written by Kelli Reep
What a Mighty God We Serve! Conference Day 2 Opens with Celebration
The second day of the 2025 Annual Conference opened with a celebration of Juneteenth, led by Rev. Danita Waller-Paige. Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 and commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it was issued. It’s a holiday because it marks the effective end of slavery in the United States and is a day for celebration, remembrance and education about African American history and culture.
Rev. Peter Matthews led worship. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Rev. Matthews is a graduate of the nationally acclaimed Seven Hills School, Denison University (Granville, Ohio), Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton, New Jersey ) and the World Council of Churches’ Bossey Ecumenical Institute (Geneva, Switzerland) where he received his BA (Black Studies), MDiv (Church Administration), and MA (Ecumenism) respectively.
He is a much sought-after author and speaker who has preached, lectured, or keynoted extensively throughout the United States, India, Jamaica, England, Switzerland, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Africa over the past two decades.
Pastor Matthews was appointed to the New Vision United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 1st, 2024. In his brief tenure they have doubled in person attendance and (with the installation of more than $20,000 worth of new equipment) New Vision is the most viewed congregation via social media platforms in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. Additionally, New Vision has installed a brand-new security system for its 5 acres campus alongside a historic agreement with its community partner Xavier University (Office of Belonging) to cultivate a home away from ministry for their students of color and international students.
Prior to New Vision, he was the lead pastor for McKinley United Methodist Church (from November of 2016) the oldest African American church in Dayton, Ohio and was the youngest lead pastor in the 143-year history of the church; providing leadership that resulting in more than $300,000 in property and technological improvements, and shepherding 8 persons into United Methodist ministry during his tenure.
Matthews continues to serve in the role of founder/CEO of the Equity Center, one of Southwest Ohio’s leading faith-based social incubator that serves more than 3,500 persons annually including the Dayton Public Schools, The Dayton Food Bank, Ebenezer Health Care, Procter and Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton, Central State University, the Ohio Unity Coalition; and The Dayton Daily News both in 2020 and 2021 for his work alongside Primary Health Solutions and the Kettering Health Network to ensure more than 2500 persons were tested for COVID 19 and over 20,000 vaccination shots were freely distributed in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods; and on November 5th, 2023 the mayor of Dayton proclaimed it Peter Edward Matthew Day in Dayton, Ohio at his 7th Pastoral Anniversary Celebration as pastor of McKinley.
As a businessman, Peter Matthews is the founder of the Global Village (a United Methodist NGO), a Methodist church collective of churches from which he secured more than $1.4 million dollars to revitalize urban ministry from an international context while developing a pipeline for a new generation of persons wanting to work in historic African American congregations with Methodist Theological School of Ohio in Delaware with more than 12 Historically Black Colleges and Universities with opportunities for graduate level work.
Finally, Peter Matthews is married to the now Dr Pamela J. Matthews (Antioch University) with two adult sons and one 10-year-old grandson who takes his breath away every time he says, “Pa Pa”; and he is in the final stages of his doctorate of ministry dissertation from MTSO entitled: NEEMA (An Urban Ecclesiology).
Laity and Youth Addresses Report on Pushing Ourselves to Uncomfortable Places
The laity and youth addresses kicked off with Evie Jones, chair of the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries (ACCYM) and a proud gay Christian, who reports the United Methodist tradition is alive in our youth today. At Veritas, ACCYM members learned about ardor for God. They featured three different styles of worship and allowed 700 youth from Arkansas and Oklahoma a time of fellowship, learning and encouragement. The youth raised $10,184 between two events, and it gave away $5,290 in grants.
Kathy Conley, Conference leader on the Board of Laity, introduced the district lay leaders during the Laity address. Kathy gave words of encouragement, talking about love embedded in our very being as a connection to God. Love and grace are there before we even know such things exist.
James Sawyer opened the business session with prayer. Amy Ezell, Conference director of congregational vitality and communication, reported on how much is being accomplished in the Arkansas conference. The new mission statement was developed and is being shared: working together to build vital faith communities Following Jesus. Loving People. Sharing Grace. Part of this mission statement includes markers for vitality. The Conference encourages you to pray over these markers and, as we learned this morning from Rev. Matthews: get after it. Amy reminds us of it is ok to fail as we work to launch new ministries and missions. Vitality markers include small groups and programs, worship services and lay leadership. These drivers serve as indicators of health.
Online training included Mission Possible, coming in January 2026. The Methodist Foundation for Arkansas helped underwrite the Health Church Academy with Rev. Dr. Ron Bell for local church laity. The Methodist Foundation for Arkansas also underwrote top-notch laity training who are leading their flock through partnering with other churches. Eight clergy have received this leadership training, and all their churches will be leading fulfilling partnerships and fellowships as a result. The complete Laity and Lay Servant Ministries Reports may be found on pages 110-111 in the Annual Conference Journal.
