Here are the winners for the 2018 Annual Conference photo contest. The theme of the contest was Light. Nora Meeks – Silver Spring UMC Robert Maxwell – Van Buren UMC Rev. Adam Briddell – First UMC of Eugene, Oregon*on loan to Oregon Idaho...
By Linda Worthington Each year at the Annual Conference Session, it is with a mixture of sadness and gladness as the retirees are recognized for their years of service to the church: sadness that we’ll no longer (most likely) see them around the conference, at least in their expected...
By Linda WorthingtonUMConnection Staff Laity filled the Harborside Ballroom May 30 at the Annual Conference Session. Delores Martin, chair of the Conference Board of Laity, presided. The program featured presentations by two national church leaders: the Rev. Barbara Lemmel, a pastor in the New...
The Rev. James Ray “Jim” Morgan, 91, a retired Elder, died June 2, 2018, after a brief illness. A memorial service was held at Oakdale-Emory June 9. James Ray Morgan was born March 4, 1927, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to Louis Benjamin Morgan and Margaret Gene (Gibson)...
What are the covenantal practices that are so essential to our work together that we must perform them with excellence in order to fulfill our mission? We covenant to pray for one another, for the Commission, for the United Methodist Church, for the mission of Christ, and for a way forward...
While never discounting their many differences, the clergy and lay members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference gathered together “As One: Beneath the Cross,” May 30-June 1, at the Marriot Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore. Our Melissa Lauber has this overview story.
The Rev. Vernon L. Thompson, a retired Elder, died June 1, 2018, at the Willowbrook Medical Center at Indian River Estates retirement community in Vero Beach, Florida, where he and his wife lived. A memorial service was provided by the National Cremation Society in North Palm Beach July 14. He...
Rev. Lloyd Marcus, 90, a retired associate member, died June 1, 2018. Funeral services were held June 7 at St. James UMC in Baltimore, officiated by the Rev. Curtis King, with participation by the Revs. Jason Jordan-Griffith, Bruce Foster and District Superintendent Rev. Wanda Duckett and...
During the plenary session May 31, the Rev. Beth Hutton and seven other ordinands rose to speak on behalf of two of the candidates who were approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry, but were removed as candidates by a ruling of Bishop LaTrelle Easterling. This is a difficult moment for us in...
This denomination has been wrestling with the matter of human sexuality since 1972. The restrictive language was written into our Book of Discipline at that time, and we have been dealing with the ramifications and repercussions ever since. Men and women of deep faith and good intention have...
