As a family of faith, we celebrate together the many ways that we are blessed and seek to bless others.
Celebration May 20, 2026
Scenes from Circle 7's End-of-Year Party, last Sunday's church picnic, and Confirmation Sunday, which included a lively jazz cantata from our Music Ministry.
It is our joy to welcome Andy Schemitsch, Hadley Myers, Fiona Lockett, Sarah Griffin, Avery Culley, Sam Brewer, Ava Schemitsch, Beckett Atkins, and Joseph Amitrano officially into the Highland family, and it will be our joy to walk alongside them as their faith journey continues for many years to come.
A Joy-Full Weekend at Highland
This weekend was packed with activities and celebrations, starting with Messy Church on Friday evening. Families learned about how to clothe ourselves with new life in Christ while sharing food, fun, and fellowship.
On Saturday, our Youth joined with Hayes Barton UMC to host a carnival for BELONG NC, a locally founded nonprofit dedicated to helping immigrants and refugees find their footing in their new homes here in Raleigh. Face painting, bouncy houses, games, and treats all served as a backdrop to the love and joy that came from being together in community.
Finally, we hosted our third annual Creation Celebration on Sunday with music, games, crafts, treats, and tours of our beautiful Community Victory Garden. We're grateful for every opportunity we are given to celebrate the beauty of God's creation alongside our church family and our neighbors.
Habitat Build Day
A great group of Highland folks got together with folks from other Triangle faith communities on Saturday morning (4/18) to help create affordable housing for our neighbors in Wake County. This is one of the many ways that Highland lives into its mission to love, serve, and share Christ with the community and the world!
Important Preparations and Important Celebrations
This past Monday (April 13), Circle 1 hosted a well-attended End-of-Life Planning seminar. Attendees learned important details around legal paperwork and memorial service planning, which will be of great service to their families during their time of grief and transition. We're grateful so many folks took advantage of this opportunity to be prepared and mindful for this phase of life.
We've also got some scenes from Easter Sunday to share with you, including some precious shots of our new Cherub Choir's debut in worship!
Confirmation Retreat: Another Step on a Journey of Faith
Our confirmands and mentors enjoyed a weekend together at Trinity Center in Salter Path, continuing their journey of learning and deepening their faith. Your continued prayers are welcome as these young people explore their relationships with God. Be sure to worship with us on Confirmation Sunday (May 17) to show your support for our Confirmands and their important place in our church family.
Young Adult Dinner Church
Our young adult small group gathered at the home of new members Emily and Charlie Mengel for their quarterly dinner church this past Sunday. The group reflected on scripture, prayed and sang together, celebrated communion, and concluded with food and fellowship. We're grateful for this growing group of faithful young people and the community they're creating together at Highland. For more info on our young adults program, contact Rev. Kevin Quick.
Loving, Serving, Sharing
Highland folks have been busy caring for one another and building community with our neighbors! Last week, after our First Wednesday Community Dinner, we packed meals for Backpack Buddies, ensuring that Lacy Elementary students will have food to eat on the weekends. On Monday, both of our UWF Circles met for fellowship and to spread love here at Highland and beyond. Circle 1 met at Pam Hood's house to make yummy soups for residents at the Helen Wright Center. Here at Highland, Circle 7 created Valentines for our "in-crowd" to make sure they know they're loved and cared for, even if they can't be here with us. We are grateful for every opportunity we have to love, serve, and share Christ with our community and the world.
Highland Wins Big at Youth Church Basketball League
Our High School youth have joined a local youth church basketball league, and they've already got a win in the books! Their first game against Edenton Street UMC ended in a decisive 52-23 victory. You can support Highland's team at on of their upcoming games:
Saturday, February 21
1:30 PM
vs. Christ Church
Saturday, February 28
1:30 PM
vs. Christ Church
Saturday, March 7
2:30 PM
vs. First Presbyterian
All games are held at First Presbyterian Church at 112 S Salisbury St. in Downtown Raleigh.
The final tournament will take place on March 14--stay tuned for game times!
Messy Church
We had a great time at Messy Church this past Friday, just before the messy weather kicked in! We enjoyed supper together and learned about mercy. Everyone is welcome at Messy Church--our next meeting is February 20. Please join us!
Habitat Build 2026
Our collaboration with Habitat for Humanity has officially begun for 2026! Scott Loftin and David Hood represented Highland at Monday's kickoff build, intentionally held on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, to celebrate and create beloved community. We're grateful to Scott and David for participating on behalf of Highland, and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our community in this way.
How can you help with Habitat this year?
BUILD: Stay tuned for details on our build day later this year
Youth Winter Retreat
Our Youth spent the long weekend together in Boone/Blowing Rock. They enjoyed skiing, tubing, and just being in each other's company. We are grateful that our Youth choose to be in joyful community with one another whenever they have the opportunity.
