Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. -- Matthew 5:9 Beloved of God, I greet you in the name of our Savior, Jesus, who lived, died, and is resurrected for the sake of reconciliation and peace. Last Saturday, as many Jews had just observed the Jewish...
From the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula Delaware Committees on Native American Ministries We honor the lives of Indigenous peoples, show our gratitude for the significant and countless contributions they have made to our world, and renew our commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and...
As rates of stress and anxiety grow across the United States, members of the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences are learning about how to serve as a non-anxious presence in their congregations and communities. The course revolves around the family systems theory on...
As we come to grips with the horror of the shooting that took place at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, our hearts break and we pray for those most closely affected. Once again violence has shattered lives and we, as a faith community, struggle to make sense of senseless violence. Five...
Story by Melissa Lauber Photos by Brenda Bowman Wesley Freedom UMC in Eldersburg is a place of invitation. As a symbol of this, a very large scallop shell stands as a baptismal font at the front of the church. But recently, an ancient-new practice has erupted as 12 young people have been...
More and more churches close their doors in the United States. Large sanctuaries sometimes only have a dozen bodies in the pews on a given Sunday. The church faces a new era: a country of people less inclined to attend their church than in past decades. The Planter’s Discernment Academy...
An invitation for episcopal candidates from the Rev. Ianther Mills and Cynthia Taylor, leaders of the BWC delegation As the 2024 Jurisdictional Conference delegation of the Baltimore-Washington Conference begins its work, one of the great responsibilities of the delegation is to identify...
By Melissa Lauber On Sunday mornings, the sanctuary at Oak Chapel UMC welcomes 25 families to worship. During the week, that exact same space is used for a different kind of holy work as people from the community and the church offer food to their neighbors in need, many of whom are immigrants...
By Melissa Lauber Discipleship Ministries Missional Innovation Grant “Everything that is real was imagined first.” This bit of wisdom, from the story The Velveteen Rabbit, inspired Valerie Stevens of Petworth UMC to dare to dream and to apply for a Baltimore-Washington Conference...
By Melissa Lauber Study on the Impact of Gender and Race on the Lived Experiences of Clergypersons in the BWC The journey toward gender and cultural equity is long, but for the clergy of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, it is moving toward justice and fairness, a new survey by the...
