Leadership Day - Registration Open!!!

If you haven't already done so, please register for the Washington Region Leadership Day on January 29, 2011 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Conference Mission Center. For more information and to register, go to http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday. Each person registering much register under their own user name and password in Gateway. If you need your user name and password, contact Darryl Campbell (dcampbell@bwcumc.org) or Pam Mullay (pmullay@bwcumc.org).

Evaluations

Have you and your church done your evaluations today? The Evaluations are past due. If you have not gone into Gateway do your evaluations, please do so as soon as possible.

Cooperative Resources

There are many churches in the Washington Region that are small and cannot always afford to hire a youth pastor, office secretary, handyman or facilities person. Have you thought about working with another church near you to see if they have a similar need and can split the cost with you? A little cooperative resourcing can go a long way.

RSS Feed

Have you considered subscribing to the blog via the RSS feed at the bottom of the page. If you are using a e-mail reader like Apple Mail, Outlook, etc. you can add the RSS/Atom feed (feed://bwcwashingtonregion.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default) and get the updates right in your e-mail program. Gmail users can also add the RSS/Atom feed to the "web clips" that their gmail browser will show them when they check their e-mail.  This way, new posts show up automatically, but don't clog up anyone's inbox. Thanks to Mark Schaefer for that great suggestion!

Room Reservations at the Conference Mission Center

We now have an online room reservation system for the conference rooms at the Conference Mission Center. If you would like to reserve a room, please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/content/facilityuseform and complete the form. You will receive an email confirmation from John Gauthier once your reservation has been approved.

Daily Devotional

Sight Psalms,” a new daily devotional intended to help people reflect on God’s presence in their lives through the use of images, is now available on GBOD’s website as a part of a new page on Prayer. Each day, a new photograph will be posted to evoke reflection and inspiration with a brief verbal message accompany most photos. Sight Psalms can be found at www.gbod.org/sightpsalms where users also will have the opportunity to subscribe to have each day’s image delivered via email.

Facilities Assistant position available at the Conference Mission Center

The Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church located in Fulton, MD, seeks a creative, hard-working and dedicated individual to join its team as facilities assistant to make a difference in transforming the world.

This full-time position is available immediately to provide general operational and facilities maintenance services support including on-site and off-site event set up, inside and outside building maintenance, minor preventive maintenance and repairs, and supply/equipment on-site and off-site storage maintenance.

Special Aspects of Position

• Exceptional customer service and effective communications skills required.
• Flexible schedule required to accommodate tasks which include occasional evenings and weekends.
• Ability to lift up to 75 lbs.

Salary is in low $30s.  Interested individuals should go to http://www.bwcumc.org/employmentopportunities  for a detailed position description and application requirements.  EOE  Position closes January 15, 2011

Human Relations Day

Human Relations Day is January 16, 2011. For a web graphic, please go to: http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwL6KkNWLrH/b.3833823/k.5822/Special_Sundays__Human_Relations_Day__Support_Materials.htm

The Interpreter

The Interpreter is a useful publication of United Methodist Communications. In the past they have sent information in the late summer, early fall about their free subscriptions for church officers via hard mail. Now, this information is being shared via email. Please consider contacting them in one of the following ways, so that your new or continuing church officers can receive this magazine.

Here are three easy ways to enroll:

• Online: http://www.umcom.org/subscriptions/
• Fax your updated enrollment forms to: 615-742-5499.
• Mail updated forms to: Interpreter, P.O. Box 440229, Nashville, TN 37244-0229

Complete your enrollment form today to equip your leaders for the new year! You will need to get a user name and password from your church office. You also can call United Methodist Communications customer service at 888-346-3862. Please contact customer service if you have misplaced your current user name and password.

Statistical Reports
Just a reminder that you cannot begin filling out the statistical report online until January 1, 2011. For more information about the reports you can go to http://www.bwcumc.org/statisticalreports.


Leadership Day

Registration for Leadership Day has begun! Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday for more information and to register! Tell your friends...