Advent Memories
It has been another beautiful and busy Advent at Highland UMC. Here are some shots we haven't had the chance to share yet from events like our Advent Wreath Workshop, Christmas Cantata, Hymn Sing, Bluegrass Sunday, and Children's Storytime!
Youth Advent Service Projects
Youth Group Christmas Party
Our youth group enjoyed food, fellowship, and fun creativity at their Christmas party this past Sunday! This group has had an amazing year together, and it's always a blessing to see them be in community with each other.
Advent Celebrations
The first full week of Advent was filled with joy, service, and outreach to our community! Our Youth completed two service projects: shopping and wrapping Christmas gifts for BELONG NC, and packing almost 6,000 meals with Rise Against Hunger! We are blessed to be able to bless others, both locally and globally.
45 Highland volunteers worked together to tell the story of Jesus’ birth to the dozens and dozens of families and friends who participated in our "Journey to Bethlehem" living nativity. After visiting the stable and enjoying the animals, our guests enjoyed homemade cookies (go team!) and hot chocolate.
Giving Thanks and Preparing the Way
Scenes from Messy Church, Thanksgiving Celebration with Toddlers and Preschoolers (with guest author Glenys Nellist), and decorating for Advent!
Celebrating our Partnership with Habitat for Humanity
Last week, faith communities around the Triangle gathered for worship and a celebration of Habitat for Humanity's bold story of faith, honor Habitat's saints, and hear firsthand why and how various faith traditions are coming together to build a more loving community with affordable housing for all. Thank you to Rev. Janet for representing Highland at the service. Click here to view more photos.
Celebrating A Faithful Ministry Volunteer
We are so grateful to Jo Anne Swartz for dedicating her time and talent to leading the Highlanders ministry over the last several years, and for creating a warm and welcoming space for our senior adults to gather in fellowship.
If you've benefited from Jo Anne's leadership of our Highlanders group, we hope you'll express your appreciation the next time you see her! Click on the video (right) to hear a small snippet from our Highlanders "High Tea and Musicale" gathering in November!
Celebrating our Ministry Together
We celebrated Consecration Sunday on November 2, and it was a beautiful service that reminded all of us why we choose to support God's work through Highland United Methodist Church. Thank you to everyone who attended and made their estimate of giving for 2026. Your prayerful gifts will help us create the Program of Ministry budget for 2026 so that we can continue to love, serve, and share Christ with our community and the world.
There are so many opportunities that are made possible through your contributions to God's work through Highland, and below are just a few recent examples:
- Our Community Victory Garden lives into its name by creating community among volunteers, providing food for hungry people in the Raleigh area, and even winning ribbons at the NC State Fair!
- Our annual Trunk or Treat event was a blast for everyone despite the rain. We were blessed to welcome folks from all over the Raleigh community to our campus for food, fun, and treats!
- The Pumpkin Patch fundraiser helps us strengthen our youth ministry while also fostering goodwill with our neighbors. It was a joy to welcome children and their caregivers to the patch on Wednesdays throughout October for Storytime in the Pumpkin Patch!
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And we are deeply grateful for the continued growth of our family of faith. Mary Florence O'Neil joined the Highland family on October 19, and we are blessed to have her among us.
A Very Festive Fall!
The fall season has kicked into high gear here at Highland! Our pumpkin patch is up and running, thanks to a great group of volunteers who came out to unload the truck this past Saturday. Our annual Fall Festival followed the next day, and we're grateful for an amazing turnout of over 300 folks from our wider community! Our guests enjoyed games, train rides, snacks, and delicious BBQ provided by our United Methodist Men, and we collected tons of food for the Interfaith Food Shuttle. We are grateful to everyone who lent their time and talent to making this past weekend a great success, and for every opportunity we have to share the love of Christ with our community.
A Weekend of Learning and Fellowship
It might not quite be Fall yet, but for us, it's in full swing, and we're back to our typical fall rhythms of action-packed weekends with our church family. This past weekend, we welcomed a large crowd of folks from Highland and other area churches for our first-ever interactive LGBTQ+ seminar. Participants learned and had important conversations about how the church can most effectively support and affirm the LGBTQ+ community.
On Sunday afternoon, after celebrating Legacy Sunday together during worship, we gathered for a picnic at Laurel Hills Park for food, fellowship, and fun!
Back-to-School/Fall Kickoff Celebrations
Our Children's and Youth Ministries celebrated the end of an amazing summer and the beginning of a new school year on Sunday, August 24--and they did it in grand fashion! Our Children's Celebration featured pony rides and drew a large crowd from our wider community. The Youth gathered for a pool party at the Wilkinson home. Here's to another year of vibrant ministry together with the young folks at Highland!
Our Youth Group's Service-Filled Summer Continues
We kicked things off by hanging out with the kiddos at Belong NC, an organization that helps immigrants and refugees become part of our community through education, job coaching, and belonging. The joy and laughter were contagious! 
After that, we bounced over to the trampoline park for some epic jumps and flips. 
VBS/Music & Arts Camp!
