AN District News.....UMC Buzz...... July 19, 2018
Praying our Way Forward
In preparing for how the church will address homosexuality, the Council of Bishops, in partnership with The Upper Room, has launched Phase 3 of Praying our Way Forward, encouraging every United Methodist to fast weekly and to pray daily. United Methodists are encouraged to:
- Engage in a weekly Wesleyan 24-hour fast from Thursday after dinner to Friday mid-afternoon. Those who have health situations causing food fasts to be un-advisable might consider fasting from social media, emails or another daily activity.
- Pause and pray for our church's mission and way forward daily for four minutes from 2:23 through 2:26 p.m. or at another time. This is because the Special Session of General Conference will be held Feb. 23 through Feb. 26, 2019.
There is a local church media kit with downloadable resources including logos, social media posts and bulletin inserts. Learn more. In addition, there is an online video from the Rev. Tom Berlin, who spoke about the Way Forward at The Annual Conference Session. Also read the Commission's covenant, which BWC churches are encouraged to use.
Continuing Highlights
Social Principles 2020: As the United Methodist Social Principles are revised, Board of Church and Society leaders are calling for United Methodists to weigh in on the content. The deadline for submitting comments is Aug. 31. Responses will be collected and may influence the final draft submitted to General Conference. Read more.
Policy and Procedure Manual
The newly revised Baltimore-Washington Conference Policy Manual is now available online.
Request: The Northeast Cooperative Parish is looking for any church who had a VBS using Rolling River Rampage theme before August that would be willing to pass on any props/flats, puppets etc. If you have any information or supplies, please contact Pastor Rick Oursler at .
AN CLERGY INTERVIEWS
All Annapolis District Clergy, please note that an email has been sent out regarding 2018 Clergy Interviews. Please note the DS would like to meet with all Clergy and newly appointed Clergy to the Annapolis District this fall. Slots will fill quickly so please make sure to pick your interview date and time today. A huge thank you for all of the churches in the Annapolis District that assisted and/or considered hosting clergy interviews this 2018.
Church Conference Training's
2018 Church Conference training's will be held on August 21, 2018 at Franklin UMC, August 23, 2018 at First: Laurel UMC, and August 29, 2018 at Pasadena UMC. There will be two training's held at each location. The first training is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and the second training is from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. We encourage churches to send at least two representatives as we will provide a tutorial on the updated platform scheduled to launch on July 16, 2018.
Please note that the trainings are free of charge and we are encouraging all churches to send their administrators and/or persons that assist with the completion and submittal of documents. To RSVP/Register please visit the Baltimore Washington Conference website or click here.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact your Annapolis District Administrator, Willine Kamara at .
Plan now to attend the United to Love rally Aug. 12
Bishop LaTrelle Easterling is calling on all United Methodists to be present on Aug. 12 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol for United to Love, a rally for love, peace and justice.
The rally comes on the one-year anniversary of the "Unite the Right" event, a 2017 gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., during which a counter-protester was killed. The National Park Service has issued preliminary approval for the white nationalist group, led by Jason Kessler, to hold a "white civil rights rally" in Lafayette Park by the White House, on Aug. 11 and 12.
The United Methodist presence in D.C. that day will stand as an alternative to the hatred, but it will also be much more as people of faith claim and share God's love, peace and justice.
Participants may choose to start their witness at worship at their churches and/or or take church out of the buildings and on the Capitol grounds. The rally will follow at 12:30 p.m.
Learn more and register at www.unitedtolove.org,
reCall Summit: Early bird registration ends today
Today is the last day to receive the early bird registration rate for the 2018 reCall summit.
reCAll is a two-day gathering where courageous conversations unfold that lead us to dream, discover, discuss and dismantle racism. This year, the summit begins on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 26, and will conclude by 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the BWI DoubleTree Hotel, 890 Elkridge Landing Rd. in Linthicum. The summit will feature Jim Wallace of Sojouners magazine and the Rev. Marvin McMickle, a national civil rights leader.
Learn more and register. If you have any questions, contact Jo Chesson.
School of Congregational Development Aug. 17 and 18
Friday, August 17, Spanish Only-- 7 p.m. to $10 p.m. $10 per person
Presenter: Pastor Alejandro Alfaro-Santiz
- BWC Mission Center- 11711 East Market Place in Fulton
Saturday, August 18, English Only -- 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- $29 per person (includes lunch)
Presenters: Genevieve Cavil-Harris, Cedrick Bridgeforth, Larry Hygh, Lynda Byrd.
- BWC Mission Center - 11711 East Market Place in Fulton
- Gethsemane UMC - 910 Addison Rd S., in Capitol Heights
- Hopewell UMC - 3600 Level Village Road in Havre de Grace
Register at http://www.onlineteachingevent.org/
If you are a leader -- clergy or lay -- you won't want to miss this opportunity to discover innovative ways to create vital, dynamic, life-changing congregations. Join with hundreds of fellow Christians, friends, colleagues and past participants in this unique way to learn what is new, what's working, how to empower your leadership team.
For more information contact Jo Chesson.
Clergy Compensation, Benefits, and Taxation Workshop
