Pre-Conference Briefing Sessions

These briefing sessions for Annual Conference will be handled a bit differently this year. Rather than each district hosting a session, there will be three regional sessions focusing on the 32 Constitutional Amendments to be voted on (particularly the 23 having to do with the world-wide nature of the church). Eddie Fox and Arthur Jones will be present at each session to present differing understandings of the impact and implications of those amendments. The session closest to the EC District will be held Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m. at Queen Street UMC in Kinston. This will be an important time, both for you and your lay member(s) of the Conference, in gaining clarity that inform your vote. Please put this date on your calendar and share it with your lay member to Conference.

Grace, peace, and, as always, my prayers. rcf

Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m. at Queen Street UMC in Kinston
500 North Queen Street, Kinston, NC

ACTS II Nominations

Speak Up ! ... You deserve to be recognized !

... You do good work !

April 15 is the deadline for local church submissions of Acts II nomination forms to the District Office. May 5 is the date for the District Office to turn in their selected forms to the Conference Board of Laity. Any church seeking Acts II recognition must submit a form, and churches recognized last year must resubmit if they wish recognition again. We are keenly aware the Holy Week is upon you and this word is coming late (it was in "Newsbriefs" last week) but we encourage you to submit an application. Please note the criteria. There are many vibrant and strong churches in the EC District that others should know of. The Acts II Congregation Selection Criteria can be found at :
http://nccumc.org/secretary/files/acts-2-selection-criteria-2009.pdf
and the Nominations Request Form at :
http://nccumc.org/secretary/files/acts-2-nomination-request-2009.pdf.

Grace, peace, and, as always, my prayers. rcf

Youth Mission Trip - EC District

HURRY ... THE APPLICATION DEDADLINE IS APPROACHING !

Plans are being made to participate with First UMC in Baton Rouge, LA for a mission opportunity called TARP. TARP (Terrabonne Area Restoration Project) is an effort to involve youth in repairing and rebuilding homes in south Louisiana that were damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

We will be working June 21-June 27. The cost is $250.00 per person which includes lodging,meals, and construction supplies. We will be driving to Louisiana and will be in need of church vans and drivers as we know the numbers of people attending.

Applications and a deposit of $25.00 person is needed by April 3 to the District Office at P.O. Box 1662, Elizabeth City, NC 27906. Applications will be posted on the district website. They are also available on line from TARP at http://www.thebluetarp.com/.

Please contact me at 482-3269 or 312-1586 if you are interested in participating in this project. A district wide information meeting will be planned as soon as possible. I can send you all forms and information.

May God Bless You on Your Lenten Journey,

Susie Fitch-Slater

Upper Currituck Mobile Food Pantry

Moyock UMC will host the MFP on April 2, 2009 5:30 - 7:00 PM
268 Caratoke Highway Moyock, NC 27958

The Food Bank of the Albemarle and the Moyock UMC are sponsoring a Mobile Food Pantry grocery distribution. Free groceries to the first 100 families. Must have an ID showing residency and one distribution per family. Bring boxes or containers to carry food home. For information call Pastor Steve Castle at (252) 435-6920.

Gates County Mobile Food Pantry

Location: Gates County Community Center

130 Hwy 158 West Gatesville, NC 27938
Date and Time: Thursday March 19th 5:00 pm

The Food Bank of the Albemarle, the North Gates Charge MFP and Churches of Gates County are sponsoring a Mobile Food Pantry grocery distribution. Free groceries to the first 175 families. Must have an ID showing Gates County residency and one distribution per family. Bring boxes or containers to carry food home. For information call Pastor Mike Askew at 333-8811. Volunteers and sponsors are needed.

Mobile Food Pantry – Kill Devil Hills Area

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 (5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.)

The Food Bank of the Albemarle in partnership with

Colington United Methodist Church will bring the

Mobile Food Pantry to First Flight High School

in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

The Mobile Food Pantry will serve area residents that struggle to make ends meet that are in need of emergency food assistance.

Who is eligible?

§ Senior Citizens living on fixed incomes

§ Disabled

§ Any Individual or family currently receiving food stamps.

§ Working Families that are making tough choices between buying food or paying for necessities, such as rent, utilities, medications and gas to go to work.

What do I need to do to get food from the Mobile Food Pantry?

§ Bring picture identification.

§ We recommend that you arrive prepared to carry your groceries back to your home, a laundry basket or wagon or small cart may be needed.

We would appreciate any contribution of excess plastic grocery bags you would like to contribute.

CHILI COOK-OFF at New Hope 21 March

New Hope UMC’s 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off

is being sponsored by the UMM with help by the UMW on

Saturday, March 21, 2008 from 11 AM – 3 PM.

