September 22, 2025 | "Transformed Lives Transform Lives" | | |
Our 28 Days of Prayer begin next week on October 1. Watch the message about the importance of prayer from Bishop Easterling below.
How to Join:
- Get your copy of Dynamite Prayer (if ordering 10 or more books, use code INNOVATE50 for 50% off your order).
- Commit to pray daily from October 1–28.
-
RSVP and let us know you’re ready to pray boldly, listen deeply, and move forward together in love.
- Optional: Join others in live prayer from 7 to 7:30 a.m.via Zoom.
- If joining the 7 a.m. Zoom, download the calendar reminder to add the daily prayer time directly to your schedule.
| | |
Hundreds gathered across the Baltimore-Washington Conference for the Bishop’s Days on the Districts, where Bishop Easterling and conference leaders unpacked the new UMC vision, BWC structure, and resources designed to help every congregation love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.
Read more.
The Baltimore-Washington Conference celebrated the appointment of six superintendents to the BWC's newly structured districts in a powerful service of worship at Glen Mar UMC. Each Conference Superintendent cast a vision for how God’s living water will flow through their communities. Read more.
Rev. Bonnie McCubbin has been recognized by the General Commission on Archives and History with the Contemporary History Trailblazer Award for her innovative work in preserving and sharing United Methodist history. Read more about how she is inspiring others to become “trail-restorers” and carrying forward the practices that have shaped generations.
| | |
Season 7 of Training Tuesday is almost here. These sessions are designed to foster church vitality, deepen spiritual leadership, and inspire innovative responses to the evolving needs of our communities. Here is our lineup for this Fall (subject to change):
October 7 - Reaching and Welcoming New People (Registration Open)
October 14 - What does a vital congregation look like?
October 28 - Church Council Training
November 4 - SPRC Training
November 11 - Nominations and Leadership Development Training
November 18 - Trustees Training
November 25 - Finance Training
| | |
There is a national shortage of blood, and this has a devastating impact on many, especially those living with sickle cell disease. In alignment with our Annual Conference’s vote to recognize and support those living with sickle cell disease in our UMC communities, we are hosting our first-ever conference-wide blood drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 27. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter 'Spirit BWC' to schedule your appointment today.
See a video message from Bishop Easterling below. Share the YouTube video with your networks.
| | Wesley Theological Seminary invites you to the Yu-Lee Lecture on Tuesday, October 28, at 11 a.m. in Oxnam Chapel. This lecture celebrates the contributions of the Asian American community. This year’s speaker, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area, will deliver a lecture titled “Messianic Hope and Liberating Missions Among the Korean Diasporas.” Download the flyer. | | In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) | | |
Registration is LIVE for the IGNITE Conference in Ocean City
Too many of our young people feel disconnected, unseen, and uncertain of their worth in a divided world. IGNITE 2026 responds with "Belong" - a theme that grounds youth in their identity as God’s beloved, equips them to embrace their own sacred worth, and calls them into a just and loving community with others.
"You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
– 1 Corinthians 3:23
Learn more and register. Watch the video.
| | |
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 - October 15. Local church resources have been provided by the General Commission on Religion and Race, including a book study on “Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity” by Robert Chao Romero. See Hispanic Heritage Month Resources.
September is Deaf Awareness Month and UMC Deaf caucus (UMCD) and the national committee on Deaf Ministries (DHM) have resources.
| |
The governor's office is hosting a "Faith in Community Opioid/Overdose Forum" on September 30 at the Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center in Baltimore. Download flyer. On September 23, you are invited to join the Lt. Governor, Aruna Miller, and Dr. Lora Hargrove, Director of Faith Outreach, for a Call to Action pre-forum gathering for faith leaders to meet and discuss the opioid crisis in Maryland, particularly as it affects our Black men 55 years of age and older. Download flyer.