Conference Holidays
Just a quick reminder that the Conference Mission Center will be closed on the following days:
December 24, 2011
December 27, 2011
December 31, 2011


Happy Holidays from your Regional Administrator!
As the 2010 year comes to an end, I sit back and reflect upon my time as the new regional administrator. It has been a crazy few months since I first started way back in May. I survived my first Annual Conference; squeaked through the charge conference season with barely a scratch; and have tried to make friends with the Gateway system!


I am thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to work with great people here at the Conference Mission Center and in each and every one of the churches in the Washington Region.


May God bless you and your families during this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Pam Mullay

Washington Region Leadership Day

The Washington Region Leadership Day will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2011 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Conference Mission Center, 11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759. Check-in will run from 8:30 - 9 a.m.

Leadership Day focuses on training for clergy, church leaders, laity and others who want to make an impact in their local congregations and communities.

Registration is now open. http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday

Space is limited, so there will be no walk-in registrations the day of the event. You will need to register for one morning workshop (10:15-12:30) and one afternoon workshop (1:15-3:00).

The following workshops are being offered:

• Staff/Pastor Relations Committee (SPRC)
• Finance/Treasurers
• Partners in the Mighty Works
• Vacation Bible School (morning only)
• Worship
• Leadership Development
• Small Group Development
• Engagement in the Community (afternoon only)

Leadership Day is worth .5 CEU's.

Registration is available ONLINE only. http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday 

We will not accept paper, phone calls or walk-in registrations due to space and food considerations.

Cost is $35.00 and includes lunch. Deadline to register is January 15, 2011.

Please note that on Leadership Day, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. only, we will be accepting in-person registration for the spring Discipleship Academy. While online registration is preferred, this registration is intended for those who have difficulty registering on Gateway. There will be special parking spaces in the front of the Conference Mission Center for easy entry and exit during the day. You do not have to be registered for Leadership Day in order to register for Discipleship Academy classes. Payment of check or credit card is due upon registering. 


Please also note that you must register individually through Gateway in order to receive CEU credit. If you log in as your self and register for another person, they will not receive the CEU credit and there is a chance that their name and email will take over your Gateway account.

Statistical Report Training is Today!
Just a reminder that training for how to complete the statistical reports will be held today from 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Conference Mission Center. If you would like to attend, please feel free to stop by.


Prodigal Worship Conference Early Bird Registration

Register for the Prodigal Worship Conference for only $69- early bird special. Come and experience worship that transforms individuals, congregations and communities. Mark Beeson, Kim Miller and Marvin Moss are the featured keynote speakers and 20 workshops offered. For more information and registration visit, www.bwcumc.org/prodigalworship.

Heeding God's Call

Dear Clergy Friends:   We call your attention to what could be a real Kairos moment with the convergence of a three part series in the Washington Post (Oct. 24-26) entitled “The Hidden Life of Guns”, the distribution last year of God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action of The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church and the recent adoption of Ending Gun Violence: A Resolution and Call to Action by the National Council of Churches of Christ. Both the Bishop’s Foundation Document and the NCC Resolution call on denominations to take action to prevent gun violence and recommend a program called ‘Heeding God’s Call.’ Heeding is a faith- based movement which focuses attention, persuasion and public pressure on those gun shops and gun shows which sell guns into the illegal distribution system. These are the guns used to threaten, wound, maim and kill.

We imagine most of you have read the alarming Post series, but in case you haven’t we urge you to do so, particularly the article on Realco Guns of Prince Georges County(PGC) in suburban Maryland. You can find it at the link below: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/23/AR2010102302994.html

The full Post series describes gun shops within your Conference bounds that are the major source of crime guns in DC, Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland. It’s well-documented work and is consistent with data that slightly more than 1% of gun dealers nationally are responsible for nearly 60% of the guns recovered from crime by law enforcement. The series details the sleazy businesses that willingly supply the illegal distribution system that fuels gun crime and violence. 

