Reflections Articles

This letter from Bishop Ken Carter, resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference, gives some of the background of the General Conference and is also intended to be an alternative to statements about our church that may be inflammatory or inaccurate.

We invite you to tune in for a special episode of the Means of Grace podcast as we wrap up our Lenten spiritual disciplines.

Watch the recording of Bishop Carter's introduction to this year's Lenten spiritual practices and an introduction for your study of the Gospel of Mark. Join United Methodists across western NC this Lenten season by participating in these five spiritual practices.

Listen to this Ash Wednesday message from Bishop Carter.

Bishop Ken Carter offers a word of challenge and hope to the people of the Western NC Conference in the new year.

In this week’s Means Of Grace episode, WNCC Director of Communications, Aimee Yeager, sits down with Bishop Carter as he shares and Advent and Christmas message for the Western North Carolina Conference.

Bishop Carter, along with the WNCC Host Team, share the latest update on General Conference 2024.

In this episode of the Means of Grace podcast, Director of Church Development, Rev. Rob Hutchinson, sits down with Bishop Ken Carter to discuss what it means to be a vital, healthy United Methodist Church in our current context.

Bishop Carter's reflection with the 2023 Clergy Session of the Western NC Conference of The UMC.

Bishop Carter announces a virtual Special Session of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference to be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

To the people of the United Methodist Church in Western North Carolina, We are in the season now of Easter.  We have transitioned from a 40 day season of fasting (Lent) to a 50 day season of feasting (Easter).  We celebrated the resurrection on Sunday, and now we remember that Jesus was with us on earth for 40 days prior to his ascension (Acts 1).  There was then a period of ten days before the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).  In these days Jesus appeared to them as the Risen Lord and spoke about the...

As we prepare our hearts to journey with Jesus to the cross, the grave, and into resurrection, Bishop Carter offers these words of prayer and reflection.

In this short bonus episode, Bishop Carter dives a bit deeper into the life and teaching of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, particularly related to Bonhoeffer's book Life Together, which we have been studying together as a Conference throughout the season of Lent.

Bishop Carter announces a virtual Special Session of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference to be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

In this week's episode, Rob Hutchinson, WNCC Director of Church Development, speaks with Guilford College UMC's Student Associate Minister, Andres Perez Gonzalez. Together, they discuss the ways church is changing in 2023 and how we can grow our "holy intuition" so that we may become better attuned to the ways God is already at work in our communities and join in the mission!

In this week's episode, Director of Communications, Aimee Yeager, sits down with Bishop Carter to talk about his vision and hopes for the future for the Western North Carolina Conference and The United Methodist Church. Not ignoring the very real challenges we face, Bishop Carter's hope is that we will live into our calling to fight systems of oppression, work for antiracism, and rediscover an orthodox Christian faith that offers the radically inclusive grace of God to all people.

Read this Christmas message from Bishop Carter as we prepare for Jesus' holy birth this weekend.

Celebrate the Advent season with us by watching these video messages from Bishop Carter. We will update this post each week leading up to Christmas as a new video comes out.

Bishop Carter responds to the filed lawsuit against The Western NC Conference of The United Methodist Church.

A message from Bishop Carter: "There is misinformation about what the ongoing and future United Methodist Church believes. Some of this misinformation is being shared in local churches.

Bishop Ken Carter, Resident Bishop of the Western NC and FL Conferences, gives a follow-up report and shares some thoughts on Annual Conference 2022.

Bishop Carter shares seven reasons he loves The United Methodist Church.

Bishop Carter shares an Easter message with the WNC Conference.

The United Methodist Church is in an extended season of waiting, a season brought about by a global pandemic that we did not anticipate and extended by variant after variant. The delay is wearing upon us and Bishop Carter offers this message to speak into the present moment.

Bishop Carter shares a Lenten message and Ash Wednesday blessing for the Western North Carolina Conference.

Bishop Carter calls United Methodists in Florida and Western North Carolina to prayers for peace in the Ukraine and across Europe.

Over the past two years, the world has changed dramatically and our ways of doing church have been disrupted.  In this episode, Bishop Carter explores four interrelated pathways to the Post-Covid Church. This is a journey we are called to walk together.

As we begin 2022, Bishop Ken Carter offers a spiritual practice for the new year. This Examen in the Wesleyan Tradition walks listeners through a prayerful review of their day, rooted in our tradition as followers of Jesus in the Wesleyan Tradition. We hope this prayer meditation helps you center yourself in grace, repentance, confession, faith and love in this new year.

Bishop Ken Carter shares a Christmas Message with the Western North Carolina Conference.

As pastors and congregations prepare to receive guests on Christmas Eve, Bishop Carter offers simple, heartfelt advice. Keep the sermon brief but grace filled. Appeal to people’s generosity. And make sure those inspired to begin their faith journeys are invited to take the next step.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Bishop Ken Carter reminds us that we are Eucharistic people - people of connection and thanksgiving - who are called to give and receive with humility and gratitude in all circumstances.

Bishop Carter shares about his week in Western North Carolina, his thoughts on baseball, morning walks around Lake Junaluska, and the coffee he's drinking the week.

Bishop Carter shares a message of appreciation and encouragement for the clergypersons of the Western NC Conference during this Clergy Appreciation Month.