News and Views

Showing items for 'May 2018'

Ordinand Protest Statement
Posted by Guest Author on

During the plenary session May 31, the Rev. Beth Hutton and seven other ordinands rose to speak on behalf of two of the candidates who were approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry, but were removed as candidates by a ruling of Bishop LaTrelle Easterling. This is a difficult moment for us in...

A statement by Bishop LaTrelle Easterling In response to matters of the Clergy Session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference
Posted by Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling on

This denomination has been wrestling with the matter of human sexuality since 1972. The restrictive language was written into our Book of Discipline at that time, and we have been dealing with the ramifications and repercussions ever since. Men and women of deep faith and good intention have...

Ellicott City Flood 2018
Posted by Erik Alsgaard on

Once again, Ellicott City has been hit with a horrible flash flood. As we pray for the people affected by this natural disaster, Fred Sipes, the BWC's Disaster Response Coordinator, and the Rev. Joan Carter-Rimbach, the BWC's Volunteers in Mission Coordinator, report that both UMC's in the...

Cross is focus of Worship
Posted by Melissa Lauber on

By Melissa Lauber Our Refrain: “We are one beneath the cross, Christ became love for us. Called by Grace, sent to run, we stand as one at the cross.” Gathered beneath the cross, as one, last evening, the people of the Baltimore-Washington Conference vowed to uphold Abraham...

Bishop upholds UM Discipline
Posted by Erik Alsgaard on

By Erik Alsgaard Bishop LaTrelle Easterling issued a ruling of law during the BWC’s clergy session Wednesday night, stating that two individuals the Board of Ordained Ministry had approved were not eligible for ordination and commissioning because they are “self-avowed practicing...

The Heart of Discipleship
Posted by Guest Author on

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Gourley is a member of Nichols-Bethel UMC in Odenton, Md., and Sue McCann is a member of First UMC in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They are both GBGM certified “Individual Volunteers In Mission (IVIM)." Over the past nine years, they have spent a considerable amount of...