At a special called session on Sunday, May 21, 2023, South Georgia United Methodist clergy and laity will meet online to complete the process of ratifying the current requests for disaffiliation of local churches who have met the requirements outlined in ¶2553 of the Book of Discipline and who have met the published South Georgia Conference deadlines. The session will take place at 4 pm via Zoom. A live stream link will be available on the conference website, www.sgaumc.org, for guests who would like to watch.
On Monday, May 1, conference leadership released the resolution that conference members will be voting on. 193 churches are requesting to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church.
“While there may be grief and sadness in reading the names of these churches, we acknowledge all of the ways they have shared the good news of a risen Savior as part of our United Methodist Church family,” said Bishop Graves in a video to South Georgia United Methodists. “There is so much strength in our connection and in our relationships. For those who remain a part of this great Annual Conference it is this connection and these relationships that we will lean into in the days ahead.
“I have great hope for the future of the South Georgia Conference. While we may be smaller, numbers do not tell the full story or define our ability to bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. I believe we will be stronger as we focus on reaching new people with the gospel message,” said Bishop Graves.
A Zoom meeting link and voting credentials will be issued to voting members on Monday, May 15. It is anticipated that the meeting will last approximately two hours. The agenda for the meeting is as follows: