For Mother's Day,  May 14, UMCom offers videos and articles to remind us of the blessings many mothers represent to their children and others whose lives they influence for generations.   Enjoy these selections from  umc.org to help you and your church celebrate Mother's Day and special mothers past and present.

May is Christian Home Month in the United Methodist calendar. A new reflective, photographic v ideo and prayer at umc.org together remind us to pray for those closest to us and those whom we do not know but are still called to love. UM Communications invites you to view this video meditation, share the link with others and download the video for use in worship, Sunday school or other settings. View also on UMCom's YouTube channel: United Methodist Prayer for Families .

A blazing fire raced through and ravaged historic Memorial Presbyterian Church in Boothwyn, just southwest of Chester, on Easter Monday, April 17. No one was injured, but firefighters were only able to rescue several its precious religious items and little else. Yet, Memorial's friends at Linwood Heights UMC in Linwood were friends indeed, as they rescued the landmark church's Sunday morning worship services by putting out their own welcome mat with an invitation to share their space.

Although now destroyed, the 132-year-old Memorial Presbyterian is fortunate to share a ministry partnership with Linwood Heights UMC and Cokesbury UMC in Marcus Hook. After years of sharing in Ash Wednesday services, Christmas Caroling Fests, Easter Vigils and raucous hymn sings, inviting Memorial to share Linwood Height's space was just a "natural, comfortable extension of our long-term partnership," explained the Rev. Ethel Guy, pastor.

On the  Sunday after Easter the Linwood church proclaimed its welcome to Memorial Presbyterian in bright lights on its electronic sign and placed Memorial's processional cross, which was charred by the fire, in the chancel.  Learn more...

The Philadelphia Tribune has highlighted a number of our Philly UM churches in frequent religion articles, including its regular Church of the Weekfeature. Recently it lifted up Janes Memorial and Grace UMCs; and on April 29 it featured Camphor Memorial UMC .  

The newspaper reported on the 95-year-old church's efforts to make a "tangible impact on the lives of its members and the community by empowering them through education or uplifting them in acts of charity." It credits the Rev. Frank N. Moore, Camphor Memorial's "social justice-oriented pastor," with trying to engage more young people and teaching people "about who Jesus really was, in terms of what Jesus really did."

Also featured in the newspaper recently were:

Eastern PA Conference Communications asks-implores-all churches in our conference to please, please let us know when and where your church, your pastor or members are featured in your local news media-in newspapers, television or online stories. We want to highlight more links to more stories like these whenever and wherever they occur, publishing them in NEWSpirit Digest and on our " Methodists Make News " webpage. Please keep us in your loop. Thanks!  Learn more...

If you are a pastor changing to a new church appointment, be sure to attend the next Transitioning Pastors workshop on Saturday, June 10, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, at West Lawn UMC, 15 Woodside Avenue, Reading. For information, please contact Felicia Anderson at [email protected] or 484-762-8248.

Meanwhile, the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary has published (and republished) its usual, timely slate of brief articles about pastoral transitions. Check out their helpful newsletter-with several articles written this year and others in 2015-that addresses relevant transition concerns. They include: "Challenges in Pastoral Transitions," "Why First Impressions Really Do Matter," "50 Ways to Improve Pastoral Transitions" and "Learn 50 Ways for Your Congregation to Welcome a New Pastor." 

"Knowledge is power." Take control of your financial future. Sign up now for your chance to meet with Robert Christophel of Wespath for a half-hour at Annual Conference to review your pension projection and begin to make informed decisions about your retirement. Time slots are limited and fill up quickly!  Be sure to choose a time slot between June 15 and June 17.  Register Now

Bob Christophel is a benefits educator who provides financial, retirement and other benefits education for clergy and lay employees. He previously worked in benefits communications and participant education in New York and was a licensed investment representative in a corporate retirement services division, where he focused primarily on participant education for national corporate 401(k) plans.

Eastern Pa members can join members of other, neighboring conferences for fun and fellowship at United Methodist Days at Dorney Park, June 23-25. Pick any day you want and come enjoy a full day of rides and shows, sunshine and snacks, laughter and glorious fun. Purchase your tickets now for only $31.50 on any of three days in June: Friday, Saturday or Sunday, June 23, 24 or 25. $3.00 from each purchased ticket will go to support United Methodist Men's and Young People's ministries.

