“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

On June 11, 2023 we honored the Class of 2023 graduating members of our congregation, Owen Baxter, Caleb Harris, Joshua Harris, Carter Smith and Sadie Smith.

We also recognized the 2023 Whitehurst Scholarship recipients, Nathan Byrum, Sadie Smith, & Ginny Stroud, selected for their excellency in academic performance, Christian character and community service.

Members of our congregation who have family and friends graduating the class of 2023: Joslyn McAuley Russell, granddaughter of Suzanne Goodwin.

It is no secret that the United Methodist Church has been navigating some rough seas for the past few years. We have had many conversations about what it means to be a united church and how best we might follow God through our interpretation of scripture, our understanding of tradition, our use of reason and our lived experience. In the midst of that turmoil some churches have decided to leave (disaffiliate) from the United Methodist Church and chart a different path.

The reality is, however, that a congregation is never one monolithic thing, and therefore the members of a congregation are not always of one mind. In each congregation that has left the United Methodist Church there has been some remnant of people who voted against leaving the denomination and have found themselves, to continue the metaphor, set adrift without a church they feel they can call home.

Graciously, our conference has been hard at work trying to care for these individuals and direct them to new church homes within the United Methodist church where they can worship, connect, serve, and grow. In that effort, some churches including our own Ayden United Methodist Church, have chosen to designate ourselves as Lighthouse Churches as a sign that we are committed to receiving these individuals and to offering the following things:

Worship: Providing worship opportunities whether online or in person. These services should be intentional about engaging and welcoming new people into the fold.

Discipleship: Creating space to learn and grow, through small group gatherings, Bible studies and prayer opportunities.

Mission: Inviting fellow United Methodists into opportunities to serve through hands on ministries. This can include things like backpack ministries, community gardens, literacy and C4C programs, or anything that involves making a difference and sharing the love of God with others.

Sacrament: Communion will be offered at least one Sunday a month, but also may include invitations to communion outside of traditional worship such as mid-week gatherings and in small groups.

Pastoral Care: Offering care such as hospital visits, gatherings at coffee shops, and finding ways to be available to those who are in need of pastoral care.  This is not just the responsibility of the pastor, but includes ways in which the congregation may engage in visitation ministries, meal trains, and communications ministries.

While we know that God’s grace and love extend beyond all human ideas of denominationalism, we gratefully embrace the opportunity to serve our sisters and brothers in Christ who wish to continue to connect with God and others as a part of the United Methodist Church.

You can read more about what it means to be a lighthouse congregation here.

Grace and peace

Jim McConnell, Pastor

“Were You There That Christmas Night”

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GARNER, NC – United Methodists across eastern North Carolina welcome newly-elected Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton as their episcopal leader.

Bishop Shelton, a native of Picayune, Mississippi, was elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church on November 2 at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference held at Lake Junaluska, NC, and was assigned to the North Carolina Conference, effective January 1, 2023. She will serve until the next SEJ Conference convenes in 2024, when she may be reassigned to the NC Conference or receive another assignment.

She replaces Bishop Leonard E. Fairley, who has led the NC Conference as an interim since September 2021.

When elected as a bishop, Shelton served as the District Superintendent and Chief Mission Strategist for the East Jackson District in the Mississippi Annual Conference. She was the second of three bishops elected by the delegates attending the Conference. In addition to North Carolina, the Southeastern Jurisdiction includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Bishop Shelton received the Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in 1997. Following a 7-year tenure as Executive Director of the United Methodist Hour broadcast, she returned to Duke Divinity School, along with her husband Joey, to serve as Field Education Director, a position she held for three years.

Upon her return to Mississippi, Bishop Shelton was appointed as pastor of Galloway UMC before serving in leadership roles for the Mississippi Annual Conference. In 2013, she was appointed as Director of Connectional Ministries and Communications. During her time in that role, she helped lead the Conference in discerning and developing a new structure and casting a new vision and purpose.

She was appointed to lead the East Jackson District in 2015. She also helps to co-lead the Hattiesburg District along with three other superintendents as part of a new initiative begun by the Mississippi Conference in July of this year.

Rev. Gray Southern, Assistant to the Bishop and a member of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, says, “We are excited for Bishop Shelton to join us in North Carolina. She has God-given energy and vision as well as deep ties to our annual conference.”

There are 209,680 members of 779 United Methodist Churches in the North Carolina Conference, which encompasses 56 counties from Burlington to the coast.

Featured image, from left: Rev. Gray Southern (SEJ Committee on Episcopacy), Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton, Rev. Joey Shelton, and Emily Innes (SEJ Committee on Episcopacy).

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Media Contact:
Derek Leek
Director of Communications
dcleek@nccumc.org
919-275-2436