Browse through the events that are available in which you can participate! You can also download our App: Realm Connect from the Apple App Store or Google Play. If you need assistance setting up your app, contact Mary Ann Wexler.
Nourish
Learn More
Nourish returns for its second season on Wednesday, September 11. We begin with dinner, followed by our Missions Fair and Children's Art Experience. On September 18, all other programming begins. Registration for dinner will be coming soon! Learn more and register for dinner below.
Worship
Church-Wide Opportunities
Charge Conference
Centenary will hold its annual Charge Conference on Sunday, November 10 at 12:45 pm. The business of the charge conference will include setting salaries for the four appointed clergy and approving the lay leadership for Centenary for the coming year. The voting members of the Charge Conference are members of the Church Council, the lay delegates to the annual conference, and retired clergy for whom Centenary holds their charge conference membership. Members of the church may attend the meeting. To register for the lunch following the 11:00 worship service, and preceding the meeting, they must be received no later than Sunday, November 3 at 12:00 noon, by calling or emailing Stacy Holley (sholley@centenary-ws.org/ext. 1359).
Adult Formation
The First Fifteen
First Fifteen is an intentional practice of spending at least fifteen minutes each day in prayer and reading scripture. If you're ready to begin a new practice, please click on the button below to see a variety of recommended resources to get you started. There are online and print resources, a scripture reading plan you can pick up at church, and an app that parents and kids can use together. For more information, contact Stacy Holley.
Children's Ministry
Bridges Special Needs Respite Night
Respite Nights are for kids kindergarten through 8th grade with special needs along with their typically developing siblings from kindergarten through 5th grade. Our goal is to give parents an evening of respite and kids a night of fun. For more information contact Anna Thomas (
/ext.1332).
Is this your first time? Fill out an application here!
Have you filled out the application and ready to sign up? You can do so here!
Angel Tree Helpers Needed
Can you believe it’s time to start preparing for Angel Tree? If you are interested in helping us with this amazing opportunity, we are looking for people to help plug in data, set up trees with angels on them, help people choose and sign out angels on Sunday mornings, organize gifts and pick up assistance! Contact Anna Thomas (336.724.6311 ext. 1332) for more information.
Christmas Craft Night
November 24 • Come and Go Between 3:30-5:30
Join us as a family and create Christmas decorations to be the first ones on display for the season! We will have 8 crafts to choose from, with options available for all ages! Registration runs from November 3-20, make sure to register early for the crafts you’d like to do because there are limited quantities of each craft! If you can’t come to the event, we will have take-out kits available. Reach out to Kate May or Anna Thomas with any questions.
Kids Day In
December 9 • 9:30-11:30 am
A morning of holiday-themed fun with age-appropriate programming for Infants - 2nd graders! $5/kid, Registration will run from November 5-December 11. Reach out to Kate May or Anna Thomas with any questions.
Congregational Care
Carenotes
CareNotes are concise booklets that provide uplifting guidance to those who are hurting. They address topics that include grief, aging, healthcare, mental wellness, family care, spiritual support, and more. Our collection of CareNotes is located on the 3rd floor near the Resource Room.
Flower Ministry
Each week after Sunday worship, the Altar Guild takes the beautiful altar flowers from Centenary’s Sanctuary and creates several small arrangements that are shared with church members and friends who may be homebased, those who may be recovering from surgery, or who just may need a sign of love and care from our congregation. We are in need of someone to help coordinate this congregational care ministry. Volunteers who have a couple hours a week to deliver flowers are also needed. Associate Minister for Congregational Care, Rev. Oliver Helsabeck, will provide the list of persons to receive flowers each week. If you feel a calling to lead this ministry or to help deliver flowers, please contact Oliver.
Centenary Cares
Centenary Cares, a ministry of Shining Light on Mental Health, is a simple way that care and encouragement are extended from Centenary UMC. If someone you know is struggling or has a loved one struggling with mental health, submit the person’s name to Rev. Oliver Helsabeck, Associate Minister for Congregational Care, (336.724.6311 ext. 1357). A member of Shining Light will confidentially deliver a Centenary Cares bag to the recipient. More information can be found here.
