| Church celebrates 225 years CROWNSVILLE It was 1777 when circuit rider, later bishop, Francis Asbury stopped to preach and pray with the farmers in an area known as Crossroads. That was the beginning of what today is Baldwin Memorial UMC, which celebrated the 225th anniversary of that first meeting in November. Church records show that 65 circuit-rider preachers served the congregation until the late 1880s, and 21 ministers have served since then, according to church historian Howard Hall. The Rev. Phillip Tocknell was appointed to the church this year. The church received its name from donations of several generations of the William Henry Baldwin family. They built the stone chapel, completed in 1896, that is the church today. Its Gothic design is enhanced by two Tiffany windows. The anniversary celebration included a music-filled worship service with many special guests of honor. Teens gain new perspective in Bosnia  WINFIELD Spending three weeks on a work camp in Bosnia last summer gave two teenagers from Ebenezer UMC a new perspective on life. Valerie Paulsgrove and Dan Sager traveled with their pastor, the Rev. Gayle Annis-Forder and her husband, Dick, and joined a larger group of people working through the United Methodist Committee on Relief. In Bosnia, Sager and Paulsgrove helped make a kindergarten ready for students in Mostar, Bosnias second-largest city. They also participated in activities at a youth center in Bjelo Pulje. The teen-agers helped with craft activities, music lessons and sports events. Imagine playing in a sports league where there is one ball for all the teams to share, Sager said. Seeing so many bombed houses and the people who used to live in them has shown me that Americans tend to take a lot for granted, Paulsgrove told the Carroll County Times. Since Ive returned, Ive never felt that life was too tough, Sager said. No matter how bad things seem to me, worse things have happened to better people. A thank you from Zimbabwe children GALESVILLE Galesville UMC is one of several churches that help to support the Zimbabwe Orphan Trusts, through an outreach program started by Cleo McCoy and Emily Frye of Community UMC in Crofton. In the church newsletter Spirit of the Bay, copies of thank you letters from the families, who now have food at least a few times a week, were shared. Farai J. Manezhu wrote: We would like to say thank you for the money you sent for buying us food. We are happy because we are eating food that build our body. Now we are not sleeping in class. Before this program started we were sleeping and we could not participate in class, now we are participate because we eat enough food. Choir director issues new CD CHEWSVILLE Marlene Young, choir director at Bethel UMC, recently released her first CD, With Glad Heart. Later this year she hopes to release a second one. Young is donating all proceeds of the sales of the Christian music CD to the library where she works, her church and to Salem UMC in Wolfsville, where she grew up. The collection of spiritual songs includes her husband Mikes favorite, Youll Never Walk Alone, and her daughter Jenny singing in a duet with her in Love Is. Making the CD of 11 songs was a focus on faith and a journey of joy, Young told the Hagerstown Morning Herald in an interview. The CD and cassettes are available from the church. Call (301) 733-8387. Church serves hundreds of dinners WASHINGTON, D.C. For the third year, Randall Memorial UMC has participated in the Far Northeast Feeding the Hungry Ministry. The 11 churches in the ministry each take one month of the year to provide hot meals to anyone who comes by between 4:45 and 6 p.m. each weekday. During November, the church served 689 dinners with an average of 36 guests per day, according to Rex Johnson, the church communicator. An average of 10 volunteers a day helped make it happen. In addition to the meals, volunteers led devotions that included Bible reading and the diners were invited to church. | 
Login/Register to leave comment