| We need to tell the story in all the ways we can By Bruce Jones  'For more than a decade of service, I have cared about the work of communications in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. And now as the out-going chairman of the Commission on Communications I have been asked to reflect upon the journey and the accomplishments of communications during my tenure.
I first volunteered to be a part of the Communications Design Team during the strategic planning process of our conference. A few years later, Jim Skillington, then director of communications, asked if I would be willing to serve on a communications division called Local Church and Information Services. I had already served as editor of the Washington West District newsletter, The Saddlebag, for five years and had gotten into church marketing in the process of launching Lakeside Church in Waldorf. Before long I was chair of that division, and then secretary of the commission. In the 10 to 12 years I have been involved in communications things have really changed. I have been blessed to serve with talented people, including our past directors – Skillington, Suzanne Ankerbrand, Evelyn Brewster, Jackie Antkowiak and Dean Snyder – and our current co-directors, Erik Alsgaard and John Coleman, as well as the wonderfully creative and dedicated team of staff members who have blessed our conference throughout these years. Though we have been through many changes, the mission of the commission has remained steadfast: to tell the story of the good things United Methodists in the Baltimore-Washington Conference are doing in and for the world. And each staff member and director has brought their own gifts, passions and expertise to make our conference stronger in a variety of ways. Today, the Baltimore-Washington Conference can easily claim to have one of the strongest, most respected communications departments in the United Methodist connection. We have this enviable position because of Bishop Felton Edwin May's great vision for communications and his understanding of how vital good communications is to ensuring a strong, vibrant church. I rejoice with excitement in all that our conference is doing in communications today. The UMConnection, our bi-monthly conference newspaper, is not only extremely well written and widely read within and well beyond the bounds of our conference; it is the backbone of our communications ministry. Its voice has been augmented by the companion electronic tools, e-connection and e-vents, and by our conference Web site. E-connection and e-vents, providing weekly conferencewide and local church news respectively, are free and available to anyone who wishes to subscribe. The Web site continues to evolve and grow into a much more useful tool and is increasingly utilized by members in the churches and by departments, committees and groups of the conference. In partnership with the conference secretary, communications also helps produce the yearly Conference Journal. We have been able over the past several years to streamline the process and the production costs of this vital tool. The videos shown at annual conference, Leadership Days and other venues are produced primarily in house. Kimberly Hall set the standard for quality video production, and John Coleman continues that great work of creating helpful, insightful and visual ways to tell the story of ministries in our conference. The growing demand for our videos is a testament to their effectiveness and quality. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has supported the efforts of Igniting Ministry in many ways. Igniting Ministry is the denomination's media and advertising thrust which includes television commercials, print ads, radio ads, banners, direct mail and more. Our communications staff and volunteers have provided training for congregations in hospitality and welcoming skills, advertising and reaching out to their communities. Communications, in partnership with the Board of Congregational Life, also coordinated a new venture with Church Communications Network (CCN) to provide satellite broadcasting connections for 40 churches in the conference, and was instrumental in the broadcast of the Service of Healing and Repentance during the 2003 annual conference. For me, as I reflect back on my years of work with the people of the commission and those in the Office of Communications, it has been a wonderful journey. I am pleased with the progress we have made together, and I look forward to the continued strengthening of the work of communications in our conference. Thank you for the privilege of having served the conference in this way. The Rev. Bruce Jones is pastor of Concord-St. Andrews in Bethesda and the new chairman of the Arrangements Committee, which plans annual conference sessions. | 
Login/Register to leave comment