Happy New Year Fairway District Pastors and Lay Leaders!
Our annual conference adopted a Lay Equalization Plan that helps guide the nomination and selection process for at-large lay members to our Annual Conference. This plan calls for the District Superintendent, in partnership with the District Lay Leader, to nominate professing members from within their district as At-Large Members for participation in the NC Annual Conference meeting.
It’s time for the process to begin again. Our District Superintendents and District Lay Leaders will begin this work on January 2, 2022, and will continue throughout the month, concluding on January 31. This plan is intended to bring a diversity of laity to the decision-making process. The election of at-large members aims to include youth, young adults, people of color, and the marginalized.
The District Lay Leaders NEED your help in finding committed and willing hearts to serve as at-large delegates to Annual Conference. At this time, we are not sure if we will meet in person, virtually, or in some blended version. What we do know is that Annual Conference will take place June 15th through June 18th. We are hoping to be face to face in Greenville for 2022.
We are asking both Pastors and Laity to help us seek, encourage, and ultimately send…delegates of every age, gender, and color as we work together for our conference and the glory of our Savior. The Fairway District will be selecting 47 delegates from all nominations received.
To be considered for an at-large nomination, a professing member needs to be within the bounds of their District who meet the disciplinary requirements of being active in the United Methodist Church at least 4 years prior and a professing member in the United Methodist Church at least 2 years prior. Attention will be given to a diversity of ethnicity, age, and gender. The four-year participation and the two-year membership requirements for young persons under thirty years of age may be waived per Paragraph 602.4.a of The Book of Discipline, 2016.
Here is the link for nominations. https://forms.nccumc.org/scripts/lep_nomination.php
Please share this link with anyone who you believe might be interested in serving. You may also submit the nomination yourself if you have spoken with a person who would like to be considered.
Our goal would be to have each congregation submit at least one name for nomination by January 15th. You can absolutely submit more than one! Remember, this is a nomination in additionto the name you have already appointed at your annual charge conference. All nominations will be reviewed by our conference Board of Laity, and at-large delegates will be notified by April 1, 2022.
Thank you in advance for helping us to ensure that our decision-making delegates are as creative and diverse in nature as the God who created us all!
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Together in Service,
Shannon Jones
Fairway District Lay Leader
919-951-9105
shannon.jones@nccumc.org