Welcome to 

Central United Methodist
CHURCH

To make Disciples of Christ who WORSHIP God,
GROW in their faith, and SERVE in the
church and world.

Please know that everyone is welcome to Belong and Grow at Central UMC!

Please COME AS YOU ARE!
Sunday School for all ages meets at 9:00am.
Our 10:00am worship service is open to all and will offer you a worship experience unlike any other with a time for children,
a strong focus on prayer, a blend of musical offerings featuring many of our talented church members,
and a message that will revive your spirit for the week ahead!
When we celebrate Holy Communion, we practice an “Open Table,”
meaning that ALL are invited to partake of the bread and juice, regardless of denomination or age.
We offer Family Night Programming on Wednesdays at 5:15-6:00pm. This includes children's choirs and an Adult Bible Study.

Sunday  Services

Sunday School

9:00am

Sunday Worship

10:00am

Hurricane  Helene  Updates

Below is where you will find updates to what we are doing in our community (both local and in the mountains) in response to aftermath of Helene.
Cleaning Buckets
The generosity of donations has far exceeded expectations for the NC Helene victims so we are currently on hold. What a glorious situation to have!
Rev. Mark Rawls, DS of the Blue Ridge District will be contacting us in a couple of weeks about future needs. In the meantime we are going to pivot to collecting items for Cleaning (Flood) Buckets. We will be sharing this collection with Aldersgate UMC and in a few weeks, we will join together to assemble the buckets and send them on their way.
We are aiming to do 50 buckets.
Items Central is collecting per bucket:
32-64 oz Liquid Laundry Detergent
16-34 oz Liquid Dish Soap
4-8 oz Pump Spray Air Freshener
Scrub Brush (with or without handle)
Five Scouring Pads, (NO stainless steel or pads with soap)
Five N95 particulate respirator dust masks (1-3 mm)
Two Pairs Reusable Kitchen Gloves
5 Gallon Round Bucket with Lid.
Here is the link to our Amazon list (all orders from this list will be delivered to Central UMC): https://a.co/gkqK5oc 
(you may find items at your local hardware or Dollar Tree store but please don’t vary from the above sizes)

Volunteers Needed!
The Appalachian District is looking for drivers with pickup trucks and trailers.
The drivers will be asked to drive from Oak Hill UMC up the mountain to specific locations in Avery County. Names will be put on a list and calls will be made when they are needed.
If a person is called and can’t go, that is fine. The list is so we know who we can call.
Please contact the office (704-487-6336 or central@cumcshelby.org) if you are willing to be put on the list.

Neighbors in Need
We have become a District Drop-Off Location for items going to the Blue Ridge District (Asheville and surrounding areas). We do not have another pickup scheduled as they are saturated with donations but we are still collecting items. You can bring any of the following items to the office during office hours:
Pop-top canned goods—tuna, chicken, beans and fruits and vegetables (pouches are acceptable too)
Bottled Water—all sizes
Baby Supplies—diapers, wipes, baby food, formula (we recommend you purchase formula through Amazon and have it delivered as formula is still needed here in Shelby)
Applesauce
Crackers
Toilet Paper and Paper Towels, Clorox wipes, Paper plates and cups
Hygiene products
Dog and Cat Food
We will begin collecting items for Cleaning Buckets in the next few weeks. That list of needed items will be made available next week.
Donation Collection
Your generosity is amazing! Our collection more than tripled between Monday morning and Tuesday when they arrived at 12:30! We had donations from Gardner Webb; Vale, NC;
church members; and FB friends.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!


Upcoming Special Services & Events

Ladies Bible Study

Ladies of all ages and stages are invited to join co-facilitators Loraine Barker-Witkowski and Jessica Talbert in a Study of Galatians: Now That Faith Has Come. The study meets on Thursday mornings at 9:30-11am in the Saints & Sinners Room #E203. Beth and Melissa Moore are authors of a six-week deep dive into Paul’s captivating letter to the Galatians. Come to know the letter’s original recipients. Study its original context and embrace its timeless relevance. Discover―or perhaps rediscover―what makes the gospel of Jesus Christ revolutionary to those who choose to believe. Find out how everything has changed, now that faith has come.

Wednesday Nights Are Back!

Mark your calendar for the Fall Wednesday Night Programming!
We have some exciting things coming up and can’t wait for you to join us!
5:15-6pm Children’s Choirs and
Adult Discipleship—Biblical Context for Sexuality and Gender will resume October 9th
6-7 pm Chancel Choir
7:15pm Praise Ensemble

Fall Adult Discipleship Study:
Biblical Context for Sexuality and Gender

This class is a fun filled dive into the world that shaped the biblical authors. The primary question concerns  human sexuality and
gender identity. How did biblical authors think about these questions? What does the Bible really say about sexuality and
gender identity and how do we translate those things into our own context? What relationships formed the biblical author's theology and
how can their relational theology help us form our theology today?
This class will run from September 18 – October 30th with 3 of our sessions being led by Dr. Anna Sieges Beal, Assistant Professor at Gardner-Webb University in the Undergraduate Religious Studies Department. There will be two sessions before Dr. Sieges Beal comes and two sessions after her teaching. Each session will be
critical to the overall learning objectives so mark your calendar to attend each session.
9/25 – What do we already know and what do we still wonder about? - Dr. Tammy Bass
10/9 – Male, Female and Others in the Image of God - Dr. Sieges
10/16 - The Bible Tells Me So, or Does It? - Dr. Sieges
10/23 - Working Out Theology in Relationship - Dr. Sieges
10/30 – Debrief: What did we learn and what do we still wonder about? - Dr. Tammy Bass
11/6 – Debrief: How can we honor our own convictions as well as the convictions of others?

Ladies  Brunch  at  Chateau  du  Coeur

Upcoming Sermon Series

Love  Your  Neighbor

Change in Plans! Pastor David will start a sermon series, "Love Your Neighbor" on
October 6th.
This 5 week series will focus on aspects of loving our neighbor:
testifying to love
finding common ground
love is the way
is it real or fake
and finally, Jesus, Politics, and Religion.
In this season of divisiveness, sometimes we need a reminder of what it means to live out the greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself."

Compassion Camp
Summer 2024

Compassion Camp has come to a close but we had such a great time learning about "what every living thing needs"!
Click here to see some of what we learned and did each week.
Thank you, Caroline Scism and ALL of the many volunteers we had over the past 6 weeks--we couldn't have done it without you! 

General Conference Information Session

If you missed the June 2nd information session on General Conference, the information handouts are available in the office.
Call (704.487.6336) or email (central@cumcshelby.org) to get yours.

Latest Sermon

We welcome you to join us online for worship no matter what day or time. Pastor David's sermons can be found by clicking the link below. And we invite you during the week to turn his words into action by seeking ways to serve the needs of your community.
We have become a Lighthouse Congregation of The Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church in partnership with The United Methodist Collective Movement of our District and Conference. In doing so, we not only commit to remaining a part of The United Methodist Church but also to serving those who have lost their church homes through disaffiliation or closure.