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SDOP Deadline: Sept. 19, 2016
($8,000 in funds still available!)
Earth Care 2017 Planning Team
872nd Gathering Meal
Call for Volunteers for Stewardship Acrostic
"7" Middle School Retreat
In the Loop Summit: Lament & Hope, A Response to Violence in Our Community
Kenwood PC Community Day & Pumpkin Patch Story-Time
Woods Mem'l PC seeks an Interim Director of Missions
Chestnut Grove Seeks a Director of Christian Education
Free Clergy Conference: Demystifying The Cancer Experience
Gulf Floods & West Coast Wildfires
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Committee and Commission meetings will be held at the Presbytery's office (unless noted otherwise.)
Interim Pastors
will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at noon
Ministry Group Conveners will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at noon
Trustees will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 10am
The Cuba Partnership
will next meet at 2pm on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at Hunting Ridge PC.
In The Loop Ministry Group
will host its annual
Mission Summit
from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, Oct. 1 at
Cherry Hill Community Presbyterian Church
.
Susquehanna Parish Ministry Group will host a Leadership Training Workshop from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the First Presbyterian Church of Bel Air.
All Ministry Groups are encouraged to meet at a specific time set aside at the next Gathering at 9:30am on Thursday, Sept. 15 at First Presbyterian Church of Bel Air.
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Thank you to the following congregations who have pledged toward Our Shared Ministry 2016. At this date, the Presbytery has received $184,599 in pledges. Just $40,401 short of our budget goal of $225,000.
Ark & Dove
Barrelville
Brown Mem'l Park Avenue
Brown Mem'l Woodbrook
Catonsville
Central
Cherry Hill Community
Christ Our King
Churchville
Covenant
Dickey Memorial
Faith
Fallston
First & Franklin
1st of Annapolis
1st of Bel Air
1st of Cumberland
1st of Howard Co.
Franklinville
Frederick
Good Shepherd
Govans
Granite
Grove
Hagerstown
Havre de Grace
Hunting Ridge
Kenwood
Light Street
Maryland
Mount Paran
Northminster
Prince of Peace
Roland Park
Second
Springfield
St. John United
Towson
Woods Mem'l
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"Back To School" Event Hosted for McCabe Neighborhood
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Members of Uptown Metro Ministry Group handed out nearly 100 backpacks and school supplies to children in the McCabe neighborhood on Saturday. The children were also treated to a neighborhood cookout and fun activities like face-painting. See pictures below. . .
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Sisters select their favorite backpack
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Kids enjoyed face painting
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Youngsters don new backpacks for school
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Amy Carlson and TE Jen DiFrancesco pose for a picture while packing school supplies
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The Presbytery of Baltimore will be closed on Monday, Sept. 5 in observance of Labor Day. Business will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 6 as we welcome
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GP Jackie Taylor
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Executive Presbyter, Jacqueline Taylor, to her first day working at the Presbytery of Baltimore!
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Interim General Presbyter Mary Gaut Reflects on Presbytery Leadership
Friends in Christ,
What a joy and honor to have served with and for you over the past year as the Interim General Presbyter. Stepping into this role, when Craig Palmer was compelled to leave due to his daughter's health, was made easier by having been a member of this presbytery for 27+ years. The past year has been the opportunity to work with people and congregations I knew and respected. The year has had its challenges but it has also been filled with moments of grace and mercy, surprises and laughter too many to count.
There have been some noticeable accomplishments:
- We continued our tradition of generosity through Our Shared Ministry giving that enabled us to support innovative and faithful work in ministry groups and commissions, always focusing on supporting and challenging leaders and congregations, and connecting with our communities in powerful ways.
- Our Ministry Groups have "grown up" to become the focus for much of our collective work in building life-giving and transformative relationships with each other and with those beyond our doors.
- We have adopted a set of strategic priorities to guide our planning over the next 3-4 years and we have become more transparent in aligning our resources with our mission
- We took seriously God's call to address issues of "race class and poverty" in our community and in our Church. The Baltimore Overture "Dismantling Racism," which was adopted at General Assembly, will continue to guide our work in this area but will also shape the way our denomination addresses issues of racism and racial injustice in both the church and the world.
