Many EPA congregations are planning or already hosting Vacation Bible School gatherings. They are turning up the excitement meter probably inside and outside their church buildings, and enlisting youth and adult volunteers to help offer children plenty of fun, food and festivities, along with faith formation lessons drawn from various offered VBS themes.
Step into PATHWAYS, now available on EPA’s website
Pathways to Congregational Fruitfulness & Health offers a menu of intentional processes congregations can use to prepare, assess, learn and grow in their understanding of what it means to be a healthy, fruitful congregation. It is a timely resource, especially …
EPA churches asked to become Covenant Partners with DRC missionaries
EPA Churches are invited to being supporting United Methodist Global Ministries missionaries Gaston and Jeanne Ntambo, who serve with Wings of the Morning in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We now have an official conference relationship with their longtime …
Church grateful for flood recovery aid from partner churches
“Our hearts are full,” announced the Rev. Catherine Bowers, in thanking partner churches and others for their support in the ongoing efforts of Otterbein UMC in Mont Clare to recover from Hurricane Ida-caused flood damages last September. “You have made …
Morton to manage Leadership Development in EPA
The Rev. Steve Morton, North District Superintendent, will become the Eastern PA Conference’s new Leadership Development Manager July 1. Morton, who has led the North District since 2018, will now help plan and coordinate a leadership development program to equip …
Churches condemn hate, urge action after shootings
Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church stands a few blocks from the grocery store where a gunman opened fire May 14 — killing 10 people and injuring three. But for members of the largely Black congregation in Buffalo, what officials labeled a white supremacist attack hit far closer to home…
Grieving, praying after attack on school
United Methodists are stepping up to provide support and prayer after a horrific shooting at a Texas elementary school that took the lives of at least 19 children and two teachers. Even as they pray for grieving families and a traumatized community, many in the church are also asking in the words of Psalm 13: “How long, Oh Lord, how long?”
God, show us how to do more: A prayer in response to violence
Holy One, Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those in Uvalde, Texas. We recognize, however, that this isn’t enough. Mobilize us, God. We do not want to be desensitized to violence. Stir something deep within …
Conference charts new pathways to a future that is Now
“Now” is a word that implies something “New” is about to happen; and that makes “Now” an apt theme for the 236th Session of the Eastern PA Annual Conference, May 20-21. The conference’s third online session was fully staged this …
EPA honors churches, leaders for the fruit they bear
“Be purposeful and fruitful.” That creative challenge is in the last line of Bishop John Schol’s April 4 essay titled “ Direction: A Key Ingredient for Successful Leadership – Part 2: Mission.” He reminds us of the Eastern PA Conference’s mission: “Recruit …