News Briefs
NC Conference - UMC
August 19, 2008

Support DISCIPLE Bible Outreach Ministries in August
            A special offering for Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries
should be received in the churches of the WNCC and NCC on Aug. 24.
Offering envelopes have been provided are available in the district
offices. A promotional DVD is available from district offices for use on
DBOM Sunday. For additional information or offering envelopes call
336-454-5348 or e-mail MCHicks@northstate.net.

UMVIM Team to Haiti
            United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) of the North
Carolina Conference is sponsoring a mission work team to go to Haiti,
Nov 3-17 to construct and distribute Solar Ovens. Cost per person is
$1500 for the two weeks. Orientation for the team will be Sept 12-13 at
Oak Island. If interested please contact Butch Huffman,
butchhuffman@nccumc.org or 919-931-4304 cell phone.

Let the Children Come

"Let the Children Come," a resource event for teachers and leaders in
local church children's ministry, will be Saturday, Aug. 23 at Page Memorial UMC
in Aberdeen. Check-in begins at 9:45 a.m. After worship led by Rev.
Laura Early and All God's Children UMC, four workshops will be offered:
using one-room curriculum, involving children in missions, selection and
use of curriculum resources and partnering with parents for children's
faith formation. The event concludes at 12:15pm. Pre-registration is not
required and there is no cost to the event. For workshop descriptions
and host church contact information visit
http://www.nccumc.org/childrnmin/events.htm . 

Award of Excellence in Youth Ministry
            Applications for the Award of Excellence in Youth Ministry
are due Aug. 31. The award is presented at Pilgrimage on Saturday
morning, Nov. 8. Applications are available at
http://www.nccumc.org/youthministry .

Pilgrimage Leadership
            Youth wishing to apply for consideration in the Pilgrimage
house band must submit an application by Aug. 31. Applications must be
requested from senicholson@nccumc.org before Friday, Aug. 22.
            Youth desiring to offer a testimony at Pilgrimage must
submit a written sample of that testimony by Aug. 31. The written sample
may be emailed to senicholson@nccumc.org or mailed to Youth Ministry, PO
Box 10955, Raleigh, NC 27605.
            Youth groups desiring to offer an act of worship on stage
during Pilgrimage must submit that offer with a description of the act
of worship by Aug. 31 to senicholson@nccumc.org.
            Youth groups making a video to be shown at Pilgrimage must
submit the video in VHS or DVD format by Aug. 31 to Youth Ministry, PO
Box 10955, Raleigh, NC 27605 clearly identifying the youth group,
church, district and contact information for adult leader. The video
must address the Pilgrimage theme, "Pass It On,"  involve all members of
the youth group and be no longer than five minutes in length.
            Any youth group offering something for the stage visuals
must contact senicholson@nccumc.org with details by Aug. 31.
            Pilgrimage brochures with registration forms have been
mailed out. The brochure is also available online at
www.nccumc.org/youthministry on the "Events" page.

Shepherding 21st Century Sheep: Cyberspace, Cybersafety, Cyberministry
            A series of this workshop will be offered throughout the
Conference in September and November. Clergy, staff, and key leadership
in local churches are invited to attend.  The cost is $5 per person
(nonrefundable) and a church group's registration must be received 10
days prior to the event the group plans to attend. The brochure with
more information and registration form is available at
www.nccumc.org/childrnmin/cybersafety.pdf.  The dates (all Saturdays)
and locations are as follows: Sept. 6 at Haymount UMC-Fayetteville,
September 20 at White Plains UMC-Cary, Sept.  27 at Wesley Memorial
UMC-Wilmington and Nov. 15 at Edenton UMC-Edenton. For each date and
location, registration will be from 9:15-9:30 A.M. and the program will
run from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M..
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Occasionally, the links published in News Briefs become corrupted during
transmission. If a link does not work properly, please contact
bnorton@nccumc.org.

Pastors and laity receiving News Briefs: please feel free to make copies
and pass along to other persons in the congregation, other staff
members, or persons who do not have access to a computer. Make copies
for the church bulletin boards. Pastors, forward this e-mail to the
church secretary/administrative assistant so items may be included in
the church news letter.

