Coronavirus Response

  • Home
  • A-Z List
  • About
    • About the NCC
    • Connectional Table
    • Staff
  • Calendar
    • Events
    • Google Calendar
    • Past Events
  • Churches
  • Contact
    • Find Us
  • Districts
    • District Office
    • Beacon
    • Capital
    • Corridor
    • Fairway
    • Gateway
    • Harbor
    • Heritage
    • Sound
  • Employment
  • Search

NC Conference

Healthy Congregations and Effective Leaders in Every Place Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World

  • Discipleship
    Developing Disciples
    • Christian Formation
      • Children
      • Church & Society
      • College
      • Differently Abled Persons
      • Educational Ministries
      • Older Adults
      • Status & Role of Women
      • Young Adults
      • Youth
    • Church Revitalization
      • Coaching
      • Disciple Making Way
      • Evangelism
      • Grants
      • MissionInsite
      • Real Discipleship Survey
      • Shift
      • Spiritual Life
    • From the Bishop
      • Bishop’s Bookshelf
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Multicultural
      • Asian
      • Hispanic/Latino
      • Native American
      • Strengthening the Black Church
    • Stewardship
      • Apportionments
      • District Remittances
      • Financial Discipleship
      • Grants
      • Insurance
      • Mission & Service
      • Pension
      • Treasurer Training
  • Leadership
    Strengthening Leaders
    • Bishop’s Office
      • Appointment Book
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Ministerial Relations
      • Board of Ordained Ministry
      • Called to Ministry?
      • Extension Ministries
    • Board of Laity
      • Certified Lay Minister
      • Lay Servant Ministries
      • Local Church Lay Leaders
      • United Methodist Men
      • United Methodist Women
      • United Methodist Youth
    • New Faith Comm.
      • Called to Plant?
      • New Room Society
      • Our Communities
    • Conference Offices
      • Center for Leadership Excellence
      • Christian Formation
      • Communications
      • Conference Secretary
      • Connectional Ministries
      • Information Technology
      • Multicultural Ministries
      • Outreach Ministry
      • Treasurer’s Office
  • Service
    Ministering To The World
    • Local Outreach
      • Church Construction
      • Church Loans
      • Restorative Justice and Mercy
      • Disciple Bible Outreach
      • NCC UMVIM
      • Seed Funds
      • Mission Projects
        • Health Ministry
    • Global Outreach
      • Imagine No Malaria
      • Love for Liberia
      • Missionaries
      • Project AGAPE
      • Sierra Leone: Mission of Hope
      • ZOE
    • Disaster Ministries
      • Donate to Storm Response
      • Hurricane Florence
      • MERCI
      • Response Plan
      • Response Team
      • UMCOR Kits
    • Giving
      • Advance/Rainbow Covenant
      • Apportionments
      • Give to Storm Response
      • Mission & Service
      • The Gary Wayne Locklear Mission Endowment
      • New Room Society
      • Special Sundays
    • Ministry Partners
      • Camps & Retreats
      • Partners In Ministry
      • Robeson Co. Church & CC
      • UMF
  • Resources
    Supporting Ministry
    • Conferences
      • Annual Conference 2019
      • Annual Conference 2020
      • Charge Conference 2020
      • General Conference
      • Pilgrimage
      • SEJ Conference 2016
    • Media Center
      • Catalog
      • Labyrinth
      • Ministry Tools
      • Online Resources
      • Weekly Newsletter
    • Online Resources
      • Archives & History
      • Church Lookup
      • Online Data Collection
      • Online Learning
      • Pastor Lookup
      • Podcasts (NCCUMC.FM)
      • Ramus: Web Hosting
      • Video (Vimeo)
    • Publications
      • Advent 2020
      • Appointment Book
      • Bible Study
      • Conference Directory
      • Conference Journal
      • Every Day Grace
      • Lenten Reflections
      • Mission & Service
    • From UMC.org
      • Agencies
      • Communications
      • Discipleship
      • Finance & Administration
      • Global Ministries
      • Graphics Library
      • Relief
      • Status & Role of Women
  • Conflict Transformation
  • About CTM
  • CT Ministers’ Resources
  • Blog Roll
  • CT Minister Application

Gathered In

June 29, 2017 Leave a Comment

Over the last month, I have spent a good bit of time in gatherings of people.  I joined women and men from all over the world to attend Duke Divinity School’s Summer Institute for Reconciliation in Durham, NC.  The 8 or so miles I drove from Chapel Hill seemed quite paltry when I learned that the Institute was hosting presenters and participants from South Africa, Japan, South Korea, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Uganda.  As the week went on, Texans rubbed elbows with Californians who talked to Midwesterners who ate supper with Southerners.  A few souls traveled down from New England and one soul journeyed up from Miami.

The group ranged in age from college students to great-grandparents.   We had a bishop in attendance;  we had laypeople; we had clergy.  Some participants spoke up to five languages. Some participants were differently abled.  We had presenters who were attorneys and presenters who were professors.  Some participants and presenters were retired while others were still in active career years.

We were an eclectic group, to say the least.  Yet, the Holy Spirit had gathered us in.

The week after the Summer Institute, I traveled to Greenville, NC, for the 2017 annual conference of United Methodists in the eastern half of North Carolina.  While every member of the North Carolina Annual Conference, is either a member of a United Methodist church or appointed clergy within the NC Conference, we are still an eclectic bunch!

Lay members of the annual conference represent about 800 churches with a total of 228,611 professing members in 2016.  There are about 1150 clergy members of the annual conference.  At any given time, there are about 2200 members of the NC annual conference hanging around the convention center, hotels, restaurants, and byways of Greenville for three days or so.

Raeford; Rocky Mount; Raleigh.  Moyock; Morrisville; Morehead City.  Beauty Spot; Burlington; Bunn.  Snow Camp; Salvo; Supply.  Durham; Dover; Dunn.  The roll call of cities and towns, crossroads and churches is rich in history and variety.

The Holy Spirit gathered us in.

In my early years of professional ministry, I used to ask for the Holy Spirit to come and be among us as we Christians gathered together for work or for worship or for whatever purpose.  In my more–ahem–“mature” years of ministry, I thank the Holy Spirit for already being present among us and for gathering us in.  I have changed from asking God to be present to thanking God for already being present.  I have come to learn that, for followers of Jesus Christ, gathering is a response rather than an initiation.

The Holy Spirit gathers us in.

I first sang Marty Haugen’s “Gather Us In” at annual conference many years ago and it remains one of my favorite hymns from The Faith We Sing.  The sprightly, lilting tune and rich, resonant words capture for me the joy of gathering in the name of Jesus Christ.  The words of the song vividly remind me that it is the Holy Spirit that calls all people from all ages, stages, nations, and tribes together to reflect God’s light to the world.

The Holy Spirit will gather us in.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Molly Shivers

I am a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ, and a minister of the Gospel. I have been in the professional ministry since 1999 and am an Elder in Full Connection in the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church. It is my great privilege currently to serve as Director of Conflict Transformation Ministries for the NC Conference.

Recent Posts

  • What I Read in 2020
  • Up to 11
  • Finding Balance
  • The More Things Change
  • 528 years

Psalm 133:1 NRSV

How pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!
Conflict Transformation Ministries Logo

NC Conference of The United Methodist Church · 700 Waterfield Ridge Place · Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.779.6115 · Toll-free: 800.849.4433 · Fax: 919.773.2308

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy · Powered by WordPress · Site Admin

  • e
  • k