Vacation Bible School

Transcription

1 Vacation Bible School Theme: Paul and the Underground Church Dates: July 9-12 (Sunday-Wednesday nights) Times: 5:30-Dinner 6-8 Classes Ages: 3yrs-5 th grade Adult Class: Pastor Herbert, teacher Registration: online: vbspro.events/p50be69 FREE Goody Bag available for those pre-registered in church office. Or call the church office: Chestnut Street United Methodist Church 200 East 8th Street Lumberton, NC NUTSHELL (PUBLICATION NO ) is published monthly by the Chestnut Street United Methodist Church, 200 E. 8 th Street, Lumberton, NC Periodical postage is paid at Lumberton, NC POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Nutshell, PO Box 1464, Lumberton, NC 28358

2 Church Staff PASTOR Rev. Herbert Lowry, Jr. DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Jan Kennedy ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Kyle Donaldson FINANCIAL PROCESSOR Debra Lewis YOUTH DIRECTOR Kyle Donaldson MUSIC DIRECTOR Harriette Lovin MUSICAL ASSISTANT Angie Carter CUSTODIAN Dennis McBayne MISSION STATEMENT: The Nutshell CHESTNUT STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 200 East 8 th Street Lumberton, NC July, 2017 READ MATTHEW 10:24-39 There is no other way of saying it, The United Methodist Church is in an ecclesiastical mess! The issue of human sexuality has divided society, as well as the United Methodist Church. While the reason and/or blame for the dilemma are broad and far reaching, this writer is aware of a couple of reasons. Society has become more and more progressive. Rather than lead, the Church has followed willingly along with the world as sheep led to the slaughter. Most of us have lived long enough to witness the seismic social changes taking place. While some of the change is good, much of it has placed pressure upon congregations to either go with the status quo or suffer a slow death from lack of attendance. However, in regard to the United Methodist Church, I place our present crisis solely in the lap of denominational leaders both laity and clergy. Bishops and District Superintendents have not led with vision and insight and have not required personal discipline from its own, but have sought to survive and keep the body (church) on life support. Budgets and apportionments necessary to keep the bureaucratic ship afloat have ruled for many years now. We preachers have not preached with passion and conviction and have been afraid to speak the truth in love. We have not called a thing a thing. The fear has been we (preachers) might be labeled a hater and unloving. Furthermore, the laity has settled for clergy who satisfy with smooth words and never hold them accountable for their habitual sins. Many of us (Christians) simply prefer to shack-up with Jesus. We want the gratification of the relationship without the commitment. Speak not about Sin! Speak not about sex before marriage, nor drinking, nor prescription drug addiction, nor infidelity, nor loveless marriages, nor pornography, nor homosexuality, nor the sense of unfulfilled longing! These are controversial issues to which we (the church) are not of one opinion on! The political correctness police are up in arms over these matters. Many people in our culture are empty inside and mired in sin, and we simply don t know it because we have enough stuff in our lives to numb the pain. Someone say AMEN! Those who have ears to hear let them hear because the gospel is good news does not mean its message is not offensive. Will Willimon remarks: What is it about God s message that s so contrary that it drives faithful people to despair? What is it about the message of Worship, Welcome and Nurture as We Serve Christ in Love. Christ that s so dangerous that it drives a wedge between parents and children? It is simply this: the gospel is a message the world, by and large, does not want to hear [nor receive]. The gospel is, to be sure, good news to some. In his inaugural address recorded in Luke, Jesus says he comes to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. That is good news to those who are oppressed, bound, or blind. But most of us are not: at least not physically. It s good news, too, for those who acknowledge that they are psychologically oppressed, or bound by sin, or blind to the light of Christ. Good news for those who repent and seek God s help in being restored and made whole. But the gospel is bad news, lousy news, offensive news for those who are of the world and don t know their need to be made new in Christ. When Matthew gathered these words into his Gospel, he had a church to uphold that was being ostracized by the Jewish synagogue. This Jesus was still a burr under the burro s blanket to them. Why was the message of Christ so offensive to them? Because he called for people to change - not to live according to the law according to [self]. To be forgiving, to be inclusive; to be willing to touch the filthy, unholy mess of humanity in order to share God s love. To sink one s hands into the filth of poverty, into the open wounds of disease, into the white, leprous folds of putrefying skin. To sit beside the smug, rank, slovenly sinner and share a meal with him; to ask him to pass the bread and then eat it when it comes to you from his greasy, greedy hand. Or to smile at a harlot and offer her the possibility of dignity; to look at her and see not her painted face and painted past but her promising future. Jesus called for change, and when his followers lived a new kind of life, they got a lot of trouble for their efforts." I wish to drop a question here. Ponder upon it. It is a simple question each of us must decide. Are you a disciple of Christ? Hope to see you in Church. -Preacher