We've got a wonderful group of youngsters here at Highland this week for VBS and Music & Arts Camp! We're having fun going on a Road Trip with God in the mornings and learning about expressing ourselves through music and art in the afternoons.
Be sure to join us on Friday at 4:30 PM in the Sanctuary for the Music & Arts Camp closing celebration to see and hear what the kiddos have been up to all week! They'll also be in worship on Sunday morning at the 11 o'clock service.
Costa Rica Mission Trip
July 23, 2025
Our youth are currently on a mission trip to Costa Rica where they are worshiping, serving, and growing together and with the local community. Here are some photos of their week so far! Did you know we're also VLOGGING the entire week? Follow along on our website or social media!
HSP Recap
Thank you to everyone who supported this trip--your contributions help Highland live out its mission to love, serve, and share Christ with our community and the world.
"Be the Light"
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Culley family for their inspiring contribution to our community! Their beautiful mural in Room 202, featuring the uplifting message "Be the Light," serves as a powerful reminder for all of us to share the love and light of Christ in our daily lives. This vibrant artwork transforms the space and encourages everyone who enters to reflect on their own light and how they can shine it in the world. Thank you, Culley family, for your artistic talents and for brightening our environment with such a meaningful message!
HSP is Underway!
Our high school youth are currently in Wilmington, NC working with WARM NC to help local people age in place safely by preventing home accidents and illnesses, preserving their dignity and independence with home repairs and improvements. Here's a look at what we've been up to so far!
Celebrating New Sights
If you've been around campus in the past week, you've undoubtedly noticed some new additions to the narthex. As a continuation of last year's narthex renovations, we have added a beautiful digital display that will showcase the vibrant life of our church to visitors and members as soon as they enter our front doors.
Other improvements around campus include an upgraded screen behind the reception desk and much-needed technology upgrades in Room 209, which will benefit many committees and Sunday School classes.
While there is plenty to be grateful for with these upgrades alone, we are especially thankful that the labor to complete these projects was generously and joyfully donated by Rev. Kevin's dad, Alan Quick. Kevin's parents and sister were in town from Texas last week for Kevin's ordination, and we benefited from Alan's expertise during their visit. Thank you, Alan!
Congratulations, Rev. Kev!
Our beloved Rev. Kevin Quick was ordained during the Western North Carolina Annual Conference this past weekend. We are grateful for Kevin and his bright, passionate presence here at Highland. We also appreciate the many gifts for ministry that God has bestowed upon him, which he shares with us so enthusiastically.
Out! Raleigh Pride
We were thrilled to welcome many guests from the Raleigh community to our booth at Out! Raleigh Pride last weekend. We're grateful for opportunities like these to bear witness to our commitment to the inclusion and affirmation of the LGBTQ+ community.
Congratulations Douglas & Madelyn!
Douglas Templeton and Madelyn Miller were married on Saturday, June 7, in Asheville with Pastor John officiating. We celebrate alongside this lovely couple and are so grateful to have them as a part of our family of faith.
Pentecost Picnic
June 8, 2025
We celebrated the Day of Pentecost together with our traditional picnic gathering at Laurel Hills park. There was delicious food and plenty of opportunities to fellowship with both new and old friends. And no Highland picnic is complete without a friendly game of kickball--keep scrolling to check out some impressive action shots from the game and more scenes from the picnic!
Celebrating Graduates
We celebrate with our high school and college grads. Check out the video to hear from our high school graduates about their experiences at Highland and to learn about their future plans. Congratulations, class of 2025!
Graduates: Ryan Driver (Enloe High School), Cyrus Phillips (Enloe High School), Gavin McGuinn (Broughton High School), Teresa Dozier (DVM Veterinary Medicine, NC State), Logan Earp (BS in Mechatronic Engineering, NC State University/UNC Asheville), Emma Franklin (UNC-Chapel Hill, BS Biology/Chemistry minor) Sadie Heiler (BS in Public Health, East Carolina University), Kennan Mottershead (BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Appalachian State University)
A Jumpin' Good Time
June 4, 2025
Our Youth celebrated together with their End-of-Year party at the trampoline park, followed by food, fun, and games here at Highland. While it is the "end of the year," our Youth program is by no means slowing down...it's going to be an action-packed summer with our regular City Servants and HSP Service Projects, plus a mission trip to Costa Rica! We'll keep you up-to-date here on all those activities, and please remember to keep our Youth in your prayers throughout the summer as they embark on sharing the love of Christ with our community and the world.
A Multi-Generational Celebration
May 28, 2025
We are blessed to celebrate alongside four generations of Highland folks upon the baptism of Charles Bynum Kollmeyer on May 18. Charles is the son of Peter and Morgan Kollmeyer. Morgan is daugther to Pam and David Hood and granddaughter to Bynum and Kay Driggers (Pam's parents). The Driggers Family has been an integral part of the Highland community since our very early days. We thank God for a beautiful full circle moment for this family, and we thank God for the privilege to share it with them.