Washington East District Special News and Updates
Learn More about the UMC Way Forward
This Saturday, Sept. 15, the Rev. Tom Berlin will offer a day-long learning session and conversation on the options facing The United Methodist Church as it moves towards February's special session of General Conference in St. Louis. There, United Methodists will gather to discern how the church will move forward on the issue of homosexuality.
This session will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nichols-Bethel UMC at 1239 Murray Road in Odenton. Participants are asked to bring their own lunches. There are several fast-food and other restaurants in the area.
The final report of the Commission on the Way Forward, along with a Finding our Way Forward Covenant to assist churches in their exploration of this issue, and a video of Rev. Berlin's and Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar's report to the May session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference are online.
Farming4Hunger Missional Experience
Please join us on September 22, 2018
(Please click the following link if the video below does not play: https://vimeo.com/157222152)
What to Do Before the Storm Hits
Hurricane Florence is on track to make landfall along the Carolina coast later this week. In light of drenching rains and high winds hitting our area, coupled with already saturated ground, the Baltimore-Washington Disaster Response office wants you to be prepared now, before the storm hits, for any possible damage.
The BWC's Disaster Response manual is online. It has processes to understand how to deal with disasters in a local church area. A copy should be printed as a reference, in case the power goes out for an extended period of time. The following items are listed with detail explanations in the manual, which is updated yearly.
If you have a specific local church disaster plan (and we hope you do!), make sure everyone has a printed copy to take home. An electronic version may be useless if you lose power.
- Make sure your local church staff, volunteers, and board contact lists are up-to-date.
- Determine how you will communicate with one another before, during, and after the storm. Make sure your shut-in list is up-to-date, and assign people to check on them before, during, and after the storm.
- Make sure your insurance information is readily available.
- If you don't already have up-to-date images (photographic/video) of your church's facility's exterior and interior, including storage areas, now's the time to take them. Being able to illustrate how your buildings looked before damage will be helpful if the need arises to pursue recovery financing.
- Back up electronic records and store the back-ups off-site or in the cloud.
- Secure outdoor furniture, bike racks, book drops, etc. - anything that can become a projectile in strong winds.
- Move book, file and photo collections that are in areas vulnerable to flooding - i.e., the floor, the basement - or susceptible to rain - near windows or under roofs.
- Know the location and shut-off procedures for water, electricity, and gas.
- Review individual plans, family plans, and plans for pets. You'll feel better attending
to your church knowing that your loved ones are safe. - For tips on what to do before, during, and after a hurricane, go to ready.gov/hurricanes.
- Download FEMA fact sheets "After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures" and "Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms."
- Familiarize yourself with
FEMA disaster declaration process, in case one is declared for your area. - Make sure you have contact information for your district superintendent.
- If needed, contact Pastor Fred Sipes, BWC's Disaster Response Coordinator, at , or 410-967-9134.