| Historical church adds improvements  SOLOMONS ISLAND Solomons UMC consecrated its newly restored sanctuary and the addition of the Christian education and fellowship wing to the church July 13. It took about two-and-a-half years to complete the construction.
The church was erected on land donated by Isaac Solomon who owned the entire island in 1870 when the church was built, according to the Calvert Recorder. The plans for the improvements began four years ago, said the Rev. John Williams. A committee formed, sold some church-owned property, and collected enough donations from church and community, as well as getting through all the permit processes, Williams said. Washington East District superintendent, the Rev. Mary Jane Coleman, officiated at the Communion service that was part of the consecration service. The church is the oldest building on the island still being used for its original purpose, the newspaper reported. Dawson family killer sentenced to life BALTIMORE The man who set fire to a Baltimore rowhouse, killing Angela Dawson and her family last Oct. 16, pled guilty in a Baltimore court Aug. 27. Darrell L. Brooks, 22, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, after prosecutors accepted a plea agreement following consultation with victims relatives and factoring in Brooks impaired mental capacity, according to the Washington Post. Last Oct. 20, Bishop Felton Edwin May, Eastern UMC and other area churches, and several hundred people gathered for a prayer vigil. Bishop May addressed the drug dealers in the crowd. If you have to make a decision between murdering little children and taking my life, take my life, he told them. Brooks had expected the death penalty and is reported to have said, Great, now I can pay for my actions. I thought I deserved nothing but death. According to the Post, he turned in tears toward the seven relatives in the courtroom. There never will be the right words to tell you how truly sorry I am. I knew those kids; I loved them. I swear I didnt mean it, I swear, he said. Church provides a home for the homeless SILVER SPRING At the church service Aug. 24, the Rev. David Stum led the congregation to surround a house next to Good Shepherd UMC, as they dedicated it to provide housing for a low-income family. The church trustees originally bought the house from a church members estate, with the intention of tearing it down and making a larger parking lot. Instead they decided to make it available for the Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition. The special occasion followed many months of work by the pastor and church members to make the house suitable for a family to live in. The family, who will rent the house, has not yet been selected by the Interfaith Housing Coalition, Stum said. Year-long construction begins  ASHTON It was a long-awaited day Aug. 19 when members of the congregation of Ashton UMC gathered at 11 a.m. to break ground for an addition to a Christian school and to begin renovations on the church. The church was founded in 1865.
It was almost 47 years to the day when the groundbreaking for the current church took place, said Delores Kight. The Rev. Jeff Jones, in clerical collar and hard hat, led the ground-breaking service. The addition will provide space for kindergarten, full-day preschool and extended-day programs. The renovations include installing an elevator, building a covered handicapped-accessible, all weather drop-off area in front of the church, and putting a pitched roof on the educational wing. During construction, which could last as long as a year, the congregation is meeting at the Olney Seventh-Day Adventist church for worship, Kight said. | 
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