Leading Ladies Represent Alabama-West Florida in Charlotte

(Rev. Kelli Hitchman-Craig) - In the past year if you read any news report, checked social media, or had any conversations with friends you most likely discussed the movie, Barbie, and/or Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. It has been hard to miss these two female-dominated pop culture stories.
 
It’s also hard to miss how involved the females are in the Alabama-West Florida delegation.
 
The delegation representing Alabama-West Florida in the 2024 General Conference held in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the first of its kind. The delegation is led by Rev. Emily Kincaid, ordained deacon and member of the pastoral staff at First United Methodist Church Pensacola. Rev. Kincaid is the first deacon to be selected as head of a delegation, and the second woman to lead a delegation since Alice Lee in 1972.
 
Not only is the General Conference delegation led by a clergywoman, the delegation itself is made up of half female delegates. The Alabama-West Florida annual conference proudly sends Bobby Brooks, Clara Ester, Celeste Eubanks, Emily Kincaid, Geoffrey Lentz, Patricia Luna, Cory Smith, and Richard Williams to General Conference. This level of inclusivity is also reflected in Alabama-West Florida’s larger 19-person elected delegation (16 delegates, three alternate delegates), which includes both General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference delegates. Of those 19 elected delegates, eight are women. This is the largest number of female representatives to be elected in Alabama-West Florida’s history.
 
Celeste Eubanks, Deaconess, shared, “the true diversity of this delegation is such a gift! A gift not only to me, but to the entire conference.” Delegation head, Rev. Kincaid, also shared, “I am overjoyed to lead this incredibly diverse delegation. The fact that we have almost as many women elected as men means our annual conference cares about fair representation and gender equity.”
 
Reserve delegate, Mary Catherine Phillips, reflected, “It is quite an honor to witness our female clergy and laity lead during such an important time in the United Methodist denomination. From leading our delegation, to volunteering at General Conference, to serving on the secretarial staff, women representing the Alabama-West Florida Conference take these roles seriously and understand the magnitude of the opportunities. I am humbled to serve as a reserve on a delegation that welcomes so many voices and allows one another to use their best gifts. It gives me great hope to see how many women are on this delegation and I pray this trend will continue.”
 
Not only is the delegation well represented by females, numerous women are volunteering their time to organizations such as COSROW monitoring, General Conference staff, marshals and pages, parliamentarians and photography.
 
Dawn Hare, General Secretary of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women and a native of the AWF Conference, has also had a daily role in presenting the monitoring report with the General Secretary of General Commission on Race and Religion (GCORR).
 
We give thanks to God for the ways women have been encouraged to lead in the Alabama-West Florida Conference and look forward to seeing the next generation lead in time.

Photo by Joscie Cutchens