Good News: The Memorial Family at Annual Conference

Part 1 in a series of articles about 2025 Florida Annual Conference.

Pastor Rachel being ordained.

Florida Annual Conference, held in Lakeland June 4th - 7th, is the yearly meeting of pastors, laity, and volunteers from churches around the state. More than just a business meeting required by the Book of Discipline, it's a time to learn about the initiatives of the denomination, the work of the local churches, the missions and ministries that are supported by our apportionments, and connect with other United Methodists from our area.

This year, Memorial had 15 church members representing our congregation and our district. Some churches don't have one representative or may only have a few. Having 15 members at Annual Conference reflects the involvement that so many members of Memorial have in the work of our church though various levels of engagement. (And it is something to be proud of!)

Our Pastors, Charlie and Rachel, were both in attendance. Pastor Rachel was ordained as a Deacon in full connection during the ordination service on Saturday.

Carrie Mac, serving as the Annual Conference Secretary, seated between Rev. Alex Shanks and Bishop Tom Berlin.

Carrie McCannell-Scruggs (Carrie Mac) sat on stage next to Bishop Berlin serving as Conference Secretary and she is the first lay person to hold this position. Conference Secretary carries many responsibilities throughout the year, yet the one that people recognize most is the job of helping the Bishop during the plenary sessions and leading the Conference in voting on denominational amendments and initiatives.

Jim Mitts working with the Conference Disaster Relief Team.

Jim Mitts is our North East District Disaster Response Coordinator and he served at Conference with our Disaster Response Team helping churches learn about ways to be prepared for storms.

Sarah Flint with members of the Conference Creation Care Team.

Sarah Flint, a part of the Conference Creation Care Team, helped teach churches about creation care initiatives and helped promote the Bucket's of Hope Challenge (including the Water Bucket challenge between the Conference Cabinet and the Youth Delegation!) And Memorial's video of us filling 203 flood buckets (and Pastor Charlie getting doused with water) was shown to the entire Conference to promote Buckets of Hope!

Jessica Scott leads a discussion with the Conference Co-lay leaders, Derrick Scott and Warren Pattison, about the work of laity this past year.

Jessica Barber Scott is a Co-lay Leader for the North East District and an Associate Lay Leader for the Conference. She helped lead the Laity Celebration and also the Laity Report during the plenary session.

Sarah Flint chats with Mary and Rich Smither during the Expo.

Lucinda Lautz, a United Methodist Deaconess, and Mary Negron, President of the North East District United Women in Faith, were also serving in various roles during the Conference.

Representing Memorial as voting members were Rick Smither and Donna Feith. Tom Ray. Sue McCannell, Matthew Scruggs, Mary Smither, Andy Foote, and Jim Mitts were voting representatives for the North East District.

Matthew Scruggs and Carrie Mac with Bishop Tom Berlin.

Along with their other responsibilities, Pastor Charlie, Carrie Mac, and Jessica Scott also serve on the Board of Ordained Ministry which helps recruit, support, and recommend candidates for licensing and ordination as United Methodist Pastors. The fruits of the work of the Board of Ordained Ministry is seen on the final day of Annual Conference as candidates for ministry are licensed, commissions, or ordained.

Newly ordained elders and deacons.

During the service on Saturday, five new elders were ordained (including Rev. Anna Brook Opaliniski who grew up at Memorial), five new deacons were ordained (including Pastor Rachel), six provisional elders and deacons were commissioned, and ten new local pastors were licensed!

Our 15 members of the church family at Memorial were excited to be at Annual Conference and were active in the work being done. Memorial's participation in the various levels of church work, the District, Conference, and greater United Methodist Church, is something to be celebrated!

June 13th, 2025 | Rev. Rachel Williams

Dear Friends,  

It was such an honor and a privilege to stand up on stage at Annual Conference this past Saturday and be ordained as a deacon in Full Connection. I want to express my gratitude to each of you for your love and support these past twenty-two months leading into this time. This community is strong and thriving, and my family is so grateful to be a part of it!

Speaking of community and connection, I want to lend my pastor’s note this week to a reflection offered by Sarah Flint about the Florida United Methodist (and Fernandina Beach!) connection at work. I've attached her reflection below.

