| Conference lay leader off to West Virginia  COLUMBIA Calvin Williams, Baltimore-Washington Conference lay leader, has been invited to share his experiences with the West Virginia Annual Conference June 1316. The conference will meet at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, W. Va. Williams will be the keynote speaker at the laity banquet June 14. That same day, he will speak at the ethnic ministries luncheon, and has been invited to attend the breakfast of the ministry team on laity. Celebrating 150 years MYERSVILLE Mt. Zion UMC began its 150th anniversary year with a celebration on April 21 that included the dedication of the Jim Miller Memorial Garden, located between the church building and parking lot. Miller directed and sang in the choir for more than 50 years. The garden also honors the memory of other members who have served Mt. Zion over the past 150 years. The congregation traces its roots back to an early United Brethren group that formed in Frederick County about 1760, according to history teacher Bruce Thompson. The group of unsectarian preachers, as they were called, met at Peter Kemps, now a historical building near Frederick, and launched the United Brethren Church in 1800. In 1852, Mt. Zion UMC was built at its current location in Myersville at a cost of $1,744. A storm destroyed that building in 1892. Other events planned include a heritage picnic July 7 and a homecoming Sept. 29. CWU honors two UM women WASHINGTON, D.C. The national office of Church Women United awarded Certificates of Distinction to two key women at Metropolitan Memorial UMC during the ecumenical organizations annual observance May 3. The awards were made to the Rev. Amy Peed, associate minister of congregation ministries, and Ann Michal, director of missions and outreach, reported Helen Latimer. The awards were based on their service to church or community as Outstanding Young Church Women for 2002. The goal of the awards is the development of new relationships for Christian understanding, Latimer said. Pastor begins radio gospel program CHURCHTON The Rev. Adrienne Terry, pastor of Franklin UMC, began a weekly radio broadcast April 28. She is hosting a southern and traditional gospel music hour on WRYR, 97.5 FM from 2 to 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. The program will include a Bible quiz, as well as gospel music, Terry said. Pastor honored by conservationists WASHINGTON, D.C. The Rev. Robert Slade, pastor  of Mt. Zion UMC in Washington, D.C., recently received the Cooperator of the Year conservation award from Prince Georges County Soil Conservation District. In 1980, Slade bought a 55-acre farm that had grown tobacco crops for many years and was within the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, as delineated by the conservation district. Slade began farming as a grain and beef cattle operation, gradually switching to hay and beef, following best practices on the advice of the conservation specialists. In 1998, a group from Senegal observing diverse agriculture visited his farm. At the same time he was building his farm into a showcase conservation piece, he went to seminary. In 2000 he became the pastor of Mt. Zion UMC. He has a genuine love for the land and understands the importance of practicing sound stewardship, said Steve Darcey of the conservation district. Multicultural festival celebrates diversity RANDALLSTOWN A contribution of canned goods was the admission fee for the Multicultural Spring Festival at Mount Olive UMC April 27.  The festival, held for the second time this year, is the inspiration of two United Methodist pastors, the Revs. Sheila McCurdy of the host church and Joan Carter-Rimbach of Milford Mill UMC. Three years ago, they began organizing a group in the Liberty Road corridor that brought together many of the areas ethnic secular groups and churches. The festival attracted 300 people who came for the daylong entertainment and the many booths highlighting community groups and ethnic foods. The festival raised approximately $1,000 for the Liberty Assistance Center. The corridor is becoming so diverse, its no longer just one color, one community, one faith. We need to work together on a lot of issues and support one another, Carter-Rimbach said. | 
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