What options were considered before reaching a final decision?
The College of Bishops, consisting of active and retired bishops from within the jurisdiction, considered a wide range of alternatives. Options were put on the table that affected every annual conference in some way. Some options required considerable discussion. Some ideas required redrawing boundaries of annual conferences; some called for merging conferences; some called for aligning them into areas even though they were not geographically contiguous. Each option was weighed against the values of mission, demographics, geography, level of disruption, workload of bishops, long-term viability, and cultural affinity.
