Modern Prophet Sermon Series: Oscar Romero
The Arkive: Ark and Dove's Newsletter
Celebrate the 3rd Sunday of Epiphany with communion at both the 9:30 am (choir led)
and 11:00 am (band led) worship services.

This Sunday the focus of the Modern Prophets sermon series will be Oscar Romero .

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING!
This Sunday, January 27, 5:15 potluck, meeting 6:00 pm. Plan to attend!

Message from Pastor Tim
Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

We are wayward disciples. We have gone off track. It's time for introspection and perhaps confession. It's been a while since we have celebrated the so-called third sacrament of the Presbyterian Church. To rectify the situation and to assure pardon and sacred blessing, we are having a potluck dinner on Sunday at 5:15 PM. And for crying out loud, can you please be on time? And while I'm on the ecclesial soapbox, one thing I can report in advance of the congregational meeting (at 6:00 pm--child care provided at 6:00 pm) is that we were successful in cancelling, nullifying and obliterating Ark and Dove Time in 2018. Although we are not yet rivaling Swiss trains, our on-time record in the last church year is ahead of several airlines. In celebration of our success, in acknowledgement of achieving what we had intentionally acted to change, a motion will come before the congregation at the annual meeting. Here it is:

  • Whereas the Beadles have labored courageously to get the pastors into the sanctuary before both the 9:30 and 11:00 worship services,
  • Whereas some Beadles have even leapt over and crawled under lobby-loitering members and visitors in valiant attempts to locate both pastors Tim and Jon,
  • Whereas the members of the choir and band have doubled Sunday morning caffeine consumption,
  • Whereas there has been a dramatic increase in on-time* worship services,
  • Whereas there has been a near five-fold increase in the on-time* performance of the Session and Board of Deacons,
  • Whereas the culture of Ark and Dove has been dramatically changed by a Herculean series of prayer vigils,

Be it hereby resolved that the congregation of Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church, meeting on January 27, in the year of our Lord 2019, does hereby extricate, and banish the archaic phrase Ark and Dove Time, from the lexicon or Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church. It is further resolved that Session shall be instructed to reprogram all church software, so that the phrase Ark and Dove Time can be neither printed or stored by or on church hardware except as a matter of historical record.

* Due to the fact that the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit cannot be contained by any faithless 20th century corporate and industrial complex notions that worship and church meetings should respectively be completed in less than 60 or 90 minutes, it shall be understood that on-time refers to the starting time of worship and church business.

In order to be ready for the annual meeting, members of Ark and Dove have been sent an e-mail link to the annual report by the church office. Last year we printed 40 paper copies of the report and this year we are printing 25. Members are encouraged to read ahead and or bring electronic tablets and devices to the ON-TIME 6:00 PM meeting. (Childcare provided.)

Members may ask any question about church business at an Annual Meeting. Items of business that are required are: the nomination and election of church officers and members of the 2019 nominating team, the election of the elders of Session as trustees, the approval of the terms of call (compensation) of the pastors and the approval of the minutes of last years annual meeting.

This year we will also spend some time talking about the recent report of the James Company, church consultants who led our church through a review of our stewardship and financial practices, and the changes that our Session adopted as a result of the consultation. Spoiler alert: they said we are a very healthy church.

The Epiphany Modern Prophet Preaching Series continues this week. You may want to google the Rev. Oscar Romero, the featured modern prophet for this Sunday. Communion will be served.

Peace of Christ,
Tim
timsstern@gmail.com
Verse and Prayer
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
       to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
       to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
- Luke 4:18-19
Holy One, thank you for the gift of today. Thank you for all the ways that I saw your glory and learned your teachings, beyond speech and words, in the course of this day.  As I drift off to sleep this night, draw me closer to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
This week, we welcome Paula Sparks to the piano as worship music leader. The choir will offering There is a Balm in Gilead for introit. Later in the service, the choir will sing Saviour, Teach Me Day by Day, a gently composed reminder of Christ's role as daily teacher in our lives.

Also, music students preparing for recitals, competitions or Solo and Ensemble Festival who would like to share their gifts and hard work during worship are encouraged to speak to the me to find a date where they can play. We love to have the talented members of our congregation contribute to the musical life of our services!

Peace,

Margaret
Director of Music
margaret.mcgillivray@gmail.com
This Sunday we continue our Modern Prophets series as we talk about the life of Oscar Romero. Our middle school LOGOS group has begun the process of writing a song that we will share with the congregation very soon! If you are interested in joining any of our music ministries or have your child join some of our youth programs, please don’t hesitate to contact Margaret, any LOGOS leaders, or myself. I look forward to seeing you all for worship on Sunday! God bless.

God bless,

Pat
Director of Contemporary Music
psise11@gmail.com
Generosity Opportunities

DONATE ONLINE ! Capital Savings Fund , Peace and Global Witness Offering for ACT: Anne Arundel Connecting Together , Pledged Giving , and more! Many opportunities await you!
Discipleship
Stewardship Update: Annual Congregational Meeting
T he Stewardship team has sent out letters/emails to everyone who pledged last year. We attempted to explain within the letter the why and the how, but we acknowledge there continues to be confusion, and we are sorry for that. The letter contained an estimate of giving only as a means to assist anyone with information on what their giving trend was during 2018. As we are not pledging until later in the year, we as a church need to develop an interim budget until pledges are received on April 7th. In order to do that, we needed an estimate of what everyone MIGHT give during the months until a new pledge is made. This is for information only--not a requirement. We would love to receive the estimated amount or even an increased amount, as we need to be more generous to achieve all that the congregation has indicated they desire. Having said that though, we are not establishing your giving amount, but are only attempting to estimate what our budget might be. 
 
