Conference Christian Educators' Fellowship to meet in Raleigh
The NC Chapter of CEF will be holding the Annual Get Ready for Summer review of books on Thursday, May 8 at the Methodist Building in Raleigh. They will meet from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Bring a book to talk about or a title of one that others may enjoy. The book may be that helped professionally, inspired, was spiritual, mentally challenging or brought a laugh. Anyone attending can bring a lunch or purchase one at the Snack Bar. Thanks to the networking group from the Raleigh-Rocky Mount area for hosting this meeting. Any questions? Contact Helen Champion, Wake Forest UMC, 919-556-2239 or hdchamp@nccumc.org .
Latino Children's Festival to honor all children
The Office of Hispanic/Latino Ministries and the Office of Multicultural Ministries will co-sponsor with Wake County Human Services, the Latino Children's Festival (Festival para Nin@s) on Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at St. Francis UMC in Cary. There will be music, games, drama, dance, and food. Bishop Al Gwinn will be at the church to bless all the children attending. This day of fun and fellowship is open to persons of all races and ethnicities. For more information, call the Rev. Edith Salazar (Spanish) at 919-609-9601 or Cindy McCorkle (English) at 919-388-5170, ext. 1.
Bishop and Cabinet to meet with Transitioning Pastors
Bishop Gwinn and the Cabinet will meet with transitioning pastors on Monday, May 19 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Wilson: First UMC. There will be box lunches. Check with district superintendent for more details.
Order of Deacons to meet with Bishop Gwinn
The Order of Deacons will meet with Bishop Gwinn from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, May 20 at Edenton Street UMC in Raleigh. There will be a $5 charge for lunch. RSVP to Trish Archer, parcher@nccumc.org , or call 910-791-0353, ext. 124 by May 14.
Gathering of the Fellowship of Local Pastors
The fellowship of local pastors will meet with Bishop Gwinn at Nashville UMC on May 22. The gathering will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last until noon. NOTE: there will be no lunch served since the event ends at noon. Please contact Ray Pearce if planning to attend or if you have any questions, rpearce@nccumc.org .
Clergywomen's Dinner to be held in Greenville
All lay members, clergy, family and friends are invited to attend the Clergywomen's Dinner on June 11 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Hilton in Greenville. The program will include the Red Shoe Award Recognition and featured speaker, the Rev. Trish Archer. Reservations are necessary with an early bird cost of $17 per person before May 23 and $22 per person after May 23. Indicate menu choice with your check: Chicken Marsala or Pasta Primavera (Vegetarian.) Checks may be made payable to: Fuquay-Varina UMC and mailed to the Rev. Elaine Lilliston, Fuquay-Varina UMC, 100 S. Judd Pkwy SE, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526.
Conference Website and Email to be down for maintenance
The IT Office will be performing routine maintenance and hardware upgrades in the Conference server room the weekend of May 9 . The maintenance will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9 and run until 7:30 a.m. on Monday, May 12. At any time during this window various services may be unavailable as various upgrades are made to the Conference network. During the beginning of the upgrade process, conference web services will be temporarily taken offline. Please note the following planned outages:
Main Conference website ( nccumc.org ), Online Data Collection System and all Conference e-mail services - Outage planned for a 12 hour window beginning 5 p.m. on May 9.
Internal Conference network - Intermittent outages planned for the entire weekend.
Local Church Domain websites - Outage planned to last 24 - 48 hours.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Douglas Ward at dward@nccumc.org .
UM Retirement Home Special offering assists persons in benevolent care
The Mother's Day Offering to the UM Retirement Homes supports benevolence at our living communities. Residents are considered benevolent when they can no longer fully pay for their care. It is part of the mission of the Homes and the churches. Many are retired pastors from this conference. Promotional materials have been distributed at district pastors' meetings and a bulletin insert is available at Mothers' Day Offering .
