Please be sure your contact information is updated in Gateway!
Journal Information and Updates Needed –
Dear pastors: Your personal and church contact information is stored in the Baltimore-Washington Conference’s database, Gateway. Each year we print a physical copy of these addresses in the Journal.

We will be pulling your contact information from Gateway on July 8, 2011 to include in this year’s Journal. You are solely responsible for keeping your contact information up-to-date, so please take this time to make sure your personal information is correct (address, phone, email) as well as your church’s information (address, phone, email). If you are unsure how to verify and change your information in Gateway, please check out this easy to follow tutorial video on how to change your information. If you have further questions, please contact your regional administrator. http://www.bwcumc.org/resources/videos/updateprofile

Thank you for ensuring the accuracy of this permanent Baltimore-Washington Conference record.

If you are transitioning July 1, you can find helpful resources on the pastoral transitions resource page: http://www.bwcumc.org/resources/pastoraltransitions
Blessings - BWC Journal Team



Discipler Groups/Charge Conference Schedules
The Discipler Groups and Charge Conference Schedule listings can be found on the website. Discipler Groups at http://www.bwcumc.org/resources/disciplergroups and Charge Conference Schedule Listings at http://www.bwcumc.org/sites/default/files/pdf/WashRegionChgConf2011.pdf. (I hopefully made the charge conference schedule easier for everyone to read :) Please note that these are working documents and most likely will change over time. On each document you will see an “updated as of” date. Please be mindful of that date when viewing the documents. In an effort to not overload everyone’s mailboxes with attachments, I will do my best to link everything to the website.



Registering on Gateway – Important!
Please remind your staff and congregation when registering for events on Gateway that each person must register individually. The only group registration is for ROCK only. If you log in as yourself and register someone else, there is a chance that the person’s name and email will replace yours in the system. This is especially important not to do if you are a pastor. It will affect your medical and pension if you register someone else in Gateway and their name takes over your account. If you have any questions about this, please contact Pam at pmullay@bwcumc.org.




Call to Action Meetings – July 11 is the deadline to register for the July 16 meeting…
For Central Maryland pastors and churches, the workshop will be held on July 16, 2011 from 9:00 am-11:30 am at Montgomery UMC, 28325 Kemptown Road, Damascus, MD.

For Greater Washington pastors and churches, the workshop will be held on July 16, 2011 from 1:30 pm- 4:00 pm at Colesville UMC, 52 Randolph Road, Silver Spring, MD.

For those who have a conflict on July 16, 2011, a make-up session is being offered on August 20, 2011 from 9:00 am-11:30 am at the Conference Mission Center, 11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD.

Please register at http://www.bwcumc.org/academy/othertraining by July 11, 2011. We are asking that each pastor attend along with their Administrative Council Chairperson and two other church leaders of their choice. (No more than four people per church please.) Space is limited to the first 100 registrants at each location.

Please have as much of the plan completed as you can before coming to the workshop. You will find a blank copy of the Ministry Plan at http://www.bwcumc.org/sites/default/files/pdf/ctaplanning.pdf.




Fall Discipleship Academy Online Registration
Fall Discipleship Academy classes are now open for online registration. Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/academy/cls/washington for class information and to register.




IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile – Effective July 1, 2011
The rate will increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. This is an increase of 4.5 cents from the 51 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2011, as set forth in Revenue Procedure 2010-51. In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2011. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year.
"This year's increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers.". For more information visit http://www.irs.gov/.


CHURCH AND CHURCH OFFICE SAFETY
In response to recent break-ins at churches, the Regional Administrators are sponsoring "Church Office and Church Safety," a workshop, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Baltimore-Washington Mission Center, 11711 East Market Place in Fulton. Church staff and trustees are urged to attend. The workshop will be presented by the Howard County Police Department. There is no charge for this event, however, registration is required to attend. http://www.bwcumc.org/events/safetyseminars

Howard County Police will be conducting the workshop, however, even if you don’t live in Howard County the same tips apply everywhere. This workshop is open to all churches regardless of where you are located. We are looking out for your safety! Register today!