With love,  

Pastor Rachel ‘ 

Rev. Marisa Gertz, Rev. Anna Brook Opalinski, Rev. Rachel Williams, and Carlene Johnson

"This photograph encapsulates everything that is meaningful to me about being part of the UMC, and specifically the Florida Conference. 

Within the first couple of hours of arriving, I remembered how much I love this meeting because of all of the connections. As United Methodists, we emphasize connection at the denominational level. So many of our hugely impactful missions and ministries have so much more power for good because we are connectional. But it’s more than that. It’s the personal connections. This meeting is like a giant family reunion. Everywhere you look, you see love in action. People who have been apart for a year or more see each other from across the room and go in for the big hugs. It’s heartwarming and uplifting and joy-inducing and all the good things. 

When I look at this picture, I see four remarkable women closely connected with each other, and they all have connections to Memorial. On the left, we see the Rev. Marisa Gertz, who didn’t have the title at the time, but essentially was Memorial's Youth Director. She was hired when she was only 19, and stayed with us until she graduated from UNF and went on to Duke Divinity School. She is an elder serving as the Pastor of Care and Discipleship at Trinity UMC in Gainesville. Next up is the Rev. Anna Brooke Opalinski. We know her as “Pastor Brett’s daughter.” Anna Brooke is an elder serving as an Associate Pastor at another Trinity UMC, this one in Tallahassee. The third from the left is our beloved Pastor Rachel Williams. Our Annual Conference this year featured not only her ordination as a deacon, with her father Pastor Ivan Corbin supporting her on stage, but her maternal grandfather was also honored in the Service of Remembrance for Conference clergy who passed away over the last year. And last but certainly not least, Carlene (Fogle-Miller) Johnson, a.k.a. “Pastor Beth’s daughter.” Carlene has both an M.Div. and a J.D. She is another brilliant woman who is a gift to all of the organizations she’s been associated with over the years.  

I feel grateful to know these women. Having been raised in the UMC, they know how to lead. They answer God’s call in their lives. They are making a difference right now, and will continue to make a difference for years to come. Some of the events at the Annual Conference celebrated the ordination and work of clergy women in our Conference. The women in this photo do the legacy proud and give me hope for the future! " - Sarah Flint

June 6th, 2025 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

First of all, let me publicly wish my favorite daughter, Eva Charles, a happy 20th birthday! Our lives changed forever in all the best ways when we became parents on June 6th, 2005.

However, being born on June 6th means that Eva's birthday will usually clash with Annual Conference, where Margaret and I are this week. 

Annual Conference is the annual get together of the people called United Methodist in Florida. We gather to renew relationships with one another, to work of God in our Conference area, and to discuss the business of the church. Conferencing is a Methodist tradition that stretches all the way back to our beginnings as a denomination.

John Wesley held the first Methodist Annual Conference in 1744 with his brother, Charles Wesley, four other Anglican clergymen, and four of his lay preachers who were invited to join them. It lasted for six days, and the business was conducted in question and answer form. It deliberated about 'what to teach, how to teach and what to do, i.e. how to regulate our doctrine, discipline and practice'. 

Conferences are no longer six days long (praise God!) and business is no longer conducted only in question and answer form, although that certainly remains part of our work. Overall, Annual Conference is a sacred time together - encouraging, uplifting, challenging, and inspiring. 

Along with Margaret and myself, there are fourteen other Memorial people who are here in some capacity. Thirteen of them are voting representatives to the Conference. Please hold us all in your prayers this week. Pray for encouragement, wisdom, and abundant grace as we gather, worship, pray, and break bread together. 

And don't forget, the highlight of this Annual Conference for Memorial is that Pastor Rachel will be ordained as a Deacon in Full Connection this Saturday morning. If you can't make the trip to be in Lakeland in person, please come join the watch party that will take place in Maxwell Hall this Saturday morning. This is a special moment in her ministry journey, and we are incredibly proud of her! 

One more thing: remember that this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Don't forget to wear red to church as we celebrate the gift of God's Spirit given to empower the Church. 

See you then! 

Pastor Charlie