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BY ERIK ALSGAARD

UMCONNECTION STAFF

From the time we are born to the day we die, humans communicate. Our methods of communication advance as we, and they, become more sophisticated. Today, many of us think nothing of sitting at our desk, at the airport, even at the coffee bar and reading e-mailed messages and newspapers from around the world via the Internet.

The Baltimore-Washington Conference and its churches are catching the wave of this technological change and reaping the benefits as the primary means of conveying information shifts from postal mail to e-mail and to use of the conference Web site, www.bwcumc.org.

?We are moving to the time when most communications from the conference to congregations and pastors will be sent by e-mail,? said Bishop John R. Schol. ?The benefits will be enormous, in terms of improving the speed of the communication, increasing response and lowering costs.?

A simple mailing to churches using the U.S. Postal Service could cost in the neighborhood of $1,000 for postage, paper, envelopes and printing.

Using e-mail reduces that cost to zero, and it also requires less staff time and expense than preparing and sending a mailing to every church.

?This is a good time to do this because the price of decent computers continues to fall as higher-end systems are developed,? said Larry Upman, who helps manage Information Technology (IT) at the Conference Center.

Upman has provided donated computers, acquired by the conference, and set up free e-mail accounts for about two dozen churches that responded to Bishop Schol?s offer of assistance in January. That offer was part of an announcement that all churches and/or pastors should have computers and e-mail capability by July 1.

The bishop announced that most correspondence to churches from his office and from the conference center, including charge conference forms, would be transmitted solely via e-mail and the Web site.

As of July 1, six out of nine districts in the conference have reported that all of their pastors are online. The Annapolis, Baltimore-North and Washington East districts each report that all but a few of their pastors are confirmed to have e-mail access, and they are working toward 100 percent as well.

One challenge with e-mail communication, however, is keeping e-mail addresses up to date. Sue Ball, assistant to the Conference Secretary, who manages conference e-mailings, has been working with district superintendents and district secretaries to update her database of addresses.

 ?I would say that right now, we probably have more than 90 percent of our churches or their pastors online,? she said, explaining that some smaller churches may not have e-mail, but their pastors generally do. ?But we really need people to alert us when they change their e-mail addresses, so we can keep our communication lines open.? (E-mail address changes should be sent to )

Starting this month, only for rare exceptions will paper copies

of letters, statements, announcements and reports be mailed to churches from the conference center. A number of other conferences have followed this policy for the last several years.

Charge conference report forms were recently e-mailed to churches and will be placed on the conference Web site. Churches that did not receive the e-mail and attached reports are asked to call their superintendent?s office, either to provide a correct e-mail address or to make arrangements to receive the forms through other means.

?Internet access will be required for churches and pastors to gain access to most conference information and to forms that will be available primarily, if not solely, on the conference Web site,? said John Coleman, director of electronic media and marketing for the conference. ?One current example is the 2005 CIGNA medical insurance plan booklet, which is available primarily via the Web site. It will only be mailed as a hard copy to those who request it.?

Churches that still need help in obtaining free or low-cost computers and e-mail accounts should contact Larry Upman in the conference?s IT department, Coleman said. Many businesses are also willing to donate good, used computer equipment if churches in their communities would simply ask.

Over the next two years, pastors and congregations will be encouraged to complete many required forms on-line, which will reduce the time it takes to complete forms and the time it takes for the conference to input and update information in its database.

?I know this will create some challenges for people, and we will have some bumps and bruises along the way, but I believe our pastors, churches, and conference staff can meet the challenges,? said Bishop Schol. ?We pledge to work with pastors and churches to support them through these changes.?

For assistance with e-mail communication, contact John Coleman at (800) 492-2525, Ext. 421, or e-mail .