The bottom line is that these are guns sold to straw purchasers and buyers who turn them over to illegal gun traffickers, criminals, domestic abusers, even hit men. While DC has no walk-in gun shops, it is ringed by more than 100 shops in Maryland and Virginia. Of the 996 guns successfully traced in 2009 by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that were recovered from crime within DC, one-fourth came from Maryland dealers, one-fourth from Virginia dealers and the rest from shops elsewhere. The top known crime gun supplier in the area is Realco of PGC. Heeding God’s Call was co-founded by a Presbyterian layman, Bryan Miller. Heeding’s work with ecumenical leaders resulted in the September ‘09 closing of the Philadelphia gun shop most notorious for the number of guns it sold that ended up in crime. Heeding is working with ecumenical leaders in Richmond, VA, Harrisburg, PA and Columbus, OH and has recently been wholeheartedly endorsed by the three leading ecumenical organizations in Baltimore. Heeding/Baltimore took its first public action in October. The site below gives a description of Heeding and its unique approach to reducing the movement of guns from legal sale at gun shops to illegal street sale: www.heedinggodscall.org.

Heeding does not focus on political or legislative solutions, which always move at glacial speed and in the end may be divisive within congregations. It calls instead for a spiritual awakening within the church and asks people of faith to rediscover their moral voice and authority as we work for peaceful communities. It calls on people of faith to focus on the trafficking of guns that are sold illegally to dangerous individuals. This is not a political issue; this is a moral, spiritual issue.

We invite you to an information meeting with Bryan Miller on December 16 at Western Presbyterian Church at 1:30 P.M. The church is in Foggy Bottom on the orange/blue line- 3 blocks away from the metro stop. Parking is also available in the church garage.  (2401 Virginia Ave. N.W. Washington D.C. 20037).

We will learn about the possibilities for an effective faith-based witness that Heeding God’s Call offers us. If there is enough interest among the clergy assembled, we will organize ourselves and bring others to Realco Guns and begin the process of seeking to persuade the company to adopt the 10-point Voluntary Code for a Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership which has been signed by Walmart, the biggest firearms dealer in the country.

Again, we repeat - this is not an anti-gun campaign.  We seek to organize the church and others against illegal guns going to dangerous individuals. Please RSVP at your earliest convenience to Jim Atwood at jatwood1959@aol.com or 703-569-0046. Thanks for your attention.

Yours in Christ,

Dr. John Wimberly, Pastor, Western Presbyterian Church

Rev. Jim Atwood, (Ret)

Live Job Training from General Board of Discipleship

The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) will be hosting two one-hour live job training sessions with follow-up resources online for:

Local church SPRC chairs on January 20, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. EDT/ 6:30 p.m. CDT/ 5:30 p.m. MDT/ 4:30 p.m. PDT 

Local church finance chairs, treasurers and financial secretaries on January 27, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. EDT/ 6:30 p.m. CDT/ 5:30 p.m. MDT/ 4:30 p.m. PDT

These sessions will be hosted by Betsey Heavner of GBOD Leadership Ministries. For more information or to sign up contact Betsey Heavner at bheavner@gbod.org.

Charge Conference!!!
Please, please, please go in and submit all of your forms from Charge Conference. It is imperative that these forms be submitted as soon as possible. The most important form - the Clergy Compensation Report - is essential in many ways. The total compensation from that report drives the pension calculation. If this form is not submitted, this will not only affect the church's budget, but the clergy's pension. Each church was responsible for having all forms except for the Lay Speaker Voting Form and Clergy Compensation Form submitted one week prior to their Charge Conference. After the Charge Conference, the deadline for submitting the Lay Speaker Voting Form and Clergy Compensation Form. Please make note of these deadlines for next year!



Gateway Updates
It is time to update the church and pastor profiles in Gateway. Please be sure when updating your pastor profile that your marital status is current and reflects the most recent change, if any, in status.



Scholarship Award Deadline
The 2010 Scholarships were awarded in June. If you know of anyone who was awarded a Scholarship and has not submitted the paperwork necessary to receive the award check, please have them do so no later than December 31, 2010. Completed paperwork must be postmarked by December 31, 2010 in order to be processed for payment. Please send paperwork via mail to the address below or or via fax to 410-309-9439.



