Tips on welcoming new comers to your church
This information is from the Lewis Center which should be helpful as your church welcomes folks to worship. www.churchleadership.com/leadingideas/leaddocs/2011/110316_article.html

Hope you and your local church finds the suggestions helpful.

Prodigal Worship – Last change to register
Today is your last chance to register for Prodigal Worship Conference. If you are looking for assistance in creating worship that provides 180-degree change by transforming individuals, congregations and communities, you won’t want to miss the Prodigal Worship Conference. The day is filled with dynamic speakers, 19 powerful and practical workshops and a number of resources to empower you to build life-transforming worshipping communities.

Registration price is $119 at Glen Mar UMC. Learn more about our speakers and register at www.bwcumc.org/prodigalworship.

Discipleship Academy
Lay Speaking and classes on church leadership are being offered April 9 and 16 at the Conference Center. Detailed information can be found on http://www.bwcumc.org/microsites/g/discipleship-academy. Registration is online. Due to space and food constraints, we will not allow walk-in registrations on the day of the event.
Registration closes on March 26 for the April 9 and 16 classes in the Central Maryland District. Please be sure to register on Gateway as soon as you can. Please share this information with your congregation!

Help Needed in New Jersey
New Jersey needs help. Three northern communities are under water. All UMCOR ERT trained workers are asked to contact Rev. Jay DeMent for possible 3-day deployment the week of March 21.
Anyone not trained is invited to register for the class this Saturday 8am - 4pm at St. John's UMC Lutherville. Upon completion class members will receive a certified UMCOR identification badge. The cost is $25. To register contact Jay at 410-790-8935.

Special Sunday
Our next Special Sunday is April 3rd. This one is really critical. It's for One Great Hour of Sharing which basically underwrites the "costs of doing business" for UMCOR so that 100% of donations go to projects (like Japan). Graphics are found under http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwL6KkNWLrH/b.3904011/k.CDAA/Special_Sundays__One_Great_Hour_of_Sharing__Support_Materials.htm.

Here is a bit more about One Great Hour of Sharing:

Dear Friends:
Every year you are there, sharing hope through your congregation's generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing underwrite United Methodist Committee on Relief’s (UMCOR) "costs of doing business," so that every penny of every gift made to a specific UMCOR project will be spent on that project-not on office administrative costs.

Your support of One Great Hour of Sharing enables UMCOR to respond to natural or human made disasters. Without you we would not be able to continue this important ministry of The United Methodist Church.

In 2011, in many churches around the country, One Great Hour of Sharing will be celebrated on April 3, 2011. We are asking you to please encourage increased giving from your congregation so that UMCOR can do more to offer restoration, healing and hope to the many people in need around the world. The One Great Hour of Sharing offering makes UMCOR’s ministries available in the United States and across the globe. It is on your behalf that UMCOR works to alleviate human suffering in more than 80 countries. Jesus teaches us to bring healing and restoration wherever we can. That's what you and your congregation do through the work of UMCOR and your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Please encourage your congregations to give generously to this vital work.
Thank you for your ongoing investment in our mission through One Great Hour of Sharing. If you would like more information about how this offering allows UMCOR to reach out to some of the world’s most vulnerable people, call (888) 346-3862 today. For liturgical resources, please visit One Great Hour of Sharing at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/give/oghs/?tr=y&auid=7911196.

Grace and peace,

The Reverend Cynthia Fierro Harvey
Deputy General Secretary
United Methodist Committee on Relief

Annual Conference Registration Now Open!
We are excited to announce that registration for the 2011 Annual Conference of The Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church is now open. Again this year, the conference will be held at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore Maryland and will be on Thursday through Saturday, May 26 – 28, 2011. Six pre-conference workshops are scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Detailed information about the conference and workshops can be found at http://www.bwcumc.org/content/2011annualconferenceoverview.

Registration closes on April 8, 2011.