3 Prison Ministry /Jon Everson & Eddie Smith (Leaders) Gibson Gray Angie Carter / (Staff) Dorothy Watts Lucy Cline Dr. Ben Hardin Heather Miller Lynda Price Jimmy Harrington Joan Beard Laura Artis Jon Thorston Norm Morton Ann Pittman Jeanette Shanklin Charles Paul 3288 CPL Johnson Road Unit 2598 Ft. Sam Houston, Texas PRAYER CONCERNS Lumberton Assisted Living: Margaret White Golden Living: Virginia Martin Glenflora: Cleo Beasley Knollwood Village: Faye & Olin Welsh Missionaries: Rev. Virgil (Butch) Huffman, Missionary, UMVIM, 226 George Wilton Dr., Clayton, N.C Wesley Pines Retirement Center: Ellenor Lorman, Mary Stephenson Townsend, Margaret Folger, Dorothy Ruddle, Catherine Black, Jesse & Mary Lamm, Pete Gammon, Meta Wood, Grace Stallings, Dr. Bill Windley Mission Committee Update Robeson County Church and Community Center Food Pantry The Church and Community Center Food Pantry needs our help to restock their shelves. The food is used for those who cannot provide enough food for their families. The Food for the Month of July: Canned meat & canned fruit but the cabinets are very bare so if you want to bring any extra food, it will be welcomed. Please leave food items in the baskets in the Education Building. ANSWERS TO JUNE RIDDLES 1. They are protector. They Sit on a bridge. One individual can see directly through them, while others wonder what they hide. Sunglasses 2. What cannot be sawed but is made of wood? Sawdust 3. Form a six-letter word by using the following three letters any number of time: N, A and B. BANANA JULY RIDDLES 1. What s the difference between a duck and George Washington? 2. Why were the first Pennsylvania settlers like ants? 3. What did one flag say to the other flag? 4. What dance was very popular in 1776? 5. What is Uncle Sam s favorite snack? JULY JOKE 6. Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell? Yeah, it cracked me up!

4 WEDNESDAY NITE L.I.V.E. (Live in Victory Everyday) Join the Chestnut Street UMC family for a midweek time of fellowship and a delicious meal in Asbury Hall. Meal Cost: $6 for 7 th graders-adults $3 for K-6 th graders. Preschoolers eat free. Our meals are catered by Abigail s Tearoom of Lumberton. Meals are served at 5:30 p.m. and following the meal we enjoy a time of fun, games, and a meditation. This is a wonderful time to get to know each other as a Christian family. Please make dinner reservations by noon on Tuesdays by calling the church at Our menus are posted on the church website: July Birthdays Children s Birthdays July 12. Emily Hall Youth/Young Adults Birthdays July 5. Will Norton 6. Alec Dent 11. Cole Hill 13. Callie Davis 19. Kayleigh Gabriel 26. Joshua Bengtson 29. Joshua Sumner 30. Mark Bergstresser THANK YOU! Thank you CSUMC for your help in sponsoring 6 of our children for day camp at Rockfish Outdoor and Retreat Center in June. Appreciation to Rosemary Long, Kyle Donaldson, and Ms. Jan for providing transportation each day. Menus for July July 5 No WNL July 12 VBS (No WNL) July 19 Meat loaf, potatoes/onions, collards, dessert, beverage, rolls July 26 Baked chicken, sweet potato casserole, green salad, dessert, beverage, rolls Attention Senior Adults: A trip has been scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec.1 to the Asheville area. First Baptist has invited us to join with them on a charter bus for this trip which includes candlelight tour of the Biltmore House and lunch at the Grove Park Inn and viewing the gingerbread houses. You may contact Jan for more information at the church office. $50 required asap to hold your space. The Wisdom & Grace Festival at Lake Junaluska will take place August Currently we have 6 registered and would love to have more to attend this senior adult conference. Contact Jan at the church. SUMMERTIME HALLELUJAH BUFFET! Sunday, July 9 following worship. Covered dish.bring enough for you and one more. We will be hosting the mission team from Shady Grove UMC/ Winston Salem for lunch. They will be leading our VBS each night.