Baltimore-Washington Conference
United Methodist Church
11711 East Market Place
Fulton, MD 20759-2594
Attention: Darryl Campbell



A complete packet must include the completed award letter with social security number, a copy of the student's fall semester bill and schedule.



Statistical Report Training (Please note change in time for evening training)

Statistical reports will be due January 20, 2011. They are not yet up online, however that time is coming soon. In preparation, the Regional Administrators along with Dave Schoeller, the newly hired business analyst for the Baltimore-Washington Conference (BWC), will be conducting two training sessions on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 here at the new BWC Mission Center. The afternoon session will run from 1—3 p.m. The early evening session will be from 6—8 p.m. (Please note time change from original post. The meeting was going to originally run from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)

Both sessions will cover the same material: accessing the forms, entering the data, and discussion regarding the meaning of each question. This latter topic is important so that all churches are interpreting the questions in the same manner.

We recommend that pastors, church administrators and treasurers plan to attend one of the trainings offered.

There is no cost to attend training, however we do require a RSVP. If you have not done so, please RSVP to Darryl Campbell at dcampbell@bwcumc.org with the number of people in your group and which session you plan on attending. This will allow us to have the space and the materials ready and available for everyone.

Apportionment Information

It was voted at Annual Conference that the 2011 apportionment figures would remain the same as 2010. To figure out what your actual apportionment figure is, the pastor or treasurer can log into Gateway and access the church's Year-To-Date statement.

Every month an email is sent out to all pastors and current treasurers with a link to access their apportionment, medical and pension statements for current balances due and payments received. You can use that link to make a print-out of your statement. If you need to pay online via ACH you have to login and pay.

The Conference website has a real-time snapshot of goals and total payments with percentage paid for all churches. You can see this report by going to http://www.bwcumc.org/apportionments and selecting the district your church is in.

Clergy & Church Evaluations are Up and Running

The forms needed to complete the evaluation process are now up and ready to be accessed. Like the charge conference forms you can go to the web site and under Resources select the “Appointments and Evaluations” listing.

As with charge conference there are numerous resources available to help you fill out these forms. We encourage you to review the video, letter of introduction, SMART goal setting and tips for completing the forms as well as and the SAMPLES of the forms shown in this section before starting the process.

To begin to complete the forms you go to the website and sign in using your Gateway User ID and Password. As with other on-line forms only certain people can complete certain forms.

Clergy must complete:

·      Pastor/Deacon Self Evaluation Form,

·      Appropriate Advisory (including Clergy in Local Congregations, Deacons, and Clergy on Extension     Ministry)

·      Clergy Profile

·      Review Guide's comments on your self-evaluation form

·      Extension Ministry Report (only for clergy in Extension Ministry Appointments)

SPRC Chairs must complete:

·      Congregational Evaluation

·      Pastor Ministry Evaluation (one for each appointed pastor)

·      SPRC Advisory Form (one for each appointed pastor)

·      Appointment Evaluation (only after a change in appointment)

TOGETHER Clergy and SPRC Chairs must complete:

·      Church Profile

·      Review Guide's comments on your church evaluation forms

All forms must be completed by December 1, 2010 and must be submitted online in Gateway.

Your guide will provide feedback by January 31, 2011. You are then requested to view these comments.

Discipler Groups
Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/content/discipler-groups-curriculum to download the December through February session material. Be sure to download a copy of the participant guide Session 42 – Ecological Justice and the attachment “What is your Ecological Footprint?” and bring it with you to Discipler Group.

Inclement Weather Reminder -- Our inclement weather policy is on the website when we approach the unpredictability of winter weather.

New Conference Center Address
Please use the new mailing address for the Conference Center. It is 11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759-2594. We are finding that mail sent to the old location takes at least two weeks to get redirected to our new location.

Church Newsletters
If your church publishes a newsletter, your guide and district superintendent would love to receive a copy. They would greatly appreciate receiving a copy via email. If not, please mail the newsletter to the new mailing address.

