Lake Junaluska Dam Project Offering at Annual Conference
Lake Junaluska was created by constructing a dam that was completed in the spring of 1913. Now the dam is in need of major restoration. Local churches can help by taking an offering for the SEJ Dam Project. The conference goal is $118,000 or $.50 per church member. The pastor and one lay member from each church should be prepared to bring forward the offering from the local church as requested at Annual Conference. Each district superintendent has or will have shortly, bulletin inserts about the SEJ Dam Restoration project for use by each local congregation. If a church cannot take an offering before Annual Conference, it can be taken shortly after conference. The pastor and lay members from that church may want to place a note to that effect in the offering plate at conference. A PDF files is attached if a church would like to print the inserts: SEJ Bulletin Insert
Hearing Accessibility Conference is postponed
The Hearing Accessibility Conference planned for May 31 at Garner UMC has been postponed, possibly until the fall. Persons who have registered should contact Linda Harris, leeharris@nccumc.org as to whether you'd like a registration refund or would like it to apply to the next conference.
Clergy Spouses to gather June 12 for luncheon
All clergy spouses are invited to the City Hotel and Bistro in Greenville at noon on June 12 for a luncheon. The Rev. Lib Campbell, retreat leader for the Academy for Spiritual Formation, will be the keynote speaker. Pre-registration is requested and a registration form with important information is available at Clergy Spouses .
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. Please include your 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.
District Annual Conference Orientation Sessions
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
“Reverse Potato Drop” at conference
Conference United Methodist Men will be sponsoring a “Reverse Potato Drop” during Annual Conference. This will take the place of the traditional “potato drop.” The collection from the reverse drop will be used to help feed the hungry in Eastern North Carolina. Annual conference members and guests are encouraged bring a 5 or 10 lb bag of potatoes and place it in one of the collection bins in the breezeway between the Convention Center and the Hilton. Food bank representatives will be picking up the potatoes for distribution. Please join United Methodist Men, the Society of St. Andrew, and the continuing support of many in the United Methodist Church to help fight hunger in this annual drive. To download a flyer: Potato Drop
FROM THE OFFICE OF MISSIONS AND JUSTICE MINISTRIES
Epiphanie Mujawimana will speak during Annual Conference.
Epiphanie Mujawimana will speak at an event hosted by the Evangelical Fellowship at noon, Friday, June 13 at Covenant UMC. For reservations, please contact: donshields@nccumc.org . The cost to attend is $8. Epiphanie is a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Hired in Sept. 2007, she leads ZOE's empowerment work among orphans in Africa. "Giving Hope for Life" is ZOE's newest initiative which equips orphans with the life skills needed to be self-sufficient within three years. Currently nearly 4,000 orphans are in "Giving Hope." Overall, ZOE's care now reaches nearly 30,000 orphans and vulnerable children.
Tornado Response
Tornadoes and severe storms continue to rake the nation. Many regions of our nation face a long recovery. UMCOR is working with all affected annual conferences to assess damage, help with the long-term recovery plans, and provide assistance to meet emergency needs. Help support all these annual conferences affected by these violent storms with gifts to Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance # 901670. Give online at: Tornado Response – Gifts . Or place a gift in your local Sunday Offering and mark the gift and envelope: Disaster Response, United States - #901670. And please continue to pray for all survivors in the US and around the world who are dealing with violent weather.
The Peru Covenant needs your support
There continues to be many opportunities to connect with the Methodist people of Peru in covenantal relationship. You can connect with a local congregation as a sister church and you have opportunity to support multiple places and forms of ministry, from feeding those who are hungry to building new churches to supporting Christian education. For more information, please contact the Rev. Lucho Reinoso at reinosol@nccumc.org . If you wish to make a gift, please see the advance numbers at: Peru Advance
The 14th Annual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry, July 14-18
Featured speakers: Marian Wright Edelman, Dr. Fred Craddock, Dr. Yvonne Delk and many others. In this wealthy nation today, one in six children lives in poverty. Join clergy, seminarians, Christian educators, young adult leaders, and other faith-based advocates for children at CDF Haley Farm in Clinton, TN, for five days of spiritual renewal, networking, movement building workshops, and continuing education about the threats to our children. The $400 registration fee covers all sessions, meals, and materials. For more information and registration information, go to Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute – Sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund, UM General Board of Church and Society, and others.
