September 18, 2020
Meet our missionaries through virtual visits on Zoom
Meet Luky Cotto and other missionaries supported by our conference
The Eastern PA Conference has one UMC Board of Global Ministries missionary working here; and we can get to know her better through a virtual visit with her on Thursday, Sept. 24. The Rev. Lilian “Luky” Cotto is the only female U.S. missionary working for the board’s National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries. 

She will join three other National Plan missionaries in a Zoom video-conference on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 3 PM. They will each talk to participant “guests” about themselves, their call to mission and their work on behalf of the church in various locations. The new, experimental virtual itineration program is titled #stillinmission.  

After 30 minutes of plenary discussion on the Zoom call, the individual missionaries will move to separate breakout rooms to talk more in depth about their experiences, challenges and opportunities, while sharing testimonies and answering participants’ questions. When registering for the event participants should select “Lilian Cotto” in answering the question, “Which missionary would you like to hear more from?”

Cotto, known to many as “Luky,” will discuss her life in mission and also Casa del Pueblo, a growing, immigrant outreach ministry and faith community she started 11 years ago. Casa del Pueblo is a ministry of Lehman Memorial UMC in Hatboro, and has a nearby satellite location at St. Paul’s UMC in Warrington.
Register in advance to see and hear her share her story, and let her see familiar Eastern PA faces among her guests.

Visiting churches face-to-face is a tradition that allows missionaries and their supportive churches to learn more about each other. Unable to physically visit this year due to the pandemic, some are instead itinerating online, thanks to Global Ministries. They want the world to know that they are #stillinmission during the pandemic.    

“We are doing what we can to keep everyone connected during this time, and to keep missionaries and mission on the minds of our churches,” said Global Ministries. 

Luky is one of eight missionaries serving around the world who are supported by Eastern PA Conference churches. Hear the stories of these other missionaries that our conference supports when they appear in the #StillInMission series in the coming weeks. See the list and schedule below.  For more information visit https://www.umcmission.org/learn-about-us/events/stillinmission or contact Deaconess Barbara Drake at bedrake15@aol.com.

  • Mark Zimmerman - Oct. 1
  • Chin Cho - Oct. 1
  • Brenda Nguwa - Oct. 15
  • Kabaka Alphonsine - Oct. 29
  • Deirdre Zimmerman - Nov. 5
  • Mutwale Mushidi - Nov. 5
Christmas & COVID
How to Celebrate Advent & Christmas during the Pandemic

A free, interactive discussion on Zoom  
Monday, Oct. 5, 6:30 to 7:45 PM
 
Explore creative ideas for how to celebrate the Advent and Christmas seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. All are welcome. Register now and receive a Zoom meeting access link to join the call. 
 
The Rev. Steve Morton, North District Superintendent, the Rev. Dawn Taylor-Storm, Director of Connectional Ministries, and other members of the Conference Congregational Development Team (CDT), will share ideas and answer questions churches may have about how to meet and celebrate safely during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Topics:
  • Rev. Steve Morton: Sharing Ideas—How Large Churches Can Structure for the Christmas season.
  • Rev. Mike Netznik: Reaching the Community—Drive-through Nativity Ideas. Reaching the Community at Advent.
  • Suzette James: The Importance of Remaining Connected during COVID time.