We began again this morning with Worship and Communion. I was excited to hear Rev. David Sablan preach, as he is the Board of Ministry Chair from the Mega Manila (Philippines) Annual Conference, and we have worked together on the Board of Ministry Cohort. During his message, he shared a quote that has stuck with me all day:

“One who is ruled by God’s Spirit always thinks of what God wants. What God wants takes a priority in one’s life. One has the highest regard for God’s will and desires. When this becomes true in your heart, then the Holy Spirit will produce His fruit in you. He will generate what you cannot create, that is godly love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
– (Gal. 5: 22-23) –  Rebecca Mina Navarro-Palomo
From God Talks: A Trilogy, God Talks Publications, 2025

After worship, our current Bishop Carolyn Moore led us in a moving experience of Holy Communion.

While these items would normally come under the business section below, I think they deserve a little extra celebration.

First, we signed a covenant agreement with the Korean Methodist Church (South Korea). This means we will recognize each other’s baptisms and ordinations, and we will begin a partnership of mutual cooperation. This often happens between denominations that are theologically and missionally aligned. At the last General Conference, we signed a covenant agreement with the Methodist Church in Costa Rica.

Second, we elected our new bishops for the next six years. This year was our first (and likely last) year of what was a very unique and difficult process. However, I am very pleased with how smoothly it went. There was no controversy, and I believe the Holy Spirit was present as we cast our votes. Our new bishops who will begin their term of office on November 1, 2026 are:

Area 1 – Luther Oconer from the Mega Manila Conference (Philippines)

Area 2 – Jonathan Lee from the Korean-American Conference

Area 3 – Mark Webb – Current Bishop (US)

Area 4 – Lyndol Loyd from the West Plains Conference

Area 5 – Jerry Kulah from the Grain Coast Conference (West Africa)

Area 6 – Eduard Khegay – Current Bishop (Russia)

Area 7 – Paul Lawler from the Mississippi/West Tennessee Conference

Area 8 – Carolyn Moore – Current Bishop (US)

This is a diverse group of leaders, and I am thankful to have such a spirit-filled group of bishops. As a reminder, our bishops are GENERAL SUPERINTENDENTS. They serve the whole church as bishops and are only assigned to areas of responsibility. Each Bishop oversees 6-8 annual Conferences. Below is a chart of the 8 episcopal areas.

We have been blessed these two years to have Carolyn Moore as our Bishop. She has spurred us on to holiness and has brought our annual conference a spirit and fire we needed. She led us well, and I am sad that I will no longer be working with her on a regular basis. I wish her well as she begins her new assignment in November.

I am pleased and excited to begin working with Bishop-Elect Lyndol Loyd as he leads us these next six years. I had a chance to meet him today briefly, and I have heard nothing but encouraging words about his ministry and leadership. I know he will help us take important next steps toward further growth in the North Alabama Conference. I look forward to hearing his story and his vision for our denomination.

Items from the plenary:

• We added an important question to the Baptismal Vows: “Do you commit yourself to receiving and pursuing holiness and entire sanctification?”
• We reinforced the expectations of the character and competency of our clergy.
• We reinstated the original text of Wesley’s historic questions for those being ordained.
• One petition I was disappointed did not get any traction was one that I co-authored with several other clergy to help strengthen the covenant of the church by encouraging the laity to be in covenant with each other. This was part of a package of petitions we have been working on for the last year to build covenant relationships throughout the church. Other committees were able to get versions of the language approved for our doctrinal section and our clergy section. However, the local church committee rejected this idea. I would have liked to see some part of our petition emerge from the local church committee so that this idea could work across the board. Perhaps at the next General Conference we will be able to take measures to ensure both our laity and clergy are living under our covenant.

News/Announcements:

• We ended the day with a CELEBRATION OF AFRICA. It was a marvelous feast of local cuisine from around the continent, and we enjoyed entertainment from several countries and cultures. There was also a market where we could purchase small handmade items.

Tomorrow will be a FULL day of plenary. I expect to have many decisions to report to you tomorrow night. For now, it’s time to rest.