Board of Laity seeking nominations for ACTS II churches
The Acts II Congregation Selection Criteria and Nomination Request Form can be found at ACTS 2 criteria and nominations form. Please note April 15 is the date when the local church should have their form to the District Office. May 5 is the date for the District Office to turn in their selected forms and photographs to Bill Norton at the Methodist Building in Raleigh.
Openings available to attend Evangelism Academy
The Conference Commission on Evangelism has some openings for the Academy of Christian Witness for Clergy to be held April 21-23 at Camp Rockfish. There is no cost to attend. First come, first served. Contact Linda Harris, Conference staff representative, or Carol Dean, Evangelism Chairperson, at caroldean@nccumc.org to participate.
Race of Grace weekend is April 24-26
The Raleigh District’s 6th annual Race of Grace weekend will be April 24-26. This year’s proceeds will go to fund the Interfaith Food Shuttle, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Fuquay-Varina Emergency Food Pantry and Garner Area Ministries. The weekend kick-off will be a golf tournament called Links of Grace on Friday to be held at Neuse Golf Club in Clayton. There will be a morning flight and an afternoon flight for the captain’s choice tournament. On Saturday, the Tour de Grace, a 25 and 50 mile bike course, will be held in Franklin County. Participants will gather at Louisburg College. To cap off the weekend, there will be the Race of Grace, a 5k walk/run, which will begin and end at Edenton Street UMC in downtown Raleigh. There are many ways to participate: as a sponsor, as a participant in any or all of the events or as a volunteer. Please support these efforts to raise money for the relief of the hungry in local communities. To find more information or register for any event, go to www.raceofgrace.org.
Conference Youth Rally Day
Youth Rally Day will be Sunday, April 26 from 3-6 p.m. at NC Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount. Rally Day will begin with a time of fellowship and recreation and will conclude with a worship service. Weather permitting, the Rally will be held on the south lawn of the campus (otherwise, Rally Day will take place in the gymnasium). Groups planning to attend do not need to register and there is no cost (although snacks will be available for purchase, YSF items will be available for purchase and an offering will be taken for YSF). Further information is available at www.nccumc.org/youth/events/.
Native American Ministries Sunday is April 26
Sunday, April 26 is Native American Ministries Sunday, an observance which provides congregations in The United Methodist Church the opportunity to recognize and support the contributions of Native Americans to the church and society. This is especially important in the churches of the North Carolina Conference, as this conference has about 2,500 Native Americans worshiping weekly – the highest number of Native Americans in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. Offerings given on Native American Ministries Sunday are essential. Fifty percent of NCC offerings stay inside the conference to strengthen ministries in this area. The remaining 50 percent expands mission work with the Native American Urban Initiative and provides scholarships for Native Americans attending United Methodist and other approved schools of theology. This year, the Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the United Methodist Publishing House have worked with the NC Conference Committee on Native American Ministry to mail offering envelopes to conference churches in the coming days. Learn more about Native American Ministries within the conference at www.nativeamericanministries.org. For questions or to arrange a presentation, call Gary Locklear, a Church and Community Worker based in Pembroke, at 910-522-0670.
Packers Needed for shipment to Project AGAPE Armenia
Volunteers are needed to pack for a shipment of humanitarian goods to the people of Armenia. Packing will be done on Saturdays through the remainder of April. Please come and engage in hands-on ministry that connects with Christian brothers and sisters in the world’s oldest and most devastated Christian nation. To schedule your work team, contact Ann Huffman at 888-440-9167 or merci@nccumc.org.
United Methodist Fun Days at Theme Parks
Saturdays in May and Memorial Day Monday are designated as NC Conference United Methodist Fun Days at Carowinds and Kings Dominion. Tickets are available for United Methodists at significantly discounted costs for those dates. Tickets may be purchased online or over the phone. For each ticket redeemed, a contribution is made to Youth Service Fund. Information on ordering the tickets has been mailed to each church and is also available at www.nccumc.org/youth/.
Scholarship Deadline for Focus
The deadline to apply for a scholarship to attend FOCUS – the quadrennial conference for those involved in children’s ministry – is May 1. A limited number of scholarships in the amount of $150 are still available. To obtain the application for the scholarship, e-mail Sue Ellen Nicholson at < a href=”https://nccumc.org/contact/”. FOCUS is sponsored by the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church and is held every four years. FOCUS will be July 21-24 in Indianapolis, IN. The website for more information and registration is http://www.gbod.org/focus2009. Five people from the NC Conference will be workshop presenters.
Matching grants available for advertising
Monies are still available to local United Methodist churches and/or districts for media advertising in 2009. A church planning to advertise during Back-to-school or Advent this year, should submit an application for a Matching Grant online from May 1 – June 1 at Matching Grants. Hard copy applications will no longer be accepted. Need quotes? Let UM Communications help coordinate the advertising campaign. Igniting Ministry offers assistance with media estimates, planning and placement for television, radio, cinema and billboards IMMediaServices@umcom.org. When purchasing media, remember that UMCom must pre-approve advertising quotes before applying for a Matching Grant. Applications can be emailed to IMGrants@umcom.org or faxed to 615-742-5777.
