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, …
2021-2022 Advance Specials
Conference Advance Specials is a missional stewardship program of second-mile giving by generous churches, groups and individuals to support primarily local ministries. Churches that want to give to support Conference Advance Specials should first fulfill their primary connectional stewardship commitments …
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 …
Bishop Beverly Shamana dies at age 81
Bishop Beverly J. Shamana, a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church, died last week in California at age 81. Elected and consecrated to the Episcopacy in 2000 in the Western Jurisdiction, she was the second black woman elected as a …
August Book Club explores church conflict
There are two types of conflict in congregations: conflict that kills and conflict that cultivates growth. So argues the Rev. David Woolverton in his new book that is drawing much attention, Mission Rift: Leading through Church Conflict. Conflict that kills–that …
Next Local Pastor Licensing School begins Oct. 1, 2021
The Eastern PA Conference’s next Local Pastor Licensing School begins Oct. 1-2 and will run for eight weeks total but with two intervening weeks off for completion of assignments. That means six weekends of online class attendance, again via Zoom. The total …
New Eastern PA Conference COVID Update (8/4/2021)
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have escalated the number of Pennsylvania counties that have substantial or higher levels of COVID-19 transmission. The CDC recommends people wear masks indoors in counties that either average 50 or …
Boiler Inspection Information
All boilers and pressure vessels must comply with Pennsylvania’s Boiler and Unfired Pressure Vessel Law and its regulations and are subject to periodic inspections. The following is the info that the churches will need in order to set up an inspection: …
Affiliation Update: Moving #LTSforward
On July 28, the Lancaster Theological Seminary Board of Trustees took several more procedural steps toward affiliating with Moravian University and Moravian Theological Seminary, a process that could take up to several years to complete, contingent upon regulatory approvals. Effective …
First UMC Lancaster to memorialize Bill and Ginny Cherry, Aug. 7
First UMC Lancaster will hold a delayed memorial service for Rev. Dr. Willam Cherry and his wife Ginny, on Saturday August 7, at 11 AM. “We lost both of them late last year, and the family deferred having a service until …