Don’t miss out! Today is your last day to register to attend Youth Breakaway on June 21-26, 2021. For more information, please visit https://nccumc.org/youth/events/breakaway/
Effective Leaders
SEJ College of Bishops Calls for Special Session
The College of Bishops of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, in accordance with ¶521 of the 2016 Book of Discipline, calls for a special session of the jurisdictional conference on July 21, 2021. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. EST and will be held virtually.
The purpose of the special session is to vote on a proposed resolution to unite the Memphis Annual Conference and the Tennessee Annual Conference into the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference.
Delegates will also receive a report from the Southeastern Jurisdiction on the pandemic response in the jurisdiction, the work of anti-racism across the jurisdiction, and the work of the jurisdiction moving forward into the next 18 months.
The 2020 SEJ Conference, originally scheduled for July 15-17, 2020, at Lake Junaluska, NC, has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The College of Bishops encourages all churches of the Southeastern Jurisdiction to be in prayer for the Church and the world during these challenging times.
15 Annual Conferences comprise the Southeastern Jurisdiction: Alabama-West Florida, Florida, Holston, Kentucky, Memphis, Mississippi, North Alabama, North Carolina, North Georgia, Red Bird Missionary, South Carolina, South Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and Western North Carolina.
The Secretary of the Jurisdiction will provide the necessary information for delegates to participate in the special session. Guests will be able to watch the live stream at www.sejumc.org.
Article written by Kara Witherow from the South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church
Seminary Debt Endowment Repayment Program Open for Applicants
This Annual Conference year initiates the sixth year of the North Carolina Conference’s commitment to assisting clergy with reducing seminary debt. With gratitude to the Council on Finance and Administration Committee establishing an endowment in 2015, the NCC Endowment Team continues to accept ordained elders and deacons into the program. Over the past five years, the Seminary Debt Endowment paid almost $175,000 in matching payments to lenders. Of the 21 participants of the program, nearly 1/3 of these individuals already completely paid off loans received toward seminary education.
Upon review of the financial statements demonstrating intentional and regular payments toward their lenders, a check is issued that matches the total annual payment of that clergyperson up to the upper limit of the award granted.
We celebrate the faithfulness of congregations that give to the ministries of the church and of the United Methodist Church that affords such generous gifts such as these. Knowing of the immense financial commitment of an individual to a seminary education, and the hardship of prolonged debt for clergy and their families after graduation and ordination, the NC Conference is grateful this program continues to grow in awareness and participation.
Beginning on May 15th, the application will be available to all ordained elders and deacons – members in Full Connection within the NC Conference – open through July 15th. For questions, please contact the Office of Ministerial Relations.
For more information, visit this link.
An Encouragement for May
“My mother used to say,” the 95-year old church matriarch began (a phrase which usually indicated surprising humor or deep wisdom would follow), “your sacrificing years are the best ones; so don’t complain!” Her eyes twinkled as she gazed into my sleep-deprived eyes of early parenthood. Then she winked and squeezed my hand, because we both knew that there was indeed a right and holy time for some complaining. Especially when lack of sleep is involved.
Still, her mother’s words have stayed with me. Time and again I’ve found that the most beautiful and best moments of life are often tangled up in the hardest and most painful ones.
For many of us, this past pandemic year has been a doozy of a “sacrificing year.” We have been walking through a dark valley, stumbling upon hard moments in life and ministry. We shake with grief as we consider all we’ve lost, all we’ve endured.
And yet…even in the darkest valleys, God nestles pretty meadows and peaceful waters. God weaves beauty into hardship like a master artisan. Into grief and hurt and despair, God weaves joy and kindness, laughter and hope, playfulness and rest, love upon love. So that the final masterpiece of our life, once completed, is a tapestry of grief and joy, sacrifice and abundance, despair and hope, all mingled together, telling a grand, powerful story of Divine Love.
So maybe it’s true after all, our sacrificing years can be our best years. And maybe we ought not complain…at least too much.
Read Psalm 23:1-4
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
Reflect: The Good Shepherd is leading you through your dark valley, providing refuge in green pastures along the way. There the Good Shepherd makes you lie down and be restored by the goodness in life. How has God comforted you in the dark valley lately? And with what beauty and goodness has God restored your soul?
Take Action: Lie down in a green pasture. Literally. Rest for a while, complain to God a bit if it would help, and then give thanks for the miraculous ways God restores your soul, even in the darkest valley.
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women
We are grateful to the Rev. Laura Johnson, Teaching Pastor at Apex UMC, for writing this month’s issue of Encouragements.
UPDATE: BCBS Settlement Notice
April 30, 2021: Wespath Benefits and Investments has shared information as an update to the recent notices our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan participants may have received related to a class action suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield. To read the information from Wespath, visit our Insurance webpage.
For more information and to direct all questions regarding the suit, please visit www.bcbssettlement.com. The NC Conference is not involved in the distribution of materials or information in the matter. We have no recommendation for plan participants as to whether they do or do not respond to the email or any materials they may receive from Blue Cross Blue Shield or any other party involved.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Settlement Notices
We are aware that our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan participants may have received an email related to a class action suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield. For more information and to direct all questions regarding the suit, please visit www.bcbssettlement.com. The NC Conference is not involved in the distribution of materials or information in the matter. We have no recommendation for plan participants as to whether they do or do not respond to the email or any materials they may receive from Blue Cross Blue Shield or any other party involved.