A number of Eastern PA churches, especially in Philadelphia, saved the best for last by culminating their Black History Month celebrations on the last Sunday of February. There were oral and visual presentations of African diaspora history and culture, remarkable …

EPA’s takes steps on its Path Towards Wholeness
The Eastern PA (EPA) and Greater New Jersey (GNJ) conferences share a common goal and collaborative strategies to End the Sin of Racism*. While GNJ calls its endeavor a Journey of Hope, for EPA it’s “A Path Towards Wholeness,” the …

Busy pastors can benefit from monthly spiritual retreats
Each month on the first Wednesday, EPA Clergy are invited to stop and take some time for themselves to re-generate, to connect with God, and to just “breathe.” The next half-day Clergy Spiritual Retreat is scheduled for March 6, 12:30 …

Use Breakthrough’s new Lenten worship series to guide your church ‘Through the Valley’
Thanks to the new 2024 Breakthrough Worship Series, many churches in Eastern PA and Greater New Jersey started the New Year digging into the “Roots” of their faith to find nourishment from our shared spiritual legacy as the people called …

Program connects churches with student pastors for mutual benefits
Mosaic Ministries expands to EPA and seeks to revive culture of the call. NOTE: The Rev. Kate Monahan invites all to attend an information session for local church leaders to learn about Mosaic Ministries via Zoom on Thursday, February 15, …

3 Tools for Ministry academies will offer learning for leaders
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding. —Proverbs 3:13 Several hundred lay and clergy members of Eastern PA will spend three brief but full Saturday mornings in February and March drilling down into a deep well in …

Youth Leaders Day ignites shared learning, support for youth ministries
Post-pandemic youth ministry is hard. So hard, in fact, that the leadership of EPA&GNJ Next Gen Ministries recognized the folly of going about it alone. The United Methodist Church of West Chester in EPA became a hub of inspiration on …

NextGen coordinator to share wisdom with peers at Youth Leader Days
Register for IGNITE’s Youth Leader Days now: January 27 at West Chester UMC, in Eastern PA, and February 24 at Aldersgate UMC in East Brunswick, NJ. Michael Nelson, a dynamic youth pastor at Norwood (PA) United Methodist Church and a …

Camps to welcome EPA&GNJ youth to Confirmation Retreats in April
This spring two Eastern PA Conference Camp & Retreat Centers are eager to welcome youth from across EPA and the Greater New Jersey Conference to their 2024 Confirmation Retreats in April, where they can enjoy the beauty and diversity of …

Leadership Academy Preaching Institute hires director, coordinator
The EPA&GNJ Leadership Academy’s new Lilly Endowment-funded Preaching Institute (LAPI) hired a new director and coordinator January 1. The Rev. Darryl Stephens, who chairs the Order of Deacons in the Eastern PA Conference and teaches at Lancaster Theological Seminary, will serve as director. …