Samantha Menley, project coordinator with 200,000 More Reasons, is excited to announce the charge conference report will be online. She believes 200,000 More Reasons embodies this year’s Annual Conference theme. For Samantha’s complete report on 200,000 More Reasons, please turn to page 91 of the Annual Conference Journal.
Mary Lewis Dassinger addressed the members about One More Question, which is intentional “neighboring”, action oriented and relationship-focused. An initiative to support local churches in being better neighbors and partners in their communities, One More Question’s goal is to teach, train and resource congregations who want to design outreach ministries WITH their community. For the complete report, go to page 112 in the Annual Conference Journal.
Save the Dates
Make plans now to attend the following events in the Arkansas Conference during 2025 and 2026:
July 10 – Safe Spaces for Healthy Social Media (Zoom) by the ARUMC Communication Commission
July 14-18 – ACCYM Assembly (Hendrix College)
July 23-26 – ARUMC United Women in Faith Mission U (Hendrix College)
August 9 – Lay Leader Assembly 2025 (Pulaski Heights UMC in Little Rock)
August 10 – One More Question training (Brinkley First UMC)
August 14 – Intentional Storytelling for Healthy Social Media (Zoom) by the ARUMC Communication Commission
August 17 – One More Questions training (Russellville First UMC and Hamburg First UMC)
August 23 – Orientation to Ministry
August 24 – One More Question training (Paragould First UMC)
September 8, October 6, November 3 and December 1, 2025, and January 5, 2026 – Healthy Church Academy for Laity in Leadership
September 11 – Promoting Events on Social Media (Zoom) by the ARUMC Communication Commission
September 13, October 11 and November 8, 2025 – Arkansas Extension Course of Study
September 19 – Training for Conference Trustees, District Committees on Building and Location, and Local Church Trustees (at The Methodist Foundation for Arkansas)
September 19-20 – One More Question, The Lights of Arkansas with Rev. Mike Mather and De’Amon Harges (Conway First UMC)
October 7-8 – Orders Retreat
October 17-18 – One More Questions, Arkansas Believes Cohort
October 31-November 2 – ACCYM Refuge
November 7-8 – One More Questions, Arkansas Dreams Cohort
November 15 – Ingathering at the ARUMC Disaster Response HUB (Wesley UMC, Conway)
January 17, 2026 – Orientation to Ministry
January 23-24, 2026 – One More Question, Arkansas Acts Cohort
A Simple Breath Prayer
“Let me know your peace, oh God.” Difficult conversations have happened in this space before today. Many of us may still feel the impact of these events. Consider using this breath prayer to feel closer to God:
(Breathe in deeply) Imagine God calling you by name, asking, “What do you want?”
(Exhale slowly) “Let me know Your peace, oh God.”
Repeat.
Learning Session #1 with Dr. Ron Bell Instructs on Leaning Fully into Our Emotions
Rev. Dr. Ron Bell opened with “You Got This.” He reminds us that sometimes, there is something going on behind the scenes. He wants us to leave this morning that, regardless with everything outside of our control, we got this, and we are not alone. Did you know 35 percent of clergy have functional difficulties from depressive symptoms? More feel nervous, lonely and isolated in work. Things that keep us stuck are “Where is your faith?”, “Just pray it out,” “God won’t give you more than you can bear,” and more. Cognitive dissonance is a state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way. In short, you just feel stuck. We end up emotionally, mentally and spiritually stuck, caught in the in-between place. Sadly, this space is where many of us lead and minister from. What would it be and sound like if we could lead from a place of rest? How different would you be if you could fully be you? Here’s how to get unstuck:
- Cognitive consonance is a place of harmony, when what I’m thinking and what I’m feeling is the total of what I am.
- We must be honest our actions and our beliefs are draining us.
- We must be a change in belief, actions and perception.
Rev. Dr. Bell encourages us to combat this by reaching out to friends, just as Jesus did. As we are the lonely ministering to the lonely, it is vital we connect with people to walk alongside him. Ministry always was and is about community. God designed it that way. It also is vital to fellowship, just as Jesus. He was at the table, on the table or just coming from table. Framing helps us to ask about our situation from fear, joy, anger and sadness. What would our fear say about our situation? This helps unlock us from that place of being stuck. It helps us frame that we are also experiencing more emotions. Now, these emotions are in conversation with each other. Pain must be articulated and communicated to be healed. If you are silent about it, you are giving it power.
