Latest News Regarding COVID-19

Important message from Bishop Leeland of the Western North Carolina Conference. Links to additional resources for church and community preparedness can be found following the Bishop's message.

Your telehealth benefits now include behavioral and mental health. The CDC advises the use of telehealth and telemedicine when available to avoid overloading doctor's offices and emergency departments.

The Commission on General Conference made a determination that the General Conference will not meet in 2020 as originally planned and elected to work toward setting a date in 2021.

In response to new needs from our churches, the Western NC Conference is please to announce a free online giving platform! Donors will be able to specify which church should receive their donation. The Conference will remit payments to the churches monthly.

Numerous churches across the conference are livestreaming their worship services, Bible studies, prayer services, bedtime Bible stories, and more. Connect with them here!

To Wespath Benefits and Investment Participants:

You're livestreaming your services, studies, and even bedtime stories, and we want to join you! Submit your livestreams to join the virtual church list on the Conference website.

Out of concerns for the health and safety of all those affected amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Executive Committee is announcing that the General Conference will be postponed and will not occur May 5-15, 2020 as planned.

As churches continue to meet online, WNCC Treasury Services and the United Methodist Foundation have produced this resource that provides several options for online giving. While many of our churches already have online giving procedures in place, we know many do not. We hope these options will prove helpful for you. It is times like these that we are appreciative of the United Methodist connection. We want you to know we are here to assist you and your congregation in whatever ways we can. Please let us know if there are other ways that we might be of assistance to you.

To help during this time of social distancing, check out this list of virtual ministry resources compiled by the WNCC Resource Center.

The Conference Office in Huntersville and all District Offices are closed due to governmental recommendations. Our Conference and District staff are working from home, with email as the most effective means of communication. Click here for the latest updates and news related to COVID-19.

"As churches decided to suspend worship services during the outbreak of COVID-19, many opted to move their worship services online. For larger churches who do this on a weekly basis, this was an easy task. For some churches, this was unexplored territory, as pastors learned new technology..."

"The Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church has asked for the postponement of the 2020 General Conference, set to begin in six weeks, because of the new Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic."

"As concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic continue to escalate, the Commission on the General Conference will meet on March 21 via teleconference to discuss plans for the 2020 General Conference, scheduled for May 5-15, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn."

Stay informed on event cancellations for the WNCC, districts, and related organizations.

In response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, Bishop Leeland has recommended to suspend public worship until the end of March. In order to facilitate continued worship during this time the Church Development office is offering the following resources to help churches transition to online streaming and online giving.

Tom Pruski outlines six steps congregations should take in response to the Coronavirus in keeping with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control. Pruski, a registered nurse, is director of Wesley Theological Seminary's Heal the Sick Initiative that equips leaders for congregational health ministries.

As we have watched and prayed for those across the world that have been affected by COVID-19, we face the realization that we must be more diligent in our efforts to prepare and mitigate the effects of this virus in our local communities. As a church, our first call is to respond and care for those around us, while also making sure we do not put our parishioners at risk.  In times of crisis, the most powerful tool is knowledge. As leaders across the conference we must make it our job to be as ...

"As a public service, this document was created to help churches decide how to respond before the virus reaches their ministry contexts."

The Health Benefits Committee of the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits announces that during this COVID 19 pandemic, testing for the virus will be covered at 100% for our participants and family members enrolled on all three of the conference group active health plans. This coverage includes the copayment for the office visit as well. For our retirees, on March 3, 2020, Medicare released a statement that the COVID 19 testing will be covered under Medicare Part B. With this, the conference Medicare supplement retirees, spouses and surviving spouses will be able to have the COVID 19 covered by the health plan. (Please note: Medicare indicates that the provider will need to wait until after April 1, 2020 to be able to submit a claim to Medicare Part B for the test.)