News

TO:                   WNCC Clergy & Congregations FROM:              R. Mark King, Conference Treasurer                               RE:                    Health Benefit Rates 2020   The Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits upon recommendation from the Health Benefits Subcommittee of the Board has approved the 2020 rate schedule for our Conference Active and Retiree Health Plans.   The board works very diligently in its responsibility to care for the clergy and their families of our...

E-News - August 20 E-News is a bi-weekly newsletter sent out by the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. It contains important news, stories, and events from around our conference. Submit articles for the next e-news. Submit events. NEWS Black Church Clergy and Laity Symposium Saturday, August 24, 2019 This time together will provide an opportunity to not only celebrate giftedness of the black church but to understand its relevance. ...

The Leadership Development Team wants to help foster your own spiritual growth, as you foster the spiritual walks of others.  Refresh your soul and renew your spirit through one of the many opportunities identified by the LDT!  Paid church leaders who sign up for a the Spiritual Renewal program or event by September 30th, and pay a personal investment of $50 toward that program or event, are eligible for up to $500 to cover the cost of registration/tuition, fees, and lodging/travel expenses.  ...

Want to Learn More About All Things Wesley? Join the Western North Carolina Conference in June 2020 on a trip exploring Methodist history. One important aspect of being United Methodist is our connection to the historical roots of our Church. Bishop Paul Leeland invites you to join a Wesley Heritage tour June 2-9, 2020, where together we can experience many of the unique places in the lives of John and Charles Wesley. Doing so will help us have a clearer understanding of the foundational ...

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward and Bishop Paul Leeland joined 500 clergy and their families from the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences for the 2019 Convocation on the Rural Church.

Word of grace to our Western North Carolina Conference from Bishop Paul L. Leeland   We gather for this first day of worship in August 2019, with the horrific news of two terrible incidents of violence and death impacting the El Paso, Texas community, where 20 people were killed and 26 injured; and Dayton, Ohio, where 9 people were killed and 26 injured.   These incidents leave us in shock.  During this horrendous moment we join our hearts, sympathy, and prayers with the victims, families, and ...

E-News - August 1 E-News is a bi-weekly newsletter sent out by the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. It contains important news, stories, and events from around our conference. Submit articles for the next e-news. Submit events. NEWS Dr. Otto Harris to Lead Diversity Initiative Dr. Otto Harris will lead the Comprehensive Plan of Inclusiveness, a conference-wide initiative centered around promoting diversity in Western North Carolina. This effort...

Dr. Otto Harris will lead the Comprehensive Plan of Inclusiveness, a conference-wide initiative centered around promoting diversity in Western North Carolina.

The Renfro Trust Fund awards annual bricks-and-mortar grants to small rural United Methodist congregations in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. The deadline for submission is September 1, 2019.

Did you have renovations and additions to your church or parsonage over the past year? We want to hear about it! Please report stories of the your church's growth and changes (7/1/18-6/30/19) to the Conference Secretary's office, for inclusion in the 2019 Journal!

Preaching Cohorts for WNC clergy

Now is the time to plan for retirement! September 23-24, 2019 ALL SPOTS HAVE BEEN FILLED To join the waitlist, please contact Jeff Johnson. There are many aspects of retirement that require planning at different stages of a clergyperson’s ministry. This two-day seminar provides vital information regarding the needs of clergy considering retirement within the next three to five years. We encourage spouses to join in making preparations for this milestone event in one’s (and his/her family’s) ...

The Western NC Conference Vitality Team is offering $2,500 grants to 25 churches who want to start a dinner church and $1,000 to 20 churches with an existing dinner church. Grants can be used for food costs, interior design and/or tech updates to fellowship halls.

Provocative Hope is a 16-week course to develop leaders’ capacity to lead their churches using Appreciative Inquiry so that their churches would reclaim God’s dream for their congregation and begin to live into that dream. This offering from the Leadership Development team is designed and facilitated by Rev. Steve James. ?He has served growing churches in rural, urban and suburban settings and for the last six years has served a full-time coaching ministry with church leaders across the US through Griffith Coaching, GoSeeLove, and Passion in Partnership.

 Resident Bishop Paul L. Leeland presided over the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, June 20-23 at Lake Junaluska. The Conference theme was Trust and Obey. For this quadrennium, Bishop Leeland designed the themes around the four parts of the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself ...

E-News - July 3 E-News is a bi-weekly newsletter sent out by the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. It contains important news, stories, and events from around our conference. Submit articles for the next e-news. Submit events. NEWS GC2020 Petition Submissions Process Open Petitions for consideration by the 2020 General Conference may be submitted to the Petitions Secretary now through September 18, 2019. According to church law, "Any ...

