AN District News.......UMC Buzz.......April 24, 2020
Prayers for People
The husband of the Rev. Meredith Wilkins-Arnold, pastor of Trinity UMC in Annapolis, Donald Arnold, died April 7. Prayers are requested for her and her children: Timothy, Karis, Jack, and Luke.
As the cancer progresses, Tom Price, one of the directors of the BWC's ROCK event, has been moved to Casey House Hospice. Becki, his wife, writes: "Please pray for his comfort and peaceful transition as well as for my strength. We know without a doubt that God has prepared a place for him and will welcome him home. Cancer does not have the last word. That belongs to the Lord."
News & Events
The new prospective dates for The United Methodist Church's General Conference are Aug. 31 to Sept. 10, 2021. The Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference will be held Sept. 12, 2020. We continue to pray for the denomination and the people of The United Methodist Church.
Good News on Maryland Relief Grants and
Further Information on Federal PPP Relief
It was recently reported that some Baltimore-Washington Conference churches received comments from the Maryland Department of Commerce indicating that churches were not eligible for the Maryland COVID-19 relief loans and grants. This update provides correction and clarification on this issue.
The Maryland Department of Commerce confirmed on April 21 that churches do qualify for the Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant. The following excerpt is from the exchange one of our churches had with the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce gave us permission to share this guidance with all churches in the Conference.
Their recommendation is to submit a copy of this guidance when asked for additional documents during the application review process.
"Thank you for your patience. If you are a nonprofit that does not have an Unemployment Insurance number, you do still qualify as long as you can demonstrate that you have employees on your payroll - including at least one W2 employee other than the applicant. You will also need to attach the tax-exempt letter to prove you are exempt.
"Here are a few ways to demonstrate that you have W2 employees.
- Reported FICA, state or other withholding taxes shown on the financial statement
- A copy of an employee's W2 other than that of the applicant
"If necessary, please attach a copy of this correspondence when asked to submit additional documents."
Some churches have also asked what Unemployment Insurance Number they should insert on the Maryland grant application.
It is recommended that a church NOT leave the Unemployment Insurance Number blank in the grant application. An entry of all "0"s or all "1"s is appropriate for churches as an indication that they are exempt from the state unemployment system.
Two Important Questions on the Paycheck Protection Plan
- My church just received PPP funding and we could use some advice to make sure we have the best opportunity to have the full amount spent and forgiven over the next 8-weeks.
Based on the multitude of processes observed in the PPP application process, it is clear that each bank will create their own process for how they receive the receipts and make decisions on what they will acknowledge as a qualified expense.
Without knowing any additional specifics, we recommend the following guidance:
- Ask your bank to explain their process for submitting receipts for qualified expenses (payroll, benefits, mortgage/debt interest, rent, and utilities).
- Make sure that you know the Loan Origination Date. From the Small Business Administration guidance, it appears this date marks the start of the 8-week period within which the qualified expenses will be given loan forgiveness.
- Make sure the bank tells you whether they are willing to classify the following items as qualified expenses, if applicable:
- Housing Allowance; and
- 1099 Paid Church Staff.
- Some churches may need to consider prepayment of church paid pension and medical benefits to help accomplish the full expenditure of the PPP funds over the designated 8-week period. The prepayment of benefits can also be used to ensure that more than 75% of the funds are spent on payroll costs.
Remind me again about what our church must do to receive full loan forgiveness on the PPP funding.
The following steps must be taken to receive full loan forgiveness on the PPP funding:
- Spend the full amount received within eight (8) weeks of the origination date on only qualified expenses (payroll, benefits, mortgage/debt interest, rent, and utilities);
- More than 75% of the qualified expenses must be spent on payroll costs (payroll and church paid benefits);
- The church must keep receipts for all expenditures and submit them to the bank; and
- The bank must certify that the claimed expenditures meet both the bank's understanding of what is identified as a qualified expense and that they also meet the bank's standard for documenting the expenditure with a receipt.
REMEMBER: The amount of PPP funding that does not receive full loan forgiveness will continue as a bank loan that needs to be repaid over a two-year or a slightly greater period. A church conference must approve any loan that is established at this point and the continuing loan will also require Pastor and District Superintendent consent letters.
More information and resources are available on the BWC website.
FUND BALANCE REPORT ARE DUE JUNE 30TH
The Committee on Finance is required to make provision for an annual audit of the records of all the financial officers (including the financial secretary or church business manager and treasurers) of the church and all its organizations and shall report to the Charge Conference. Guidelines for handling of an accountability of funds can be found in the 2017-2020 United Methodist Church Financial Records Handbook and in Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation: FINANCE. Please note that Fund Balance reports are still due on June 30, 2020. No exceptions.
Event Updates
April 18 ~ State of the Church
In compliance with the gathering limits, the Pre-Conference event has been cancelled. In its place, a virtual State of the Church meeting will be held online. Information on financial relief for local churches from the Board of Pensions and other information will be presented and a Q&A session will be held with leaders of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Register online -- https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=529815&
POSTPONED: April 25-26 ~ Annapolis District Lay Servant Ministries Academy
This event will be scheduled at a later date.
POSTPONED: May 5-15 ~ General Conference
Organizers are making plans for how it might be re-scheduled. The General Council on Finance and Administration has reported the denomination will continue to function under the 2016-2020 budget. Learn more -- https://www.umnews.org/en/news/wrestling-with-budget-after-gc2020-postponed
• POSTPONED: May 27-29 ~ 236th Session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference
The Conference is postponed due to closures at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore. A one-day session is being planned for the fall at a location to be determined. Refunds for those already registered will be provided.
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Stay Connected
Visit the BWC News Webpage regularly to stay informed -- https://www.bwcumc.org/news-and-views/
Subscribe and receive E-Connection, BWC wide electronic newsletter -- https://www.bwcumc.org/news/submit-and-subscribe/
We Are STILL One: Connected Through Technology -- https://www.bwcumc.org/news-and-views/we-are-still-one-connected-through-technology/
Food Pantry distribution for the Annapolis District: Monday’s & Thursday’s 11:30 am- 1:00pm at Asbury Broadneck UMC. Please contact the church via email for any questions:
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Certified Lay Ministers Class
Applications for the next class of Certified Lay Ministers are now being accepted. Learn more and see if you qualify -- https://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/leadership-development/laity-development/. Click "Learn More" under Certified Lay Ministers for information and application pack. The deadline is July 1. The next class, which is a two-year commitment, will start in September. Questions can be directed to Linda Flanagan (
), Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries.
Training Tuesday Webinars
On-demand training for current, newly appointed and aspiring members on the SPRC, Trustee Board, Finance, Church Council, Nominations and Unified Board. Visit https://www.bwcumc.org/events/training-tuesdays/ to play-back one or all the webinars.
BWC Programs Directory
View the Conference Leaders directory for a list of programs and contacts.
Volunteers are needed for NEJ
Interested? Contact Rev. Patricia Allen, NEJ Host Chairperson at
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