New Faith Communities
On Thursday, Rev. Dr. Tim Catlett, Executive Director of the Office of New Faith Communities, celebrated the many congregations across our Conference who are co-creating new places for new people to gather in communion with Jesus Christ. Catlett highlighted churches like Hope Recovery UMC in Wilmington and Storied Church in Mebane, which are thriving in their missions of recovery and inclusion. Along with those two, many other new faith communities — such as Mosaic UMC, Iglesia La Semilla, The Church at Spring Forest, and The Well at Edenton Street — are also moving into phases of sustained growth. Catlett celebrated the support of The Duke Endowment, which has granted $5 million over five years to help rebuild a United Methodist presence in “UMC Deserts.” With their support, churches in places like Washington, Elizabethtown, Moyock, Fayetteville, and Jacksonville are finding new life and reaching new people through creative ministry and community engagement.
Catlett then introduced three new church renewal and planting projects in Smithfield, Leland, and Dunn. He lifted up partnerships with seven congregations focused on increasing diversity in alignment with changing demographics, and gave updates on the Lighthouse Congregations initiative (now 114 churches strong) and the United Methodist Collective, which has connected with over 1,000 people to help them connect with new congregations. The UM Collective will conclude its work this year. So, the annual conference paused and gave thanks for the work of the UM Collective chaplains who have journeyed alongside so many who were looking to stay connected to The United Methodist Church. Catlett ended his presentation by giving thanks for the new, ongoing, and continued support for the $10 Club, which helps fund this vital work, and expressed deep gratitude for all who are helping to expand the reach of the gospel of Jesus Christ through The United Methodist Church across Eastern North Carolina.
Higher Education and Campus Ministry
Members from the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry joined us on Thursday to share stories from United Methodist affiliated colleges and universities across the North Carolina Conference. Rev. Amanda Hedden introduced us to videos from Wesley Foundations at Campbell University, Raleigh Area Colleges, NCCU, Wingspan at UNCW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Greenville Wesley at ECU, and Duke. Methodist University and Louisburg College also provided videos sharing about their ministries and connections to the NC Conference.
Rev. Laura Wittman, Chaplain at Louisburg College, also shared her story of how Chaplain ministry has impacted her life and given her the privilege of working with students in higher education. She shared her hopes of campus ministry working to “shape future generations of laity and clergy.” Rev. Dr. Gloria Winston, campus minister at NCCU, shared about the only Wesley Foundation at an HBCU in the North Carolina Conference where her students are, “not accepting the things we cannot change but changing the things we cannot accept.”
Rev. Tyler Moore encouraged members of the annual conference to connect with one of the conference campus ministers. Churches can also facilitate introductions between campus ministries and the students in their congregations. Lastly, he shared the importance for local congregations to support higher education and campus ministry throughout the conference prayerfully, relationally, and financially.