Central PA Conference UMMen on Facebook
We now have a group page set up on Facebook. Sign up now and help make our group page the place to find out about all the great activities for men to participate in this area. The page is called United Methodist Men - Central PA Conference.
The Annual Conference of the Central Pennsylvania Conference was held at Messiah College from June 4-6, 2009, with approximately 1,500 clergy, lay members, youth and staff representing almost 900 churches in attendance. The Conference’s Mantra was: Rethink Church; Rethink Conference!
This year’s Theme was Going to Galilee. Going to Galilee reminds us of the message Jesus gave Mary, his mother, and Mary Magdalene, one of the inner circle of followers, on that first Easter morning. He told them to tell his followers, “Go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
We were given the Mission of the CPC – “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World!” In essence, our Journey to Galilee calls the churches to move outside their walls to the far corners of the world.
Speaking of the world, the United Methodist Church is witnessing its greatest membership gains in Africa. Parenthetically, the United States is now the third most important mission field in the world and that tells us all we need to know about faith in America.
We approved a 2010 CPC Budget of $11,649,290. This budget is a 2.3 percent increase over the 2009 spending and seems to adequately fund our administrative and programmatic needs.
The delegates overwhelmingly approved the Vision Team Report presented by members appointed by the Bishops of the CPC and Wyoming Conference to merge our conferences effect July 2010. The new conference will be called the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church. All required merger resolutions and amendments will be considered at a joint unifying meeting on June 12, 2010 to be held at the Williamsport Arts Center.
Four Resolutions were approved. Resolution #1 directs the Conference Board of Pensions to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the health insurance plan offered to the clergy and lay employees could be extended to members of the CPC churches.
Resolution #2 designates that the First Week of October 2009 be celebrated as Mental Illness Awareness Week and that a day of prayer be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 for those who suffer from mental illness, their families, and those professionals who care for them.
Resolution #3 calls upon every CPC congregation to be intentional to study, discuss, use in worship, and make available to their members copies of the “Social Principles of the United Methodist Church 2009-2012.”
Resolution #4 calls upon all congregants to contact their state legislators and the Governor’s Office to voice strong opposition to House Bill #1317, which expands Video Gambling in Pennsylvania.
Thirty-two Amendments to the General Conference’s Constitution approved by the 2008 session of the General Conference held in Fort Worth, Texas required approval by all conferences of the Church.
Many amendments were simple word or phrase changes to various Article of the Book of Discipline. Among them were word changes to allow the General Conference to create similar structures for all of our world-wide church. Each Annual Conference would belong to a Regional Conference, which would be able to organize sub-units called Jurisdictional Conferences.
We also received reports from such groups as Mission Central, The Neighborhood Center, The Preacher’s Aid Society, the Board of Trustees, the United Methodist Home for Children and a heart-felt presentation by several Youth from various churches within the Conference; that got a standing O!
God is Good, All the Time! All the Time, God is Good!
Bill Brandamore