Jesus experienced all the same emotions we do. Jesus got frustrated just as we get frustrated. It’s ok for us to get frustrated. Jesus experienced grief just as we experience grief. It’s ok to grieve. Jesus got angry just as we do; in fact, indignance is to be filled with rage. It is ok to experience anger and deal with it. Jesus grew weary, just as we do. It is ok to feel weary, and it is ok to take a break. What would Jesus do if someone got on his last nerve? He would get angry and find a space to work out his anger. He dealt with emotions as they came. If we are really going to embody Jesus, we must live into the fullness of our emotions.
Rev. Dr. Bell is the director of healing and resilience for discipleship ministries and The Upper Room. He is passionate about emotional formation and the intersection of faith and mental health. Ron has served as a new-church-plant pastor, the director over congregational development and SBC21 for the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference of the UMC, and a senior pastor of a traditional UMC church. He is an author and regular guest columnist for several publications. Three of his most popular books deal with grief and trauma: Is There Space for Me: Embracing Grief through Art; The Eagle and the Squirrel: Stories, Fables and Truths for Emotional Formation; and The Four Promises: Journeying through Past and Present Trauma. He has created an ongoing webinar series on trauma and empathy that he has led with several universities. Ron has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Morgan State University, a master’s degree in theology from Regent University School of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary. He has been certified in Trauma Response and Crisis Intervention by Rutgers University School of Social Work and has a Business Leadership Certificate from Central Piedmont Community College. Ron is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Ron is married to Dr. Eboni M. Bell, and they have two sons.
The Upper Room® is a global ministry dedicated to supporting the spiritual life of Christians seeking to know and experience God more fully. From its beginnings in 1935 as a daily devotional guide, The Upper Room has grown to include publications, programs, prayer support, and other resources to help believers of all ages and denominations move to a deeper level of faith and service.
The Upper Room exists to:
- offer resources that encourage daily spiritual practice
- call Christians to a life of living prayer
- create meaningful, transformational experiences and studies for individuals, small groups, and congregations
- help people grow deeper in love with God and neighbor
- support churches in becoming centers of prayer and spiritual formation
- inspire spiritual leaders to lead with a listening heart
- invite the “spiritually curious” to living waters
Our Vision:
To foster an international community of people and congregations who are seeking God, building a vision of new life in Christ, nurturing one another by sharing experiences of God’s love and guidance, and encouraging one another in Christian action to transform the world.
Our Core Scriptural Values:
- The Great Commandment – Matthew 22:37
- The Great Commitment – Matthew 16:24
- The Great Requirement – Micah 6:8
- The Great Commission – Matthew 28:19-20
- The Great Redemption – John 3:16
In our ministry and life together, we follow these values:
- Listening to God
- Focusing on People
- Celebrating with Thankfulness
- Valuing Diversity and Inclusion
- Working with Integrity
- Being a Trusted Partner
- Exercising Fiduciary Responsibility
Second Business Session Discusses
Rev. Zach Roberts opened the second business session of the morning. Three trends to watch for in the coming year: continued conversation around the ARUMC mission statement #FollowLovingSharing. Clergy check-in needs to be about whatever ARUMC clergy needs it to be. Rev. Roberts wants to talk about what clergy wants to talk about as well as following Jesus, loving people and sharing grace.
The second trend is more strategic and fruitful partnerships between churches, including rural churches in the United Methodist and Presbyterian denominations. At their best, churches are participating in multi-point charges, which work. Some churches are participating in church mergers. These are ways we are learning to work together in new ways. Lastly, the continued honing of our appointed process is a way we are being more strategic. It is Rev. Roberts prayer that we continue to grow as a people of faith.
Committee on Episcopy, Board of Ordained Ministry Provide Reports.
Karon Mann and Rev. Mark Norman, chairs of the Committee on Episcopy, addressed those attending.
The Bishop serves three conferences, has driven more than 12,000 miles, preached at almost 50 worship services, conducted more than 80 one-one-one meetings with clergy and SO much more. The Committee on Episcopy provided Bishop Merrill with a gift card to the Rejuvenation Day Spa in Little Rock to take the time for personal rejuvenation.
It was also announced Bishop Merrill was elected as president of the Southcentral jurisdiction of the College of Bishops.
Rev. Mark Norman, chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry, is happy to report he is the first African-American to serve as such. He recognized those spending time at local pastor licensing school at Mount Eagle, providing them with certificates for their work. Rev. Norman recognized those beginning their provisional process. They are beginning their first year of residence in ministry. He then recognized those completing their residency process and are now deacons and elders.
