News and Views

BWC Restructuring Plan unveiled
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By Melissa LauberWhen considering how to restructure the Baltimore-Washington Conference for more vitality, more than a thousand clergy and laity made it clear. They were seeking a configuration that created increased relationships, collaboration, innovation, discipleship, and...

Next Level event addresses trauma-informed ministry
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By Melissa Lauber Strength, hope and courage – these are the gifts Dr. Deborah Haskins brought to the leaders gathered at the Next Level Speaker Series on March 7. They are gifts that no church leader can be without, especially in an age where the world seems to be breaking, living amid...

Bishops calls for 'reset' at Pen-Del district meetings
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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...

Fresh Expressions field trip ignites imagination
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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...

Fresh Expressions: Thoughts from the Road
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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...

The potential and power of our FX Academy Immersion
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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...