Stories

Thanks to the college chaplains and campus ministers in North Carolina, Annual Conference members experienced a great time of fellowship, beautiful music, and delicious ice cream on the evening of the opening day of Annual Conference 2024! Simply Delicious Creamery parked their food truck outside the convention center and fed the masses. While waiting for their turn to choose strawberry or salty caramel, people chatted with friends old and new. 

Inside the Emerald Ballroom, North Carolina Conference-related authors met fans and signed copies of their books. The books ranged from children’s books to graphic novels to Lenten studies to an in depth look at women in the early Methodist movement. The NC Conference is full of talented folks!

This year, campus ministers and college chaplains added a new activity for the 2024 Ice Cream Social which had the crowd buzzing! Karaoke! Bishop Shelton and friends sang “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” originally recorded by Whitney Houston. Other folks sang their “ABCs easy as 1-2-3” and “Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The weather made for a beautiful night of fun and fellowship!

“You, the NC Annual Conference, have truly given me the greatest gift of my life.”

Home Missioner Steve Taylor

Following 23 years of faithful leadership as Director of Connectional Ministries (2015-24) and Director of Outreach Ministries (2001-15), the conference offered Home Missioner Steve Taylor a standing ovation of thanks and appreciation upon his upcoming retirement. 

Connectional Ministries partners with church congregations and ministry teams to discover and realize God’s new dreams. Connectional Ministries encompasses ministries and offices such as Youth Ministry, Race Equity & Justice, the Center for Leadership and Development, Communications and others. 

Friends and colleagues of Steve shared their thankfulness for the work and friendship of him: 

Rev. Ismael Ruiz-Millán, currently serving as Heritage District Superintendent, is the incoming Director of Connectional Ministries for the NC Conference. 

“There was an underlying sadness for the brothers and sisters leaving our ministry, but also a growing level of hope and excitement in the United Methodist Church at the delayed 2020 General Conference in Charlotte, NC.”

Rev. Dr. Belton Joyner

Chair Dr. Christine Dodson and Vice Chair Rev. Dr. Belton Joyner brought news and updates on behalf of the NC Conference delegation following the 2020 General Conference, which was delayed until 2024. 

High-level updates were provided including: 

• A constitutional amendment related to Regionalization was passed at General Conference. The vote required a two-thirds majority of delegates at General Conference. Over the next year, there must also be a two-thirds aggregate vote of all voting members of annual conferences worldwide. The vote for regionalization will be presented to the 2025 NC Annual Conference. 
• The General Conference voted overwhelmingly to remove restrictive language in The Book of Discipline including in the Social Principles regarding those who identify as LGBTQIA+. 
• A summary of the legislation and other proceedings at General Conference is available on the Resource UMC website.

For all news and updates from General Conference 2024, visit our General Conference page. 

NC Delegation to General Conference 

Each member of the NC Delegation to General Conference, as well as each member of the Jurisdictional Conference Delegation, has remained a member since elected in 2019. The full delegation can be found on the General Conference page.

Appreciation for Hosts and Volunteers 

Wearing their trademark red aprons, the General Conference Host Committee co-chairs Rev. Trish Archer and Emily Innes shared appreciation for over 850 volunteers from the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences who signed up to serve as volunteers in Charlotte at General Conference. Volunteers served on hospitality teams at the airport, hotels, registration tables, and throughout the Charlotte Convention Center facility.
For more information, news, and updates about General Conference, visit our General Conference page.

Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton welcomed members of Annual Conference 2024 to opening worship and introduced the worship leader, Dr. Kylan C Pew, and members of the conference band from here in the NC Conference. Worship began with the praise song “A Place at the Table,” intermixed with spoken word by Takudzwa Chikepe. Worship continued with prayer in both Korean and English led by Rev. Eunsoo Kang.

During her message, Bishop Shelton focused on Romans 12:1-2 and shared a compelling story of how, in the midst of transitioning from Mississippi to North Carolina, she intentionally visited all her doctors before her insurance changed. While at the opthamologist, the doctor asked, “How long has that brown pigment been in your eye?” This led to a follow up appointment with a specialist the next day. Bishop Shelton expressed how she didn’t have time for an extra doctor’s appointment. She was annoyed with the doctor for wasting her time. Then the specialist shared that the brown pigment was melanoma. “I am not trying to save your vision. I am trying to save your life.”

