Charge Conference 2023

Bee balm blooms in Holy Spirit red in Massey's pollinator garden

Charge conference this year was Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at Parkwood UMC, which my GPS told me would take 45 minutes to reach from my home. I gave myself an hour and 15 minutes, and I was glad because the traffic on the freeway was backed up and slow. Still, I arrived 15 minutes early and parked across the street from Parkwood because the church itself has only handicapped parking. It was dark by then, but the parking lot was well lit, and there was a baseball game going on next to the lot with signs that said: “Beware of foul balls.” So I moved my car!

I could hear chanting from a mosque on the other side of the parking lot. What an interesting place.

I expected to be the first person from Massey’s Chapel there – imagine my surprise to enter a classroom where there already were six people… and the D.S. made seven. At least that many more arrived after me; we had to pull up extra chairs. What a great show of support!

What did you do to get all these people here?, the DS asked. Did you threaten them or something? They loved that – Yes! She threatened us!

I really love these people. Our charge conference was a love fest – we love God, we love each other, and we love The United Methodist Church. My “peeps” answered the DS’ questions (yay), voted on the stuff we needed to vote on, and then I let slip that Keith and I plan to move back to Durham. This made Massey's people very happy and seemed to puzzle the DS. Why?, he asked me. “I’m just too far away,” I replied. That, and some other significant things, I didn’t say.

After that, we went to the sanctuary for a worship service with Parkwood.

I remember a former DS and mentor telling me that she watched churches and pastors during charge conference – you can learn a lot, she said. How many lay people attend? One or two, or a lot? Does the pastor sit removed from the church or in the midst of those who attend? Do they look at each other? She asked me why I thought the pastor had sat on the other side of the room from his people at the charge conference we had both attended. I had noticed but hadn't thought about it. I think – I think – I’ve not ever sat separate from my people at a charge conference, but for sure I never did after that.

So: Another charge conference has come and gone. It has been a very good year, praise God.