Presbytery of Baltimore Widely Represented at Next Church Conference

March 5, 2018

Inside this Edition

Lenten Study Series: The Cross and the Lynching Tree

A World Uprooted: Advocacy Training

The Center Volunteer Work Day

Pastors' Retreat: The Person Behind the Pastor.

Catonsville Concerts at 3: Brass of the Potomac

Faith Presbyterian Church Presents Shekinah Joy Ravizee and Dr. Samuel Springer in Concert

Maryland Presbyterian Church seeks an Administrative Assistant

Maryland Presbyterian Church Giving Away File Cabinets

The Association of Lutheran Church Ministers

NAPC Conference: "Dragons, Frogs & Other Fairy Tales of Women in Ministry

Meetings

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

Committee on Ministry meets at 2pm on Wednesday, Mar. 7
Trustees meet at 9am on Tuesday, Mar. 13
Credentials Team meets at 10am on Thursday, May 15
Committee on Preparation for Ministry meets at 3pm on Wednesday, May 21
Steering Committee meets at 1pm on Wednesday, Mar. 28
Commission on Spiritual Leader Development meets at 1pm on Wednesday, Mar. 7
Commission on Reconciliation meets at 6:30pm on Wednesday, Mar. 28
Baltimore Dakota Partnership meets 7pm, Tuesday, Mar. 13 at Catonsville PC
Cuba Partnership meets at 7pm, Mar. 21 at 1st PC of Howard Co.

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The Presbytery's office will be closed Mar. 30 through Apr. 2 in observance of Good Friday and Easter Monday. The office will reopen for business at 8:30am on Tuesday, Apr 3.

Praise & Prayer

Please pray for Ira Marshall, 92 a retired Presbyterian pastor who worships at First Presbyterian Church of Bel Air, who is hospitalized with a serious illness at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.

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Please pray for Pastor Ed Terry who is recuperating at Northwest Hospital Rehabilitation Center following knee surgery. Terry shepherds Mt. Paran Presbyterian Church in Randallstown. Well wishes and cards may be sent to his home at 3914 Falls Run Road, Randallstown, MD 21133.

Water, Water Everywhere

Insurance Board

Churches workers,

You may find

yourself surrounded by water while at your church due to the recent, rapid and abundant rain here in Maryland, D.C, Virginia, and Delaware. Some of you may be just finding out (the hard way) that many church insurance companies have limited coverage for water-related losses. How? Your claim may have been denied!

Click here to learn more . . .

Presbytery of Baltimore Widely Represented at Next Church

Children from Eutaw Marshburn Elem. are led in song by Chrystie Adams of the Baltimore Dakota Partnership. The elementary school is a part of the partnership's cross cultural program.

Baltimore -- Members of the Presbytery of Baltimore figured prominently in worship and workshop discussions during last week's Next Church conference, "The Desert in Bloom: Living, Dying, and Rising in a Wilderness Church." The annual event, sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), drew nearly 700 clergy and lay-leaders from all over the country for a unique opportunity to share ministry experiences, exchange new ideas, engage in honest conversations about faith and foster deeper connections through fellowship.

A number of church leaders from this presbytery worked with Next Church organizers to make this year's conference a success. The conference offered 40 workshop s,


	Moderator Adrienne Knight

including sessions conducted by several of our members on topics such as inter-generational ministry (Liz Perraud, Christ Memorial); trauma and confession (McKenna Lewellen, The Center); activism and community organizing (Rev. Andrew Foster Connors, Brown Memorial Park Ave.) and, even, circus arts and worship (Rev. Jennifer Barchi, Dickey Memorial).Presbytery M oderator Adrienne Knight led the Call to Worship and the Rev. Michael Moore (Knox) participated in worship events; pianist Bruce Henderson (Madison) provides musical interludes between speakers; and, the Rev. Tim Hughes (Light Street) served as an emcee, introducing the Rev. John Schmidt in a presentation about HopeSprings. In addition, the crowd was


	Rev. John Schmidt

entertained by two Baltimore-based music groups, Soulful Revue, a male gospel group (Brown Memorial Park Ave.) and the Eutaw-Marshburn Elementary School children's choir, led by Chrystie Adams (Baltimore Dakota Partnership).

Rev. Jennifer Barchi's sermon on the "The Church is dying - thanks be to God" particularly piqued interests among those gathered Tuesday evening to focus on the theme of "rising". After reading from both Isaiah 34 and 35, she spoke of two types of people and their responses to the situation of exile and loss: Those who say they're not going to make it out and those who find a way to grow out of adversity.