5 Memorials In Memory of Deborah Groves Designated General Fund Given By: Garry & Jan Kennedy Given By: Drew & Nancy Mills Given By: Beth & Mitch Mitchell Given By: Tom & Lou Ann Cleveland Given By: Bob & Frances Scott Designated Sanctuary Heating & A/C Given By: Jean O. Harris Given By: Lee Summersett Given By: Bob & Jane West Designated Transportation Fund Given By: Bill & Phiena Doares Designated Music Fund Given By: Dot & Henry Davis Given By: Morning Glories Sunday School Class Given By: Jerry & Judy Seals Designated Robeson Country Flood Victims Given By: Dale & Elliott Gifford Designated Flower Fund Given By: Jean O. Crouch Designated Endowment FUnd Given By: David & Angela Sumner Designated Mission Fund Given By: Frank Daughtrey In Memory of Alice Windley Designated Endowment FUnd Given By: David & Angela Sumner In Memory of Hobert Britt Designated Transportation Fund Given By: Bill & Phiena Doares In Memory of Henry Harris Designated Transportation Fund Given By: Jean O. Harris In Memory of Karen Fisher Dunlap Designated Sanctuary Heating & A/C Given By: Elizabeth & Bruce Jobe Designated Transportation Fund Given By: Phiena & Bill Doares Designated General Fund Given By: Beth & Mitch Mitchell Given By: Julia Ledwell Designated Flower Fund Given By: Jean O. Crouch In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. Joe Butler, Jr. Designated Endowment Fund Given By: David & Angela Sumner Given By: Tom & Lou Ann Cleveland Designated Transportation Fund Given By: MR. & Mrs. Heyward Calvert In Memory of Juanita Collins Designated General Fund Given By: Tom & Cyndy Inman Given By: Tom & Lou Ann Cleveland Designated Sanctuary Heat & A/C Given By: Lee Summersett In Memory of Tom Miller Designated General Fund Given By: Tom & Lou Ann Cleveland Given By: Beth & Mitch MItchell Designated Endowment Fund Given By: David & Angela Sumner In Memory of Mac Jones Designated Endowment Fund Given By: David & Angela Sumner In Memory of Helen Wehunt Designated Endowment Fund Given By: David & Angela Sumner Designated General Fund Given By: Marguerite Branch

6 Memorials Continued In Memory of Jones Lyon Culbreth Designated General Fund Given By: Glenn & Barbara McQueen In honor of Taylor, Smith & everson Families Designated Missions Given By: W. David Ballard In honor of the Dominic Dent Family, Bradly Patterson Family & Jessica Townsend Family Designated Sanctuary Heat & A/C Given By: Lee Summersett In honor of the Angie Carter Family, Cavin & Corales clapp Family & Tom & Lou Ann Cleveland Family Designated Sanctuary Heat & A/C Given By: Lee Summersett In Memory of Annette King Designated Endowment Fund Given By: David & Angela Sumner Designated General Fund Given By: John C. Lawrence In Honor of the Joe & Diane Buri Family Designated Sanctuary Heat & A/C Given By: Lee Summersett In Honor of William & Norma Burleson Family, Rose Byrd Family & Heyward & Kathryn calvert Family Designated High School Meals Given By: Lee Summersett In Honor of The Lucy Cline Family, Jean Crouch Family & Frank Daughtrey Family Designated Sanctuary Heat & A/C Given By: Lee Summersett United Methodist Women Our fundraisers are: Rada knives catalogs and order forms are in the office. Take a book fill out the order form and return the book order form and the money to the office. Cookbooks - $5.00 spiral bound and loaded with lots of recipes- In office. Notecards - $ beautifully embossed blank cards w/envelopes In office. Proceeds have provided scholarships for college bound students, linen tablecloths for tables in Fellowship Hall, helped fund the acoustics in the church, Upper Room Devotional large print for shut in s. Current UMW projects: Health kits, school kits, Family Violence Center needs, Newborn Ministry, Robeson County Church & Community Center needs. NO PAT IN JULY Front Door Lunch Bags Needs Vienna Sausage, pudding, fruit, salty crackers, sweet cookies

