As the coronavirus pandemic hits its third month in the United States, churches throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference continue to be affected. Even though many churches report increased attendance – or viewers – at online worship services, and there is anecdotal evidence...
By Sarah Dorrance* What does singing praise in church look like as we come out of quarantine? For that matter, what will choirs and music academies do without the gift of song being united in vocal artistry? While none of us know that answer, we do know that Germany, in coming out of...
BWC Superintendents Offer Guidance to Re-enter Well May 14, 2020 To our brothers and sisters in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Grace and peace to you in the name of Christ our Lord and Savior. We are writing this letter today aware that governmental leaders in...
by Erik Alsgaard The coronavirus does not affect everyone the same. As more people become infected and, sadly, die, the death rates among African Americans, Latinos, and others are disproportionate to their numbers in the general population. In Washington D.C., the rate of death per 100,000...
By Mike Cantley* “I am the gate. “I am the gate.” Jesus said this to those who had just excommunicated the now-seeing-but-formerly-blind man. He said this to those who had appointed themselves gatekeepers. Those asking… perhaps thinking, “Surely we...
By Mandy Sayers* I was sitting around recently, lamenting the state of the world and the state of the church, and how this is just the worst time to be the church, ever, and I was reading Hebrews 11. And as I read the list of names — Noah, Abraham, Rahab, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses...
By Daryl Williams* We are living through a significant moment in history. Globally, COVID-19 has upended everything that we know. It has changed how we live, how we work, and how we play. The threat to life and livelihood has caused people across the globe to rethink how we do everything. We...
By Joey Heath-Mason* To the graduates of the class of 2020: I offer a most heartfelt congratulations. You have done something incredible. You are a graduate with a degree or diploma that will go with you from this day forward. That is something to celebrate and worthy of marking this...
Bishop LaTrelle Easterling invites you to join her at 12 noon every day to pray the Lord's Prayer. “More has been accomplished by prayer than the world will ever know,” the bishop said. “We may be unable to gather physically, but we can gather in prayer-and that is a...
by Erik Alsgaard The Rev. Malcolm Frazier wears scrubs and a mask while preaching a recent worship service at Asbury Methodist Village. He did so, he said, to honor all the health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic response. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, one...
