Conference honors longtime member

Members of the Annual Conference shared a poignant moment as Dr. Bill Lawrence, Dean of Perkins School of Theology, SMU, moved that the bar of the Conference be moved to include the home of Rev. William T. (Bill) Stephenson. The Conference affirmed the motion with a standing ovation for Rev. Stephenson, who signed in for the 63rd time when Rev. Jeff Hall, Highland Park UMC, Dallas, brought the papers to his home.

Fellow clergy honored Rev. Stephenson during their Sunday session by singing a special hymn commissioned by the Wesley Study Group in his honor. Rev. John Thornburg composed the words and Jane Marshall the music for the hymn, There Is No Human Quality.