Virtual Session Planned for MOAC21
Based on where we currently are in the vaccination rollout and in our efforts to do no harm, we have decided to hold this year’s annual conference session virtually with invitation-only in-person attendance. This means that the vast majority of clergy and lay members to annual conference will attend and participate in annual conference virtually at home or wherever your internet connection takes you. We will have about 300-350 people in attendance physically (masked and socially distanced) in Springfield at any given moment through the course of the weekend. Those invited to attend in person include Conference and district staff, worship leadership, presenters, select Conference and district leaders as well as the guests of those being honored through our memorial service, credentialed, commissioned, ordained or retired.
We have already sent special communication to those people being invited to attend in person. Virtual attendance at home will still allow clergy and lay members to vote and discuss on matters of business and worship together throughout the weekend. If you have questions and concerns about whether you should have been invited to attend in person, please contact your District Superintendent first. They will forward concerns they cannot address to our office.
Another significant change to this year’s session is the move to two days of annual conference rather than three days. The session will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13. We plan to use Friday, June 11, for quadrennial boundaries training. Please see our draft agenda to plan your weekend.
To make a two-day session work, we must be creative about some of our business. We plan to hold a livestreamed pre-conference briefing on Thursday, May 27, at 10 AM with some reports and the Episcopal Address. Bishop Farr and Rev. Cody Collier will also present the report from the Episcopal Task Force on Race and Culture during that virtual event. It will be recorded and housed on our MOAC21 Vimeo channel.
We also plan to hold a virtual clergy session on Tuesday, June 8, at 10 AM to conduct the Business of Annual Conference (B.A.C.) and vote on matters of clergy, just like how we conducted this business last year. The quadrennial boundaries training on Friday, June 11, at 9 AM will be virtual and is required for all clergy under appointment and any laity assigned to local churches. The training is open to any Missouri Conference lay member who would like to attend. In fact, we strongly encourage the attendance of all lay church staff and lay leadership in the local church.
If appropriate for your status (i.e., clergy and approved laity), your registration will register you for all components of the weekend including the Tuesday, June 8, virtual clergy session and the Friday, June 11, boundaries training. We encourage you to visit www.moacinfo.com/events and add these event dates to your calendar now.
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Plan to register for the conference on Tuesday, April 13. For clergy, your registration for the virtual clergy session on June 8 and the quadrennial boundaries training on June 11 will be included in that registration form. You will receive separate confirmations and instructions for the clergy session and boundaries training at a later date.
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Do NOT book a Springfield hotel unless you have been told directly by our office that you are invited to attend the event in person.
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Visit moacinfo.com for more information and stay tuned for more updates.
This year’s annual conference theme is ABUNDANT: Mind + Body + Spirit. Given the past year, we wanted to remind ourselves that God’s hope and promise that we may have life and have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10). We look forward to celebrating the abundant life given to all through Christ Jesus this coming June during our virtual session.
QUESTIONS? Visit our FAQs section at www.moacinfo.com/attend