Pastors can request that the e-mail address for the church secretary or
others in leadership positions be added to the listserv.  Send a message
to bnorton@nccumc.org with e-mail addresses to be added or addresses
that should be removed.

Bishop Gwinn to host trip to the Holy Lands
            Individuals interested in traveling with Bishop Al Gwinn to the Holy
Lands will have an opportunity to do just that next Jan. 27 - Feb. 5.
Recent ordinands will be included in this trip.  Space is available for
others to become members of the tour group. Bishop Gwinn will be meeting
with ordinands separately to talk about the trip. For other interested
individuals, he will be available to discuss the trip at Wilson: First
UMC on Thursday, Sept. 4 for lunch at 12 noon. Anyone planning to attend
the luncheon meeting should call Doug Jessee or Dan Jones at the church,
(252-237-6121), as soon as possible.

Registration Open for Retirement Planning Seminars
            Register now for the upcoming Financial and Retirement
Planning Seminars in the fall. The Early Years Seminar (recommended for
clergy within their first five years of ministry) is scheduled for
Monday, Sept. 29. The Middle Years Seminar (recommended for clergy with
more than five years of ministry and more than 10 years away from
retirement) is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29. Experience has shown
that when clergy families have a good handle on their financial
condition and future plans, then ministry is enhanced as the burdens of
financial worries are lessened. The topics addressed at these seminars
will help prepare clergy for a lifetime of effective ministry.
Registration deadlines for the Early Years and the Middle Years seminars
are Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, respectively. Visit the Retirement Pension
Brochure
<http://www.nccumc.org/treasurer/Early&MidYrsRetSemBrochure.pdf>  
<https://mail.nccumc.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.nccumc.org
/treasurer/pensions.htm> or call JoAnna Cafferty in the Treasurer's
Office at 1-800-849-4433 x 225 for more information.

Conference UMM sponsoring a "No Man Left Behind" training event
            NC Conference United Methodist Men will offer the "No Man Left Behind"
Conference on Sept. 11-13, at St. James UMC in Greenville. This 2½ day
training event is for pastors, men's ministry leaders, and potential
leaders. Man in the Mirror Ministries, a national leader in men's
ministry and an official partner of United Methodist Men, will provide
the training for this important event. Don't miss this opportunity to
stop doing "men's ministry" as it has always been done and start
discipling men to be authentic followers of Jesus Christ. Sign up today
by calling Man in the Mirror at 1-800-929-2536, or 407-472-2100.
Registration can also be completed online at the Man in the Mirror
website - http://www.maninthemirror.org/ . Chartered UMM groups receive
a discounted price, and pastors attend at no cost if accompanied by at
least two men from their church. If there are questions, contact Rick
Hebert (252-355-8906) or by e-mail - fhebert@suddenlink.net.

Spanish Immersion opportunity available through UMVIM
      NC Volunteers In Mission is sponsoring a 2-week Spanish Immersion program in
Guatemala during November 2008 and is looking for people to join the group.
Any level of Spanish, from beginner to advanced, can be accommodated. Cost is
$600 plus airfare and includes lessons, room & board, in-country travel, and
insurance. Visit the website at http://www.spanishimmersionprogram.embarqspace.com/ .

Hispanic/Latino Convocation: Leadership in the Wesleyan Way
      Join a gathering of Hispanic/Latino leadership to be held at the Greensboro
Marriott Downtown Oct. 2-3. There is a registration fee of $25 and The Duke Endowment
will cover the cost of room and meals for all registered participants. The
Duke Endowment encourages each pastor or lay missioner to register up to two
additional lay people. The registration deadline is Sept. 15. The purpose of
this event is to highlight model ministry programs, discuss emerging issues in
the church, share strategies and address common struggles. The conference is a
collaboration of the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences,
Duke Divinity School and The Duke Endowment. For more information and a
brochure, go to http://www.nccumc.org/events.htm.