News

About 20 representatives from three conferences met via Zoom this week to collaborate and dream about the possibilities of collaborating on ministry during the 18 months that Bishop Leonard Fairley will be serving as Interim ...

With Bishop Leonard Fairley preparing to divide his time between Kentucky and North Carolina for the next year and a half, directors and other representatives from both conferences, as well as the Red Bird Missionary Conference, ...

ELIZABETHTOWN, Kentucky – For the first time since pandemic quarantines started in March 2020, the Kentucky Annual Conference’s New Church Development teams were able to gather in person Tuesday, Aug. 24, to talk about New Faith ...

August 20, 2021 KAC COVID Re-entry Update and Letter of Concern

Starting in fall 2021, Kentucky pastors in training who receive Methodist Education Fund assistance will receive significantly more aid than in recent years, thanks to a surplus in the fund that provides a portion of the money. ...

Thursday night there was significant flash flooding in Carlisle, Nicholas County.  Over 100 families were impacted and there is one fatality reported so far.  There is also significant damage to several businesses as well as the ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference Re-Entry Team continues to encourage churches to follow all local, state, CDC and KAC guidelines related to the Covid pandemic.  There is great concern related to the highly contagious Delta variant ...

Over the next three weeks we will honor the women and men of the conference who faithfully  served the church through ordained ministry but are now retiring.  We give God thanks that these men and women answered their call to ...

A $10,000 grant from the Forum for Theological Exploration is enhancing the experience for this summer’s four Isaiah Project interns by adding an online coaching component to their 10-week ministerial discernment process. “It’s ...

Here is the 2021 - 2022 Appointment List.

Clergy and  laity who serve in Kentucky Annual Conference leadership positions will be required to undergo anti-racism training at least once every four years, following action taken Tuesday, June 8, during the business meeting of...

Knowing and showing the love of God is more important than ever for United Methodists during this season of change and uncertainty, Bishop Leonard Fairley said in his sermon at the start of the business meeting of the 2021 online ...

Four clergy were ordained as elders, one was commissioned as a provisional elder, and one was recognized as an associate member Monday, June 7, during a Service of Commission and Ordination as part of the 2021 Annual Conference. ...

Pandemics and other current challenges “do not excuse us from the command to be loving disciples,” Kentucky Annual Conference Co-Lay Leader Jonna Carter said Sunday, June 6, in a call for laity to become more deeply involved in ...

The College of Bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, in accordance with ¶521 of the 2016 Book of Discipline, calls for a special session of the jurisdictional conference on July 21, 2021. The ...

By now you probably have either read or heard the news from the Council of Bishops, the Southeastern Jurisdiction College and the SEJ Committee of Episcopacy concerning annual conference leadership coverage until we elect new ...

The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church has approved episcopal supervision recommendations for the Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ), due to the retirement of four bishops.   The recommendations were made by the ...

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines on Thursday, May 13th, regarding the use of masks by those who are vaccinated. Please find more information from the CDC at the following link:   https...

Are you ready for a challenge that we think will make a real difference in your church and community – as well as prove spiritually invigorating for you and your team? It’s called The Kingdom Assignment, and New Church Development...

Nashville: The United Methodist Church has continued to carry out its mission despite the unique challenges and uncertainties of 2020. That’s according to the new 2020 State of the Church Report produced by the Connectional Table ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bishops of The United Methodist Church will meet April 26 to April 30 in a virtual gathering that will bring together more than 120 episcopal leaders from across the globe. Faced with the disruptions and ...

What is the appropriate response when a watershed moment for justice is carried out?   I am grateful that the judicial system worked. However, I must confess, I am saddened that it came to this because a person who should be ...

WASHINGTON, D. C. -  The highest court in The United Methodist Church has exercised its discretion to decline a request by bishops to decide whether the plan for separation on the part of some in the church, known as the Protocol,...

Seven Kentucky Conference clergy were ordained as elders and one was ordained as deacon Saturday, April 17, during a Service of Commissioning and Ordination at Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville. In addition, two people...

Kentucky Annual Conference Communications staff members have been recognized for five superior pieces of their work during the 2021 competition of UMAC, the United Methodist Association of Communicators.   The winning entries ...

