2017 Covenant Network Conference: Our Shared Humanity

October 30, 2017

Inside this Edition

877th Gathering - Race, Class & Poverty: Lives Touched

223 GA Commissioner Nominees

Systemic Racism Workshop

Cell Phones for Cuba Partnership

Presbyterian Lady Managers Celebrate 140th Anniversary

"Becoming A Blessed Community" series at Havenwood PC

Hunting Ridge PC Pumpkin Patch

Dickey Memorial PC Spaghetti Dinner and Auction

Brown Memorial Park Avenue Hosts Screening of Buster Keaton Silent Movie and Climate Change Documentary: Merchants of Doubt

Green Burials Workshop at Towson PC

Faith PC Hosts Benefit for Victims of Natural Disaster in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Mexico

Catonsville PC seeks a Church Sexton

Dickey Memorial PC seeks a Music Director/Organist

Choose Hope Advocacy Seminar

The Presbyterian Foundation Stewardship Resources

Does Your Church Have Adequate Insurance Coverage?

Meetings

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

Investment Advisory Committee will meet at 9am on Wednesday, Nov. 1

Committee on Ministry will meet at 2pm on Wednesday, Nov. 1

The Commission on Spiritual Leader Development will meet a 1pm on Wednesday, Nov. 1

Gathering Team will meet at 11am on Thursday, Nov 2

Christian Educators will meet at 11:30am on Thursday, Nov. 2 in the Jackson Lounge of Faith PC.

The Commission on Spiritual Leader Development will meet a 1pm on Wednesday, Nov. 1

Investment Advisory Committee will meet at 9am on Wednesday, Nov. 1

The Interim Pastors Support Group will gather for a lunch meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Christ Our King PC in Bel Air.

The Center Steering Committee will meet at 12:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at The Center.

Praise & Prayer

Please pray for TE Ronnie Hankins (Trinity) , who is mourning the death of his grandson, Adren L. Garnett , 20. Mr. Garnett was the victim of a fatal shooting last week in his hometown of Williamsburg, Va. Services will be held there tomorrow.

by TE Kenneth E. Kovacs, Ph.D.

Pastor of Catonsville Presbyterian Church

Our Shared Humanity is the theme of the 2017 Covenant Network Conference which will be held Nov. 8-10 at First and Franklin Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. We encourage church leaders and congregants, alike, to c ome, consider, challenge and join together to build the church's witness at this a critical moment as Christians.

The Church is the place where our humanity -- our creation in the image of God -- is a reason for celebration. But the Church's past and present, as well as our nation's civic life, are filled with barriers, trauma, rules concrete or unspoken, that have had the effect of denying and obscuring God's image in one another and leaving people on the outside starving or on the inside hurting.

This conference will illuminate and confront the ongoing exclusion encountered by LGBTQ people, people of color and others in the life of church and society. It will name the privilege in our midst and seek to harness it as a force to seek justice and practice radical hospitality. And it will seek to "make manifest Christ's work of reconciliation" among believers, in congregations and councils and in all the world.

Our keynote speaker will be Taylor Branch, civil rights historian and public speaker best known for his landmark trilogy on the civil rights era, America in the King Years. The trilogy's first book, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63, won the Pulitzer Prize and numerous other awards in 1989. Two successive volumes also gained critical and popular success: Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65, and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965- 1968. Decades later, all three books remain in demand.

We'll also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Covenant Network's founding and make some exciting announcements about our future!

For more details, including information about the pre-conference Anti-Racism Training and the Baltimore Justice Immersion tour, and *registration, visit http://covnetpres.org/oursharedhumanity.

*Members of the Presbytery pay only $25.

2017 Our Shared Ministry

Pledges & Contributions

Total rcv'd to date: $118, 573

2017 OSM Goal: $225,000

KEY: * Pledged (fulfilled) ** Pledged (unfulfilled)

+ Contribution (not pledged)

*Ark & Dove

+Ashland

*Barrelville

+Bethel

+Brown Mem'l Pk.

+Catonsville

*Central

**Cherry Hill

+Christ Mem'l

+Christ Our Anchor

+Christ Our King

+Churchville

**Covenant

+Dickey Memorial

+Faith

+1st, Annapolis

**1st, Bel Air

*1st, Cumberland

+ 1st, Howard Co.

* Franklinville

**Frederick

*Good Shepherd

+Grove

+Hagerstown

+Hancock

+Harundale

**Highland

+Hope

+Hunting Ridge

+Kenwood

**Maryland

+Mount Hebron

+ Mount Paran

**Prince of Peace *Springfield

**St. John United

+Towson

+Woods

Got a question about church contributions,

Per Capita or Shared Ministry?

