On Sunday evening, June 6, Dr. George Mathison, senior pastor of Auburn United Methodist Church in Auburn, Alabama, will open the conference with a worship service at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in Jackson. The special offering that evening will go to the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

"The massive disasters in the spring and summer of 2003 completely depleted UMCOR’s funds," said the Rev. Joe Moseley, Program Ministries associate. "The Memphis Annual Conference has already received $170,000 from UMCOR to help repair West Tennessee homes and churches after the tornadoes swept through here last year. We’ve been approved for a total of $450,000, though we hope we’ll only need $150,000 to $200,000 more to complete the work."

Bishop William Morris, in a letter to conference delegates, wrote: "When you consider the countless hours invested in this Annual Conference as well as the dollars received, I think you’ll agree with me that there is no way we can ever repay UMCOR for their commitment to us. NOW is the time to express our deep appreciation, not only for what they have done for us, but also for the way they reached out to those in need in the name of Jesus Christ and The United Methodist Church."

The bishop’s note concluded with a plea to local churches to make a generous offering and to have a representative from the church bring the contribution to the Sunday evening worship service in Jackson.

On June 7, at 10:40 a.m., after Bishop Morris officially opens conference, six men and women will be commissioned as Probationary Members. They are Elizabeth Gwynne May, Charles Erb Overton, Timothy Thomas Prather, Benjamin James Stilwell, Sammy G. Tillman Jr., and Nancy Johnston Varden. At the same service, the men and women who will be serving as local pastors will be presented to the bishop and the conference for licensing.

Immediately following the commissioning service, nine retiring pastors and their spouses will be recognized. They are Calvin Keith Clark, Richard Harry Flick, Donnie Ray Harden, Phillip W. McClure, Joseph R. Thornton, Glenn Allen Elliott, Jerry Lance Harber, Richard B. King and Bobby Dale Mills. The "farewell speeches" by retiring clergy usually inspire both tears and laughter from delegates as they recall their many years of service to Jesus Christ and The United Methodist Church.

During the retirement service, the "mantle" of service will be passed from the retiring class by the Rev. Phillip McClure to the Rev. Lonnie Royal Sr., a representative of the new full member class.

That evening, at the ordination service preached by Bishop Morris at Jackson First, Sandra Elizabeth LeBlanc and Stephen Dietrich Kirk will be ordained as Deacons. Being ordained as Elders are Mary Jolinne Balentine, Lonnie Royal Sr., and David Overall Weatherly.

The offering at the Monday evening service has been designated for the Lake Junaluska Bethea Welcome Center. The Bethea Center will serve as the site of registration for all conferences and events at Lake Junaluska and as a visitors’ center for travelers and tourists. It’s being named after Bishop Joseph Bethea and his wife Shirley.

A special offering in honor of Bishop William Morris and his wife Mary will be taken during the Tuesday evening worship service which will be led by Dr. Mathison at the Civic Center. The Morrises will be retiring this year. The offering will be used as a scholarship endowment in honor of Mary and as a love gift for the couple. A reception in their honor will follow the service.

The youth of the conference have also asked that everyone attending the service that evening bring with them non-perishable canned food items which will then be donated to the food bank at the Regional InterFaith Center in Jackson.

Tuesday is Youth Day at Annual Conference. The youth will be going door to door in Jackson neighborhoods for their "On the Spot Food Drive", asking residents to donate food and non-perishable items to RIFA. Any delegates that wish to join the youth Tuesday afternoon will be welcome.

Those delegates not helping with the Food Drive will be spending Tuesday afternoon in one of eight workshops designed around the theme of worship. (See article "Many avenues lead to genuine worship" below.)

Dr. Maxie Dunnam, president of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. and former senior pastor of Christ Church in Memphis, will lead Bible studies on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Dunnam is globally recognized for being instrumental in helping bring the Walk to Emmaus to The United Methodist Church when he was World Editor of the Upper Room. He is known for preaching, writing and as a pioneer in small group ministries. He was inducted into the evangelism "Hall of Fame" in 1989 as one of the Forty Distinguished Evangelists of the Methodist world and received the Philip Award for Distinguished Service in Evangelism in 1993.

The Rev. L. Edward Phillips will open the Christian conferencing sessions on Tuesday afternoon, 1:30-2:15 p.m., and Wednesday morning, 8:10-9:00 a.m., with presentations on Communion and on the pattern and order of United Methodist worship. Phillips will also be leading a Tuesday afternoon workshop on Holy Communion.

Daniel R. Craig, in his 14th year as Director of Choral and Instrumental Activities at the University of Southern Indiana, has been named as Song Leader for the conference. In addition to his outstanding work at the university, Craig is also the Director of Music at Old North United Methodist Church in Evansville and the director of the Evansville Ecumenical Choir.

If pre-conference briefings are any indication, the main items for discussion during business sessions will be clergy health care/insurance and the payment of apportionments. Late-breaking developments may alter the proposals brought to the floor by the conference insurance commission.

"Methodist Hospitals, in response to a request from the bishops of the Memphis, Mississippi and Arkansas Annual Conferences, are in discussion with the three conferences on how they might be able to help us with group insurance," said the Rev. Chuck Pittman, chairman of the Commission on Group Insurance.

Pittman was responding to questions about a possible change in the insurance proposal the commission will be bringing to the floor.

"That’s really all I can say right now," he added. "We’re still in negotiations." Pittman expects the commission to meet before annual conference to look over any new proposals.

One thing delegates can count on, however, is a proposed 2005 budget that holds the line on spending. The total budget being sent to the floor by the Conference Council on Finance and Administration, including the increase voted by General Conference delegates, reflects an increase of less than one percent. The total budget being requested is $10,034,022.