News

11/14/2014

Nashville, TN – The Board of Directors of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of The United Methodist Church approved a planned move by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) from its New York headquarters to a primary location in Atlanta. The board of directors for Global Ministries approved this move to further its reach throughout a worldwide United Methodist connection on October 27. As outlined in the Book of Discipline, the board of GCFA and the membership of ...

11/10/2014

Thank you to all the churches that have collected the 2014 Amazing Grace Offering for the UM Children's Home. Please read and share the following update from the Children's Home. God’s Amazing Grace has definitely been shining on The United Methodist Children’s Home in 2014, and we want to recognize just a few churches who have really stepped up the pace in donations! We are appreciative to each and every church who has taken or plans to take the Amazing Grace Offering (it’s not too late!) for ...

11/9/2014

Read Post #1: The Gnawing Stress of Hunger in Georgia  Read Post #2: Hunger Relief and The Human Touch Build Community  Read Post #3: Gas South, A Proud Partner of Action Ministries  Read Post #4: Volunteers Give of Themselves So No One Need Go Hungry  Read Post #5: Blessings and Promises of Hope Disguised as a Simple Sack Lunch  Read Post # 6: What About the Moms Who Can't? Read Post #7: Why I’ll Never Look at a Bar of Soap the Same Way Again Nov. 10-16 is Guest Blogger Week at ngumc.org. The ...

11/5/2014

Several United Methodist ministries in the North Georgia Conference are participating in Georgia Gives Day on Nov. 13. Georgia Gives Day, a state-wide day of giving, raised more than $2.5 million for Georgia nonprofits in its first two years. Tens of thousands of Georgians are expected to donate this year through www.GAgivesday.org.    Participating ministries include: Action Ministries Camp Glisson Epworth By The Sea Foundation of Wesley Woods Interfaith Airport Chaplaincy LaGrange College New...

10/25/2014

In a called session of the Annual Conference, clergy and lay members representing the 930 United Methodist churches of the North Georgia Conference voted to empower the Board of Trustees to continue to act on behalf of the Conference to complete the sale of the Simpsonwood property. Approximately 1,400 people were in attendance.   Members also voted to approve a motion involving moving the offices of the Conference and a motion to preserve the Simpson Chapel and stone chimney that are on ...

10/16/2014

Luther E. Smith Jr., professor of church and community emeritus at Candler, will deliver the centennial convocation address Oct. 24 at Emory's Candler School of Theology. Emory University's Candler School of Theology invites the public to take part in the official commemoration of the school's 100th anniversary with a centennial convocation on Friday, Oct. 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus. Luther E. Smith Jr., professor emeritus of church...

10/16/2014

Glisson Camp and Retreat Center shared the following email announcement today. Congratulations, Glisson! You did it! Congratulations, Glisson Family: We Did It! If you have made a pledge, given a gift, told a friend, told a stranger, recruited your church, or recruited your friend's church ...boy, have we got good news for you: WE DID IT! If there's a member of the extended Glisson family within shoutin' distance, give them a holler! Better yet, a high five! Sing a round of "My Friend" ...

10/16/2014

Composite by Kathleen Barry, UMNS. Maps courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, labeling of United Methodist hospitals and clinic by United Methodist Committee on Relief. Two mission agencies of the United Methodist Church are working with the international global health community to coordinate an integrated approach in response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. To date, UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and the Global Health arm of the General Board of Global ...

10/7/2014

The Annual Conference-wide Special Offering supporting Aldersgate Homes is scheduled to be taken this year on Sunday, October 26, 2014.             Aldersgate Homes is the North Georgia Conference-related agency advocating for the needs of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Aldersgate assists these persons and their families to locate safe, affordable living arrangements so that they may live as independently as their capabilities allow. We encourage and enable their ...

10/7/2014

By Linda Bloom (UMNS) Within two years, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries will permanently vacate its longtime headquarters at the Interchurch Center in New York and move south to Atlanta. That decision was approved in a closed session Oct. 3 by the mission agency’s board of directors, but was not made public until its 160 employees in New York were officially informed Oct. 6. In a new configuration for the agency, staff will be assigned to three new regional offices in Asia, ...

