Leadership Gathering moves ahead amid challenges

Key points:

• Leadership Gathering organizers are facing challenges with increasing costs and visa availability.
• However, they are still making plans to hold the event in October to help set a new direction for The United Methodist Church.
• Bishops readily acknowledge they will need more help with raising funds.
• Organizers also are releasing a survey intended to get more input from youth and young adults.

Troubles half a world away are complicating United Methodist plans for the Leadership Gathering in Canada.

An Ebola outbreak in Congo has threatened access to visas, and the war-caused closure of the Strait of Hormuz has spiked fuel costs — making the gathering substantially more expensive.

Nevertheless, the Council of Bishops and other organizers are pressing forward with preparations for the unprecedented United Methodist event — set for Oct. 20-24 at Knox United Church in Calgary, Canada. They also are releasing a new survey intended to get more input for the event from youth and young adults — church members under age 35.

“This gathering is about the future of The United Methodist Church,” Stephanie Henry and Council of Bishops President Rubén Saenz Jr., said in a joint email response to UM News.

Henry is an active United Methodist lay member in the Pacific Northwest Conference, and Saenz leads the Horizon Texas Conference. The two are co-conveners of the gathering’s design team.

“For nearly two years,” they said, “a dedicated team has been prayerfully shaping a space where emerging leaders from across the global connection can come together to listen, learn and imagine what God is calling the Church to become.”

The bishops hope to join with some 300 of their chosen participants in discerning how the denomination moves beyond a season of infighting over LGBTQ inclusion that saw thousands of congregations leave the denomination.

The gathering is not a decision-making body. However, the plan is to explore ideas that could end up as legislation before the next General Conference, scheduled in 2028. Appropriately, the theme is “Emboldened by the Spirit: Imagining a Church Yet to Be.”

Based on the results of a survey conducted earlier this year, the event will focus on ways the international denomination can engage more youth and young people, strengthen discipleship and deepen global connectedness.

But right now, connections between nations are particularly under strain. Organizers are relying on the United Methodist connection to help the gathering provide an alternative vision to the world’s strife.

War and expense

Conflict has reignited with U.S., Israeli and Iranian forces again exchanging attacks across the Middle East. Among the places targeted are the U.S.-allied Gulf States where a number of Filipino United Methodists live and worship.

While praying for peace and all people in harm’s way, the bishops and others also are grappling with what the resulting rise in fuel costs means for the expense of air travel. After raising the bulk of the money for the gathering, bishops at one point were short $279,500 in covering the costs of travel, accommodations and other event features.

“Additional work has brought this number to $194,794.23 as of July 13,” said Bishop Dan Schwerin, who leads the gathering’s finance subcommittee. He also is bishop of the Northern Illinois and Wisconsin conferences.

In partnership with United Methodist Communications, the Council of Bishops has a portal where people can give to the event.

The bishops now have a budget goal of about $1.1 million, and they already have raised more than $929,000 toward that amount.

The bishops decided to hold the gathering after General Conference had approved the 2025-2028 general church budget. That means the event is receiving none of its main funding from apportionments — shares of church giving that support denomination-wide ministries.

The Episcopal Fund, which general-church apportionments support, will cover the costs for the 52 active bishops to attend. The general agencies’ top executives are also paying for their attendance through their agency budgets. But Schwerin said the executives have been generous beyond these apportionment-supported travel reimbursements.

The gathering also has received support from the National Association of United Methodist Foundations, Wesleyan Impact Partners, general agencies, some large United Methodist churches and individual bishops around the globe.

Schwerin especially credited Wespath, the denomination’s retirement benefits and investments agency, for setting the pace with gifts and helping to coordinate the October event including its budget.

“On the fundraising side, our role has been to support the process by providing the infrastructure needed to receive and manage donations/contributions,” said Andy Hendren, Wespath's top executive.

Wespath made an initial donation of $25,000 toward the event from its endowment.

“To make our gift catalytic, we committed to doubling that amount if the planning team reached a healthy fundraising threshold, which they did,” Hendren said.

Now, the Council of Bishops is leading the effort to address the gap.

“I see this gathering and the lead-up as a response to the Spirit’s call for us to put a 50-year oar in the water to turn us toward a future of greater vitality,” Schwerin said. “I am excited by the prospect of a younger and globally diverse group of leaders engaging this moment with formation and discerning who we can be in 50 years.”

Henry and Saenz added that they are deeply grateful to the generosity already shown across the connection. While the additional need is real, they said, it is not insurmountable.

“We are approaching this moment the same way the Church always has — by inviting broad participation in a shared mission,” they said.

“We are encouraging annual conferences, partners and individuals to lean in so that this gathering reflects the whole Church’s commitment.”

Visa troubles

The bishops chose to hold the gathering in Calgary, Canada, the city that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics, in part because they hoped it would be more easily accessible to United Methodists around the globe.

The United Church of Canada, a fellow member of the World Methodist Council, also offered to host and help with planning. The United Church of Canada and United Methodist Church earlier this year each agreed to an interim covenant as the first step toward a full-communion agreement that will strengthen the denominations’ ties.

Now, the outbreak of Ebola in Congo has led the nation of Canada to suspend visas for people in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan — all countries with a United Methodist presence. This means Canada is not admitting people from these countries right now, even with already approved visas. The suspension, at this point, is scheduled to last at least through Aug. 28.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, which is home to five episcopal areas, is the country with the second largest number of United Methodists after the United States.

As they have done during previous Ebola outbreaks, United Methodist agencies and bishops are stepping up to help people stop the spread of the virus.

In the meantime, United Methodist leaders are still encouraging the chosen participants to register for the event and pursue visas as soon as possible.

“We are committed to having the fullest participation as possible at the gathering and are prioritizing assistance with visa or travel difficulties that have emerged,” said California-Nevada Conference Bishop Sandra Olewine, chair of the gathering’s hospitality subcommittee.

Wespath has been helping to support the visa process, encouraging participants to register early so the agency can provide needed documentation for participants to share with their embassies. In some cases, participants may need to travel outside their home country to complete the process.

At the same time, Leadership Gathering organizers are looking at online contingency plans for those who cannot attend in person.

“We are also cataloging the challenges and nuances we encounter with the visa process for Canada in hopes we can share that information with those planning the 2028 General Conference as they consider multisite options,” Hendren of Wespath said.

Input from young people

Each bishop chose three gathering participants — including at least one young adult under the age of 35. Some bishops opted for all three participants to be young adults. That means over a third of those selected to attend are young adults.

However, the bishops and design team are hoping to get more input from young people. Of the nearly 12,300 United Methodists who took the initial survey to help set the gathering’s agenda, only 6.5% were under 35.

Ashley Boggan, who leads the gathering’s innovation subcommittee, said the agenda is still being finalized.

“Youth and young adults will help shape the conversation through surveys and other opportunities to share their perspectives in advance of the gathering,” said Boggan, who is also the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.

The survey is available in English, French, German and Portuguese. Leadership Gathering organizers are collecting responses through July 31.

While speakers are still being finalized, Boggan said the plan is for participants to learn from innovative ministries and voices across the global United Methodist connection.

Henry and Saenz are particularly excited about the potential for the event to help raise up new United Methodist leaders.

“At a time when the world is marked by uncertainty and division, the Church must invest in forming leaders who can dream a Church yet to be that will guide communities with clarity, courage and hope,” they said.

“We believe the Holy Spirit will meet us in this work and use it to strengthen the Church for the sake of the world.”

Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.