Salem UMC in Orwigsburg is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2024. Organized as Salem Evangelical Church with its first 24 members in 1824, the church grew through several denominational mergers until it became Salem United Methodist in 1968. For its …

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 …

Pastor to lead monthly spiritual retreats for clergy in 2024
The Eastern PA Conference Cabinet and Leadership Development Office sponsored three, one-day spiritual renewal retreats in 2023 to offer needed respite to weary pastors. They were so well-received that the supportive mental and spiritual health initiative will now become a …

Church’s interfaith community Thanksgiving service reaches hundreds
Members of 15 faith communities came together at Stroudsburg United Methodist Church on Sunday, November 19, to share in a creative, meaningful community Thanksgiving service, sponsored by the Monroe County Faith Leaders. The Rev. Monica Guepet, Stroudsburg’s lead pastor, conceived …

EPA’s North-West Region plans 2024 Korea pilgrimage
The Eastern PA Conference’s North-West Region will explore Korean Methodism’s roots during a 10-day pilgrimage to Incheon and Seoul, South Korea, June 17-27, 2024. The Rev. Hun Ju Lee, North District Superintendent, is inviting clergy, laity and youth members on …

Bethlehem church serves church, community in local Mission Blitz Week
Forty-one members of Epworth United Methodist Church in Bethlehem shared in a fast and furious, one-week Mission Blitz, this past summer, serving needs of others in their church and community. It was an intergenerational labor of love, with volunteers ranging …

Church ends VBS with lively worship and carnival
Black Creek United Methodist Church in Sugarloaf, near Hazleton, climaxed its Vacation Bible School on Sunday, August 20, by sharing worship and a free carnival with its congregation and community. “Our small but awesome group of VBS children led the …

North District churches to return to Iron Pigs baseball
North District members will enjoy a night of Minor League baseball, plus fun, fellowship and fireworks, when they cheer on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Friday, August 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $13, …

4 new Certified Lay Ministers bring EPA current total to 70
Four new Eastern PA Certified Lay Ministers (CLMs) “graduated” in a Service of Recognition June 11, at Asbury United Methodist Church in Allentown. In its 14th year, the conference program now has 70 active CLMs, and 16 of them are …

Spiritual retreats offer weary clergy respite, renewal
“Pastors need a break. We need some sense of support and nurture.” That’s how the Rev. Peter Jamieson, pastor of Richmond UMC in Bangor, described what brought 25 EPA clergy members to scenic Pocono Plateau Camp & Retreat Center April …