By Sarah Dorrance* What does singing praise in church look like as we come out of quarantine? For that matter, what will choirs and music academies do without the gift of song being united in vocal artistry? While none of us know that answer, we do know that Germany, in coming out of...
by Erik Alsgaard The coronavirus does not affect everyone the same. As more people become infected and, sadly, die, the death rates among African Americans, Latinos, and others are disproportionate to their numbers in the general population. In Washington D.C., the rate of death per 100,000...
By Mike Cantley* “I am the gate. “I am the gate.” Jesus said this to those who had just excommunicated the now-seeing-but-formerly-blind man. He said this to those who had appointed themselves gatekeepers. Those asking… perhaps thinking, “Surely we...
By Mandy Sayers* I was sitting around recently, lamenting the state of the world and the state of the church, and how this is just the worst time to be the church, ever, and I was reading Hebrews 11. And as I read the list of names — Noah, Abraham, Rahab, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses...
By Daryl Williams* We are living through a significant moment in history. Globally, COVID-19 has upended everything that we know. It has changed how we live, how we work, and how we play. The threat to life and livelihood has caused people across the globe to rethink how we do everything. We...
By Joey Heath-Mason* To the graduates of the class of 2020: I offer a most heartfelt congratulations. You have done something incredible. You are a graduate with a degree or diploma that will go with you from this day forward. That is something to celebrate and worthy of marking this...
Bishop LaTrelle Easterling invites you to join her at 12 noon every day to pray the Lord's Prayer. “More has been accomplished by prayer than the world will ever know,” the bishop said. “We may be unable to gather physically, but we can gather in prayer-and that is a...
by Erik Alsgaard The Rev. Malcolm Frazier wears scrubs and a mask while preaching a recent worship service at Asbury Methodist Village. He did so, he said, to honor all the health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic response. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, one...
A Message from the Conference Lay Leader By Delores Martin In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, the church is facing challenges and opportunities, and both the clergy and laity can respond in unique ways. In times like this, we realize what partnerships and collaboration can create. Laity...
See who has received grants thus far Responding to the needs of those caught in the coronavirus pandemic has brought church leaders to their knees in prayer and raised them to inspiring heights as they minister to the area’s most vulnerable people. “We are seeing persons be the...