The complete Board of Ordained Ministry 2024 Arkansas Conference Policy Statement as of March 15, 2024, can be found in the pre-conference journal on pages 24-31. The Bishop asked if there was any discuss on this report. A movement was made and seconded to amend section four, part B, line 11 on page 23 to strike the word shall and add the word may. This has already been corrected in another version. There was then discussion among members.
Rev. Norman then asked Susan Ledbetter to the podium to present the Barnabas Award. This year, the award goes to both a lay and clergy person. The laity award is given posthumously to Paula Kay Nichols of First UMC in Benton. The clergy award is given to Rev. Jim Polk.
ARUMC Recognizes Retirees for Dedication, Service
During a torrential rainfall, the Conference brought light to those who have dedicated their careers to serving Arkansas’ United Methodist Churches. Honoring those retiring in 2024 and 2025 to date was Bishop Merrill. Rev. Mark Norman recognized Revs. Russell Breshears, Gail Brooks, Terry Bernal, George Hull, Sieg Johnson, Ellis Floyd, Jeff Ladd, Leslie Phillips, Jim Polk, Michael Proctor, Gary Teeter and Ulysses Washington.
Constitutional Amendments
The body voted today as an Annual Conference on four amendments to our constitution. These were adopted last year by General Conference and must be ratified by Annual Conferences to take effect. You may find all four amendments on pages 57, 88, 89 and 90 in the preconference journal.
Rev. Mark Norman and Karon Mann introduced ballot #1: regionalization.
Karon Mann introduced ballot #2: inclusiveness in the church and adds the words “gender” and “ability” to Paragraph IV, Article IV. Inclusiveness of the Church.
Rev. Norman introduced ballot #3: address and eliminate racism in all its forms. If ratified, the paragraph would read as follows: 5. Article V. Racial Justice – The United Methodist Church proclaims that from God’s goodness and love, God created all persons as God’s unique and beloved children. Racism opposes God’s law, goodness and love, and diminishes the image of God in each person. Fueled by white privilege, white supremacy, and colonialism, the sin of racism has been a destructive scourge on global society and throughout the history of The United Methodist Church. It continues to destroy our communities, harm persons, obstruct unity, and undermine God’s work in this world. Racism must be eradicated. Therefore, The United Methodist Church omits to confronting and eliminating all forms of racism, racial inequity, colonialism, white privilege, and white supremacy, in every facet of its life and in society at large.
Rev. Norman introduced ballot #4: The clergy delegates to the General Conference and to the jurisdictional or central conference shall be elected from the clergy members in full connection and shall be elected by the clergy members of the annual conference or provisional annual conference who are deacons and elders in full connection, associate members, and those provisional members who have completed all their educational requirements and local pastors who have completed course of study or Master of Divinity degree from a University Senate-approved theological school or its equivalent as recognized in a central conference and have served a minimum of two consecutive years under appointment immediately preceding the election.
Learning Session with Rev. Dr. Bell Helps Us Handle Conflict Emotionally Well
Rev. Dr. Ron Bell rejoined the conference for the second educational session of the day. “Handling Conflict Emotionally Well” began with the reverend’s favorite story – a couple who argued constantly. One evening in the bed together, the wife looks over, and the husband has stopped arguing. She shook him, yells his name, he doesn’t respond. She calls 911, and when they arrive and take the man’s body away, they hit his head on the corner of the house, and he comes back to life. They leave him there. That night, the couple argues. Several years later, they are lying in bed, and the husband has stopped arguing. She calls his name, shakes his arm, calls 911. They respond and again carry him down the winding steps. The woman yells out, “Watch the corners!”
There are corners in our life that if the wrong person on the right day catches us, we immediately are returned to a place we thought we had dealt with and resolved.
To handle conflict well, we must understand what it is. A conflux is the flowing together of two or more different streams. It is the meeting place. A conflict is a serious disagreement, usually a protracted one. It is the meeting place. We let a barrier prevent us from flowing. Every conflict has the possibility of being a conflux if we can just deal with the real barrier at hand. The four conflicts are data, relationship, values and structural.
Second Day of Annual Conference Wraps with Business Session
Rev. Brittany Watson opened this session, which focused on children and youth ministry. She is pastoring a new congregation as pastor to kids, youth and families a First UMC in downtown Little Rock. Lori Canada has the privilege of being active with children and youth ministries across the state. She says it is something to be proud of and excited about. Rev. Jana Green is at Wesly UMC in Fort Smith and supports campus ministries. Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist University Wesley students love the atmosphere of inclusion at the Wesley Foundation. Rev. Miranda Hornsby, who was ordained just last evening, speaks about how to help young adults find their place within the United Methodist Church. The age-level ministries report can be found on page 92 in the pre-conference journal.
