February 22, 2016
Inside this Edition
Lenten Season Reflections

David Lamotte Presenting in April at Gathering for Church Leaders

Presbytery seeks Bookkeeper

Westside MG Workshop: "Who Are My Neighbors and Why Are They Here?"

Black History Month Concert at Faith PC 

City College Alumni Master Chorale Featured in Concert at Madison Ave. PC

Catonsville Concerts at 3 presents "Highlights of Porgy and Bess."

Ring in the Spring - Community Handbell Festival at Second PC

The Center Seeks Summer Interns

Mental Health Advocacy Day

Older Adult Ministries Planning Guide Now Available!

Meetings
Committee and Commission meetings will be held at the Presbytery's office (unless noted otherwise.) 

*Steering Cabinet will meet at 1pm on Wednesday, Feb 24.

Committee on Ministry  will meet at 3pm on Wednesday, Mar. 2.

Trustees will meet at 10am on Tuesday, Mar. 8

Administration will meet at 1pm on Tuesday, Mar. 15.

Committee on Preparation for Ministry will meet at 3pm on Wednesday, Mar. 16

Transitions Team will meet at 2pm on Thursday, Apr. 21.

Commission on Spiritual Leader Development  will meet at 10am on Tuesday, Mar. 1.

Commission on Reconciliation will meet 6:30pm on Mar. 30.

The General Presbyter Nominating Committee   will meet 10am to 12:30pm on Wednesday Mar. 9.

BAD MG will meet at 6pm on Tuesday, Mar. 8 at Prince of Peace PC.

Baltimore Dakota Partnership will meet at 7pm on Tuesday, Mar. 8.

Cuba Partnership will meet a 2pm on Wednesday, Mar. 16

Our Shared Ministry 2016 
Thank you to the following congregations who have pledged toward Our Shared Ministry 2016.  Our aim is not just to reach a budget goal of $225,000 but also enlist the participation of all of our congregations. And, we believe that this can happen. 
Please send your Shared Ministry pledge and become a part of our collective mission.

Barrelville
Brown Mem'l Woodbrook
Catonsville
Central
Christ Our King
Fallston
First & Franklin
1st of Annapolis
1st of Bel Air 
Franklinville
Frederick
Good Shepherd
Granite
Grove 
Hagerstown
Hunting Ridge 
Kenwood
Light Street
Maryland
Northminster
Prince of peace
Roland Park
Second
Springfield

Prayer & Praise
Praise God for the ministries of TE David Willerup , who will be installed as pastor of Havenwood PC on Mar. 6; TE Jessie Lowry , who is serving Christ Our Anchor PC and will be installed as pastor after Easter; TE Randy Clayton, who was installed Dec. 13 as pastor of Brown Memorial Woodbrook PC; and TE Ray  Meute Jr. , who is interim pastor of Highland PC .
*****

We also praise God for the continued ministries of TE William Sitterley, who is now serving as interim pastor of Maryland PC and TE Jeanne Gay, who is serving as interim pastor of Northminster PC.  

by 
TE Jan Trammell-Savin, 
SMRT Member


Recently, a group of teaching elders gathered to explore ministry issues related to healthy boundaries. In our conversation, we were reminded of the great privilege it is to be welcomed by others as companions and leaders on their spiritual journeys, and the great responsibility that such privilege bestows. Seeking to be the best stewards possible of the role of teaching elder, we shared our experiences with the benefits and drawbacks of access to areas of people's lives that are not commonly shared, the complexity of negotiating challenges as well as opportunities in using social media for ministry, and best practices for child abuse reporting. In addition to the conversation, participants were provided with a packet of resources for addressing related issues. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive about the usefulness of the ideas explored and the opportunity to engage with other ministry leaders.

While all teaching elders and certified ruling elders in the Presbytery of Baltimore are required to participate in a Healthy Boundaries workshop at least once every five years, we strongly encourage teaching elders and certified ruling elders to consider participating beginning in the third year to make sure that personal or professional emergencies do not jeopardize meeting the requirement. We also encourage all ministry leaders and ruling elders to join us for these conversations. The safety and well-being of places of ministry does not rest only with teaching elders and certified ruling elders, but with all of us who take part in leadership.

The Sexual Misconduct Response Team (SMRT) sponsors two types of Healthy Boundaries workshops, both open to any interested persons: Foundations, a 6-hr training designed for teaching elders and certified ruling elders new to the Presbytery and for anyone new to the concept of boundaries in ministry settings; and a 3-hour refresher training designed for those who have participated in the Foundations course either through SMRT or in a comparable setting. Foundations is offered only as needed; Refreshers are offered 2-3 times per year. The next refresher workshop will be held 8:30am to noon on May 19. There will be a fall workshop in October, the date has yet to be determined.

