Regional Happenings

Regional Happenings

Coming soon…

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 …

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!…

Regional Assembly 2023

2023 Regional Assembly Celebrating and Anticipating: Past, Present, and Future!Download the Letter | Download the Flyer Friends, We are so excited about our upcoming 2023 North Carolina Regional Assembly! This year’s theme is “Celebrating and Anticipating: Past, Present, and Future!” This theme is based on Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” The first recorded Union meeting was held among NC Disciples in March of 1834 at the Little Sister meeting house in Lenoir County. In 1845, the first state convention of Disciples of Christ, then known as the Bethel Conference and Union Meeting of Disciples of Christ, was held. This upcoming assembly will be our first in-person Assembly since 2019, certainly a time to celebrate the regathering of our North Carolina Disciples with the same spirit of unity that was present in the founding of the Christian Church in North Carolina. We are a changed people living in a changing world, and our present mandate is to navigate this change effectively. Next year marks 175 years since our Region was officially organized, but God has been at work since before our inception. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and we forge ahead, mindful that future generations will be standing on our shoulders. We celebrate the courage of those who came before us and claim that courage for ourselves and those who will come after us. In these 175 years, our Region has seen many changes. “They say,” whoever “they” is that the only constant in life is change. Change is inevitable and scary, but we must always remain open to the moving of the Holy Spirit within us, among us, beside us, and around us. Amid the Alpha and Omega moments of life and ministry, we can steady ourselves on the foundation that God’s presence was in the world from the very beginning and will be forever. God’s love calls us forward, guiding us into an ever-changing landscape and propelling us to respond to the world’s needs in new and different ways. We remain grounded in the promise that God is present with us always, and it is God’s church we serve. Let us join you in Charlotte on April 29, 2023, and at Barton College on October 14, 2023, to celebrate being together again – honoring our past and present and anticipating the wonderful work God is planning for us in the future. We look forward to seeing you at RA2023!! Rev. Bruce Baker-Rooks Rev. Addie M. Harris Rawls Co-Chairs of the Regional Assembly Planning Committee …

2022 DWM and CMF Combined Retreat

Cover Letter | Meet the Keynoters | Retreat Itinerary | Flyer for Retreat Basket Party Flyer | Quilt Raffle Flyer Disciples Women’s Ministries and Christian Men’s Fellowship Retreat  August 12 – 14, 2022 At Christmount  Dear Disciples Women and Men,  Are your hearts yearning for fellowship? The time to gather is approaching. We are the Church.  The season is here to renew old friendships, and opportunities await to make new friends. Can you imagine how wonderful it will be? The rocking chairs at Christmount await our return. Experience.  Reignite. Refresh. Relax.  Our keynoters for the combined women’s and men’s retreat are making their plans, and it is time for you to make your plans as well. In our June newsletter, you read about our keynoters for the weekend:  Pastor Frank T. Robinson, Jr. (Messiah Community Christian Church) and Pastor Jessica Braxton  (Mill Creek Christian Church). Prepare ye the way. Yes, preparations have been going on for months now.   There are some changes this year. Registration will all be online. Please have a friend or someone at your church or church office assist you, if needed, with online registration. It is an easy process.  Follow this link to register for the retreat for 2022: https://brushfire.com/christmount/deposits-payments/534835  Individual meals are not available this year. It is a package price. Cafeteria meal plans for the entire weekend are $51.00. Friday evening is a deli buffet in the cafeteria. Saturday meals will be in the cafeteria. Saturday morning is the sunrise breakfast. Saturday lunch is a variety of salads. Saturday dinner is a pasta buffet. Sunday morning will be a light breakfast served in the conference room. If you do not partake of the cafeteria meal plans, you will need to make other arrangements. The cutoff date for registering to include the meal package is Friday, July 29th.  Feel the mountain breeze on your face. Bring someone with you to enjoy the retreat. We are excited!  A special thanks to the NC DWM Cabinet for their dedication and work in planning this event. See you at Christmount. Register now!  June 30th ends my tenure as NC DWM President. It has been a pleasure to represent you and to bring good times your way. Join us as we live out our 2022 theme, “Reimagining The Way.”  Blessings Always,  Mary Evans  NC DWM President…

Virtual SERF Gathering

Greetings Sisters! I pray that you and your families are doing well and staying safe. Covid-19 has caused us not to have our SERF fellowship together in almost 6 years now. In an effort to help encourage, uplift, and commune with each other; I am pleased to cordially invite you to a Virtual SERF Gathering. This event will be held on March 11, 2022, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. The registration form is attached, and I pray that you are able to attend. The Executive Director of Disciple’s Women, Rev. Angele Johnson, will be our speaker. Please have bread/crackers and juice/wine for communion. I am excited for what God has in store for us at this virtual gathering. Feel free to call, text, or email me with any questions or concerns. Thank you! Claudette President, MDIV. SC Region Disciple’s Women Staff Person and Host Email: gwepresident27@gmail.com Cell: (843)781-9419 Register by mail | Register online | Download Flyer …