A message from Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton on this historic day in The United Methodist Church.
Announcements
2024 Key Taylor Award Applications
Are you attending a rural United Methodist Church? Do you pastor a rural United Methodist Church? Is your church making a difference in your community?
The Rural Church Fund (Key Taylor Award) was created in 1958 as a permanent endowment fund with the United Methodist Foundation, Inc. as trustee. The idea for the Fund came from the Rev. Key W. Taylor and the Commission on Town and Country of the Conference Board of Missions, and the purpose was established “to provide a permanent source of funding to benefit rural churches of the North Carolina Conference.”
Today we honor Reverend Taylor’s passion for ministry and mission in the Rural Church, serving Jesus, making disciples, and loving God’s people.
This year, $1567.00 will be awarded from The Rural Church Endowment. The award, sponsored through the United Methodist Foundation, is to call attention to the mission work of all rural churches by honoring the specific achievements of one rural church. Rural church nominations for consideration for the Key Taylor Award are due by May 31, 2024.
May 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. It includes upcoming events, grant deadlines, Conference news, and more.
The monthly theme for May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The flyer includes related resources that can be borrowed from the NC Conference Media Center along with information on NC Conference Asian Ministries. The flyer also includes upcoming events from the Center for Leadership Excellence.
Feel free to print or share this flyer with your congregation. Click either of the images below to download the two-page PDF flyer.
Blueprint for Wellness Health Screening at Annual Conference
The Blueprint For Wellness (BFW) health screening includes a blood draw and a few measurements, such as blood pressure and waist circumference. This screening is open to enrollees (participants and spouses) on the conference’s active health insurance plans.
Attendees will receive:
- $100 in Pulse Cash in their Virgin Pulse well-being program. This incentive reward is redeemable as a transfer to your checking account or can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, or a charitable donation.
- Up to 140 Wellness Credits for achieving healthy results. Earn a total of 150 Wellness Credits before the end of the year and receive an additional $150 in Pulse Cash.
- Free, personalized, confidential data on 30 health factors that can be shared by the participant with their primary care provider. Healthcare providers have indicated that this valuable information supports them in creating an overall plan for the health of their patients.
BONUS: This year’s results can be entered in the Virgin Pulse Health Check. When participants and their covered spouses take the Health Check they avoid a higher deductible in 2025. Plus, you’ll have a baseline for next year’s BFW screening.
Registration is strongly recommended. Walk-ins are very limited. Register by May 31 in either of these ways:
- Log in to your Virgin Pulse account and find Quest Blueprint for Wellness Screening under the “Benefits” tab or through Benefits Access (for participants) under the “Well-Being” tab.
- Call Quest Diagnostics at 1-855-623-9355. Employer group = HealthFlex or United Methodist Church
If you can’t attend the BFW event, you can complete the BFW at a Quest Diagnostics facility or via Self-Collection Kit, or with a Physician Results Form. The deadline for completing both the BFW and the Virgin Pulse Health Check is August 31.
Caring for God’s Creation: Peacebuilding Through Holy Conversations
Pastors are invited to join the NC Conference Creation Care Committee and Dr. Nina Balmaceda from the Duke Center for Reconciliation for a day of learning on July 11, 2024, from 10 am – 3 pm at the NC Conference Building in Garner, NC.
During our time, we will learn about and participate in the Circle Process, which is a holy time of conversation in a ritual-oriented circle. Practices of worship will be joined with meaningful conversation as we discern together how to live faithfully in a time of environmental challenges. We hope to encourage and inspire one another to lead faithfully in our churches around issues of creation care and environmental justice. Practices learned from this time together will also be helpful in leading other difficult conversations in our churches.
The registration deadline is July 3.
General Conference Update #2: Rev. Ben Williams & Home Missioner Steve Taylor
Rev. Ben Williams and Home Missioner Steve Taylor share updates on General Conference legislation and the Conference’s Ecumenical Day celebration.