Bishop Peggy Johnson will preach and serve Holy Communion at Moravian Theological Seminary Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 12 noon, in the Bahnson Center.  Her sermon will be titled, “What the Blind Man Saw,” based on Mark 10:46-52. Following the service, she will lead a discussion on “Sexuality and the United Methodist Church.”  All are invited to attend. Moravian Theological Seminary is located at 60 West Locust Street, Bethlehem, PA. Call 610-861-1516.

Camp Innabah urgently needs a truck “as soon as possible, before the first snow,” reports Sally W. Ott, Camp & Retreat Ministries Development Coordinator. Their current pick-up truck has reached the end of its road. A plow is needed as well. This equipment is a vital need for a year-round camp and retreat center. If not for free, they are looking for a good deal on a pre-owned truck in good condition.  If you can help contact Sally at [email protected] or 717-468-7017, or call Michael Hyde, Innabah’s director, at the camp office, 610-469-6111.

Boehm’s Chapel will hold its 30th annual Apple Festival Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 AM to 3 PM., rain or shine, at Boehm’s UMC, 13 West Boehm's Church Road, Willow Street, PA. An array of tents will harbor old-fashioned treats, including homemade apple butter, apple dumplings and baked goods, plus kids' games like the ever popular 'apple sling-shot.' Lunch fare will be scattered around the campus, and vendors will display homemade crafts en route to the old chapel and inside the church fellowship hall. The historical video “More than Just a Chapel on a Hill,” about the Boehm family and the chapel, will be shown in the  historic 1791 chapel. Admission and parking are free. For additional information contact Dolores Myers, Executive Director of the Boehm’s Chapel Society by e-mail or call 717-872-4133.

Join Huntingdon Valley UMC (3470 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, PA) for the 6th Annual Conference of the India Harvest Network this weekend, Oct. 9-10. IHN encourages churches, individuals and mission agencies to become more active in the evangelization of India. Inspired by Psalm 2:8 ("Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.") and the growth of missions in India, the free network event will offer seminars, worship with offerings and meals. For more information and to register online:  www.indiaharvestnetwork.com. 215-728-6000. Learn more...

The Latino Commission will co-sponsor an exciting conference-wide Latino youth worship and praise event at New Creation UMC in Lancaster (formerly El Redentor & St. Paul’s UMC, at 10 W.Varnum St.) on Friday, Oct. 16, from 7 to 11 PM. The 11 Latino churches in our conference will send their youth of all ages, but organizers are also inviting youth from other Christian churches in the Lancaster area. With the theme "2020 Vision," the event will feature youth-led worship, dance, music, drama and other forms of praise. "Our youth will bring their many talents to God," said Jose Tirado, pastor of Cristo Rey UMC in West Grove, who will preach the evening message and deliver an altar call, during which youth (and adults) will pray for each other. Organizers hope to revive the FOHS (Full of Holy Spirit) youth worship events begun during Latino Camp at Gretna Glen several years ago and repeated annually. For more information contact the New Creation UMC at 717-393-3035 or [email protected].

Check out our Website blog, From Pulpit & Pew, to see two new contributions. Barbara A. Stein, Lay Leader at Salem UMC, Orwigsburg, writes about the gifts galore her congregation has bestowed on its pastors for Pastor Appreciation Month annually since 2007. And the Rev. David W. Brown recalls the frenzy surrounding Pope Francis’ recent visit to Philadelphia as part of the World Meeting of Families and his own experience working behind the scenes. While he didn't get to meet the Pope as expected, he was in good company with many other volunteers serving faithfully in the city they love.

• Read "A special time to say thanks to our pastors"
• Read "Serving amidst the papal frenzy"

NOTE: This blog invites submission of short (under 800 words), appropriate essays from anyone--lay or clergy (preferably, but not solely, members of the Eastern PA Conference)--on any suitable topic that relates to faith, ministry, service or other forms of discipleship. Got something on your mind or heart that you want to share. Please e-mail it to us at [email protected], and we'll consider publishing it in From Pulpit & Pew. Thanks!

The Pennsylvania Council of Churches (PCC) urgently invites all to attend an important weekend gathering in the capital city, Oct. 23-26, to educate people of faith about mass incarceration in the nation's troubled criminal justice system and how churches can respond. "Let Our Eyes Be Opened: Breaking the Chains of Mass Incarceration" will happen at Harrisburg's Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center Friday evening through Sunday, October 23-25, and then move to a day of social action at the State Capitol Monday, Oct. 26. This gathering for clergy and laity replaces the council's former annual Pennsylvania Pastors Conference. Learn more and register online...

A limited number of 2015 Eastern PA Annual Conference Journals will be available in early to mid-November. Order yours today for $25 each. You can pay online or send a check by postal mail to EPA UMC, Attention Ms. Gloria Knoeller, PO Box 820, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0820.

