« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (Polity)

The Beacon district Lay Servant Ministries team presents Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (UM Polity), with Tom Hallberg and Tom Santa…

January 17 @ 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Hertford UMC

200 Dobbs Street
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
$25 includes lunch

Course scholarships are available to those in need of financial assistance. Scholarships reduce the cost of a course to $5. Please contact your district director or lsm@nccumc.org.

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.

For any questions regarding this course, please contact Beacon district director Tom Santa at tsanta5721@hotmail.com.

We regret that we are unable to issue refunds or credits of registration fees.

About the Facilitator:

Tom Hallberg is an ordained elder currently serving at Hertford UMC.  He has taught several lay servant courses and enjoys help others live out their callings from God. He is married to his wife, Misty, and they have two teenage children, Isaac and Clara. 

Tom Santa is a certified lay minister and lay speaker from Moyock UMC. He is passionate about becoming a better disciple and helping others to grow in relationship with God and with one another. He is the husband of Michelle, who introduced him to the Methodist church, and father of Mary Elysse and Lauren. Tom retired from the Navy after 22 years as an active-duty Nurse Corps officer and now serves as a full-time family and acute care nurse practitioner.