From the General Presbyter The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Do you remember that ghost from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol? Shrouded, mysterious, creepy, silent. Scrooge was afraid and if we stop for a moment and think, so are we. What will this Advent/Christmas season be like? Will people come back to church? Will […]
October 27, 2022
From the General Presbyter Enter the Dinosaur I love to watch archaeologists at work, but I get really impatient when I see them slowly brushing off unearthed bones with a paintbrush. I want to yell at the screen: “Hurry up and free the dinosaur!” Our Strategic Planning progress is much like this. Though it is […]
May 24, 2022
From the General Presbyter I want to first address the faithful pastors in this Presbytery of Baltimore. Please hear me; there is no way you can possibly carry the heavy burdens this world has put on us in these violent and terrible times. Words often fail in the face of today’s shooting in Texas. There are not […]
A Prayer for Shootings
Breathe on us, breath of God and fill us with life anew. God, Divine Love, we come to you anxious, fearful, sorrowful, and angry. We are surrounded by hatred, violence, greed, racism, war, disease, and systems of oppression. The air we breathe is filled with the soot of uncontrollable wildfires and the ground beneath us […]
February 3, 2022
From the General Presbyter Black History Month In 1807, the Presbytery of the Union Synod of Tennessee recommended to the General Assembly in Lexington, Kentucky, that a “slave should be licensed to preach among colored people.” Enter the Rev. John Gloucester, who founded the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1807. I guess that […]
January 19, 2022
From the General Presbyter Going Back to the Way it Was I doubt any member of our Presbytery intends to return to “the way it was” once the pandemic is over. The time away from church, brought to you by COVID-19, has many evaluating and re-evaluating their call to ministry, their regular participation as congregation […]
January 3, 2022
From the General Presbyter Happy New Year!! I believe I speak for us all when we pray that 2022 will be a safer, healthier year. As I bring you this greeting, I also bring with it some protocols we need to put in place for the next two months as we navigate the Omicron Variant […]
December 2, 2021
Choose Insanity In 2017 Howard County Maryland mailed out bumper stickers that read “Choose Civility,” as a response to behaviors emerging across the country. The other day, I saw one that read “Choose Insanity!” After I nearly wrecked my car laughing, I thought about the deep social and theological significance of these words and would […]
September 28, 2021
From the General Presbyter Survey: What percentage of Session, Deacons, Trustees, Committee meeting time is spent a. Doing business as usual b. Innovating for tomorrow c. Future forecasting – what is emerging in church and society Next: How is this “working for you?” Next: Where do current members want time spent? What about potential new […]
August 10, 2021
From the General Presbyter It has been a joy visiting congregations again in person! Our congregations have done an excellent job with their online presence yet there is something wonderful about being together. This is where the brakes screech! I’m enjoying the last of the Olympics when I hear the mayor of Baltimore requiring masks […]
