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Honorary Membership Recognition for Rev. Dennis Cecil Lamm

Announcements, Stories Published on
August 1, 2022

Honorary Membership Recognition
Southeastern Jurisdiction Historical Society
July 2022
The Rev. Dennis Cecil Lamm

The recipient of an Honorary Membership in the Southeastern Jurisdiction Historical Society is The Rev. Dennis C. Lamm of the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Dennis Cecil Lamm was born in Wilson, NC to Cecil Willard and Lillie Eva Thorne Lamm on August 17, 1942. Dennis married Jennifer Noble on July 18, 1965 in Lenoir, NC. Dennis and Jennifer have two daughters, Danae Lamm Alig and Natalie Denise Lamm.

Dennis is a second career clergyman. He has served the following appointments: Stokes UMC in 1996; Vanceboro Circuit in 1999; Rainbow UMC in 2003, associate of Campground UMC in 2007. He was ordained an Elder in 2006 and retired in 2012. In retirement, Dennis served Hoke Charge 2012-2014 and Trinity UMC (Fayetteville) 2016-2018.

Dennis joined the North Carolina Commission on Archives and History in 2008 and served as the Chairperson and Secretary. He has also served on the General Commission on Archives and History. He was elected to the Executive Committee of the SEJ Historical Society in July 2015.

Dennis kept the NC Conference abreast of the activities and happenings of NCC Commission on Archives and History. He addressed the “unpacking” of Archives and History materials during the move of the Methodist Building from Raleigh to Garner in 2011. He shared the scanning of Conference District records amidst the reorganization of the Conference District in 2012. The massive scanning of Conference District records took a few years to complete.

Dennis advocated for a ministerial biographical database program to move from a paper file to an electronic file. Douglas Ward developed the program to aid people and churches researching their pastors. Dennis has worked closely with churches in the North Carolina Conference who have closed or want to have their church records and historical items scanned.

Dennis was a huge organizer and contributor to the success of the SEJ Historical Society meeting in July 2016 held in New Bern, NC. The focus of the SEJ Annual Meeting centered on the early days of Methodism in colonial North Carolina.

It was an honor and a privilege to present Rev. Dennis Lamm as an Honorary Member of the Southeastern Jurisdiction Historical Society at the SEJ Historical Society Annual Meeting held at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simmons Island on Thursday, July 28, 2022.

An Encouragement for July

Stories Published on
July 12, 2022

The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Cassidy Salter, pastor at Hebron UMC in Mebane, NC. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.

I recently received a phone call from an elderly female congregant, concerned that she had heard me use a feminine pronoun to describe the Holy Spirit in my sermon the Sunday prior. She called me a bit upset, but also faithfully curious. We had a rich conversation about language, ways of understanding God, and barriers to the same. In my church lately, there has been a lot of conversation about interpretation of the Bible and what words mean, and which words matter.

Words, context, and our experiences shape what we hear and understand about God. It was not until I was a teen that I heard words of God’s abundant love for me spoken in ways that I could hear. I cannot imagine my life without the gift of the Holy Spirit speaking through people who felt compelled to share God’s story with me… even me: a woman; who did not grow up in the church; who makes mistakes; who absolutely needs God’s unending, abundant grace. I am inspired by the Spirit of Pentecost to remember that God will speak in every language needed to the extent that all of God’s children might hear of God‘s love.

Read: Acts: 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Reflect: In what ways do you need to hear the story of resurrection and life right now? What words fill you with a reminder that God loves you and God is for you? Through whom is God speaking words of grace to you? For whom might you offer the same?

Take Action: This month, be attentive to the words you hear and the words you use in sharing the story of God’s grace and resurrection. Listen for the ways God is calling you to use your voice to share the gospel.

God speaks in words, voices, warmth, encouragement, and love that we can hear. May you hear God’s voice in the ways you need to hear, at the times you need to hear, through the people you need to hear. And may it be louder and brighter and clearer than any other sound that carries in the wind.

In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women

Check out these upcoming events open to women clergy and laity alike.

Just Energy 4 All Monthly Webinar
July 20, 2022

Mission U
July 21-23, 2022

Faith Talks
July 21, 2022

An Encouragement for June

Stories Published on
June 14, 2022

The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Amie Stewart, ordained deacon in the NC Conference and Director of Conference Relations at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.

The news is rife with heartbreaking scenes of women in deep places of suffering: women who fled the Ukrainian war; mothers who are unable to purchase formula for their infants; the faces of those in communities ravaged by the recent mass shootings.

The lectionary reading for Trinity Sunday spoke to me considering these present realities, at the intersection of suffering and hope.