7 JULY ACOLYTES 2. Celeste & Ella McLean 9. Grace Stone & Madison Ford 16. Payne Stone & Hunter Edkins 23. Bailee Luper & James Russell 30. Stephen Conser & Ben Ervin ALTAR GUILD Brenda & Scott McLean LECTOR Ann Smith MONTHLY NURSES Joyce Musselwhite Pat Horne Jean Harris Jo Ann Falls NURSERY HELPER Brittany Wade FLOWER CHART 2. Available 9. Available 16. Available 23. Available 30. Available USHERS Henrietta & Cliff Nance Edie Duncan Stan Smith TRUSTEE OF THE MONTH Philip Stone STEPHEN MINISTERS 2. Jan Kennedy 9. Garry Kennedy 16. Frances Scott 23. Bob Scott 30. Rosemary Long OFFERING VERIFICATION 2. Linda Wade & Greg Price 9. Jimmy Harrington & Angela Sumner 16. Gayle Windley & Mike Hardin 23. Diane Buri & Jon Everson 30. Keith Taylor & Susan Hayes P.A.T. JULY BIRTHDAYS 8. Mary Lamm 12. Dot Davis 16. Jean Harris If you choose a florist other than Flowers By Billy please let Billy know so the church will not be charged.

8 July Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship Senior Sunday 5:00 Pastor s Bible 3. Youth Mission Trip 4. 9:00 Weight Watchers Meeting 6:00 Weight Watchers Meeting Youth Mission Trip OFFICE CLOSED 5. 10:30 Pastor s Bible 6:30 Mission Committee Meeting Youth Mission Trip 6. Youth Mission Trip 7. Youth Mission Trip 8. Youth Mission Trip 9. 9:30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship 12:00 Hallelujah Buffet 5:00 Pastor s Bible 5:30-VBS 6:00-Adult VBS 10. 5:30-VBS 6:00-Adult VBS 11. 5:30-VBS 6:00-Adult VBS :30 Pastor s Bible 5:30-VBS 6:00-Adult VBS 6:30 Finance Committee Meeting :00 UMM Breakfast 9:30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship :00 Weight Watchers Meeting 6:00 Weight Watchers Meeting :30 Pastor s Bible 5:30 WNL 6:30 Trustee Committee Meeting :30 Hopes Table 23. 9:30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship 5:00 Pastor s Bible Nutshell Deadline :00 Weight Watchers Meeting 10:30 Wesley Pines Worship 6:00 Weight Watchers Meeting :30 Pastor s Bible 5:30 WNL 6:30 UMC :30 Sunday School 10:30 Worship 5:00 Pastor s Bible 31.

