Annual Meeting

2022 Annual Meeting

The 2022 Wisconsin Conference UCC Annual Meeting will take place from June 10-12, 2022 at the Green Lake Conference Center. We hope to see you there!

2021 Annual Meeting

Thank you to all who attended the 2021 virtual Annual Meeting from May 11-16, 2021!

We welcomed delegates and friends from throughout the Wisconsin Conference for an Annual Meeting centered on the theme of generosity.  We began with a keynote address by the Rev. William Lamar of Metropolitan AME in Washington, D.C. He spoke directly to our hearts, beginning in part:

“I believe God’s spirit is calling you – Wisconsin Conference – to a new interpretation of what it means to be generous. Generosity beyond our culture’s penchant for automatization and individualization. Generosity beyond merciful responses to deep human pain that only justice can address. Generosity beyond sentimentality moved by the dehumanization of our siblings and the destruction of the planet that sustains us. Hear me: Generous beyond sweetness; generosity beyond niceness; generosity beyond kindness.”

Drawing on the story of Jesus driving the money-changers out of the Temple (Luke 19: 45-48), Lamar described what he called “confrontational generosity.” He underscored that Jesus not only confronted but remained in relationship; as Luke said, “Every day [Jesus] he was teaching in the temple.”

The following day, Dr. Melissa Spas of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University’s School of Philanthropy picked up the theme of deepening our understanding of generosity. Spas pushed us to make a shift from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of abundance.

We moved into workshops for our third day. Brief descriptions of our more than a dozen workshops can be found at this link.

On Saturday we gathered for our business meeting as a conference with talks by Rev. Franz Rigert on the vision of the Wisconsin Conference and Cheryl Joseph Williams on the impact of OCWM Basic Support gifts on our congregations across the United States. The meeting considered and approved the nominations report and proposed 2022 budget.

Finally, on Sunday May 16 our virtual worship service included a conference-wide rendition of the Summons, a sermon by myself, and much more. All of which can be found at this link.

We heard from local congregations about their practice of generosity throughout the Annual Meeting. These inspiring stories will be available on the Wisconsin Conference website in future months.

We’re grateful to all the staff, volunteers, and speakers who made this Annual Meeting a success.

Yours in Faith,

Andrew Warner