Under a cloudy sky broken by intermittent sunshine, members of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania gathered for a peaceful rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Harrisburg May 1. They were there to remind legislators that it is …

EPA Awardees Honored for Evangelism, Urban Ministries
About 30 people gathered April 22 for the 2023 Eastern PA Annual Conference awards ceremony at Christ United Methodist Church in Fairless Hills—a 30-minute, video-recorded ceremony where plaques and framed certificates were given out and brief remarks were shared. A …

Project Restoration moving disaster recovery work to Philly
The Eastern PA Conference’s Project Restoration is about to enlarge its territory of endeavor as it moves its Hurricane Ida disaster recovery work from suburban counties into Philadelphia. Doing so will require all that the project’s management team has learned …

Introducing a New Streamlined Reporting Process for Church Leaders
By Rev. James Lee jlee@gnjumc.org For many pastors and church leaders, reporting and form-filling is akin to the dreaded task of sorting through a mountain of laundry on a weekend afternoon—necessary, yet decidedly not exciting. However, things are about to …
‘Here I Am, Send Me’: Call to Ministry Worship Service
Prelude Call To Worship One: Eternal God, you gave to your apostles many excellent gifts. Many: Through the Spirit, you have granted your gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, administration, leadership and help.One: For all these gifts …

Creating a culture of calling to pastoral ministry is crucial now
“I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (Isaiah 6:8a) Although I don’t condone its tone or tactics, HBO Max’s dramatic series, Succession, is wildly popular. It’s all about the …

EPA, GNJ CoNAMS share friendship beyond borders
Both the Eastern PA and Greater New Jersey annual conferences in May will begin with a traditional ceremony acknowledging the land we occupy as once owned by Native American people, particularly the Lenni-Lenape nation who inhabited land in what is …

Workshop will help churches prepare for pastoral transitions
The EPA Transition Workshop for New Pastoral Appointments, to help churches receive new pastors, will be offered twice, May 4, at 7:00 p.m., and May 6, at 9:00 a.m., both via Zoom. Each participating church should form a transition team to attend the …

Breakthrough’s new website is here to help revitalize worship
It’s here! We’ve just launched the new colorful, easy-to-use website for our Breakthrough worship resource for United Methodists of Eastern PA and Greater NJ. Check it out at Breakthrough Worship Resources (breakthroughseries.org). The new site provides easy access to Breakthrough’s free, time-saving, creative …

Churches build homes at home to send to neighbors in need
For its third annual Help Build Hope mission project, Bethel Hill United Methodist Church in Lansdale, PA, doubled down on its usual homebuilding efforts by constructing a more ambitious, two-floor duplex for some blessed new homeowners in Berks County. Help …