2020 Western North Carolina Conference

United Methodists across the Western North Carolina Conference gathered online for annual conference on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. The session began with a collaborative worship service. 

Voting results of the conference 2020 ballot can be found here.  Various conference ministries have provided video updates on their mission and ministry. For the full reports from conference boards, committees, ministries, and commissions, visit the Program and Reports book. 

A total of $9,913.50 was given for the conference 2020 offering, evenly divided between the Northern Haiti Mission Connection and UMAR at a gift of $4,956.75 each. Thank you for supporting the mission of these important ministries!

The Northern Haiti Mission Connection partnership supports the work and ministry of Dr. Eugene Maklin and New Hope Hospital.  Working with local Haiti leaders, collaborating partners place an emphasis on education, microlending, healthcare and clean water initiatives in Northern Haiti. UMAR, a ministry founded here in Western North Carolina, promotes community inclusion, independence and growth for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential, employment and cultural enrichment opportunities. 

Ordering of ministry postponed

In an effort to “Do No Harm” as well as to ensure that the ordering of ministry service be the high and holy moment that we all desire it to be, the bishop and extended cabinet have made the difficult decision to cancel the service planned on Oct. 11, 2020. The 2020 class will be ordained and commissioned along with the class of 2021 at Lake Junaluska next June. Until then, please know that these members have been received into provisional or full connection membership.

Awards

Each year during conference, we recognize outstanding lay and clergy leaders with the presentations of the Harry Denman Evangelism Award and the Francis Asbury Award. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 awards were presented by Zoom webinar on Monday, Aug. 4.

Through the Harry Denman Evangelism Award, conferences and the Foundation for Evangelism recognize one clergy and one lay person in each annual conference whose exceptional ministry of evangelism brings people into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.
 
Rev. Susan Suarez Webster is the 2020 clergy recipient. Webster serves as the associate pastor of Guilford College United Methodist Church and is an active leader of the conference Hispanic/Latino Caucus, part of the justice and reconciliation team. Previously, she served at Central United Methodist in Charlotte where she was involved in enhancing the church’s Latinx ministries and establishing a bilingual preschool. Webster was featured on the Means of Grace podcast earlier this year when she also received the Mecklenburg Ministries Sydnor Thompson, Jr. award. Listen to her conversation with director of communications Melissa McGill here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Royce Reynolds received the 2020 laity award posthumously. The Rev. David Snipes, president and CEO of the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina, accepted the award on his behalf. A faithful United Methodist, Reynolds has made significant impact on clergy in our conference through Reynolds Ministry grants, leadership training and more through the United Methodist Foundation. Ken Garfield shares more about Reynolds lasting legacy here.

The Francis Asbury Award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to fostering United Methodist ministries in higher education at the local, district, or annual conference level. It is awarded annually to one honoree per annual conference. Named for early-American Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury, this award honors his call to establish a school in the vicinity of every church. “We must,” he said, “...give the key of knowledge to your children, and those of the poor in the vicinity of your small towns and villages."

The 2020 recipient of the Francis Asbury Award is Dennis Carroll. A product of a United Methodist education himself, Carroll has spent much of his career at High Point University, most recently as provost from 2005 until his recent retirement in June. He is a faithful member of Jamestown United Methodist Church in the Northern Piedmont District and continues to be involved in many United Methodist boards and committees, including the conference board of ordained ministry and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. Read more about Carroll’s dedication to United Methodist higher education in this profile by Melissa McGill.

Number of people ordained, commissioned or received into associate membership, and average age:

14 ordained-average age 39

14 commissioned-average age 37

0 associate members

Number of clergy retired:

51 retirees

Membership stands at 267,233, down 1% (4,388) from the previous year. 

Worship attendance stands at 94,712, down 3% (3,042). 

Church school attendance stands at 38,214, down 2% (1,179). 

Professions or reaffirmations of faith for 2019 2,899, down from 2018 at 3,262.

Adults and young adults in small groups for 2019 64,201, down from 2018 at 65,845.

Worshippers engaged in mission for 2019 72,796, down from 2018 1% (74,172).

—Melissa McGill, director of communications Western North Carolina Conference