Welcome to the Washington Region Blog! In an effort to reduce the number of emails sent from the region, the blog will be updated on a weekly basis. You will receive an email reminder every week to come and check out the blog.



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Statistical Reports due on January 20
Just a reminder that statistical reports are due on January 20, 2011. This is the final deadline for reports. Please be sure to submit these reports on time.

For more information on how to complete the reports, please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/statisticalreports and click on the Statistical Reporting Guideline near the bottom of the page.

To access the report, you need to go onto the GCFA website and enter the following user name and password at http://eagle.gcfa.org/Login.aspx:

Username:  3810xxxx(‘p’ or ‘o’) - The xxxx refers to your church number and the 'p' refers to pastor and the 'o' refers to other user.
Password:  Stats2010

For example, if you are the pastor at church number 1234, you would use 38101234p as your user name.

Leadership Day Registration is closed!
Leadership Day registration is now closed. We are not accepting any more registrants.

Worship Design Studio
Worship Design Studio is a website that is a resource for creative worship. Each region decided to chip in and purchase the studio believing it to be a valuable resource for all of the churches in Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference.

To access the Worship Design Studio, go to http://www.marciamcfee.com/studio.htm.
Click on subscribe online and it will ask you to create a user name and password and input your contact information. There is also a spot for the coupon code. The coupon code is D8355E3F9F. Once you enter this the website will recognize you as a member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and will allow you to continue with your log in and proceed.

Renewal 2011

This is a great way to train and support worship arts leaders (musicians, worship committees, preachers) in the local church.

Journey to the MountainJuly 11-14, 2011
Colorado Springs, CO
www.UMFellowship.org/Convocation

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Leadership Day Registration Ending Soon!
Just a reminder that you have until Saturday, January 15, 2011 to register for Leadership Day. Registrations will not be taken after that date. Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday to register for the event.

Free Supplies
Foundry United Methodist Church has the following items to donate to a good home:
  • Legal file cabinets - 3
  • Legal hanging file folders
  • Legal file folders
  • Legal expandable pocket folders
If you can provide a good home to these supplies, please contact Al Hammer at ahammer@foundryumc.org.

Wesley Ministry Network Online Classes Available
Connect with other Christians to deepen your faith and grow in discipleship with Wesley Ministry Network On-line. In partnership with Bishop Richard Wilke’s Institute for Discipleship, Wesley Ministry Network now offers its acclaimed lay education courses on-line.

Each course features streaming video lectures and on-line discussions with other students and experienced Wesley Ministry Network teachers. Courses are open to everyone, and CEUs are available.

Spring courses begin January 16 and include:
·        Serious Answers to Hard Questions
·        Women Speak of God
·        Devotion to Jesus: The Divinity of Christ in Early Christianity
·        Religion and Science: Pathways to Truth


2010 Apportionment Deadline Extended
In consideration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 17, the new deadline for paying the balance of your 2010 apportionments has moved from January 17 to Tuesday, January 18, at 12 p.m. The Baltimore-Washington Conference Mission Center will be closed for the holiday.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy New Year! Happy New Year to everyone. We hope you had a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year holiday.
It is a new year and with that comes statistical reports. The statistical report site is up and running, despite a flew glitches over the past few days. Here is the information you will need:

Go to http://eagle.gcfa.org/Login.aspx

USERNAME: 3810****p OR
USERNAME: 3810****o
PASSWORD: Stats2010 (Case Sensitive)
(The **** is to be replaced with your church ID #, i.e., 1234) (Example: 38101234p)
Every church will have two (2) usernames. The first one ending in the letter ‘p’ for ‘primary/pastor’ and the second ending in the letter ‘o’ for ‘other’.

First Time You Log In:
When you log in for the first time, enter the username and password given to you by your conference office. Click on the “Log In” button and you will be directed to a “User Information” page where you will be asked to fill in some information about yourself.

1. The First and Last name fields are required. This will be used in several locations for identification purposes.

2. The Username will be filled in with the username you entered when you logged in. You can change this if you wish. The only requirement is that this user name be unique throughout the denomination. So try and pick something that may not already be taken. You will be notified by an error message if you need to choose another username.

3. The Password field will be empty. You are required to enter a password. The requirements for the password are it must be at least 6 characters long and contain letters and/or numbers. (no special characters)

4. The Home Phone, Work Phone, and Email will be empty. These fields can be useful to the conference if they need to contact you. (especially the work phone and email address) If you provide an email address to the system it will be able to email you your password if you forget it. This can be done only if you remember your username and you provide an email address. If either of these conditions is not met, you will have to contact either the district office or the conference office to get your login information.