Read: Romans 5:3-5

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Reflect: How can I respond, and how can I do anything of significance?

In seminary, a professor referred to a book titled, Signs Amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History. I confess that while I purchased the book, I did not read it. But that phrase lingered with me – “signs amid the rubble.” An unconscious prompting to look for hope even in darkness.

In early March, Polish women and families left strollers on the platforms of train stations for Ukrainian women to use. These strollers are signs amid the rubble. They are emblematic of the Spirit’s ability to fuel our longing to work for hope.

Take Action: Consider one or two ways in the next month that you might work to establish a “sign amid the rubble.” The simpler the better. Send a text message to reconnect with a friend. Deliver a bag of groceries to a food pantry. Pick up trash you notice in the community. May these simple actions foster greater awareness of the Spirit at work within you to exemplify the hope of Jesus.

In partnership,

Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women

Check out these upcoming events open to women clergy and laity alike.

Just Energy 4 All Monthly Webinar
June 15, 2022

Faith Talks
June 16, 2022

Voices From the Field: Listening to Women from Liberia
June 22, 2022

Just Energy 4 All Working Group
July 5, 2022

Mission U
July 21-23, 2022

Disaster Ministries Training Retreat

Stories Published on
April 21, 2022

On April 1 and 2, thirty-two Disaster Response Committee members and Early Response Team (ERT) leaders joined us in Goldsboro for a training retreat. Throughout the weekend, attendees learned about Disaster Ministries operations and received training to help prepare teams to respond to a disaster.

The event commenced with an introduction from Disaster Ministries Director Al Miller and NC Conference Disaster Response Coordinator Ann Huffman, followed by a devotional led by Rev. Dusty Sprouse. Butch Huffman led Early Response Team Training and Recertification in the Friday afternoon session, and Bryant Dodson led advanced ERT classes: Site Assessment and On-site Management. Following the session, the attendees gathered at MERCI for dinner provided by Wally Mills and the NC Conference United Methodist Men. Later Friday evening, Rev. Shawn Mitchell led an Emotional and Spiritual Care course.

Saturday morning, the participants attended Basic ERT training or a course on Chainsaw Safety, led by Cullen Whitley. After the morning session, participants had an opportunity to hear from Chris Baker, FEMA Region IV CEM, about FEMA’s recovery program. Everyone reconvened at MERCI for lunch provided by St. Luke UMC before the afternoon session. Some participants attended Connecting Neighbors training to prepare their church and community for a disaster while others learned about mold spray trailers and how to tarp a roof.

Thank you to our Disaster Ministries Staff, trainers, Wally Mills, NC Conference United Methodist Men, Chris Baker, St. Luke UMC, Goldsboro Holiday Inn Express staff, and all attendees for making this event possible and a great success. To learn more about training opportunities or how to join an Early Response Team, visit our training page or contact 888-440-9167.

Episode 7: The Great Thanksgiving (Paragraph 4)

Stories Published on
April 5, 2022

Rev. Jaye White, of the North Carolina Annual Conference, and Rev. Jim Savage, of the Kentucky Annual Conference, join Bishop Leonard Fairley in our seventh installment of the Grace for the Future podcast and video blog.

White is an ordained deacon who serves as Conference Director of Outreach Ministries. Savage, an elder in the Kentucky Conference, serves as Director of Missions and Outreach Ministries and Assistant Conference Superintendent in the Central Appalachian Missionary Conference (formerly the Red Bird Missionary Conference).

In this episode, Bishop Fairley and his guests explore the second half of the Great Thanksgiving section of our Communion Liturgy. They look at the means of grace as a way to lead us through this liminal season that we find ourselves in as the church. In this season of change, where there is so much uncertainty and anxiety, is there enough grace? Is there enough grace for the journey? Is there enough grace for the future?

Spoiler alert! Yes, there is. Indeed, there is enough Grace for the Future!

Episode 6: The Great Thanksgiving (Paragraph 3)

Stories Published on
March 1, 2022

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

In this month’s episode of the Grace for the Future podcast, Bishop Leonard Fairley’s guests are Rev. Jason Villegas and Eliza Love. Rev Villegas is an ordained Elder in the North Carolina Annual Conference, serving Murfreesboro UMC. He also serves on the Conference task force on reimagining youth ministry and the Hispanic Latino Committee. Eliza Love is in the candidacy process in the Kentucky Annual Conference and is in her second year at Duke Divinity school working on her Master of Divinity degree.

On this episode of Grace for the Future, Bishop Fairley and his guests look at what it means to sing “Hosanna!” for how grateful we are for God’s grace. How does gratitude for God’s grace manifest itself in our lives? Join us for this month’s episode of Grace for the Future!

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