Annual Conference Session
June 1-3 in Macon, GA
The 2025 Annual Conference session of the South Georgia Conference will provide clergy and laity the opportunity to fellowship and worship together as it unfolds across three significant United Methodist affiliated locations in Macon, Georgia from June 1-3.
Getting back to South Georgia’s historic roots, the opening worship service on Sunday night, June 1, will be held at Porter Auditorium on the campus of Wesleyan College. Wesleyan College holds a special place in the history of Methodism and higher education, as it was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. The last time the South Georgia Annual Conference met at Wesleyan College was 1997.
Vineville United Methodist Church will serve as the central gathering point for our Annual Conference. The business sessions beginning Monday morning, the Ordination Service on Monday evening, and the Memorial Service on Tuesday will all take place in the church’s beautiful sanctuary.
Continuing with the theme of tradition and fellowship, The Methodist Home for Children and Youth will host the annual BBQ on its campus Monday evening, providing a special time for attendees to reconnect, share a meal, and enjoy the hospitality for which the Home is so well known.
“I look forward to presiding over my first Annual Conference session with the laity and clergy of the South Georgia Conference,” said Bishop Robin Dease, episcopal leader of the Georgia episcopal area. “I am excited about our time to worship in the Wesleyan tradition on the grounds of Wesleyan College, gather in the sanctuary of Vineville UMC as we organize ourselves in ways that help us do the work of God here on earth, and fellowship with one another around the table at The Methodist Home.”
This year’s theme is “A New Creation,” based on Genesis 1:31, which says, “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”
"As we reflect on the theme for the 2025 Annual Conference session, we are excited to honor our traditions while embracing the future," said Meredyth Earnest, Conference Secretary. "We look forward to welcoming Bishop Dease to her first Annual Conference here in South Georgia and are grateful for the warmth and hospitality of the people of Macon. I am thankful for the collaborative spirit of our three venues—Wesleyan College, Vineville UMC, and The Methodist Home—as we prepare to gather in these historic spaces."
Visit www.sgaumc.org regularly to keep up with information related to the 2025 Annual Conference session. The hotel block will open in January and an email will be sent to clergy and lay members of the Annual Conference.
Social Media for Annual Conference
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What is Annual Conference?
Each year—traditionally in June for the South Georgia Conference—all clergy members and an equal number of lay members selected from the local churches attend their conference’s Annual Conference session and meet together to worship, fellowship, and conduct the business of the conference, which may last 3-5 days. During these sessions, members of the conference hear reports of past and ongoing work; adopt future goals, programs and budgets; ordain clergy members as deacons and elders; and elect delegates to Jurisdictional and General Conferences (every 4 years). The bishop presides over these meetings.