News

We scanned the internet for resources that will be of interest and value to you and your ministries. This week's roundup includes: World Communion Sunday Worship Playlist, Five ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Free A/V Assessment from the General Council on Finance and Administration, and more!

This week's email includes updates on WNCC Hurricane Sally Response, information on joining Adventures in Ministry, applications for Clergy Spiritual Renewal Grants, and more.

Next online ERT Training now available.

Sometimes the best way to let others know the God you serve isn’t what they may think is to get out of the walls of your church and into the spaces where those who have been hurt by the church congregate.

Raushawna Price, international author, coach, speaker, trainer, and radio personality, is facilitating a free, 3-hour workshop to address internal and external obstacles that work against Pastors and Ministry Leaders causing them to slip, diminish their mental health, interfere with their relationships, etc. You won't want to miss this engaging event! This is a ministry safe space which means complete confidentiality and, if you wish, anonymity. Let's explore what happens as we react to difficult times and stress-filled situations. Equip yourself even as your cup feels like it is almost empty from pouring out so much to others.

Watch this video from Humana discussing the benefits of the retiree healthcare plan, including information on Medicare, details of the plan, enrollment steps, and what to expect after you enroll.

A collaborative work of four general agencies of The United Methodist Church, the hope for the course is that participants will grow in their understanding of their leadership role in local church finances and will be able to connect and articulate generosity as a key component of a growing, authentic disciple of Jesus Christ.

This past weekend the WNC Conference delivered about 400 UMCOR Cleaning Kits to Dauphin Island, Alabama to fill a shortage of buckets caused by other recent hurricanes.

"How do you plan for Advent and Christmas music when you don’t know what to plan for? Who to plan for? Where to plan for? What we do know is why we plan for the Advent/Christmas/Epiphany season."

COVID-19 shut down many parts of our lives - but certainly not all parts. The needs of our friends and neighbors and our own needs to both be in community and to help one another will never shut down. Since the needs are still there - and we want to meet the needs safely - we have to be creative about how we serve one another during a pandemic. Thankfully, there are some great examples of ways people have maintained social distancing while extending care, comfort and justice to their neighbors.

"COVID-19 has disrupted United Methodist life in many ways and it’s done a number on congregational and choir singing, causing music ministers to scramble to keep music going and keep sidelined choir members engaged."

On September 12, 2020 the Conference Council on Youth Ministries (CCYM) met at First UMC, Newton. "We as CCYM want to be the voice for young people all over the conference on a multitude of matters. We want the people in the WNCC to understand who we are and what we stand for. We are more than a bunch of teenagers. We are a collective group of youth using our voices for the better good of the Church." - CCYM President, Joseph Navarro

The Alabama-West Florida and the Louisiana conferences both have current ERT requests open.

The I AM Her Women’s Leadership Summit is not your ordinary conference. It’s a movement of women coming together to Be Inspired, Be Empowered, and to Be Equipped to do the work both personally, professionally and within the United Methodist Church to connect. This summit will focus on worship, relationship building and network mapping along with various courses to help participants learn how women in leadership have overcome challenges, and created solutions that supported their success. There will also be opportunities to learn how to build your professional network and maximize its potential.

Are you a high school student discerning a call to ministry? Or are you an adult who would like the opportunity to mentor a 9th-12th grade student through their discernment journey? Adventures in Ministry mentor, Kate, and high school senior, Jaya, share how excited they are to have five cups of coffee with one another and discover the ways God is calling Jaya to serve the world!

NC State's Institute for Emerging Issues is hosting our ReConnect to Move Forward series online and invite rural faith leaders to join us virtually this fall. Focusing on issues affecting us all (the future of work and higher education, broadband adoption, and mental health during COVID), these three meetings and corresponding faith discussions are available for free with gratitude to The Duke Endowment.

Registration is now OPEN for Sabbath Life 2021! In this season when our church leaders are carrying especially heavy burdens, the team at Life Around the Table remains dedicated to creating space for clergy and ministry professionals to find renewal and rejuvenation of body, mind, and soul through our Sabbath Life ministry.