Refresh Prayer Service
Wednesdays • Noon • Sanctuary • Begins November 6
Join the Refresh Prayer Ministry for a mid-week service of reflection, music, and prayer. From Noon-12:15 pm there will be a time for quiet reflection with music, and then the service will begin at 12:15 pm and finish by 12:45 pm. Parking will be available in the Fifth Street parking lot, and you may enter from the Fifth Street entrance to the Sanctuary. Services begin November 6, continue through December 11, and will resume in January. For more information, contact Rev. Oliver Helsabeck (336.724.6311 ext. 1357) or Becky Tate.
Healing Hands Ministry
First Mondays • 10:00 am - Noon • Gathering Room
Calling all knitters and crocheters! Join Healing Hands for a time of fellowship, instruction, and service as members create prayer shawls, lap throws, and other handmade items to provide a tangible blessing for people experiencing loss, crisis, or other need for prayerful care. Items are prayed over and blessed to be given away to others in time of need. No experience is necessary. Contact Rev. Oliver Helsabeck (336.724.6311 ext. 1357) or Dianne Moore for more information.
Justice & Reconciliation
Men's Ministry
Missions
Music & Arts
Subscribe to Sightings & Soundings
Check out Centenary’s monthly Music & Arts magazine! Find the latest edition on the Music & Arts page, subscribe by clicking here, or pick up a printed copy from the Music Suite.
Children's Creative Art Experience is Back
There’s still time to register your little ones for CAE! This program includes activities for children ages 2 through 5th grade during Nourish each week. Our 2- and 3-year-olds will wiggle, giggle and grow in a Kindermusik class, and children ages 4+ will have a blast in our Creative Arts Experience exploring singing, chimes, Kindermusik, Orff instruments, drumming, creative movement, drama, visual art, worship leadership and more! Register now by clicking our link below. For more information, contact Virginia Sheffield (Music Ministry Assistant) with any questions.
Calling All Artists
Music & Arts Ministry invites submissions from both youth and adults for our upcoming annual community exhibit, “All Things Bright and Beautiful: A Neighborhood Showcase.” Art will be displayed in the Atrium and 4 1⁄2 Street Galleries from November 10, 2024, to January 5, 2025. Contact Music Ministry Assistant, Virginia Sheffield ( ), for submission instructions.
Faith and Artistry: Seeking the Sacred in Creative Expression
This is a new painting and drawing class tailored to fit your schedule! With Monday night and Thursday morning tracks offered, choose the time that is best for you to discover the wealth of creative opportunities that faith inspires. To learn more and register, click the link below.
All Saints Sunday
Sunday • November 3 • 11 am Worship
Join us in worship on All Saints’ Sunday as we feature Bob Chilcott’s Requiem, a multi-movement work for chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra.
Senior Adult Ministry
United Women in Faith
Centenary Ornament
The Centenary ornaments have arrived and are ready for pick up. You can pick up ornaments at Nourish on Wednesdays from 5:00-6:00 pm or on Sundays after the 9:00 and 11:00 o’clock services. We will have the ornaments at the 4 1/2 Street entrance on those days. If you need to arrange a different time please contact Susan Grubbs.
Youth Ministry
Fall Youth Sunday School
Maybe your head knows that God is always good, but your hearts not so sure. Or perhaps while reading Scripture, you’ve wondered if our Creator Redeemer went through a personality change—from strictly enforcing the rules in the Old Testament to loving the outcast in the New!
Starting September 8, we’ll discover divine love in the often overlooked and misunderstood passages in Scripture. And you’ll be delighted to find that Jehovah of the Old Testament is the same redemptive and compassionate God we see through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. He has always been and will always be for us! We hope you’ll join us in the Youth Commons for a light brunch and study.
Confirmation 2025
Starting on January 8, 2025 (through May 18), we invite all 7th graders to join our Confirmation class. We will meet each Wednesday night from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm to learn about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the spiritual life, and how they form us and help us to change the way we live our lives. The hope is that through these experiences, you will come to encounter Jesus in a very real way and that encounter will change the way you live your life! For more information contact Tammy Pollock.
Senior High Mission Trip to Benton Harbor, MI
If you are a Senior High youth (rising 9th-12th grader) this trip is for YOU! We invite you to join us for a nine-day trip, July 19-27, 2025, with YouthWorks to Benton Harbor, MI. Each year we partner with this incredible organization. YouthWorks essential core values are being youth-minded and relationship-oriented, focusing on servant leadership, and believing in the life-change that Christ offers us all. All of the very things we value in our youth ministry at Centenary. Registration opens (in Realm) November 1. With questions contact Tammy Pollock.