Details regarding the arrangements for the Ordination at Lovely Lane United Methodist Church on Friday, May 27, 2011 are still being worked out. You are encouraged to check the BWC website regularly as we expect to add new features and will continually provide updates on important information regarding the conference schedule along with other details as they are made available.

We’re looking forward to having a spiritually renewing conference this year as we “Connect as One.”

“Prepare for Heaven in 2011” – Stewardship Workshop
A Stewardship Workshop on: Planned Giving, Wills and Legacy Giving. Promote Transformational Giving at your Church!
The Mid-Atlantic United Methodist Foundation is sponsoring a two-part Pre Conference workshop:

Who: Endowment, Trustees, Treasurers, Stewardship, Mission, Outreach and Finance committee members or anyone interested in learning about Stewardship. (You do not need to be attending Annual conference to attend).

What: Session A. Planned Giving
          Session B. Wills and Legacy Giving

Where: Marriott Baltimore Waterfront, 700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
When: Wednesday May 25th, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Workshop is part of Pre Annual Conference).

How: To Register, go to the conference link at http://www.bwcumc.org/.

Questions on registering? Call 410-309-3491.Deadline for Registering April 8th on Website.

PASTOR’S FORUM – EMERGENCY APPEAL TO HELP WOMEN VETERANS
Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 10 AM
Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church
800 11th Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
202-397-1562

The Pastor’s Forum is sponsored by the Urban Connection of Greater Washington, a group of 13 United Methodist Churches, who have opened their doors to service meet the needs by providing essential services and programs. We are asking for your support. Many women Veterans experience mental and physical trauma during their deployment or military service. The number of homeless women is increasing and a great number are unable to find employment post deployment, as a result, they are losing their children.

Currently, there are 13 Women Veterans Resource Center satellites in the Washington area offering a variety of services for women Veterans. We are asking churches of all denominations to join in this ministry of serving women Veterans and their families by becoming a satellite.

The Women Veterans Resource Center satellites allow us to minister to these women Veterans with counseling, food, career clothing closet, job readiness skills, housing, drama therapy, computer services and a host of other services.

The Center for Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnership, the Mayor’s Executive Office of Veterans Affairs, the Center for Minority Veterans, the Veteran History Project and other Veteran Agencies are working collaboratively with us to provide information on services available to our women Veterans, and how to access these resources. Our goal is to have you, our churches adequately informed so that you churches can pick up a part of the responsibility to help our women Veterans and their families.

STAND WITH US......

......We are called of God to serve the least, last and the lost.....

Celebration Service for David Argo

Join us as we celebrate A. David Argo as he completes eight years of service as District Superintendent for the Washington Region.

Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 3 p.m.
Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church
3401 Nebraska Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Light refreshments will be served.

Cards or letters of appreciation can be sent to Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, 11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP by May 30, 2011 to the Washington Region at washregion@bwcumc.org. A formal invitation will be sent out in the next week.

Prayer Requests (Due to an issue with Google Blogspot – it won’t let me update the prayer listing without crashing the program. Until this is resolved, the prayer requests will be listed in the regular section of the blog.)
Please pray for the following:

Mrs. Martha Ann Bishop (wife of James Bishop – pastor at Goshen UMC) had both knees replaced about 2 weeks go. Well wishes can be sent to jabmab1@comcast.net.

Virginia Wilson passed away Friday night. She was the wife of the late Rev. John Wilson. The funeral was held at Damascus UMC on Wednesday, March 16 at 11 a.m. with internment at Parkwood Cemetery in Baltimore. Condolences can be sent to Ginger Wilson, 19621 Gunners Branch Road, Apt D, Germantown, MD 20876.

Rev. Michelle Holmes Chaney’s Aunt Lily Williams, 89, passed away Saturday morning. Michelle is the associate pastor at Wesley Freedom in Eldersburg. The funeral was held in New York on March 16. Condolences can be sent to Michelle at mhchaney@wesleyfreedom.org.