We recently attended the Annual gathering of the Detroit Conference. The conference was held at Adrian College from May 20 – 23. This was our first experience there, so we often felt like we were on a learning curve having been introduced to the proceedings with a booklet of several hundred pages, (I’d like to suggest that a digest be included to lead the attendees in use of that information). On a personal note, we were able to reconnect with friends and ministers from previous churches, some that dated back over thirty years  - and that was really nice for us. We would like to give you a report on some of the things that we observed, and the web addresses if you would like to listen to some of the speeches that we heard.

     The theme of the conference was “Wherever the Water Flows … Life Flourishes, Life Abounds” The theme tied in with one of the Four Areas of Focus of The United Methodist Church – “creating new spaces for new people and revitalizing existing congregations.”

     The most significant legislative action taken by the conference was to reduce the number of districts in the conference from seven to six by no later than July 1, 2011. The current district structure in the Detroit Conference has been in place since the 1970s. Since then, the total membership of the conference has reduced by 47 percent, In fact, this last year membership stood at 94,679, down 2,172 from the previous year. Worship attendance stood at 45,099, down 332. Church school attendance stood at 12,523 down 249. Statistics were given in an exciting hour of briefing that revealed the membership changes to be down by about 2%, although giving was up over 2008 by close to $1,000,000 at $91,000,000. A booklet was distributed that contains 48 pages of figures gathered from all of some 480 churches in the Detroit conference. You might be interested to know that the value of church properties increased 3% to $911,000,000.

     Due to the above figures, the main focus of the conference was to further implement the Rethink Church program that was started last year. Since this will involve changes being made in the local churches, the keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., executive director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary, delivered two addresses on implementing change. His first address, “Five Questions for Congregations” started with us answering, “Who we are and what is our commission?” Then, we were to look at who are the people to whom we are reaching. Dr. Weems reminded us that John Wesley was noted for reaching out to everyone. In conjunction, we were to ask, “Who are our neighbors and what are their needs?” Again, Dr. Weems pointed out that John Wesley had a “holistic concern for the well being of God’s creatures – mind, body, and soul.” Then, we were to look at what we thought God’s vision was for us for the near future.

     Dr Weem’s second speech looked at how we can implement changes in our churches. Based on the premise that “we can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are,” Dr. Weems outlined some of the steps for making changes in our local churches. He ended by reminding us that in order for the evolution to occur, we needed to be careful to pace the change and regulate the pain of change. Dr. Weems was able to weave something that is such a serious issue with a sense of humor. If you would like to listen to his speeches in full go to:
http://www.ourchurchvideos.com/48504/detroitconference/audio/12/five-questions-for-congregations-rev.-dr.-lovett and http://www.ourchurchvideos.com/48504/detroitconference/audio/14/only-babies-want-to-be-changed-lovett-weems
(There are links to both of these on our web site.)

     In lieu of school or health kits this year, the conference asked for money to purchase a truck to be used in Liberia. The kits have been much appreciated, but they needed the means to deliver them in the rural areas. The conference raised over $25,000 for the purchase of the delivery truck. They also collected $43,032 from local churches to be split between the Haiti and Liberia Methodist Churches during the four-day session. The Detroit Conference was recognized by the General Board of Global Ministries as the highest contributor to missionaries in the North Central Jurisdiction in 2009.

     Other legislative action taken by the conference was:
a. Petitioning the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits to divest itself of funds that it has invested in corporations whose businesses and products are supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
b. Giving support to changing Michigan’s Ethnic Intimidation Act to extend protections to people such as lesbian, gays, bisexual and transgendered persons who are victims of hate crimes and discrimination.
c. Asking the conference secretary to contact the Mayor of the City of Detroit and other cities as well as county executives to request the Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm declare a state of emergency in Michigan.
d. The issue of reconciliation churches was sent to a committee.

     The debate on these and other issues showed us the diversity that exists in the Methodist Church.

     Bishop Keaton ordained six deacons and eight elders, and commissioned one provisional deacon and three provisional elders during the Service of Ordination and Commissioning. Twenty-two clergy celebrated their retirement during the conference. At the Ordination Service, a number of people came forward to indicate they would like to pursue the ministry.

     As most of you know, our District Superintendent is retiring from that position, and Jeff Maxwell will be replacing her. Rev. Maxwell comes to the position from the Farmington UMC. In talking with him, he said that he had never visited the Gaylord church, and looked forward to meeting us.

     We hope to be able to share more with you about the conference and the plans for the churches within the conference in the coming months. As with other, we celebrate that Rev. Naile and Myrna have been assigned to our church for the next year.