“Charge Conference”
In October, there will be a very important church event. It happens annually for every United Methodist Church. It is a “Charge Conference (or Church Conference).” Charge Conference is an annual meeting in which church leaders and the district superintendent review the business and mission of the local church. At the conference, we review the previous year of ministry, checkup on essential church business, and affirm ministerial goals for the coming year. The Book of Discipline of UMC explains the Charge Conference as follow:
“The Charge Conference shall be the connecting link between the local church and the general church (¶ 247) The primary responsibilities of the Charge Conference in the annual meeting shall be to review and evaluate the total mission and ministry of the church, receive reports, and adopt objectives and goals recommended by the church council that are in keeping with the objectives of the United Methodist Church (¶ 247.3).”
For this annual event, all of our church leaders have a busy time scheduling their committees and preparing their reports reviewing what we’ve accomplished since our October 2022 Conference. Trustee committee reports on the condition of the church property. SPRC (Staff-Parish Relations Committee) reviews our ministry and mission we did in the previous year and discusses what we must do in the next year. The Nomination committee fills all church leadership positions for our church. The financial committee produces the financial reports and suggests the budget for the next year. Worship, Sunday School, Mission Committee etc. also review what they did and what they’ve focused on and offer their goals for next year. This is what we are doing for our Charge Conference.
Are they duties for only a few in our church leadership? What we must remember is that the things we are doing for the Charge conference are not only for our church leaders, but also for all of our church members. This is because we are the church. We worship God together in the church. We learn how to live as a Christian in the church. We serve the world from the church. We are the body of Jesus Christ through the church. Therefore, the Charge Conference is not the event for only a few to prepare and join in, but a holy gathering in which all of our church family gather and confirm who we are, where we go, and what we do.
Our Charge Conference this year will be held in-person at Hamden Plains UMC on Sunday, October 22nd, at 3pm together with our Cooperative Parish churches. Also, our District Superintendent, Rev. Alpher Sylvester, will visit our church to talk with us regarding our ministry and mission, in-person and on zoom, on Thursday, October 26th, at 7:30pm. I hope all our church family will come to this special annual event and play a role as an essential part of our church. Amen.
First & Wesley United Methodist Church
Pastor Jinha Choi