5. The Type, District, and Church lists refer to the type of user that you are and the church and district you have permissions to access. These options will already be filled in and you will have no other options to choose.

Once all the information has been filled in, click on “Update”. This will update your information in the system and a message will be generated on the screen reminding you of your username and password. Close this message and click on the “Exit” button on the bottom of the screen. You will be taken back to the login screen. You must login using your new username and password.

Your statistical reports are due January 20, 2011.


Leadership Day
We still have room available for Leadership Day on January 29, 2011. Cost is $35 for the day including lunch. Registration is open until January 15, 2011. To register, please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/2011washingtonleadershipday. We will not be accepting walk-in registrations or paper/phone registrations. Please register online.
(Please note that the Engagement in Community breakout session is filled to capacity and no longer available.)

Online Polity Class
The Washington Region is in the process of designing an online course in UM Polity. The course will be taught this spring as part of our region’s Discipleship Academy. With the limited time that we will have, we want to make sure that we include the most relevant and useful information. We would appreciate it if you would email Cynthia Moore (cmoore@bwcumc.org) your responses to these questions so that we can refine the course. Thank you for your time.

1.      What are the hallmarks of United Methdosit (UM) polity that bring you the greatest joy or make you the proudest about being a UM?
2.      What UM polity issues do you wish you understood better?
3.      What UM polity issues, if any, trouble you?

Prodigal Worship
Early Bird registration rate of $69 for Prodigal Worship Conference ends on January 14, 2011. On January 15, 2011, the rate will increase to $99 -save $30 and register today at www.bwcumc.org.

Prodigal Worship Conference is an event filled with dynamic speakers and workshops to help you create worship that transforms individuals, congregations and communities. Prodigal Worship 2011 will be held:

Saturday, April 2, 2011
Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott City
Registration begins at 7:45 a.m.

We’re also offering a special live streaming session of the event in the Western Region at Hancock UMC. Participants will hear and see the three keynote speakers and two workshops. Lunch is included in the registration and participants will have the opportunity to browse the marketplace for books and other materials to assist in worship planning.

The keynote speakers for the Prodigal Worship 2011 conference will be Marvin Moss, Kim Miller and Mark Beeson
. We invite you to learn more about these speakers and also read about our workshop leaders such as Shane Claiborne, Len Wilson and Jason Moore (Midnight Oil), Shane Stanford, Paul Nixon and many others.  To read the speaker bios and workshop descriptions, visit: www.bwcumc.org/prodigalworship .

We are excited for all that is in store for the Prodigal Worship 2011 conference and we hope that you’ll join us. Register today!

Job Opening at General Board of Church and Society in Washington, DC
The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) located in the United Methodist Building in Washington, DC is looking for a Front Desk Receptionist.  The job description is as follows:

Basic Functions:
Serves as the key staff person assigned to greet visitors and maintain secure access to the United Methodist Building.
Provides assistance and directions for visitors.
Operates the GBCS switchboard and coordinates the usage and billing of conference rooms.

Essential Job Functions:
Operates the GBCS switchboard and monitors the security of the front door from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays. Responds to incoming calls by providing information or taking messages and referring calls to appropriate persons.
Maintains schedule of conference rooms and chapel use and updates the directory of building activities in order to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Contacts security and arranges for hospitality with groups using the United Methodist building conference rooms after hours and on weekends.
 Serves as the person responsible for ensuring maintenance of the conference rooms and first floor kitchen by giving direction to the building and cleaning crew. Keeps conference rooms appearance ready for rental.


A High-School Diploma with 3 to 5 years working with the public, good communications and people skills are required. Knowledge of phone system, Microsoft Suite – Word, Outlook and Excel is preferred.

This is full-time position with benefits. The work schedule is Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm.
Salary is $35,000.

Apply by sending cover letter and resume to:

-           OR   -

The General Board of Church and Society
Attn: Frances Roberts #224
100 Maryland Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002

Job closes on January 30, 2011.

Gateway Reminder
Just a reminder for you to be sure your committees are updated in Gateway with any new church leadership information. For more information on how to update committees in Gateway, go to http://www.bwcumc.org/content/gateway-resources and click on Introduction to the Gateway System.
Serves as back-up Service Department Assistant in processing mail.