Living Our United Methodist Beliefs (UM History)

The Capital District presents Living Our United Methodist Beliefs (UM History) with Greg Van Buskirk…

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 cle@nccumc.org.

About the Course:

This course will explore the special gifts of theology, witness, and organization that The United Methodist Church brings to the church universal, how we got where we are today, and how our distinctive emphases are still needed in the 21st-century church.

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the distinctive traditions and emphases of The United Methodist Church;
• Learn about the journey of the people historically known as Methodists and Evangelical United Brethren, who united in 1968 to form The United Methodist Church;
• Learn about the contributions of the early leaders of these churches – Wesley, Otterbein, Boehm, Albright, and many others;
• Develop skills in interpreting United Methodist heritage and emphases to the local church and its members.

Order Your Book!

All participants are expected to read Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way, by Kenneth L. Carder, prior to the course.

For questions about the course, please contact Capital district co-directors, Janet Groberski (jgroberski@nccumc.org) or
James Bernstein, (jbernstein@nccumc.org).

About the Facilitator:

Dr. Gregory P. Van Buskirk is a lay United Methodist theologian specializing in the thought and theology of John Wesley, Thomas Aquinas, and The United Methodist Church. After receiving his PhD from Boston University in 2019, he and his family—Carol, his wife, a United Methodist Deacon in Full Connection; Eleanor, their daughter, a spunky 10 year old with a penchant for reading; and Moose, their timeless mutt who lives for naps and belly-rubs—relocated to Raleigh, NC. Dr. Van Buskirk has taught multiple courses in Methodist Studies for the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner of the UMC and currently serves as the Associate Director the digital edition of the Wesley Works Project.