In order to receive credit for 2023, apportionment and advance special payments must be received in the Conference Treasurer’s Office by Wednesday, January 10, 2024. Click here for more details and mailing instructions. To check your church’s balance, visit our District Remittances page to view reports, which are updated daily as payments are posted. If you notice a discrepancy from your records, please contact Diana Hunter or Lisa Jones in the Treasurer’s Office as soon as possible so that it can be corrected in a timely manner.
Announcements
Are you feeling called to become a certified lay speaker?
Certified lay speakers are laity who are ready to answer the call to fill a pulpit for a pastor who is sick or is otherwise in need of a substitute preacher. In the North Carolina Conference, we have more than fifty laity who are trained and ready to be serve (Meet Our Lay Speakers).
If you are interested in becoming a certified lay speaker, now is a great time! This January and February, we are offering four of the seven required courses for certification. Find the class(es) you need, and register today!
- Basic Course in Lay Servant Ministries – offered in person in Raleigh, February 10, 2024 (register for Basic)
- Living Our United Methodist Beliefs (UM History) – offered on Zoom, February 17, 2024 (register for UM History)
- Life Together in the United Methodist Connection (UM Polity) – offered on Zoom, January 20, 2024 (register for Polity)
- Leading Worship – offered on Zoom, February 3, 2024 (register for Worship)
Note: These courses are open to all laity. We would love for you to join us, whether or not you are interested in becoming a certified lay speaker.
Need Other Lay Speaker Courses? The final three lay speaker required courses (spiritual gifts, public prayer, and preaching) are being planned for this spring and summer (dates TBD).
Prefer the Certified Lay Minister Route? Our Day of Discovery to learn about certified lay ministry happens every July, with the CLM modules beginning in the fall, but three of these classes (basic, history, and polity) are prerequisites. If you are contemplating the CLM route, you can get ahead of the game and sign up for these pre-reqs now!
To learn more about becoming a certified lay speaker or certified lay minister, we encourage you to visit our website or email us at cle@nccumc.org. We’re here to help!
NFC December Newsletter
Innovating together: Lighthouse Congregations
“If the 1950s came back, today, our church would be ready” – Ed Stetzer (2013)
Ed Stetzer made an observation which many of us have found to be a little too true for our local church communities. We are really good at being church for some time period in our past. For your church, it might not be the 1950s, it could be the 1980s, or early 2000s. For some, you may even feel it wasn’t that long ago, and you point to 2019 (pre-pandemic and pre-disaffiliation). If we could simply rewind a few years or a few decades, we would be a thriving church, again.
Institutional scholars observe that mature organizations and institutions, including the church, are actually designed to resist change and preserve the institution. Innovation and change threaten to disrupt the very things institutional systems are designed to maintain.
For many institutions, it is only when a systemic shock is large enough that they become ready for change which they may have resisted for years or even decades.
It is not hard to see where this is going. We have all experienced recent shocks to our systems. Our institutions and churches are being challenged to innovate in otherwise challenging times. Over the past year, some of the churches in the NC Conference have chosen to be Lighthouse Congregations. At first, this was an opportunity to publicly acknowledge a church’s commitment to following Jesus and loving God through continuing in the ways of hospitality, worship, discipleship, mission, sacrament, and pastoral care as practiced in the ways of the United Methodist connection. As committed United Methodist churches, Lighthouse Congregations serve as a beacon of hope to their neighbors, especially those who feel disconnected or displaced due to disaffiliation.
More recently, Lighthouse Congregational leaders have been gathering to share their experiences and innovate together. Since August, pastors and lay leaders have been joining together virtually every month to support one another, dream together, and share best practices of how their local congregations are embracing change to co-create new places for new people to gather in communion with Jesus Christ.
This newsletter will share stories of how two of our Lighthouse Congregations are embracing change and experiencing new life in our changing times.
Thank you for your ongoing support and the ways your prayers, financial gifts, and other support make this connection and creativity possible.
Last Month in the NC Conference: November 2023
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 November.
NC Conference
- We celebrated six months of The Duke Endowment investing in the future of the NC Conference of The United Methodist. Since May, several new initiatives have begun or have continued thanks to the generosity of The Duke Endowment. Read the full announcement.
- In Decision Number 1490, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council affirms the ruling of Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton from the 2023 Annual Conference Session of the North Carolina Annual Conference held June 2023.
- Watch a video from Bishop Shelton addressing the inaccuracies and myths surrounding the Pilgrims and Native people narrative, urging us to confront the uncomfortable truths that history often looks.
Center for Leadership Excellence
- Hosted a webinar with Mary Gladstone-Highland on Navigating Church Conflict: Discovering the Heart of the Matter.
- Registration opened for the Conference-wide Leadership Training on January 7, 2024. Learn more and register.
- Registration opened for a Day of Learning focused on leaning into change and improvising called “A Church Reforming, a World Transforming: Faithful Ministry in a Chaotic World.”
