Open Enrollment meetings to present and explain 2016 health insurance coverage plans to participating clergy, conference and church employees are scheduled for each district. All enrollments must be done online between Nov. 16 and Dec. 6. Please try to attend the meeting scheduled for your area, although you may attend a meeting at any location. Learn more and see the various dates, times and locations for the meetings.

Mount Hope UMC, Aston, will host on Tuesday, ​Nov. 3, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, a free, not-to-be-missed, 2-hour​ seminar on preaching during the expectant season of Advent. The Southeast District-sponsored seminar, designed to prepare preachers for Advent, is open to the entire Eastern PA Conference. That means welcoming pastors, candidates for ministry, Christ Servant Ministers, Certified Lay Ministers, church leaders and anyone else interested in the process of preaching. Four Southeast District pastors--the Revs. Evelyn Kent Clark, Amy Banka, Johnson Dodla and Truman Brooks-- will lead participants through four Advent texts and work with them to design sermon series based on the book Sent by the Rev. Jorge Acevedo. (Reading the book before the class is not necessary.) The leaders will also consider Advent altar design, worship liturgy, and print and video resources.  

"This seminar is fantastic," said the Rev. Dawn Taylor-Storm, Southeast District Superintendent, who attended a daytime session recently. "When you leave, you will have four sermon outlines for Advent.  Even if you are not preaching during advent, you will see how four pastors put together ideas and sermon series in unique ways and in different contexts.  Please join us for the evening session, if you are able.  It will be worth your time."   Register now.

A part-Native American author, lecturer and historian will speak about his book, A Clash of Cultures, at a fall worship and fellowship event Nov. 8, from 4 to 6 PM, at Camp Innabah, 712 Pughtown Road, Spring City/Pughtown. 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. The Eastern PA Conference’s Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM) is the event sponsor. RSVP to Felicia Anderson at [email protected] or 484-762-8248. Please see and share the event flyer

The Conference Prison Ministry and Restorative Justice Team encourages you to help share God’s love this holiday season with those who are incarcerated by writing a brief caring, encouraging note inside a Christmas card. These cards will be collected and delivered to inmates at correctional facilities in Eastern PA. The cards may be dropped off by Nov. 9 at the Eastern PA Conference Office, in care of Felicia Anderson in Connectional Ministries, or at any District office. There are protocols to ensure that cards are signed correctly, or they will be undeliverable. Please be intentional about using only regular black or blue ink ballpoint pens and no markers, crayons, felt tip pens, stickers, glitter or glue. Sign only your first name and no last names. See full instructions on our website.

Grove UMC, at 490 W. Boot Rd, West Chester, will again sponsor "Surviving the Holidays," Sunday, Nov. 8, from 2 to 4 PM, a seminar about helping people face the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) while coping with loss of close relationships, through death, divorce or other departures. Open to anyone in the church or community, this program can help people deal with emotional pain and stress,  providing comfort and relief in difficult times. The cost is only $5 for materials, and free child care will be provided for those who pre-register. For more information or to register contact Pastor Lin George at 610-350-9372 or by e-mail at #.

 The Lancaster Parish Resource Center will sponsor a concert and a conversation to focus on concerns of race and religion. Popular vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock, a Grammy-Award winning, African-American women's ensemble, will perform Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 PM at Lancaster Bible College.  Tickets are $50 for non-members. And a panel discussion of what local churches can do to address racial injustice will be held Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 PM, at Grandview UMC, 888 Pleasure Road, Lancaster. Two of the three panelists are ordained UM clergy. Organizer hope for a strong United Methodist presence at the event. There is no charge for this event.  

The United Methodist Church of West Chester, at 129 S. High Street, West Chester, PA, will host a Pancake Breakfast and Oatmeal Bar on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 to 10 AM, to benefit the conference's Imagine No Malaria campaign. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under, and $20 for a families (of two adults and up to 5 children). The breakfast is being prepared by West Chester University nutrition students and hosted by the UMC of West Chester's Beat the Bug Team. For tickets or more info call 610-692-5190.

 Orientation sessions for admission to the 2016 class for training Certified Lay Ministers, which begins April 1, 2016 will be held Nov. 7, 28 and 30, from 10 AM to 12 pm, at three locations. Sessions are two hours in length. Attendance at session is required as the first step in the admission process. Pre-registration is required. See the Conference calendar on each date for more information. Contact Judy Ehninger to register. Call 610-965-2290 (Home), 610-442-3140 (cell). Or e-mail her at [email protected]

The Eastern PA Conference Communications Team will hold an introductory training and networking event for local church communicators on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 AM to about 1 PM at the Conference Office. If you produce communications for your church (newsletter, Website, social media, video, etc.) please contact our office at [email protected], let us know who you are and how to reach you, and try to attend this event. We will plan future events for 2016. More information and registration to come. 

The 2016 Midwinter Retreat for all clergy (elders, deacons and local pastors) and their spouses is set for Jan. 12, 2016, at the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton, 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster, PA.  Please register by Dec. 7 (due to hotel requirements). Our guest speaker will be Chaplain and Brigadier General Charles R. “Ray” Bailey (retired). Sharing from his many experiences, he will discuss reaching outside our walls to share the Good News. Chaplain Bailey, a UM elder, served churches in Texas before becoming a U.S. Army chaplain in 1982. In 2011 he became the Army's 24th Deputy Chief of Chaplains and has a powerful, personal testimony of the faith and courage of our military heroes.  For questions contact Amy Botti. Please note that there are only 20 openings for commuters at this event.