Learn more about the United Methodist Social Principles
The United Methodist Church has a long history of concern for social justice. Its members have often taken forthright positions on controversial issues involving Christian principles. Early Methodists expressed their opposition to the slave trade, to smuggling, and to the cruel treatment of prisoners. The Social Principles are a prayerful and thoughtful effort on the part of the General Conference to speak to the human issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation as historically demonstrated in United Methodist traditions. They are a call to faithfulness and are intended to be instructive and persuasive in the best of the prophetic spirit; however, they are not church law. The Social Principles are a call to all members of The United Methodist Church to a prayerful, studied dialogue of faith and practice. To learn more of our Social Principles please see: UM Social Principles
Runoff elections in Zimbabwe – June 27 – please pray
The United Methodist Church has invested itself for decades in Zimbabwe, building a university, starting churches and sending missionaries to address its almost unfathomable social and economic ills. Multitudes have met Christ through the ministry and proclamation of the United Methodist Church. Christian brothers and sisters are now in deep jeopardy. Please pray for the elections to come and the continuing work of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. For more information please see: Pray for Zimbabwe
The United Methodist Church adopts a Resolution on Peace in Iraq
In a resolution adopted April 30, at General Conference, The United Methodist Church states, “We urge United Methodists throughout the world to pray for an immediate end to the war in Iraq and to speak out for public policies that promote peace, justice and reconciliation.“ For more information and the full resolution, please see: Peace in Iraq
Recipe for Hope Campaign
Hunger is on the rise. Food prices are soaring worldwide and more low-income people in the US are visiting local food banks to feed their families-according to Bread for the World (BFW), a national Christian movement that seeks justice for the world's hungry people. United Methodists can respond to the hunger crisis by participating in BFW's Recipe for Hope: Responding to the Hunger Crisis campaign beginning now through June 17. Individuals are asked to: Pray, send an e-mail or write a letter to your member of Congress, or bring cans of food to the local church. Join today in observance of the upcoming National Hunger Awareness Day on June 3. UMCOR works through its Hunger/Poverty programs to relieve hunger. By providing the most vulnerable with empowering agricultural training, microcredit and enterprise development and supplemental food programs -UMCOR is helping to reverse the hunger crisis. Help the hungry with your gifts to UMCOR's Hunger/Poverty Program, Advance # 982920.
ITEMS FROM THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND YOUNG ADULTS
Shepherding 21 st Century Sheep: Cyberspace, Cyberministry and Cybersafety
The Conference Safe Sanctuaries Committee and Sexual Ethics Committee are offering workshops on cyberministry and cybersafety in the Fall for pastors, church staff, age-level ministry leaders, local church webmasters, etc. The cost is $5 per person and registrations must be sent in at least 10 days prior to the event date desired. A registration brochure and other information will soon be available online at the Conference website. Each workshop will be on a Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Sept. 6- Haymount UMC-Fayetteville; Sept. 20-White Plains UMC-Cary; Sept. 27-Wesley Memorial UMC-Wilmington; and Nov.15- Edenton UMC-Edenton.
Registration deadlines
Registration deadlines for two summer youth events for high school are approaching. The registration deadline for the Appalachian Trail Hike is June 6. The registration deadline for ACS (Annual Conference Session for Youth) is July 1. There are limited spaces for both these events so early registration (prior to the deadline) is advised. The registration form for these events is found in the 2008 Youth Events brochure which is available for download at Youth Ministry .
Let the Children Come…
A resource event for adults in leadership of local church children's ministry will be held Saturday, Aug. 23 at Page Memorial UMC in Aberdeen from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Pre-registration is not required and there is no cost for the event. Four workshops will be offered on curriculum, use of the One Room resource, missions and families in partnership with the church for children's faith development. More information about this workshop is available at Children Ministry
