Gayle Tabor (St. Paul’s UMC) calls in from Wilmington to discuss Britt’s Donuts, Church on Tap, and Wednesday night Lego Club for kids.
Announcements
Digitizing Your Church Records
What is digitization? The conversion of traditional records into digital or electronic form. When referring to digitization of church records, the main group of documents are the historic records of the church. This covers paper records such as correspondence, committee reports, and photographs. Another important group are new ones being received at the current time. These would be fewer in number because most documents now are created and circulated electronically via email and the like.
Why Digitize? There are many reasons for digitizing your records. One is to preserve them better, especially when they have already becoming fragile from old age. Traditional records are already in danger of being lost because of their age, the difficulties of storage, or lack of proper care. Another reason for digitizing your records is space saving – which is limited in many churches. Digital records are also easily shared, and they can be copied, printed, and displayed with ease. They can also be integrated into many church’s current administration system where much is already digital. One of the best reasons for digitizing is ease of locating information. This is the case with printed material which can be turned into editable and searchable electronic files. Unfortunately, hand-written documents cannot yet be easily turned into editable and searchable documents – probably many of the older records of your church fall into this category. However, they can, at least, be viewed electronically, and stored with the rest of your church’s electronic documents.
How can your Conference Archive help? It is a big undertaking to digitize your church’s entire collection of historical records, so it needs to be planned and managed well. It needs good IT support and archival expertise to achieve a satisfactory outcome. The North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History offers to facilitate the digitization of your historical records. We are willing to help you choose which records should be digitized and we are willing to do the work of digitizing the records for you. After digitizing the records, we will return the originals and a digitized copy of the records to you. We will also house a copy of your digitized records in the Conference Archives.
If you are interested in preserving your church’s historically significant records, please contact either:
Commission Chair – Douglas Jonas at (919)771-6882 or dcjonas2000@gmail.com
Commission Archivist – Rev. Dennis Lamm at (252)521-1452 or lammbo@nccumc.org
The Other Days Of The Week – Episode 9: Motorcycle Adventures w/ Tom Newman
Tom Newman (Pastor, Asbury UMC) and Amie discuss movie-inspired sermons, motorcycle rides, and sabbath day meals.
Hurricane Dorian Update (9/12/19)
NC Conference Disaster Ministries has received clearance to send Early Response Teams to Ocracoke. The first team arrives this evening and will begin working tomorrow morning. Our staff on Ocracoke has identified 290 homes damaged due to flooding and will continue assessments along the east coast.
Due to the limited access on the island, partnerships are being developed among several disaster response organizations. NCC Disaster Ministries is working with Baptists on Mission and local authorities to muck out homes and spray for mold. NC Emergency Management and the Salvation Army are working together to provide free fuel for teams on the island. The Salvation Army has also partnered with Baptists on Mission to provide three free hot meals each day for residents and workers.
Our staff will be holding daily conference calls with our team in Ocracoke for operational updates. Follow our website and Facebook for weekly updates. To schedule a volunteer team or request assistance, call 888-440-9167 or email disaster@nccumc.org.
Disaster Ministries’ Partnership with Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Disaster Ministries recently received a donation from our partner, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. The Pro Sales Manager for Eastern North Carolina, Allen Smith, donated $10,000 worth of supplies and equipment for Disaster Ministries’ operational needs. The materials donated range from tarps, box fans, mold spray, batteries, extension cords, and heavy duty bins. Allen joined the Disaster Ministries team Tuesday in Ocracoke to help distribute the items along the coast.
Disaster Ministries’ Director of Interagency Development and Assessment, Cliff Harvell, established a partnership with Allen and Lowe’s eight years ago. Since Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina, Lowe’s has supplied materials needed for hurricane recovery and repairs. Thank you Allen Smith and the team at Lowe’s for supplying Disaster Ministries with equipment to continue our operations in Eastern North Carolina!
Disaster Ministries is grateful to all of our partners and volunteers who have helped restore hope to disaster survivors.
Hurricane Dorian Update (9/11/19)
The Disaster Ministries staff and Early Response Teams are ready to begin assessments and recovery efforts in the affected areas.
Disaster Ministries staff have established a center in Ocracoke to house ERTs working to tarp roofs, remove debris, and muck out homes. ERTs will be directed by District Disaster Response Coordinators, once we are cleared and invited to go into the affected areas along the coast.
We ask for your continued prayers and support and invite you to consider serving as part of a team when the opportunity is available.
Follow our website (nccumc.org/disaster) and social media channels for updates as the situation progresses, and share the email address (disaster@nccumc.org) and Call Center phone number (888-440-9167) with those who may need it.
Thank you!