Due to the ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday, April 2, Upper New York Area Resident Bishop, Mark J. Webb, after consulting with the Sessions Committee and the executive committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry, recommended to the Upper New York Cabinet that the Upper New York Annual Conference session, originally scheduled for May 28 – 30, 2020, be postponed. This recommendation was approved unanimously. 

October 3, 2020, a date previously reserved for a potential Special Session of Annual Conference, will now be the 2020 Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference. This one-day session will allow the necessary business of the Annual Conference, as outlined in the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, to be cared for. In addition, the 2020 Clergy session will be held in the afternoon of Friday, October 2, 2020, followed by the Service of Commissioning and Ordination that evening.

Regarding the decision, Bishop Webb said, “The decision to postpone the Annual Conference session is not an easy one and is disappointing. However, we believe it is the most responsible decision to make in this time in order to protect the safety of those who would attend, the individuals who would have served us and the community at large. Please, keep the Sessions Committee, the executive committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Conference staff in your prayers, as they help us navigate this change.”

Over the next few days and weeks, more information will be made available related to logistics of this change.