Cokesbury Christmas Open House Nov. 19-21
Cokesbury will be celebrating the annual Christmas Open House Nov. 19-21. Save 25% on books, Bibles, gifts, greeting cards, and more. (Some items are excluded.) This discount can be used in the Raleigh store or at www.Cokesbury.com (click on the “Our Savior Has Come” banner.) The Raleigh store hours are Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Local Pastors and Associate Members to meet with Bishop Gwinn
The last of the three Gatherings of Local Pastors and Associate Members with Bishop Al Gwinn will take place Nov. 21 at Stonewall UMC in the New Bern District. Rev. Tim Russell, Assistant to the Bishop will be attending.The meeting begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m., with a break for refreshments. If you plan to attend, please contact Rev. Richard Baldwin at rbaldwin@nccumc.org
A handbook for Local Pastors and Associate Members has been posted on the conference website. It contains information on several topics including Requirements for license as a Local Pastor, Course of Study Schools, Associate Membership, Local Pastors preparing for Provisional Membership and Elder’s Orders, etc. Look for it under Ministerial Relations.
Treasurer’s Office Seeking Your Financial Leadership Best Practices
The Conference Treasurer’s Office is seeking input for a guidance document to be shared with local churches on proven best practices for financial leadership in these tough economic times. Examples may include, but are not limited to, ideas for creative ways to save funding or cut expenses, successful ways churches have increased givings and donations, and ways churches have found to communicate financial information effectively. Most everyone are experiencing difficulty in these lean economic times and the conference would like to provide a forum for sharing ideas and experiences with others. The NC Cconference is home to some very creative leadership so please help others benefit from your experiences. Send ideas, experiences and stories to helpdesk@nccumc.org. They will be posted on the Treasurer’s Office website and the results shared in a compiled, written format. If you can share ideas but prefer not to be identified by name or church, list that in your request and neither your name nor your church name will be identified in any posting.