10/6/2014

The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries announced that on Dec. 2, 2014, it will match up to $1 million in gifts made online to any project through The Advance as part of UMC #GivingTuesday. Marie Kuch-Stanovsky, who chairs the communication and development committee of Global Ministries’ board of directors, expressed enthusiasm about last year’s record $6.5 million raised online through The Advance on UMC #GivingTuesday. “It was a wonderful sign of commitment and extravagant ...

10/6/2014

The General Board of Global Ministries made the following announcement on Oct. 6.  GBGM to Reshape its Mission and Ministries New York, NY, October 3, 2014—The United Methodist Church’s global mission agency will create a network of offices around the world linked and accountable to headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, beginning in late 2016. Part of the plan requires the approval of denominational financial and program coordinating entities. Directors of the General Board of Global Ministries in a...

10/3/2014

The Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center Board of Directors has announced that November 30, 2014, will be the last day of operation for the Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center, ending more than 40 years as a retreat ministry of the North Georgia Annual Conference. The closure was approved at the June 2014 Annual Conference session. As of December 1, only Gibson Lodge (the United Methodist Center) and the chapel will remain open; all other buildings will be closed and secured. A ...

9/8/2014

The North Georgia Conference and the United Methodist Children's Home had a great time on September 8. The Conference website featured UMCH news and video on the homepage, pasted the UMCH logo over the Conference logo, and handed over the reigns of our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for a day to give everyone in the North Georgia Conference a chance to learn about the amazing work of our United Methodist Children's Home.  Your church is invited to print, post, share or use any of the ...

9/8/2014

Lora Petersheim always will remember the baby that broke her heart and helped her overcome fear of becoming a foster parent. A nurse, she was taking care of two babies in a neonatal intensive care unit. One had an adopted home, and throughout the day family members visited, brought gifts, laughed and spoke happily about bringing the baby home. The other baby was in the custody of the state. “There were no gifts, no phone calls, no signs of love for that baby,” said Lora. “When the infant was ...

8/29/2014

Program Exceeds Goal of Serving 200,000 Healthy Meals to Children During Summer Months Leaders of Action Ministries have announced that, thanks to widespread community support, the nonprofit’s Smart Lunch, Smart Kid program that had hoped to serve 200,000 healthy lunches to Georgia’s children was instead able to exceed its goal and serve 219,515 lunches this summer.   More than 2,000 volunteers donated 23,000 volunteer hours with a market value of $477,710 to the community to make and serve the ...

8/28/2014

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary recently released “Why Community Engagement Matters,” a free five-minute video hosted by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.   “The most vital congregations always do two things: connect people with God and connect with their communities,” said Weems, director of the Lewis Center, Learn about the later as he provides an overview of the importance of community engagement to your church. The video and links to related resources, most of them ...

8/21/2014

New American Pathways, a merger of RRISA (Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta) and RFS (Refugee Family Services), will help refugees from the moment of their arrival in Georgia through their journey to citizenship.  The North Georgia Conference, along with many individual UMCs, has long had a relationship with RRISA. New American Pathways will continue to be a partner with the Conference Resettlement Committee and work with United Methodist churches. New American Pathways ...

8/12/2014

A number of United Methodist Connectional Federal Credit Union members have been patiently asking for it, and now UMC FCU is excited to announce that the wait is over! The credit union has partnered with Sprig by CO-OP, a smartphone, tablet and web app that will allow members to make check deposits using the camera on their mobile device. In addition, they can check account balances, transfer between accounts (including accounts from other Sprig participating credit unions), pay loans from one...

7/11/2014

By GBHEM                  Emory University's Candler School of Theology has received a $460,000 grant from Lilly Endowment to lead a study of the purposes of theological education in a time of significant change. "Theological Education Between the Times: Consultations on the Meanings and Purposes of Theological Education" will convene diverse groups of theological educators to reflect on the nature of theological education. Ted A. Smith, associate professor of preaching and ethics at Candler, ...