Order of Elders MeetingThe Order of Elders will meet on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Conference Mission Center in the Fiesta Center. The “order” for our time together will be The Call to Action & The Ministry Study Plans. An RSVP to cumchurch@verizon.net c/o Pastor Smith-Horn is requested so we will have an idea how many persons will be in present.
Clergy Case Study (1.5 C.E.U.)
Clergy Case Study is an opportunity for clergy to present and discuss difficult and unique situations that occur in our congregations. During each session, a case will be presented and together the group will discuss and share thoughts and insights about the case.
Clergy Case Study will be led by Rev. Steven T. Cochran, MDiv, M.S., Pastoral Counseling
Where: ~ Reisterstown United Methodist Church
When: ~ Each Tuesday, September 23 ~ October 25, 9:00-11:00 am
Cost: ~ $125
C.E.U. ~ 1.5
Registration is by email ~ revstc@comcast.net
Payment is due by first session. Checks should be made payable to Rev. Steven T. Cochran, 1402 Mt. Carmel Road, Parkton, MD 21120
Bulk Energy Procurement Interest for Churches in DC
PURCHASING TOGETHER SAVES CONGREGATIONS MONEY
Earlier this year, the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) and The DC Project organized eleven faith-based institutions and one non-profit youth organization to purchase electricity together. They leveraged their group purchasing power and engaged in a competitive bidding process with six alternative electricity suppliers. The reduced electricity rate will save the institutions $97,000 over the course of the year.
The hope with this initiative is to grow and create a formal buying cooperative that in the longer-term can provide meaningful savings for all institutions as well as a return to fund organizing.
2012 ELECTRIC & GAS JOINT PROCUREMENT
This year’s successful electricity purchase opens up the doors to expand this initiative and increase the group’s negotiating power. To kick off the second round, on Wednesday, May 18, the group will hold a conference call for all interested participants. During the call, organizers will present an overview and timeline for the next joint electricity buying opportunity and answer any questions. Following the call, any interested institutions will be requested to provide copies of current electricity and gas bills and fill out an online application.
CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION
1) Tax-Exempt Status
2) No existing electricity supply contract OR a current contract that ends in 2012.
For more information, please go to http://bit.ly/ElectricityInterestForm and fill out the interest form.
Office Administrator Needed
Part-time office administrator needed for a church office in Clarksville, MD. A candidate for the position will need to be a personable self-starter with a comfort and familiarity with Microsoft Office suite and a willingness to be trained on our membership database software. The position is for 25 hours per week, Monday - Friday. Tasks include answering phones, production of printed materials, membership database maintenance, and management of our building space. Interested parties should send cover letters and resumes to Karen Lowrey at ktlowrey@verizon.net by June 6, 2011.
Mount Zion is sponsoring a workshop entitled, 'Starting a Small Group Ministry.' (.3 CEU's)
Are wondering how to start a Small Group Ministry in your church? What kind of small groups do we need and want? How do we figure that out? This is the workshop for you.
How to cultivate an awareness and affirmation among the existing groups about how they already have many aspect of being small groups in our congregations and can also be places of faith formation and disciple making.
We will also learn how to work with our congregations to develop a mind set and culture that values small group.
The facilitator of our workshop is Rev Dr. Diana Hynson, director of Learning and Teaching Ministries for the General Board of Discipleship.
The workshop will be held on June 18 from 9-12. Deadline for registration is June 16th. Cost for the workshop will be $20 payable at the door on the day of the workshop. Doors open at 8:30am for registration, fellowship and light refreshments. To register, go to
Church Safety Practices
A few weeks ago, a man with a gun came into a sanctuary of an open church and confronted the persons there, stole cash and keys, and fortunately, did not injure anyone.
This is a reminder to us about the desperate plight of brothers and sisters in our communities and our need to hold them in prayer and continue to find ways to serve the poor. It also is a time to practice common sense at church just as we do at our homes.
It seems prudent to remind the Trustees about the importance of locking the doors at the end of the day and most especially making sure no one is at the church building alone without locking the building. Most local church safe sanctuary policies include statements pertaining to this. Please remind your folks about the policy of your church.
Also, please note the following workshop which is being sponsored by our regional administrators:
Church Office and Church Safety Workshop will be held on August 25, 2011 – 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. We encourage your church staff and members of Trustees to come. The workshop will be presented by the Howard County Police Department and will be held at the Baltimore-Washington Conference Mission Center, 11711 East Market Place, Fulton, Md. There is no charge for this event.
Debt Reduction Immersion Series
A new Immersion Series Resource is now available for our churches to assist their congregations to reduce personal debt - Faith-based Finances: Reducing Debt & Increasing Depth. This immersion resource is designed to help our churches jump-start small group studies on debt reduction and contentment.
Fifteen BWC pastors participated in this resource by providing their successes with three difference programs: Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, Adam Hamilton’s Enough and Willow Creek’s Good Sense. This resource provides a review of each program, core classes and a description of the author along with a series of accompanying resources. There are also podcasts by two pastors discussing the programs and a list of churches available by phone for guidance.
In addition to the program reviews, Bishop Schol provides an introductory video of “Living Simply” and Daryl Williams provides a video on “Being happy with what you have”. PLUS, Three members of our BWC Finance team: Paul Eichelberger, Pier McPayten and Frank Robert each produced a 10-minute video to give their professional views on reducing debt, budgeting and investments along with a list of resources to be used to follow through on their discussions.
Additional resources include excerpts from the Book of Discipline, Book of Resolutions, financial resources for children and reference material from umc.org. There are also resources for facilitator training, online classes for a more personal debt reduction session and training resources for one-on-one counseling. Several resources are available in Spanish.
This new Immersion resource is available to our congregations free of charge and can be viewed at: www.bwcumc.org/immersionresource/faithbasedfinances.
Peace with Justice Sunday
Peace with Justice Sunday is June 19, 2011. I hope you will consider again to help promote Special Sundays.
Graphics can be found under Website Advertising:
http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwL6KkNWLrH/b.3833885/k.D6D4/Special_Sundays__Peace_with_Justice_Sunday__Support_Materials.htm
Scholarship Deadline Approaching
The Scholarship deadline is approaching soon so be sure to pass on to your congregations the information about the opportunity to apply for scholarships. For more information on the scholarship program, go to http://www.bwcumc.org/finance/college-scholarships.
Thomas Kemper will deliver the sermon at Foundry United Methodist Church on June 19, at the 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:30 PM services.
Foundry United Methodist Church, 1500 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
"Jesus Outside the Gate" Hebrews 13:12-16
Thomas Kemper, a native of Germany, is the chief executive of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. As a former missionary in Brazil, he is the first general secretary of a United Methodist general agency who is from outside the United States. Kemper has led the Board of Missions and International Church Cooperation of the United Methodist Germany Central Conference since 1998. He is also served as a director of Global Ministries, a 190 year-old organization with personnel, projects, and mission partners in 136 countries. Kemper has traveled extensively, done field work in Africa, worked with Vietnamese boat people in England, and can communicate in five languages.
Congratulations!
HiRho Yoon Park received her doctorate from Boston University.
Mary Dennis received her D. Min degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.
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