AN District News.......UMC Buzz.......July 16, 2020
Discipleship Opportunities
Church surveys due Friday: The Council on Finance and Administration and the BWC Cabinet have invited every local church to complete a survey on their giving and stewardship during the coronavirus pandemic, which is due Friday, July 17. The survey should be completed by only one person in the church and may be filled out by pastors, finance chairs, treasurers or church administrators. To take the survey, log into Arena (https://arenaweb.bwcumc.org); select "COVID-19 Survey" in the right navigation bar; complete the survey and press submit.
COVID-19 and Black Churches Survey: Researchers at Hood College and Towson University are conducting a survey on how Black churches are navigating the COVID-19 crisis. Survey results will assist churches in developing strategies to face challenges and address the future. It takes about 15 minutes to complete. Take the survey.
Grant-writing seminar: Gammon Theological Seminary is hosting a virtual grant-writing seminar July 28 and 29. The cost is $200. Learn more.
Young People's Ministry
Out of an abundance of caution due to the pandemic, ROCK 2021 has been postponed. ROCK is an annual retreat that draws thousands of youth, young adults, and youth leaders to Ocean City, Md., for a three-day experience of meeting Jesus. Details are here.
Advocacy and Action
Creation Care: Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, a partner of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, is offering Faithful Green Leader Training on the last three Thursday evenings of August. Learn more and register.
How to Be an Anti-racist: United Methodists are encouraged to attend a virtual conversation with Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be an Antiracist," on July 20 at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Anne Arundel County Public Library. Learn more and register.
Hip-Politics: Last night, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling participated in the podcast "Hip-Politics" with four other United Methodist bishops as they discussed race and the church. See a recording.
Virtual Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Ministry Training Camp
Background: What is the Dallas Bethlehem Center?
The Dallas Bethlehem Center is a community impact organization that has a history and commitment of serving Dallas since 1946.
DBC hosts community wide events throughout the year while partnering with program providers to deliver high-impact offerings in key areas including cradle to career education and community connection. It is very choiceful about the programming it brings to the community and is focused on being a multi-faceted education pipeline as a means to help address generational poverty in South Dallas/Fair Park.
Its current location is near the symbolic intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X streets. It is a space where all generations within the community can spend time, connect amongst themselves, and learn about resources.
Older generations have many meaningful memories of DBC and now enjoy seeing their children volunteer, engage, and continue their philanthropy with the organization.
Bishop Mike McKee (North Texas Conference) is one of the presenters in an event organized by Edlen Cowley
Edlen writes:
"Dear Potential 2020 Virtual Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Ministry Training Camp Attendees,
I pray you are well.
I'm inviting you to attend this very important virtual conference. I believe as the church continues to shift, we will see more opportunities for cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry. I am dedicated to equipping clergy and lay leaders for this vital ministry.
The conference is not only about strategically investing in leaders in cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry, it is about making a difference in the community. I am proud to announce our 2020 community partner, the Dallas Bethlehem Center, to whom we will be tithing 10% of all of this year's registration fees. The Dallas Bethlehem Center (DBC), is a ministry affiliated with the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. You can see details about DBC at the very end of this email or by visiting the DBC website at: www.dallasbethlehemcenter.org"
REGISTER for the Oct. 9-10, 2020 Virtual Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Ministry Training Camp at umnewchurch.org
If you have questions about this event, contact the host: Edlen Cowley: .
New Faith Expressions
Digital Church Planting Training: Online Training to walk church leaders through digital planting, from how to create a budget and social media plan, to how to host engaging online worship and structure a house-church network. The cost is $200 per planter. Zoom webinars with speakers will be held every Tuesday from Aug. 4 to Sept. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. Learn more and register.
Wellness and Mission
Navigating Deaf Ministries: A Zoom webinar on tips and tools to get you and your church started in Deaf Ministries will be Saturday, July 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Rev. Leo Yates of Emmanuel UMC is one of the presenters. Learn more at www.umdeaf.org.
Get to know a missionary: Each week the General Board of Global Ministries hosts a Zoom Call focused on how United Methodist missionaries are #stillinmission. On July 16, at 1 p.m. you are invited to join the BWC's Rev. Julie Wilson (at right) and several other new missionaries as they talk about their call to be a missionary and what they are going to be doing in their new place of service. Wilson is in ministry at Open Arms Community Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Advance #3022608) Learn more about Wilson and contribute to her new ministry. To participate in the Zoom call, register in advance.
Annual Conference to be held online Sept. 12
The 236th annual session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference will be held online, Saturday, Sept. 12. This move to a virtual Annual Conference Session is made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing as the church seeks to privilege life, especially among its vulnerable members.
A practice run of the voting procedure will be held for all members prior to the Sept. 12 session.
The Clergy Session will be held at 9:30 a.m. The Laity Session will be held at a date to be announced soon. The essential business of the Annual Conference, which will include the consideration of the 2021 budget, will be conducted in the afternoon and the Service of Ordination and Commissioning will follow that.
We will be beginning the registration process anew. Those who had already registered are asked to do so again for this virtual session. Details will be announced soon.
RESOURCES
Re-Entering Well Resources
Find the Re-Entering Well Guidelines (https://www.bwcumc.org/article/re-entering-well-guidelines/) and for Re-Entering tip sheets (https://www.bwcumc.org/article/re-entering-well/) on the BWC website.
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Fund Balance Report Deadline Extended
The 2019 Annual Fund Balance Report deadline has been extended to August 31, 2020. There are two ways to submit the report, email the attached file to
or log-in to Arena (https://arenaweb.bwcumc.org/).
Who can see/complete a Fund Balance report in Arena?
• Church Finance Chair/President
• Church Treasurer
• Church Pastor (under construction)
• Church Administrator (must be logged in with Church Arena Account credentials)
Find previously recorded webinars:
• BWC YouTube Channel—Playback Training Tuesdays and Advocacy and Action presentations—https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzjja0KEoJl9dHRQX1e5g2rQTECnxej80
• Youth Ministry Rx Webinars—Find recordings from Weeks 1-4 at https://www.bwcumc.org/youth-ministry-rx//
Church Resources
Where do you go to get a grant or loan for your church? There are resources to help you and your church. Visit https://www.bwcumc.org/administration/local-church-resources/
• Coronavirus Resources for Churches
A number of resources are available to assist local churches in their response to the Coronavirus -- https://www.bwcumc.org/article/coronavirus-resources/
• Trial Electronic Giving Offer for Small Churches through BWC
BWC will now provide churches that do not currently offer electronic giving to their members with immediate access to the Conference's online giving platform through Shelby -- learn more and apply
• Peace with Justice Micro Grants -- Apply & Donate
The BWC is collecting funds to provide $500 COVID-19 Peace with Justice micro-grants for churches providing assistance to the vulnerable during the pandemic. Apply for funding or donate at www.bwcumc.org/PWJfund
• Seven Youth Ministry Webinar Check-Ins
The Young People’s Ministry of the BWC is hosting 6 weekly youth ministry check-ins for youth workers across the conference -- see the full schedule, https://www.bwcumc.org/youth-ministry-rx/ .
Applications for the BWC class of 2020-2022 Certified Lay Ministers are now being accepted. Go to www.bwcumc.org/ministries/leadership-development/laity-development to learn more and see if you qualify. (Click "Learn More" under Certified Lay Minister for information and application pack.) The next class will start in September and is a two-year commitment. Certified Lay Ministers preach the Word, provide care ministry to the congregation, assist in program leadership, and are witnesses in the community as part of a ministry team with the supervision and support of a clergy person. Questions can be directed to Linda Flanagan, Conference director of Lay Servant Ministries.