| Local church welcomes teachers  BERKELEY SPRINGS, W. VA. First UMC recently welcomed back the teachers and staff of the Morgan County school system with a treat.
Volunteers from the Seek and Share ministry team handed out more than 320 specially created coffee mugs during a countywide teachers and administrators meeting Aug. 20. A red heart appeared on one side of the mug with the words: Showing you Gods love in a practical way. On the other side of the mug was Psalm 86:11. About 30 people stuffed the mugs during Sunday school with first day survival kits and candy. The mugs also carried information about the church. We told the teachers and staff that we wanted to thank them for all they do, and that God loves them, said the Rev. Andrew Cooney. Gifts honor childrens parents BALTIMORE When the children and youth of New Waverly UMC invited the congregation to honor their mothers by donating jars of baby food for a homeless shelter, Church School Superintendent Jean Elsey soon found she could barely close the trunk of her car. She delivered the gifts to the House of Ruth, a home for battered women and children. The home had many babies and little food for them, reported Florence Thompson. Groups often donate food, but forget that babies are there, she said. After this success, New Waverlys children and youth collected new socks for men in a homeless shelter as a way to honor their fathers. They also delivered mens suits from the churchs Free Clothes Closet to the Rescue Mission. Telling the church story at Deaf Way II WASHINGTON, D.C. The Deaf Way  II conference, an international gathering of deaf people, meets every four years. Gallaudet University was the host of the conference the week of July 8. More than 9,000 deaf people attended the event. The Rev. Kirk A. VanGilder, pastor of Magothy UMC of the Deaf and chaplain at Gallaudet University, presented the workshop, The World Is My Parish. It is rare to have a church-related message at these gatherings, said the Rev. Peggy Johnson. VanGilder was able to share information about global missions with more than 200 deaf people who attended the workshop, including his ministry experiences working in Kenya. Church remembers forgotten dead HAGERSTOWN In an unusual memorial service, the Rev. Betty Dunlop and members of St. Andrews UMC, remembered those who seem to have been forgotten by the world, Dunlop said. The congregation has adopted people buried in graves in what was known as the potters field, in a far corner of Rose Hill Cemetery. There are perhaps 1,000 of these mostly unmarked graves in the largest burial grounds in Washington County. Dunlop focused her remarks during the brief service at the cemetery Aug. 3, on peoples attitudes toward the poor. People feel uneasy when theyre among the poor, she said. We have to reconsider our attitude toward the least among us. The potters field was created around 1920 after the influenza epidemic. Local church offers deaf Bible study WALDORF When Lakeside UMC hosted a performance of a deaf gospel performer in April and drew a crowd of nearly 200, it was a way for the church to reach out to the deaf community, said the Rev. Sandra Taylor. And now, deaf and hearing people from the community have inaugurated the Word of Hand Bible study, a new weekly sign language Bible study that began Sept. 15. Local deaf people say the service is needed despite efforts of churches to provide interpreters because they still often get left out of the message and need opportunities to discuss Christian worship, the Lexington Park Enterprise reported. The founding members, led by Jim Bishop of LaPlata, invite all who communicate in American Sign Language to join in the Bible study. Contact Lakeside UMC for information at (301) 645-1492 or
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