9 2017 Annual Conference report Approximately 1,500 Methodists gathered at the Greenville Convention Center in Greenville June to worship, sing, pray, celebrate God and conduct some conference business. The focus was Generosity in All Places. It was the first conference in memory to end on Sunday and probably the first ever to end on Father s Day. The conference voted to return to Greenville for the 2018 annual conference but the dates have not been finalized. Bishop Hope Morgan Ward said the conference was moved from Friday through Sunday in hopes that more young professionals could attend. A conference official said it was uncertain if more such people did attend. Bishop Ward is seeking feedback from delegates and the Annual Conference Planning Committee about meeting on Sunday and on Father s Day. Longtime conference Secretary Jerry Bryan said privately that he believes it will be the same week in June but that the exact dates will be based on the feedback she receives. The conference opened Friday morning with the All Saints Celebration and Memorial service, recognizing the 26 clergy and 23 clergy spouses who passed since the 2016 Annual Conference. Candles covering the altar set an atmosphere of holiness and reverence. As delegates came forward to take communion, they were given a heart ornament made by a Haitian mission partner and brought to the United States by the Hayes Barton (Raleigh) UMC work team. May this tangible symbol remind you as you see it of the great heart of God, where we find our greatest hope, Bishop Ward said. Overcoming Hurricane Matthew Hurricane Matthew, which blew through Robeson and other North Carolina counties on Oct. 8 last year, played a prominent role in the Annual Conference. The Rev. Kenneth Locklear, district superintendent of the Gateway District, reported that four UMC churches in the district suffered extensive damage and services had to be curtailed or moved for varying amounts of time following the storm. All were in Robeson County, including two in Lumberton. They were Mount Olive at 403 Elizabethtown Road and Branch Street at 1708 Case St. in Lumberton; St. James in Pembroke and Rhyne Memorial in Red Springs. Branch Street UMC finally resumed services Sunday of this week. Gary Locklear, N.C. Conference lay leader, said that a question he hears often in Robeson County is Will life ever be the same? Will all people be in their homes, roads repaired, all churches and schools open, all businesses open? Our disaster response team is helping to make that happen. Cliff Harvell, the conference s disaster recovery superintendent, reported that the program rebuilt 676 homes and built 10 new homes. Today, more than 2,000 families in North Carolina are homeless, and they need our help, Locklear said. So the Mission Endowment is set aside this year to help those residents of eastern North Carolina find refuge, to get back to their homes, the places that they love. It was reported that a laity special offering collected $35, to help people recover from the hurricane, a Friday offering raised $15,535 and Andrew Thrash, the conference s youth president, said the youth collected $6,000 for that purpose. The Giving Together Hurricane Matthew Relief Fund of Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc. gave grants totaling $90,000 to the conference to support Hurricane Matthew recovery work in Cumberland County. Finances David Peele, chair of the Conference Council on Finance Administration, reported that 90.7

10 Page 2 percent of apportionments were paid to the N.C. Conference last year. On the other hand, the N.C. Conference, by dipping into reserve funds, was one of 27 conferences that fully paid apportionments to the General Conference. The conference budget for 2018, to be raised this year, is $ million. This year s budget of $ million had a shortfall of $1.863 million, as only $ was raised last year. Churches portion of health insurance premiums increases by $75.79 per month, 7 percent, to $1, Chestnut Street pays health insurance premiums for Pastor Herbert Lowry and Jan Kennedy, director of education. The portions they pay also will increase by 7 percent. The self-insured health plan is administered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. District superintendents salary, an average of the salaries plus non-vouchered allowances earned by the 25 highest-paid church pastors, increased 1.89 percent, from $108,080 to $110,116. Our pastor, the Rev. Herbert Lowry, made a motion that superintendents salaries be based on the 50 highest-paid pastors. A motion to table the motion passed, then someone asked how much superintendents would be paid under such a change. The answer was $98,916. Then a motion to leave the salaries at $110,116 this year and study it for next year passed overwhelmingly. God s great generosity Dr. Greg Jones, senior fellow for leadership education at Duke University and former dean of Duke Divinity School, spoke twice at the conference. On Friday, he spoke on God s Great Generosity and Saturday he spoke on Living Generously. Jones apparently is a fan of Peanuts, leading both sessions with the comic strip. Friday he recalled a strip in which Lucy told Charlie Brown he was the 2 of clubs. Jones asked if conferees ever feel like the 2 of clubs, when the world makes us feel so small that despair sets in and we lose sight of who we are and where we re headed -- and too often forget about God s love and settle for less than we should. We forget that the story begins not with humanity but with God s love, the love that created the world and humanity. Before Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree, it was about us, he said. Then the blame game set in. In the first 11 chapters of Genesis, he said, God continually says yes but humanity responds with no. We, as did the Israelites, act like 2-year-olds, he said, with such words as me, mine and no! We see the Israelites, just like a 2-year-old, whining and complaining" during the journey from Egypt to the promised land. Jones said we face similar challenges with the church s journey. With chuckles from the audience, he described the Back to Egypt committee, composed of people grumbling and thinking that maybe it wasn t so bad in Egypt after all. He said that many of us have that same Back to Egypt committee residing in our hearts. Fear sets in. God is trying to lead us but we have fits like 2-year-olds. He compared us with Jonah, who said three times he was angry enough to die. We d rather die than see the promise of new life. We fail to live in the goodness of God. After the no comes yes. God says yes. Take God s goodness and generosity and stretch it. If only we let God work in his way and not put up obstacles. Trust in God s generosity. He closed with a prayer that his friend Maggy Barankitse, who lives in Burundi, one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries, prays each day. Lord, let your miracles spring forth every day and let me not be an obstacle in any way. Living generously Jones changed the focus in his second address, saying we need to be living generously. In this Peanuts strip, Lucy, who plays the outfield for their baseball team, told the pitcher, Charlie Brown, that

