- This event has passed.
Life Together in the UM Connection (Polity) on Zoom
The NC Conference Lay Servant Ministries team the advanced course Life Together in the UM Connection (Polity) on Zoom…
September 16, 2023 @ 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
$15
About the Course:
Why does The United Methodist Church do things the way it does? And what does any of this have to do with trying to be a place and a people that embody the Kingdom of God? This course will help participants get their bearings and consider the specific structural challenges The United Methodist Church faces in the 21st century.
Participants will be able to:
- State and describe the uniqueness, purpose, and overall structure of The United Methodist Church, its connectional system and its order of missionary preachers;
- Describe the uniqueness and purpose of the episcopacy, the itinerant ministry and appointment processes, the ordering of ministry, and annual conference;
- Explain the many ways our connection works together to fulfill its mission from the local church to the global general agencies;
- Identify elements of the connection beyond the borders of the annual conference: jurisdictions, General Conference, Judicial Council, and central conferences, as well as other international affiliated churches;
- Use new tools for discernment in making decisions in the local church.
Order Your Book!
All participants are expected to read The Method of Our Mission, by Laceye C. Warner, prior to class. Participants will also need a copy of the 2016 Book of Discipline, which can be accessed online for free.
For questions about the course, please contact Josey Snyder at josey.snyder@nccumc.org.
Laura Wittman is a pastor and church planter, currently serving The Mills Church New Faith Community and the NC Collective. She was ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in 2013 and has been in ministry since 2007. Her husband, Nathan, is also a United Methodist pastor who serves St. James UMC in Tarboro. They have three boys, Cameron, Allen, and Ezra. As a family they love to play games, go camping, and watch Star Wars, Duke Basketball, and Steelers football!