Transfiguration of the Lord, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday
The Arkive: Ark and Dove's Newsletter
Transfiguration of the Lord
Livestream worship, February 14, 2021, 10 am

 Shrove Tuesday, February 16, 6 pm (Zoom)
  
 Ash Wednesday, Febraury 17, 6:30 pm (livestream)
  
 Imposition of Ashes, February 17,
   5:30-6:15 pm or 7:15-8 pm (drive-thru with mask)

Please connect on YouTube HERE
Message from Pastor Tim
Dear Friends and Members of the Ark and Dove Community,

We now enter into a 1700 year old church tradition. We embark on the season of Lent.  Lent is far less about ritual and far more about soul work, meditation and re-dedication of the heart to mission and ministry. It is time given to us to renew our faith from the inside out. It is a time for personal reflection. Lent beings with Ash Wednesday, which Pastor Jon is writing about in his letter below, and Lent takes us to Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.  Our Easter joy is informed by our Lenten journey, which is why we encourage everyone to be in a Lenten book group and to read the Lenten devotions that Pastor Jon and Kim Champagne have prepared from the works of Howard Thurman.

Soon we will begin interpreting the wonderful mission that is provided by your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, but for now a reminder that we are receiving the per capita offering and an update on Samaritans Today. Per capita is a bit behind, $37 per person. Please see below.

The giving to Samaritans Today has been generous and ongoing--to date, we have received over $24,000 and given over $6000 to needy people in the community. What? We still have $18,000 left? Why? A word of explanation. There have been a lot of governmental restrictions on evictions and cut-off notices during this time of COVID-19 rising. As vaccinations continue, we expect to see a drop in financial protections and a greatly increased need in the West County area. This has been our plan, and we have seen an uptick in requests just these last two weeks, so thank you to everyone who gave to Samaritans Today, we are now positioned to be able to help families and individuals in need when reality arrives in the mail.  We also have $6500 in the mission budget for local emergency mission, but that is always exhausted even in the so called good years.

Samaritans Today will make an important difference in our community.  Again thank you for your generosity.

Peace of Christ,
Tim
tstern@arkanddove.org
Message from Pastor Jon
Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

Lent begins next week. Are you prepared? What practices will you pick up or put down? In order to get ready for this important season of reflection and dedication, I want to highlight three opportunities coming next week.

Shrove Tuesday: It has been our tradition to feast on some carbs the night before the Lenten season begins. While we cannot gather in person for a pancake dinner, we will eat together online at 6 pm on the 16th. All are invited. We will have some fun and meaningful conversation between bites and even have a pancake flipping contest (so save a pancake or two). You will receive a Zoom link on Tuesday afternoon.

Ash Wednesday: We will livestream an Ash Wednesday service at 6:30 pm. This service is an important opportunity to lean into the Lenten journey. A key part of that traditional service is the imposition of ashes, where we place the sign of the cross on your forehead and say: Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. While we cannot do this in the sanctuary, we are inviting you to drive up to church where Pastor Tim, Caroline, Stephen and I will place the sign while you stay in your car. All of us will be masked and will practice sanitation. You can drive up between 5:30 and 6:15 or 7:15 and 8 pm. For those who are uncomfortable being touched at this point, small portions of ash will be provided at the same time. You may impose ashes as you feel comfortable. A link to the livestream will be sent out on Tuesday.

Lenten Studies: In a recent conversation with Krista Tippett, Reverend Otis Moss III described Howard Thurman as a Yoda for civil rights advocates. I think we could all use a Yoda as we engage the ongoing struggle for justice and mercy in our world. Thurman will also serve as your Yoda this Lent. Please pick up a copy of Thurman's book Jesus and the Disinherited and join one of the Lenten studies listed below.

Let's lean into Lent!

Peace,
Jon
jnelson@arkanddove.org
Verse and Prayer
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
-Jonah 4:1-4
A meditation on anger by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist scholar and teacher--edited by adding the word God or expressions for God. You can use the same phrase for God in each line. You can leave words for God out and simply begin your meditation with a request for God’s Spirit.
Breathing in, God, I know that anger is here.
      Breathing out, Holy One, I know that the anger is me.
      Breathing in, Sovereign Love, I know that anger is unpleasant.
      Breathing out, Holy One, I know this feeling will pass.
      Breathing in, Sacred Presence, I am calm.
Breathing out, Holy One, I am strong enough to take care of this anger.
We're having a bit of a Bach week, with both the prelude and postlude hailing from works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Lent begins this week, and I hope you'll join us in some fashion for Ash Wednesday observances. Annie Gill will be singing Canadian-British composer Healy Willan's Come Unto Him, a different and more modern setting of the famous text than the one made famous by Handel.

