In late February, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling met with clergy and laity at three district gatherings in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference. The bishop focused on listening as she joined church leaders in worship, celebrated the vitality of local churches and looked to a future of renewed...
By Rev. Lauren Harris Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 28:19 to go and make disciples of all nations, and for three days, the Rev. Dr. Michael Beck showed us how to do just that in the most unconventional places. I traveled with several pastors who are part of the Fresh Expressions Academy...
By Melissa Lauber The first thing you must know about Fresh Expressions is that it’s always about people and proximity – and the unexpected things that God can do. In February, the 17 members of BWC’s Fresh Expressions Academy were taken on a field excursion to Ocala, Florida...
The Fresh Expressions Academy is made up of a diverse group of clergy and lay members from the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences. Seventeen of the 27 Academy members took the trip to Ocala, Florida to explore first-hand the realities and possibilities of Fresh...
By Carm Evans Recently I returned to Ocala, Florida, to observe and learn from the Rev. Michael Beck, leader of our denominational Fresh Expressions movement. We visited Compassion UMC, pastored by Jill Beck, and St Mark’s UMC, where Jill and Michael are co-pastors. We witnessed and...
By Melissa Lauber In today’s world, prophets of joy are rare. But in the Rev. Joseph Archie’s life, the truths spoken by Old Testament and modern prophets combine with God’s call to transcendent joy in ways that define his faith and have led him to offer himself as a...
By Melissa Lauber The Rev. Rod Miller and the Center for Vital Leadership have created a unique resource – a banquet of spiritual exercises that combine cutting edge thinking about neurological pathways that influence behavior with Wesleyan disciplines and faith practices. The result is...
Elinor Thompson of Franklin UMC in Churchton wanted so badly for her grandmother to come down for Grandfather’s Day when she was in kindergarten decades ago. Thompson didn’t know her grandfather, so her grandmother eventually obliged. She sat down with the young Thompson to talk...
February 14, 2024 | A Lenten Message from Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling "Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing." – Joel 2:12-13a During the Super Bowl held on Sunday, Feb...
By Rev. Curtis Ehrgott A football team has eleven players, but having a home-field advantage is like having a twelfth man. The stadium gives support to the home team and loudly shouts at critical moments to throw off the opponents. In ministry, we tend to our community by supporting the...
