“I think it’s an honor for us to have the ability to help perpetuate something that is historic in Spring Hope,” Pete Perniciaro said, describing restoration work he’s directing at Gibson Memorial United Methodist Church on East Branch Street.
Native American Resources for United Methodists
November is National Native American Heritage Month. Take this opportunity to learn about the history of Native Americans and their relationship to The United Methodist Church. Become inspired by Indigenous wisdom and educated about Indigenous theology. Host a book discussion or study for your congregation.
The Media Center offers the following books and studies to use individually or in small groups. We also recommend the online videos listed below. Additional resources, including DVDs and websites, are listed in our Native American Resources Pathfinder.
Online Resources
Discipleship Ministries of The UMC offers Worship Resources for Native American Heritage Month. It includes liturgical resources written by United Methodists from different Native American tribal affiliations. Consider how you might use these prayers in worship this month and throughout the year.
The United Methodist Church also celebrates Native American Ministries Sunday in the Spring, giving you another opportunity to use these resources to educate your congregation. You can also use the Native American Ministries Pastor and Leader Kit.
The General Commission on Religion and Race includes resources about Native Americans in their online library, including a newly published infographic on 11 Facts about Native People in Society and The Church.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Of grave concern is the startlingly high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women whose cases largely remain unsolved. The Missing Murdered Indigenous Coalition of NC offers programs and resources to work towards the prevention and resolution of these cases. The Robeson County Church and Community Center and a local group called Ministers for Justice are working with the police to bring justice to their community. The General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church has reported on this issue in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference and nationwide.
Online Videos
The General Commission on Religion and Race offers these three online videos to build discussion around issues that affect the Native American community. Recently, they published a new infographic written by Rev. David Wilson, the first Native American Bishop of The United Methodist Church: 11 Facts about Native People in Society and The Church.
Ongoing Acts of Repentance with Indigenous People. Reverend Chebon Kernell calls the church to participate more vigorously in ongoing acts of repentance, justice-making, and truth-telling about the historical and continuing impact of racism, specifically on Native Americans and indigenous people. Includes discussion guide.
Doctrine of Discovery. This discussion guide was developed by Christy L. Oxendine based on the Dismantling Racism webinar segment by Dr. Lisa Dellinger (Chickasaw and Mexican). The video segment is incorporated as part of the small group discussion.
Let’s Talk! Native American Communities and COVID-19. Dr. Billy Beets and Mr. Shawn Terry of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health talk about how COVID-19 has impacted Native American communities and their healthcare agencies.
Books for Study and Discussion
Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice. Curtice shows that we can learn to practice embodied ways of belonging and connection to ourselves and one another through everyday practices, such as getting more in touch with our bodies, resting, and remembering our ancestors. She explores four “realms of resistance”–the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral–and shows how these realms overlap and why all are needed for our liberation.
Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec. Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. A free discussion guide for this book is available online.
Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine by Randy S. Woodley. This volume by a Cherokee teacher, former pastor, missiologist, and historian brings Indigenous theology into conversation with Western approaches to history and theology.
Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage by Steven Charleston. Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest Steven Charleston offers words of hard-won hope, rooted in daily conversations with the Spirit and steeped in indigenous wisdom. Native America knows something about cultivating resilience and resisting darkness. For all who yearn for hope, Ladder to the Light is a book of comfort, truth, and challenge in a time of anguish and fear.
Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. Part memoir, part social, historical, and theological analysis, and part practical workbook, this process invites settler Christians (and other people of faith) into a discipleship of decolonization. How are our histories, landscapes, and communities haunted by continuing Indigenous dispossession? And how might we practice restorative solidarity with Indigenous communities today?
Native Americans, the Mainline Church, and the Quest for Interracial Justice by David Phillips Hansen. This book tells the sordid history of Native Americans and the Christian church with an eye towards reparation and what the contemporary church can do and is doing to work towards racial, economic, environmental, and social justice.