We hope to see you there!


taff Directory

Take Note/Act Now

Presbytery  .  .  . and the Wider Church   

Wat ch the "Transfiguration of Jesus Christ" with CRE Anita Bishop-Johnson of Living Faith Fellowship in the second installment of To ward A Holy Lent -- brought to  you by the Commission on Spiritual  Leader Development. Als o , watch   Ash Wednesday's   Lenten reflection with Amy Carlson of Second Presbyterian Church .

David Lamotte --  award-winning songwriter, speaker, author and activist -- will be featured in a presentation entitled Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness during the Gathering  for church leaders  to be held April 6-7 at Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center, Marriottsville. Register here now!
 
Presbytery of Baltimore  seeks a part time bookkeeper to work under the supervision of the Financial Administrator managing payroll, accounts payable and receivable, bank and investment reconciliations and related administrative functions.  For details, click here .

Save the Date!  On Saturday, Mar. 12, West Side Story Ministry Group will host a 90 minute workshop on US Immigration: "Who are my neighbors and why are they here?"  for pastors and church members interested in learning more about what newcomers go through to get to the US.  Immigration experts and immigrants will unpack the confusing terminology and share personal stories as we look at the different ways people arrive in the U.S., why they come and what is "broken" about our immigration system.  The workshop begins at 10:30 am following worship at Hope Presbyterian Church in  Halethorpe.


Churches

Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore presents a Black History Concert with spirituals and art songs by African-American composers featuring Laws of Sound at 4pm on Sunday, Feb. 28, in the sanctuary.  Tickets cost $20 at the door.

The City College Alumni Chorale will be in concert at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church at 4pm on Saturday, Mar. 5.  Please contact the church office at 410.523.7935 for additional information or click Madison Concert.

Catonsville Concerts at 3 presents "Highlights of Porgy and Bess," featuring baritone Thomas Beard and other talented singers who have performed the roles from this most-treasured American opera on stages around the world.  Join us for this free concert at 3pm on Sunday, Mar. 13 at Catonsville Presbyterian Church. For details call 410.747.6180.

Think warm weather and join Second Presbyterian Church's "Ring in the Spring!"-- A Community Handbell Festival on Sunday, Apr. 17. Choirs are invited to perform at the concert and individual ringers are welcome to join the  ensemble rehearsals on Wednesdays,  beginning in March. For details: Beau Lochte:bells@secondpresby.org or 410.830.9988.


Other

The Center is looking for summer staff to help run its summer mission weeks. Do you know any seminary students? Graduate students in related fields? We are seeking 4 summer interns and one summer Program Coordinator. Job descriptions are available on The Center's website: thecenterbaltimore.org


Support Mental Health Advocacy Day on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 150 House Office Building, 6 Bladen St. in Annapolis MD. to register, call Susan Quass at 301.832.8449 or visit www.namimd.org/advocacy/advocacy_day. Free to attend.

In preparation for Older Adult Sunday on May 1, PCUSA is now offering the Older Adult Ministries Planning Guide for $3 per copy. POAMN members receive a complimentary copy. For details contact Ginny at gnyhuis@frontier.com or 615.426.1545.  

This  weekend, Ann Philbrick, Director of PCUSA's New Beginnings program, will meet w ith pastors and lay leaders from Hope, Mt Hebron, Granite and Chestnut Grove churches, where co mprehensive New Beginnings Ministry Assessments were conducted in November.  On Friday afternoon at Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church, Ann will have a special session just for the pastors. Then, at 5:30pm, when lay leaders arrive for dinner and training, she will distribute assessment reports to each church's team and help them start to unpack the material.  All day Saturday, Ann will work with  the teams, preparing them to guide their congregations in considering their reports with an eye to determining if there are things they need to do to be more faithful and effective in ministry... something new they're being called to initiate. 
 
Since 2013, with support from the Commission on Thriving Congregations and our Ministry Groups, fourteen of the Presbytery's churches have made use of New Beginnings assessment resources to gain a deep, comprehensive and objective picture of their congregations and ministries.  Most gained help with considering their callings freshly, and several have initiated meaningful shifts in their ministries as a result of their New Beginnings work.  As the teams from the Hope, Mt Hebron, Granite and Chestnut Grove churches receive their reports and training in the coming days, please hold them in your prayers. 
 
Bill Nickels,
Associate General Presbyter for Spiritually Thriving Congregations   

taff Directory

 Mary Gaut
Interim General Presbyter
mgaut@baltimorepresbytery.org


  Deb Milcarek
Assoc. for Reconciliation
dmilcarek@baltimorepresbytery.org 
 

Susan Krehbiel
Dir. of Congregational Advocacy
skrehbiel@baltimorepresbytery.org
  

William Nickels III
 Assoc. General Presbyter


Debbie Ingram Schmidt
Assoc. for Spiritual Leader Development
  
Deborah Greene  
Dir. of Communications
dgreene@baltimorepresbytery.org
 



Catherine Blacka

Judy Johnson
Ministry Group Staff


 Wanda Morgan
Dir. of Events/Services