12 JUN 2019 · Rev. Katie Dawson and John Rothlisberger are members of the Iowa delegation to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2020. John received the highest number of votes among the laity. Rev. Katie was among three who were tied for the highest number of votes from the Conference’s clergy. Rev. Katie and John joined Dr. Art McClanahan for a conversation just after the adjournment of this year’s Annual Conference to talk about the election process, how the delegation will stay connected prior to the worldwide denominational gathering next May in Minneapolis and the regional assembly in July 2020 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and ways by which Iowa United Methodists can support the 18 clergy and 18 laity they elected to represent them.

12 JUN 2019 · Speaking final words of blessing for the 2019 Annual Conference, Bishop Laurie Hall extended an invitation to “go out into the world and be difference makers, together!”

11 JUN 2019 · “I believe that the payment of apportionments is an essential spiritual discipline that bunds us all together, said Bishop Laurie, as she invited congregations to make a difference locally and around the world.

11 JUN 2019 · Speaking on behalf of the elected leadership to the Iowa delegation to the 2020 General Conference, Rev. LaTonya Calderon asked for prayers “for the work that is before us,” and for “God’s blessings to be upon us.”

11 JUN 2019 · Rev. Paul Smith invited the members of the Conference to “give your testimony” to family, to friends, “so that they can see you as you really are…something that claims them, something that changes them. He spoke during the Fixing of Appointments service.

10 JUN 2019 · Two Iowa Conference congregations received One Matters Awards. Letts United Methodist Church and St. Charles Parish were recognized for their focus on discipleship, including new baptisms and professions of faith. Dr. Jaye Johnson invited the Conference to congratulate “these two congregations for making God’s Hope for the World real!”

10 JUN 2019 · 32 youth, from across all 8 districts, shared their own special look back at the 2019 Annual Conference. But more than humor, according to Rev. Steve Braudt, the Diakonos embody “what the church must become to survive and thrive into the future.”

10 JUN 2019 · Tyler Schwaller, a deacon in full connection, who self-identifies as “queer, clergy,” call for the creation of “spaces where we can come together,” in a moment of personal privilege. “Our Queer kindred should be a model,” he said, of supporting “one another when we don’t do the ‘both sides thing” because “our lives, our souls are at stake.”

10 JUN 2019 · Celebrating 150 years, “United Methodist women have been and will continue to be a dynamic community with God.” Lynn Calvert told the Conference, “I am so proud to be a part of this legacy of women who have looked out at the world and caught God’s vision of love and responded with more than 90 national institutions and international ministries.”

9 JUN 2019 · Gathering for the Service of Remembrance, Rev. Kiboko Kiboko reminded the gathered community that “We are here to thank God for giving to us all these people who have gone before us.” “We are here to continue to cry and mourn their passing,” he suggested, “and we are here to remember them.”