06/08/2026
Day 2 of Annual Conference is a wrap — here's what you missed!
Around 1,200 South Carolina United Methodists gathered at the Greenville Convention Center Monday for the first official day of conference business.
Bishop Leonard Fairley opened with a powerful sermon on holy sight — challenging the conference to stop looking back and start seeing God's possibilities ahead.
"The best years of the South Carolina Annual Conference are not behind us,” he said, “they are in front of us."
From there, the conference got down to business: four Standing Rules changes were approved, the first reading of a proposed $9.8 million 2027 budget was presented — that's 5.5% less than last year — and 11 new local pastors were officially licensed.
A resolution to increase support for local pastors came to the floor… and narrowly failed, with leaders encouraging the Fellowship of Local Pastors to bring a stronger version back next year.
The day closed with a Praise & Prayer service led by Rev. Darlene Dellinger.
Tuesday is packed — more reports, a memorial service for 58 saints who passed this year, and a conference-wide mission project packing 125,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger. 🙏
Stay tuned!
Head over to our website, AdvocateSC.org, or our brand new app, for a full recap, and stay tuned — we’ll be covering everything as it unfolds this week at Annual Conference 2026 in Greenville.
And be sure to like and follow us for more South Carolina United Methodist news like this.