Academy for Leadership Excellence to sponsor learning event
The Academy for Leadership Excellence will sponsor a day-long learning event, “Ministry by Strengths,” on Tuesday, May 5. The event will be held at St. James UMC in Greenville and will run from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sue Nilson Kibbey, Executive Pastor from Ginghamsburg UMC (Ohio), will be presenting an in-depth training on identifying your strengths and using them for greater ministry effectiveness, motivating and exciting your church family and deploying the right people to the right roles. The cost of the event is $75, plus the cost of StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and survey (21.95 list price, less expensive on-line.) For more information, check www.nccumc.org/academy or contact lwiebesmith@nccumc.org.
Aging to Perfection?
End of life legal issues, monitoring health, relying on prayer in difficult times, best nutritional practices, coping skills when a loved one is dying, and finding real joy in grandparenting. Workshops on these areas and more will be offered at a day apart for Older Adults and those who work with Older Adult Ministries at St. James UMC in Greenville, May 13 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The day will include workshops, displays, time for networking at lunch, and a closing worship service led by Bishop Al Gwinn. Deadline for registration is April 23. A registration brochure with full details is available at https://nccumc.org/olderadults/.
AC Briefing Sessions have been scheduled
Briefing Sessions for the 2009 Annual Conference will be held Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m.- noon at Queen Street UMC in Kinston and 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Hay Street UMC in Fayetteville. Another session is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 3-5 p.m. at Highland UMC in Raleigh. Clergy, please provide this information to local church lay members of Annual Conference. Both clergy and lay members of Annual Conference should attend one of the three sessions. Thirty-two proposed constitutional amendments will be voted on during the conference. Arthur Jones and Eddie Fox will be at each session to present their views on the amendments and the impact they might have on The United Methodist Church. In addition, the sessions will include information about the 2011 budget, other matters requiring conference action, and an agenda that is different from past years. The new agenda incorporates workshops and presentations for learning.
New Pension Billing Option for Multi-Station Charges
Churches on multi-station charges now have the option to split their monthly NC Conference pension bill and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits UMPIP billings among each church on the charge. The monthly charges will be split according to the compensation package each church provides for the pastor. This will provide easier remittance of payments and more convenient internal accounting for the local church. Churches interested in having their monthly billings split should contact JoAnna Cafferty in the Treasurer’s Office at 1-800-849-4433 ext. 225 or JoAnna Cafferty.
Appalachian Trail Hike registration deadline
The Appalachian Trail Hike for high school age youth will be June 20-27. The registration deadline is May 22. There are limited spaces so early registration is advised. The registration from can be found in the 2009 Youth Events brochure which is available for download at www.nccumc.org/youth/events/.
UMCOR responds to Spring tornados
In the past few weeks, many areas of the U.S. have been devastated by tornados and Spring floods. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is responding and support is desperately needed. Online donations can be made at Spring Storms. Donations can also be made through local church Sunday offering by denoting on the check or envelope: Spring Storms, Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670. 100% of donations so designated will goes to this response.
Please covenant with Mozart Adevu – Missionary in West Africa
Mozart serves in western Africa as an agriculturalist who proclaims the love and grace of Jesus by assisting indigent farmers in learning how to grow their way out of deep and crippling poverty. He is currently working with Liberian ministries at Ganta and the surrounding villages. Read more about Mozart or email him at Mozart Adevu – Bio. To assist him in this wonderful ministry, simply place an Advance gift in your church’s offering plate and mark it Missionary Support – Advance # 13996-Z. To enter a Covenant Relationship with Mozart, see Covenant Relationships.
World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel – June 4-10
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the UM General Board of Church and Society invites congregations to become part of the fourth “World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel,” June 4-10. The week is intended to foster joint international church actions for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. Participants are requested to pray with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem; educate about actions that make for peace and about facts on the ground that do not, especially, settlements in occupied territory; and advocate with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice. For more information, see, Peace in Palestine Israel. For more information, such as “what” and “how,” send e-mail to Beatrice.merahi@wcc-coe.org. For other questions, send e-mail to Jonathan.Frerichs@wcc-coe.org.
AGAPE Team Needs You
The Project AGAPE Board is looking for dedicated people from the North Carolina Conference to serve in a ministry transforming the lives of countless persons in an area that has suffered historic devastation. The AGAPE Team is entering deeper connections with refugee families, construction of homes, and mission education opportunities – ministries of discipleship and proclamation, communication, humanitarian response, and medical care. Please e-mail Steve Taylor – Steve Taylor or Kathy Reavis – Kathy Reavis or call 800-849-4433 ext 256 for more information.
REMINDERS:
United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP) presentation, Tuesday, April 21, 10 a.m. – 12 noon, Hayes Barton UMC in Raleigh. The presentation was organized for local church lay employees who participate in the UMPIP. Call Russell Wilcox at Hayes Barton UMC, 919-832-6435 to sign up.
NC Conference UMM Golf Tournament to benefit MERCI, May 14, Lane Tree Country Club, Goldsboro. Cost is $65 per person or $260 per team, which includes a barbeque meal and prizes. Registration is made through MERCI, 888-440-9167.