Charge Conference
Please remember to go into Gateway and submit any forms you have not submitted yet. Reminder emails will be sent out and we appreciate you taking the time to make sure your charge conference forms can be finalized correctly in Gateway.

A Welcoming Life Immersion Series

Have you heard? Fully Alive, an Immersion Series of the Baltimore-Washington Conference (BWC), received top honors at the United Methodist Association of Communicators Conference in San Francisco this fall. The BWC is now offering its newest Immersion Series, produced by the same team who created Fully Alive.

A Welcoming Life is a six-week Bible study, corresponding sermon series, related worship resources and a daily devotional guide focused on compelling faith sharing and radical hospitality so that your congregations may become even more welcoming places for all God’s children. This study was designed for participants to experience the wideness of God’s mercy by extending grace to others in the form of hospitality. Familiarity with people who are different from ourselves helps to break down artificial barriers we place between ourselves and others. For your convenience, each lesson is one-hour long. See how this study can transform lives and faith communities as a Sunday school lesson or small group study. The study is a perfect complement to the Advent season.

Materials needed for the study:

• Each person in your small group should purchase a participant's guide at a cost of $5 each.
• The group leader may purchase all the participant guides online at one time or each person may purchase their own online.
• One DVD per church at $10 each. (A 50% discount is being offered to those who purchased the Fully Alive series. Please contact Pam Bowen at pbowen@bwcumc.org to take advantage of this special offer)

Learn more about A Welcoming Life, see a promotional video and purchase the series. Visit www.bwcumc.org/welcominglife.

Appointment Season

It is that time of year when Bishop Schol and the Cabinet begin to prepare for the new appointment season. The pastoral advisory form is due on December 1st along with the other evaluations. Please be prompt in completing this and letting us know if you are requesting to stay in your present appointment, would like a change, or are requesting a change to a different status. It is especially important that we hear from any of you that intend to retire this year by the December 1st deadline.

 Quality of Life Retreats

The Quality of Life Retreats are a ministry under the Grow Mission Project of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and was started in 1988 as a result of an article written about a man who had HIV/AIDS dying alone. It was a time of ignorance, fear and avoidance. There was no satisfactory medication or support network. Some conference staff and clergy thought this death sad and unfortunate. From this event, Quality of Life Retreats for Persons with HIV/AIDS was born. The Rev. Terri Rae Chattin directed the first retreat at West River in 1988. Now in 2010 we have sponsored 84 retreats and serviced more than 3,291 participants.

Quality of Life plans to continue this ministry until it is no longer needed. New support and participation are needed. In particular, we are in need of resource people who can provide educational and medical information, arts & crafts persons, snacks, juices, water and sodas, homemade kits, and health bags. Also your church might consider a partial or full scholarship (approximately $225.00) to support participants at any of our retreats, as we only request a $20.00 registration fee from our participants.

For more information, please go to www.bwcumc.org/files/pdf/QualityofLifeInfo.pdf.

Annual Clergywomen's Christmas Lunch

The lunch will be held on Monday, December 6, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. at the Morniningside Inn in New Market, MD.  Cost is $15. Menu will consist of old-fashioned potato soup, make your own sandwich/salad bar and bread pudding. Please email Revdeb8@aol.com for reservations by November 22. Bring checks or cash that day.

Bishop's Day Apart
This is just a reminder that the last day to register for the Bishop’s Day Apart is this Friday, November 6. There will be no room for walk-ins at the door. The cost is $30 per person. The event will take place on Thursday, November 11 beginning at 9:00 am with worship and concluding at 3:00 pm.The day’s activities will take place at Glen Mar UMC, 4701New Cut Road, Ellicott City, MD.

Our guest speaker is Dr. Lovett Weems, Professor and Director of the Lewis Leadership Center at Wesley Theological Seminary. Just click on the link and login using your gateway username and password http://www.bwcumc.org/clergydayapartnov2010. We look forward to having you with us.

Charge Conference Follow Up
Please be sure to go into Gateway and submit the clergy compensation report and the layspeaker voting form after your Charge Conference has been completed. Charge Conference Minutes should be sent to Darryl Campbell at dcampbell@bwcumc.org. Also, be sure that all of your other committee reports have been submitted.

