Annual Meeting Feedback Results
written by Rev. Michael Vollbrecht
Following the week-long annual meeting October 5-8, the Conference asked for feedback on the virtual experience. The results are in!
Before we get into some of the comments from attendees, it might be helpful to give you a snapshot of who attended annual meeting this year. 57 authorized ministers registered, which was 3 less than in 2020, and 31 lay delegates attended, 7 less than the previous year. There were 27 visitors, 9 members of the Conference Council, 1 partner organization, and 99 guests joining in-person or virtually to attend retiring Conference Minister Edith Guffey’s celebratory event.
Last year, 67 attendees offered feedback on the annual meeting evaluation form. This year, 17 responses were received. Most of these responses were written by authorized ministers. All of the responses indicated they were generally satisfied with the event and its overall content, especially our theme, “Unafraid.”
Those who provided feedback about annual meeting had many positive comments to share about their experiences. Speaking of Rev. Dr. David Vazquez-Levy’s keynote, respondents said it was “excellent,” “engaging,” and “relevant.” Vaszquez-Levy “linked biblical scripture with current situations.” The Conference enjoyed partnering with Pacific School of Religion this year, and we are thankful for several KO members who are PSR alums!
Another workshop with plenty of positive buzz was Rev. Eleanor McCormick’s “Unafraid in Germany” presentation. One participant wrote that, “[Eleanor] presented ideas and discussions that were very interesting. I was able to see how people/churches in Germany struggle with the same issues we deal with here in the US.” As with many of the workshops, including Jim French and Rev. Rachael Pryor’s workshop on being Unafraid in our Communities, attendees wished for more time to engage and wanted the workshops to last longer than the one hour allotted.
In the evaluation’s closing thoughts section, attendees were grateful to have had the experience of celebrating Edith Guffey in person and online, the variety of activities offered, and the energy of the Rev. Kayla Bonewell, who not only led a dance party during a break in one workshop, but hosted an “after hours” session for several participants. Thank you for your spirit, Kayla!
Attendees did express disappointment in not being able to join in-person, and at least one spoke about how tired they are of Zoom. One request was for more daytime options, and another commented that they wanted to attend both workshops that were scheduled at the same time. The Conference will consider all of this feedback as we develop the 2022 Annual Meeting - prayerfully, it will be in person!
Some questions might surface as a result of the evaluation. For example, why were there so few offering feedback? Why might the number of registrants be lower in 2021 than in the previous year? While the virtual format is not ideal, attendance at annual meeting has always been part of the covenantal relationship between the Conference and congregations and their authorized ministers. Are these indicators of larger concerns, or have we simply reached “peak Zoom” and the fatigue of virtual events has led to lower turn-out and engagement?
While questions remain on how we can more fully engage with one another, it’s clear that the majority of attendees valued our time together and consider annual meeting to be an important event in the life of the church here in Kansas and Oklahoma. Thank you to the many speakers, workshop leaders, and planners that made the event possible. See you next year!