District News

News & Events  

 

Small Church Interest Group  
Saturday, April 13, 2019
You are invited to join members of the Small Church Interest Group for their second meeting . The meeting will be held at Salem UMC, Brookeville ( 12 High Street, Brookeville, MD 20833) from 10 am-12 noon.  There will be two presentations.  The first guest speaker is Eric Hebron from West Liberty UMC and he will present research findings on small churches.   Rev. Phil Ayers and Rev. Dr. Steven Cho will share information on the "Circuit Model".  Please come (and bring others with you) to receive this valuable information to share with your congregations.  Future Small Church Interest Group Meetings are Saturday, June 15th & Saturday, November 9th from 10:00 A.M - 12 Noon.  Interested in hosting a meeting or joining the group?  Please contact Mrs. Audrey Hall at  .

Golf Tournament and Gala in Support of Seeds of Security (SOS) Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention: Raising Awareness and Promoting Safe Havens
Monday, April 22, 2019 from 12 noon -5 pm
•  Join us at Hobbit’s Glen in Howard County for our first Baltimore-Washington Conference sponsored SOS Golf Tournament and Gala. For ticket pricing and to register yourself or a team of four, please go to https://www.eiseverywhere.com/sosgolf19.  
•  For tickets to join us for the Seeds of Security Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Gala to be held at Turn House in Howard County at 7 PM on Friday, April 26, 2019, please go to https://www.eiseverywhere.com/sosgala19. 
•  Proceeds from these events will raise awareness of Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence, offer greater resources, create deeper partnerships, and develop and partner with more safe havens.  For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Rev. Stacey Cole Wilson at   

Peace with Justice Grants (Deadline: April 30, 2019)
Are you working collaboratively to systemically address some form of societal injustice? Then, please consider applying for a BWC Peace with Justice (PWJ) Grant made possible by PWJ Special Sunday offerings. Applicants must be a member of a United Methodist local church, district, conference, or other affiliated organization, or an Ecumenical group/organization working with and through at least one United Methodist agency or organization. For more information and to apply, please go to: https://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/advocacy-action/peace-with-justice/.

Life and Legacy of Howard Thurman
Saturday, May 18 from 8:30 am-3 pm 
Join facilitators Dr. Asa Lee of Wesley Theological Seminary and Rev. Andrew Peck-McClain, Senior Pastor of Washington Grove, in a conversation about the life and legacy of Howard Thurman, one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century.  Registration is $20 and includes lunch. This event is co-sponsored by the Advocacy and Action Network of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and will be held at Kittamaquindi Community Church located at 5410 Leaf Trader Way in Columbia, MD 21044. Register and learn more.  

Pre-Conference Briefing Sessions
Saturday, May 18 ~ Morning and Afternoon Sessions 
Two locations:  Jackson Chapel in Frederick from 9:30 am-noon, and at St. Johns United Church in Columbia from 2-4:30 pm.  All members are encouraged to attend.

Locust UMC 150th Anniversary Revival
Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24 ~ 7 pm both days
Locust is celebrating it's 150th anniversary with a revival.  Guests are Rev. William E. Butler and Choir from Queens Chapel United Methodist Church.  Locust UMC is located at 6851 Martin Road, Columbia, MD 21044.  All are welcome.

235th Baltimore-Washington Conference Annual Meeting
May 29-June 1, 2019
Online registration is now open for the 235th Annual Conference Session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, which will be held May 29-June 1 at the Waterfront Marriott Hotel in Baltimore. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. 
• Lodging on Thursday, May 30 is sold out at the Waterfront Marriott Hotel in Baltimore .  See a list of hotels nearby -- https://www.bwcumc.org/events/annual-conference/hotel-and-transportation/. 
• See a listing of all the workshops. 
• Help end hunger by year 2030.  Follow this link (https://rah.secure.force.com/events/homepage?id=7013Z000002pPp1QAE) to donate and/or sign up to help package meals in a 30-minute time slot during lunch or dinner on Thursday, May 30.  The goal is 120,000 meals.  
• The theme of this year's session is We are One: United to Love. We hope you will join us in prayer as we unite for a time of meaningful fellowship, profound worship and holy conferencing. For more information, visit www.bwcumc.org/events/annual-conference.
•  Read the profile of candidates who would like to be elected as delegates to the 2020 General Conference and the 2020 Northeast Jurisdictional Conference.  

