Posts from December 2022
Repeat the Sounding Joy…A Resilient Region!
On a special day in 2018, I heard a significant sound. It was a still, small voice sharing one phrase repeatedly: “They are resilient!” Holy Spirit communicated the message, and the phrase referred to you, the Christian Church in North Carolina. We are the resilient Body of Christ, bound together by an unapologetic belief in Christ as Lord and Savior of the world, and in the Lord’s Table as a unifying experience where things in common are celebrated and diversity is respected. This is also true of your faithful support to the Region.
This special Christmas offering is another chance for your gifts to keep the sound of resilience repeating as your Regional staff seeks to empower our congregations by providing the right gifts and resources. Gifts that inspire bravery and facilitate the change of their new realities. Resources that enlarge our capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and adapt well to adversity and stress.
Isaac Watts’s famous Christmas hymn, “Joy to the World” reminds us that amid life’s various challenges, there is still a sound of joy ringing in the hearts of Christians everywhere. This hymn invites us to join Heaven and earth, fields and floods, hills and plains in celebrating the wonders of God’s love. Similarly, your support of the Christmas offering produces a joyful reverberation throughout the year.
As we fully engage the Advent season, anticipating our Lord coming once again in new and marvelous ways, we are assured that your faithful support to your Region will joyfully resound:
through camping, conferences, and retreats for our youth and young adults
through all persons seeking affirmation for ministry
through congregations welcoming a new pastor or neighbor
through bold efforts to resolve conflict and build bridges across racial divides
through new relationships far and wide
through our trust in a God who makes all things possible!
Thank you for remembering that you are the lifeline of your Region.
Checks should be made payable to the Christian Church in NC with a memo: Christmas offering and mailed to P. O. BOX 1568, Wilson, NC 27894, or you may donate online.
May joy resound within us all!
Bishop Valerie J. Melvin
Regional Minister…
Racial Equity Training
Registration Information
If you request a scholarship, please call Bishop Valerie Melvin at the regional office (252-291-4047 ext 202).
Registration Cost – $150 per person (Includes lunch) – Register here. (Download the poster).
Resolution 116, passed at the 2016 Regional Assembly held in Greenville, NC, requires all commissioned and ordained ministers who desire to maintain their standing to complete this training.
2023 Training Schedule
January 20-21: First Christian Church (1900 W. Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27403)
October 12-13: First Christian Church (207 Tarboro Street N, Wilson, NC 27893)Sessions Times:
First day: 10:00am-6:00pm
Second day 9:00am-5:00pm
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Order the 2023 Just Women Bible Study
The 2023 edition of Just Women, a Bible study for women by women, invites readers into conversation with scripture about navigating the feeling of being stuck between the reality of our sometimes-dark circumstances and the desire to lean into the hope of Christ, who lights the darkness.
This year’s theme, “Fanning the Flames of Hope”, is based on Lamentations 3:19-24 and includes 13 lessons, feature articles, and other resources to help women lean into Christ’s light by dealing with issues such as anxiety, complicated grief, compassion fatigue, needing a healthy community, and more.
This is an excellent resource for individual and group studies, and for only $20, you can be resourced for the entire year.
Why wait? Pre-order by Dec. 9th and you qualify for FREE shipping. Just put in your order here:
Order Your JW23 Bible Study Here!…