A conference on Hearing Accessibility to be held
The conference Committee on Disability Concerns will sponsor a conference for clergy and laity about hearing accessibility on May 31 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Garner UMC in Garner. Registration is required by May 23. The registration fee is $20. Lunch is included in the registration fee. Call John Crowe at (919) 759-2146 to learn more about this event and find out how to sign up. Click on Hearing Accessibility Conference for more information.
Reminders about Annual Conference
An Annual Conference 2008 webpage on the conference website is being updated frequently with information and news concerning the NC Annual Conference June 11-14 in Greenville. To see current information, go to AC2008 . There is a list of hotels, child care information and registration form posted. A list of the district Annual Conference orientation sessions is also posted.
Deadline for submitting resolutions is May 12. Resolutions should be sent via e-mail, in MS Word or WordPerfect format, to smedlin@nccumc.org . Questions, call Shannon Medlin at 1-800-849-4433, ext. 222
Disciple Bible Outreach Training for 2008
This year's DBOM DISCIPLE Bible Study training initiative continues in the NC Conference. The next events will be May 10 : Rocky Mount District - Nashville UMC; May 17 : Durham District - McMannen UMC; and May 24 : Elizabeth City District - First UMC: EC.
Training in all four levels of DISCIPLE Bible Study and the RINGS OF FELLOWSHIP youth study will be provided at these events. The event is free to all lay and clergy persons. Lunch will be provided for a small fee. Registration is required. For more details and to register, click on DBOM .
District Annual Conference Orientation Sessions
May 18: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Burlington : Mebane UMC; Elizabeth City : Edenton UMC; New Bern : Trinity UMC, Jacksonville
May 18: 7 - 9:00 p.m. - Durham : Glendale Heights UMC; Greenville : Bethel UMC; Wilmington : Trinity UMC
June 1: 3 - 5 p.m. - Fayetteville : St. Matthews UMC; Rocky Mount : Sandy Cross UMC; Sanford: Jonesboro UMC
June 1: 7 - 9 p.m. - Goldsboro : St. Paul UMC; Raleigh : St. Marks UMC; Rockingham : St. Luke UMC, Laurinburg
FROM THE OFFICE OF MISSIONS AND JUSTICE MINISTRIES
Statewide conference on immigration and people of faith
The NC Council of Churches is sponsoring the 2008 Critical Issues Seminar: From Hostility to Hospitality: Immigration and People of Faith , May 13 , 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Greensboro College. Designed for both pastors and lay people, this conference will provide thought provoking in-depth theological perspectives on immigration. A registration fee of $23, which covers snacks and lunch, is due Wednesday, May 7. For details and registration, click on http://www.nccouncilofchurches.org/ .
Key Taylor Award nominations
Rural church nominations for consideration of the Key Taylor Award are needed by May 9 . For 2008, $1,541.84 will be awarded. The award purpose is to call attention to the mission work of all rural churches by honoring the specific achievements of one rural church. To nominate a church, respond in narrative form on one page to the criteria below by May 9 to Becky Biegger ( beckybiegger@nccumc.org ) at the Office of Missions. Include the names of the church and district.
The church is in a community of less than 1,500 people.
The church has 250 members or less.
The church is significantly involved in community mission.
The church shows faithfulness in its stewardship of the mission and service commitments (apportionments) and supports Advance Specials.
The church displays commitment towards growth in ministry and perseverance toward accomplishing their vision of ministry.
Peace with Justice Sunday is May 18
United Methodist Churches will recognize Peace with Justice Sunday on May 18. A special offering is received to help United Methodists have a voice in advocating for peace and justice at home and around the world. Peace with Justice gifts empower compassionate people to advocate for human rights, care for the environment, demonstrate for important causes, feed the hungry, mediate conflict, provide health care, help to model non-violence and be engaged in many other ministries that further the mandate of Micah 6:8. For more information, sermon topics, and promotional material, go to Peace with Justice Sunday .
