The North Alabama Conference is an Annual Conference (a regional episcopal area, similar to a diocese) of the United Methodist Church.
This conference serves approximately 300 UMCs in the northern half of the state of Alabama,United Methodist Church of Northern Alabama website, About Us, retrieved 2024-01-04 with its administrative offices and the office of the bishop located in Birmingham, AL. It is part of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. The bishop is the Reverend L. Jonathan Holston.
Bishops 1944-1948 Bishop Costen J. Harrell, D.D. 1948-1952 Bishop Clare Purcell 1960-1964 Bishop Nolan Bailey Harmon 1972-1980 Bishop Carl Julian Sanders 1984-1992 Bishop J. Lloyd Knox 1992-2004: Bishop Robert Eugene Fannin 2004-2012 Bishop Will Willimon, D.D 2012–2024: Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett 2024-present: L. Jonathan Holston
Districts The North Alabama Annual Conference is further subdivided into four smaller regions called "districts," which provide further administrative functions for the operation of local churches in cooperation with each other. This structure is vital to Methodism, and is referred to as connectionalism. Since mid-2024 the districts are: East, Mid Central, North, and West. Previously there were a larger number of districts including Central, Cheaha, Mountain Lakes, Northeast, Northwest, South Central, Southeast, and Southwest.United Methodist Church of Northern Alabama website, Districts, retrieved 2024-01-04
2023 conference The 2023 conference saw the official disaffiliation of 132 congregations, following ongoing discussions about the UMC's stance on homosexuality.Christian Post website 132 North Alabama United Methodist Churches Leave Denomination, article by Michael Gryboski, dated May 15,20231819 News website, Confusion reigns as North Alabama UMC conference comes to close, article by Allen Keller, dated June 25, 2023 Most of the congregations went on to form the Global Methodist Church.NBC News website, 1 in 5 United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have left over LGBTQ conflicts, article dated July 6, 2023
References
External links North Alabama Conference official website