Elizabeth City District of the UMC

The Elizabeth City District Board of Laity will once again sponsor the annual District Laity Workshops. As you may recall, the workshops were suspended in 2010 in deference to the Resurrection Weekend celebration. The District Laity Workshops will be hosted by Edenton United Methodist Church on Sunday, November 13, 2011, beginning at 3:00 PM. An offering has been scheduled for the worship service with half being designated for disaster relief efforts in the Elizabeth City District.

The agenda for the afternoon will include an abbreviated worship service followed by workshop sessions focusing on six topics. Workshop sessions are designed to assist churches by equipping laity to work hand-in-hand with their pastors to achieve our denominational goal of “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

We are fortunate to have secured strong presenters for each workshop topic. In response to feedback from participants over the years, the District Board of Laity (DBOL) has changed the format for the workshops in an effort to allow most participants to attend sessions on two different topics (in past years, the format allowed participants to choose only one session to attend). Five of the six workshop topics are scheduled for fifty minutes in length and will be repeated. Churches can, in effect, cover twice as many topics when compared to past years. Workshop topics that will be presented for two sessions include the following:

(1) “Christian Formation: Sunday School & Beyond”—Steve Taylor, Outreach Ministry Team Coordinator,
NCCUMC Staff
(2) “Programming for Older Adult Ministries”—Juanita Staples, Trinity UMC, District Older Adult Ministries
Coordinator
(3) “Reaching Out Through Children & Youth Ministries”—Rev. Susie Fitch-Slater, Mt. Hermon UMC & Rev.
Toni Wood, Newland UMC, District Youth Coordinators
(4) “The Role of the Staff/Parish Committee in Strengthening Your Church’s Ministry & Outreach”—Rev.
Richard Stone, District Superintendent
(5) “Vision Casting for 21st Century Ministry & Outreach”—Rev. Larry Bowden, Hertford UMC
The following workshop is scheduled as a “double” session and will NOT be repeated:
(6) “Nuts & Bolts for Church Treasurers, Financial Secretaries & Finance Committees”—Conference
Treasurer, Christine Dodson, NCCUMC Staff

The DBOL is asking pastors to encourage attendance at the District Workshops. Please share this information with your lay leaders and also help us publicize through your church-wide communications. Although both experienced and new officers and committee chairs can benefit from attendance, workshops are open to all laity as well as clergy.

Thank you in advance for your support of the District Laity Workshops. I pray for each of your congregations as you lead them in active Christian service. Feel free to contact me at (252) 482-4733 or email me at jguard@mchsi.com if you have questions or need more information on the workshops.

In Christ’s Service,
John E. Guard, District Lay Leader