• The Eastern PA Conference Center' summer schedule has ended and its offices are open on Fridays again.
• We had special visitors Wednesday, Sept. 16, from Christ UMC Lansdale. Tawny Bernhardt, Pastor of Congregational Care, brought the Friendly Activities group to tour the center, hosted by the Bishop's Executive Secretary Amy Botti. While there, they met staff, learned about the conference's new Imagine No Malaria (INM) campaign and received INM collection boxes to take back with them. 
  

Pennsylvania Keep Kids Safe has updated its Frequently Asked Questions forms for Volunteers and Employees who work with children and youth. Included are a new, longer set of instructions, just released this past summer. We have posted these updated documents in our Website's Safe Sanctuaries section. Here are direct links to the forms on the PA Keep Kids Safe Website:

• Volunteer Approval FAQs (PDF)
• Employee Approval FAQs (PDF)

The latest information about the Eastern PA Conference’s Licensing School is now available on the Conference Website. This program is for persons who want to be trained in a Growing Church Licensing School and persons who want to be trained as Certified Licensed Local Pastors. For more information, please contact Gordon Hendrickson at [email protected], 267-258-9507

You can share God’s love with prison inmates who are incarcerated at a difficult time by writing a brief caring, encouraging note inside a Christmas greeting card. The Eastern PA Conference Prison Ministry & Restorative Justice Team hopes to receive hundreds of signed cards, sent or dropped off at district offices, to deliver to inmates at several correctional facilities in Eastern PA. Nov. 9 is the deadline to have all cards at district offices, so they can be collected, delivered and screened by prison officials before Christmas. Many inmates find it difficult to maintain connections with important people in their lives, and the absence of loved ones can be felt most deeply during Christmastide. Please see the guidelines and use the sample cards and expressions offered on our Website. 

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...

 Building on the success of its Financial Leadership Academy for pastors, the Mid-Atlantic UM Foundation will launch in November a Financial Leadership Series for Laity, offering lay members valuable stewardship wisdom in four sessions over the next year. The first class, titled "Theology of Stewardship and Creating a Culture of Giving," will occur in three locations on Nov. 7 and 21 Learn more...

Twenty-two young adults from the Philadelphia area gathered on Friday evening, Sept. 11, for  dinner and an open discussion led by members of the Eastern PA Conference Young Adult Ministry Council. Their purpose was to connect and create a sense of community among young people of faith and to offer a forum for discussion about relevant and important life issues. Learn more...

September 15-October 15 is designated as Hispanic Heritage Month in our nation and in The United Methodist Church, giving congregations opportunities to celebrate the contributions of Hispanic/Latino culture, people and traditions. Read about the recent meeting of MARCHA, the Hispanic/Latino UMC caucus, and a message from the founder and head of Esperanza, a Philadelphia Hispanic/Latino community development agency. Also use the links provided to access Discipleship Ministries articles and worship resources that can be used this month and throughout the year. Learn more... 

The Circle Legacy Center in Lancaster will dedicate there on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 10 AM, a state historical marker it purchased to commemorate the Conestoga Indian Massacre that occurred in that area in 1763, violating a treaty with William Penn. The center heard Jack Brubaker, newspaper columnist and author of the book Massacre of the Conestogas, speak on the massacre's history last week at the Community Mennonite Church in Lancaster. CLC is also collecting donations of clothing & toys for Native American families in need this Christmas. 

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 new survey from UM Communications found that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow same-gender marriages nationwide has so far had little impact on the opinions of UMC members, leaders and pastors in the U.S.  However, respondents disagreed on whether the church should make changes to its own policies in order to be consistent with the court’s ruling. Learn more...

Ordination of United Methodist elders and deacons would be faster and training of licensed local pastors more rigorous under proposals by the 2013-2016 Ministry Study Commission. The commission’s just-released report is notable for issues it doesn’t address, namely security of appointment for ordained elders. And the report offers observations on challenges facing The United Methodist Church, stating that the denomination must respond to a rapidly changing culture while staying grounded in Wesleyan theology and practices. Some of the commission’s recommendations will be introduced as legislation at the 2016 General Conference in Portland, Ore. Learn more...

“The arrival in Europe of massive numbers of Middle Eastern refugees is causing crises for humanitarian organizations and churches as well as for governments,” writes the head of the UMC's global missions agency. “United Methodists are wondering and asking…how The United Methodist Church...is responding to the migration crisis.” Global Ministries General Secretary Thomas Kemper offers detailed answers to that question, identifying the scope of the crisis, prayer needs, local responses and UMCOR’s relief efforts. He also urges expanding U.S. efforts to take in many of the refugees "fleeing horrific violence and devastation of their homes and communities.” Learn more...

Mt. Zion UMC (1530 N 11th St, Philadelphia) will culminate its extended 100th anniversary celebration this Saturday, Sept. 19, with a outdoor "Camp Meeting" of healing prayers, praise worship, fellowship and community outreach.

Boehm’s Chapel will hold its 30th annual Apple Festival 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.

The WORD is out! It's time to register early for the 29th annual Peninsula-Delaware Conference weekend Youth Rally in Ocean City, Md., Jan. 8-10, 2016. More than 4,000 young people and adult leaders will again converge on the Roland E. Powell Convention Center (4001 Coastal Hwy, Ocean City, MD 21842) for three high-spirited days of worship, witnessing, fellowship and celebration "as we rejoice in the freedom we have in Christ!" "WORD" is the theme, based on John 1:1, and the stage will burst forth with lights, music, praise, testimonies, humor and more highlights.  Guest presenters, offering inspiration and challenge, include the incomparable Reggie Dabbs, plus Propaganda, Fellowship Creative and two nights of special concerts by Disciple and Moriah Peters. Early-bird registration ($55) ends Oct. 12. Regular registration ($65) ends Nov. 2. After then, late registration is $75. REGISTER ONLINE NOW!! Check out the colorful, informative online brochure

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.

Lebanon Valley College, a UM-related institution, hosts a special photographic art exhibition, titled “Mingled Visions: Images from ‘The North American Indian’ Collection,” in its Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery until Oct. 18.  The stunning images, depicting diverse images and cultures of Native Americans from numerous tribes, were taken by Edward Curtis beginning in 1907 in a photo documentary project that became his life’s work.  Several special related events are planned, including a Native Nations Dance Theater performance Sunday, Oct. 4. Check the Website for more information.

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