Sometime. Somewhere. It’s going to happen. There will be a crisis or controversy in your local church that requires composed and practiced response and handling. Remember, your church’s reputation is on the line. When it’s time to manage a tough situation, will you be ready to step up to the plate?

Managing a crisis effectively starts with proper planning—asking the questions, putting together a plan and letting everyone involved know that a plan exists. It takes time and there’s no better time than now. So when a crisis arises, everyone’s first question isn’t "what should we do?"

In a crisis, speed counts. Having a crisis plan in place will help you to move more quickly by providing guidance in the event that a crisis occurs.

Below is our District Crisis Communications Plan. Questions? Contact the District UMC Office at 757-665-6295 or email us at easternshoredistrict@vaumc.org 

District Team

In September 2015, the District Superintendent appointed a team for crisis communication on our district.
Contact a team member if a crisis arises in a UM church on the Eastern Shore of Va:   
Rev. Brenda Laws
757-710-1729
Rev. Elizabeth Lutz
757-335-2649
Mr. Wayman Trent
757-894-9857
Rev. Janet C. Allen
757-449-8052
Ms. Connie Owens
757-710-8258
Rev. Peter Surran
757-709-5090
Mr. Ricky Taylor
​757-710-5557
(District Superintendent is Chair)
Alex Joyner -757-999-4843
(District Lay Leader)
​Jennifer Hume -757-678-6577
(Conference Director of Communications) 
(Conference Chancellor)
(Presiding Bishop)

A team will be annually approved by the E.S. District Conference

District Plan

Our District Crisis Communication Team has designed a plan.

Quick Reference Diagram