Bishop Leonard Fairley and Disaster Relief Coordinator, Jim Morse, of The Kentucky Conference visit flood-stricken areas in Eastern Kentucky. The recovery process is going strong but there is still more to do.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church met on Monday, March 22, 2021 in an additional meeting to consider pressing matters  related to the Council’s work.  After much conversation, the bishops ...

Kentucky Annual Conference March 2021 Update Phase I                          Phase II                    Phase III   As vaccination efforts continue to move forward, we are seeing good progress with the decline of rates of ...

The following was written by Rev. Willard Knipp of Pikeville First UMC and posted on his Facebook page to mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19. Reprinted here with his permission, with minor editing. Rev. Knipp has also ...

Doylesville UMC was flooded in our recent rains. Doylesville is a small rural church located about 1 mile from the Kentucky river, but next to a tributary that feeds into the river and we were flooded in the recent rains. The ...

There have been a total of 64 emergency declarations in Kentucky. These are cities and counties that have made a declaration: Counties: Adair, Boyd, Breathitt, Calloway, Carter, Casey, Clark, Clay, Cumberland, Edmonson, Elliott, ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference has received a $10,000 grant from UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, to assist in the response to destructive flooding in Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky.   The funds will be used to ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference is reaching out to UMCOR to receive a shipment of cleaning buckets as part of the Conference’s response to devastating flooding in Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky. The buckets should arrive in by ...

As a longtime chaplain in federal prisons, I have seen the divisions that occur between races at their most extreme. Violence between races is not unusual in prison, one of the most segregated environments on Earth. Among ...

Brothers and Sisters,   By now, you are probably aware that the Commission on the General Conference has again postponed the 2020 General Conference, and the Council of Bishops have set a date of May 8, 2021 for a Special Called ...

Dear members and friends of the Kentucky Annual Conference, I pray that all of you are well and are coming to know the unmeasurable love of Jesus Christ during this Lenten season.   Bishop Fairley, with the AC Program and ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference is launching an ambitious project to assess all its teams and affiliates to make sure they align in the most effective way to help the Conference meet its goal of developing leaders to make ...

Kentucky delegates to General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference were part of a meeting held via Zoom on Saturday, Feb. 13, to update U.S. delegates on financial-related issues, including the fund that pays for bishops and ...

The close relationship between the Kentucky Annual Conference and the UMC’s smattering of churches in Serbia is warming the hearts – and everything else – of one small congregation in the Serbian city of Šid. A $3,000 gift from ...

As the Bishop of the Kentucky Annual Conference, one of my greatest responsibilities is overseeing the pastoral needs of congregations through our United Methodist system of itinerancy.  A large part of attending to the needs of ...

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church will have a one-day virtual meeting of the more than 150 active and retired bishops on February 18, 2021 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.   The use of technology and the travel ...

In the days following the incident at our Nation’s Capitol, Bishop Leonard Fairley issued a statement reminding us of the narrative to which we are called as passionate spiritual disciples of Jesus Christ.  The narrative comes to ...

“But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”    - I Corinthians 12:31 “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists ...

Grace and Peace to you, Sisters and Brothers in Christ.  These are challenging times that we live in. The continued rise of COVID-19 infections and deaths around the world, the attack on the US Capitol last week, and the ...

This is a statement Bishop Fairley shared with the clergy and laity of the Kentucky Conference after the Capitol insurrection. I have read countless statements and watched the media analysis of what happened in Washington, D.C., ...

During the 2020 Kentucky Annual Conference it was announced that Imagine Kentucky Methodism would be releasing information about the mission and goals of the group. Here is a link to the first two videos released by the ...

Lighthouse Academy at Newburg are the recipients of the Chick-Fil-A True Inspiration Award including $50,000.  Chick-Fil-A presented the "big check" on December 10, 2020, to Cynthia Overall, Director of Operations and Student ...

Here you will find the two worship services from the 2020 Kentucky Annual Conference, the manuscript from Bishop Fairley's sermon and other elements from our virtual plenary session.. Opening Worship Mission Celebration Mary Did...

Bishop Leonard Fairley is joining the UK Wesley Foundation in denouncing an anti-Semitic attack near campus Saturday evening as Chabad of the Bluegrass lit a menorah on the third night of Hannukah. A member of Chabad of the ...

MONTICELLO, Kentucky – Standing in their backyard, Dennis and Stesha Flowers talk about their dream: A building that could serve as a permanent worship center where the Second Life ministry of Monticello UMC could meet for weekly ...