What can it look like for the Western North Carolina Conference? Please watch this video, and we will see what can happen when we pray, “Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Petitions for consideration by the 2020 General Conference may be submitted to the Petitions Secretary now through September 18, 2019.

Across the United States, news headlines are laying bare the horrific and fatal conditions migrant children, families, and adults are facing in detention centers, at the border, and on their way to the border. Many families have fled violence and poverty in their countries of origin to seek asylum in the United States, only to have U.S. immigration officials tear them apart.

United Methodist choirs, worship ensembles and liturgists from around the world have an opportunity to be part of the worship experience of the 2020 General Conference. Creatives may apply* to share their talents while leading the church body during The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly meeting May 5 -15, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn. The deadline for submission has been extended to September 15, 2019.

Did you move to a new appointment on July 1? Then you will need to fill out a new Clergy Compensation Report for your new appointment. Here are the instructions on how to do that: 1. Log into the Clergy Dashboard or the Church Dashboard. As a reminder, if someone is filling out a report on behalf of you, they should do it through the Church Dashboard. If you are filling out a compensation report for yourself, you should do it through the Clergy Dashboard.  If you can't remember your password ...

We are pleased to offer the Cigna network for our Active Health Plan.  Cigna is a national network brand that will add value and multiple offerings for healthcare coverage.  As we transition July 1, please be aware of the following: ID Cards: Please dispose of your old ID card as soon as you receive your new ID card in the mail. Otherwise, you WILL have issues with providing the old ID cards and claims being denied. If you do not receive your ID card by 7/1, you may pull a digital copy of your ...

AC2019 Daily Digest - Sunday, June 23     Sixty-five Pastors Celebrated in Ordering of Ministry Service A group greatly diverse in age, gender and ethnicity were honored by family and friends and celebrated in their ministry in the Western North Carolina Conference Saturday night at Stuart Auditorium. Denman Awards Recognize Evangelism in Clergy, Laity and Youth The Harry Denman Evangelism Award program honors United Methodists in each annual ...

AC2019 Daily Digest - Saturday, June 22   Delegate Election Updates The Western North Carolina Conference Delegation for the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences has been elected. Petitions Update The Annual Conference discussed and approved six petitions during the session on Saturday afternoon. The United Methodist Foundation Annual Meeting “We envision a church where people live out their God-given ...

AC2019 Daily Digest - Friday, June 21   Delegate Election Updates The Clergy delegation for General and Jurisdictional Conference was completed today and the Laity elected their General Conference delegation of 10. Voting will resume tomorrow for Laity delegates to Jurisdictional Conference.    Opening Worship: The Long View Opening Worship at Annual Conference was held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 21 in Stuart Auditorium. Bishop Saenz of the Great ...

AC2019 Daily Digest - Thursday, June 20   Delegate Election Updates The Western North Carolina GC2020 clergy delegation was elected in Clergy Session today: Kim Ingram, Amy Coles, Jeremy Troxler, James Howell, In-Yong Lee, Ashley Crowder Stanley, Shelly Webb, Carter Ellis, Darryl Dayson and Josh Sherfey. A Look Behind the Scenes of AC2019 Worship Have you ever wondered how the worship services at Annual Conference are planned and ...

I am still in a post Annual Conference haze.  Our yearly meeting was busy time.   It was a productive time.  It was a meaningful time.  We have come away from Lake Junaluska some of us pleased with how things turned out and some of us not so pleased.  We come away, all of us, returning to our places of ministry and committed to making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  But beyond the elections and beyond the legislation, I find myself grateful for the connection of ...

Did you lose something while at Lake Junaluska for Annual Conference?  There are two ways to try to recover your lost item(s)! Contact Marsha Patton at the WNCC Office by email or at 704-535-2260 x122. Submit a "lost item" report to Lake Junaluska at this link. We'll do our best to help reconnect you and your missing item!

View 2019-2020 Appointments

The 2019 Annual Conference came to a stirring end in Closing Worship. A choir from St. Mark’s in Charlotte led those gathered in moving worship, an offering was collected for Hurricane Relief efforts in Alabama-West Florida and North Carolina and Bishop Leeland preached a powerful message on “The Joy of Full Surrender.” The newly elected Western North Carolina Conference delegation was commissioned and Bishop Leeland prayed over them:     O God, as you anointed leaders and called prophets of ...

