By Erik Alsgaard There was a time, pre-pandemic, when clergy or local pastors might go away on a retreat to recharge their spiritual batteries by booking a cabin in the woods, a lofty perch on a mountain, or a house by a sandy beach filled with long walks. Today, those opportunities are harder...
by Erik Alsgaard Churches throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference will continue to operate under restrictions that mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through May 15, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling announced in a State of the Church webinar today. The bishop said that she is following...
A screenshot from the Training Tuesday webinar, April 7. By Erik Alsgaard What people need the most, right now, during a global pandemic, is reassurance that we will get through this. That’s the job of clergy and lay leaders throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference, according to...
March 17, 2020 Beloved, Yesterday, March 16, President Trump issued guidelines recommending that gatherings across our nation be limited to 10 people or fewer. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser have ordered people in their jurisdictions to...
By Erik Alsgaard Bishop LaTrelle Easterling notified the Baltimore-Washington Conference today that the April 18 Pre-Conference Briefing will not be held on-site in Ranson, W.Va. Rather, the session will be held online, via a webinar. This change, she wrote, follows the updated guidelines from...
NOTE: This is the full text of Judicial Council ruling 1391. The original decision was posted here. November 01 2019 In Re: IN RE: Review of a Bishop’s Ruling on a Question of Law in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference Wherein Said Questions Exclusively Concerned the...
United Methodist clergy should hold tight, for now, following a federal judge's ruling that struck down the law that gives clergy tax-free housing allowances. GCFA and WesPath are monitoring the situation.
A federal judge in Wisconsin recently found the housing allowance tax exemption for clergy to be unconstitutional. The Legal Services Department at GCFA has reviewed the decision and prepared a short analysis.