11 Page 3 it would be different this time, that she wouldn t miss the fly balls. Soon a fly ball came in her direction, she put her glove up, and the ball hit her in the head. She told Charlie Brown the past got in my eyes. Jones asked how often the past gets in our eyes. We start the year or week with hope at church. We get excited about leaving Egypt or building the temple or getting a new pastor. Then the past gets in our eyes. We lose hope, become discouraged and frustrated. God s grace and God s love will give us back our lives. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can begin the process of unlearning brokenness and sin. But it won t happen overnight. Sin is a chain that weighs us down. He challenged us to live more like John Wesley. Wesley invited everyone to come, to defeat sin and live life generously and abundantly. He said we need holy friends for three reasons: We need people around us who challenge the sins we ve come to love, to affirm gifts we re afraid to claim and dream dreams we otherwise wouldn t dream. These holy friends help us see the abundance of life as God sees it, he said. He pointed out that 1 Timothy 6 is about generosity. At one affluent church, he said, he suggested that everyone take their checkbooks to the next service and pass them to the first person on their left not related to them. No one, he said, endorsed that idea. Our checkbooks tell a lot about where our hearts are, what our priorities are. He said we need to ask, How can I share with others? Patience is the mother of mercy. We re called to shine our light out for others; that s how we ll find ourselves. A Way Forward There are certainly tensions in our lives, in particular matters relating to human sexuality," Bishop Ward said Saturday afternoon. At last year s General Conference, when delegates from worldwide Methodism meet every four years, the Council of Bishops was asked to convene a task force to find A Way Forward. She said the A is important, because it doesn t say The Way Forward. The diverse commission has been selected and has begun a dialogue on human sexuality, she said, and a special General Conference session is scheduled for February 2019 to deal solely with the report that will be presented by the commission. The bishop said the commission is charged with designing a way for the church to maximize the presence of a United Methodist witness in as many places in the world as possible, allow for as much contextual differentiation as possible and balance an approach to different theological understandings of human sexuality with a desire for as much unity as possible. Generous missions Thomas Kemper, general secretary at the General Board of Global Ministries, said the board s goal is to discover where God is already at work and join into God s mission to reconcile the world and invite them into communion with Christ. What we are discovering is the mission is coming from the margins, he said. By 2050, one in four Christians will live in sub-sahara Africa. China already has the third largest Christian population in the world. The Global Ministries represents the world out of its Atlanta office, where over 30 countries are represented. He highlighted the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which was founded in 1940 to serve refugees and people impacted by the emerging global conflict but has become a major part of the overall mission to unite disaster relief with spiritual care. Global migration and refugee issues, with the ongoing conflicts of the Middle East, have become a major concern of Global Ministries, he said, adding that it has always been the call of the Christian community to serve those who have been displaced by war and persecution. He said migrants who traveled to the U.S. or other countries, embraced faith through Methodist churches and returned to their

