| VIM builds community in Costa Rica  HAMPSTEAD A group of 55 volunteers in mission recently returned from Costa Rica. The group was led by the Rev. Jeff Odom from Wesley UMC in Hampstead and also included volunteers from Catonsville UMC, Mill Creek Parish and Deerfield UMC in Thurmont, They stayed together at the Central Methodist Rural Center. The group spent its time doing construction in the shantytown community and leading Vacation Bible School. The Rev. Mark Waddell from Catonsville UMC, who is a magician, took his magic to the mens prison. Waddell said in Costa Rica he was referred to as a trickster because magic has a bad connotation. Twenty teen-agers made up part of the group, most from Catonsville UMC. Their lives were changed, Waddell said. His daughters CD collection was probably worth more than most of the town residents made in a month, Waddell said. Realizing that is an eye-opening experience.
 Conference communications co-director the Rev. Erik Alsgaard and Sheila Anne George were married at his hometown church, First UMC in Midland, Mich., Feb. 1. George is a native of Ottawa, Canada. The Revs. Tim Woycik and Jim Rupert officiated at the ceremony. The couple plan to honeymoon in Jamaica at the end of March.
Churches asked to support missionaries COLUMBIA The Baltimore-Washington Conference Mission Personnel Committee and the Board of Christian Presence in Gods World are asking churches to come to the aid of the denominations beleaguered mission personnel program during the March 30 observance of One Great Hour of Sharing. Churches are asked to observe March 30 also as Mission Commitment Sunday and to make a standing commitment on that day to support missionaries by giving to the Advance and becoming covenant partner congregations. The Mission Personnel Committee wants pastors to announce the observance and invite interpreters to share information on the importance of missionary service with their congregations on March 30 or other convenient dates. Mission fairs and similar missions emphasis events are also suggested. Our goal is to see every missionary from our conference fully supported and every church in our conference in a covenant relationship with at least one missionary, said the Revs. Kimberly and Richard Brown-Whale, committee co-chairmen. The committee is recruiting mission interpreters including current and former missionaries, General Board of Global Ministries staff and board members, and Volunteers in Mission to visit churches and promote support for mission service. For more information, contact the Brown-Whales at (410) 374-4231 or by e-mail at
. For regular mail, their address is 3100 Shiloh Road, Hampstead, MD 21074.
 Members of the 2003 Deaf Culture Immersion class rehearse a song in American Sign Language in preparation to lead worship at Christ UMC of the Deaf in Baltimore. There were 24 students from seven denominations, seven states and three foreign countries interacting with deafness as a cultural expression. It was the largest and most diverse class hosted by Christ UMC in the 7-year-old program. | 
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