"You get to choose your experience of death in the wilderness: you can let it destroy you or you can let it take you somewhere new," she said. "Instead of


Rev. Jennifer Barchi

approaching these moments of death with fear, what if we approach them with the hope we find in the resurrection?" "The church is dying, thanks be to God," she said, asking attendees to join in the refrain. "These words seem sacrilegious, it's as if I've been conditioned to believe we don't find hope in the death and resurrection."

But acknowledging places of death, Rev. Barchi proposed, "allows us to ask an entirely different set of questions like: What are we dying to? What does death allow us the opportunity to walk away from? What is central to our identity; what is not? What is the Holy Spirit doing among us to fashion us anew?"

She repeatedly affirmed Christians are to have a different perspective on dying.

"The promise of the resurrection allows us to approach death with creativity and hope," she said. "The promise of the resurrection allows us to reframe death in the wilderness and ask the questions that lead us to new life and new possibilities." "The church is dying - thanks be to God," Rev. Barchi concluded. "Thanks be to God, for that means a new church is rising."

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Portions of this article were excerpted from "NEXT Church gathering raises issues of loss and renewal," written by Gregg Brekke and published on-line Feb. 27 by the Presbyterian News Service.

Take Note/Act Now

Presbytery and Churchwide

The Lenten Study Series on The Cross and the Lynching Tree by Dr. James H. Cone moves to . . .

Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (2010 Madison Ave. 21217)

Thursdays, MAR. 8

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6pm Meal / 6:30pm Study

Led by Dr. Phyllis Felton and CRE John Brewington

Join Presbyterian Moderator Adrienne Knight on-line via Go To Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/364679613

You can also dial in using your phone: 646.749.3122 (Access Code: 364-679-613)

Announced for Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day! Register Today - Space is Limited!

Advocacy Training Weekend , which includes Compassion, Peace and Justice Training Day and Ecumenical Advocacy Days , is scheduled for April 21-24, in Washington, D.C. The theme for this year's conference is

"Confronting Chaos, Forging Community - Racism, Militarism and Materialism."

Click here to register or click here for flier

Do you enjoy construction and repair work? The Center is looking for a few skilled volunteers to help with minor repairs and projects in its dorm facility. Join us for a work day on Saturday, Mar. 10 from 9am-12pm. Projects include: removing built-in counters, installing a cabinet, installing a small shelf, and removing broken floor tiles and replacing with new ones. To sign up or for more information, please contact Kate Foster Connors, [email protected] or 410.433.2012.

The Person Behind the Pastor: Who are You When You Are Not Being a Pastor?

Make plans to join your colleagues in ministry Wednesday & Thursday, Apr. 11 & 12 at Bon Secours Retreat Center for 24 hours of personal and spiritual refreshment in a beautiful, inspiring setting. There will be time for spiritual practices, including yoga, walking the Labyrinth, meditation and worship. There will also be Open Space conversations and plenty of time for relaxed conversation with others in ministry. The cost of the retreat is $75. Scholarships are available. For more information, contact Debbie Schmidt: [email protected].

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Sponsored by the Commission on Spiritual Leader Development

Churches

Catonsville Concerts at 3 presents Brass of the Potomac, a 30-piece, British-style brass band, at 3pm on Sunday, Mar. 18. Comprised of professional musicians from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force bands of the DC area, BOTP provides an enriching variety of musical programming showcasing the highest standards of polished ensemble performance. This free concert is at Catonsville Presbyterian Church, 1400 Frederick Road in Catonsville. For more info, call 410.747.6180.

Faith Presbyterian Church presents
soprano Shekinah Joy Ravizee accompanied on piano by Dr. Samuel Springer in concert on March 18 at the church.

For details click here.

Maryland Presbyterian Church is currently seeking an administrative assistant to begin in April. For details about the position, click here.

Additionally, Maryland Presbyterian Church has two 4 drawer filing cabinets - free to any church that needs them. Please call the church office at 410.825.0719 or e-mail the church at [email protected] if interested.

Other

The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians is planning an event to be held at the United Lutheran Seminary campus in Gettysburg, PA on April 14. You can find out more about it here: https://alcm.org/event/gettysburg-pa/ . Although this event is planned by Lutherans, it may be of interest to Presbyterians, as well.