East Bangor United Methodist Community Church

https://ihe.catholic.edu//moral-theology-thomas-aquinas-q/

"Death has been swallowed up in victory," Paul exults as he is teaching the church at Corinth about the meaning of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54). ...The image of death being "swallowed up" draws on Isaiah 25 in which the prophet uses a cascade of images to talk about the coming of the new creation the fulfillment of God's plan for all creation. According to the prophet, God will "swallow up" the veil and shroud surrounding all people from all nations and will "swallow up" death forever. What does this language suggest to you? As I have been reflecting on this passage, I hear that death and the signs of mourning are simply overwhelmed by God's gracious work; they are rendered obsolete by God's saving action, they simply no longer signify in God's economy of abundance. Certainly, this is a "victory," as Paul asserts, but in this passage, the prophet doesn't seem to refer to a cosmic battle, but to the independent, gracious, creative action of God. An act of salvation, of which Jesus' death and resurrection is the "first fruits." This passage in Isaiah begins with another imageGod preparing a heavenly banquet, a feast, for all peoples. Choice wines, select and flavorful foods! Perhaps while the people feast, God swallows death and mourning these things are not toxic or threatening to God, just as they do not have the final say over Jesus. They are overwhelmed. https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org//easter-death-has-bee

It is our joy to welcome Bishop John R. Schol as he prepares to join us and provide episcopal leadership coverage for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference beginn...ing September 1, 2021. Bishop Schol has a heart for Eastern PA, having been raised in Philadelphia and having served here first in his ministry career, where his faith and leadership skills were nurtured. Here is where he developed strong values of hard work, a respect for diversity, a drive toward ingenuity and excellence, and a spirit of grace. Bishop Schol served congregations in Saugus, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, and West Chester, Pennsylvania. In each of his congregations, worship grew, mission in the community expanded with new creativity, and new disciples were made. For 12 years he served as the Executive Director of the Frankford Group Ministry in Philadelphia. This new, emerging cooperative ministry that aligned four United Methodist congregations grew from one staff person to more than 50 staff positions. The ministry led its community in developing better race relations and providing social services, community economic development and community arts programs for human development. During and after his ministry there, the ministry also led its community in building and rehabilitating more than 200 housing units and served more than 20,000 people a year. In the 1990s John Schol served the denomination by leading Urban Ministries at the General Board of Global Ministries. There he developed and led at least two major, successful initiatives: Communities of Shalom and Holy Boldness. The Communities of Shalom initiative started more than 1,000 sites globally and trained more than 5,000 people in church and community development. And Holy Boldness developed into a collaborative urban ministry training and congregational development movement that served districts and conferences around the UMC connection. Since his election in 2004, Bishop Schol has served with distinction as the Episcopal Leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference (Washington Episcopal Area) and currently as Bishop of the Greater New Jersey Conference (New Jersey Episcopal Area). He will now provide episcopal leadership to the Eastern PA while continuing to lead Greater New Jersey, as of September and at least until December 2022, following the 2022 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference. We welcome Bishop Schol and pray for him and Mrs. Beverly Schol during these months of preparation. #Philadelphia #Phillies #Eagles #GNJEPA

Over three days of meetings, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries approved allocations including $2 million for an agricultural fund honoring the late Bishop John K. Yambasu.