12 Page 4 home countries are spreading the gospel of love and hope that transformed their lives across the globe. Statistician s report Conference statistician, the Rev. George Speake, reported that conference membership fell by 2,288, to 226,323 last year. He said that one reason membership has fallen is that churches are auditing their membership rolls, with one large unnamed church removing 1,803 numbers from their rolls. There was never a person associated with those numbers, he said, without further explanation. There were 2,378 new members received by profession of faith, 428 fewer than in There were 1,248 new members transferring from other denominations and 1,727 from other Methodist churches. Conference churches spent slightly more than $21.9 million on building improvements during the year and a little more than $12 million on debt retirement, both higher than in All total, he said, conference churches spent over $ million. He reminded churches to report all of the money they spend, because that determines the amount of apportionments they pay. He said all pastors will receive their 2018 apportionment report by late July and that finance committees should review the report for errors before charge conference and report any possible errors. He said he is available for assistance if needed. Education Is the Great Equalizer Bishop Kenneth Monroe of the Eastern District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Zion (AMEZ), N.C. Superintendent of Instruction Mark Johnson and Bishop Paul Leeland of the Western Carolina Conference encouraged congregations to get involved in C4C, Congregations for Children. The initiative covers a number of areas, including providing volunteers to help teach children to read or improve their reading skills; help to provide basic needs for successful learning, such as food, clothing and school supplies and provide UMCOR school kits. More information on the kits can be found at under UMCOR school kits. Education is the great equalizer of opportunities, Bishop Monroe said. If we can ensure that all students have that equal shot at a great education, we can fulfill our moral obligation that they have an equal opportunity to succeed. Dismantling racism In this breakout session, a lady from one of our neighboring churches, Mount Olive UMC, at Pine Street and Elizabethtown Road, spoke about her daughter s experience. Gwendolyn Roberts Payne told the approximately 50 session attendees that her 10-year-old daughter was the only black child in her class at Southeastern Academy. She said the entire class was invited to her daughter s birthday party, but only one boy attended. A girl in the class later told her daughter that if you re black, there is nothing good about you, she said, emphasizing the devastating effect that had on her young daughter. The session, which was headed by the Rev. Willard Bass, pastor at Green Street UMC in Winston-Salem, included a video indicating that racism is still prevalent 400 years after slavery. It said that people with white-sounding names get preferential treatment for jobs, educational opportunities and home loans, and mentioned brutality by racially biased policemen. Little was offered in solutions except that we need to realize the differences in culture, etc. A black man offered that we strive for equality when we should focus on equity, and a white woman said that she learned in divinity school that she was a racist. People simply cannot get out of poverty by themselves, she said. If we open our hearts and minds we can see people who are different from us in a different light, she said.

13 Page 5 Resolutions Four resolutions won overwhelming approval Saturday: The first is that the North Carolina Conference believes climate change constitutes the greatest threat to mankind today and that human activity plays a role. It urges governments, utilities, corporations and individuals to take decisive action toward reduction of CO2 emissions to 1990 levels and says failure to do so is unconscionable. It urges support of the Paris Climate Accords, which President Trump has already rejected. There was discussion for and against the amendment. The second called for the NC Annual Conference to call on members of Congress to appropriate the full request of $929 million requested by the state for Hurricane Matthew relief. The state has received $6 million. It was adopted without discussion. The third, which was inspired by the death of a youth in the conference, called for improved road conditions in Johnston County. It was adopted after being amended to include all 100 counties. The fourth calls for the defeat of state Senate Bill 594, which would reorganize the state s 100 counties into 30 Department of Social Security regional agencies, taking millions of dollars from the economies of two-thirds of our counties and likely impacting negatively on the needs of children, elderly and poor residents. There was no discussion. Constitutional amendments Delegates voted on five amendments to the United Methodist Church s constitution. The proposed amendments all passed overwhelmingly at the denomination s General Conference, the overall conference of worldwide Methodism, last year. Now each Annual Conference votes on them, and they must pass by two-thirds of all conferences to be ratified. The votes were cast on paper ballots and turned in. They were not counted and are being commingled with the votes of other conferences without counting results of individual conferences. The Council of Bishops will certify the results at its next meeting after the voting concludes. The proposed amendments would: Declare that men and women are of equal value in the eyes of God and assert The United Methodist Church seek to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of its life and in society at large. If ratified, it would become the new paragraph 6 in the Book of Discipline, the denomination s governing document. It was approved at General Conference Add gender, ability, age and marital status to the list of characteristics that prevent someone from being denied membership in the church. It would amend paragraph 4 to state that no member shall be denied access to an equal place in the life, worship and governance of the Church because of race, color, gender, national origin, ability, age, marital status or economic condition. It was approved at General Conference Amend paragraph 34 to specify that elections of delegates to General Conferences, Jurisdictional Conferences and Central Conferences include open nominations from the floor at Annual Conferences. It also calls for the election of delegates by a minimum of a simple majority of the ballots cast. It was approved at General Conference Amend paragraph 46 to specify that Central Conferences are to elect bishops at a regular, not an extra, session, except where an unexpected vacancy must be filled. Central Conferences are conducted in Africa, Asia and Europe. The amendment would treat bishop elections in those

