2023 Annual Meeting
The 2023 Annual Meeting was a joint gathering of the NEJCAH and the Historical Society hosted by the Susquehanna Annual Conference. The gathering was held May 15-18 in Williamsport, PA.
The overall theme of the meeting was “United Methodism’s Evangelical Association Roots.” The Evangelical Association’s first church building and first publishing house were erected in New Berlin, PA in 1816, and the New Berlin site is a maintained Heritage Landmark of the United Methodist Church. New Berlin and other area Evangelical sites were the focus of the offsite field trips.
Central Pennsylvania played a key role in the 1894-1922 split in Evangelical Association and the 1922 re-unification of the denominations. The first fully united General Conference of the newly created Evangelical Church was held at Williamsport in 1926 – in that city’s newly- reunited and newly-erected First Evangelical (now formerly United Methodist) Church. This historic building and other Williamsport Evangelical sites were noted during the gathering.
Included with the presentations related to the Evangelical Association were presentations on Central Pennsylvania’s “Good Intentions: Unfinished Business” involving United Methodism’s past and present handling of racism/inclusion at the Carlisle Indian School and in metropolitan Harrisburg.
Central Oak Heights
Camp Meeting Site
