Annual Conference Council prepares for 2004 Annual Conference.

The Annual Conference Council met March 16-17 in Elgin, Ill., discussing a conversation hour to take place at the 2004 Annual Conference and business items for the conference.

Lerry Fogle, executive director of Annual Conference, and Chris Bowman, conference moderator, reported on preparations for the 2004 conference. The group discussed the structure and framework for a conversation hour with the council, scheduled for 9-10 p.m. July 4. The event is part of the council's response to an assignment from the 2003 conference. "The council calls this ‘an initial conversation to facilitate discussion around the broad questions in the (Michigan) query to clarify confusion, specifically those of a theological and structural nature,’" according to a report by Fred Swartz, conference secretary. The query asked for clarification of a 2002 conference action on licensing and ordination of ministers.

A revised mandate for the next Review and Evaluation Committee will be presented to Standing Committee this year, calling for review and evaluation of total denominational structure and program. Previous mandates for Review and Evaluation Committees, which were initiated in 1968 and scheduled to occur in regular ten-year cycles, were to review only the General Board. The next cycle begins in 2005.

The council also adopted a policy for filling unexpired terms in conference-elected positions, first calling people who were nominated but not elected. The full text of the policy will be sent to Church of the Brethren agency executives for approval before it is sent to Standing Committee this year. The group also looked at next steps in assembling and publishing an updated manual of organization and polity. Swartz reported that the council anticipates that a finished manual will not be published until after the next Review and Evaluation Committee report in 2007. Setting next steps in an ongoing strategic planning process for Annual Conference, the council also plans to introduce a statement of purpose, a vision statement, and a list of core values to Standing Committee this year.

In other business, the council will pursue the possibility of having a consultation on ministry with the Council of District Executives and the General Board's Office of Ministry to evaluate policies and procedures used in the calling and credentialing of ministers; received a report from the Inter-Agency Forum and noted with appreciation a concerted tone of cooperation and coordination among Church of the Brethren agencies and executives; responded to letters appealing conference actions or policies of the Program and Arrangements Committee; and heard a report from Bowman on his recent trip to India.

It was the final regular meeting for two of the council's original members: Sandy Bosserman, the elected district executive on the council, and Harriet Finney, the 2003 conference moderator. Finney's position spanned her three years as moderator-elect, moderator, and immediate past moderator. Bosserman, district executive for Missouri/Arkansas, is resigning with a year remaining on her term, citing increased family and district responsibilities. Annual Conference delegates will name her successor. The council expressed appreciation to Bosserman and Finney for their contributions over the past three years.

Source: Newsline 4/16/2004 top