A CommentaryBy Melissa Lauber Each of us seeks sanctuary – that indwelling sacred space where God is as close as breath, and wonder, mystery and possibility are ours to simply claim. Recently, I got to return to my home church, St. Paul’s UMC, in Wilmington, Delaware, and heard...
By Rev. Erik Alsgaard The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is “love in action.” Its ministry around the world touches thousands of people’s lives every year who have been impacted by natural or human-made disasters. They are often the first group to arrive with...
By Melissa Lauber Visit Hearts for Public Service Amidst the sweep of ongoing and often devastating layoffs of federal workers, the congregation of Bethesda UMC is working to create a ministry that they hope others will join or use as a template to address what, at times, can seem like...
By Melissa Lauber On Feb. 21, all the passion, fear, sympathy, despair and chaos that accompanied the Yellow Fever Epidemic that broke out in Philadelphia in1793 swept through Ebenezer UMC in Washington, D.C. as Theater of War Productions used drama to create feelings and conversations that felt...
By Rev. Chet JechuraGood Shepherd UMC, Baltimore From Feb. 27 – March 1, people of faith from across and beyond the United Methodist connection gathered at Peachtree Road UMC in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Fresh Expressions UM National Gathering. Over a dozen laity and clergy...
By Rev. Daryl Williams Chair, BWC Commission on Finance and Administration February is always an exciting time for me. It is not simply because of Valentine’s Day or my wife’s birthday, but also because the books for the previous year are closed, and we get to see how we did...
By Melissa Lauber The North Point Worship band was winding up the musical portion of the worship service at IGNITE when Enam, a youth from Colesville UMC, quietly approached the area in front of the stage and fell to his knees, raised his arms, threw back his head, and prayed. It was a prayer of...
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. --Psalm 139:23-24 Beloved, we once again find ourselves in the profound season of Lent. It is a formative time of praying, fasting, examination...
By Neal Christie The Baltimore-Washington Conference held the first of three advocacy days on Feb. 25 in Annapolis, the state capitol of Maryland. Key bills were advanced that align our faith with our experiences as United Methodists living across the many diverse counties in...
‘Be still, and know that I am God!I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.'The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. -- Psalm 46:8-11 (NRSV) Just a few short months ago, The United Methodist Church gathered in Charlotte, NC, to hold our...
