Discipleship Opportunities

The Baltimore-Washington Conference offers a number of opportunities for learning and growing in faith and discipleship. Scroll down this list of some of the offerings to put your faith into action.

Local Church EventS

• At part of its Juneteenth celebration, New Waverly UMC at 642 E 33rd St. in Baltimore will present the play “God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse” by James Weldon Johnson on June 14 at 2 p.m.

• Want to learn how to play a band instrument? Want to dust off your old clarinet or horn and play with a group of folks who are doing the same thing?! The Timonium-Phoenix Cooperative Parish at Timonium UMC, in partnership with Towson University, is offering a new outreach program: Band Camp for Adults ages 50+. The camp will be held  June 16-27, from 10 a.m. to noon.

• The Ana A. Brito Foundation of Epworth UMC in Gaithersburg invites everyone to a special Open House celebrating 40 years of empowering immigrants and newcomers through language, literacy, and life skills in the Gaithersburg community on Tuesday, May 20. The gathering will be concurrent with their ESOL, computer, and Spanish classes and the Let's Read Tutoring program. Come at 5 p.m. to take a peek at what the students are learning and stay to learn more from the leaders, share food, and learn about their bold steps for the future.  

• Mission trip: St. James UMC invites you to join them on a 10-day study and mission opportunity on Nov. 7-16 with “Give Ye Them To Eat,” a rural development mission in Mexico. Participants will visit the city of Puebla, then spend most of our time near the small town of Tlancualpican where the Tree of Life Training Center is located. The cost is $1,150, plus roundtrip airfare to Mexico City. Contact the Rev. Patricia Abell for more information and an application.

Across the Connection

The 241st session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference will be held Tuesday through Thursday, May 13-15, 2025, at the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore. 

Washington Conference Pilgrimage Bus Trip: On June 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Conference’s annual Pilgrimage Bus Trip will explore the former racially segregated old Washington Conference as we wrestle with questions about race, justice, and equality. This year’s trip focuses on Baltimore sites. Free parking is available at Lovely Lane UMC at 2200 St. Paul St. in Baltimore, where the day will begin and end. The cost is $50 (scholarships are available), which includes the bus, lunch catered by a Black-owned catering company, admission to all sites, interpretation, and a lesson on pilgrimage theology. Full participants can earn 0.6 CEUs. Learn more and register.

The Network of Biblical Storytellers will hold their international conference Aug. 6-8 at the Maritime Center in Linthicum. The theme of the event is “Searching for Peace in Troubling Times: The Abiding Wisdom of 2 Kings 5-6." The keynote speaker is Tavis West. Learn more and register.

Advocacy and action

The Seeds of Security Charity Golf Tournament will be held at a new location this year, at Renditions Golf Club, in Anne Arundel County, on *Monday, June 16. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Seeds of Security supports the Area’s ministries with survivors of intimate partner violence and develops safe havens for them. There are a number of opportunities for sponsoring support, including a hole for $250. For information, contact the Rev. Stacey Cole Wilson. | Register to play.  |   Sign up to become a sponsor. 

Building Beloved Community: Throughout the nation, DEI programs and initiatives are under attack. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has long been committed to upholding the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These core principles are not only grounded in our lived experience as the Body of Christ, but they are also deeply embedded in the theological teachings of Scripture, our United Methodist traditions and the broader Christian call to justice. The pursuit of equity, diversity, and inclusion is integral to living out the Gospel’s radical message of love, unity, and justice for all people, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, or social status. See our Call to Prayer and Action.

Early Educators Conference: The BWC's Directors Roundtable will host an Early Childhood Educators Conference on Aug. 7 at St. Andrews UMC, at 48 Wallace Manor Road in Edgewater. The cost is $75. The theme is "Choose Joy." Registration opens May 1.