The Harry Denman Evangelism Award program honors United Methodists in each annual conference whose exceptional ministry of evangelism brings people into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. The 2019 recipients are Rev. Lynda Ferguson, Laurie Little and Torey Haynes.

A group greatly diverse in age, gender and ethnicity were honored by family and friends and celebrated in their ministry in the Western North Carolina Conference Saturday night at Stuart Auditorium.   Fifteen Elders and one Deacon were ordained, nine were commissioned as Provisional Members, and 40 were licensed as Local Pastors in the tradition-laden Ordering of Ministry service.  See the full photo archive.    All were asked the questions of the General Examination of their beliefs and call ...

During the Celebration of Life, we remembered the lives of those in our Conference who died this year. During the service, each name was read, a chime sounded and a candle was lit, “reminding us of the resounding holy light experienced through the lives of those who gone before.” Family members, friends and former church members were in attendance and invited to stand as each name was read.  Catawba Valley District Superintendent Rev. Angela Pleasants preached on “Resurrection Life.”     IN ...

One part reunion. Two parts encouragement. Throw in a little revival for good measure. That’s how the Western North Carolina Evangelical Movement spent the past three days at the WNCC Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska.

The Annual Conference discussed six petitions during the session on Saturday afternoon.

The Progressive-Centrist coalition in Western North Carolina celebrated voting successes at 2019 Annual Conference, drawing big crowds at all its events. The group which is fighting for full inclusion in The United Methodist Church has become more organized, active and expanded in the months following the results of the Special Called General Conference at St. Louis.

The United Methodist Foundation held the annual members meeting prior to the morning plenary session on Saturday.

Black Methodists for Church Renewal and friends met on Friday, June 21 at Jones Cafeteria for a meal and a message from Rev. Dr. Ken Walden, President-Dean of Gammon Theological Seminary.

Around 60 people ran (or walked) the Emory Club 5K held this morning, raising $850 to benefit seminary scholarships to the Candler School of Theology at Emory University and campus ministries in Western North Carolina. The Men's results were (1) Jesse Smith, (2) Gary Ball and (3) Ben Sloan. Claire Holland was the Women's winner and Pamela Schweitzer finished second.

Opening Worship at Annual Conference was held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 21 in Stuart Auditorium. You can view the service order on pp. 2-5 in the 2019 Worship Book.

The Western North Carolina Conference recognized 39 retirees today with a combined 941 years of ministry as the dates appear in the records of the conference secretary. We celebrate the faithful service of these ministers and friends. Photos by Rev. Earl Bradshaw. THE 2019 RETIREES:  Barbara Jean Barden  Spouse: Mark Diaconal Minister 1988 Appointments: 1988 Transfer from Florida Conference; 1989 Education, Burkhead (Winston-Salem); 1992 Leave of Absence; 1993 Children’s and Youth Ministries, ...

During Annual Conference this year, we will elect delegates to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences.

On Pentecost Sunday, Children of the World Learning Center — a bilingual, multicultural preschool at Central United Methodist Church in East Charlotte — had their first preschool graduation.

On April 30, 2019, a gunman opened fire in a classroom at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Two students, Riley Howell and Ellis "Reed" Parlier, were killed and four other students were wounded. Ken Garfield shares a glimpse of Riley's story through the words of those who love him and nurtured him in a life of faith.

Have you ever wondered how the worship services at Annual Conference are planned and implemented? Well, I’ll give you an inside look of how it all comes together. I am Rev. Juston Smith, and I have been a member of the Annual Conference worship team for three years now.

Stories of Faith Magazine from the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church

Registration and Check-In for Annual Conference attendees will be open in The Terrace Auditorium (third floor) on Wednesday, June 19  @  3 pm – 7 pm Thursday, June 20  @  8 am – 8 pm Friday, June 21  @  7 am – 7 pm Saturday, June 22  @  8 am – 10 am Please plan to visit registration to record your attendance and receive your conference materials.  Voting devices will be distributed at registration, and without a device, you will be unable to vote, so please allow plenty of time to ...

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that SpiritUS has been canceled for 2019.

You're invited to join the Western North Carolina BMCR and Friends Luncheon featuring Rev. Dr. Ken Walden, President-Dean of Gammon Theological Seminary on “Leading in the Church in a Diverse World." Please RSVP by June 15 JoAnn Carter at jac2405@aol.com.

The laity voting roster has been released. This booklet is for use by lay members of the annual conference during the 2019 election of delegates to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences of The United Methodist Church. You will find the personal statements of laity of the Western NC Conference who have consented to be considered during the election process.