Peace,
Margaret
Director of Music
margaret.mcgillivray@gmail.com
This week we move to our last chapter in Jonah, four. The band has recorded an anthem called It's Not Over Yet by for King and Country. Please give it a listen this week to get it in your ear. I think the title speaks to the message that even when you hit the limit, it's not over yet! Our hymn is a band favorite and probably very familiar to you, This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham. My prelude is a piece by Bach from a larger work for lute called Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro. If you would like to check out the whole piece, I recommend David Russell's recording, David Russell Plays Bach on the Telarc label. Easily found on iTunes. That recording includes some phenomenal arrangements of some wonderful cantata pieces you will absolutely recognize.

Have a safe and blessed week!
Pat
Director of Contemporary Music
psise11@gmail.com
Generosity!
DONATE ONLINE! One-time and recurring!

TEXT your donations! 410-983-3481
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Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cornithians 9:7
Year to Date Finances
YTD Expected Unpledged Income
Actual Unpledged Income 
Ahead

YTD Expected Pledged & Electronic Giving
YTD Actual Pledged & Electronic Giving
Behind
$2,958
$3,276
$318

$41,618
$35,709
$5,909
Per Capita
What is the Presbyterian Per Capita Apportionment? Why do I need contribute?
Deeply rooted in Presbyterian history — the first-known mention of per capita dates to 1734 in a letter to ministers — per capita makes it possible for the Office of General Assembly to organize and manage General Assembly, as well as to staff and support special committees and commissions, provide legal counsel for churches dealing with staff issues and seek ways to minister to a growing immigrant population.
 
When Presbyterian’s participate in paying their per capita, we’re saying, “I’m in. I’m a part of this denomination. We are connected to it. We intend to fund it and support it.”
 
Per capita is a set amount of money (a pass-through apportionment per member) that all congregations pay in the 1st Quarter of each year to the larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  Said another way, it is a Presbyterian Covenant Community Fund — part of the glue that holds Presbyterians together. Because every Presbyterian share in the benefit of the PC(USA)’s system of government, the expenses associated with coordinating and performing the functions of that system should be shared by everyone as well.
 
The per capita apportionment that Ark & Dove will be responsible to pay on each member’s behalf in 2021 equals $10,027 [$37.00 x 271 members]. Historically, Ark & Dove receives only 40% of the per capita from its members leaving a -$6,000 hole in our ministry & mission budget each year.
 
Per capita dollars help sustain mission at all levels - local, regional and national level. In effect, per capita becomes the channel through which local Presbyterians can see their role in not only local mission programs but also the regional, national and worldwide mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
 
So, when you pay your $37.00 per person PER CAPITA APPORTIONMENT, please know that our contributions will immediately go to improve Ark & Dove’s bottom-line enabling us to further fund our mission and ministry programs in 2021. 
 
Thank you,
The 2021 Connections Stewardship Team: Doug Walcutt, Steve Debus, Diane Johnson, Bruce Sanders, Tricia Gray, Joe Gray, and Pastor Tim
 
Source: Presbyterian Outlook, Stated Clerk: “What per capita pays for, why it matters.” January 2, 2020 by J. Herbert Nelson
Transfiguration of the Lord
Lent
Lenten Devotions in Your Inbox
Would you like a brief devotion for each day of this Lenten season? Beginning on Ash Wednesday, you can receive a devotion which includes a Bible passage, brief reflection by Howard Thurman, and prayer. Please contact admin@arkanddove.org if you would like to receive these devotions.
Jesus and the Disinherited
Who was Jesus and who would he identify with today? What does he say to encourage us in the ongoing struggle for justice in our world? Do his teachings apply to the fear, deception, and hate we experience today? Howard Thurman, the great spiritual guide of the civil rights movement, answers these questions in his classic little book, Jesus and the Disinherited. Martin Luther King Jr. studied it during the Montgomery bus boycott and drew much from it. We can learn so much from Thurman today.
 
As we journey in faith through this Lenten season, let Howard Thurman be your guide. He will help us see Jesus more clearly and follow him more closely. Pick up Jesus and the Disinherited wherever you buy books, and we will discuss each short chapter during Lent in small groups.
 
