The afternoon plenary session on Thursday, June 6 at the 2018 Annual Conference provided an opportunity to hear reports from the Committee on Nominations, United Methodist Foundation of Indiana, Council on Finance and Administration, Trustees, as well as a chance to approve the Consent Calendar and hear and vote upon resolutions.
As Bishop Trimble called the plenary session to order, the Rev. Dr. Peter Philips brought greetings from Great Britain. Rev. Dr. Peter Phillips led the Digital Theology workshop yesterday, June 6.
As we continued the plenary session, First Lady Racelder Grandberry-Trimble reminded us that words do matter. She offered an opportunity for each of us to reflect upon which words we will choose to use today, tomorrow, and in the days after.
Consent Calendar
Rev. Paul Wagner, Assistant to the Director of Connectional Ministries, presented the consent calendar. The consent calendar includes those items that have no fiscal implications and do not need to be referred to any teams or boards for discussion.
Rev. Wagner made a motion that the consent calendar be accepted and added to this Conference Session’s record. Consent Calendar passed as presented.
Nomination Report
Rev. Ed van Wijk presented the Committee on Nominations report.
“As a Committee on Nominations our task is to help the Indiana Annual Conference find workers in the harvest and send them out. Our process includes filling vacancies between meetings of the Annual Conference, naming workers to committees, reviewing workers’ participation with the help of leaders of committees and wanting to “See All The People,” meaning we are all about inclusivity and diversity,” said van Wijk.
A vote on the Nominations Report will be presented on Friday.
Foundation Report
A report from the United Methodist Foundation of Indiana (UMFI) was presented by UMFI and the Loan & Savings Ministry President, Manet Shettle.
The Loan and Savings Ministry has served Indiana for the past 18 years. While the Loan and Savings Ministry is not a financial institution, it utilizes funds deposited to loan to United Methodist churches and agencies in Indiana, and is funded through interest, as well as fees paid by UMFI borrowers.
Shettle provided a few examples in ways the Foundation has served churches and ministries in Indiana, including helping a church decrease their utility cost by “going green” with solar panels, as well as stories of those blessed by the generous giving of donors and grants managed by the Foundation.
Shettle also presented the Foundation’s Board of Directors to be voted upon and affirmed by the Annual Conference. Vote was approved.
This year, the Foundation added a new fund to address the desire for some of our congregations to have environmentally friendly options. The new Social Values Plus fund includes screens for areas such as alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gambling, firearms, and for-profit prisons as was screens for fossil fuels and the Israeli occupied territories.
Shettle announced the giving of $226,557 to the Minister’s Retirement Fund for Indiana Conference retirees.
To conclude the presentation, Shettle presented the Conference Cane to Rev. Elmer Bosworth. The oldest Elder of the Conference is the steward of the Walking Cane. Rev. Bosworth is 99.
50th Anniversary Celebration: Part 1
Pastor Joseph Boggs presented a short video highlighting the 50th Anniversary of the merger of the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church which happened in 1968.
“The world is our oyster and it’s important that we respond to the call.” – Carolyn Marshall on the 50th anniversary of the Methodist Church/EUB merger #inumc18
Trustee Report
Eight church properties were sold in 2017 – $680,000- to be used for new church ministries
Over the past year, $293,190 was distributed from the Shera Fund to the Miracle Offering for Global Health, The Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Fund and the Sierra Leone Conference students. A video was shown from the Sierra Leone Conference sharing the gratitude of the Sierra Leone Conference students for the gift.
Distribution of Shera Trust earnings of $513,950 were as follows.
- 2019 Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy – $378,360
- Operation Classroom, Taiama Enterprise Academies – $108,540
- Retained Earnings (10%) – $51,395
CF&A Report
Committee on Finance and Administration Report was presented by Mr. Ian Hall, Director of Administration and Financial Service and Rev. Rodney Frieden.
The presentation shared an illustration of how a $100 gift given to the Conference may be utilized and the impact it can have in the life of our Conference .
Mr. Hall presented attendees with the most up-to-date budget information to be reviewed prior to voting. The budget will be voted upon tomorrow, Friday, June 7.
We took time to discuss and vote on two resolutions from 2017. Resolution #1: Our Ministries in Creation Care was discussed on the floor with one speech in favor. The resolution was approved unamended.
Resolution #4: Responding to Anti-Semitism and Recent Acts of Hate was also discussed on the floor with two speeches for and one against. An amendment was made to remove a paragraph that pertained to Israel and Palestine. The amendment did not pass. The original resolution came before the conference and was passed.