Thanks to your generosity, we have received a total of $9,913.50 for the Annual Conference 2020 Offering. The offering will be evenly divided between the Northern Haiti Mission Connection and UMAR at a gift of $4,956.75 each. Thank you for supporting the mission of these important ministries!

There is nothing quite like the experience of summer camp. It is a hallmark moment for most young people’s faith development. This year, however, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, camp looked a little different. Camps across the nation had to make rapid decisions about how they would provide a summer camp experience with social distance and pandemic-level safety protocols. It might seem impossible; but with determination, ingenuity, and God, camp staffs met the challenge and showed up for our young people. Here are some of the stories of Summer 2020 from the United Methodist camps here in Western North Carolina.

Along with flooding, the coastal area is facing knocked-out bridges and piers, as well as many downed trees and power lines. The Associated Press reported that more than 500,000 residential and business customers were without electricity in Florida, Alabama and Georgia as of early Sept. 17.

In this week's edition of E-News, Bishop Leeland discusses discovering God's call, Rev. Meg Gaston tells the story of a Messy Dinner Church Fresh Expression at Bryson City UMC, learn how you can qualify for up to $500 in spiritual renewal grant funds from the Leadership Development Team, and more.

Six months into stay-at-home orders, every church has had to make significant shifts in their ministry. In this episode of Means of Grace, Jesse Enniss talks with Rev. Dr. Andrea Smith, pastor of West UMC in Mooresville, NC, and Rev. Dan Hester, pastor of Skyland United Methodist Church in Asheville, NC about leadership in this time of change. They discuss how they have adapted their use of technology, their engagement with their communities, how they, as leaders, have been making decisions, and so much more!

Join us Wednesday, September 16 at 7 p.m. for a discussion around the importance of equity in public schools and actions we can take to accomplish the vision of every child in North Carolina having a sound basic education through public education.

Chenequa Walker-Barnes, PhD at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, is closing out the Recover. Restore. Retreat. webinar series. She’ll be speaking on theories and praxis to COVID disparities in the Black community. You do not want to miss this!

What do you get when you combine Dinner Church with Messy Church? A Messy Dinner Church.

COVID has been hard on leaders and many are exhausted, discouraged, and in need of time away. The Leadership Development Team wants to help nurture your spirit in order to be renewed and restored in life and in ministry. This could be possible through a private, renewal retreat or by engaging with a spiritual director. Ministry leaders (clergy and lay professionals) who sign up for an offering and pay a personal investment of $50, are eligible for up to $500. Funds are available because of the generosity of churches who pay their apportionments.

A Workshop on the Ministry of Reconciliation Rooted in 2 Cor. 5:16-20, this workshop will teach reconciliation as spirituality, highlighting biblical examples of reconciliation and our call to be ministers of reconciliation as followers of Christ. With this theological foundation, participants will learn practical strategies for the Church to live out our role in the reconciliation process

Among the 230 grants given by Global Ministries to help communities respond to the coronavirus are a few requested by conference and national United Methodist institutions. These agencies bring years of experience to their specialized mission within their conferences and communities. Part I of this series covered grants received by Gum Moon Residence, Red Bird Mission and Henderson Settlement. Part II covers grants funded by the UMCOR COVID-19 Sheltering in Love campaign to Good Neighbor Settlement House in Texas and Restore Hope Ministries in Oklahoma.

This is how we answer at Methodist Home for Children ...

E-News is an email newsletter sent out by the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. This week's E-News highlights the updated Guidelines for In-Person Worship & Ministry During COVID-19, Bishop Leeland discussing God's call to ministry, updates on Hurricane Laura relief, and more. Subscribe to E-News at https://wnc-email.brtapp.com/subscribe.

This online course centers on one big idea: that anti-racism is anything that actually interrupts and dismantles racism. As a 101 course, the content will focus on defining anti-racism, identifying anti-racism, and practicing anti-racism by interrupting racism. The three sessions will roughly fall under these categories: theory (big idea), practice [working with the big idea), and personal (implementing the big idea).

Recently, the Executive Team of the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders (AACLL) published a letter to all laity in the UMC. Entitled "Called to Witness, Care, and Act", the letter provides both encouragement and a call to action to laity in light of the dual pandemics with which we find ourselves engaged, COVID-19 and the sin of deeply rooted racism.

