We move forward in the power and promise of God, the Rock, as we reflect on EPA’s Special Adjourned Annual Conference Session.
- If you missed the special session or want to relive any of the beautiful moments we experienced together, you can watch it here.You’ll find:
- Click here to access the full gallery of photos from the Special Adjourned Session that you can also share with your church. Thank you Rev. Steward Warner for sharing your gift with us!
A sense of sacred awe filled the space as laity and clergy gathered at historic Tindley Temple United Methodist Church for the Special Adjourned Annual Conference on Saturday, September 20.
Opening Worship
The session began with an inspiring worship service grounded in gratitude—the foundation of praise.
Rev. Dr. Andrew Foster III, East District Superintendent, opened in prayer, lifting to God both the challenges that brought the church to this moment and the longing for renewed connection. Worshipers raised their voices in songs of praise, and the Word of God from Deuteronomy 32:4-9 was shared in Spanish, English and Korean.
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi preached a sermon declaring faithful confidence in God —El Shaddai—who has been steadfast through history and who has a plan for the redemption of all creation. She urged those gathered not to make an idol of the evils of this world —chaos, injustice, and despair—because the living God is stronger than all these things.
She shared the remarkable story of Charles Albert Tindley, the founder and namesake of Tindley Temple UMC, whom God called and equipped to be an evangelist, justice-seeker, visionary, and celebrated hymn composer—in defiance of the evils he faced, including slavery, mean-spiritedness, and spiritual anguish.
Bishop Moore-Koikoi acknowledged the many factors that necessitated convening a special session of the annual conference and said it is her prayer, “that we won’t lean into the part of the story that says God’s redemption is necessary but rather we will lean into the part of the story that says God’s redemption is possible.”
Rev. Marcus Simmons, Tindley Temple’s Director of Worship, offered a stunning musical response to the bishop’s message with the song “God and God Alone,” by Steve Green. Then, Conference Secretary Rev. Joong Hyuck Kim led the body in prayer as those gathered transitioned to the business of the annual conference.
Legislation
2026 Budget
Two pieces of legislation were on the agenda for the special adjourned session. On behalf of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration, Rev. Steve Cherry presented the 2026 budget. Rev. Cherry reminded the body that a budget is a tool for accomplishing the mission that God has given us. He acknowledged conference members’ concerns that previous years’ consolidated budgets did not provide adequate details for understanding the use of funds.
Rev. Cherry described how the 2026 budget was developed and how it is laid out with four main areas of financial activity – Connectional Ministry Fund, Benefits, Trustees and Property, and Camping and Retreat Ministries. He shared that EPA is finding economies of scale by sharing key staff with the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. The 2026 budget also makes room for initiatives like the Small Church Network, LGBTQ Inclusion Team, the new parental leave policy (see more below), the Immigration Rapid Response Team and the new Compass clergy retirement plan. It accounts for the increase of property and liability insurance premiums being experienced nationally across denominational lines, as well as EPA’s ongoing commitment to A Journey of Hope and Wholeness.
In what was clearly a Holy Spirit movement, the budget passed unanimously without question or conversation.
Parental Leave Policy Legislation
Next, Rev. Mandy Stanley Miller of the Board of Benefits and Rev. Nina Patton-Semerod of the Board of Ordained Ministry presented parental leave policy legislation. They drew attention to mandates in the Book of Discipline and by the World Health Organization and International Labor Organization that advocate for parents’ need to have time to nurture and bond with their children.
The proposed policy provides for up to 13 weeks of paid parental leave for clergy and provides churches with funding from the annual conference for pastoral coverage and pulpit supply. It also contains guidelines for clergy to get the required support they need as they request parental leave, including a paid parental leave request form.
When Bishop Moore-Koikoi called for conversation on this legislation, several delegates stepped forward. Each voiced support for the policy and called for continued work that the policy might move onto perfection in the future– for example, working towards a longer paid leave and extending the policy to cover churches’ lay staff. In another Spirit-filled moment, the legislation passed, marking EPA’s commitment not only to children and their families, but to justice. The policy goes into effect on September 30, 2025.
Compass Benefits Presentation
At the close of the conference’s business, Rev. Derrick Gutierrez gave a brief presentation on Compass, Wespath’s new clergy retirement plan. The plan replaces the current Clergy Retirement Security Program and takes effect on January 1, 2026. It is designed to give clergy more agency over their financial planning and to be more affordable for churches. Rev. Gutierrez urged clergy to attend one of the upcoming Compass information sessions to get the full scoop.
Camp and Retreat Ministries
Before the closing Communion service, Apryl Miller, Site Director of Gretna Glen Camp & Retreat Center, spotlighted EPA’s transformational Camp and Retreat Ministries. In a video testimonial, she shared how camp can deepen faith and provide opportunities to connect with God’s calling on our lives. She then introduced three people who offered their own personal testimonies—mother and son Charisma and Phineas Presley, and Kelly Nelson, who grew from camper to staff in surprising ways. Rev. Carmen O’Shea, Camping Director of Pocono Plateau, closed in prayer, thanking God for showing up in our beautiful, sacred spaces.
Closing Communion
Delegates and friends of the EPA Annual Conference concluded this truly special session with a fitting celebration of Holy Communion, uniting in Christ with the great cloud of witnesses who have worshiped at Tindley Temple and throughout the world across time and space.
Organ Concert
Following the Communion service, attendees were treated to a concert on the magnificent pipe organ that fills Tindley Temple. Bishop Moore-Koikoi aptly shared that, “for so many [it] has been an avenue to experience the awesomeness of God.” Music Director Emeritus, Mr. Theodore Thomas Jr., graced the space with classical pieces by Léon Boëllmann, Thomas Kerr, and Fela Sowande.
Then the current Director of Worship, Rev. Marcus Simmons, took the organ bench while Mr. Thomas played the grand piano. Together, they led those gathered in a moving sing-along of Charles Tindley’s hymns of resilience and hope. Once again, the voices of God’s people rang out with faithful expectation for what El Shaddai will do next in Eastern Pennsylvania and in our world.