Strengthening the Black Church (SBC21) and the Baltimore-Washington Conference invite you to join in-person for The Black Collective (Lead Well) on September 25. This is a sacred space designed to nourish the spirit, elevate leadership, and strengthen the communal call to justice and transformation. The Black Collective is more than a gathering; it is a movement within the Lead Well initiative, rooted in the belief that Black leaders must be supported, resourced, and seen. This one-day event will take place at The Baltimore-Washington Conference Center (11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register.
| |
Spark interest and community about the IGNITE Youth Conference being held in March 2026 in Ocean City by attending an IGNITE bonfire. While each site will have its own unique twist, youth, young adults and chaperones will find fun, fellowship, s’mores and camp activities. Bring friends from the community and start fanning the flame toward the IGNITE Conference. RSVP.
Locations:
West River Center - Sunday, September 28, 5 to 7 p.m.
Camp Manidokan - Saturday, October 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Please bring your own chair)
Camp Pecometh - Sunday, October 19, 4 to 7 p.m.
The Ministry Innovation (MI) internship is a one-year, cohort-based, paid internship for adults aged 23–29 from across the country, which includes community formation, spiritual direction, graduate-level courses, and hands-on experience in leading innovation. The internship, sponsored by The Hub for (Re)imagining Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary, is designed to accommodate full-time or part-time work, school, and other commitments. Each intern earns a $4,000 stipend, travel opportunities, consulting training, experience, and four graduate academic course credits. The 2026 MI applications are open until Tuesday, September 30, with the new cohort set to begin in January 2026. Learn more and apply.
| |
Congregational Development Grants are now available. Do you have an innovative and exciting idea or a plan for a new ministry that will help your congregation go to the “next level?" Or are you developing a way to reach new people who are not yet a part of any church? The BWC's Congregational Development Grants can assist you in launching your new ministry initiative, congregational renewal project, or leader development ministry. All materials must be uploaded by October 1. Learn more and apply.
Missional innovation uses principles of design thinking and some of the best practices of the corporate and nonprofit worlds to explore what God is calling you to invent. Area churches and individuals have experimented with missional innovation to create a spirit of entrepreneurship mixed with faith. Apply for a Missional Innovation Grant by October 1.
The Council of Bishops ecumenical staff has announced the availability of two opportunities for United Methodists interested in Christian unity and interfaith engagement. These include three Local Initiative Grants for conference groups as well as a scholarship for a young adult to attend the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Switzerland. Scholarship applications are due on October 1, and grant applications are due on November 3. Learn more and apply.
Deaf Ministries is offering a seminar: "Introduction to Signing Music." This seminar will be held on October 11, 9:30 a.m. to noon at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 1440 Dorsey Rd. Hanover, MD 21076. Download the flyer. Register.
Join us for our Annual Confirmation Pilgrimages on Saturday, October 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. You will see four historic sites and learn about your Methodist Roots. New this year: Junior Circuit Rider Program and interactive touch boxes. Please RSVP to Rev. Bonnie McCubbin, Director of Museums & Pilgrimage. Groups are limited to 40 people (youth and adults) from multiple churches.
The key to effective leadership is the ability to be a non-anxious presence. This is deceptively simple, but tremendously difficult. We invite you to embark on this journey, where you can lead change in even the most challenging contexts. The Non-Anxious Leader: Family Systems Basics is a four-week online course, beginning October 13, that will help you learn the principles behind this approach, as well as how to put them into practice. You will earn 3.0 CEU’s for a successful completion of this course. There is no cost to lay and clergy members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Learn more and register.
| | |
The Mid Atlantic Faith Foundation (MAFF) seeks an accomplished and visionary Executive Director to provide strategic and operational leadership. The Executive Director will be responsible for the overall management of the Foundation, including fiduciary oversight, staff leadership, client relations, and the advancement of the Foundation’s mission and strategic priorities. Learn more and apply.
See church classified ads
| | |
Submissions?
Alison Burdett, Interim Director of Communications
11711 East Market Place, Fulton, MD 20759
410.309.3428 | aburdett@bwcumc.org
| |
| | | |
