News Archives

Troy Annual Conference
May 10-13, 2006, Burlington, Vt.

“Take Nothing for the Journey” was the theme of the 174th Troy Annual Conference session of the United Methodist Church, held at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington. The conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of the granting of full clergy rights for women, and live performances and video interviews scattered throughout the session commemorated the anniversary.

The session opened on the evening of May 10 with a Memorial Service and Communion. Before the opening of the plenary session the next morning, Bishop Susan Morrison took a moment to talk about her decision to retire at the end of August.

“In a time when our church and our culture tell us to model wellness, I’m not doing a very good job of it,” she said.

Conference members approved a $1.99 million administrative budget and set the apportionment rate for 2007. The $733,938 benevolence budget was also approved, with $338,738 or 46.15 percent, going to World Service, and $395,200, or 53.85 percent, going to conference benevolences. Reserves will be used to cover the shortfall resulting from the decline in apportionment receipts in 2005.

Six petitions to General Conference calling for changes in the Book of Discipline’s paragraphs on human sexuality were tabled, and another five petitions, all dealing with inclusiveness issues, gay marriage, human sexuality and broader equal rights, were approved. A resolution calling for a one-time stipend of $1,500 for the conference archivist was defeated. Members also approved a petition proclaiming that “September is Open House Month in Troy Conference” and a resolution to form a Young Adult Ministries Task.

Robert Jaccard of North Thetford Federated Church in Vermont, and Myron and Wanda Ducharme of First United Methodist Church in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., received the lay and clergy Denman Award, respectively; Gary Geiger of Scotia United Methodist Church in New York received the Peace with Justice Award; Jean Watkins and First United Methodist Church, Northville, N.Y., were presented with the Small Membership Church Award; and Wanda Locke and David Orr received camping awards. Mary Lu Bowen of the New York State Council of Churches presented Bishop Morrison with an award for her work and ministry in ecumenism.

The Rev. Henry Frueh, chair of the Troy Conference Boundaries Committee, told members that representatives from four conferences — North Central New York, Troy, Western New York and Wyoming — had been meeting to explore the possibility of uniting some or all of the conferences. The joint committee will present its findings and recommendations at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference to be held in July 2008 in Harrisburg, Pa.

Theologian Marjorie Suchocki, dean emeritus of the School of Theology in Claremont, Calif., was the keynote speaker for the session. In three separate addresses, she challenged delegates to consider what journey means, spiritually and historically.

Special guests attending the Conference Session included Angela Lockman deMacedo, a representative of the Northeast Brazilian bishop; Jorge Domingues, assistant general secretary of the Board of Global Ministries; the Rev. John Yambasu, a United Methodist missionary from Accra, Ghana; and Claflin University (S.C.) graduate Roberta White, who spoke on behalf of the Black College Fund. Bishop Marisa Coutinho of the Methodist Church of Brazil was unable to attend the session, canceling her trip after her mother was seriously injured in a car accident.

Thirteen retiring pastors’ ministries were celebrated May 11, and the conference unofficially said goodbye to Bishop Morrison on May 12. Lay Leader Ilah Sisson Walser presented the bishop with a gift of nearly $5,000, which will endow a scholarship fund for Mozambique clergy women and help support the People’s Central Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Rev. Sarah “Sally” Chase White was ordained an elder, and Yohang Chun, Rebecca Clark, Pam Mikel Hayes and Esther Lee were commissioned probationary members on May 13. An ordination offering raised $2,642.63 for the People’s Central Institute in Rio de Janeiro.

In a recent report from the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration, the agency reported that the Troy Annual Conference had sustained a 17.6 percent decline in worship attendance. According to the statistics provided to the GCFA, that number was accurate. Unfortunately, neither the GCFA nor those who reported the decline made note of the fact that about one-fifth of the conference’s churches had failed to report the statistical information needed.

The 2004 report to the GCFA, which has to be filed by early May, reported information that did not include information from 12 to 16 percent of the churches in the Adirondack District, 12 to 16 percent of churches in the Albany District, 9 to 14 percent in Embury District, and 16 to 17 percent in Green Mountain. “That means that out of a total of 303 churches, 49 or 16.2 percent failed to report their vital statistical information," said Elaine Jones, Troy Conference statistician. “While the interpolation of these two figures—17.39 percent decrease and 16.2 percent failure to report—is interestingly similar, it should be noted that in some cases the churches failing to report had not reported for several years.

The figures filed with the GCFA for 2005 indicates that last year worship attendance were actually up by 2,943, or 19.4 percent [over 2004's figures], "an increase that not only covers the lost year [2004] but betters it by 2 percent," Jones said.

Membership stands at 61,229, up 8,024 from 2005. Worship attendance stands at 18,099, up 5,517. Church school attendance stands at 5,116, up 322 over 2005.