Bud Brown and Judy Young
Sometime in the next few days, both Bud Brown and Judy Young will be having surgery. Bud is suffering from severely herniated disks in his spine. He has been out of action for over a week, and the recovery will take some time – roughly four to six weeks. As of this morning, we are still not certain exactly when the surgery will take place, but it is supposed to be as soon as possible, and the doctor said sometime this week. Chuck Shacochis is the associate with Bud and he will be carrying the responsibility of the parish in Bud’s absence.

Judy is also facing surgery for a very early-detected cancer. She is hoping the surgery will be this week as well, possibly on Thursday. She has been undergoing many tests and expects that the recovery will be fairly quick and relatively easy because it was found so early in the process. Please keep both Bud and Judy and their families in your prayers - Chuck too! We will post updates on Bud and Judy in the prayer requests section on the blog as soon as we get them.

Clergy Women's Consultation
The NEJ Clergywomen's Consultation is scheduled for February 27 - March 2, 2011 (Pre-conference Racial/Ethnic Clergywomen's Forum starts on February 26) at the Lancaster Host & Conference Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A copy of the brochure will be mailed to all clergywomen, however, you may print the brochure and register online at http://www.epaumc.org/nejclergywomen.

New Year's Eve Watch Night Worship Service and Holy Ghost Party
A New Year is almost upon us, but we can’t move forward into the New Year until we close out the old. You and your congregation are invited to join us at the First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville (6201 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD) for a New Year’s Eve Watch Night Worship Service and Holy Ghost Party on Friday, December 31, 2010.
Bishop Violet Fisher will be our preacher. The service will begin at 10:30 PM filled with singing, testimonies, prayer and preaching as we bring in the New Year. At 12:10 AM, the Holy Ghost Party will begin with food and music in our Fellowship Hall.
We are also looking for a choir(s) to bring musical selections during the service. If you have a choir(s) that would be interested, please contact Theresa Y. Wells, First Church Administrative Assistant at (301) 927-6133, ext. 14 or Joan Carter-Rimbach at pastorjcr@fumchy.org.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you and your congregation would welcome this opportunity to fellowship with us.

Free Web Ministry Training
November 9, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Grace UMC, 712 Church St., Hagerstown

Effective web ministries will attract people to your church, engage your current members, promote your mission and ministries, and help your church members in their evangelization efforts. While many churches have websites, most of these websites are not appealing or utilized in an effective manner. Creating and maintaining a successful website and web ministry does take effort, but the rewards can be great. 

Topics to be covered:
Why does my church need an effective website and web ministry
What is the purpose of our church website and who is the target audience
Website basics
What makes for a good/bad home page and website design
What are the best / easiest technologies for creating and running church websites
Do’s and don’ts for church websites
Should my church use Facebook and Twitter and how should we use them
Can I add audio and video to my website
Unleashing your church's web ministry
Creating a plan that meets your churches personality and needs
Engaging members
Making your web ministry an enabler of all your church's missions and ministries

Presenter: Paul Keogan, Back Office Thinking, West Chester, Pa.

Questions about the training or registration?  Please contact Lesley Carter 800-492-2525, ext. 303 for assistance.

Register NOW by going to the BWCUMC Website under EVENTS > Web Ministry Training landing page. You will need your Gateway Log-in ID and Password to register.  

Clergy & Church Evaluations are Up and Running
The forms needed to complete the evaluation process are now up and ready to be accessed. As with charge conference there are numerous resources available to help you fill out these forms. We encourage you to review the video, letter of introduction, SMART goal setting and tips for completing the forms as well as and the SAMPLES of the forms shown in this section before starting the process.

Go to http://www.bwcumc.org/content/appointment-evaluations-landing.  To begin to complete the forms you go to the website and sign in using your Gateway user ID and password. As with other online forms only certain people can complete certain forms.

