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North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church

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From the Bishop: Building on the Solid Rock

Announcements

Disciples of Jesus Christ live and act graciously toward others even when we hold different opinions. I have shared on multiple occasions my desire that we would live into this value, particularly in this season of the church’s life and our work together. Therefore, you can understand why it breaks my heart to have to share the following statement with you, my sisters and brothers in Christ.

I have become increasingly aware that an abundance of misinformation is being shared concerning disaffiliation. These untruths and misinformation are being used as tools of fear. I ask you to covenant with me both as clergy and laity that we will not participate in spreading false information about one another or about The United Methodist Church. I pray that we will be accountable for calling out misinformation or untruth when we hear or see it. 

It truly saddens me that some of this misinformation includes my future personally. I wish to say this in the strongest terms possible: my calling and assignment as a Bishop should never, under any circumstances, be used as a fear tactic to frighten congregations and pastors into disaffiliating or staying in The United Methodist Church. Dawn and I will serve joyfully wherever the Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on the Episcopacy assigns us. It is not our work to choose that assignment. It is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church. I am not retiring on January 1, 2023, despite false reports of such a plan.

While I am grievously aware of where we are, I have shared on numerous occasions that I do not desire any church or pastor to disaffiliate. I also want to reemphasize that we should not be demonizing each other or sharing disparaging information about any person’s belief, or spreading untruths about the history or doctrine of The United Methodist Church. Please remember the means we use will always determine the ends.

We have recently updated our official disaffiliation information page to include helpful tools for your congregation as you discern the best path forward:

  • You can now request an official UMC representative to come to speak at your church.
  • We have clarified the steps for clergy withdrawal if you do not have your certificate(s).
  • We have simplified the “For Churches” section and added essential dates and deadlines.

Additionally, we have scheduled three webinars in August to help clarify the disaffiliation agreement (8/11), clergy withdrawal (8/18), and the future of The United Methodist Church (8/25). Each webinar will be offered from 12 – 1 pm on the scheduled date, and they will be recorded and made available for later viewing. Please register for these webinars and share this opportunity with others in your faith community.

Let us not build our future on negativity, anger, misinformation, or tactics that make people stay or go. Let us build our future on Christ, the Solid Rock because all other ground is sinking sand.

In Christ,

Are you prepared? Communicating in Times of Crisis

Announcements

When your church has a crisis, how can you be ready?

We have invited Diane Degnan, Director of Public Relations at United Methodist Communications, to lead us in a 3-week workshop series to help our churches and church leaders be prepared to communicate in times of crisis. Participants will learn how to:

  • provide an immediate response in crisis;
  • develop successful strategies for pre-empting or managing a crisis;
  • avoid critical mistakes that can cause long-term damage.

Effective Communication in Times of Crisis
Presented by the Center for Leadership Excellence
with Diane Degnan
Wednesdays, August 10, 17, and 24
1-2:30 PM ET

These workshops are offered without charge thanks to United Methodist Communications and our UM Connection!

Learn More and Register

About Diane Degnan

Diane Degnan has more than 25 years of experience working in media and public relations and has trained and coached hundreds of persons to become skilled spokespersons. As Director of Public Relations at United Methodist Communications, Diane oversees the development and execution of public relations and social media strategies for The United Methodist Church. In addition, she works to create a voice for the church in the secular and religious media and helps church leaders surmount communication challenges and crises.

Learn More and Register

Volunteers Assemble UMCOR Kits

Announcements

Following the devastating flood in eastern Kentucky, the North Carolina Conference delivered 400 cleaning kits to the Kentucky Conference. As rescue and recovery efforts continue, the Kentucky Conference has asked for hygiene kits and menstrual hygiene kits to assist persons affected.

Seven volunteers met at MERCI on August 3 to help assemble 300 menstrual hygiene kits. MERCI will host another volunteer event on August 5 from 9 am – 12 pm. Please contact Rev. Bill Haddock at 910-262-3831 if you would like to volunteer on August 5. 

If you can not volunteer on August 5, you can help lead relief efforts at your local church by creating hygiene or menstrual hygiene kits. Kits will need to be delivered to MERCI at 674 Community Drive, Goldsboro, NC. The center is open Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 3 pm. If the center is closed, kits can be left in the shed outside the gate. 

Learn more about the Flood Response efforts in Kentucky → 

Last Month in the NC Conference: July 2022

Announcements

We’d like to keep everyone up-to-date about the happenings all across the NC Conference offices and committees, so we’ll be posting a roundup of all the major news at the end of every month.

Here’s an overview of NC Conference events and updates from the month of July. 

NC Conference

Annual Conference

Christian Formation

Conflict Transformation

District Office

Media Center

Office of Clergy Life

  • Download and read the 2022 Board of Ordained Ministry report shared at Annual Conference.
  • The Office of Clergy Life hosted a Candidacy Retreat for those discerning a call to ministry in The United Methodist Church. Of the nine participants: 4 were female, 5 were male; 3 were African American, 1 was Asian, 5 were Caucasian; and 4 were young adults. Contact the Office of Clergy Life for more information on how to register for the next retreat on January 6, 2023.

Outreach Ministry

Treasurer’s Office

Youth Ministries

  • 135 youth from across the Conference attended the inaugural session of NCCUMC Youth Week. 

A Day of Learning: Leading During Anxious Times

Announcements

The Center for Leadership Excellence presents a Day of Learning with Craig Gilliam from Just Peace…

I believe that God, whose middle name is Surprise, shows up in the most unusual places, spaces, and faces, and is still at work in the midst of it all, including in anxiety and chaos.