14 Page 6 countries in much the same way they are treated in the United States. It was approved at General Conference Amend paragraph 50 to allow the Council of Bishops to hold individual bishops accountable. Currently, any complaints against bishops are handled in the jurisdictions where they are elected. It was approved at General Conference Solidarity motion defeated The Rev. Paul Stallsworth, pastor at Whiteville UMC, submitted a motion to begin conversations on increasing solidarity in the North Carolina Conference. Copies of the motion were passed out. As presented, it would seek to return the conference to 12 districts from the current eight, require each district superintendent to preside at the charge conference of each church in his or her district, encourage events and meetings to teach United Methodist doctrine and discipline, and increase the accountability of the bishop, district superintendents and the clergy. The bishop ruled the motion, as a whole, out of order but said the first sentence only could be voted if Stallworth agreed; he did. The first sentence was to encourage conversations among conference laity, clergy, and laity and clergy around dinner tables, over telephones, by , in Church Council meetings, etc., on how to increase solidarity throughout the conference. Kelly Barr, pastor at Rowland UMC and the assistant to the district superintendent in the Gateway District, which includes Chestnut Street UMC, spoke and said he agrees that solidarity is needed but felt the conference needed to concentrate on the accountability area, that clergy should do more than just preach on Sunday morning. The motion was overwhelmingly defeated. Conference notes Dail Ballard, executive director of the North Carolina United Methodist Camp and Retreat ministries, reported that camp scholarships exceeding $143,000 were given to children from needy families last year. She said that camp is year-round now, isn t just for kids and that more people should explore the offerings at camps. Andrew Thrash recapped his year as the conference s youth president, saying he saw different sides of our youth. One thing stands out: behavior. About 20 youth sitting on the floor facing him chuckled. He said that we shouldn t look at each other from a distance but just different generations with different viewpoints. He graduated high school and plans to attend Florida State University to major in choral music education. North Carolina-based playwright Mike Wiley performed a one-man presentation of Tim Tyson s memoir Blood Done Sign My Name Saturday night. The true story is about the 1970 murder of black Vietnam veteran Richard Dickie Marrow in Oxford, who went into Robert Teel s store to buy a drink. The Teels are white. He said something to the wife of one of Teel s sons, according to historian Eddie McCoy and it started from there." The Teels shot him and caught up with him and beat him to death, according to McCoy. The Teels never denied killing Marrow but claimed self defense and were acquitted by an all-white jury. Enraged blacks torched buildings in the town and marched to Raleigh. Tyson, who was 10 and the son of the pastor of the town s all-white Methodist church, praises Wiley s performances of his memoir. Wiley s great gift is that he can find a way to get to the core meaning of a story and thread it through the artful fabric of drama, Tyson has said. Even though he plays every character, you always know which character is speaking. Respectfully submitted by Bob Horne