The Higher Education and Campus Ministry Picnic brought together conference members around the table to celebrate the presence of United Methodist ministry in North Carolina. Grant writers, The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland (Duke) and The Rev. Dr. Kirk Oldham (NC State) procured $100,000 through the Young Clergy Initiative. Duke Divinity School interns will be placed to both augment and plant United Methodist Campus ministry on every campus in the Triangle. Copeland reflects, “More and more young people hear the call to ministry while in college. Our UM presence on each campus ensures they will experience a Methodist claim on their lives through the Wesleyan world view.”
The ministry will be funded through the grant period which ends in May, 2016.
Members gathered around tables groaning with shrimp and grits, vegetables, and banana pudding. Time for worship, time for business, and time to eat together. Late Friday afternoon members for community at its best at the Best Western Coastline under a sultry sun. The only aspect of this meal that was better than the food was the community shared by all.