Joan McAllister has joined Gary Smith as members of the Board of Directors of the Southern Conference (SOC) of the United Church of Christ, Our latest meeting was November 9, 2024.
At the meetings we routinely hear and discuss the Conference budget, updates from the conference minister Dr Davis, hear of conference activities, and plan Board actions. Part of our discussions in the November 9 meeting centered on the impact of Hurricane Helene, particularly on the western association (WNCA), which includes 59 churches. Most of the churches in that region did not suffer much damage from the storm, but some were badly damaged. In addition John’s River Valley Camp was very badly damaged but plans to rebuild. In a sobering note, one of the board members let us know that her son-in-law was lost in the Swannanoa River flooding, and two of her grandchildren narrowly escaped.
During this recent meeting we received a report on church contributions to Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM). At the current time, about 93% of this offering stays within the conference for conference operational expenses such as salaries and administration, assisting new church starts as well as existing local churches and ministers, Elon and Catawba college scholarships, continuing education for pastors, engaging in global missions, and support for our outdoor ministries and other programs. While Community UCC contributes generously to OCWM, the rate of giving has declined conference wide. Board discussions have generated ideas about strengthening the relationship between the conference and member churches. In this regard, we are organizing to send small teams of board members to visit each church in the Southern Conference. Joan and Gary will be part of the teams to visit the Eastern North Carolina Association (ENCA, our association of the Conference). We are still planning the details of the visits, but part of the goal is to meet church members, tell them about the role and resources of the SOC, learn more about their church and explore how the church and the SOC can be of help to one another. We hope to accomplish most of these visits in 2025.
If you have conference questions or if you would like to become a channel of communication between Community UCC and the SOC, speak with Joan, Gary or our pastors.