A Season of Hope and Resurrection

February 27, 2017

Inside this Edition

Clergy Retreat

Healthy Boundaries

Susquehanna Parish MG's Spring Discipleship Event

The Center Seeks Interns

Granite PC Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Woods Mem'l PC Seminar on Safeguarding Victims of Sexual Trafficking

Brown Mem'l Woodbrook's Common Ground on the Hill Presents The Eric Byrd Trio in Concert

Workshop at Havenwood PC: Ruling Elders & Deacons Learn to Serve Communion

Faith PC: Celebrating the African Diaspora

Catonsville Concerts at 3

Spire Series Concert

Earth Action Weekend

Roland Park seeks Part-Time Director of Christian Education

Board of Pensions:

Tax resources
Investment Review
Newsletter

Meetings

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

Property & Loan Committee will meet at 2pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28

Steering Cabinet will meet at 1pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28

Gathering Team will meet a 1pm on Thursday, Mar. 2

Committee on Ministry will meet at 2pm on Mar. 8

Committee on Ministry will meet at 2pm on Wednesday, Mar. 8

Trustees will meet at 9am on Tuesday, Mar. 14

Commissions on Thriving Congregations & Spiritual Leader Development will meet together at 6:30pm on Mar. 21

Commission Reconciliation meets meets 6:30pm on Wednesday, Mar. 22

Transitions Team will meet at 2pm on Mar. 30

Guatemala Partnership will meet on-line at 8am on Tuesday Feb. 28

Cuba Partnership Team meets 7pm Wednesday, Mar. 15 at 1s f Howard PC

Baltimore-Dakota Partnership meets at 7pm on Tuesday, Mar. 14

Interim Pastors meet a 12noon on Tuesday, Mar. 7

Uptown Ministry Group will meet Mar. 23 at Govans PC

West Side Story Ministry Group Pastors will meet at 5pm Thursday, Mar. 2 at Catonsville PC

In the Loop Ministry Group will meet from 6-8pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Light St. PC

A Season of Hope & Resurrection

Ash Wednesday - just days from now on March 1 - marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent which culminates in the most holy of Christian days, Easter Sunday. The forty days of Lent begin Ash Wednesday and end at dusk th e Saturday before Easter, not counting the Sundays in between. The Sundays during Lent, like every Sunday, are consider ed weekly celebrations of the resurrection.

Reclaimed by Reformed churches in the last few decades, Ash Wednesday service is rich in ritual and symbolism. Palms waved at the previous year's Palm Sunday service are saved and burne d to create ashes for the next Ash Wednesday. Participants on Ash Wednesday come forward for a minister or elder to mark their foreheads with the sign of the cross in ashes, saying the words, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return," from Genesis 3:19. With these words, disciples are reminded of their mortality and, when combined with the sign of the cross, they are also reminded of the hope of the resurrection.

As Christians, we don't receive the sign of the cross to attract attention or to be noticed by others; we receive the sign of the cross to focus on who we are as human beings, bound in death and life to Christ. Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent provide time to explore the mystery at the heart of the gospel that being a Christian means a new life through Christ.

The Lenten season also marks the time for One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS). While many congregants contribute to OGHS throughout Lent, most churches receive the special offering on Easter Sunday, Passion/Palm Sunday or both. A gift to One Great Hour of Sharing enables the Church to share God's love with our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) , food to the hungry through the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) , and help to empower the poor and oppressed through Self Development of People (SDOP) .

To help enrich and deepen your ministry during the Lenten season, the Presbyterian Mission Agency offers the following articles free for your congregation's use:

This article was adapted from a compilation of resources published at https://www.presbyterianmission.org/

taff Directory

Take Note/Act Now

Presbytery and Churchwide

CLERGY RETREAT

Mark your calendar for the 2017 Retreat for Clergy, CREs and CEs on Thursday, May 18 and Friday, May 19 at Bon Secours Conference Center in Marriottsville. This year, we welcome author Carol Howard Merritt who will explore spiritual woundedness as we find it among people who have been hurt by their experience of the church and among clergy who have had difficult relationships with their congregations. Plan to join us for stimulating discussions and collegial conversations. Registration begins Wednesday, Feb. 15. Visit www.baltimorepresbytery.org. For details email [email protected] .

Click here for registration

The Susquehanna Parish Ministry Group will hold a Spring Discipleship Event at First Church Bel Air from 8:45am to 12noon on Saturday. Mar. 18. The event will feature worship and a presentation on ways to develop as an Earth Care Congregation. Participants may then attend one of three workshops: Engaging the Senses in Worship; Listening to God Together; and Evangelism in the Real World. The Ministry Group would be pleased to have any members of the Presbytery at large join it for this enriching event.

The Center has openings for three summer interns to help lead summer mission weeks. A job description and information about this paid internship are available on The Center's website: www.thecenterbaltimore.org

Churches


	click here for details

Granite Presbyterian Church will host a Pancake Supper at 5:30pm on Tuesday,Feb. 28. Click Shrove Tuesday for more details.

Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church invites you to attend an address by State Delegate Meagan C. Simonaire at 7:30pm on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Ms. Simonaire will talk about legislation to safeguard victims of sexual trafficking .

Brown Memorial Woodbrook PC presents Common Ground on the Hill's Baltimore Concert Series , with Kennedy Center/U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassadors The Eric Byrd Trio at 8pm on Friday, Mar. 3. For details, click Common Ground .

Havenwood Presbyterian Church's Teaching Elder, The Rev. David Willerup, will host a workshop at 7pm on Mar. 6 at the church to train elders and deacons how to serve communion in the home or at the bedside of a church member. Read more about it here and then sign up here. There is no fee, although an offering to cover administrative is welcomed.

Faith Presbyterian Church will also host an Evening of Music Celebrating the African Diaspora at 7pm on Friday, Mar. 10 with James Mayo III as Conductor. This is a free, public event; however a free will offering will be collected. Click African Diaspora Concert to view flier.

Catonsville Concerts at 3 presents the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra at 3pm on Sunday, Mar. 12, 2017.

The concert will feature two classic silent movies, with the orchestra providing musical accompaniment from the authentic original scores. For details call 410.747.6180.

As part of its Spire Series, First & Franklin Presbyterian Church will host a concert at 7:30pm on Tuesday Mar. 14 featuring Dariusz Skoraczewski on cello and Michael Sheppard on piano. For details, click Spire Series.

First Presbyterian Church of Howard Co. will host EARTH FORUM from 2-4:30pm on Sunday, March 19. They've invited a host of gardeners, cultivators, and tenders of the earth to share their insights and advice with participants on how to develop backyard habitats. The Earth Forum is free and childcare is provided for infants and toddlers. For details, call 410.730.3545 or visit earthforumhc.org.

Roland Park Presbyterian Church seeks a part-time Director of Christian Education. Click Roland Park for job description.

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