Clergy must complete:
Pastor/Deacon Self Evaluation Form
Appropriate Advisory (including Clergy in Local Congregations, Deacons, and Clergy on Extension   Ministry)
Clergy Profile
Review Guide's comments on your self-evaluation form
Extension Ministry Report (only for clergy in Extension Ministry Appointments)

SPRC Chairs must complete:
Congregational Evaluation
Pastor Ministry Evaluation (one for each appointed pastor)
SPRC Advisory Form (one for each appointed pastor)
Appointment Evaluation (only after a change in appointment)

TOGETHER Clergy and SPRC Chairs must complete:
Church Profile
Review Guide's comments on your church evaluation forms

All forms must be completed by December 1st, 2010 and must be submitted online in Gateway. Your Guide or District Superintendent will provide feedback by January 31 2011; you are then requested to view those comments.


Leadership Day and Spring Discipleship Academy
We are in the final stages of planning Leadership Day and the Spring Discipleship Academy. In an effort to make these events run smoother and successfully in the future, we have set a strict policy that all attendees must be pre-registered in order to attend these events. We will no longer be offering the option of registering on the day of the event nor will we be taking registrations over the phone or via regular mail. Our main goal is to use online registration.

Leadership Day is set for Saturday, January 29, 2011. On that day only, we will hold an open registration for Spring Discipleship Academy for those who cannot register online. More details will be forthcoming. As always, we appreciate your consideration and support in this matter.

Direct Dial
In an effort to reduce the amount of calls going through the front desk, please feel free to call the Washington Region on their direct phone lines. The numbers are as follows:

־          Cynthia Moore 410-309-3435 

־          Darryl Campbell 410-309-3484 

־          David Argo 410-309-3493

־          David Carter-Rimbach 410-290-7307

־          Edgardo Rivera 410-309-3436

־          Pam Mullay 410-309-3493

־          Vivian McCarthy 410-309-3493

Discipleship Academy Update
Registration is now closed for the Washington Region Discipleship Academy. In addition, we will no longer be accepting walk-in registrations. We will be finalizing the Washington Region Leadership Day and spring Discipleship Academy over the coming weeks and will let you know once all of the details are in place.

Bishop's Day Apart Clergy - Shaping Our Covenantal Life Together
November 11, 2010 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. At Glen Mar UMC, 4101 New

Cut Road, Ellicott City, MD

Guest Speaker: Dr. Lovett Weems, professor and director of the Lewis Leadership Center at Wesley Theological Seminary
Dr. Weems will present on leadership trends in the church and his findings in a recent study he conducted of the BWC appointments and ideas about our future. Clergy will be invited into a conversation at the gathering, How Leadership Trends Are Shaping Our Covenantal Life.

Clergy will be invited to share in conversation on some of the important questions being raised:

־          What are we learning about leadership for the church?

־          How are decisions being made about effective leadership?

־          What is leave taking and what is the process for leaves of absence?

You are invited to set time aside for this important day in our life together.

Registration Fees (includes lunch)

$20 Early Bird -- Register online paying by credit card October 11-20
$30 Rate Increase -- Register online paying by credit card October 21-November 6

No walk-in registration at the door.

Http://www.bwcumc.org/clergydayapartnov2010

Christian Believer: Knowing God with Heart & Mind

Hosted by Joye Jones

30 Weeks, Beginning January 18, 2011

Tuesday evenings, 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Led by Pastor Joye Jones

Good Shepherd UMC,

9701 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD

Goodshepumc@verizon.net or 301-434-3331

Cost $40, includes student book and reader

Orientation meetings: Tuesday, Jan 4, 7:00 pm OR Sunday, Jan 9, 2011 – 9:00 am

(attend only 1)

Dear Colleagues, I will be leading Christian Believer: Knowing God with Heart & Mind at Good Shepherd UMC here in Silver Spring, beginning in January.  I would like to invite you and members of the congregation you serve to join in this class on understanding theology.

While the format is similar to the Disciple Bible Study series, Christian Believer focuses on doctrine.  We will study what the Church teaches, moving class participants from “I believe” to “We believe” of the Christian Community.