The HealthMapRx Chronic Condition Risk Management program continues to be offered to WNCC clergy members and their dependents who are currently covered under WNCC-UMC health insurance. You are eligible for this program if you are diagnosed with or take a medication for: diabetes, pre-diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol or depression.

Our cities and towns are littered with deteriorating church buildings. It's easy to feel like time and energy is being lost that could be invested in loving and serving others. What if we could reimagine our buildings as spaces that exist to serve our communities? Join Rev. Dr. Audrey Warren and Bishop Kenneth Carter Monday, September 14, at 11 a.m. EST for this FREE webinar perfect for pastors, church leaders, or anyone who is more passionate about people than property.

Instead of providing a hot meal from a full serving line inside the building, Shades of Grace immediately went to providing brown-bag meals in an alley behind its downtown building. The safety guidelines enforced by Holston Conference of The United Methodist Church also changed or suspended many of Shades of Grace’s high-contact ministries.

Check out the latest Mission Engagement Blog.

As faithful disciples of Jesus Christ in the midst of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to our Biblical mandate to "love our neighbors as ourselves" and our Wesleyan call to “do no harm.” In doing so, we seek ways to engage faithfully in worship, study, and ministry while ensuring the health and safety of our members and communities. We advise that all churches continue following CDC, state and local guidelines for indoor and outdoor gatherings, including handwashing, wearing masks, and observing physical distancing rules and group size limits.

E-News is an email 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. Subscribe to E-News at https://wnc-email.brtapp.com/subscribe.

The experienced AV staff of GCFA can help enhance and elevate your church’s ministry and worship encounters. We can provide you with tools and technology that help you carry out the vision and mission of your church in real and tangible ways.

A new advertising campaign from The United Methodist Church urges people to find hope together amid the challenges posed by this year’s COVID-19 pandemic and heightened racial tensions.

"With the number of coronavirus cases across the country, fall and winter holiday celebrations are likely to look very different this year. Adjust your church plans now for fall festivals, Halloween and Christmas. With a little creativity you can create celebrations that are fun and safe. Here are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing."

We can all learn and grow from our virtual worship experiences. As in-person worship becomes more frequent, we want to share some creative ways your church can merge your virtual and physical worship communities.

The North Carolina Institute for Spiritual Direction and Formation is offering a seven-session book study on David Benner’s book, “Sacred Companions.” The sessions will be held via zoom, weekly on Monday evenings beginning September 14, 2020 through October 26, 2020, from 7:00-8:30 pm. We are offering these sessions for persons who have expressed serious interest in being a part of the Spiritual Direction Training Institute and are discerning a call to the ministry of spiritual direction and for continuing education for those who are already trained as Spiritual Directors.

Church and Society awards three different grants available to United Methodist congregations and groups related to the UMC. Apply by September 4!

The Committee on Relief has been in communication with the Louisiana Conference and is preparing to assist when it is deemed safe. At this time, ERT’s have not been asked to deploy as the assessment period is still ongoing. Please remember that ERTs cannot self deploy. If requested to deploy, the invitation will come from the host Conference through our Disaster Response Coordinator, Ben Rogers. If you have not taken the ERT certification course or are in need of renewing your badge, contact our Training Coordinator, Cailee Franklin.

Are you struggling to keep young people engaged online? Join Sarah Leer and youth from her congregation to talk about how they keep online connections fresh and fun, but also how they engage each other safely offline in this season of life. Tuesday, September 2, 7 p.m. EST

The Health Benefits Committee recommended and the Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits approved the Health rates for Active and Retiree Health plans for 2021.    In addition to the rate changes, the Active Health Plans will have new names for 2021.  The Basic Plan is now called Plan 6000 due to the maximum out of pocket expenses being $6,000.  It will increase for all ranges of premiums by 3%.  The Basic Plus Plan is now called Plan 4000 again due to maximum out of pocket and will ...

Join us this September for 30 days of anti-racism. Each day we will engage in an activity that helps us to become more anti-racist in the ways we think and act. Share your progress with a picture or a reflection using #30DaysAntiRacism.

In this episode, Caroline Wood has a conversation with John Crane, WNCC Lay Leader about the ministry of the laity and John’s passion for the church.