On This Spirit Walk: The Voices of Native American and Indigenous Peoples by Henrietta Mann and Anita Phillips. The Native American Comprehensive Plan of The United Methodist Church created this small-group curriculum resource to share the voices of native people on topics that are important to them. The 12 chapters focus on topics such as identity, values, storytelling, creation, justice, repentance, and more. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions.
Voices of Native American Women edited by Delrayne Roy. As a supplement to their mission study, United Methodist Women published this enlightening booklet that shares the voices of 23 Native American women of faith on a variety of topics such as voice, family, social justice, faith journeys, and their relationships with the United Methodist and the Native church.
History Books
The Lumbee Methodists: Getting to Know Them: A Folk History by Joseph Michael Smith and Meet the Lumbee Methodists, Part II by Milford Oxendine. This set of two books shares the special history of the relationship between the Lumbee Indians and the United Methodist Church in North Carolina. The stories of several churches in the NC Conference are included in these valuable histories.
Massacre at Sand Creek: How Methodists Were Involved in an American Tragedy by Gary L. Roberts. At dawn on the morning of November 29, 1864, Colonel John Milton Chivington gave the command that led to the slaughter of 230 peaceful Cheyennes and Arapahos—primarily women, children, and elderly—camped under the protection of the U. S. government along Sand Creek in Colorado Territory and flying both an American flag and a white flag. The governor whose policies led the Cheyennes and Arapahos to Sand Creek was a prominent Methodist layman. Colonel Chivington was a Methodist minister. This book tells the history of this tragedy and the role and response of the Methodist Church.
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. This book is an essential resource providing historical threads that are crucial for understanding the present.
Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival by Thom White Wolf Fass. The United Methodist Women published a Mission Study that tells the history of the United States from a Native American perspective. The histories of contemporary issues facing Native Americans are revealed. The book includes an 8-session study guide and additional resources. Youth and children’s versions are also available.
First White Frost: Native Americans and United Methodism by Homer Noley. With all of the triumphs and failures, this book gives an account of Methodists’ attempts at evangelizing Native Americans going all the way back to the 1600’s.
Youth & Children
Walking in These White Man Shoes: Youth Explore Native America and Creator Sang a Welcoming Song: Native America for Children by Ray Buckley. These mission studies include narratives of the history of what is now the United States told from a Native American perspective, telling the story of events that unfolded out of the clash of Native and immigrant cultures with their competing ideologies, religious practices, and spiritual lifestyles. Participants learn of the Native experience of trying to live in two worlds, one of which didn’t quite fit.
The Give-Away: A Christmas Story by Ray Buckley. A story rich in the Native American Tradition of the Give-Away. The animals try to help humankind find their way, but “in the end, it is the Creator who must choose to give to humankind the most precious gift of all.”
Sheep, Goats & Retreats at The Church at Spring Forest
It was a gorgeous Fall day to gather for Bible study, teaching, and fellowship at The Church at Spring Forest in Hillsborough, NC. Spring Forest is a new faith community of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Elaine Heath, the appointed pastor at Spring Forest, and Home Missioner Steve Taylor led us in this lovely retreat titled “Good Goats: Preaching Atonement Theology for Justice, Peace & Healing.”
A mix of pastors, laity, Methodists, and our ecumenical friends engaged in biblical animation with the Parable of the Talents and the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25. Applying the structure of a story, we considered different ways to approach the texts. We learned more about the behavior of sheep and goats and the context of the stories that provided fresh insight into these words of Jesus.
We then put our new knowledge to good use and visited the actual sheep and goats that live at the Spring Forest farm. We got to see how the animals behaved differently from each other before we roamed the farm to discover chickens, vegetables, fruit trees, and more.
In the afternoon session, we learned about the new evangelism that is trauma-informed and how it can strengthen our Christian witness to a hurting world. We ended by creating our own outlines for sermon series or small-group studies based on what we had learned from each other.
The Church at Spring Forest offers many wonderful retreat opportunities for all who are interested. They are a hybrid community both gathered and dispersed with participants across the U.S. and England. From farm work to dinners, prayer to retreats, Spring Forest has much to offer everyone in the NC Conference and our ecumenical neighbors. See their website at springforest.org for more information.
November Monthly Resource Flyer
Each month, we publish this flyer to share timely Conference resources available to clergy and laity in local churches in the North Carolina Conference. The flyer includes upcoming events, grant deadlines, our quarterly #BeUMC theme, and more.
The monthly theme for November is Native American Resources, and the flyer includes related resources that can be borrowed from the NC Conference Media Center along with information about the NC Conference Committee on Native American Ministries.
Feel free to print or share this flyer with your congregation. Click the image below to download the two-page PDF flyer.
New Books from NC United Methodists
Four new books were authored by United Methodist clergy located in North Carolina. These books speak to United Methodism and Christian theology.
Being United Methodist Christians: Living a Life of Grace and Hope
By Andy Langford, Ann Langford Duncan, Sally Langford
Published September 2023
Learn what it means to be a United Methodist Christian.
Who wrote this book? Andy and Sally Langford are retired pastors in the Western North Carolina Conference. Their daughter, Ann Langford Duncan, has previously served as a United Methodist pastor in North Carolina and now pastors a church in California. Retired Bishop Will Willimon wrote the preface.
What is this book about? The Langfords are authors of a well-loved book, Living as United Methodist Christians: Our Story, Our Beliefs, Our Lives. This new book is an updated version designed specifically for what is currently happening in The United Methodist Church. The authors lead readers through what it means to be a United Methodist, what makes United Methodism distinct from other denominations, and how these characteristics apply to our daily lives.
Who is this book for? This book is an excellent resource for new member classes, but it also helps longtime United Methodists learn how to speak confidently and passionately about why they have claimed this faith and continue to do so. If your church has had a vote or conversation about disaffiliation, or if your church is taking in new members from churches who have disaffiliated, the authors wrote this book with you in mind. A Sermon, Worship, and Study Series Download is available to purchase from Cokesbury, and video introductions for each chapter are available on Amplify.
More Info! The authors recorded a webinar about the book with Amplify Media that you can watch for free.
Incompatible: How the Church Cast Out LGBTQ Christians & Where We Go Next
By Charlie Baber
Published June 2023
Embark on a journey through the history of Christian belief and practices around human sexuality.
Who wrote this book? Charlie Baber is a Deacon in The United Methodist Church and Pastor of Youth Ministry at University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, NC.
What is this book about? Charlie Baber is the creator of Wesley Bros, an online comic featuring John and Charles Wesley. He previously authored a graphic novel about the history of United Methodism titled Submitting to Be More Vile: The Illustrated Adventures of John & Charles Wesley. This new book is a graphic novel that centers around the events leading to the current split within the United Methodist denomination while exploring how the full inclusion of LGBTQ Christians is a faithful witness to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Who is this book for? If you want to understand the history behind the “incompatibility clause” in the Book of Discipline, this book lays out significant facts and events in a format that is fun and easy to read. The book also gives language for a theological argument for the full inclusion of LGBTQ Christians in the life of the church, which would be helpful to those looking to understand that belief. The comic-book-style images make the book appealing both to youth and adults. Discussion questions are included for small groups.
More info! Check out the promo video and read reviews of the book. Read an interview with the author conducted by NC Conference Pastor Cameron Merrill about the web series that became the book.
God is Not a United Methodist: The Mid-Life Disaffiliations of a Middle of the Road Methodist
By Richard Bryant
Published May 2023
Reflections on pastoring a United Methodist church through the disaffiliation process.
Who wrote this book? Richard Bryant is a pastor in the North Carolina Conference. He currently pastors New Sharon UMC in Hillsborough, NC.
What is the book about? Richard Bryant frequently writes articles for the United Methodist Insight online publication. This collection of his sermons and essays documents his journey leading local congregations through disaffiliation while he remains a United Methodist pastor. Witnessing the polarization in society make its way into his churches, Bryant attempts to analyze what’s happening to his church and the world around him.
Who is this book for? This book is for anyone in The United Methodist Church that is concerned about the disaffiliation of local churches from the UMC and its impact on clergy, churches, and communities. United Methodist clergy who have led churches through the disaffiliation process will find much to relate to here.
