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Leadership Conference & 869th Gathering
Gathering Invitation to Supporters of Guatemalan Partnership
Clerks' Questionnaire
Stewardship Kaleidoscope
GA Nominating Committee
Woodbrook Players: Rebel Yells at Brown Mem'l Woodbrook PC
Knox PC 85th Anniversary Banquet
Faith PC Hosts: "Last House Standing. . ."
Earth Forum of Howard Co.
Woods Memorial Seasonal Events
Advocacy Training
Lecture on Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ
New Beginnings Update
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Committee and Commission meetings will be held at the Presbytery's office (unless noted otherwise.)
Committee on Preparation for Ministry
will meet at 3pm on Wed., Nov. 18
General Presbyter Nominating Committee
will meet at 10am on Thurs., Nov. 19
Personnel Committee will meet 1pm Mon., Nov. 23
Board of Trustees will meet at 10am on Tues., Dec. 1
The Committee on Ministry Leader Team will meet from 10am to 12pm on Wed., Dec. 2
Steering Cabinet will meet at 1pm on Wed., Dec. 2
Commission on Reconciliation will meet Wed., Dec. 2 at 6:30pm
Commission on Thriving Congregations will meet at 2:30pm on Tues. Dec. 1 at Hope PC.
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Ministry Group Conveners
will meet at noon on Wed., Nov. 18
West Side Story MG will meet 9:30am on Sat., Nov. 21 at Christ Mem'l PC
Susquehanna Parish MG will meet 7pm Thurs. at Churchville PC.
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Cuba Team
will meet at 1pm on Wed., Dec. 2
Interim Pastors' meeting will be held noon to 2pm on Tues. Dec. 1 at Hope PC
The Presbytery office will be closed Thurs Nov. 26 and Fri. Nov 27 in observance of the
Thanksgiving Holiday
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GP Search Committee Update
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The General Presbyter
Search Committee
has met regularly since the summer. During this time, we've been trained by our Synod Executive, Warren Lasanne, on how best to conduct a search; interviewed church leaders and staff; and, created the Ministry Information Form (MIF) describing the position. The MIF was submitted to Leadership Connection, the call system for PC(USA), and the position was advertised in various publications.
We are now pleased to begin reviewing applications for the position of General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Baltimore. Please keep the Committee in your prayers as we continue the search for a new General Presbyter.
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Our Shared Ministry
provides vital support to our Ministry Groups, Partnerships and Commissions. As of this date $141,375.31 has been received toward the $220,000 budget for 2015 Shared Ministry. We are grateful to the Sessions of the following churches:
Ark & Dove
Ashland
Barrelsville
Brown Mem'l Pk Ave.
Catonsville
Central
Cherry Hill
Christ Our Anchor
Christ Our King
Churchville
Covenant
Dickey Memorial
Faith
Fallston
First and Franklin
1st of Annapolis
1st of Bel Air
1st of Cumberland
1st of Frostburg
1st of Howard County
Franklinville
Frederick
Good Shepherd
Granite
Grove
Hagerstown
Highland
Harundale
Havenwood
Hope
Hughes Memorial
Hunting Ridge
Kenwood
Maryland
Mount Hebron
Mount Paran
Prince of Peace
Roland Park
St. John United
Springfield
Towson
Woods Memorial
Thank You & God Bless!
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by Deb Milcarek,
Associate for Reconciliation
Last year your Self-Development funds supported two very amazing projects. The Baltimore Urban Farmstead Initiative (New Born Ministries) provides training in Urban Farming for formerly incarcerated citizens in West Baltimore. Mountain Fresh Producers Market Association in Cumberland provides options for farmers to market fresh produce to economically challenged communities in Western Maryland. Both projects are designed and managed by the communities that they affect.
Self-Development of People (SDOP) is a ministry that affirms God's concern for humankind. Through SDOP, the PC(USA) carries out its global commitment to work toward the self-development of economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people who own, control, and benefit directly from projects that promote long-term change in their lives and communities. Partnerships are established, both locally and nationally with groups who:
- Are oppressed by poverty or social systems
- Want to take charge of their own lives
- Have organized or are organizing to do something about their own conditions
- Have decided that what they are going to do will produce long term changes for their lives or communities
- Will control the programs they own and will directly benefit from them.
The Presbytery of Baltimore has one of the nation's strongest and most effective SDOP committees. We generally are able to partner with several groups each year. Urban Farmstead and Mountain Fresh are two very fine examples of the ministry of Self-Development.
