A heart-to-heart ministry Eastern PA Conference members and churches again reached out to incarcerated persons with caring messages of encouragement penned on signed Christmas cards. And again, we went the second mile by also donating unsigned cards that inmates can …

Church food pantry feeds hundreds of neighbors
Bridesburg UMC in northeast Philadelphia, established in 1834, provides food to about 250 families from the 19134 and 19137 ZIP codes, through the Bridesburg Community Food Pantry, located on its lower level. The church is fighting hunger in an area …

EPA’s hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico continue
The Rev. Nicolas Camacho led his seventh mission team of Eastern PA volunteers to Puerto Rico Nov. 5-12 to help residents there recover from the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in 2018. The ramshackle, storm-damaged house they transformed into …

World AIDS Day, December 1
2022 THEME: “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV” World AIDS Day has been observed annually on Dec. 1 since 1988. The day honors all of those who have lost their lives to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and …

Spotlight: recorded video courses on Safe Sanctuaries and more
Do your church members who work with young people still need to take EPA’s required Safe Sanctuaries training? If you missed the recent online trainings in September and November, you’re in luck. Video recordings and resources provided in those trainings …

Feb. 2023 Book Study: Tod Bolsinger’s Tempered Resilience
In Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change, Tod Bolsinger, author and leadership expert, will help us explore adaptive leadership qualities we can develop in changing times. Learn how to overcome the external challenges we face and the internal …

CoNAM learns about oppression of Indigenous people in 2 events
The coincidence of Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving Day both happening in November may be troubling to some who know the grim history of brutal oppression and exploitation of Indigenous Americans by early European invaders and settlers. EPA’s Committee …

Veterans Day: Honoring former Buffalo Soldier, revered church scoutmaster
As America honors its military veterans on Friday, Nov. 11, Wharton-Wesley UMC in Philadelphia, is proud that one of its own served during World War II in a U.S. Army unit with a special inherited history. Louis M. Stukes Sr., …

Summit urges churches to speak out against mass incarceration
Attendees of the sixth National Summit on Mass Incarceration were urged to go back into their churches and communities and open conversations about ways they can work toward criminal justice reform…

Men’s group marks 30 years of monthly breakfasts
Bethel Hill UMC in Lansdale, the second oldest Methodist Church in Pennsylvania, is 252 years old. But the UM Men’s group there recently celebrated an anniversary almost as impressive as their church’s. They have gathered monthly to enjoy a savory …