| Worshippers felled by carbon monoxide ST. LEONARD Some of the 40 members attending the 8:30 a.m. worship at Waters Memorial UMC Nov. 30 were sleepy, they said. But it wasnt until the end of the service that a 5-year-old collapsed. When firefighters arrived they ascertained that carbon monoxide was to blame a lot of carbon monoxide, 500 ppm. The highest acceptable level is 30 ppm. Twenty-seven churchgoers were taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital for testing. None were kept overnight. The gas seems to have come from the new propane furnace that was recently installed, said the Rev. Daniel Montague III, who was on vacation that day. Firefighters shut down the air conditioning and heating units and ventilated the building. The church is following up with trauma counselors, especially for the children, he said. Conference staffer receives health honor LINTHICUM HEIGHTS Three activists in the health care arena received awards from the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative Health Care for All Nov. 21 at a banquet at the Maritime Institute of Technology.  Sandra Ferguson, a Baltimore-Washington Conference associate council director, was one of the recipients of the 2003 Thomas E. Hobbins Health Care Justice Award plaque from Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Michael E. Busch. The other two were Dr. Alfred Sommer, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Ernie Crofoot, health representative of the AFL-CIO.
Ferguson was honored for her work involving health care reform and social justice. She is vice chairman of the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative and serves on the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Council as well as the Governors Arthritis Advisory Council. Because of the leadership of the faith community, of which Baltimore-Washington Conference is a major player, were poised to receive quality and affordable health care for all, Ferguson said. A bill will be introduced at the legislative session beginning in January. Church member dies in kayak accident ELLICOTT CITY The body of Josh Reichert, a member of Glen Mar UMC, was found in the rain-swollen Shenandoah River Nov. 26, after a Maryland State Police helicopter did an aerial sweep of the river near Harpers Ferry, W. Va. He had been reported missing since Nov. 19. Reichert, 22, and his friend Albert Chen, 22, were kayaking during a break from their studies at the University of Maryland at College Park. Both kayaks capsized. Chen was rescued a few hours later from an island he reached in the river after he screamed for help for three hours, according to the Washington Post. Reicherts body was found just east of the U.S. Route 340 bridge, less than a mile from the West Virginia-Virginia border near some rapids called The Staircase. He would have graduated next month as a computer engineering major. A memorial service was held at Glen Mar UMC Dec. 6. Resource available to help homeless The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington has just issued the 21st edition of its resource booklet, Emergency Food and Shelter Directory. To receive a free copy, send a self-addressed business envelope with $1.52 postage to The Interfaith Conference, 1426 Ninth St., NW, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20001-3330. For more information call (202) 234-6300. District celebrates Christ the King BURTONSVILLE Approximately 200 clergy and laity from the Washington West District gathered at Liberty Grove UMC Nov. 23 to celebrate Christ the King Sunday and the districts partnership with Zimbabwe. A choir of 40 children, under the direction of Don Hauprich, and adult choirs from Liberty Grove and Goshen UMCs performed. Gaye Meyer from Dumbarton UMC danced and spoke the Scripture from Matthew in which Peter walks on the water. Referring to the Scripture, the Rev. Don Stewart, conference director of connectional ministries, said, All the disciples, except Peter, were afraid to do anything different. They stayed in the boat. People in our district have been willing to get out of the boat and take a risk, he said of the districts support for St. Johns Chikanga UMC and the Felton Edwin May Sports Centre at Africa University. The offering for the Zimbabwe partnership was $11,000, said the Rev. Marcus Matthews, district superintendent.  | | LINDA WORTHINGTON/UMCONNECTION
The Revs. Marcus Matthews, left, Don Stewart and
Gerald Green Jr. greet guests following the
Washington-West Districts Christ the King celebration
at Liberty Grove UMC. | | 
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