Online Archives

BY LINDA WORTHINGTON
UMCONNECTION STAFF

'Harvesting Peace' is the theme of the Baltimore-Washington Conference?s 2006 Cooperative School of Christian Mission, which will be held July 13-16 at the Clarion Hotel in Hagerstown.

Sponsored by the conference United Methodist Women and the Board of Christian Presence in God?s World, the weekend presents an opportunity for study, fellowship and to increase knowledge and understanding of the mission work of The United Methodist Church. It also is a time for inspiration, which will be provided through worship, music and Bible studies.

This year?s studies will be on 'Globalization: Its Impact in Our Lives' and 'India and Pakistan.'

Retired Bishop Forrest C. Stith will preach at the opening worship Thursday evening on 'Peace-Shalom.'

'Shalom-Peace-Salaam,' three words which mean 'peace,' from the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), provide the foundation for the spiritual growth and Bible study. It will be led by Sally Vander Loop from Succsunna, N.J.

This is the second year for the study on India and Pakistan, which will provide new material to explore the richness of the diversity of the cultures of those neighboring, and sometimes conflicted, countries. Classes will be taught by the Revs. Ernest Thayil, Paul Benjamin and Moses Sangha. All three have ethnic roots in the region: Benjamin from Sri Lanka; Thayil and Sangha from India.

The 'globalization' workshops will focus on the issues of free trade policies, outsourcing and global media consolidation and deregulation. The Rev. Miguel Balderas, Lou Witherite and the Rev. Clayton Childers from the General Board of Church and Society, will lead the three groups.

Worship and music leaders are back by popular demand from last year?s school: Heidi Eber from Salem UMC in Hampstead as song leader, and Leesa Sipe from St. John?s UMC in Lutherville as pianist.

The Rev. Kevin Seckel is the missionary in residence this year.

Seckel, whose wife Carol Seckel was Northeast Jurisdiction?s mission interpreter last year, has worked in the Alaska Missionary Conference for 16 years as a chaplain for the Alaska Children?s Services in Anchorage, as workshop manager for the Sitka Council on Alcoholism, and as a pastor in a 6,000 square mile charge of Native American and Anglo congregations. Prior to Alaska, he worked with the emerging United Methodist Church in Latvia.

A variety of focus groups will also be held. These sessions will last a little more than an hour and give a taste of a variety of issues. Some of the subjects to be discussed are yoga, story telling, racial justice and Just Peace.

Elie Randrup will lead a focus group on 'Civil Rights from a Woman?s Perspective,' on her book of the same title. She is a member of St. David?s Episcopal Church in Baltimore.

Attendees are invited to bring a banner with a message or design related to peace, 2x3 feet on a dowel, ready to hang. Banners will be returned.

To register

There?s still time to register for this year?s school. Prices vary according to room accommodations. The commuter fee is $150 for the three days. All meals except Thursday evening are included. For further information, contact Margaret Pennington at (301) 724-0071 or . Or call Caroleann Myers, the SCM dean, at (301) 871-1746.