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BY BARBARA COWARD AND MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT/STAFF

Eighteen retiring clergy, 11 men and seven women, were honored for their more than 500 years of service in the Baltimore-Washington Conference during the Celebration of Faithful Service, May 27.

They were honored at a retiree luncheon following the service, with 180 clergy retirees and their spouses in attendance.

The service was a time when the retirees passed the mantle from their shoulders to the 10 new ordinands. In a poetic display, the ordinands stood face to face with the retirees and publicly thanked them for specific details of their ministries. Words of gratitude were offered for boldly stepping out of the box, compassionate love and care, great faithfulness, speaking God's word, turning difficult personal situations into ministry opportunities and sharing a life story of faith.

In return, the retirees anointed the ordinands with oil and offered their blessings.

Brief video clips were shown of each retiree sharing a word of wisdom or humor from their years of experience.

From the longest serving retiree to the shortest, they shared the commonality of serving their churches and communities throughout a period of dramatic changes in society during the past 40 years. The technological revolution, globalization, multiculturalism, new cultural attitudes towards religion, and civil and women's rights movements have all redefined the world. For some, this changing environment has brought a very personal meaning to their ministry.

The Rev. Ed DeLong first remembered being called to the ministry when he was 8- years-old. 'I've had three major careers,' he said. 'I've been a local church pastor for 25 years, a district superintendent for eight years, and director of church development for the past six years.'

In that capacity, DeLong has worked to bring about 40-50 new church starts and re-development programs.

What's next? Delong will be chairing a 'parsonage study team' for the Cabinet. The study will look at the housing issues as they relate to itineracy and appointments. He will also soon depart for Bermuda to continue his work on developing new congregations.

The Rev. Yolanda Pupo-Ortiz' ministry has taken her far from her original starting point in her native Cuba. 'My first years in ministry after seminary in Cuba were challenging because we were in the midst of a revolution. Life was hectic, and every day brought situations that demanded discernment, courage and faithfulness.'

Her ministry has placed Pupo-Ortiz in many leadership positions including associate general secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race, chairwoman of the Conference Council on Ministries and the Conference Committee on the Ethnic Local Church and later the Committee on Hispanic/Latino Ministry.

'My years in the Baltimore-Washington Conference have been a blessing,' she said.

What's next? 'I am ready for whatever else God wants of me.' She received the 'God's Foolish One' award at the Methodist Federation of Social Action luncheon on May 28.

With the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren in 1968, the Rev. Fred Crider began his 43-year career in The United Methodist Church.

Crider answered the call of God in his youth. He attended Union Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1975 from Wesley Theological Seminary.

It was there that his hobby for antique sports cars first became a part of his ministry.

'It took a lot of convincing to get them to let me do my project-thesis on ?The Use of a Church-Sponsored Auto Repair Program as a Hobby and a Tool for Ministry,'' laughed Crider.

Crider was superintendent of the Cumberland-Hagerstown District from 1987 to 1993, and has served on the boards of clergy associations and community action groups, including the conference Board of Church & Society and the Council on Finance and Administration.

What's next? 'I hope to play a lot more golf, work around the house and yard, and tinker with my 1959 Austin-Healey 'Bugeye' Sprite,' he said.