By Melissa Lauber At Shiloh UMC in Hagerstown, the people’s hearts are so interwoven that their stories are written on one another’s faces and across one another’s lives. On June 12, Pastor Dionne Hall stood in front of the church, looked into those faces and saw the tragedy...
Colleagues, Yesterday, on June 9, there was a shooting at Columbia Machine Inc. in Smithsburg, near Hagerstown. Initial police reports indicate that three people were killed and one was wounded. The gunman and a police officer were also shot and injured after the gunman fled the...
By Susan Bender, Chair, Gun Violence Prevention Team Our hearts cry out for the recent shooting victims in Buffalo, Uvalde, Tulsa, and all around our conference. Gun violence is a complicated issue and there is no simple answer. That doesn’t mean we should accept that nothing can be done...
United Methodists throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference are making their marks as they pursue vitality and transform the world so that all people might live life to the fullest. Pursuing Bishop LaTrelle Easterling’s vision of 100 percent of churches becoming 100 percent vital...
Twenty-four men and women responded to God’s call to set-apart ministry, and were celebrated by their colleagues and loved ones at a worship service held June 3 at Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott City. During the service, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling prayed over and blessed the nine Elders and...
By Melissa LauberAmid mass shootings, wars abroad, two years of pandemic and isolation, oppression, depression, and anxiety, the Baltimore-Washington Conference met online in its Annual session June 1-3 for a time of prayer, holy conferencing, and to proclaim a spirt of perseverance and...
In an on-going effort to empower the stewardship of local churches, BWC members passed a $18,223,006 budget for 2023 that helps in the recovery from pandemic challenges and addresses the uncertainty of future changes in the denomination. The budget is based on the 90 percent collection rate...
Providing outstanding benefits and health care to clergy in this season of pandemic and stress continues to be a priority for the BWC’s Board of Pensions and Health Benefits, reported the board’s chair, the Rev. Cary James. This year is the Conference’s fifth year with...
Delores Martin, Lay Leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, often says that United Methodism is a faith that believes in the ministry of all believers. For the annual Laity Address, she invited Bonnie Ives Marden, a leader in the New England Conference and chair of the Northeastern...
As members in The United Methodist Church continue to hold differing views on how to address homosexuality, a process of disaffiliation has been established in Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline for churches wishing to leave the denomination. Each Annual Conference has also been...