Trinitarian Responses to Worldliness: Towards a Trinitarian Theology of Inculturation
By Heejun Yang
Published July 2022
Connecting cutting-edge post-Barthian trinitarian theological movements all around the world.
Who wrote this book? Heejun Yang is a pastor in the North Carolina Conference and an adjunct professor at High Point University. He currently pastors Star UMC in Star, NC.
What is this book about? Heejun Yang received his BTh from Methodist Theological University in Seoul, Korea, and holds an MDiv and a ThM from Duke University. He studied under Ingolf Dalferth as his last doctoral student at Claremont Graduate University and the University of Münster, where he earned his PhD from the Faculty of Protestant Theology. From these experiences and his personal identity as a Korean theologian, he connects these global theological movements: postliberal theology (Yale school) in the US, radical orthodoxy (Cambridge school) in the UK, German radical hermeneutic theology (Zurich school in the German-speaking world), and the theology of inculturation (Korean Methodist school) in Asia. The author argues for the necessity of a God-focused theology to embrace different human understandings in a world where Christianity is not dominant.
Who is this book for? This book is an academic treatment of trinitarian theology written for teachers and students of Christian theology. However, Will Willimon writes, “[Yang’s] expansive mind, his dynamic Trinitarian faith, is just what we need to help us think about the role of the church and the Christian faith as we come up against the challenges of contemporary secular culture. Theologians, pastors, and thoughtful Christians will be challenged and invigorated by this wonderful book.”
Resources for the Christ-Centered People of God #BeUMC
The #BeUMC campaign reminds us of who we are at our best — the spirit-filled, resilient, connected, missional, faithful, diverse, deeply rooted, committed, disciple-making, Jesus-seeking, generous, justice-seeking, world-changing, grace-filled people of God called The United Methodist Church.
With every breath, with every thought, we strive to focus on Jesus.
We recommend these resources to help us keep Jesus in our focus. This list includes:
- Small-Group DVD Studies
- Women’s DVD Studies
- Books for Becoming Like Jesus
- Curriculum for Youth & Children
Small-Group DVD Studies
Questions Jesus Asked: A Six-Week Study in the Gospels by Magrey R. deVega. Pastor and author Magrey deVega explores six of the most provocative questions Jesus posed to others and guides us in answering them for ourselves. Asking these questions takes courage. Not only do they reveal what Jesus really cares about, they open a window into our hearts.
Signs and Wonders: A Beginner’s Guide to the Miracles of Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine. Amy-Jill Levine explores selected miracles of Jesus in historical and theological context. For each miracle, she discusses not only how past witnesses would have understood the events, but also how today’s readers can draw meaning from Jesus’s words and actions.
Jesus Revealed: The I Am Statements in the Gospel of John by Matt Rawle. Pastor and author Matt Rawle explores the “I Am” statements in John as works of art that resonate throughout the Gospel and all of Scripture. He shows how these words point beyond themselves to the deep mystery of Jesus Christ.
Courage: Jesus and the Call to Brave Faith by Tom Berlin. Throughout Jesus’ life, he was called upon to be brave: in the face of his enemies, when being tempted, and certainly at the time of his death. By examining the life of Christ, we can begin to understand what true courage is and how God works in our lives when we exhibit a brave faith.
The Jesus Challenge: 21 Days of Loving God and Neighbor by Justin LaRosa. To say we live lives full of distractions is an understatement. So, how do we combat distraction? To stay in relationship with God is a journey that never ends and one that requires us to focus on love. This 3-week study will help us become more attentive to our relationship with God.
The God We Can Know: Exploring the “I Am” Sayings of Jesus by Rob Fuquay. This series will help you find and form an answer to the most essential question in the Christian faith, “Who do you say I am?” One by one, Jesus’ statements grab our imagination, reveal more about his identity and purpose, and connect us to the God of Moses, who spoke the first “I Am.”