High anxiety and reactivity are recurring themes in our congregations and the ecclesiastical system. When individuals and communities are highly anxious, they are not at their best. Congregations holding sustained high anxiety trend toward negativity, mistrust, reactivity, and a loss of purpose, resulting in ineffectiveness, disengagement, unhealthy conflict, and burn-out. The joy of ministry gets lost, as does motivation, engagement, and excellence. Also, high anxiety over time can take its toll on the leaders’ and community’s health, well-being, and soul.With the struggles going on in the church and systems in which it is nested, such as politics, a pandemic, social justice issues, and other complex influences, it is no surprise that anxiety is soaring. But to navigate a congregation through the winds of this time takes self-awareness on the part of leaders. Research shows that leadership excellence and self-awareness walk together and include ways of being (I-Thou) and doing. Both for lay and clergy, leadership is a skill to develop and art to cultivate. The artistry and impact are greatest for those who identify, embody, and work from their unique talents and strengths.

Take Aways: 

  • Reflect on congregational anxiety and leadership from multiple lenses, including an understanding of emotional systems.
  • Identify practices that leaders can use to be responsive and invite responsiveness from others.
  • Discuss best practices for leaders in systems of high anxiety and examine how to bring our best and invite the best out in others.
  • Understand what chronic anxiety is, identify indicators of high anxiety in your congregational or personal life system, and determine responses and best practices for regulating anxiety and inviting a new way for self, others, and church culture.

A Day of Learning: Leading During Anxious Times
Presented by the Center for Leadership Excellence
with Craig Gilliam from Just Peace
Thursday, October 20, 9am – 3pm
(*9-9:30am is registration)
St. Andrews UMC (Raleigh Map it)
$50/person (20% discount for registering 3 or more)

Register Now

About W. Craig Gilliam:
Achiever | Learner | Adaptability | Maximizer | Relator

Dr. W. Craig Gilliam is the founder and owner of Gilliam & Associates, LLC and resides in Shreveport, LA. He is a member of the Louisiana Conference, UMC (elder). While he is part of the UMC, his work in religious congregations and other religious organizations have been with various faith traditions. Professionally, he works in the field of I/O psychology, is an organizational consultant and coach, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Certified in Barrett’s Cultural Values Assessment and Master trainer and coach on The Predictive Index. Moreover, he is a facilitator, educator and works in areas of leadership development, change management, conflict transformation (both training and interventions), employee/membership engagement and motivation, and assists religious organizations, congregations, and businesses in creating strengths-based, engaged cultures for higher performance and improved outcomes. 

With over 25+ years of experience in leadership coaching, conflict transformation, and organizational consulting, he has served in various capacities. Some include faculty at a counseling and training center in New Orleans; adjunct instructor at SMU; director of a center for pastoral/leadership excellence for the LA Conference, UMC; on staff as a consultant for a mediation and conflict transformation center in Washington, D.C., (JustPeace), and as a senior consultant and conflict resolution specialist for an organization in Utah. Craig’s dissertation was on leadership and the effects of anxiety and conflict in organizational and congregational life.  

www.gilliamandassociates.com 

Flood Response in Kentucky

Announcements

On July 27 and 28, a devastating flood caused by heavy rain impacted homes, businesses, and communities in eastern Kentucky. 

Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church.

The Kentucky Conference is working with UMCOR and other organizations to help those affected as rescue and recovery efforts continue. NC Conference Disaster Ministries connected with the Kentucky Conference and delivered 400 cleaning buckets to eastern Kentucky. Bishop Fairley thanks the NC Conference for their prayers, support, and response. 

The Kentucky Conference is in need of hygiene and menstrual hygiene UMCOR kits. The Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiative (MERCI) will be open on August 3, 2022, from 9 am – 3 pm and August 5, 2022, from 9 am – 12 pm to assemble hygiene kits. Please contact Rev. Bill Haddock at 910-262-3831 if you would like to volunteer on August 3 or August 5. 

If an invitation is received for the support of our Early Response Teams, we will contact our team leaders. Please continue to keep all who were affected by the storm in your prayers.

View updates from the KY Conference→

Read Bishop Fairley’s statement from the KY Conference→

Ways You Can Help

Give

If you would like to share your gifts with those in need, donations can be made to one of the following places: 

Kentucky Conference→

UMCOR→

UMCOR Kits

The Kentucky Conference is in need of UMCOR kits to assist those in affected areas. MERCI will be open on August 3, 2022, from 9 am – 12 pm, and on August 5, 2022, from 9 am – 12 pm to prepare UMCOR hygiene kits. Volunteers are needed on Wednesday, August 3, and Friday, August 5, to help prepare the kits. All materials will be provided. Please contact Rev. Bill Haddock at 910-262-3831 if you would like to volunteer on August 3 or August 5. 

If you can not volunteer on August 3 or August 5, you can help lead relief efforts at your local church by creating cleaning, hygiene, or menstrual hygiene kits. Kits will need to be delivered to MERCI at 674 Community Drive, Goldsboro, NC. The center is open Monday – Thursday from 9 am – 3 pm. If the center is closed, kits can be left in the shed outside the gate. 

Hygiene Kits

Menstrual Hygiene Kits

Cleaning Kits (Flood Buckets)

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800-849-4433 (Toll-Free)
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NC Conference of
The United Methodist Church
700 Waterfield Ridge Place
Garner, NC 27529

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