A video of Bishop Bruce Ough's May 1 presidential address to the UMC Council of Bishops, meeting in Dallas,  can be viewed at  umc.org/news-and-media/bishop-ough-challenges-umc-bishops-to-be-prophetic.  Bishop challenged his fellow bishops of the church to find a common moral and prophetic voice to attend to the household of God.  He implored them to be "diligent and prayerful in attending to the fear in our own household, but let us not forget that Jesus calls us to attend to the fear that grips the entire household of God....Colleagues, if there was ever a time for this Council to speak to the nations with clarion voice, with righteous judgment, with a call to repent and give one's heart to God, it is now."

The Center for Emotional Intelligence will offer a class, Emotional Intelligence and Building Effective Teams, in Baltimore, Md., June 9, that is open to all lay and ordained leaders. The early  registration fee of $100 is available until  May 15, but the regular registration cost is only $125 after  May 15.  Their goal is to "provide a one-day experience for participants to learn elements of effective team life through the lens of Emotional Intelligence. The class will teach ways to understand Emotional Intelligence competencies and how they impact team effectiveness, and identifying core elements that make a team effective. The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 5603 North Charles Street in Baltimore, will host the class. Register at  www.eqhr.org/registration/june-9-baltimore. For more information contact EQ-HR Center at 626-877-0559 or  [email protected] 

Register online now! All registrations after May 19th will incur a $50 late fee.

Clergy spouses--male and female--are invited to the third Sabbath retreat offered by the conference and facilitated by Artos Retreats on Saturday, May 13, at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Lunch is included. 

At these retreats, "created for clergy spouses by clergy spouses," participants learn how to celebrate Sabbath in ways that can help them cope with the burdens and boundaries of their roles. They are able to connect with other clergy spouses in small groups to safely, confidentially discuss common concerns. At Claiming Sabbath retreats, led by longtime clergy spouse Julie Anderman,  spouses get to enjoy music and activities like The Sabbath Game to help enhance their spiritual life. The cost is $50. Credit card payments are due May 7. Learn more and register now.

About 40 lay and clergy church leaders gathered last weekend, May 5-6, at Cedarville UMC to learn how to build effective church websites using WordPress. UM Communications training specialist Craig Catlett led the two days of hands-on training, where attendees learned how to create content and pages on their new church sites. They also learned some basics about strategic Web design and messaging--how to communicate who you are to the people you're trying to reach.

Craig will return in June to greet and get to know us at our Annual Conference, June 15-17. He'll address the plenary body and host a UMCom display in our exhibits area. (Be sure to drop by and meet him.) But even better, he will arrive early and teach a workshop on Church Marketing on the eve of our Annual Conference, on Wednesday, June 14, from 6 to 8:30 PM. It's open to all. So come join us and gain some useful wisdom on promoting your church's ministry and message to your community and to the world. We'll even feed you (pizza and salad probably). More info to come. 

We've got new pictures that tell the stories of exciting recent events for you to enjoy on our Flickr page. Check out Sabrina Daluisio's photos from the third annual Eastern PA Conference Youth Rallly 2017 , hostedby Hopewell UMC on April 22 and the Latino Commission's annual Holy Convocation hosted by El Buen Samaritano UMC in West Chester on April 15.

Do you enjoy reading Bishop Peggy Johnson's Bishop's Blog? Want to read her timely, thought-provoking, heart-touching essays as soon as they're published? Well, now you can. Right under her "About Me" brief profile in the right column, you'll find the words "Follow By Email." Just fill in your e-mail address, select "Submit," and you should receive an e-mailed notice whenever there's a new essay to read. Enjoy it right away and even respond to if you'd like. And beneath that field you'll find the Blog Archive, where you can find past essays to read again or for the first time. 

Calling all pastors who would love to spend a day at camp, but can't spend a full week.  The Camp & Retreat Ministries Board wants to try a new program this summer that invites you and your family to spend a full day,  on Monday through   Thursday, at one of our four camps between  June 25 and August 12.

Pastors could arrive any time after  8 AM and be treated to three great meals of camp food, complete with a sumptuous salad bar. You could lead a staff Bible study or devotions, meet with staff and volunteers or with campers who need spiritual counsel or support, participate in any camp activities going on that day at your discretion, and then return home to sleep in your own comfortable bed. Your children could choose to participate in one of the camp experiences and your spouse could accompany you for the day or just "do their own thing." 

If you're interested, visit our Camp & Retreat Ministry webpage  to contact the camp site you'd prefer, arrange for the best date and finalize the details. 

By the way, Summer Camp registrations are going on now, and staff are visiting local churches to promote and sign up children and youth for this life-changing experience. Check our our new YouTube video featuring two excited camp staff members telling how camp changed their lives and can change yours too:  "Two Testimonies: Summer Camp transforms lives!"