News and Views

In moments of holy conferencing, Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference members heard reports and voted on resolutions May 14. 

Voting on a series of eight resolutions, the members passed a series of widely diverse measures that address matters within the church and around the world.

In the first of eight resolutions to be considered, members adopted An African-American Statement of Faith, written and presented by the Rev. Kwame Abayomi, a retired Elder.

They also approved:

• New rules that update and revise the Consent Calendar;
• Guidelines that bring equity to the paid vacation standards for part-time clergy; and
• The creation of a comprehensive paid parental leave policy.

Addressing social concerns, the members voted to:

• Encourage awareness and thoughtful conversation about how to live faithfully in the era of Artificial Intelligence;
• Advocate for peace with justice for the people of Sudan, where an estimated 25 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance;
• Oppose all forms of religious nationalism, which conflates religious belief and violent or exclusionary nationalism in dangerous and threatening ways.
• Actively support and embrace LGBTQ+ people.

Members also heard a report from Kris Neale and the Rev. Andre Briscoe, co-chairs of the Discipleship Council, who introduced a new Church Mission and Vitality Reflection Process for local churches to use as an assessment tool. 

The process, which will replace the annual Discipleship Ministries Report, was piloted by three churches last year and will be beta-tested more broadly in the coming year.

The pilot churches were St. Matthew’s New Life UMC, Westminster UMC, and Silver Spring UMC. Using the two-and-a-half-hour discernment evaluation, the churches said that the Church Mission and Vitality Reflection Process helped their congregations find clarity as they discerned how to take the next faithful step. 

They reported that the new process provides opportunities for honest introspection and connecting both inside and outside the church. It offers means to embrace team leadership and to simplify and focus goals while also inviting new voices into ministry. 

Neale and Briscoe also reported that the Council approved a draft Memorandum of Understanding with Georgetown University Real Estate Program to further ministries of affordable housing.

Earlier in the day, members heard a report from the Board of Ordained Ministry about their efforts to help clergy grow more effective in important competencies for ministry, and BOOM’s ongoing efforts to help pastors with self-care through the Living Well ministry.

They welcomed the two Deacons and three Elders who will be commissioned as provisional members. And then, Bishop Easterling asked the historic questions of two Deacons and nine Elders who will be ordained on May 15.