The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus by Adam Hamilton. Using historical information, archaeological data, and stories of the faith, Hamilton follows in the footsteps of Jesus from his baptism to the temptations to the heart of his ministry, including the people he loved, the parables he taught, the enemies he made, and the healing he brought.
Jesus in the Gospels from Abingdon Press. Study the name, the place, and the people, and encounter the Jesus who is both hard to ignore and hard to control–a commanding, morally compelling figure as portrayed in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This 30-week study is part of the Disciple Second Generation series.
Women’s DVD Studies
Untangling Faith: Reclaiming Hope in the Questions Jesus Asked by Amberly Neese. Have you ever felt you struggled to find your faith footing? Join Amberly Neese in she explores the questions Jesus asked as a way to reclaim that faith. Amberly’s unique humor and wit help the whole group find their way through deep and rich issues of personal faith, doubt, and growth.
Surrendered: Letting Go & Living Like Jesus: A Study of Jesus in the Wilderness by Barb Roose. This six-week study especially for women explores Jesus in the wilderness and gives six practical principles that will equip you to let God lead you to victory and peace, despite your unchanging and challenging circumstances. Learn how to surrender like Jesus and experience God’s power and peace in your life as never before.
Determined: Living Like Jesus in Every Moment: A Study of Luke by Heather M. Dixon. How do we walk out unwavering joy-filled faith every day, determined to let go of the things that keep us from experiencing abundant life and fulfilling the plans God has for us? The answers are found in following the footsteps of the One who lived fully because He was determined that we might do the same.
The Miracles of Jesus: Finding God in Desperate Moments by Jessica LaGrone. Jessica LaGrone leads us on a captivating exploration of the miracles of Jesus, helping us to see that our weakness is an invitation for God to work powerfully in our lives and reminding us that we need God on our best days just as much as we do on our worst.
Books for Becoming Like Jesus
Discipleship Path: Guiding Congregations to Connect with Jesus by Quincy D. Brown. What are the next steps to get churches to move from program to pathways that help people to practice the marks of discipleship: Presence, Service, Prayers, Gifts, and Witness? The first-century Jewish world of Jesus influences this shift of emphasis from program to path.
Dream Like Jesus: Deepen Your Faith and Bring the Impossible to Life by Rebekah Simon-Peter. Come know Jesus, and yourself, in a whole new way. It’s time to dream like Jesus. And time to share that dream with the people you love, teach, and lead. Drawing on her family roots of both Jewish and Christian faith, she challenges the Church to dream again, to recapture the vision of making the Kingdom of God a reality.
Worship Like Jesus: A Guide for Every Follower by Constance M. Cherry. Learn what worship is, why we do it, and how Jesus shows us the way. Worship like Jesus will help ministry leaders share the basic meaning and purpose of worship with everyone in their congregation, using Jesus’ model of worship.
Apprenticed to Jesus: Christian Practices for Growing Disciples by Thomas R. Hawkins. Using the call narratives in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, this book connects discipleship with the purpose and mission of the church: our participation in God’s plan to heal a broken creation. It will motivate participants to reflect on their own discipleship in engaging and effective ways.
Curriculum for Youth & Children
Who Do You Say That I Am? Meeting Jesus through the Eyes of Mark by Carolyn Poling. The study guides youth through the Gospel of Mark, helping them to define who Jesus is to them, who he says he is in scripture, and how this impacts how we live our lives.
Marked: A Mission Journey with Jesus in the Gospel of Mark by Rita Hays. Children ages five to twelve are invited on a journey where they will discover the power of God through this fast-paced Gospel of Mark.
Who is Jesus? A Six-Week Study for Tweens by Carol McDonough & Marcia Stoner. Tweens will explore what it means to have God with us in our daily human experience. This book contains six sessions that take tweens from the birth of Jesus to the Resurrection to discover Jesus as Lord.
Why Jesus for Me? A Six-Week Study for Tweens by Carol McDonough & Marcia Stoner. Both tweens who attend Sunday school regularly and tweens who are new to the church experience will explore what it means to have Jesus as our Savior. It contains six sessions that will explore Jesus and why we celebrate his birth, death, and resurrection and their meaning to us.