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From Hope to Wholeness: Presbyterian Response to the Unrest in Baltimore . . .
Presbytery of Baltimore Hosts Dinner at 222nd GA in Portland, OR
Presbytery Women in the
Presbytery Newsletter,
Spring Edition
Hunting Ridge Celebrates 108th Strawberry Festival
Central offers workshop series on "When Helping Hurts"
Veterans' Ministry at Grace PC:
- Tuesday Nights Dinner & Bible Study
- Veterans' Appreciation Breakfast
- Veterans' Worship Service
Faith PC Block Party
West Side Ministry
Group: Neighborhood Workshop
Knox seeks a Church Administrator
1st of Cumberland
seeks Director of Music Ministry
1st of Westminster seeks a Director of Christian Education
Habitat for Humanity: interfaith in Action
Covenant Bible Study
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Committee and Commission meetings will be held at the Presbytery's office (unless noted otherwise.)
Steering Cabinet
will meet at 1pm on Wednesday, June 15
Trustees will meet at 10am on Tuesday, June 7
Committee on Ministry (COM) will meet 2pm on Wednesday, June 1
Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) meets at 3pm on Wednesday, June 15
The
Transitions Team will meet at 12:30pm om Wednesday, June 1
Commission on Spiritual Leader Development
will meet at 10am on Tuesday, June 7
Commission on Reconciliation will meet at 6:30pm on July 13
West Side Ministry Group
will meet 9:30am to 1pm on Saturday, June 4 at Northminster PC.
The Cuba Partnership
meets 2pm to 3:30 pm the third Wednesday of each month.
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Thank you to the following congregations who have pledged toward Our Shared Ministry 2016. At his date, he Presbytery has received $154,507 in pledges toward our budget goal of $225,000.
Ark & Dove
Barrelville
Brown Mem'l Woodbrook
Catonsville
Central
Christ Our King
Churchville
Faith
Fallston
First & Franklin
1st of Annapolis
1st of Bel Air
Franklinville
Frederick
Good Shepherd
Granite
Grove
Hagerstown
Havre de Grace
Hunting Ridge
Kenwood
Light Street
Maryland
Mount Paran
Northminster
Prince of Peace
Roland Park
Second
Springfield
Towson
Woods Mem'l
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Call For Workshops for November 2016 Gathering
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We have an exciting day planned for our November 12, 2016 Presbytery Gathering. In partnership with First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis, we are pleased to announce that
Dr. Paul Roberts of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and
Dr. Katie Cannon of Union Presbyterian Theological Seminary will be keynote speakers in a program addressing the
Church's Response to Institutional Racism.
Your Gathering Team is now issuing a
call for workshops for the day. We especially invite Commissions, Ministry Groups, and others in the Presbytery to consider offering a workshop on the theme for the day, or some related theme.
Our November Gathering has in recent years attracted good attendance, and is a very popular event. We hope you will share your ideas for workshops, or offer to lead one. We look forward to hearing from you soon...we'll need to have our line-up set by the end of summer.
If you would like to submit an idea for a workshop, please contact Jack Carlson, at
jvcarlson47@gmail.com, or 410.978.1017, or call the Presbytery office.
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With Refugees, There's Always a Journey . . .
by William L. Hathaway, Pastor
1st Presbyterian Church of Annapolis
Last fall a number of our country's governors made strong anti-Syrian, anti-refugee statements. In response, the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis wrote Maryland's Governor Larry Hogan to ask him to support local citizens who want to provide assistance to those fleeing violence and oppression abroad. We then decided that it was time to put our words into action and sponsor a refugee family ourselves.
Our church established a relationship with the local chapter of World Relief, an international, non-profit relief and development agency. After a while, we
got word of a Shia Muslim family fleeing war-torn Baghdad. It was discovered that the father, Yassir, collaborated with U.S. military and the family was now under a threat.
