Resources for Worship Planning

The CDC and Governor Cooper have issued new guidance regarding masks, social distancing, and mass gathering limits for those who have been fully vaccinated. In response, the Bishop and Cabinet offer these updated recommendations.

Governor Cooper has issued another easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The Bishop and Cabinet remain committed to our biblical mandate to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and our Wesleyan call to “Do no harm. Do all the good we can. Follow the ordinances (stay in love) with God.” Using Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 209 as a guide, the Bishop and Cabinet make these specific recommendations for United Methodist Churches in the Western NC Conference.

The pandemic and the use of new technology have challenged our way of preaching and communicating with our congregations. How do we communicate effectively to the entire congregation? Discipleship Ministries is introducing a new three-part webinar series that delves into a deeper conversation around preaching and communicating to children and families in a postmodern neighborhood.

Your church is invited to celebrate Earth Day with resources from Global Ministries. Earth Day is April 22; churches typically observe Earth Day Sunday during the month of April. It is an opportunity to reflect on the goodness of God’s creation and the human responsibility to steward it through worship, education and action.

The Western NC Conference is pleased to offer a conference-wide virtual worship for the Second Sunday in Easter, led by the District Superintendents, with a homily from the Bishop, and music from churches around our conference. Clergy and worship leaders, take a much-needed break after the rush of Holy Week and Easter services, and worship with friends around the conference. All files can be downloaded to share from your own social media platform and/or website on Dropbox or viewed on YouTube and Vimeo.

Yesterday, Tuesday, March 23rd, Governor Cooper issued an easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The Bishop and Cabinet remain committed to our biblical mandate to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and our Wesleyan call to “Do no harm. Do all the good we can. Follow the ordinances (stay in love) with God.” Using Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 204 as a guide, the Bishop and Cabinet make these specific recommendations for United Methodist Churches in the Western NC Conference.

We find ourselves in a spiritual place where we need spaces and words of lament, while clinging to (and perhaps wrestling with) the hopeful promises of God. Rev. Stacey Lundy, associate pastor for adult discipleship and pastoral care, at First United Methodist Church - Salisbury, NC, offers us this grace-filled gift - a COVID-19 litany of lament.

Do you find yourself having a hard time remembering scripts for a sermon, or even just a speech? Thankfully, there are teleprompter applications that you can download on your devices. We’ve taken the time to gather some of the best teleprompter apps for churches. These come in handy to help you perform with ease, not worrying about forgetting your next line.

With the help of the internet, local churches can grow and expand their reach beyond their walls. Not only do churches have the potential to build and expand an online community by having a strong digital presence, but it will also help them grow their local congregation. So here are some resources and tips for launching an online campus.

The General Council for Finance and Administration offers advice on eight items to consider when planning a hybrid in-person and virtual event. Did you know the GCFA has meeting planners, AV techs, and other resources who are here to help you with your meeting needs? Whether you need the in-person logistical support of a professional meeting planner, the AV support from an experience in-person event producer, the production and technology support from a Virtual Meeting expert, or even virtual event logistics, GCFA is here to help.

If the majority of your congregation is resistant to a change and they represent the lion’s share of your church’s giving, you need a very compelling reason to make that change. But what so many older churches don’t realize is that their senior members aren’t actually resistant to digital solutions. In fact, they’re already using them, and they wish you did too...For aging church members who can’t attend in person and those who care about the future of your mission, adding more technology will be the difference to make it more than worth it.

Like it or not (and a lot of church leaders don’t seem to like it), digital is your new default as a leader...So what’s the key to leading digital church well moving forward? Here are 8 ways to lead in the new digital default church.

Yesterday, Governor Cooper issued an easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The Bishop and Cabinet remain committed to our biblical mandate to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and our Wesleyan call to “Do no harm. Do all the good we can. Follow the ordinances (stay in love) with God.” Using Governor Cooper’s Executive Order No. 195 as a guide, the Bishop and Cabinet make these updates to the WNCC

A new adult Lenten study, “Reclaiming and Living Covenant,” published by the Baltimore-Washington Conference, is a deep dive into biblical covenant and hope, and reconnecting relationships. This study has been endorsed by the WNCC Comprehensive Plan of Equity Education Task Team.

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

As the Lenten season approaches, we find ourselves still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we have witnessed this past year, however, even COVID cannot keep the Church of God down. As you make plan to observe the season of Lent in your churches, we have compiled a list of resources that can help you have a COVID-safe time of remembrance and reflection.

As the pandemic evolves, our churches continue to learn, innovate, and respond to the needs of our communities. This webinar series explores ways in which we can continue to use and adapt the pandemic-generated tools, resources, and approaches as we move into new seasons of church life post COVID-19.

With COVID-19 still spreading rapidly, an ecumenical group of experts, including representatives from Emory's Candler School of Theology and the Center for Disease Control, released this six-page guide for observing Ash Wednesday safely.

The Zoom recordings of the Conference-wide Winter Training Webinar series are now available. If you were unable to attend live, you still glean from the wisdom of our keynote speaker, Jason Moore, and breakout leaders from across the conference on topics such as "Telling the Old Story in New Times," "Financial Faithfulness in Uncertain Times," "Evangelism and Disciplemaking in a Pandemic," and so much more.