Update from Bishop Carter and the Appointive Cabinet

Dear WNCC Laity and Clergy,

We, as the appointive cabinet met earlier this week to consider the churches that will need new clergy leadership this year.  Each day as we gathered, we prayed these words often:

Jesus,
I want to be where you are.
I want to see what you are doing.
I want to join you in the mission.  
I want to trust the outcomes to you.
Amen.

We have heard many stories of innovation, resilience, courage, faithfulness, and fruitfulness.  We celebrate churches that have moved towards vitality by collaborating with each other through missional networks and cooperative or shared ministries. We give thanks for the congregations who are instruments of radical welcome for those who experienced disaffiliation and harm in their previous congregations.

We are aware that a significant number of churches find themselves in a place of challenge and in need of healing. Many of our clergy have also experienced stress, exhaustion and even harm. So, in response to the mutual burden we bear for one another, we invite churches and clergy to pray for each other.
We pledge to send the very best pastors available to local churches.  At this point in our history, we celebrate that many of these are women and clergy of color. These are often persons of profound giftedness, and we kept their names before us as we met.

We also celebrate the ministries of small and rural churches.  These congregations are blessed with dedicated lay leadership, and we urge our clergy to open their hearts and minds to the blessing of serving in these settings.  A part of the rich history of our conference has been the strength of the town and country churches and the clergy who serve them.

We encourage our churches to notice younger persons who may be sensing a call to leadership. We began our appointive conversations with recent seminary graduates. As a reminder, the majority of the clergy appointed across the annual conference come from churches, camps, and campus ministries.

As we continue to look to the future, we commit to the strategic and missional work of leveraging our best resources to support the ministries of both the clergy and the churches of WNCC. We celebrate that the local church is the primary place where disciples are called and mature. Therefore, we will resource and support this growth.

We will meet again in March to continue our work, which will be followed by calls to pastors and S/PPRC chairs about their projected appointment.  These changes will be announced in local churches on Sunday, April 21.
 
We are humbled by the gifts and giftedness of the clergy and laity of the WNCC and look forward to our continued journey into a future filled with hope. As a Cabinet, we are grateful for dynamic consultations and conversations with you all; you are expressing a desire to innovate with love to reach the coming generations. Our steadfast connection enables us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in communities large and small across Western North Carolina. 
 

Grace and peace,
 
+ Bishop Ken Carter
Bev Coppley
Kim Ingram
Sam Moore
Dan Pezet
David Christy
Beth Crissman
Jae Lee
Mark Ralls
Amy Coles
Lory Beth Huffman
Bill White, Jr.