• Please print out the flyer and distribute to family and friends.
• Take it to work. Pass out in your neighborhood. Help spread the word.
• Want to volunteer? See Kathy Brizius or Phil Darnell.
• So, help, compete and or just show up to eat! …. See you then.

… Pastor Bill

New Hope UMC, Corner of New Hope & Woodville Road in Hertford, NC

Additional Info: Contact George at 252–264–5266

A Message to the People of The United Methodist Church

A Message to the People of The United Methodist Church
from the President of the Council of Bishops,
Chair of the Table of General Secretaries,
and the Chair of the Connectional Table

The global financial crisis is bringing hardship and suffering to people in every part of the world. For those in wealthy nations, it causes anxiety and uncertainty about declining pension accounts and the threat of lost jobs. Others are coping with unemployment and foreclosed mortgages. And for still others who live in places with scarce resources or exist in conditions of poverty, it means empty stomachs, lack of care for urgent health needs, and no prospects to earn a day's bread.

The International Labor Organization projects a loss of 50 million jobs globally by the end of 2009. The World Bank warns that an additional 53 million people will fall into poverty (living on less than $2 per day) and that 200,000 to 400,000 more children will die by 2015 if the crisis persists.

Local congregations, annual conferences, and the general agencies likewise face economic constraints, requiring them to reassess how they carry out ministry and to seek greater effectiveness and economies while keeping focused on loving God and neighbor.

In addition, the crisis is generating increasing global unrest and violence, creating even more misery and an insecure world. It is a prophetic reminder that our destiny as a worldwide community and a global church is interwoven with complex bonds of prosperity, security, dignity, and justice. We are no more secure than the most vulnerable among us; no more prosperous than the poorest; and no more assured of justice and dignity than those who live in the shadows of power, void of fairness and equity. We reclaim anew Jesus' teaching, “as you [cared for] the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40), as an urgent appeal for how we can live today.

At all times, but especially in fearful and dangerous days, we followers of Jesus are called to live in hope and in the assurance that God is present with us. Facing hard times, the Apostle Paul asked: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35 and 37, 39).

To the Israelites, having lost everything and living in exile, God offered assurance: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you” (Is. 41:10). The psalmists are similarly convinced: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear” (Ps. 46:1, 2).

With this firm assurance that the whole of creation lives within the embrace of a loving God, we are confident that the Four Areas of Focus for the mission and ministry of the people of The United Methodist Church affirmed by General Conference 2008 are among the most important ways we faithfully bear witness to the Gospel. We urgently need principled Christian leaders for the church and the world. People searching for meaning are seeking new places of welcome and hospitality for worship, prayer, and spiritual growth. It is abundantly evident that United Methodists must engage in ministry with the poor and tackle the diseases of poverty that rob people of the fullness of life, health, and wholeness.

As we enter into the season of Lent we are called to reflection, repentance, and sacrificial living. Lent is a time of preparation when we look beyond human frailty and the brokenness of the world to resurrection, hope, and new life. We are reminded that our faith does not rise and fall with the financial markets but resides in the enduring love of God who is present with us as we struggle and strive to love God and our neighbors. This Lent can be a time when we recommit to practice every day the Wesleyan values to do no harm, do good and stay in love with God.

A churchwide conversation is asking that we envision ways to reinvigorate our outreach to a hurting world and offer hospitality to those seeking deeper spiritual understanding. Local congregations are engaging in self-examination to “Rethink Church” and strengthen their outreach beyond the doors of the church buildings. Annual Conferences are working to ensure the human rights of the poor, to address the diseases of poverty, and to offer direct intervention to relieve human needs arising from poverty, including those of women and children in local communities and of persons who lack opportunity for artistic expression.

The general agencies of the church are finding ways together to achieve economies and assure greater effectiveness in support of annual conferences and local churches. Information on the Four Areas of Focus can be found by contacting the general agencies of the church directly and at www.umc.org/focusareas.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) calls for individual and corporate responsibility. John Wesley wrote, “The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social. No holiness but social holiness. Faith working by love is the length and breadth and depth and height of Christian perfection” (Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739, ¶ 5).

As we pray and reflect this Lenten season, may we embrace life with hope, expectancy, and the assurance that God through Christ Jesus is calling us to prepare our hearts, minds, and hands to work for the New Creation. And may we nurture and care for one another and for those to whom we are inextricably connected by God’s grace around the world.

With expectancy and hope,

Bishop Gregory Palmer, President, Council of Bishops

Neil M. Alexander, Chair, The Table of General Secretaries

Bishop John Hopkins, Chair, The Connectional Table