The deadline for applications for the 2016 grants is Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Applications can be accessed on the Presbytery website under the Reconciliation section or by clicking here. Should you know of any groups that might benefit from a SDOP grant, please direct them to the application. SDOP grants are made possible through your support of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
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What's New on the PoB Website
In this edition of Tidings we are highlighting the Presbytery's webpage on the Commission on Reconciliation. This Commission
helps our congregations engage in advocacy and
offers our church leaders opportunities to engage in reconciliation in their communities and the world. The Self-Development of People program is part of this crucial mission.
Click
here
to visit the Presbytery of Baltimore's website, then select Reconciliation on the blue bar at the top of the homepage.
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Take noteTake Note /Act Now |
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Presbytery
. . . and the
Wider Church
You can now register for workshops on the day of the event!
Attention all former Guatemala Visitors & Friends:
Please come to the Nov. 14 Presbytery Gathering at First of Howard County to meet with our
new Guatemala Partnership Team
and hear more about the exciting ways that you can
re-connect with your Guatemalan sisters and brothers
.
The Clerk's Annual Questionnaire 2015 for Clerks of Session i
s now available! You may access this
web based survey at:
https://caq2015.pcusa.org. Nov. 16 is the
deadline for the survey.
The 2016 Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference entitled "Giving Not Getting is the Way," will be held Feb. 29-Mar. 2 in San Antonio, TX. For details, click Kaleidoscope.
Tuesday, Dec. 1
- is the deadline for those wishing to be considered by the GA Nominating Committee (GANC) for nomination to one of almost thirty entities to which the GANC makes nominations. Elected service includes participation on boards, commissions or committees at the General Assembly level. For details, click GANC.
Churches
The Woodbrook Players of Brown Memorial Woodbrook PC
present the Baltimore premiere of
Rebel Yells by Steve Warren
Nov. 7-12. A tale of the last days of the Civil War at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia.
Get ticket information here
.
Knox Presbyterian Church will host its 85th Anniversary Banquet at the Hilton Inn at White Marsh from 5pm to 9pm on Sunday, Nov. 15 featuring guest speakers TE Michael Moore (Knox) and TE Tanya Wade (Grace). Admission is $50 per person. To obtain tickets, call 410.385.0900 .
Faith Presbyterian Church
will host the "Last House Standing: A Play About the Highway to Nowhere --and what it has to do with the Northwood Community" at 3pm on Sunday, Nov. 15 at the church. Learn more about this free event here.
Earth Forum of Howard County presents "Seeking Just Solutions for Climate Change," featuring J. Herbert Nelson, II, Dir. of the National Office of Public Witness, at 2pm on Sunday, Nov. 15 at First Presbyterian Church of Howard County in Columbia. Rev. J. Herbert Nelson II will share a larger vision of how working for laws, policies and actions to bring sustainable sufficiency, with water fit to drink, air fit to breath, and food that nourishes everyone is vital for the well-being and survival of humankind on a thriving earth. The Earth Forum is free and open to all. Child care will be provided. For reservations email
[email protected] or call 410.730.3545 by noon on Nov. 13.
Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church is pleased to offer a number of
seasonal events: a
Holiday Bereavement Support Group; an
Advent Wreath Festival; an
Advent Devotional - A Season for Stories; a
Christmas art exhibit;
The Heart of Christmas Musical Concert;
Blue Christmas Service and,
Christmas Eve services. For details, click
Woods.
Other
Planning is already underway for the annual
Advocacy Training Weekend, APRIL 15-18, 2016 IN WASHINGTON, D.C.: PCUSA Compassion Peace and Justice Training Day (April 15) and Ecumenical Advocacy Days (April 15-18). If you have ideas for workshop leaders on this year's focus, Lift Every Voice: Racism, Class, and Power, please contact
Susan Krehbiel or to register, just click
Advocacy 2016.
On Dec. 9, the Ecumenical Institute of Theology will host The Reverend Fleming Rutledge, who will speak about her latest book, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ, at 7 pm on the St. Mary's Seminary & University campus. Tickets (free) required.
Details and tickets.
This month, four of our Presbytery's congregations - Hope, Chestnut Grove, Mount Hebron and Granite - will be entering a New Beginnings ministry assessment process. Next week, New Beginnings assessors will visit the churches to conduct a thorough review of their ministries, facilities and communities. For each church, they will prepare an insightful report that will include descriptions of two or three ways its future could unfold, depending on choices it makes about its ministry. The reports will be distributed during a workshop on January 22-23, when leaders of the churches will be trained how to help their congregations consider the information, discuss its implications and begin to discern the distinctive mission and future God is calling them to pursue.
Each church's participation in New Beginnings has been encouraged through an $800 grant from the Commission on Thriving Congregations and through additional financial support provided by its Ministry Group - all of which is made possible through Shared Ministry giving from churches throughout the Presbytery. As the ministry assessment begins for these four congregations, please undergird their good work with your earnest prayers. Thank you!
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