7 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Highlights

Dinner is celebration of community

While many events at annual conference separate laity and clergy, the community dinner held Tuesday night at Florida Southern College’s Jenkins Field House invited everyone to a celebration of unity among all delegates. The informal, picnic-style meal was accented with music by Waterstone, a praise band from the Melbourne District.

After dinner, Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson and Bill Walker, chairperson and incoming director of the Florida Conference Council on Ministries, presented the Alice W. Lockmiller Education Award to Dashon L. Pollock of Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Miami. The award is given to recognize excellence and creativity in Christian education. Delia Halverson, chairwoman of the Discipleship Ministry team, presented the Harry Denman Award to the Rev. William Baldwin, pastor of Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville Beach, to recognize his outstanding effort in evangelism.

Lay delegates also met and talked to lay nominees for General Conference. The nominees spent more than an hour talking to some 200 delegates about their qualifications and issues they hoped to address.

Musical celebrations showcase diversity of conference

Throughout the Dare to Share Jesus 1999 Florida Annual Conference Event, the diversity of the conference was celebrated in its music.

Event attendees were often on their feet, singing praise choruses and classic hymns led by Mark Jaeger from Aloma United Methodist Church in Winter Park or Lori Blair from Pine Castle United Methodist Church in Orlando. During a voting session, attendees heard the music of a Haitian chorus from Miami. District choirs from Orlando, Tampa and Lakeland participated, and the choir from the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home opened the afternoon session Friday. The ordination service Saturday featured a mass choir of singers from across the conference.

One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation throughout the event of "Dare to Share Jesus," a song written for the conference and event by Jaeger.

Trilogy, a trio from Pine Castle United Methodist Church sang popular Christian music. Witness, a quartet from Killearn United Methodist Church in Tallahassee sang traditional gospel and spiritual hymns acapella. Waterstone, a band from the Melbourne District, shared its unique instrumental style using a harp and bagpipes.

A praise team played and sang meditative music during the Time of Prayer, Song and Renewal for Conference Tuesday night in the Anne Pfeiffer Chapel at Florida Southern College.

The Bethune-Cookman College Concert Chorale, led by Dr. Rebecca Walker Steele, professor of music at the college, made its concert Friday night at the conference event the last stop on its national tour.

Conference opens, closes churches

The following churches were recognized for holding their first worship service since last year’s annual conference event:

CrossRoads Community Church in Wesley Chapel, Tampa District;

Crossroads Church in Rotonda, Sarasota District;

First Brazilian United Methodist congregation at First United Methodist Church, Kissimmee, Orlando District;

Shepherd’s Community Church in Lakeland, Lakeland District;

Sebring Hispanic Church in Sebring, Lakeland District;

Ray of Hope United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Tallahassee District.

The following churches were closed:

St. John’s United Methodist Church in Crescent City, DeLand District;
Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach District.

Short Bites

Delegates approved a budget of $16,641,194 for 2000, an increase of 3 percent over 1999.

Year-end membership totaled 333,072, a decrease of 3,818 or 1.13 percent. Average worship attendance totaled 155,593, a decrease of 545, or .35 percent.

Delegates voted to proceed in building a conference heritage center when the Conference Board of Trustees receives $450,000 in gifts and pledges and move forward with a $1.4 million renovation of the existing conference offices in Lakeland.

The conference ordained 12 persons as elders and two deacons in full connection, commissioned eight probationary members and two associate members, licensed 15 local pastors, accepted the transfer and recognition of orders for one clergy, and certified two professionals.

One local pastor, two diaconal ministers, five deacons and 18 elders retired.

Roger Swanson, former evangelism specialist with the General Board of Discipleship, was welcomed as the conference’s new director of Operation Evangelization.

Delegates voted to distribute 25 percent of funds from church closures to the New Church Development endowment fund and keep 75 percent in the district.