Meet those who represent you
862 delegates attend General Conference from around the world. These elected representatives vote on your behalf and make decisions for the church. The General Conference is the only body that can officially speak on behalf of the church.
These delegates were elected at the 2019 Annual Conference. The first elected delegates became the chairpersons of the delegation.
About the delegation
The 2022 General Conference will have 862 delegates overall, equally split between clergy and laity. Of the 2020 delegates, 55.9% will be from the U.S., 32% from Africa, 6% from the Philippines, 4.6% from Europe and the remainder from concordat churches that have close ties to The United Methodist Church.
The Michigan Delegation to the 2020 General Conference is comprised of 4 clergy and 4 laity. An additional 4 clergy and 4 laity are elected to serve with those persons at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference. Four more persons (2 clergy and 2 laity) serve as alternate delegates to the Jurisdictional Conference. This 20-member Delegation was elected at the 2019 Michigan Annual Conference.
How can I contact the delegation?
Send your comments or questions to [email protected]
MICHIGAN GENERAL CONFERENCE DELEGATION
Laura Witkowski
Chairperson
LAITY DELEGATE
Member of Grand Rapids Aldersgate UMC and Michigan Conference Associate Director of Lay Leadership Development
Kennetha Bigham-Tsai
Chairperson
CLERGY DELEGATE
Currently, the Chief Connectional Table Officer for The United Methodist Church Connection Table.
Diane Brown
LAITY DELEGATE
Member of Chelsea First UMC and Michigan Annual Conference Legislative Coordinator
Joy Barrett
CLERGY DELEGATE
Senior Pastor of Chelsea First UMC and Michigan Annual Conference Secretary
Jennifer Peters
LAITY DELEGATE
Court Street United Methodist Church
Flint
Paul Perez
CLERGY DELEGATE
Associate Director for Mission and Ministry
Livonia
Nichea Ver Veer Guy
LAITY DELEGATE
Member of Grand Rapids Trinity Church and Chairperson of the Michigan Conference Commission on the Annual Conference
Meghan Walther
CLERGY DELEGATE
Clarkston United Methodist Church
Clarkston
NORTH CENTRAL JURISDICTIONAL CONFERENCE DELEGATION
Ruby Anderson
LAITY DELEGATE AND GC ALTERNATE
Member of Scott Memorial UMC and NCJ Director of United Methodist Women
Charles Boayue
CLERGY DELEGATE AND GC ALTERNATE
Serving as the District Superintendent for the Greater Detroit Conference
Hoon-Yung Hopgood
LAITY DELEGATE AND GC ALTERNATE
Troy Korean United Methodist Church
Taylor
Joel Fitzgerald
CLERGY DELEGATE AND GC ALTERNATE
Sterling Heights United Methodist Church
Rochester
Lisa Hahn
LAITY DELEGATE
United Methodist Church
Traverse City, MI
Brad Bartlemay
CLERGY DELEGATE
Holland First United Methodist Church
Holland
Ruth Sutton
LAITY DELEGATE
Sanford United Methodist Church
Sanford
Christina Wright
CLERGY DELEGATE
Royal Oak First UMC and Associate Director of Spiritual Care at Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan hospitals)
Alternate Jurisdictional Conference Delegates
Gordon Grigg III
LAITY ALTERNATE
Ishpeming Wesley United Methodist Church
Ishpeming
Sherri Swanson
CLERGY ALTERNATE
Georgetown United Methodist Church
Jenison
Brenda DuPree
LAITY ALTERNATE
Clarkston United Methodist Church
Clarkston
Matt Weiler
CLERGY ALTERNATE
Kalamazoo Sunnyside United Methodist Church
Kalamazoo