Western North Carolina Annual Conference

Disaster Relief
Members of Floris United Methodist Church help Barbara Douglas remove debris from her home in Spruce Pine, N.C., following Hurricane Helene. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Volunteers still rebuilding 1 year after Helene

Natural disasters fade quickly from the headlines, but recovery often takes years.
Human Rights
Timothy "GA" Underwood hugs the Rev. Dustin Mailman in the recently opened coffee shop of the Deep Time ministry in Asheville, N.C. Underwood serves as minister of social enterprise for Deep Time and Mailman is its founding pastor. The program, which seeks to create a spiritual community with people impacted by incarceration, is housed at Trinity United Methodist Church in Asheville.

Coffee fuels a future for former inmates

A new coffee shop located within a United Methodist church doubles as a place where struggling community members can find a job and support as they try to rejoin society.
Social Concerns
United Methodists in North Carolina and beyond say it’s important for Christians with opposing political views to seek common ground. That’s the idea behind the Western North Carolina Conference’s Purple Church Initiative, which aims to foster dialogue between conservative and progressive church members. Church image by Steven Kyle Adair; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Looking for middle ground in a divisive era

As President Trump returns to office, some United Methodists are preparing to respond to new policies on immigration, while others are hoping common ground is still possible among politically diverse members.
Disaster Relief
Elias Torres (left) and Vinicius Maciel clean up flood damage from Hurricane Helene at Cedar Key (Fla.) United Methodist Church. Church members are beginning the long, slow recovery following Helene’s devastating storm surge and flooding in the southeastern U.S. Conferences are busy supporting survivors. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

United Methodists offer relief after Helene

Church members are beginning the long, slow recovery following Helene’s devastating storm surge and flooding in the southeastern U.S. Conferences are busy supporting survivors.

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