Recap: Connectional Table meeting, October 21, 2017
October 25, 2017
The Connectional Table of the Western North Carolina Conference met for its quarterly meeting on Saturday, October 21st, at the United Methodist Foundation in Huntersville, NC.
The focus of this meeting was to continue the evaluative session from July’s meeting and to continue fostering alignment among all of the conference boards and agencies around our common mission: “To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
We began the meeting with a devotion and shared “glory sightings” from across the conference.
One of the many sightings celebrated was the response for hurricane disasters across the country. The Western North Carolina Conference has collected from local churches and individuals from across our region over $400,000 dollars that is being directed toward the Annual Conferences in need, and directly through UMCOR.
The groups made reports at this meeting:
- Mission Engagement Team
- Conference Vitality Team
- Leadership Development Team
- Justice and Reconciliation Team
- United Methodist Men
- Board of Ordained Ministry
During reports, the Connectional Table, at the recommendation of the Mission Engagement Team, agreed to begin a Conference Initiative with Haiti based on the large number of churches and organizations already involved with ministries in that country. More information will be available in coming months.
The group also heard from Dan Pezet, the new Director of Congregational Development, who introduced the Nehemiah Project to strengthen local congregations. Already, district superintendents and church vitality strategists have been identifying churches that can go from good to great through participation in the project.
Mark King, Conference Treasurer, shared an outline of the budget process that will take place in early 2018 as the conference prepares its 2019 budget. This process considers the alignment of organizations and the most effective use of budget and conference resources.
The next meeting of the Connectional Table is scheduled for January 2018.