School of Christian Mission to be in July
The North Carolina School of Christian Mission will be held July 23-26 at Methodist University in Fayetteville. This year's mission studies will be Israel and Palestine, Native Americans: Giving our Hearts Away, and I Believe in Jesus . A registration form is available at School of Christian Mission
Sustainable agriculture as a faith practice is focus of retreats
Two Creation Care Retreats ( May 16-18 and July 25-27 ) focusing on sustainable agriculture as a practice of faith will be held at Chestnut Ridge Camp & Retreat Center. Retreat leaders for these hands-on experiences include Fred Bahnson from Anathoth Garden and Rich Church from Winfield Farm as well as year-round staff at Chestnut Ridge. Dr. Ellen Davis of Duke Divinity School will preach at the May retreat and Don Richter from the Valparaiso Project will preach in July. Local musicians will provide entertainment on Saturday evenings. The retreats are open to all interested persons. How to register and more information is available at: www.campchestnutridge.org
NC Conference UMVIM to hold training events
North Carolina Conference United Methodist Volunteers In Mission will sponsor a training on May 16-17 at the MERCI Center in Goldsboro to enhance skills of mission team leaders. The Basic class will cover a broad range of topics appropriate for new team leaders. The Advanced session will explore the topic "Budgeting, Fundraising and Team Paperwork."
Early Response Training will also be held on May 16-17 at the MERCI Center. This course prepares those volunteers first allowed in a disaster area with the necessary training to make an area safe, sanitary and secure by doing temporary repairs.
Both Basic and Advanced UMVIM, NC Team Leader Training classes begin at 7p.m. on Friday and conclude by noon on Saturday. There are no fees for this class or materials.
Early Response Training classes begin at 7p.m. on Friday and conclude approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday. The cost of the session is $30 and includes training, badge and T-shirt.
These sessions are offered simultaneously, so multiple persons from the same local church who desire to attend different sessions may choose to car-pool. Attendees for either class wishing to lodge overnight at the MERCI Center may do so for a fee of $20 per person, payable to MERCI. For more information, go to http://www.nccumvim.org/
New litany for United Methodist Social Creed
General Conference recently affirmed a new litany to accompany the current Social Creed. The new litany is available at Litany for Social Creed .
General Board of Church and Society Action Items
The General Board of Church and Society offers a webpage with various legislative issues address "to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God." In addition, the site addresses such issues as poverty, immigration, and war. For more information, please see Church and Society Action Center .
Missionary Covenant Relationship
United Methodist missionaries need assistance. They cannot serve in the mission field without support from individuals and churches. Please prayerfully consider partnering with the servant missionaries in sharing the love of Christ around the world. To covenant with a missionary or learn more, go to Covenant Relationship Program .
Programs from the Office of Missions
All programs utilize adult popular education teaching methodology, i.e., high engagement and interactive.
Globalization - It's Impact on God's World & How You can Make a Difference - 2 to 6 hour in-depth study, scripturally based with high interaction & multi-media.
Street Smarts - discerning and empowering congregations for local mission.
Thy Kingdom Come - Moving from Charity to Justice, living in the Realm of God.
Your Connected Ministry - Ministries you are doing as connected churches in the NC Conference (overview of mission opportunities.)
Proclaiming Peace in a Time of Perpetual War - 2 - 4 hour workshop - scripturally based with high interaction and multi-media
Liberia - Land of Spirit, Land of Hope, Connecting with the Least.
Missions - A Journey of Spirit and Justice - 6 to 8 weekly sessions, journeying in the life of Jesus, considering how we make that same journey today. Using the dynamic Biblical Animation (created by theologian, Ched Myers) - reading scripture in today's context.
Other mission presentations, support, training, and sermons are available for local churches from the Office of Missions. For further information e-mail Becky Biegger - beckybiegger@nccumc.org or Steve Taylor - staylor@nccumc.org or call them at 1-800-849-4433.
