Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference

Teens clap and sing during one of two UNITE youth retreats sponsored by the Missouri Conference in July 2025 at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. United Methodist conferences in the U.S. are seeing growth at annual youth retreats after years of slowdown following the COVID pandemic. File photo by Schaefer Photography.

Conference youth retreats make comeback

Promoting youth involvement in leadership and maintaining yearlong connections beyond the United Methodist events have been keys to success.
Church History
Mark Sirak (left), a resource interpretative specialist and historian, recounts to members of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Commission on Archives and History the 1776 landing of Gen. George Washington’s troops at what is now Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, N.J. The tour was part of the group’s annual gathering, which coincides with this year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Photo by John W. Coleman, UM News.

Church historians explore racial and revolutionary past

As the U.S. prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, a jurisdictional gathering explores American and Methodist history, past racial oppression and present social challenges.
Church History
A 1961 map shows the location of churches and the borders of episcopal areas within the Central Jurisdiction, which the Methodist Church established to segregate Black members from the wider church. The union that formed The United Methodist Church in 1968 dissolved the Central Jurisdiction. During the Council of Bishops spring meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., bishops explored the legacy of the Central Jurisdiction as denominational leaders consider changes to the geographic jurisdictional system. Image courtesy of Archives and History.

Lessons from past shape jurisdictions’ future

United Methodist bishops learned more about the legacy of the segregated Central Jurisdiction and history of the jurisdictional system, as leaders contemplate possible changes to that system.
Local Church
Lisa Bowser (left), lay leader of Marshallton United Methodist Church in West Chester, Pa., speaks with Christian Boehnke as church members Neal Bowser and Jonah Eckert work in the background to renovate a disability access ramp at St. John United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, N.J. St. John is the fifth-oldest historically Native American church in the denomination. The two congregations have been sharing in ministry and fellowship since 2024 as part of Marshallton’s efforts to address racial injustice toward Indigenous people its area. Photo by David Eckert.

Church addresses historic injustice to Indigenous neighbors

A white Pennsylvania congregation has adopted a land acknowledgment statement and is walking alongside a Native American church in ministry and fellowship.

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