|
February 26, 2007 |
|
|
|
February 26, 2007 |
|
|
|
God is Doing a New Thing The
2007 Big Event is now history and although it may be over, we think we created
some new history! This year’s Big Event drew the second highest attendance
in the history of the event at 376 attendees. We used every available room
and chair at Woods Memorial Church, and had a record number of workshop
leaders. We had a wide variety of books offered at our Book Store this year,
probably clapped more than we ever have in worship, and had more people than
ever get lost on their way to our event! We were delighted to dedicate the
worship service and day in honor of the Rev. Harry Holfelder, a former
chairperson of The Big Event Planning Committee, who passed away in October,
2006. We are so appreciative of the light and life Harry shared with us all. “It takes a
village”
– actually, it took an incredibly dedicated and talented Planning
Committee to create such synergy. And so we gratefully acknowledge the hard
work of this year’s Big Event Planning Committee: Cheryl Betts, Bonnie Clarke, Jamie Dale, George Fisher, Jane Johnson,
Elizabeth McLean, Bill Millen, and Nancy Saarlas. It
was gratifying to have had so many people attend to hear a provocative
keynote by Brian McLaren. It is clear that all of us want to help our
congregations have an authentic faith. Brian reminded us that people who are
making the kingdom real on earth are people who embrace and lift up the poor,
who care for the planet, and who make peace a priority (the three P’s of
spiritually formed people). Brian was particularly good at helping us to see
the value of searching for a balance in the liturgical, social action,
evangelical, and charismatic arenas of our churches. By moving our churches
from only one way of doing ministry or experiencing God, to a combination of
these four arenas, we avoid tunnel vision. It
is no easy task being part of the Emerging Church Movement. Stories
“emerged” all day – stories that tell of people who are
pondering, discerning, confronting, listening, relating, tending, affirming,
clarifying, companioning, savoring, being, loving, and transforming into
something new. What a day of honoring the wonderful work you all do and
taking your ministry to an even higher level of understanding. Even as we
said our goodbyes, there was a jubilant and expectant spirit among us all. As
we gather our congregations for the journey of Lent, let us not keep
the message of Jesus a secret. It is obvious that God’s Kingdom is a
reality and visible in so many places across the Presbytery. Many of you are
continuing the learning by meeting in small groups to discuss key concepts of
The Secret Message of Jesus (a
sequel is to be published at the end of the year). Some are holding church
retreats and “transforming” events. Some are embarking on mission
trips, local outreach projects, and interfaith/intercultural dialogues. Keep
the message alive and well – do you not perceive it? God is doing a new
thing – embrace it with courage! Corinne
Baker, Interim Assoc. Pastor of Ark and Dove Susan
Thompson, Director of CE at Towson Presbyterian Co-Chairs
of the 2007 Big Event Team |
Inside this issue Events of the Week: Presbyterians in Annapolis Day Feb. 26 4:00 -
8:00pm Annapolis, MD Presbytery Orientation for New Ministers Feb. 27 10:30am Presbytery Offices Take Note/Act Now § Free
Books § Warren Cooper § Lenten Study Series § Computer Training Cancelled § Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday § Julian of Norwich § Mir Brass Quintet § African American Ldshp. Retreat § Men’s 2007 Synod Conf. § Development Disabilities Day § EI Shadowing Program Prayer
Concerns |
|
People Betsy Baer’s last Sunday at Lakeland PC will be March 11th. Harundale
PC Elder and SAMI member Christine
Wolfe’s sister died last Friday, February 23rd. A memorial
service will be held the week of March 5th. |
|
Prayer Concerns Chaplain
John M. Boulware asks for prayers: ·
Of thanksgiving: he,
his wife, LCDR Catherine S. Boulware, and their daughter, Martha Catherine,
age 6, welcomed a baby boy, Trez Sumner Boulware on February 12th
at 11:59pm. All are doing very well.
·
Of safety: John is a
member of the Presbytery of Baltimore and an active duty chaplain for the US
Air Force. He will be deploying to an Air Force base in the Iraq area from
May through August ·
For John’s
ministry: as he serves the airmen of the USAF and other joint forces. Contact Information For the Presbytery
Offices 800-511-0087 Office E-mail: office@baltimorepresbytery.org Website: www.baltimorepresbytery.org To Unsubscribe: email Alice
McGee or call the office |
Take Note/Act Now Baltimore
Presbytery Items (non-dated items
first; dated items in date order) Free!
Free! Free! That’s right, Books!
Come out to Covenant Presbyterian Church, 11833 Greenhill Dr., Hagerstown,
Maryland and look over nearly 200 volumes from library of Helen
Woodward. For the taking until March 15. Many of you were
blessed by the ministry of Warren
Cooper at the Big Event. Hunting Ridge PC will be hosting a Tuesday night Lenten series: “Torture in our World: What
Can We Do About It?” Dinner and fellowship will be held at 6:30pm;
presentation and discussion will run from 7:00 – 8:30pm. The first
meeting will be February 27th (more). The MS Word computer
training that had been scheduled for March 7th and 14th
has been cancelled due to a lack of sufficient participants. The
Enough for Everyone program of the church helps poor farmers in Mexico and
Guatemala who grow and harvest palms
for Palm Sunday. The deadline for ordering Palms for this year is March
12th. Check out the website: www.pcusa.org/palms. First and Franklin Street PC announces that The Reverend Linda
Loving, pastor of The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, MN will
perform a one-woman show based on the life of Julian of Norwich on March 18th (more -
new link!) The Mir Brass Quintet
will perform assorted works by Bach, Bartok, Ewazen and more on Sunday, March
25th at 3:00pm at Brown Memorial Park Ave. PC (more). An African American
Leadership Retreat is
being planned to be held on June 15-16, 2007, in a place yet to be
determined. Vanessa Hawkins, Assoc. for Black Congregational Enhancement, PC(USA)
will be the retreat leader. Jane Johnson will give updates as the
particulars fall into place. Synod and General
Assembly The Presbyterian
Men’s 2007 Synod Conference will be held from July 20th
– 22nd at Massanetta Springs in Harrisonburg, VA. Contact Dave
Hodge for more information. Other items
and events February
28, 2007 is Developmental Disabilities
Day at the Legislature (more). The Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and
University will host its spring
“shadowing” program March
19-22. This is an opportunity for inquirers and potential
students to attend an evening of class as the guest of a current student (more). Also on our website Don’t miss all the new Local Church Announcements at: http://www.baltimorepresbytery.org/announcements.html Presbytery
Yearly Calendar Past Issues of Tidings are available at: http://www.baltimorepresbytery.org/midweekmail.html. |
|
|
Peter Nord, Executive Presbyter |
Bill Millen, Associate Executive |
Charles Forbes, Stated Clerk |
|
Deb Milcarek Associate of |
Jane Johnson |
Rita Walters Director of Development rwalters@baltimorepresbytery.org |
|
Director of Public Policy |
Judi Forrester Coordinator of Financial Services |
Alice McGee Coordinator of Information Services |
|
Coordinator of Resources |
Coordinator of Communications |
Questions? Comments? |
