Discipleship training to be offered in October
The Office of Connectional Ministries announces a workshop on discipleship for pastors and members of congregations of the NC Conference. “Deepening Your Effectiveness in Discipleship” is presented by Dan Glover and Claudia Lavy co-authors of the book, “Deepening Your Effectiveness: Restructuring the Local Church for Life Transformation.” The workshop will be presented on two dates, Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 at the Methodist Building in Garner. While it is not necessary that pastors and lay persons attend together, participating churches should have lay members registered, as well as the pastor. The workshop will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. each day. The only cost for the workshop is the cost of the lunch that will be provided. To register, go to Deepening Your Effectiveness.
Asbury Homes to open Pembroke Group Home
The grand opening of the new Asbury Homes-Pembroke Group Home located at 300 Ruth Dial St, Pembroke, NC will be Saturday, Sept. 25 from 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. The home is a state of the art dwelling for developmentally-disabled adults which has received a design award from the N.C. Advance Energy Agency for energy conservation. This is Asbury Homes’ second group home, the first being in Tabor City.
African-Amerian clergy health and wellness workshop
An opportunity for African-American clergy to evaluate their health and well-being is slated for Sept. 27-28 at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. With the theme “Wanting to Heal and Be Healed,” the self-care covenant workshop encourages pastors to care for themselves in order to bring healing to others. The program is coordinated by the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits. For more information on speakers and topics, or to register, go to Clergy Health.
CPI application deadline approaching
Comprehensive Plan of Inclusiveness grant applications are due no later than Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. (if hand-delivered to the Methodist Building) or postmarked no later than Sept. 30. No faxed applications will be considered and all must have the appropriate signatures. Plan ahead – do not wait until the due date to gather signatures! The CPI grant focus has changed and more emphasis will be placed on churches in close proximity working in joint ministry projects to affect lasting change in the area of true multi-ethic ministry projects & worship. Fewer small dollar grants will be awarded as a result of this change. The application form is available at CPI Application. For more information, call Linda Harris at 919-779-6115, ext. 247.
Immigrants’ Reality and the Church event at Camp Chestnut Ridge
An Immigrants’ Reality and the Mission of the Church event will take place Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 at Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center in Efland. The bi-lingual event is planned for English speakers and Hispanic/Latino leaders doing ministry in the N.C. and the Western N.C. conferences. Team facilitation is from the National Plan of Hispanic/Latino Ministries of the UMC and co-sponsored by the General Board of Church and Society. Registration information is online at Immigrants Reality. Registration deadline is Sept. 20.
Youth to participate in hands-on missions
Registration is open for Co-Mission, Oct. 1-3, a mission engagement weekend for youth, young adults, and youth workers sponsored by St. Paul UMC, Rocky Mount, the Rocky Mount District, and the Conference Office of Outreach Ministry. The weekend will include worship, tool and skill training, and mission work sponsored by Habitat for Humanity. Registration is $69 per person for two nights lodging, all meals on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. Register by Sept. 1 and your entire team will get free t-shirts.
Reconcilers’ Weekend at Duke Divinity School
Reconcilers Weekend (formerly called Teaching Communities Week), is an annual event that brings a leading practitioner and theologian, each dedicated to Christian reconciliation, to share stories and wisdom at Duke Divinity School. The program is designed to provide theological and ministry formation to students, pastors, lay Christians, and other ministry practitioners. This year’s event will be Sept. 24-25. For more information, go to Reconcilers weekend.
Conference Council on Youth Ministries and Pilgrimage Planning Team to meet
The CCYM and Pilgrimage Planning Team will meet Saturday, Sept. 11, at Methodist University. The CCYM will meet at 10 a.m. and conclude around lunch time. The Pilgrimage planning team will meet at 1:30.
Award of Excellence in Youth Ministry
The Award of Excellence in Youth Ministry is presented to a local church youth group each year at Pilgrimage. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 3. Applications are available at www.nccumc.org/youth. The Conference Council on Youth Ministries will present the award during the Saturday morning session at Pilgrimage.
Concert to raise funds for construction of children’s home in Haiti
A concert to raise money to purchase building materials for constructing the next phase of the Ryan Epps Home for Children (REHC) in Haiti will be held Friday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m. at Garner UMC in Garner. For information on the concert, go to http://www.music4haiti.org/. Bishop Al Gwinn and the Conference Cabinet will travel to Haiti in November to help in the construction. Funds raised will purchase materials. Each Cabinet member will be paying their own travel expenses. Included in the construction will be dormitories, kitchen/fellowship area and living quarters for the director and staff. Persons unable to attend the concert can make a donation by mailing it to the North Carolina Conference, P.O. Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260-0053, payable to “NC Conference/Raleigh Area” and designated for “Advance #S00245” on the memo line.
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Multicultural Conference at Lake Junaluska – Dec. 2-4
The theme for this year’s event is “Embracing Christ’s Multi-Ethnic Body – Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges. The Multicultural Conference is designed to increase awareness and appreciation in church and the world for the richness of diversity. To download, print, and share the brochure, go to Multicultural Event.
Bishop Gwinn to lead trip to Holy Land
Travel with Bishop Gwinn on a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January, 2011. Depart on Jan. 24 and visit all the holy sites, worship together, experience the teachings of Bishop Gwinn, and walk where Jesus walked. Contact Harold Salmon, Conference Director of Tour Ministries at 919-377-2950.
North Carolina Conference Historical Society Workshop
The NC Conference Archives and History Commission and Historical Society are sponsoring a workshop Oct. 2, to teach methods for gathering oral histories and using media to preserve local church history. The event will be held at First UMC, Wilson from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. A box lunch is the only cost (donation) for this professional training experience. To help the Commission adequately plan, register by emailing Robin Harry at rharry@nccumc.org.
UMM-Youth Duke Day
“Share the Game, Share your Faith,” is a community outreach event sponsored by the NC Conference United Methodist Men during the Duke v. Army football game in Durham on Sept. 25. Local UMM units are encouraged to reach out to local youth groups to sponsor their participation in the event. The cost is $20 per person and includes the pre-game event, lunch, and game ticket. Chad Goss, a former Alabama starting wide receiver, is the pre-game event speaker. He will share his personal story of overcoming many obstacles as a child and teenager before his life changing journey at the University of Alabama. For more information, see Duke Day.
SEJANAM to sponsor Men’s Conference at Lake Junaluska
SEJ Association for Native American Ministries is offering a jurisdictional gathering for Native American Men Oct. 1-3 at Lake Junaluska. Included in the leadership for this event are Bishop Al Gwinn, the Rev. Dr. Milford Oxendine, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Locklear, and the Rev. Herbert Lowry from the North Carolina Conference. For information and to see the registration brochure, go to Men’s Conference.