Washington East District News & Updates 12_7_18
Church Conference Season Concludes
Around of applause to each of you for completing this Church Conference season and a big thank you to our Presiding Elders for countless hours of service to our district.
As a reminder, during church conference, the recording secretary keeps record of the proceedings. In The Book of Discipline ¶ 247.4: "A copy of the minutes shall be provided for the district superintendent, and a permanent copy shall be retained for church files." Please remember to upload minutes from your church conference via your Arena church account. The minutes are due 14 days after your church conference.
A Way Forward Resources
On December 2, the clergy of Charles County provided an overview on the Commission on a Way Forward. Laurie Gates-Ward, along with the Sarah Schlieckert listened and answered questions from attendees. At our regional gathering on October 28, Bishop stressed the importance of staying informed, attending listening sessions and praying daily at 2:23 pm for five minutes for those who will meet at the General Conference on February 23. The Bishop referenced three resources during our time together to gain understanding and stay informed:
- A Word from the Bishop: We Can Remain Together - Why I Support the One Church Plan
- Plans - At - A - Glance: A Summary and Side-by-Side Comparison of the One Church Plan
- Browse Resources on A Way Forward and Connect with the BWC Delegates
STATISTICAL REPORTING TRAINING & TIPS
Monday, December 10, 2018.
10:00AM - 12:00PM Calvary UMC. 3235 Leonardtown Rd, Waldorf, MD Click here to register
6:00PM - 8:00PM Oxon Hill UMC, 6400 Livingston Rd., Oxon Hill, MD. Click here to register
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
6:00PM - 8:00PM Mount Olive UMC, 10 Fairground Rd., Prince Frederick, MD. Click here to register
Annapolis District
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
10:00AM - 12:00PM & 6:30 - 8:30PM Severna Park UMC, 731 Benfield Rd., Severna Park, MD
During the training, you will learn:
- What gets collected and how
- Key dates and deadlines
- The importance of accuracy
- EZRA: General Council on Finance & Administration website
- December 17 -- EZRA opens for 2018 Stats
- Statistical Reports are due in EZRA by January 2019. The exact deadline date and information will be emailed by the beginning of January.
- Please remember, these reports are NOT entered into Arena. Instead, you will log into EZRA to enter the information.
- Receiving all stats data by the date required is extremely important to enable setting the 2019 budget that is initially reviewed by the Council on Finance and Administration (CFA) on the first week of February.
- Proper planning is essential for your church to meet the data entry deadline.
- Visit the Statistical Reporting webpage for resources.
Revised BWC Policies and Procedures: A Guide for Clergy and Church Business
At the 2016 Annual Conference Session, members voted to update the BWC's Manual on Policies and Procedures. This document will come before the next conference session. Download your copy now.
United Methodist Men call for Potato Drop donations
Greetings from the United Methodist Men:
For several years, The Baltimore-Washington Conference United Methodist Men have facilitated Potato Drops throughout our Conference to feed the hungry. Potato Drops have been delivered to churches, soup kitchens, and the Salvation Army. Unfortunately, the cost of diesel fuel and other items have increased to the point that we have run out of funds and are not able to have potatoes delivered to our Conference for the remainder of the year. The remaining Potato Drop deliveries have been canceled for 2018.
The Potato Drop cancellation is disappointing and we want to ensure this doesn't happen again.
In order to do this, we have a plan, but we'll need your help. Each year, the Charted UMM units make donations to support this ministry, but now we're asking each church in the Conference for a $52 donation. That is only $1 per week for every church in the BWC. We are requesting that the donation be made anytime during the first quarter of 2019. All funds collected during the quarter will be sent to The Society of Saint Andrew Potato Project - Feed the Hungry. Please put "Potato Project" in the memo line of your check and mail it to: BWCUMM, 11711 East Market Place Fulton, MD 20759. Needless to say, the United Methodist Men will be more than happy to accept donations higher than the $52 requested.
Please note that the above request is directed to each church in the Conference and not to the Chartered United Methodist Men's Unit within each of those churches. Many United Methodist Men's Chartered Units are currently contributing in excess of $200 towards The Society of Saint Andrew Potato Project - Feed the Hungry.
We will no longer send individual church checks to The Society of Saint Andrew. Instead, we will respond to their need as the United Methodist Men of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Each Potato Drop delivery costs $4,500. We hope to have seven Potato Drops in 2019 for a total cost of $31,500.
We thank you for your support in this matter as we continue to be a Conference that feeds the hungry and blesses the needy.
God Bless You,
Hampton E. Conway, Jr.
President, Baltimore-Washington Conference United Methodist Men