How can we reach new people and truly welcome them into our churches?
Yes!!
Thanks.
Bless you, Bill Brown
Dan Gleckler
From: Bill Brown
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2025 3:01 PM
Dear Arthur Dan,
Don’t miss our next Training Tuesday, October 7 from 7-8:30pm. Join us for an inspiring and informational evening with Ken Willard, author of Beacon of Hope and Director of Faith Communities ReNEWal (WV Conference UMC). Ken will share practical, down-to-earth ways we can:
- Practice genuine hospitality
- Build bridges with neighbors and newcomers
- Embody Christ’s love in authentic, transformative ways
This is for anyone who cares about helping their church shine as a beacon of hope in the community. Don’t miss this chance to gain insights from one of the UMC’s leading voices in congregational renewal! We’d love for you to be part of it!
Peace and Joy,
Rev. Bill Brown
Director of Congregational Vitality
Baltimore-Washington Conference UMC
Missional Action Planning (MAP)
Note particularly the feature called “MAP.”
Dan Gleckler
from Baltimore-Washington Conference e-Connection, September 29th, 2025:
Missional Action Planning, or MAP, is a mindset and a process to enable 100 percent of our congregations to become 100 percent vital and thriving.
Missional: We are a missional people sent by God into this world to follow the actions and teachings of Jesus.
Action: We all have the power to act.
Planning: We plan to collectively, prayerfully, and strategically engage in the mission together.
From the Desk of Bishop Héctor: Jesus’s life is not an Option
Read the story on the Bishop’s reflection on Jesus’ life. A good, and humbling, guide.
Blessings,
Dan Gleckler
UM News Digest – Sept. 26, 2025
Editor’s Note: The following pastoral letter was sent on behalf of Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez to United Methodists of Upper New York and Susquehanna on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
Dear Beloved Family of God,
In the past week, I have received many requests for statements about the pressing issues confronting our nation and world. Your desire for clarity, courage, and leadership is not lost on me. And yet, I hesitated.
We are living in a time when opinions, no matter how well-intentioned, often deepen division rather than build understanding. I feared that adding mine might only amplify the noise and contribute to the chaos so many are already struggling to navigate.
Still, I must confess that your requests have not left me. They have stirred my spirit, interrupted my sleep, and led me into deep prayer. Night after night, I wrestled with what to say, how to say it, and whether saying anything at all would truly serve the Body of Christ.
Then, in the stillness of last night, I heard the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit: “Don’t share your opinions. Tell them about Jesus.”
Why Dialogue Matters Now
I have long appreciated this organization and attended many of its lectures. Please keep it in your prayers and read as much as your feel called to of its communications. We’re all called to support and enlarge communication in this world under God!
Dan Gleckler
September 2025
In this issue of ICJS Insights, we are leaning into dialogue as a practice that can restore human dignity and build bridges.
In our lead story, Executive Director Heather Miller Rubens reflects on dialogue as a way of rehumanizing one another, even when disagreements feel insurmountable. To be effective, dialogue requires a wholehearted commitment, even when it is hard.
We also feature educator Kachobe Lassiter, a recent alum of the Fellowship for Teachers, who shares how moving from debate to authentic dialogue reshaped her approach to teaching and listening. In addition, we highlight ICJS resources on multireligious democracy and dialogue across difference—tools designed to help communities engage diversity with confidence and respect.
Finally, in What We’re Reading, we turn to physicist David Bohm’s vision of dialogue as creative communication, alongside new research showing that Americans share far more democratic values across political lines than we often assume.
Join us in the sacred, civic practice of dialogue.
ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Prioritize Grace Over Greed in FY 2026 Appropriations
ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Prioritize Grace Over Greed in FY 2026 Appropriations
The United States Congress has less than two weeks to avoid a government shutdown by passing a funding measure for the 2026 fiscal year. As the appropriations process continues, our call remains the same – to advocate for the prioritization of grace over greed.
This Nonviolent Life: Things We Can Do
A good one…
Blessings,
Dan Gleckler
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
“To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do.”
—Hermann Hesse
Bishop's message: Call to prayer following plane crash
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Óscar Romero: Preacher of Love and Justice
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations
From the Center for Action and Contemplation
Óscar Romero: Preacher of Love and Justice
—Óscar Romero, homily, September 25, 1977
Religion scholar Kerry Walters writes of the transformative life of Archbishop Óscar Romero.
Oscar Romero [1917–1980], Archbishop of San Salvador, was gunned down on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass. Over the next few days, his body lay in state in the cathedral where he had so often preached. Thousands of mourners filed past his coffin, many of them campesinos, landless peasants and field workers, who had traveled miles to be there.
Church and Society Opposes Mass Deportation in U.S.
Church and Society Opposes Mass Deportation in U.S.
A statement from The General Board of Church and Society calls for a bold witness to stand against U.S. immigration and mass deportation policies influenced by misinformation, hate, fear and harm.