District Office
- This year, we have the opportunity to support two vital ministries through the District Christmas Offering: Project AGAPE and Professors in Methodism. Learn more, watch videos from Nara Melkonyan, director of Project AGAPE, and Bishop Patrick Streiff, Professors in Methodism, and view resources on the District Christmas Offering Page.
Laity Ministries
- John Hall, Conference Lay Leader, reflects on the recent Annual Conference gathering, highlighting the importance of the laity’s role in the church’s discipleship-making process. Read more and watch the video.
- Registration for four winter quarter Lay Servant Ministries courses.
Media Center
Office of Clergy Life
- On November 16, Louisburg College hosted Bishop Connie Shelton and Rev. Beth Hood for the Whitehead Leadership Program. Bishop Shelton spoke to Whitehead Scholars about good and effective leadership, as well as owning up to one’s weaknesses. Rev. Hood shared about spiritual disciplines and practices that undergird Christian leaders.
Outreach Ministry
- Volunteers met at MERCI to pack Christmas boxes for Project AGAPE.
- NC Conference United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) hosted a Team Leader Training on November 11.
- Congregations for Children shared ways local churches can advocate for public education.
- Disaster Ministries shared ways you can prepare your home and church for the winter season.
Race Equity and Justice Ministries
- Approximately 35 people attended the Bishop’s Forum on “Peace on the Land: The Campesinx Struggle for Reclamation and Healing in Colombia.”
Treasurer’s Office
- Registration opened for local church treasurer training in January 2024. Registration closes on January 8.
Youth Ministries
- View the schedule for 2024 Conference youth events.
- Youth across the Conference gathered in Rocky Mount, NC, on November 11-13 for Pilgrimage 2023.
Calling all Certified Laity!
Are you interested in an official name badge from the NC Conference? We are placing an order for magnetic name badges for certified lay servants, certified lay speakers, and certified lay ministers.
The deadline to order your name badge is January 10, 2024.
If you are unsure whether your certification is active, please reach out to cle@nccumc.org or your Lay Servant Ministries District Director.
Interested in becoming a part of Lay Servant Ministries?
Check out our Upcoming Courses or learn how to become a certified lay servant, certified lay speaker, or certified lay minister. We are eager to walk alongside you and support you in your ministry.
Ready to Order? Just fill out this form!
Health Team Update – December 2023
In conjunction with Dr. Wes Wallace from University UMC, the Conference Health Team has some important information as December gets underway.
Protect Yourself from Respiratory Infections
According to information released by the NC Department of Health and Human Services on November 29, emergency department visits for respiratory viruses have seen an uptick as the weather turns colder. Last week 11.1% of emergency room visits had symptoms of a respiratory virus, an increase from 10.3% the week before. These include an uptick in COVID, flu, and RSV cases.
Among reporting hospitals, 447 hospital admissions were for COVID-19, and 142 were for flu, an increase for COVID-19 and flu from the week before (which were 417 COVID-19 and 88 flu cases the week before). You can get the latest statistics about the number of hospital cases in North Carolina involving respiratory viruses here: NCDHHS COVID Dashboard.
Seniors and those who are immunosuppressed should test themselves for COVID every 48 hours if they are symptomatic and get Paxlovid very quickly if they are positive in order to avoid severe illness.
Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccine
- CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax, to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
- Everyone aged 5 years and older should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
- Children aged 6 months–4 years need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- Learn more here: COVID-19 – Stay Up-To-Date
- Find the COVID vaccine near you
Make sure you get your flu shot
Most private insurance fully covers the cost of flu shots. Free shots are also available to non-Medicaid, uninsured women who are pregnant during flu season, and receiving services at the health department.
RSV vaccine
In May of this year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine approved for use in the United States for individuals 60 years of age and older. There are two RSV vaccines licensed for use in adults aged 60 years and older in the United States: RSVPreF3 (Arexvy, GSK) and RSVpreF (Abrysvo, Pfizer). Seniors can get the RSV vaccine through their doctor’s office, CVS, or Walgreens with insurance.
COVID tests
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests. Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping. Order them here.
Medicaid Expansion Begins December 1
- North Carolina is expanding who can get Medicaid starting December 1, 2023.
- Adults ages 19 through 64 earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line (e.g., singles earning about $20,000/year or families of three earning about $34,000/year) may be eligible.
- The best way to apply is online through ePASS; you can also apply in person, by phone, or mailed applications. The processing time for applications can be up to 45 days. Applications submitted online may be processed faster.
- The coverage will be comprehensive, including services like primary care, hospital stays, maternity care, vision and hearing, dental/oral health care, and more.
- Medicaid pays for doctor visits, yearly check-ups, emergency care, mental health, and more – at little or no cost to you.
- Current beneficiaries with full Medicaid coverage will not see any changes.
- Learn more here: Q&A about Medicaid Expansion