The center altar at the 2022 Dakotas Annual Conference built around the theme "Jesus: Healer." Photo by jlynn studios.

"I am glad the annual conference was in-person!"

"Meaningful worship and celebration. Nice mix of business and different opinions. Super videos to show areas of ministry, like Common Table report."

"In general, the Annual Conference was incredibly well planned and executed this year. Everything seemed to run ahead of schedule - thanks in large part, I think, to the digital preconference and first part of the clergy session. I liked how the learning sessions were intermixed with our regular business."

These are three comments from the evaluations of the twenty-ninth session of the Dakotas Annual Conference, held June 9-11, 2022, at the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, North Dakota. It was an in-person event after two years of virtual and hybrid annual conferences. More than 450 United Methodists from North and South Dakota experienced inspiring worship, meaningful learning, and conducting business.  

There are six areas from the evaluations that showed up frequently.

1. Electronic voting was a success. People reported that the devices were easy to use, saved time, and added to the flow of the conference. One person wrote on their evaluation, "I really liked the handheld voting technology. It kept our votes private and provided quick results, which saved a lot of time."

2. Many people reported difficulties caused by the lighting at the Bismarck Event center. The reality is that the lighting options are limited at the Bismarck Event Center. The possibilities are all the lights on or all the lights off. The concerns have been shared with the event center and production team. In the future, there is a plan to add some lighting options.

3. Worship was awesome. People reported the following: Worship started on time, and there was a nice flow to the worship services. The liturgy was fitting to the theme. The center altar area had a beautiful design. There was a good balance of contemporary and traditional music.

4. Food met the needs of the attendees, but there is room for improvement. The refreshments provided during the breaks were rated the highest by people completing the evaluations. Some suggestions were to label those with special diets clearly, perhaps individual package gluten-free meals, add more options for beverages, and focus on providing healthy meals and snacks. 

5. The Ted Talk style of speakers was a change that was appreciated. Several completing the evaluation mentioned that the diversity of speakers was welcoming. One person wrote, "It is always good to hear from more persons. Even though their topics were varied, they fit well with each other and what is currently happening in our church!"

6. Learning time in workshops and over lunch throughout the conference was favorable. "It was nice to have them mixed in and probably made it more likely for more people to choose to attend one or more," reported one person on their evaluation. It was suggested by a few people that there not be workshops at the end of the day. One person summed it up this way, "I did not care for a workshop later in the day on Friday. After all the discussion, my brain needed a break and felt that I didn't give my full attention to the speaker."

The suggestions and comments from the 2022 Annual Conference will be considered as the conference plans for future events. In November, the bishop called for a Special Session of the Dakotas Annual Conference, and plans are underway for the 2023 Annual Conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, June 8-10, 2023.

"We value your input. We take it seriously, and we will focus on the items that came up repeatedly," said Al Roll, Dakotas Conference staff leader for the Annual Conference planning team. "We are hearing it, and we are working on it."