wfn.org | Top Baltimore pastor to tackle rebuilding in troubled

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April 1, 1998	CONTACT: 	Linda Bloom,(212) 870-3803, New York
10-21-71B){198}

by Dean Snyder*

BALTIMORE (UMNS) -- A leading United Methodist official here has been
assigned to a troubled section of the city as part of a new effort to
place talented pastors in needy areas.

The Rev. Bernard "Skip" Keels, currently Baltimore West district
superintendent, will become pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church
at Garrison Boulevard and Liberty Heights in July, according to Bishop
Felton E. May of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

"It has been tradition to put our highly-skilled pastors in affluent,
suburban-like churches," May said. "We are reversing that trend. Our
communities in Baltimore deserve the very best we can provide."

Currently, Keels supervises the work of 86 churches and pastors in west
Baltimore and the western suburbs.

In his new assignment, he will lead a struggling congregation in efforts
to address urban decline, addiction and poverty.

"My appointment to St. Mark's is a prophetic statement," said Keels, who
was pastor there from 1979 to 1985. "I will be expected to provide
leadership in a place where it really is needed instead of leaving my
current position to take a cushy assignment."

Keels' placement is part of an ongoing effort to strengthen the United
Methodist presence in Baltimore, according to May. In January, the
bishop commissioned more than 20 "mission disciples" -- lay people from
other churches who agreed to worship and work at St. Mark's for up to
two years in order to rebuild the congregation.

Other efforts include a $50,000 contribution to the Nehemiah housing
project last year; the opening of Susanna Wesley House, a transitional
housing facility for women; the establishment of St. Paul's Christian
Center, a community service project in East Baltimore; and the
organization of United Methodist Metropolitan Ministries, which focuses
regional resources on urban needs.

Keels also has served as pastor of A.P. Shaw United Methodist Church in
Washington, D.C., and Christ United Methodist Church in Baltimore. He
previously was host of "Black Journey," a talk show on WBAL radio, and
was a reporter for WBAL-TV.

He is a graduate of Haverford College and Yale Divinity School, where he
was awarded the Rockefeller Protestant Theological Fellowship. He serves
on the board of directors of the United Methodist Publishing House in
Nashville, Tenn.

Previously, Keels has served on the boards of Baltimore Goodwill
Industries; the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies; the Addict
Referral and Counseling Agency and the Baltimore Urban League.
				# # # 
*Snyder is associate council director for the Office of Congregational
Development and Metropolitan Ministries with the Baltimore-Washington
Annual (regional) Conference.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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http://www.umc.org/umns/