Lake Junaluska Housing Reservations:

• Download our Annual Celebration Flyer 2024 for complete housing information!

COVID-19 Safety Measures

The health and safety of our members and attendees is a top priority for United Women in Faith. We all want to meet in person, and experience the special gift of sharing time together for our retreat. To do that, we will continue to lean into doing no harm, and making efforts to keep everyone safe. With that in mind, the following COVID-19 safety measures will be in place for our retreat. Please confirm below that you will follow our COVID-19 safety measures:

• Up to date COVID-19 Vaccinations are recommended (but not required) for all participants. Click to see CDC Guidelines related to being fully vaccinated and up to date.
• Mask wearing will be by personal choice for participants while inside buildings. Appropriate social distancing will be encouraged.
• Participants agree that they will stay home if they have any symptoms of illness, have tested positive, or have a known recent exposure.

Program Highlights:

Keynote Weekend Speaker:  Tara Barnes, Director of Denominational Relations for United Women in Faith

Mission Speaker: Rev. Veranita Alvord, Pastor of First Brevard UMC, in the Blue Ridge District

Music Leader: Laurin Allred, Director of Young Adult & Connectional Ministry, Guilford College UMC, Greensboro

Annual Celebration Schedule: (Approximate)

• Friday, September 6
  • 2:00pm – Registration opens
  • 2:00 – 3:30pm – Hands on Creation Care opportunity – Led by Jarod Davis
  • 7:00 – 8:15pm – Opening session, Harrell Auditorium
• Saturday, September 7
  • 8:45am – 11:45am – Second session, Harrell Auditorium
  • 11:45am – 12:45pm – Missionary luncheon
  • 1:00 – 4:15pm – Workshops
  • 7:00 – 8:15pm – Third session , Harrell Auditorium
  • 8:30pm – The Celebration continues
• Sunday, September 8
  • 9:00 – 11:30am – Closing worship, with Holy Communion, Harrell Auditorium

Breakout Sessions – Friday, September 6:

• 2:00 – 3:30pm – Hands on Creation Care opportunity – Led by Jarod Davis

Breakout Sessions – Saturday, September 7:

• 1:00 – 1:45pm – United Women in Faith Choir – Led by Laurin Allred
• 1:00 – 1:45pm – Book Study – Led by Cathy McCauley
• 2:00 – 3:00pm – Jazzercise with Jesus – Led by LaDonna Butts
• 3:15 – 4:15pm – Creation Care – Led by Jarod Davis

Other highlights:

• Workshops
• Hosting Missionaries for Lunch
• Saturday Night Entertainment
• United Women in Faith Choir
• Fellowship with your United Women in Faith Sisters
• Inspiration Point, Rose Walk, Susanna Wesley Garden, Biblical Garden, Corneille Bryan Native Garden, Lakeside Walking Trail

Hostess District:  Catawba Valley District

Keynote Speaker:  Tara Barnes
Director of Denominational Relations for United Women in Faith

Tara Barnes is the director of denominational relations for United Women in Faith, helping members understand The United Methodist Church so that women’s voices can be heard in the church’s decision-making spaces. She is also staff liaison for conference communications coordinators, and she served as an editor of response magazine for 12 years. A lifelong United Methodist, she is a member of her church’s staff-parish relations committee, a district lay equalization voting member to annual conference, and a member of the Upper New York Commission in Archives and History. She lives in Binghamton, New York, with her spouse and two children, Iris and Henry.

Mission Speaker:  Rev. Veranita Alvord
First Brevard UMC, Blue Ridge District

Veranita (like Very-Neat-Ahh), born in Zimbabwe to missionary parents (Dot and Alec Alvord) has an open mind and heart to things and people who may be different. She’s left-handed, crossed-eyed and called to make a difference in the world, proving that God qualifies the called, rather than calls the perfectly qualified. Married to Joe Tarpley (Lead Pastor at Skyland UMC), whom she met in seminary at Candler School of Theology, Veranita’s early transient roots are held stable by Joe and his family from Rome, GA. They have been married 30 years. Their best work is their two children. Olivia, a graduate of UNC Greensboro, now fully employed & insured, has a Master’s Degree from American University. Olivia is 26 and lives in Washington DC. Ivan is 20 and a rising senior at UNC Greensboro majoring in Communications. Veranita is also a graduate of UNCG and has a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Theology degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Those degrees were only a beginning to what Veranita has learned by serving God thought the UMC as an ordained Elder for 30 years! She has served in rural, suburban & urban settings from Rico, GA to Charlotte, Shelby, Candler and Greensboro, NC. She is currently serving as the first female Lead Pastor at Brevard First UMC in Brevard, NC.

Music Leader: Laurin Allred
Director of Young Adult & Connectional Ministry, Guilford College UMC, Greensboro

Laurin Allred has a passion for leading God’s people in worship. She is currently Director of Young Adult & Connectional Ministry at GCUMC in Greensboro. She brings more than a decade of experience in leading worship, dreaming up ways to get people together and creating digital media. She holds degrees from the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University and Duke Divinity School. She is a member of the band along with her husband “Champagne and Kevlar”. When Laurin isn’t hanging around the church or its’ people you can find her around town running, playing board games with her husband Alan and anyone who will sit at their table, or chasing her two boys Jonah and Daniel. Laurin is thrilled to share the love of Jesus by connecting around tables, online, in worship or on the trail!

Hands On Mission – Annual Celebration 2024:

• Our Hands-On Mission Opportunity for the 2024 Annual Celebration will be: UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kits.
  • UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kits provide basic necessities to support vulnerable menstruating populations. Menstrual Hygiene Kits are distributed during disasters, whether socio-economic or as the result of a natural occurrence.
    • Kit Value: $24 per kit
    • Download: Info / Packing list Sheet | UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kit Assembly Instructions and Information | UMCOR article about the NEW Menstrual Hygiene Kits
• Gift to Mission Cards – A Gift to Mission card honors someone in her or his name with an undesignated Gift to Mission of at least $5.00. Gift to Mission is one of the five channels of Mission Giving. Mission Giving supports the total program of mission carried out by United Women in Faith. With your gift, you honor someone, and you make a difference in the lives of women, children, and youth…around the world. Gift to Mission cards will be available in the registration room during Annual Meeting. [More information about Gift to Mission Cards] Celebrate someone special, brighten someone’s day, say thank you…send a Gift to Mission card!
• Gift in Memory Cards – A Gift in Memory honors the memory of a much-loved family member or friend by making possible additional mission work in the United States and around the world. Gift in Memory cards represent a gift of a minimum of $5.00. The cards can be obtained for free, so that they are readily available when needed. [More about Gift in Memory]

UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kit Assembly from Global Ministries on Vimeo.

Other Information

• Registration will open at 2:00pm, in Harrell Center.
• Check in time at the Lake hotels is 4:00pm. You are encouraged to register before going to your accommodations, especially if you are arriving before 4:00PM.
• Singing will begin 15 minutes before each session.
• Again in 2024: Lunch on Sunday will NOT be included in the meal plan.
• Dress comfortably, wear good walking shoes. Bring a warm sweater and rain gear, just in case the weather is cool or rainy.
• Emergency Telephone Number: The Assembly’s switchboard number is 828-452-2881. Please leave this number with your family in case of an emergency.

Lake Junaluska is a beautiful place where you can spend some quiet time in reflection, study, and prayer with your United Women in Faith sisters.

Other Opportunities for Spiritual Growth and Reflection During Your Stay:

• The Susanna Wesley Gardens
• The International Prayer Room
• The Junaluska Cross
• Walking by the lake and enjoying the roses.