The North Carolina Conference needs United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) teams in January, February and March to assist with Hurricane Floyd flood recovery there.

A very small percentage of the families displaced by the 1999 storm are back in their homes, and leaders of the recovery effort expect recovery to take years.

To schedule a team, contact Butch Huffman, North Carolina Conference, at 800-849-4433, extension 315. For more information, contact the Rev. Nick Elliot, Southeastern Jurisdiction UMVIM director, at sejumvim@compuserve.com  or 404-659-5060, or visit the Web site at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/volunteers. 

United Methodists throughout the Florida Conference can help students finance their college education through the Student Day offering Nov. 26.

The special offering helps fund scholarships and student loans through the United Methodist Scholarship Awards and Student Loan Fund. A portion of the money collected also returns to the Florida Conference and enables the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry’s Merit Scholarship Committee to award scholarships to youth who are active in their churches, districts and the conference.

Board Director Jana Hart asks churches to include college students who have benefited from a United Methodist loan or scholarship or are involved in a campus ministry in their Student Day worship service.

"Our youth and young adults are the church of today, as well as the church of the future," Hart said, "but you are our present hope as you share in the Student Day offering."

The annual Wesley Study Retreat offers Florida Conference clergy and their spouses the opportunity to experience the Wesleyan influences in England. This year’s July 9-17 retreat is led by the Rev. Dick Wills, pastor of Christ Church United Methodist in Ft. Lauderdale, and his wife, Eileen.

"The purpose of this retreat would be to educate, inspire and challenge the clergy in the Florida Annual Conference to rediscover their understanding of the Wesleys, so as to better equip themselves for evangelistic outreach through proclamation and social actions," according to the establishing resolution.

Five scholarships are funded each year by a gift from Mr. And Mrs. B.W. Simpkins of Cocoa, Fla., and cover transportation, lodging and most meals. Clergy serving full time in a pastoral appointment in the Florida Conference with at least five years of service and at least five years away from retirement may apply.

Applications are available from the conference registrar’s office and should be mailed to the Rev. Jim Harnish, selection committee chairman. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31. Clergy who have applied in the past but have not been selected are eligible to reapply.