As the Iowa Annual Conference transitions from eight districts to five, the districts will be renamed to honor the legacy of the Iowa United Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Camp and Retreat Centers. The discernment of the new district names began in March 2020, and a small task force was officially named by the Bishop in March 2021. The ...
Four Conversations on Local Church and Conference Finances were held via livestream the last two weekends. About 365 people tuned in total on Vimeo and Facebook Live and questions were answered after the presentation. As a follow up, a Q&A list has been created and the full presentation is available for download to share with your local churches. ...
The Reimagining the Conference Connectional Ministries Council (CCMC) Task Force team, formed by Bishop Laurie Haller in her Vision 2032 Address to position the Iowa Annual Conference CCMC for more effective ministry and outreach, continues its work and will report its final proposal to the Bishop’s Operational Team on April 1, 2021. Because the ...
On January 23, 2021, the Circuit Transition Team hosted the third set of circuit development meetings for the leaders of the pilots. The Purpose of Circuit Ministry is to develop a circuit of missionally effective clergy and laity leading together in partnership through: Leadership Multiplication Missional Accountability & Oversight “We’re...
All clergy and laypersons in the Iowa Conference are invited to Bishop Laurie’s Epiphany Address: Watching Over One Another in Love, Livestreamed on Monday evening, January 4, 2021, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The address will be recorded for future viewing. The address is based upon the Gospel Lesson for the Epiphany of Jesus Christ, Matthew 2:1-12. ...
Over the past several years, we have been discerning a new future for The United Methodist Church in Iowa. In order to better address the adaptive challenges of the Iowa Annual Conference and our call to reach out to our communities with grace and hope, we have been developing a significant structural realignment of resources, both human and ...
Bishop Laurie Haller has announced that Rev. Melissa Drake will become one of the Superintendents effective July 1, 2020. She will serve the southwest region, which comprises the current Southwest District and some adjacent areas of the current Northwest District. Rev. Drake will follow Rev. Terra Amundson, who concludes her tenure on the ...
In response to a changing world, the Iowa Annual Conference is in the process of going through some major structural shifts right now. One of the biggest changes in the works is the adoption of a circuit model that is designed to bring clergy and lay leaders together for missional accountability and to provide a sense of connection between each ...
The Vision 2032 conversations in January were well attended across the Conference. Many thanks to the host churches and pastors and for everyone’s engagement. Specific proposals based upon the conversations held last fall were presented during the January conversations. These proposal may become action items for this year’s Annual Conference ...
"We encourage every local pastor, lay person and member to attend one of the conversations this weekend. What we are talking about will impact the church right now and in the very near future." After considering all suggestions from the first round of the Vision 2032 series last fall, the Bishop's Operational Team has proposed that a few changes be...
The last weekend of Vision 2032 Part II meetings are happening January 25-26 in five different districts. Please make time to attend one of the sessions as some of the proposals we heard from you during Part I will take effect as early as 2020-2021. We need your input moving forward to better shape the future of the Iowa Conference. Please note: ...
You are invited to Vision 2032 II a follow-up conversation on what was heard during the Fall of 2019 at Vision 2032: All In Visioning Sessions with Bishop Laurie. It will begin with introductory remarks from Bishop Laurie and continue with ideas on plans for the Iowa Annual Conference to move forward in mission and ministry. Your participation is ...
The Vision 2032 sessions wrapped up on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at the Iowa UMC Conference Center with Bishop Laurie Haller, Rev. Dr. Harlan Gillespie and Rev. Dr. Heecheon Jeon presenting to the Central District. More than 400 people have attended the 16 visioning sessions that were held throughout the state. The Vision 2032 sessions were ...
The Central District Vision 2032 session will be livestreamed and you will be able to watch it online by going to the Iowa Conference of The United Methodist Church's homepage at https://vimeo.com/373937973. The livestream will begin at 6:30 p.m. and should wrap up around 8:00 p.m. The session will be divided in to three parts: A presentation of...
Faith communities, lay and clergy, and leaders are looking into the future of the Iowa Annual Conference, to discern Vision 2032. To be able to do this most effectively, with the greatest input from across the Conference, a series of listening sessions has just begun. The first conversation took place on Sunday, October 13, at Mt. Pleasant ...