News and Views

By Melissa Lauber

Claiming joy as a mindset, a discipline, and a way of life, the members of the 241^st session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference met to worship, witness and celebrate the glory and possibilities of God, May 13-15 at the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore.

With ribbons soaring over their heads during opening worship, members sang, danced and embraced the theme of “Rejoice in the Lord: Dwell in Joy.”

Joy and Pain as we ‘Sought the Lord’

Bishop LaTrelle Easterling reminded members of the profound truth that “joy and pain can coexist, and sometimes, oftentimes, they must.”

Joy, the bishop said, “is not an escape from life; rather, it is a declaration that we will not succumb, surrender, secede, nor submit. What we will do is rejoice, dance, sing, and shout of the goodness of God.”

Throughout the opening worship, the themes of joy and pain were woven together. As the church now stands at a cultural and political crossroads, where civil rights and justice feel threatened.

“Joy is always a courageous counterpoint,” the bishop concluded. “Let the world see a church unshaken, not because we’re blind to the pain, but because we’re rooted in a deeper promise. … The God of peace is with us, and that’s why we dwell in joy,” she said.

Ministry and Structure as Joy

Drawing on this joy to address social justice, the BWC’s Advocacy and Action ministry unveiled a new “Hate Divides, Love Unites” campaign, in which churches will be given resources to offer a public witness to our shared belief in dignity, justice, and collective liberation. Learn more at Hate Divides. Love Unites.

While the joy the church embraced always flows out into the world, it also provided a foundation for the BWC’s new structure, designed to help churches grow in vitality.

In a presentation that lifted up the BWC’s new six districts and 64 Collaborative Hubs, which go into effect July 1, members joined in a presentation that delivered a powerful blend of storytelling, music, and testimony. 

Throughout the BWC, United Methodists, who connect now in HUBs, are entering a bold new chapter in collaborative ministry — one rooted in deep listening, faithful improvisation, and shared values.

Framed by the metaphor of jazz, where individual voices come alive in collective harmony, the annual conference explored the work of the hubs in building relationships and engaging in Missional Action Planning (MAP) as a Spirit-led journey toward congregational vitality.

Leaders emphasized the need for building authentic relationships, discerning community needs, and co-creating ministry that is contextual, courageous, and transformative.

Joy also bubbled up as Conference members learned about the significant growth in Young People’s Ministry. Members learned about a $1.25 million grant to create a Constellation Project to help churches fully integrate children ages 3–12 into weekly worship; the wild success of IGNITE, a new retreat for youth in Ocean City; and the growth of campus ministries, which is now up to seven that engage more than 400 students.

Signs of Joy

Signs, instruments and foretastes of God’s Kin-dom arose throughout the session. Among them:

In Worship and Bible Study

• Two Deacons and three Elders were commissioned as provisional members and two Deacons and nine Elders were ordained.
• Bishop Cynthia Moore Koikoi preached at the ordination sermon and laid her hands in blessing on her husband, The Rev. Raphael Koikoi, Jr., as he was ordained an Elder in The United Methodist Church.
• Twenty clergy retirees were honored for their 604 years of service.
• Twenty-one clergy and 14 clergy spouses were remembered in a Memorial Service, where the Rev. Herbert Brisbon, III, chaplain at Dillard University in New Orleans, preached on how memory and legacy can create joy.
• In a two-session Bible study on Philippians 4:4-9, Bishop Cynthia Moore Koikoi lifted up the idea of trauma-informed joy, how it has personally affected her life following the death of her brother, and how United Methodists can “stand firm in the Lord.”
• At a service of celebration, the conference honored four Earthkeepers and five certified lay ministers.
• Also at the celebration service, Brady Ward from Good Shepherd UMC in Waldorf received the Foundation for Evangelism award for the prayer garden he built. Sharp Street UMC in Sandy Spring was given the One Matters Award.
• Dong Eun Lee from Mays Chapel UMC in Timonium received the Wellness and Missions Award. And Essex UMC received the Advocacy and Action Award for their serving of God's people through restaurant-style meals being served to more than 100 unhoused neighbors each week.
• The conference’s new lay leader, Amelia Duroska, hosted the Rev. Kris Sledge, pastor of The Journey UMC in Harrisburg, Pa., and the author of Followers Under 40: The Journey Away from Church for Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who spoke at the Laity Session.

In Stewardship

• Members adopted an $18.216 million budget for 2026. The benevolence factor was reduced from 17.40 percent to 17.25 percent and the collection rate assumption for 2026 was set at 85 percent.
• Pastors received information about Compass, the new denominational pension fund for United Methodist clergy.
• The Equitable Compensation Commission increased the base minimum salary for clergy by 2.5 percent to $52,692 and the housing allowance was set at $23,151.
• After debate on clergy’s professional and business expenses, members voted to tie reimbursement to 10 percent of a pastor’s cash salary.
• The superintendents prayed for the six churches that will be closed this year.
• During the opening worship service, $9,073 was collected for Just Neighbors offering to support ministries with immigrants.

In Discipleship:

In partnership with annual conferences around the globe, members voted on four constitutional amendments that were passed at General Conference last May. The amendments addressed:

• Regionalization that would be achieved with a package of legislation that gives The United Methodist Church’s geographic regions equal decision-making authority.
• Adding “gender” and “ability” to the list of characteristics that do not bar people from membership in a United Methodist church.
• Revising Paragraph 5, Article V, to strengthen the denomination’s longtime stance for racial justice. And,
• Clarifying who can elect the clergy delegates who serve at General Conference, and at U.S. jurisdictional and central conferences, which elect bishops.

To take effect in the church, two-thirds of the aggregate vote on each amendment from every annual conference needs to be achieved. The results of the balloting will be announced in November by the Council of Bishops.

In other voting, members approved eight resolutions, including:

• Adopting An African-American Statement of Faith, written and presented by the Rev. Kwame Abayomi, a retired Elder;
• Updating the revising the Consent Calendar;
• Bringing equity to the paid vacation standards for part-time clergy with new guidelines;
• Creating a comprehensive paid parental leave policy;
• Encouraging awareness and thoughtful conversation about how to live faithfully in the era of Artificial Intelligence;
• Advocating for peace with justice for the people of Sudan, where an estimated 25 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance;
• Opposing all forms of religious nationalism, which conflates religious belief and violent or exclusionary nationalism in dangerous and threatening ways; and
• Actively supporting and embracing LGBTQ+ people.

Members also heard a report from the Discipleship Council, which announced a new assessment tool, the Church Mission and Vitality Reflection Process, for local churches to use in place of the current annual Ministry Report.

And, they received written greetings from Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller. Faith has always been a source of strength in our state,” she wrote. The governor noted Bishop Easterling's and the Conference's faithful commitment to service—advancing justice, advocating for peace, and addressing the pressing issues of gun violence, domestic violence, and gender equity with clarity and compassion.

"From the pulpit to the public square, your ministry is making a difference in the lives of countless Marylanders," Miller said. "Governor Moore and I are honored to walk alongside you as partners in this sacred work."

The conference also launched a new mission project among the six new districts.

In a “co-opertition,” bringing together the best of competition and cooperation, districts will come together to make hygiene kits for the United Methodist Committee on Relief to use in disaster relief efforts and with the poor. 

The goal is to collect 10,000 hygiene kits between July 1 and Thanksgiving Day, said the Rev. Wanda Duckett. “With this project, we’ll forge, form and dwell in a blue note of mission. Working together, we’ll go places only God can take us.”

The next session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference is planned for May 26-28, 2026, at the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore.