Flood buckets, volunteers, financial gifts urgently needed for recovery
The Conference disaster response team urgently needs completed flood buckets, volunteers, and financial contributions to assist in relief and recovery ministry. Instructions for assembling a flood or cleaning bucket can be found at Flood Buckets. Anyone wishing to offer hands and feet to assist families in eastern North Carolina deeply affected by Hurricane Irene may volunteer by calling the response call center at 1-888-440-9167 or sending an email to disasterresponse@nccumc.org. Some valuable volunteer information is located at volunteer guidelines and an inspiring video clip on volunteering can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/28783119.
Bishop Gwinn has appealed to all churches in the conference to receive financial offerings towards the relief/recovery effort. Please remit contributions to NC Conference – Raleigh Area, P.O. Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260, clearly designated for Advance #S-00176.
Safe Sanctuary Training for Clergy
Four workshops will be offered to provide clergy information and support for their role in implementing Safe Sanctuary policy in the local church. The curriculum is designed for pastors who may find themselves in the challenging role of providing pastoral care for persons affected by abuse or protecting one falsely accused; they may have to enforce a policy or provide interpretation to the congregation as to the need for a policy. Every pastor under appointment is expected to attend one of the workshops. Please register for one of the following: Oct. 3, at Haymount UMC (FA); Oct. 17, at Covenant UMC (GR); Oct. 31 at the Methodist Building (RA). A make-up session is set for Saturday, Oct. 22, at Millbrook UMC. Each session begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at noon. Snacks will be provided, but no meals. To register for one of these events, go to Safe Sanctuary.
Duke Convocation: Registration Ends Sept. 23
Registration for Duke Divinity School’s 2011 Convocation & Pastors’ School ends Friday, Sept 23. This year’s event, “Drawn into Scripture: Arts and the Life of the Church,” promises to be one of the most inspiring yet, featuring performance-lectures, worship, hands-on seminars, an arts fair, and the opportunity to experience the hand-lettered and illuminated Saint John’s Bible. Event dates are Oct. 10-11. Register now at Duke Convocation.
An evening with Leonard Sweet
All pastors and their congregations are cordially invited to an evening of “Sweet Dreams” on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at the North Raleigh Hilton. The “Sweet Dreams” fundraising dinner, to benefit the NC UM Camps and Retreats Ministries, promises to be a fun and exciting evening. Dr. Leonard Sweet, the keynote speaker, is renowned for publishing over 1000 sermons and dozens of books. He has been called “one of the church’s most important and provocative thinkers.” For more information about the “Sweet Dreams” evening, please visit Camps. Tickets are available online at Sweet Dreams.
Free DREAM Sabbath toolkit for interfaith observance
Will you hold a DREAM Sabbath in your church? The DREAM Act was introduced several years ago, calling for comprehensive immigration reform, especially for the children of immigrants. Many of the children came to the US at a very young age, before changes in the law rendered them “illegal,” unable to secure an appropriate visa, unable to attend school after graduating high school, unable to remain in the US legally, possibly facing deportation at the age of 18 to a land where they do not necessarily have family or cultural ties.
The General Board of Church and Society is offering a free downloadable toolkit to help congregations participate in the DREAM Sabbath on a Sunday between Sept. 16 – Oct. 9. The packet includes planning resources, sacred readings, reflections, links to videos and sample bulletin inserts. The United Methodist Council of Bishops Committee on Immigration, the United Methodist Interagency Immigration Task Force and the General Board of Church & Society encourage congregations to observe a DREAM Sabbath.
Event for those called to serve
A United Methodist Women event Oct. 28-30 in Asheville is for lay people to discern whether they are called to be deaconesses or home missioners. The United Methodist Church commissions deaconesses, who are laywomen, and home missioners, who are laymen, to full-time ministries of love, justice and service. The deadline to apply for the discernment event is Sept.15.
Duke Day Oct. 22
Duke Day is Oct. 22 with Duke playing Wake Forest. This is a community outreach event sponsored by the UM Men of the NC Conference. Local UMM units are encouraged to reach out to local youth groups to sponsor their participation in this event. Cost of the event is $20 per person which includes the worship event, lunch, and game ticket. Worship will be held in the Duke Divinity School Chapel. Ticket money can be sent to UMM Treasurer, Patrick Mann, 104 Taylor Lane, Morehead City, NC 28557. Registration deadline is Oct 19. For more information, see UMM Duke Day.
Day of Renewal and Prayer for local pastors
Bishop Al Gwinn and Dr. Terry Teykl of Renewal Ministries in Houston, TX will be addressing the local pastors, associate members and lay speakers on Saturday, Oct.1 at Garner UMC. This will be a day of renewal and prayer. Dr. Teykl, author of several books, will lead the group in a Prayer Encounter seminar. The time for the event is 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Lay Speakers are asked to stay another hour to receive instructions concerning credit for Advanced Lay Speakers course. The only cost is a donation of $5 for lunch. Please register by emailing mhockett@nccumc.org.
Extravagant Generosity: The Heart of Giving
Pastors, church financial leaders, and stewardship leaders are encouraged to participate in one of two stewardship workshops to be held in September. Leaders will include persons from the General Board of Discipleship and will feature the new funding program, “Extravagant Generosity: The Heart of Giving” by Michael Reeves, Jennifer Tyler, and Bishop Robert Schnase. Pick the time and place that is most convenient: Monday, Sept. 26 (1 – 6 p.m.) at St. James UMC: Greenville or Tuesday, Sept. 27 (1 – 6 p.m.) at St. Luke UMC: Sanford. For more information about this event, go to Generosity. To register, call Katherine Wilder at 919-779-6115 or email: kwilder@nccumc.org. A $10 registration fee is required to help offset the costs of materials and speakers.
Registration information for Lay Academy of Christian Witness
The Commission on Evangelism invites lay members of local churches to participate in the Lay Academy of Christian Witness. The Academy will run Thursday, Oct. 20 – Saturday, Oct. 22 at Camp Rockfish in Parkton. This three-day Academy will offer tools that can be used in the local church by lay members. The Academy cost is $25 per person which includes lodging, meals, sessions and take home materials. For an application to attend, please click Evangelism.