The SUS Visioning Task Force began the new year by continuing the work entrusted to them by the 2025 Annual Conference. On Saturday, January 10, the team gathered in Corning, NY, for their second in-person workshop with the consulting team. Colleagues from the Upper New York Conference joined them, deepening the collaborative spirit of this shared journey.
The first workshop, held in November, focused on the initial results of a conference-wide survey and grounded the team in the visioning process that will guide their work. This second gathering built on that foundation. The team reflected on what they heard during November’s listening sessions, shared stories as they began naming core values, and clarified the next steps in the process. Throughout the day, there was a palpable sense of hope and enthusiasm as the team engaged the feedback and began to imagine the possibilities of where this visioning work may lead.
What the Visioning Task Force Has Done So Far
The Team has already engaged deeply in listening, learning, and discernment through the following:
- Interpreting survey data gathered from:
- Lay Leaders in every local congregation
- Lay Members to Annual Conference
- All appointed and retired clergy
- Elected conference leaders
- Conference staff
- Listening to voices shared during November listening sessions
- Gathering insights from C3 Tour gatherings with Bishop Héctor
- Participating in two in-person workshops with consultants
- Engaging in three Zoom sessions with the consulting team
What Comes Next
The team now turns its focus outward. Through pain-point interviews (so named because they help identify where people experience pain and struggle in the world), the Task Force will listen for how the gifts – or charisms – of the church might respond. Task Force members will meet with people outside the church to hear what they name as the strengths, struggles, and realities of life in their communities. Because the team reflects the geographic and cultural diversity of the Susquehanna Conference, these conversations will offer a broad and honest picture of the world our congregations are called to serve.
Throughout every step of this process, the Visioning Task Force listens not only to the voices of people inside and outside the church, but also for the voice of God. They seek to discern how the Holy Spirit is calling United Methodists of the Susquehanna Conference to form disciples of Jesus Christ who love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in their local communities and across the world.
The team looks forward to sharing at June’s Annual Conference how God is shaping and guiding this vital, hope-filled work.
