1. Prayers, support urged for Puerto Rico's Fiona victims

‘UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) is calling for prayers and donations to support for its disaster relief efforts, as we wait to learn the full severity of Hurricane Fiona’s destruction to Puerto Rico. The storm, a Category 1 hurricane when it struck the U.S. territory, has gained strength as it wreaks more havoc on other Caribbean islands and threatens the U.S. coast and eventually Canada. You can give through the U.S. Disaster Response Advance Project #901670. 

Meanwhile, five years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the Rev. Nicolas Camacho plans to lead another team of volunteers there in November to continue EPA’s assistance in its recovery. Learn more.  

2. Certified Lay Minister orientation for entering Class of 2023

EPA’s will offer in its annual orientation for persons interested in becoming Certified Lay Ministers. Attendance at one orientation session, via Zoom video conferencing, is required for admission to the Class of 2023 (certification scheduled in 2024). Sessions will meet for two hours on two Saturdays, Oct. 8 and Nov. 19, at 9:30 AM, and on Thursday, Oct. 13; Monday, Oct 24; and Tuesday, Nov. 8, all at 6:30 PM.  Contact Judy Ehninger, CLM Program Coordinator, with questions and to register for an Orientation Session. Phone: 610-442-3140.  Or [email protected]. 

3.  Sharing Your Story: A Retreat for Deacons Oct. 7

Deacons, deacon candidates, and those who wish to learn more about deacons and their ministry are invited to a time of fellowship and encouragement at our upcoming Deacons’ Retreat! The retreat will be held Oct. 8, 8 AM – 3 PM, at Innabah Camp & Retreat Center. The cost is $25 and includes breakfast and lunch. To register, e-mail Tiffany Manning at [email protected]  by Sept. 25. 

4. A sacred reunion

The remains of a 17th century Jesuit priest, Father Jacques Marquette, were fully reunited this year at the place where he served the needs of indigenous peoples who revered him. It was a sacred dream fulfilled, writes the Rev. Steve Morton, who recently visited the site. Indeed, it was an act of “healing and restoration of human relations” in a world full of historic injustice and oppression. Learn more. 

5. Justice, healing for Native American Children

EPA’s Committee on Native American Ministry (CONAM) endorses the UMC’s Native American International Caucus’ recommendation of a week of prayer and action, Sept. 30 through Oct. 6, to remember reported atrocities associated with tribal children once taken from their families and placed in boarding schools. Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 are both designated as official National Days of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools.  

On Oct. 6, 1879, General Richard Pratt took children from First Nations and opened the first U.S. boarding school in Carlisle, PA. EPA’s CONAM is exploring a possible bus trip to visit the former Carlisle Indian School, which now houses the U.S. Army’s War College. Learn more from NAIC’s website. Find observance activities on the Baltimore Washington Conference website. 

6. GCORR to award grants to aid intercultural leadership development

The UMC’s General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) will award up to $10,000 in new grants from its CORR Action Fund (CAF) to aid initiatives that can transform the church and the world by increasing intercultural competency in leadership and supporting “vital conversations about race, cultural diversity, and systemic equity leading to action.” Applications will be accepted until Nov. 15. For more information and to apply visit: www.gcorr.org/CAF 

7. Drew University seeks new president for 2023

Drew University in Madison, NJ, is a UM-related institution that includes historic Drew Theological School. Drew “stands at an inflection point in its history and seeks a bold visionary leader who is innovative, entrepreneurial, inspiring, and financially astute to serve as its 15th President, beginning July 1, 2023.” Learn more.  

Christmas Cards for People in Prison 

EPA Christmas Cards for People in Prison program, through which we can help incarcerated persons experience God’s love, returns this year from Sept 9 to Nov. 2. Learn more. 

October Book Club explores On Vanishing, about dementia

The next Learning for Leaders book study, weekly on October 5, 12, 19, & 26, will be On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia and What It Means to Disappear, authored by the Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper, who has studied and ministered among people living with dementia. Harper will co-lead the study with the Rev. Karen Bartkowski, Pastoral Ministries Coordinator and Chaplain at Maris Grove Senior Living in Glen Mills. . Learn more and register.