- We spruced up the offices so that they are more welcoming and inviting and created an art gallery in the process!
- We published a book!
On-going challenges remain, of course. Demographic changes are forcing more and more of our congregations to consider new models and possibilities for how they will be church in the world. Churches of small membership are feeling the pressures acutely and we are working to discern how best to resource and support them. Many of our pastors and leaders are feeling discouraged and we need to be much more intentional about how we reach out to them in meaningful ways. The work of resourcing our congregations and their leaders is primary and on-going and will remain a focus.
But despite the challenges we face I have confidence in Christ's Church in general and in the Presbytery of Baltimore in particular, to navigate these waters with faithfulness and excellence. We live in a complicated and dangerous world and there has never been a more important time to be the Church! We cannot waste time or energy on longing for the church of yesterday when we have serious work to do in discovering what Jesus calls us to be today.
I'm excited about remaining a member of the Presbytery of Baltimore going forward. I'll be stepping into the background and into retirement in November, but supporting Jackie Taylor and our great staff and leaders as we continue to make our mission come alive in ever more effective and faithful ways.
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Presbytery
. . . and the Wider Church
This year,
SDOP applications are
due on Sept. 19. As of today,
no  one has applied for any of the $8,000 in SDOP grants. If you are aware of community groups in need of financial support please refer them them to the application on the
SDOP webpage.
A planning team convened to organize Earth Care events next year will meet at 2pm on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at the First Presbyterian Church of Howard Co. Professor Trisha Tull from the Louisville Seminary and Rebecca Barnes from PCUSA will work with our congregations to develop an agenda on environmental issues. To RSVP, email TE Sue Lowcock Harris.
Call for Stewardship Support at the September Gathering. The S
tewardship Team of the Commission on Thriving Congregations is looking for
(8) people to participate in a
walking, talking stewardship acrostic. You must be engaging and willing to wear an "alphabet letter" of the word "stewardship" on your clothing and share a scripted message about stewardship that will be provided to you.
Kenwood Presbyterian Church will host a
Community Day from 10am to 3pm on Saturday Sept. 17.
B
oy Scout Troop 16 will present a
safety demonstrations and flag retirement ceremony, the nearby Linover Home Association will hold a
yard sale, and the church will offer
fun and games for kids and a
silent-auction. All are invited!
Kenwood Presbyterian Church will offer
Pumpkin Patch with story time
from Oct. 15-31. The patch will be open weekdays from 11am-7pm; Saturdays, 9am-7:30pm; and, Sundays from 12pm-7pm. There will be an
assortment of pumpkins, gourds and other goodies!
Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church
seeks an Interim Director of Missions. The Interim Director of Missions (IDM) empowers the mission engagement of the whole church working in cooperation with WELCOME and other ministries to ensure that every member has an opportunity to Christian service. To learn more and apply for the position, click Interim Director of Missions at Woods.
Chestnut Grove Presbyterian Church
(Phoenix, MD) seeks a part-time (20 hours)
Director of Christian Education and Spiritual Formation
. Candidates should email a resume and cover letter to committee chair
Robin Znamirowski
, A full job-description is available by clicking
Chestnut Grove
.
Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church
seeks an Interim Director of Missions. The Interim Director of Missions (IDM) empowers the mission engagement of the whole church working in cooperation with WELCOME and other ministries to ensure that every member has an opportunity to Christian service. To learn more or apply, click Interim Director of Missions at Woods.
Other
A two-part conference entitled Demystifying The Cancer Experience for Clergy and Religious Leaders will held from 8am to 12noon on Thursdays (September 15 & 22) a the Koch Cancer Research Building II, Classroom 111 (1st floor). The event is free and includes lunch. For details, click The Cancer Experience.
GULF FLOODS & CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES -
To support the work of the
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) in flooded areas along the Gulf Coast, please make your checks payable to the Presbytery of Baltimore and write
DR000191
in the memo line (read an update about floods here). Also, financial support of of areas struck by wildfires on the West Coast may also be directed to the Presbytery. Please enter
DR000165
on the memo line of the check. Thank you.
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