The session did work on the interim budget, which will be shared and discussed at our annual meeting this coming Sunday, January 27th . Please plan to attend! The budget is for all of 2019 and demonstrates a need for increased giving of approximately $16,000, above our 2018 giving levels, to break even (income vs. expenses). All of the details of the budget will be available either prior to or at the annual meeting. This is the time to raise questions, but also to reconfirm how we as a church want to spend our funds.
 
As previously mentioned, we are currently asking that each member pay their $37 per capita payment so that this will not be an underfunded item, which pulls from other areas within our budget, as this is not a discretionary payment. The per capita allocation has historically been underfunded by as much as $5,000, which is equivalent to the budgets for Christian education, discipleship, outreach & connections and deacons budget combined! Think what we could do with that extra funding! Please mark those per capita payments, so they are appropriately allocated, and please continue to reach out with questions to either Steve Debus (steven.debus89@gmail.com) or Julia Kirby (maybe_soon98@yahoo.com). Thank you!
Establish or increase EFT here!
Wanting to increase or establish an EFT with Ark and Dove? It's easy to do. The forms can be found on the web site and here are the links: EFT Authorization Form and EFT Change Form.
Mission
Sunday, February 3, 9:30 am and 11:00 am.

This year, we challenge you to bring in one can of soup for every meal that you eat between now and Super Bowl Sunday. Help line the stairs of our sanctuary with soup cans! Be on the winning team: bring in your cans for our local food pantry, CAP, between now and February 3rd.

Featured item for January, PASTA AND PASTA SAUCES (semolina pasta, brown rice pasta, whole wheat, etc. / Bertolli jarred sauce, Classico jarred sauce, etc.). Please drop off food items in the Mission Zone bin. Thank you for your donations!    
Outreach and Connection
Friendly Seniors' Lunch Postponed to February 20
We're moving the date to meet at Romano's to Sunday, February 10, 1:30pm. Perhaps more of us will be able to make it then once we've thawed out. Once again, let me know by Feb. 6 if you can make it! Thanks! Joan Berry, 410-672-5237 or berry962@verizon.net.
Anti-racism and Social Equity
On Sunday you will be hearing about Saint Oscar Romero. Dig deeper by watching the American-made movie entitled  Romero , starring Raul Julio, that shows his transformation from one type of priest to another as he learns of the people's struggles against oppression. Available on Amazon Prime. Or if you prefer cinéma vérité, watch the documentary on Kanopy (available through AACPL) called  Monseñor: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero . It is in Spanish with English subtitles and includes graphic images. Either film gives you insight into how this conservative priest became a man of courage, and who put the beatitudes into action when he recognized and connected with the suffering of his people. 
Confronting the Truth About History, for Recovery, Reconciliation and Justice for All
Thursday February 7, 2019 7:00-9:30 p.m. Remembrance, Reconciliation and Healing: The Family Tree Revealed: Film Screening and Panel Discussion at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD . There will be a screening of the documentary films An Outrag e and BURN: The Lynching of George Armwood (see film here ) and then a panel discussion, featuring Will Schwarz, President of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project and creator of the Armwood film; Chris Haley, Director of Research for the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland at the Maryland State Archives; Karen Branan, author of The Family Tree, the Story of a Lynching in Georgia, a Legacy of Family Secrets, and Her Search for the Truth (see more on Karen and her book here ). The theme of this event is “Confronting the truth about history for recovery, reconciliation and justice for all.” Facebook event
here . Be sure to reserve your FREE tickets here . Maryland Hall website here .
Christian Education
Prayer Requests
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Ashtyn Rosenthal; Keno’e Mullings; Jonah Murray; Chris Wilkens; Justin Sise; Amy Tardiff’s father-in-law, Richard Tardiff; Declan Steward’s father, Daryl; James Franklin’s father, Homer; Jay Olson; Kameron and Kamarii Miller; Karen Dodson; Cheryl Walcutt’s sister, Judy Walsh; Amanda Wehage’s family; Jon Nelson’s aunt, Linda, and grandmother, Peggy; Chip Burnett; Laura Doughty's aunt, Marie; Ylonda Fauntleroy's aunt, Bernice Taylor; Diane Johnson's aunt; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Vaughn Brown and his sister, Kathie, and brother, Jim; Ann Hirschy; Frances Keyes; Dot Forloines; Helene Marchand-Stancil; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Amy Carskadon's nephew; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Sue Hanburger's grandson, Enzo; Laura Rockwell's friend, Adam Hurst; Edie and Richard Budd; Dotty Kaufmann's grandson, Nathan; Amy Benson's family; Lisa Mezaache’s friend, Pearl McNamara; Annetta Fenstermacher’s sister, Margaret; Dorene Chen’s grandfather, Tian Tao Li; David Michels; Laurie Barrow’s uncle, George Slater; Jerri Webb’s friend, Mary Van Orten; Thomas and Judy Kochis; Cynthia Knott’s mother, Madeline; Matthew Hagemann’s friend, Michael Prosperi; Sage Worrell; and Doug Mattingly’s mother.

THE LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION go out to the Stefanick and Howe families on the death of Scott Howe’s friend, Mike Stefanick.

THE LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE CONGREGATION go out to the loved ones of the refugees who drowned trying to reach refuge.

PRAYERS OF SUPPORT go out to the guests and churches involved with Winter Relief this week: Pasadena Assembly of God, Nichols Bethel UMC and Trinity UMC.

If you have prayer concerns or blessings that you would like to share, please contact Deacon Patriceo Green at patriceobgreen@gmail.com and he will add your concern to the prayer partners email chain.
Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church | 410-674-6400 | admin@arkanddove.org | www.arkanddove.org | 8424 Piney Orchard Pkwy. Odenton, MD 21113