Body and Soul: The Trauma of Domestic Violence, Oct. 21-22

During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October the Eastern PA Conference Domestic Violence Committee will explore the physical, emotional and social impacts of trauma related to domestic violence. The weekend training event on Zoom, October 21-22—on Friday, 7-9 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM -12:30 PM—will feature presentations, discussions and workshops led by resource experts, advocates, and survivors, plus the offering of an original poem inspired by and composed for the occasion. Learn more. 

Courageous Dialogues begin Oct. 24

EPA Conference members will engage in Courageous Dialogues to share their stories with one another in multiple sessions at EPA Camp & Retreat Centers. Approved at the 2022 Annual Conference (Resolution 2022-09: Building Fellowship in the Face of Division), the dialogues are intended to create sacred space where clergy and laity can “build trust and understanding by listening and hearing one another one-on-one.” 



The first dialogues will be held Oct. 24, Nov. 14 and Jan. 30, 2023—all Mondays. See the districts and locations for these initial dialogues, plus costs and a list of “Core Values for Courageous Dialogues.” Learn more and register. 

Grow your Youth Ministry at the IGNITE 2022 Conference Sept. 30 to Oct. 2

The Greater New Jersey Conference’s IGNITE fall youth event—open to EPA youth and youth ministry leaders, too—will offer ideas, tools and inspiration to help you start, rebuild and grow a youth ministry. The IGNITE Conference, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, in Wildwood, NJ, is a great opportunity for students grades 6-12 to connect with God and each other, grow in their faith and become leaders in their church, their community and beyond.   Register today 

Churches partner in house-build to Help Build Hope 

Lima UMC in Media will host another Help Build Hope outdoor house-build event on its campus this weekend, Sept. 23-25. This time they will build not one house but five townhouses, with help from its church partner, Covenant UMC of Springfield, and others. 

The woodcutting happens Friday might. The construction of exterior and interior wall framing and sheathing happens Saturday until about 1 PM. And the partially built houses will be dedicated on Sunday, then taken apart, loaded on a truck and shipped to a Habitat for Humanity site in West Grove. Volunteers will be invited to write messages of hope and encouragement on the walls. 

The partner churches are recruiting “as many as 100 volunteers to make this happen—no experience necessary,” said Mark Reinmiller, missions chairman at Lansdale UMC, which is helping also. 

“It’s a very worthwhile experience,” said Reinmiller, whose family and even grandchildren have participated in the past “and enjoyed it!” If you want to join in and Help Build Hope, just sign up and then show up. Here is some additional information. 

SEPT. 26: Project Restoration Youth Day of Service – South District | Register.

SEPT. 30 – 10/2:  Latino Commission Pastor’s Retreat | Gretna Glen Camp & Retreat Center | Learn More

OCT. 1 & 15: By Water & the Spirit: Theology & Practice of Baptism | 9 AM – 11:30 AM | Zoom | Register by Sept. 23.

OCT. 3: Advent Preparation Workshop for Children’s & Family Ministries. Via Zoom. Learn more.

OCT. 5 - 26: “Learning for Leaders” October Book Club: On Vanishing | Wednesdays at 11 AM | October 5, 12, 19, 26 | Zoom | Register

OCT. 15: Advanced Sexual Ethics Workshop: Congregational Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, 9 AM – 12 noon, via Zoom. Register.

OCT. 15: United Women in Faith 9th Annual Celebration. Montgomery Square UMC North Wales. Learn more.

OCT. 21-22: Body and Soul: The Trauma of Domestic Violence. Learn more. 

OCT. 24: Courageous Dialogues. Innabah Camp & Retreat Center (for South & East Districts combined). Register.

OCT. 24: Project Restoration Youth Day of Service. East District.  Register.

OCT. 28-30: Dismantling Racism – Level I, via Zoom. Learn more.