Leadership Summit online on April 6
An April 6 webcast will help United Methodist leaders and church members focus on how to make the short- and long-term changes necessary to meet the denomination’s future challenges. The United Methodist Church Leadership Summit, slated for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Central Time, (noon – 3 p.m. in North Carolina) will be webcast from Nashville. read more
Youth Lay Speaker Training
A Youth Lay Speaker Training session for youth in grades 8-12 will be held Saturday, April
16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Building, in Garner. Youth interested in participating must submit their application and pastor/youth leader’s recommendation by April 8. There is no cost to participate and lunch is included. The training will be led by Conference Director of Lay Speaking, Linda Harris. The application is available at https://nccumc.org/youth/.
Young Clergy Retreat to be at Trinity Center
The 2nd Annual Young Clergy Retreat will take place May 23-25 at the Trinity Center in Salter Path. This is a wonderful opportunity for clergy persons 35 years-old and under to gather for worship, fellowship, and rest. To register, please visit Young Clergy Retreat. Deadline to sign up is April 15, and the cost for lodging and food is just $100. Contact Laura Fine Ledford, lfineledford@hbumc.org with any questions.
Save the Date: 2011 Convocation on the Rural Church
Pastors of rural churches that are eligible for Duke Endowment grants are invited to make plans to attend Duke Divinity School’s 2011 Convocation on the Rural Church: Down-to-Earth Faith. This event will be held August 22-24 at the Embassy Suites Kingston Plantation Hotel in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Thanks to the generous funding of The Duke Endowment, costs will be kept to a minimum. Online registration opens May 25. Eligible pastors will receive more information and a link to the registration site prior to this date. Registrations will not be accepted before this time. Rural Convocation.
ACTS 2 nominations form corrected
Page 3 of the ACTS 2 nomination form has been corrected with new dates. If pastors/church staff downloaded the information from the link in last week’s News Briefs, please go out and download the corrected page 3. Churches are invited to consider the criteria for being named an Acts 2 church in response to Bishop Al Gwinn’s challenge to have 200 such churches recognized at Annual Conference. Criteria for determining Acts 2 churches and an application form have been completed to identify congregational initiatives and witness in four areas: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intention Spiritual Formation, and Risk-Taking Mission and Ministry to the World. The deadline for having a completed form in the district office is May 1. Complete information and an application form are available at Acts 2.
Not too late to recognize One Great Hour of Sharing
Although the official date has passed, churches are encouraged to lift up the One Great Hour of Sharing offering which assures that UMCOR is able to readily respond to disaster and needs around the world. When churches support OGHS, UMCOR can keep the promise that gifts made to specific UMCOR projects can be spent on that project – not on administrative costs. Please remit OGHS offerings to the Conference Treasurer’s Office on the monthly remittance report.