Churches mask up, close doors as virus spikes

The Rev. Hammett Evans knew his Arkansas church needed to make a change after five fully vaccinated worshippers tested positive for COVID-19. The five experienced mild symptoms or none at all, said Evans, senior pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church …

Sanctuary UMC youth keep mission local

Rather than traveling for a week to a distant mission destination, the youth of Sanctuary UMC in North Wales partnered with five area non-profit organizations to work on various projects and support their outreach to underserved neighbors.  The youth also …

Standing with Haiti amid quake and storm

United Methodists are reaching out with their prayers and pocketbooks as Haiti faces a devastating earthquake and encroaching major storm. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is collecting financial donations through its International Disaster Response and Recovery Advance #982450. The relief …

A Note from DS Morton – August 13, 2021

“They spent much time together in the temple[and] broke bread from house to house.” (Acts 2:46a) Victory was declared in April. In visiting the Donaldson United Methodist Church on the western frontier of our district, I had accomplished a major goal …

The Need for Worldwide Vaccine Access

Citizens of many countries are unprotected as COVID-19 cases rise. United Methodist and other faith leaders view access to the COVID-19 vaccine as a human right, along with other basic health care needs. But citizens in many countries remain unprotected …

A Time to Keep and a Time to Cast Away

The often quoted verses about time, in chapter three of the Book of Ecclesiastes, come to mind as I prepare to retire and leave this beloved Philadelphia Area.  Throughout the past 13 years I have experienced many of the times …

Don’t count out small, rural churches

Bigger and younger is not always better when it comes to churches say United Methodist experts who counsel that community connections and effective ministry are better measures of a congregation’s vitality. Small, rural churches can be as impactful as megachurches, …

Notice: Email Spoofing & Fake Texts

Don’t reply to fake texts from conference clergy Email spoofing is once again at work using conference leaders as the sender. Remember, spoofing is when the sender of the email forges (spoofs) someone’s email address, so that the message appears …