Bishop Shelton stated plainly that, “I was so self absorbed with my plans and my timeline that I almost walked away from healing.” The Bishop went on to remind those gathered of Paul’s words to the church in Rome and his vision of a mind renewed. With these words, Paul was shaping the early church in practices of discernment. He reminded them and the modern church to be careful. Don’t rely on ethical commands. Test and prove what God’s will is.

Bishop Shelton continued, “We are called to embody lives of worship. We need God. We need each other. I need you. You need me. We can’t be self absorbed and miss the healing. We are in a continual process of becoming perfect in love.”

The Romans experienced a lot of cultural change in their time similar to what the Church is experiencing today. In the midst of transition, the Church can lose focus. In these times, the Bishop reminded the body that the church continues to need renovation and renovation takes time.

Bishop Shelton then touched on the changes The United Methodist Church has experienced in the last several years. “Our new reality is emerging. We lament that the church has fenced many people out. There is a place at the table. There is a place for everyone. Our world desperately needs a witness that people with different perspectives can love and respect one another.” 

The Bishop warned that there is a danger in having everything you need because we get self-absorbed. We can inadvertently walk away from healing. May God give us eyes to see that our healing and renovation comes from God.

As a response to God’s word, the body gathered around the table to celebrate holy communion and remind one another of God’s abundant grace and renovation. As worship came to a close for the afternoon, the body sang the refrain, “I pray for you, you pray for me. I love you, I need you to survive.” 

Lay members of Annual Conference 2024 gathered Thursday morning for the Laity Executive Session, which opened with a welcome by Conference Lay Leader John Hall and music led by Jay Locklear. Throughout the morning, those gathered were reminded of the 2024 theme of Disciple Making, Leader Forming, and Peace Building.

Ministry Reports

NC Conference Youth President Emily Johnson shared scripture and reflections on what it means to be followers of Christ in light of this year’s conference theme, with a focus on building relationships that transcend disagreement. She also offered quiet time for the laity to pause and consider how they can be people of reconciliation and hope in their own communities. Youth present at Annual Conference were recognized with appreciative applause. 

Panelists from various lay ministries then shared ways their ministries have worked to make disciples for Christ in the past year. The panelists included representation from United Women in Faith (UWF) by LaNella Smith, Lay Servant Ministries by Pam Strug, United Methodist Men (UMM) by Bill Huggins, and United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF) by Emily Johnson. Each communicated how their areas of ministry are committed to being United Methodists of action because of their faith. 

Laity were invited and challenged to consider being active partners in God’s work through the question, “How is God calling you?” They were encouraged to participate in the 40+ Lay Servant courses available to discern ministry area callings; being part of local churches in UWF, UMM, or UMYF; or serving in a leadership capacity. 

Jay Locklear led the congregation in singing Wesley’s Covenant Prayer. It was a meaningful reminder that God calls us to a life of discipleship and humble servanthood. 

Featured Speaker, Dr. Margaret Brunson

Dr. Margaret Brunson was a featured speaker for the session. Raised in the NC Conference as a clergy child, Brunson is a lay member of the NC Conference, serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry, and owns a consulting and coaching firm in Durham. She led a discussion in contemplating the subject of transformation and change, specifically, “Transformative Leadership: Leading Through the Liminal.” She invited reflection on what the transformation process through liminal spaces (times of uncertain transition) might look like for churches and communities. A charge and encouragement was provided to engage in collective visioning and assessment activities within local churches. Recognizing that change is challenging, Brunson emphasized the need to maintain awareness of the culture that is needed to drive ministries forward and to continue asking questions like, “How do we live into our values” and, “What should we start, stop, and continue?” She also reminded those gathered that they are leaders in their churches and communities and encouraged each to step more fully into that role. 

Partnership With AMEZ Churches

After additional congregational singing, lay members and leaders then shared stories of peace-building, highlighting a newly-formed collaboration with UMC and AMEZ churches as a model for connectional ministry founded on relationship-building and the common ground of family and faith. 

Conference Logistics and Sending Forth 

Dr. Christine Dodson, Conference Treasurer, then provided an orientation on Annual Conference with an overview of the logistics for the next 2 days. The session ended with information shared by outgoing Beacon District Lay Leader, Tom Santa, about Lay Servant Ministry classes and closed in song and a prayer led by incoming Beacon District Lay Leader Tracy Manigault.