2019  Washington Region Lay Servant Ministries Academy ~ Summer Events
Saturday, June 8 (9 am-5pm) and Sunday, June 9 (3-5:30 pm) 
Saturday, August 24 (9 am-5pm) and Sunday, August 25 (3-5:30 pm) 
Join us at the Baltimore-Washington Conference Mission Center (11711 E. Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759) for two Lay Servant Ministries Academies (formerly known as Discipleship Academy). The duration of each Lay Servant Ministries course is 10 hours (1 CEU).   The Basic course will be offered at both academies.  Different advanced courses in the Heritage, Leading Worship, Polity, Preaching, and Spiritual Gifts categories will be offered.  For full details about classes, instructors and pre-reading text, download the
•  June 8-9 course guide or register 
•  August 24-25 course guide  or register

Mission U
July 26-28
The United Methodist Women and Board of Global Mission's Mission U, is a deep dive into the Gospel. The convening will be held at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel. A Mission U for youth, grades 7-12, will also be held. Contact Sharon Milton at 301-404-6628 for the youth event. For general information, go to https://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/abundant-health/missionu/.

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MORE Opportunities 

 

Spiritual Direction Opportunity 
Life is filled with paradox: times of great joy and times of great suffering; times of certainty and times of indecision. Of course, the list could go on and on, but in all times God is present with us and wants us to know that. Making the time to seek God, to explore the question “What do I hear from God in this situation?”, and to explore the complementary question “Who am I called to be in this situation?” describe the core of a Spiritual Direction relationship.  Cathie Leimenstoll is a retired Elder from the Tennessee Conference and moved to Maryland seven years ago to be near family. She will soon become a certified Spiritual Director in May. At no charge, she is approved to begin meeting with people who are interested in spiritual direction. Her commitment in this is to be a non-anxious companion with a person during a specific time in his/her spiritual journey, to pray with and for the person, to offer resources when appropriate, and to listen deeply to the individual and to the Holy Spirit who is ever-present when two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name. It is a privilege to walk with one another as we seek a deeper relationship with the God we serve in all our life-situations.  If you would like more information about such an opportunity, email and use the subject line Spiritual Direction.

Introducing Winter Grace Senior Ministries, Inc.   
WGSM is a non-profit organization with a mission to “Enrich and Empower the Lives of Older Adults through Christian Initiatives Connecting People, Ideas, and Resources.” WGSM seeks to assist churches in starting and growing their Older Adult ministries with a holistic approach that addresses the wide variety of needs of Older Adults and their families. Ministry for, by, and with Older Adults values the dignity and worth of each individual, encourages engagement of the gifts and talents of each person, and grows disciples of Jesus Christ until a person’s last breath for the transformation of the world. Additionally, WGSM connects Older Adults and their families to the resources in the community that can help each Older Adult live each day to the fullest by addressing needs from spiritual to practical. Founder and president, Debbie Burgio, is a candidate for Deacon, recommended by the Board of Ordained Ministry for Commissioning as a Provisional Deacon at the 2019 BWC Annual Conference.  For more information, go to www.wintergrace.org, email or call 443-832-3805.

United to Love: Advocacy and Action Team Sign-ups
We would like your voice at the table. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has six active teams to mobilize across our connection and they are: Creation Care (Climate/Eco-Justice), Gender Equality, Gun Violence Prevention, Immigration Rights, Racial Justice and Wealth Equity. If you are called to serve in one/more of these areas, if this is your passion and/or your faith community is leading in one or more of these areas, we would like to hear from you. Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/advocacy-action/ to sign-up so that we can connect with you.

Criminal Justice Mercy and Ministries Resources and Survey for Faith Communities
The Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church has a new CJAM website that has been created for congregations to become more aware and resourced in this vital area. You are invited to go to, http://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/advocacy-action/criminal-justice-and-mercy-ministries/ check out the resources and take the questionnaire so that we can better connect with you in this area. To go directly to the survey, please visit http://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/advocacy-action/criminal-justice-and-mercy-ministries-questionnaire/.

Are You Called to Lead Beyond Your Local Faith Community?
The Nominations Committee is seeking a few good men and women to serve in key leadership roles including in the areas of Leadership Development, New Faith Expressions, Young People’s Ministry, Abundant Health (including local and global missions, holistic health and ERT), Advocacy & Action, Native American Ministry, Gender Equality (COSROW), and the Board of Trustees. In addition to passion and experience in the above, some boards are seeking persons with expertise in training, coaching, grant administration, project management, and data analysis and evaluation. Please complete this leadership interest form and encourage gifted young leaders (30 or under) to do the same: https://www.bwcumc.org/conference-agency-leadership-nominations/.

Download the Central Maryland District calendar for more opportunities to learn and network.