What's in the Journal? Contact information for Conference staff, clergy, Camp and Retreat Centers, Districts, and United Methodist Church boards and agencies. Also clergy appointments, pastoral salaries and service records; and conference board and committee assignments. Plus, all about the 2015 Annual Conference; conference statistics for 2014; historical highlights; and conference policies and procedures for clergy, staff, and others. Questions? Please contact Gloria Knoeller at [email protected].

The UMC's chief coordinating body for programs and operations is offering a new weekly video series to prompt helpful conversations about concerns coming to the 2016 General Conference next May. The Connectional Table (CT) will launch the series this month to help inform church leaders and General Conference delegates as part of an engaging online forum called #CTTalks. Weekly posts will include interviews with UM bishops, CT members and other denominational leaders. A conversation page with questions and answers will enhance dialogue as well. Topics will range from General Conference Culture and Christian Conferencing to Vital Congregations and the Worldwide Nature of the Church. The videos and the conversation sheets will be available on the Connectional Table website.  

“Local pastors are the future of United Methodist church leadership.” Remember when the Rev. Mike Slaughter proclaimed that bold assertion at our 2014 Annual Conference? Take a look at the new series of UM News Service articles about local pastors. These non-ordained clergy, who often don’t have seminary degrees, are growing in number and taking on more roles in the UMC. Writer Sam Hodges explores the rapid, trending growth of part-time local pastors, the use of local pastors in Hispanic/Latino church outreach, and the challenges faced by local pastors in Central Conferences. He also profiles six part-time local pastors of the West Virginia Conference, including a grocer, a corrections officer and the 2013 state Teacher of the Year. See Trending Local: The Growing Role of Local Pastors

The Eastern PA Conference’s Latino Commission annually offers a workshop for non-Latino churches on reaching, inviting and welcoming Hispanic/Latino neighbors in communities with growing Latino populations. Today's congregations are challenged to become more effective in communicating across demographic and cultural divides. Is your church located in a rapidly changing community with an influx of Hispanic and Latino families? Do you wish to reach out to these new residents, inviting them into your church family and church activities? Here are nine tips on communicating with Latino neighbors, offered by UM Communications.

The Rev. John Bletsch will offer DivorceCare, a 13-week group program designed to help people who are going through, or have recently gone through, the painful experience of marital separation and divorce. The group will meet Sundays, beginning Oct. 11, from 5 to 6:30 PM, in the fellowship hall of Otterbein UMC (181 Walnut St, Mont Clare, PA). They will discuss material to help them cope with the practical, emotional and spiritual stresses that separation and divorce generate. The cost is $35 for a participant workbook. The group is open to anyone, says Bletsch, who chairs the Conference Communications Ministry Team, "so please consider inviting friends or family members who might be working through issues related to separation and divorce." Contact him by phone (610-933-8690) or email ([email protected]) to register or ask any questions.  

• General Conference Delegate Re-Voting Q&A 1 
• General Conference Delegate Re-Voting Q&A 2

A part-Native American author, lecturer and historian will speak about his book, A Clash of Cultures, at a fall worship and fellowship event on Nov. 8 (at 4 PM) at Camp Innabah (712 Pughtown Road, Spring City/Pughtown), sponsored by the Eastern PA Conference’s Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM). Darvin L. Martin will share findings about his Native and European family roots and the historic interaction between both cultures in the Susquehanna Valley. The event will include Native American Christian worship with music by the duo Spirit Wing and friends, followed by a light meal. RSVP by Oct. 30 to Felicia Anderson at [email protected] or 484-762-8248.

• Please see and share the event flyer

The Eastern PA Conference has embarked on a new, short-term Imagine No Malaria campaign to build broad awareness and financial support for the life-saving mission to eradicate the deadly disease of malaria. Bishop Peggy Johnson encourages churches to contribute $10 per worshiping member by the end of 2015 to help the denomination raise $9 million and reach its $75 million goal by 2016. She is appealing to leaders, members and churches throughout the conference to learn about this preventable disease and our collective efforts to help remedy it, and to “Press on toward the goal.” Learn more...

The Fellowship of Associate Members and Local Pastors of the Eastern PA and Peninsula-Delaware conferences will retreat together April 24-26, 2016, at Black Rock Retreat Center, 1345 Kirkwood Pike, Quarryville, PA. Associate Members, Local Pastors, Student Pastors and Certified Lay Ministers are all invited to attend and may earn 2.0 CEUs. Online Registration is open now. For more information contact Mark Beiderman at 610-585-0575. Download the brochure, which contains a registration form.

• Oct. 8: Southeast District
• Oct. 13: Central District
• Oct. 14: East District
• Oct. 20: Northeast District
• Oct. 22: Northwest District
• Oct. 28: Southwest District