news article
New leaders approved for 2023
October 9, 2022 / By Tara Barnes, Director of Denominational Relations, United Women in Faith
The Upper New York Conference Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development report to the 2022 Annual Conference was presented by Ian Urriola, chair of the committee, who opened his report by singing the hymn “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me.”
“It’s a cliché at this point to say that these are trying times in the life of our beloved United Methodist denomination, but the Gospel promises that our salvation is revealed to us in messy situations—through a little bit of spit mixed with a little bit of dirt, through the hem of a tattered robe, through a hole torn in a roof, and on a brutal, old, rugged cross on a hill far away. God shows up in our messes and equips us to carry on with the work we are called to do,” he said.
Ian thanked members of the Upper New York Conference for showing up and turning out for the sake of our Gospel.
“We have been given the gift of each other.”
Ian shared the process for leadership nominations and presented names of those nominated to serve on Conference and District boards and committees, reading the names of the Conference-level nominees and sharing the District nominations via slides.
Both Conference and District nominations reports were supported.
The board also brought to the Conference four recommendations to amend the organizational rules: one to codify the norm of serving on only one conference agency at a time, a second to allow leaders to serve in an emeritus status after term limits have been reached, the third to allow a vacancy to be filled and approved by the Conference Leadership Team until the next annual conference can ratify the decision or elect a new leader, and a fourth recommendation to allow agencies who serve and advocate for minoritized and/or disenfranchised communities to name a member to serve on the Conference Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development.
After questions, a request was made to refer recommendation 1 to the rules committee to clarify its purpose. The motion to refer failed. All four recommendations were supported.
“The beauty of our polity is that it proclaims the truth that, though none of us is perfect, we are more perfect together,” Ian said.
The Nominations and Leadership Development report and recommendations can be found in the Journal updates. Are you feeling called to serve? Send an e-mail to unynominations@unyumc.org.