news article
Sessions Team eagerly plans in-person Annual Conference
March 27, 2023 / By Shelby Winchell, UNY Director of Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
It’s been four years since United Methodists in Upper New York have been able to safely gather in-person for Annual Conference. With the availability of vaccines and more milder strains of the coronavirus, the Sessions Team feels this may be the year we can finally gather safely to enjoy fellowship, break bread, worship, and engage in holy conferencing together. The last in-person gathering was held in June 2019 at the OnCenter in downtown Syracuse. Due to the COVID pandemic, all subsequent gatherings have been held virtually.
In the evening of March 23, 2023, the Sessions Team met remotely to continue discussion on our scheduled in-person gathering June 1-3 at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. (This is the same location where the 2018 session was held.) While not all members were present due to scheduling conflicts, the team was able to discuss and vote on several important issues.
Registration for the Fourteenth Session begins on April 10 and will remain open through April 27. As individuals, we have experienced inflation first-hand. The Conference is not immune to those increases. Plain and simple, it will cost more to attend this three-day experience. But with the increase comes added bonuses:
- Free coffee
- Free continental breakfast on Friday and Saturday mornings
- Free childcare
- Free parking
- Livestreaming
- No additional cost for meals provided during the scheduled event
- Free shuttle service from certain hotels
- Two learning sessions with different guest speakers
- Free WiFi
- A new band
- Prayer labyrinth and additional amenities
The registration fees are as follows:
$250: Active Clergy and Lay Members
$250: Visitors (including spouses) and Outside Vendors
$120: Retired Clergy or on Medical Leave and Equalization Members (At-Large and District-Appointed)
$20: Youth Members
Many of you asked and we listened. Instead of sitting in an auditorium setting with rows of chairs, the SRC Arena will be filled with round tables that seat eight people per table. You will sit at the same table during plenary as you will while dining. There will be no transferring from one room to another.
Click here to view the tentative draft of the agenda. The theme for this year is, "Together, we are living the gospel. Being God’s love."