annual Conference
Oriental and Equator Annual Conference (Previously Upper Congo & Equator)
West Congo Annual Conference
North Katanga Episcopal Area : Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo
North Katanga Annual Conference
Tanganyika/Tanzania Annual Conference
South Congo Episcopal Area : Bishop Kainda Katembo
Lukoshi Annual Conference
North-West Katanga Annual Conference
South Congo Annual Conference
South-West Katanga Annual Conference
Liberia Episcopal Area: Bishop John Innis
Liberia Annual Conference
Nigeria Episcopal Area Bishop John Wesley Yohanna
Souther Nigeria Annual Conference
Central Nigeria Annual Conference
Northern Nigeria Annual Conference
Sierra Leone Episcopal Area: Bishop John Yambasu
Sierra Leone Annual Conference
Cote d'Ivoire Episcopal Area: Bishop Benjamin Boni
Côte d'Ivoire Annual Conference
Central and Southern Europe Central Conference
Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area: Bishop Patrick Streiff [67]
Austria Provisional Annual Conference
Bulgaria Provisional Annual Conference
Czech and Slovak Republics Annual Conference
Hungary Provisional Annual Conference
Poland Annual Conference
Serbia-Montenegro/Republic of Macedonia Provisional Annual Conference
Switzerland-France Annual Conference (includes Algeria District)
Germany Episcopal Area: Bishop Rosemarie Wenner [68]
Germany East Annual Conference
Germany North Annual Conference
Germany South Annual Conference
Eurasia Episcopal Area: Bishop Eduard Khegay ([69])
Central Russia Annual Conference
Eastern Russia and Central Asia Annual Conference
Northwest Russia Provisional Annual Conference
Southern Russia Annual Conference
Ukraine and Moldova Annual Conference
Nordic and Baltic Episcopal Area : Bishop Christian Alsted [70]
Denmark Annual Conference
Estonia Annual Conference
Finland-Finnish Provisional Annual Conference
Finland-Swedish Provisional Annual Conference
Norway Annual Conference
Sweden Annual Conference
Baguio Episcopal Area: Pedro M. Torio Jr.
Central Luzon Philippines Annual Conference
North Central Philippines Annual Conference
Northeast Philippines Annual Conference
Northern Philippines Annual Conference
Northwest Philippines Annual Conference
Pangasinan Philippines Annual Conference
Tarlac Philippines Annual Conference
Northeast Luzon Philippines Annual Conference
Davao Episcopal Area: Bishop Cery Francisco
East Mindanao Philippines Annual Conference
Mindanao Philippines Annual Conference
Northwest Mindanao Philippines Annual Conference
Southwest Philippines Annual Conference
Palawan Philippines Annual Conference
Visayas Philippines Annual Conference
Manila Episcopal Area : Bishop Rudy A. Juan
Bicol Philippines Provisional Annual Conference
Bulacan Philippines Annual Conference
Middle Philippines Annual Conference
Philippines Annual Conference
Quezon City Philippines Annual Conference - East
Rizal Philippines Annual Conference - East
Southern Tagalog Provisional Philippines Annual Conference - East
Pampango Philippines Annual Conference
West Middle Philippines Annual Conference