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If you have links to Annual Conference Reports that may be of interest, it would be greatly appreciated if you would please send the link to:  nicvoice@nicvoice.org. 

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Judicial Council to Meet Oct. 27-29

The Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church will conduct its Fall 2004 meeting October 27-29 in Philadelphia... Read More 

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Newscope OnLine:

The United Methodist Publishing House is a publisher and distributor to Christian clergy and laity, with primary responsibilities for the publishing and distribution for The United Methodist Church. We operate under the direction and control of the thirty-eight-member Board of The United Methodist Publishing House. Thirty of the members are elected by the church’s five jurisdictional conferences, two are selected by the United Methodist Council of Bishops, and five are chosen by the Board itself.

The Publishing House is a fully self-supporting agency. We supplement the United Methodist clergy pension fund through annual contributions from net revenue. Since 1941, the clergy pension fund has received more than thirty-seven million dollars from the Publishing House and its Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren predecessors.

Newscope Coverage of Annual Conference – The following issues contain NEWSCOPE coverage of annual conferences around the UMC.  According to NEWSCOPE, “Numbers reported in NEWSCOPE are un-audited and are supplied by conference communications staff or other reporters.

Volume: 32, Number: 35 Date: 8/20/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 34 Date: 8/12/2004 (the title is dated by NEWSCOPE August 12, it is the August 13 edition (see following excerpt below on attendance)

Volume: 32, Number: 32 Date: 7/30/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 30 Date: 7/16/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 29 Date: 7/9/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 28 Date: 7/2/2004 (Northern Illinois Annual Conference summary is in this publication; text follows):

Northern Illinois Annual Conference met June 10–12 in St. Charles, Ill., to worship, dialogue, approve

legislation, celebrate mission and ministry, and say farewell to Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, who is retiring

Aug. 31 after eight years as the conference’s episcopal leader. Zan Holmes, retired senior pastor of

St. Luke Community UMC in Dallas, Texas, preached at the opening worship service for the session. In

compliance with a resolution passed last year, conference members spent one fifth of the session in

small-group dialogues designed to encourage more and better discussion about relevant issues.

In legislative business, conference members voted to: 1) adopt the statement of unity approved at

General Conference; 2) approve a resolution condemning the U.S. military action in Iraq and calling

on the U.S. government to plan an orderly transfer of power to legitimate Iraqi leadership under

U.N. security arrangements, to plan an orderly withdrawal of all U.S. forces, to end the privatization

of Iraqi oil and allow a sovereign Iraq to make all decisions about its national resources, to

apologize for violations of the Geneva Convention, to offer a multi-billion-dollar no-strings attached

humanitarian and economic aid package to Iraq, and to resume efforts to defend our

nation “within the bounds of our own Bill of Rights and stated values”; 3) boycott Taco Bell in support

of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers migrant farm workers; 4) urge President George W.

Bush to sign the Landmine Ban Treaty and encourage members of Northern Illinois churches to

write members of Congress urging them to work toward the signing and ratification of the treaty;

and 5) oppose the Medicare Prescription Bill recently passed by Congress and signed by Bush and

support Governor Rod Blagojevich’s attempts to decrease the cost of prescription drugs by implementing

a plan to obtain prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.

A resolution to boycott Wal-Mart was referred back to the conference board of church and society so

it could be rewritten in a form that complies with the Discipline and resubmitted at the special session

of Northern Illinois Conference scheduled for Nov. 6. Conference members contributed more

than 1,024 pounds of health kits, school kits, and baby kits to be delivered to Church World Service

to help relieve suffering in the United States and around the world. Bishop Sprague ordained eight

elders and four deacons and commissioned 11 probationary members (eight, elder track; three, deacon

track). The orders of three elders and one probationary member from other denominations were

recognized. Certificates were presented to 15 newly licensed local pastors, and six lay missioners

and pastor mentors of the National Hispanic Plan were commissioned. The conference also celebrated

the ministries of ten clergy retiring from active ministry this year and closed the conference

with a banquet honoring Bishop Sprague and his wife, Diane. Membership stands at 114,151, down

1,812 from the previous year. Worship attendance stands at 45,606, down 2,093. — Linda S. Rhodes

Volume: 32, Number: 26 Date: 6/25/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 25 Date: 6/18/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 24 Date: 6/11/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 23 Date: 6/4/2004

Volume: 32, Number: 22 Date: 5/28/2004

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UM Worship and Attendance Figures Continue to Drop - August 13, 2004 Newscope

From the Aug. 13 edition (click here for report)

UM Worship and Attendance Figures Continue to Drop  

Based on reports submitted by conference communicators and other reporters, the UMC in the United States is continuing its slow decline in membership and worship attendance. With 62 of 63 conferences reporting, membership at the end of 2003 has declined by approximately 60,000 persons, or 0.7%, from the year before. Average attendance at the principal worship service declined by about 60,000 persons, or 2% (61 conferences reporting). Numbers were provided by reporters in their annual conference reports printed in NEWSCOPE and are un-audited. Fifteen conferences reported a growth in membership, with North Georgia Conference reporting a 1.64% increase, or 5,399 persons, though worship attendance within the conference declined by 0.05%. No other annual conference reported a membership growth of more than one percent.

The largest percentage decline in membership (6.05% or 3,895 persons) was reported by the Wyoming Conference, covering parts of New York and Pennsylvania, though it reported no change in attendance. No other annual conference reported a decline in membership greater than 3%. In order of total membership, the top three conferences are Virginia (342,106), North Georgia (333,664), and Florida (329,018). However, Florida reported the largest worship attendance (161,375). West Ohio, with a 6,767-member drop to 243,888, slipped a notch to seventh in membership, behind Oklahoma (248,364). Kansas East Conference did not report membership or attendance information, while Tennessee Conference did not provide attendance statistics.

Only one annual conference reported both an increase in membership and an increase in worship attendance. The Mississippi Conference reported a 0.25%, or 483-person, increase in membership and a 0.57%, or 439-person, increase in attendance. Six other conferences reported an increase in worship attendance. West Ohio had the largest increase, with 2.34%, or 2,887 persons. The only other conferences to report an attendance growth greater than one percent were Peninsula-Delaware (1.61%) and Desert Southwest (1.52%, based on the 2002 figure reported in the General Minutes).

The other conferences reporting attendance growth in order of percentage were Mississippi, Pacific Northwest, North Alabama, and South Georgia. The largest decline in attendance was reported by the New York Conference. The 15.58%, or 6,428-person, decrease in 2003 follows a 6.3%, or 2,653-person, growth in attendance during 2002, as reported in the General Minutes. New York did report a membership growth in 2003 of 802 persons, or 0.62%. Four other conferences reported a decrease of attendance greater than 5%: Red Bird Missionary, 7.78%; Rocky Mountain, 6.27%; East Ohio, 6.13%; and Nebraska, 5.40%.

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