Horizon Texas Annual Conference 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Venue & Accommodations

  • Childcare will be available for children ages six months through completed fifth grade at First UMC of Wichita Falls (909 10th St). For your convenience, a single registration form may be used to register multiple children from the same family. Pre-registration is required for all sessions aside from opening worship and the service of commissioning and ordination.

    Cost & Deadlines

    Cost: $25 per child per day during business sessions

    Registration deadline: May 13, 2026

  • There will be a nursing room available at the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall at the MPEC in Room 6.

  • The MPEC campus includes accessible parking and automatic doors. Handicap accessible parking is available at the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall in the circle drive in front of the building and on the west side of the building. Visit this website for more information.

  • Please note that any hotel reservations needed must be made independently of registration. There are many suitable hotels available in Wichita Falls. As a courtesy, the annual conference has reserved hotel blocks at several different properties. Please make your reservation before May 13, 2026. Details can be found at https://www.htcumc.org/ac26.

    Wherever you stay, provide a signed copy of this form at check in to receive an exemption from some room taxes.

  • In the annual conference registration, there are opportunities to register for various optional affinity group meals. Pre-registration is required for each of these meals. Note that there are no “general lunch” options. Instead, the concession stand will have lunch items available for purchase or members can travel offsite to any number of restaurants in the Wichita Falls community.

Legislative Item 2026-01: Location of 2027 Meeting of the HTC

  • The new Thursday-to-Sunday format is an intentional effort to make annual conference participation more accessible to young people, working adults and those who have conflicts during weekday work hours. Under the current Sunday-to-Wednesday format, many lay members of Annual Conference must take multiple days away from work to attend. The new schedule means a lay member could participate fully and only need to request a single weekday off, making attendance a realistic option for more people in our connection.

    No schedule will be perfect for everyone. But this change reflects the conference's commitment to an annual conference that is more representative of the full diversity of our membership in age, vocation, and life circumstance.

  • We know that many of our faithful lay members work in jobs that require weekend availability: healthcare, hospitality, retail, food service, transportation, and other service industries. For these members, a Thursday-to-Sunday format may present different scheduling difficulties.

    We know that there is no single schedule that removes barriers for every working person equally. For 2027, this format was chosen because it opens the door more widely for the greatest number of potential lay members. The conference is committed to continued creativity in expanding participation and will pay attention to whether annual conference is growing more representative over time.

  • Yes. This format is not new to the connection; meeting into Sunday morning is already the established practice for nearly one-fifth of U.S. annual conferences and was the practice in the legacy Northwest Texas Conference. While the adjustment will require planning and preparation for our local churches, we are not charting unknown territory and can learn from the experience of conferences that have navigated this well.

  • This is among the most significant pastoral and logistical questions raised by the new format, and the conference takes it seriously. Sunday morning worship will be a feature of annual conference itself under this schedule. The conference will hold a worship service as part of its closing session. For local settings where livestreaming is possible, this is an invitation for the full Horizon Texas Conference to participate in worship together.

    Clergy serving local congregations will need to make arrangements for Sunday morning worship at their churches while they fulfill their annual conference obligations. This is consistent with expectations that already exist when clergy attend continuing education events, are on sabbatical or serve in other conference capacities on a Sunday.

    This is also a meaningful opportunity for laity to demonstrate their gifts and graces in leading worship. The UMC has long celebrated lay leadership in worship through Laity Sunday and Youth Sunday services. The Sunday of Annual Conference can be another such special Sunday.

  • Under the Book of Discipline ¶602, clergy in full connection are members of the annual conference and should be present to actively participate. This expectation encompasses the full session, including Sunday morning. Clergy who have questions about their specific obligations or who anticipate a conflict should be in conversation with their district superintendent ahead of Annual Conference 2027.