The Rev. Paul Southwell Jones, 100, the longest-serving clergy member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, died Oct. 6 at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. His life was celebrated at Bethany UMC in Ellicott City, Oct. 9, with the Rev. David Simpson officiating. Paul...
By Thomas Starnes Editor’s Note: When the Judicial Council meets Oct. 24-27, it will be considering petitions brought by the Denmark and California-Pacific annual conferences that argue that the language in the Discipline that deems “homosexual practice” to be...
At 10 years old, Edison D. Toe was selling kerosene on the streets in Liberia to provide extra money for his family. One night, he saw a group fleeing heavy fighting between rebel and government forces in the area. Fearful for his own life, Toe made the difficult decision to join the crowd...
Today we awoke to the news of what is being called the worst mass shooting in modern American history. Yet, these words sound all too familiar. They sound familiar because we heard them after the shooting at the Pulse Night Club in Florida. We heard them after the shooting in San Bernardino...
The Rev. Kenneth S. Jones, a retired United Methodist pastor, former missionary to the Belgian Congo, a church journalist, district superintendent, and the Pastor Emeritus at Faith United Methodist Church, died peacefully on September 29, in the Wilson Health Care Center of Asbury Methodist...
United Methodists were praying and standing in solidarity with Puerto Ricans while awaiting word about the effects of Hurricane Maria.
September is Deaf Awareness Month. It's a time to learn about Deaf culture, sign language (and even learn some sign phrases), and Deaf history. It's also a good time to become more sensitive to Deaf culture, improve accessibility in our churches, and do a better job of empowering Deaf and hard...
The Commission on a Way Forward has started sketching models to share with the Council of Bishops as options for finding a way forward for The United Methodist Church (UMC) regarding human sexuality.
Finding the right shades and perspectives to forge a portrait of a leader is an art. But sometimes leadership begins with just an invitation. On Aug. 9 and 10, several people in the Baltimore-Washington Conference responded to an invitation to discover “why in the world we are here in the...
On Capitol Hill in 1917, Rev. Clarence True Wilson spotted a muddy, billboard-cluttered corner lot. Wilson, executive director of the Board of Prohibition, thought it was the perfect site for Methodism's social reform presence in Washington, D.C.
