United Methodist Women - Western North Carolina Conference

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE:

Thursday, May 17, 2018

9am – Ubuntu Day of Service (additional fee)
Late Afternoon – Public Action, please attend! (No additional fee)

Friday and Saturday, May 18-19, 2018

9am – Community Gathering
Workshops & Experience Hall
7pm – Community Gathering

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Ends at noon – Community Gathering

Why Should I Attend?

Assembly 2018 will be a forum for United Methodist Women members, new friends and partners to gather, worship and learn about the needs of women, children and youth in the 21st century. We will be claiming our 150-year history as women who know how to organize and serve and are willing to be challenged to grow in our faith as we build deeper connections with one another, church leaders and partners in the work of justice for all God’s children.

Assembly will offer an incredible personal faith journey through community building, training for action, and visioning a movement for the future. Bold and courageous ventures await us!

Persons traveling with us on our conference buses do not need to make hotel reservations; we will be taking care of that for you. Our bus trip passengers will be staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown, across the street from the convention center.

For persons traveling to the Assembly on their own, we have arranged a protected block of rooms for Western North Carolina Conference United Methodist Women at the Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown across the street from the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The room rate is $181.00 (including tax) per night, plus a $5.00 handling fee. Persons not travelling on the bus trip should contact Lynne Gilbert (336-207-3479) or Sara Williams (336-699-8079) to reserve rooms in our Western North Carolina block. DO NOT contact the Hampton Inn & Suites. Reservations for these block rooms must be made thru Lynne & Sara by November 10, 2017, and must be accompanied by a deposit of $186.00 per room. The balance for remaining room charges will be due by February 15, 2018. Checks should be made payable to Treasurer, WNCC-UMW. Mail payments to Lynne Gilbert, PO Box 4523, Greensboro, NC 27404-4523.

Western North Carolina Conference United Methodist Women COLUMBUS…BOLD & COURAGEOUS! BUS TRIP

Bus Departure Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Bus Return Date: Monday, May 21, 2018

Click here to download Assembly 2018 Bus Trip Reservation Form & Info Sheet! Come go with us!

BUS TRIP ITINERARY: (Deluxe Chartered Bus Transportation by HOLIDAY TOURS)

• Wed., May 16 – Morning departures from pick-up points across the conference; Lunch on the road; Early evening arrival at the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown in Columbus, Ohio.

• Thurs., May 17 – On your own in Columbus. You might choose to pre-register & participate in the
  Ubuntu Day of Service (See Assembly registration information). Check in at the Assembly Registration desks.

• Fri., May 18 – Opening Community Gathering is expected to be at 9:00am. Workshops and the Experience Hall will fill your day, with another Community Gathering at 7:00pm.

• Sun., May 20 – Meeting ends around 12:00 Noon; Departure immediately following meeting
  conclusion; Lunch on the road; Dinner & overnight in Charleston, West Virginia.

• Mon., May 21 – Return home to pick-up points across the Western NC Conference

Bus Trip Package Prices (Per Person)

• Double Room – $799
• Triple Room – $659
• Quad Room – $589
• Single Room – $1,199

The bus trip package price includes: Deluxe bus transportation provided by Holiday Tours, five nights lodging (Wednesday night May 16th thru Sunday night May 20th), certain meals while traveling (5 deluxe continental breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner). Important note: The trip price includes 4 hotel nights in Columbus during the Assembly at the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown and 1 hotel night on our return trip. Passengers do not need to make any separate hotel reservations. ALL nights are included in the bus package price.

The bus trip package price DOES NOT include the Assembly Registration Fee. Register for the Assembly ONLINE at www.umwassembly.org. The Assembly 2018 registration fee is $295.00 per person if you register ONLINE on or before November 30, 2017. After that date, the registration fee goes up to $330.00. Register early to take advantage of the discount! If you need assistance with online registration, contact Lynne Gilbert or Sara Williams for assistance. Note: Two healthy lunches are included in the Assembly registration fee.

A reservation for the bus trip requires a completed reservation form, along with a $400 deposit, by November 10, 2017. A separate form and $400 deposit is required for each person making a reservation. Make your reservations early! Bus reservations will be accepted in the order they are received until seating capacity is reached. Payment of the balance will be due by February 15, 2018. There will be no refunds for cancellations after March 15, 2018.

Bus Trip Coordinators:

• Lynne Gilbert, lynnegilbert2@gmail.com, (c) 336-207-3479
• Sara Williams, sarawill@yadtel.net, (h) 336-699-8079 or (c) 336-469-1344

Scholarships

There will be at least two scholarship opportunities for Assembly 2018: 

• The Western North Carolina Conference United Methodist Women will award three $600 scholarships for Assembly 2018. Persons applying for scholarship assistance must be a member of a local or district unit of United Methodist Women within the Western North Carolina Conference, and must not have previously attended an Assembly. Please download and complete this application form and provide all requested information, and send the completed form to: Nancy Reigel, Conference Treasurer, 375 Troy Norris Rd., Boone, NC 28607. Scholarship applications must be received by October 1st in order to be considered. Scholarship recipients will be notified by October 22nd.
• The Southeastern Jurisdiction United Methodist Women will award one $300 scholarship for Assembly 2018 to someone from our conference. The recipient of the SEJ scholarship will be chosen from among the persons submitting applications for our WNCC scholarships shown above. Applications for our WNCC scholarships will also be considered as applications for the SEJ scholarship.

There may be other scholarship opportunities offered by the national office for United Methodist Women. As we learn about those, we will share them here.