Online Archives

On-line

VOL. 15, NO. 3

 Across the Conference is compiled
and written by Linda Worthington.
To submit your churchs news to the UMConnection, send information to Across the Conference, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia MD 21046-2132, or to

Seminary receives major grant

WASHINGTON, D.C. Wesley Theological Seminary is one of 16 seminaries that have been selected to receive a $1.7 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., to participate in a national program, Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.

The grant will be administered through the G. Douglass Lewis Center for Church Leadership. It is designed to enable ministers to create environments for ongoing biblical study, theological reflection and spiritual renewal.

The grant will enable Wesley to strengthen partnerships that provide helpful resources and support for clergy, said Wesley president, the Rev. David McAllister-Wilson. (It) places Wesley in a group of institutions poised to lead the church in this new century.

For information, contact Joe Arnold at (202) 885-8757 or

Small is beautiful for 130 years

GLEN BURNIE Solley UMC on the Marley-Solley Charge recently observed its 130th anniversary.

Margaret and Stanley Phelps attend every week and participate in the churchs outreach activities. She, at age 79, is the director of music, and he, at 82, is chairman of the trustees. They remember when the church was thriving in the 1960s and 70s.

Youd be hard-pressed to find a more caring community, Margaret Phelps said.

The Rev. Leslie Werner considers the tight-knit congregation a blessing. He appreciates that members are on fixed incomes, but still give of their services and money to the community. He estimated that the church gives about $20,000 a year to the community.

Our goal is to make our world a better place to live in, he said.

Church Newsletter Notes

• The family now living in the Harford Habitat for Humanity house, built by United Methodist churches in Harford County, recently thanked the churches for making a dream come true.

• Members of Damascus-Friendship UMC were asked to send pre-paid phone cards to allow soldiers to call their families. These cards can be sent to Brigadier General M.W.B. Temple, CJTF 7, Camp Victory, Iraq, APO AE 09342.

• The congregation of Community UMC in Maryland City, is renovating the office of their pastor, the Rev. Sajoj Sangha, while she is away in India.

• On Feb. 14, at Severna Park UMC, Richard Ponder will deliver a presentation on Ethiopia, one of the oldest Christian countries, which is home to carved-rock churches often called The Eighth Wonder of the Word.

• Members of Frostburg UMC have been assisting with food and money to support the 70 to 80 abused and abandoned dogs housed at the No-Kill Dog Shelter in Rio, W.Va.

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ANNAPOLIS The Rev. Donald Stewart, director of connectional ministries, second from the left, accepted a check for $60,000 from Kent A. Swauger, vice president of State Street Bank and Trust Co., for Hurricane Isabel flood disaster relief. The check was first given to Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, right, who presented it to Stewart at the State House in Annapolis Jan. 15. At the ceremony, Kopp thanked the Baltimore-Washington Conference for the excellence of their disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. The money, which will be shared with the Peninsula Conference, will be used to train additional case workers and assist in relief efforts, Stewart said.