Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (Polity)
The Fairway district Lay Servant Ministries team presents Life Together in the UM Connection with Laura Wittman…
April 12 @ 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 Fairway District Director Pam Strug, pstrug@nccumc.org.
We regret that we are unable to issue refunds or credits of registration fees.
About the Facilitator:
Reverend Laura Wittman is the Chaplain of Louisburg College as well as the Coordinating Pastor for Lighthouse Congregations in the NCCUMC. As chaplain, she provides spiritual leadership, direction, and support for the community of Louisburg College, engaging and empowering the community to learn more about God, community, and self in the everyday. This includes worship and spiritual life events that occur in the Clifton L. Benson Chapel and Religious Life Center, as well as engaging in Student Life on campus.
Rev. Laura Wittman is an Ordained Elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Wittman holds a Bachelors of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from High Point University and a Masters of Divinity from Duke University. She enjoys spending her free time with hobbies that include crocheting, sewing, knitting, 3d printing, and more. She is a self-proclaimed theater nerd and enjoys acting at her local theater. Rev. Wittman loves serving her community – her entire family is involved in the Imperial Center in Rocky Mount, and she participates in reptile and animal rescue. Rev. Wittman, her husband, and her father, his father and his grandfather are all ministers. She has three children who she loves dearly. Rev. Wittman loves Pokemon, Star Wars, Harry Potter and her family’s multitudes of pets.