Christian Believer is not easy for some people, but my then 78-year-old mother – who has only a high school education – took the course; while she had to work at it, she “got it.”  There are daily reading assignments, both from the Bible and from a reading book containing writings from theologians through the ages.  More than the Disciple Bible studies, participants need to keep up with the reading, because it is very hard to do it all just before class meets.

On the other hand, I have taught this class before, and it repays the hard work that participants invest in learning.  Participants come to know the foundational and traditional doctrines of the Church, their basis in scripture and tradition, and why they matter. 

We have ordered some handbooks that describe the course in more detail; I will be very happy to give you some to pass out to any in your congregation who are interested in learning more.  In addition, the orientation sessions will give potential participants a better understanding of the commitment they will be making.

If ever there is a class that suits our United Methodist connectionalism, this is it.  Christian Believer enables people across the full theological spectrum of our denomination to be in conversation with each other and with the Tradition. 

Please let me know if you or others in your congregation are interested in participating, or they can contact me directly by email or phone (info above).  If you need more information, or would like some of the descriptive handbooks, please let me know.  Or if you want some information for your church newsletter, I’ve got that, too. - Joye

Deepening Your Effectiveness - Registration Now Open on Gateway

There will be a new learning opportunity for you and interested members of your congregation. The class is based on the book Deepening Your Effectiveness by Dan Glover and Claudia Lavy. The book offers a fresh perspective on developing disciples and reaching the un-churched. The instructor is Vicky Starnes, an Annapolis Southern Region guide and effective communicator.

The course begins November 1 and will be done online until December 3 and 4 when there will be a 2-day face to face workshop here at the BWC Mission Center. Folks who have participated in online educational opportunities have enjoyed that format of learning.

Registration is open online. Please use the following link to register: http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/other 

Please share this opportunity with your congregation and take advantage of it yourself.

Special Sundays

The last one of the year is United Methodist Student Day on Nov. 28, 2010.

For more Information and the graphic (under Website Advertising) go to:

Http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwl6kknwlrh/b.3833913/k.2E1B/Special_Sundays__United_Methodist_Student_Day__Support_Materials.htm

Cokesbury at the Conference Mission Center

For those of you who haven't had a chance to visit the new Conference Mission Center, there is a Cokesbury store attached to the building. For contact information for the Cokesbury Store, go to: http://www.bwcumc.org/content/cokesburylocation.

Early Response Team Training

Do you like to work with your hands?

Can you work independently with little outside support? Would you like to be Christ’s presence to people following a disaster?

If this describes your passion, consider becoming a UMCOR Trained Early Response Team Volunteer from the Baltimore-Washington Conference

An Early Response Team (ERT) is a small self-sufficient group of volunteers who go into a disaster area after the First Responders have secured the area and help begin the process of helping survivors put their lives back together. ERTs typically travel on short notice to disaster area either in the BWC or in nearby Methodist Conferences at their invitation. All ERTs are trained through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and are ready to stabilize an area in preparation for Volunteer In Missions (VIM) teams. ERTs work hard removing debris and cleaning houses, but most importantly they represent Christ’s presence to those who have survived a disaster.

The Baltimore-Washington Conference is in the process of recruiting and training ERT volunteers so we are ready to respond when a disaster strikes.

Training sessions will be held at the following locations:

October 30, 2010

St. John's UMC

216 West Seminary Ave.

Lutherville, Md. 21093

Rev. James Dement

Cell # 410-790-8935

Pastorjaychris@yahoo.com

November 13, 2010

Providence-Fort Washington UMC

10610 Old Fort Road

Ft. Washington, Md. 20744

Rev. Stephen Ricketts

Cell # 240-308-2148

Sr.ricketts@verizon.net

November 20, 2010

Hedgesville UMC

201 South Mary Street

Hedgesville, WV. 25427

Mr. Alan Brown

Cell # 301-676-1717

Amrickva@yahoo.com

All Training Classes begin at 8:00 am and run until 4:00 pm and include lunch.

All classes contain the same material and are taught by UMCOR certified trainers.

A fee of $25.00 is required for each participant for materials and lunch.

.8 Continuing Education Units will be given for this class.