Carolina Black Clergy Leadership Retreat

The South Carolina Conference, in partnership with North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences, will host the Carolina Black Clergy Leadership Retreat focused on leadership development emphasizing social justice advocacy at the Kingston Plantation Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC May 23-27, 2016.  This 5-day leadership retreat’s theme is “Ubuntu:  The Beloved Community Rooted in Christ” based on John 15:12 to include passionate worship; practical and theological leadership plenary sessions; breakout sessions on advocacy, self-care, and social action; and intentional Christian fellowship.  Romal Tune, a global theologian and founder of Faith for Change (www.faithforchange.org), Bishop John Wesley Yohanna of the Nigeria Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, and Rev. & Dr. Troy and Maxine Thomas of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Louisville, Kentucky) are confirmed as a headline plenary speakers. The 5-day leadership retreat centers on the theology and praxis of “beloved community” as a leadership maxim which embodies Christian fellowship, passionate worship, theological dialogue, practical application, and self-reflection for one’s own life and ministry.  The retreat will take place at the Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach May 23-27, 2016. Duke Divinity School Black church scholar, Dr. J. Kameron Carter, will present a lecture centered on the work of #blacklivesmatter in the Black community through a Christological lens with responses from local and state representatives.  The lecture theme is:  “Christ’s Love in the Black Church and Her Community.” Musicians Robert McMichael and Jarvis Wilson, both of Atlanta, Georgia, will serve as the worship leaders.  In addition, breakout sessions will include a close examination of self-care, preaching and worship, social action and Christian witness.  CEUs will be offered for this leadership retreat. Registration for the event can now be found at www.umcsc.org and is for clergy—both single and married—and clergy spouses.  All denominations are welcome. Scholarships are available for seminarians only. For more information, please contact Jeffery Salley, Congregational Specialist for African American Ministries/Congregational Specialist Columbia & Hartsville Districts, at 803.786.9486, X 315. Early Registration: March 31 2016, $300.00 Regular Registration: April 1-April 30, 2016, $350.00 Late Registration: April 11-May 20, 2015, $375.00 (Price inclusive of hotel accommodations at Kingston Plantation and one communal meal.)