All four of the Eastern PA Conference Camp & Retreat Centers are springing forward as their activity schedules begin to bloom like vivid spring flowers. They’re inviting United Methodists of EPA and Greater New Jersey to come enjoy April and …
Tools for Ministry returns to onsite learning for leadership
The Eastern PA Conference will close its 2023 Tools for Ministry toolbox when the trio of leadership development events ends this Saturday where the sun sets, in the West District. It’s the first major, in-person training to occur there in …
When the past just doesn’t work anymore
No one pours new wine into old wineskins. —Luke 5:37 In my role as bishop of EPA&GNJ, I lead or serve on the board of directors of eight nonprofit organizations. These include annual conferences, foundations, universities, social service organizations and …
Leadership Academy planners generate ideas for learning, doing
It was a cloudy day outside on Saturday, February 11; but inside of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Hamilton, near Trenton, the fellowship hall was illuminated by bright ideas that filled the room. The EPA&GNJ Leadership Academy Planning Day …
United Methodists collect 180,000 total pounds of donated food in Super Bowl challenge
The biggest team with the biggest score that emerged from the NFL Super Bowl, Feb. 12, were the United Methodist churches of both competing areas that together collected about 180,000 pounds of donated food to fight hunger in their communities. …
Managing the fast pace of change
“Your word is firmly fixed in heaven.” —Psalm 119:89b “The only constant in life is change,” Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the sixth century BCE, taught us. But when is too much change just too much for a system to …
Saturday is Leadership Academy Planning Day
While the Philadelphia Eagles will spend Saturday preparing to win Sunday’s Super Bowl, about a hundred EPA&GNJ church, district and conference leaders will gather to prepare for something far more important and more lasting: a new and improved Leadership Academy …
Justice for Our Neighbors needs Spanish-English interpreters now!
Justice for Our Neighbors of the Delaware Valley (JFON-DV), which provides affordable immigration legal services to low-income clients in our region, urgently needs Spanish-English language interpreters now to help busloads of migrants arriving in Philadelphia seeking asylum. The small agency, …
Bishop mourns fatal police violence, calls for justice, grace, love
Bishop John Schol expressed in a letter to EPA & GNJ United Methodists Saturday the anguish many felt when viewing the video of Tyre Nichols being brutally and fatally beaten by Memphis, Tenn., police officers. “It was painful to watch,” …
World Methodist Council nominations sought
Bishop John Schol seeks persons—clergy, lay adults and youth—to nominate for membership and leadership on the World Methodist Council, for the remainder of its current term, 2022-2024, and also for 2024 to 2030. The Eastern PA and Greater New Jersey …