Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Dear Clergy and Lay Members of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference: 

In accordance with ¶603.5 of the United Methodist Book of Discipline, I hereby call for a special session of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference on Saturday, May 6, 2023, beginning at 9:00am Pacific time | 10:00am Mountain time. It is expected to last approximately two hours. 

The sole purpose of the Special Session is to affirm or not affirm the church conference actions of local churches that are choosing to ask to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church under the provisions of The Book of Discipline 2016, Paragraph 2553. The Board of Trustees will present negotiated settlements that cannot be amended. The members of Annual Conference will affirm or not affirm the agreements by a simple majority vote.

The Special Session will be held on Zoom and will require registration for voting credentials. Registration and further information regarding the session and its business will be sent to the persons to be seated at the special session of the Annual Conference and posted on the conference website by April 15, 2023. 

The voting membership of the special session will consist of the clergy members of the annual conference as defined in ¶32 of the Book of Discipline and the lay members of the June 2022 Annual Conference (lay member or alternate, whoever was last seated in the June annual conference) in accordance with the Book of Discipline ¶602.5.** 

Please note: We may also have a Special Session in the Fall to consider any disaffiliations not included on May 6, 2023. 

I encourage you to be in prayer for our denomination and for all those who will be involved in this process. Let us continue to seek God's guidance and wisdom as we navigate these challenging times. 

Thank you for your prompt attention and response to this important matter.

Prayerfully,

 

Cedrick D. Bridgeforth 
Resident Bishop, Greater Northwest Episcopal Area 

** No local charge will be deprived of its lay member due to death, serious illness, or cessation of membership. Under such circumstances, another lay member may be elected by the charge conference (¶602.5). If your charge is affected, please contact Laura Jaquith Bartlett, Conference Secretary, at laura@umoi.org.