Please sign up for one of the following small groups by contacting the group leader:
·        Fridays 7:30 pm, beginning February 19 to March 19: kim.champagne@gmail.com
·        Sundays, 4 pm, beginning February 21 to March 21. spricegibson@hotmail.com
·        Tuesdays 7:30 pm, beginning February 23 to March 23: tstern@arkanddove.org
·        Wednesdays 10 am, beginning February 24 to March 24: jnelson@arkanddove.org
·        Thursdays 8 pm, beginning February 25 to March 25: knilsenjohnson@gmail.com
GLEAM
God’s Love Embraces ALL Ministry (GLEAM)
The next event the God’s Love Embraces All Ministry (GLEAM) team will be hosting will be a book club. We will read the book “Outside the Lines: How embracing Queerness will Transform Your Faith” by Mihee Kim-Kort this Tuesday, February 16, 7:30 pm on ZOOM. Contact Amanda at amanda.rose.crose@gmail.com with any questions or to RSVP.
Prayer Requests
Please keep the following people in your prayers this week:

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Arlyce Lohr; Annetta Fenstermacher; Amy Richarme, Patty Plander; Krista Klohr; Gary Myers; Christa Kronser; Merlin Berry; Dick Paronto; Bob Johns; Richard and Edie Budd; Vaughn Brown; Frances Keyes; Ryan Stavely's father, Brian; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Dotty Kaufman, her son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Kathy Miller’s brother-in-law, Jeff Miller; Kim Champagne’s aunt, Joan; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloines’ family and her great-grandson Luke; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom Brown; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut and daughter, Allison, and niece, Naomi; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Grant Kirby’s mother, Caroline, and Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Clarke Beaudry’s mother, Judy LaMarque; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Hollis Butterworth’s daughter, Rachel Mershont; Amanda Wehage’s sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn, and Paul Doughty’s mother, Ruth Doughty; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Patriceo Green’s cousin, Philip Brown; Lou Kareha’s aunt, Judy Kochis, and cousin, Thomas; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sisters; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Kathy Miller’s friend, Sandee Dickson; Sue Hanburger's friends, Barb, Phyllis, Martha and Craig; Linnie Girdner and Jan Hof’s friend, Grace Ligon; Ylonda Fauntleroy’s friends, Alma Hinton and Tanya; Rob Yeager’s friends, Lisa and Kearston; Scott Howe’s friend, Jen Miller; the Gaurins’ friends Nyla and Danielle; Kim Young’s friends, Pat and Joyce; Catherine Chambers’ friend, Seamus; Michelle Schoonmaker’s friends Duane Thomas and Bri Ree; and Kathy Emmert's friend, Patty.
 
PRAYERS OF HEALING for those with COVID-19 including: Oscar Hurtado’s brother and sister, Eduardo and Anita; Kyle Elliott; Christine Connally’s cousin, Karen; Kelly Stern’s friend, Lisa Brown’s father; Jim and Judy Cooper’s friend, Tim McNutt; Margaret McGillivray’s friends, the Sanders family; Amanda Crose's grandmother, Betty Davis; Michelle Schoonmaker's Auntie Bernice; Josephine Girdner; Paul Doughty’s uncle, Dan, and cousin, Elizabeth; Doug Walcutt’s father, Chuck Walcutt, and stepmother, Linda Walcutt; Diane Johnson’s grandson, Avery Woods; Ed Barrett's friend, Joe Bogner; Julia Kirby’s great niece, nephew, his wife, and friends, the Speer family, the Coffey family, and April and Sam; Amy Hagemann’s friend, Mary Hurt Werner; Rob Yeager’s friends, David Palombo, and Jeff and Ana Siegel; Lisa Marino, Jay Mulholland, and their 4-month-old daughter Lily; Ylonda Fauntleroy's family, Annette and Leah Turner, and friends, Sandra and Elijah Williams; Debbie Saylor’s friend, Frank Williams; Michelle Schoonmaker's colleague, Ajita Robinson; Yeni, her husband and their six children; Jennifer Roman's aunt, Laura Clay, and grandmother, Louise Nothdurft; Cheryl Walcutt’s student; Kathy Emmert’s friends, Chuck and Cheryl; and Lori Kronser’s friend Debbie and her family.
 
PRAYERS OF LOVE, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION for all essential workers around the world, including: Mike Stiegler; Bill Gaurin; Tricia Gray’s mother; Becca Distad; Jack Burnett; Caitlyn Bussey; Emily Sanders; Audrey Miller; Linda Jordan’s nephew, Russell; the Ralston’s family members and friends; Simone Stiegler’s friend, Jean Marie; Amy Grimm’s mother; Jeff Grimm; Amy Goldberg’s brother, Joseph Alexander, and parents, Michael and Maryann Cooper; Judy Cooper’s daughter; John Mikeska’s son, Jonathan; and Hollis Butterworth’s sister-in-law, Cyndie.


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