The Rev. Elgar Clyde Soper, 102, died Dec. 20, 2016, at Homewood Continuing Care at Crumland Farms in Frederick, the oldest surviving pastor in the conference. A memorial service was held Jan. 14, in the chapel at Homewood at Crumland Farms. Elgar Clyde Soper was born Nov. 3, 1914, in Olney. He...
Francis “Jay” Fisk, 80, who served as a Local Pastor, died Jan. 25, 2017, in New Oxford, Pa. No information was received about his funeral service. He was born Dec. 25, 1936, and served Boring UMC from 2004-2008. His address prior to New Oxford, was listed in Ellicott...
Life has already been in the fast lane for many of us and we haven’t even gotten out of January. Let’s recap what has happened for the past few weeks or so, starting with Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, and moving forward.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, . . .” These words, written by poet Emma Lazarus and posted on pedestal of the Statue of Liberty have, for decades, welcomed the foreigner to the shores of our land. They are words that have described the...
On January 16, 2017, we celebrated the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His message of justice, liberation, and inclusion reverberated from coast to coast as we remembered our national hero. Whether it was during a breakfast, dinner, or church service in his honor, his...
President Donald Trump’s order banning refugees from seven Muslim countries was countered by the voices of faith leaders who reminded followers that “a Middle Eastern refugee savior taught us to love the foreigner like we love ourselves.” The Rev. Omar Hamid Al-Rikabi, pastor of First United...
At Mt. Zion UMC in Bel Air, they never underestimate the power of God acting through one person. When Joshua Cooney was younger, his mother, Terri, worried that he needed friends to spend time with and care about. Joshua has special needs. In 2009, she collected a small group of people at her...
Press release originally posted January 26, 2017 Rejects policies that deny dignity and worth Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the Trump administration took executive action to expand the U.S.-Mexico border wall, increase the powers of immigration law enforcement and cut federal funding for...
Beth Bingham began to see Hagar of the Old Testament in a new way after studying The CEB Women’s Bible. Suddenly she wasn’t just the servant who bore Abraham a child when his wife Sarah couldn’t. She was, essentially, the Bible’s first single mom — one who had to leave the house because tensions...
The Rev. Richard Earl Nowers, 88, a retired Elder, died Jan. 23, 2017, at his residence in Edgewater. A Memorial Service was held Jan. 28, at Saint Andrew's of Annapolis UMC. Richard Earl Nowers was born April 29, 1929, in Reading, Pa., and raised in Allentown, Pa., where he graduated from the...
