The 27th session of the Dakotas Annual Conference was held virtually on October 10, 2020.  There were 312  lay and clergy delegate registered to vote, that participated via Zoom webinar. There were more than 200 viewers of the live stream.  The theme, "Be the Light: Live Hope!" centered around our gospel imperative to heal a broken world. 

HIGHLIGHTS:
Bishop's Episcopal Address: 'A Light Rising in the Darkness': Bishop Bruce R. Ough gave his final Episcopal Address to the Dakotas Conference. View article and video

Missional Report: The 2020 Missional Report, framed around the core values of Jesus, Mission, and Connection, highlighted all the ways God is at work across the Dakotas Conference. View video and article

Legislation round up: Voting members in attendance approved all pieces of legislation before them. You can access all legislation here, including the 2021 Budget Proposal, and everything on the consent calendar. Here’s a look at two key items, along with the reasoning behind them. Read article

Common Table statement: Members of the Dakotas Conference Common Table, represented by Mryna Hill, made a statemen in reference to the 2019 Resolution regarding LGBTQ persons. View the statement here. 

Bishop's Breakthrough Prayer: This prayer asks God to help us embrace our call to be the light and live hope and heal our broken world. View video,  see text HERE.

VIDEOS:
All the videos from the 2020 Virtual Dakotas Annual Conference are viewable and downloadable here. They are listed in chronological order, as they were played during Annual Conference 2020. Four additional, complete versions of the songs, with lyrics, are at the end of the list.

PHOTOS
A collection of photos from the Virtual Dakotas Annual Conference, held on October 10, 2020, at  Sunnycrest UMC in Sioux Falls, is below in a Flickr Album (Photos by John Srstka, Sunnycrest UMC). View AC 2020 photos here.
A collection of photos from the Celebration of Life in Ministry, held on September 18, 2020, at Sioux Falls First UMC in Sioux Falls, SD (Photos by David Stucke, Dakotas Conference Communications). View CLMS photos here.