With little time to spare we put together a welcome kit and furniture for an apartment. When the apartment became unavailable; we then arranged for accommodations at our Zimmerman-Wilson House until more permanent housing could be obtained. O
n March 14 at 11pm, our church life intersected with the lives of Yassir, Noor and their three children -- ages 8, 6 and 1. A welcoming party from our congregation met them upon their arrival -- after three days of travel -- at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. An hour later I greeted them at the apartment. It didn't take long for the children to become acclimated as two of the church's youngsters drew the shy children away from their parents, saying "Come, let us show you your new toys!" From that moment, I knew that this would be a mutually powerful experience of hospitality.
The family's "temporary stay" at the Zimmerman-Wilson House was extended because affordable housing is so difficult to obtain. However, three months after their arrival, congregation members formed a caravan of pick-up trucks and vehicles to help move the family to a new home not far from the church, where they continue to build relationships with our church members.
In the midst of all the hate speech and politics of anger, we have had the opportunity as a Christian community to welcome a Shia Muslim family and assist in their transition to a new life. While done quietly, this witness has not gone unnoticed. In fact, friends in the Czech Republic, where we have a close partnership, have been particularly grateful for this witness of Christian hospitality as they work with the "Hate Free Zone" within their country.
And, yes, there is a learning curve ... "halal" foods, issues of pet dogs, no hand shaking across gender lines with Noor, public school for their children and a myriad of other local and cultural anomalies. The
joy of it all is that despite our cultural differences, Fatimah and Mahdi always greet me with a hug -- a universal way of welcoming both stranger and friend.
What a gift.
Yes, there is work to do as we integrate this new family into our culture but, oh, what a gift it is as we journey together and seek to be faithful to the call to support the "widow, orphan and alien."
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Presbytery
. . . and the Wider Church
Presbytery publishes book on 2015 Unrest in Baltimore . . .
Are you planning to attend the General Assembly gathering in
 June in Portland? Please let
Deb Milcarek know. The
Presbytery of Baltimore will be hosting a dinner for you on Tuesday evening, June 21 and we will need a count of how many to expect. Looking forward to seeing you in Portland!
Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church
will host its
108th annual Community Strawberry Festival
from 5-8pm on Saturday, June 4 on the lawn. This is a free event for all-fun, food, games, fellowship and
STRAWBERRIES
!
When Helping Hurts
Central Presbyterian Church will offer a
class on the book, When Helping Hurts on
six consecutive Sundays at 9am beginning Sunday, June 5. For more information go to
www.centralpc.org.
Veteran's Ministry at Grace --
Join Grace every Tuesday night from 6-8pm for Dinner, Bible Study and Addictions Victorious led by The Rev. Nevalon Mitchell, Jr (lead chaplain at the Veteran's Administration in Baltimore). This ministry is for everyone: church members, neighbors, friends, and veterans.
Veteran Appreciation Prayer Breakfast --
The Veteran Appreciation Day Prayer Breakfast for the Baltimore Washington Conference will be held Saturday, June 4 at Grace Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall . The guest speaker will be Jeffrey Kendrick. The cost is free. For details call 410.466.4000 or visit our website at
http://gracepresbymd.weebly.com/
Come Let Us Worship -- Join the
Veteran's Ministry at Grace on
Sunday, June 5 for worship in appreciation of Veterans! The guest speaker will be The Rev. William Ray Boone. Everyone's Invited!
Faith Presbyterian Church will sponsor a
free block party from 5:30pm to 7:30pm on Wednesday June 1. For further details, click
Block Party.
Knox Presbyterian Church
seeks a
Church Administrator
. For a job description and salary information.
The First Presbyterian Church of Westminster seeks a part-time Director of Christian Education. Click here for a job description.
Other
Habitat for Humanity
will host
"Interfaith in Action,"
from 10:30am to 4pm on Sunday, June 5. Share , listen and learn how to build relationships with people of different faiths as, together with others, you help to build homes for families in need. or details, call 443.297.5245. Click
here
for flyer.
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