Email Laura Mullen (Bookkeeper) or Chuck Brawner (Financial Administrator)

or call 410.433.2012 and ask for finance.

taff Directory

Take Note/Act Now

Presbytery and Church-wide

Click here to register for meals and workshops

The 223rd General Assembly will be held in St. Louis, MO June 16-23, 2018. Commissioners for the Presbytery of Baltimore are scheduled to be elected at Nov. 11 Gathering at Harundale The Nominating Committee invites you to send the names of those who have a love of the Church and would be interested in serving as our commissioner to the 223rd General Assembly. We will be electing two ministers and two elders along, as well as, a Youth Advisory Delegate. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged. Please send names to the co-chairs of the Nominating Committee, Jenn DiFrancesco [email protected] , or Howard Jackson at [email protected]

CELL PHONES for PARTNERSHIP CHURCHES in CUBA

Can you imagine trying to pastor your community without a cell phone?

In El Centro Presbytery, Cuba, the pastors serve 2 or 3 separate Church congregations. They are in desperate need of cell phone minutes to keep up vital communication with their sessions and church leaders. In an effort to raise funds for the purchase of cell phone minutes the Cuba Partnership is having a fundraiser at the Presbytery meeting Nov. 11 at Harundale PC. Please show your support by visiting the Cuba table where we will be selling desk calendars and note cards with pictures from Cuba. In addition, there will be handmade items from our partner churches in Cuba.

The Presbyterian Board of Lady Managers, longtime benefactors of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center -- in particular, the Towson area hospital's eye, ear and throat clinic -- will celebrate its 140th Anniversary on Thursday, Nov. 30 at the hospital. To learn more about the group's ministry and mission, email Sue Leber at [email protected].

Churches

Havenwood Presbyterian Church will host a series of discussions to expand the congregation's understanding of the impact of racism both nationally and regionally. The discussions will include study and prayer and movie clips to provoke discussion. The discussions will occur at 7:30pm on Thursdays ( 10/26 11/2 and 11/19) at the church. All are welcome. Click here to RSVP

Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church's Great Pumpkin Patch

is now open 10am to 7pm through Oct. 31.

Additionally, on Saturday, Oct. 28 the church will host a FREE (lest the cost of a pumpkin) Pumpkin Party from 11am-4pm which will include food, music, crafts and activities maybe some pumpkin cooking demonstrations? Proceeds from the pumpkin sales will go to the much needed repairs to the HRPC organ as well as the National Organ Transplant Foundation.

Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church is hosting a Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction to b enefit the church's building fund from 6-9pm on Friday, Nov. 3 in its fellowship hall. All are welcome. Tickets for the dinner are $25 per person in advance and $35 at the door. For details, call 443.271.3183 or email

[email protected].

Enjoy a screening of the 1923 silent film, "Our Hospitality," starring Buster Keaton, in the sanctuary at Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church on Friday, Nov. 3. Michael Britt, Minister of Music, will provide live accompaniment on the church's historic 1931 Skinner organ. Admission of $15 general and $25 per family is suggested as a donation to benefit the church's capital renovations. Click BMPA to learn more.

Towson Presbyterian Church will host a Green Burials & Family Directed End of Life Care Workshop from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Thompson Hall . Green Burial is an environmentally sound option that returns the body to the earth in a natural, simple and dignified way. Green Burials use biodegradable caskets or shrouds, without embalming or concrete vaults. The workshop is sponsored by Towson Presbyterian's Earth Corp Committee. RSVP email [email protected].

Also at Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church -- at 3pm on Sunday, Nov. 5 the church will host a screening of the film "Merchants of Doubt," a 2014 documentary that exposes highly orchestrated PR efforts to debunk climate change in order to protect corporate profits. Click Climate Change.

Faith Presbyterian Church will host a concert to benefit victims of natural disasters in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Islands and Mexico at 4pm on Sunday, Nov. 12.
Click here for details.

Catonsville Presbyterian Church seeks a church sexton who will be responsible for on site operations and maintenance of its facilities. For details, click Catonsville Church Sexton .

Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church is hiring a Community Music Director/Organist! This new position will work with both the church and community on all things musical, and it offers the opportunity for creative growth. It is a quarter-time position (10 hrs/week onsite). Click Music at Dickey to learn more about this position.

Other

The Choose Hope 2017 Advocacy Summit, co-sponsored by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and Millennial Voices for Peace (MVP) will host an advocacy event Nov. 12-14 in Washington, D.C. The organization p rovides a holistic space for millennials-including, college, seminary and graduate students as well as young professionals-who wish to engage in a national campaign for peace and justice in the Holy Land. Click Choose Hope to learn more.

The Presbyterian Foundation offers a number of church-wide stewardship and giving campaigns resources that may be of benefit to your congregation. For further information, email the Foundation's regional representative Olanda Carr at [email protected] or call 888.711.1318.

Does your church's insurance coverage meet PC (USA)'s Recommended Minimum Standards? Click to review recomended standards or contact: Linda A. Senez, CPCU at 443.345.1055-ofc. / 410.409.5154-c.