Rev. Ben Williams and Home Missioner Steve Taylor share updates on General Conference legislation and the Conference’s Ecumenical Day celebration.
Announcements
NFC April 2024 Newsletter
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New Places for New People
Earlier this year, 450 pastors and leaders from across the United States experienced the first United Methodist Fresh Expressions National Gathering in Charlotte, NC. The purpose of this gathering was to help “cultivate communities of love and grace for people neglected by the church [and] to be the church with new people, in new places, and in new ways.”
The Fresh Expressions movement originated in the Anglican Church in England and has its roots in early Methodism. The contemporary Methodist Church in Great Britain has also embraced and expanded on the practices of the Fresh Expression movement to enhance their vision for co-creating new places for new people to be disciples of Jesus Christ. The Methodist Church in Great Britain “sees starting New Places for New People in every circuit as a vital part of responding to the gospel of God’s love, revealed to us in Christ. [The] aim is to see new people becoming disciples of Jesus and forming new Christian communities in rural, estate, urban, suburban, and village contexts.” New Places for New People projects “are focused on forming new Christian communities for those not yet part of an existing church.” For the British Methodist Church, this includes the Fresh Expression movement, as well as focuses on new towns and housing developments, students and young adults, families with children, replanting in existing places, and developing Church at the Margins of communities.
One of the shared core values of both the British Methodist Church and the Fresh Expressions movement is to develop a “mixed ecology” of church which includes caring for people in our inherited churches, while also leveraging resources to develop and strengthen new faith communities.
In this newsletter, Rev. Edgar de Jesus will share some of his experience in the local church related to experimenting with Fresh Expressions of Church. Edgar will also share his hopes for how the Fresh Expression movement will help strengthen the witness of the United Methodist Church in the United States and here in North Carolina. Rev. Julia Hayes will share how Wrightsville United Methodist Church is experimenting with a “mixed ecology” of church, and particularly how the merger between Wrightsville UMC and Oleander UMC is co-creating new places for new people in the greater Wrightsville Beach community.
General Conference Update #1: Dr. Christine Dodson & Rev. Kevin Baker
Dr. Christine Dodson and Rev. Kevin Baker thank everyone who has prayed for General Conference and the NC Conference Delegation. Watch a recap of what has happened at General Conference and learn about their experience serving as delegates.
Regionalization Amendment Receives 78% of the Vote at General Conference
On April 25, the delegates at General Conference “voted 586 to 164 for an amendment to the denomination’s constitution that will now go before annual conference voters for potential ratification.”
“A constitutional amendment requires at least a two-thirds vote at General Conference; the regionalization amendment received 78% of the vote. To be ratified, the amendment also will need at least a two-thirds total vote of annual conference lay and clergy voters.”
Grant Available for Children with Special Needs
An endowment called “One Who Is Loved” makes possible love gifts, not to exceed $1,000 per year per child to benefit children under the age of 18 who have special needs. Examples of special needs include specialized medical equipment or supplies/medicine, transportation to hospitals or treatment, therapies, etc.
Pastors of the NC Conference are encouraged to recommend children (18 years old or younger) who are members of, or who have at least one parent who is a member of, a local United Methodist Church in the NC Conference. Complete the application here.
Wespath’s General Conference Resources
Wespath offers many resources to help you learn about their legislation. View Wespath’s General Conference page to access handouts, videos, and other information about Wespath’s petitions and rationale.
The webpage features special sections, including: