Together Transforming…Lives. Church. World.

 

Congratulations

   Pat Aaserude on the birth of her grandson, Caleb Robert Waddell.

   Ronnie Hankins on his retirement after 23 years as a reserve chaplain from the U.S. Air Force on Jan 5, 2005.

   LeAnn & Ray Hodges on the final adoption of Alexander Isaiah Hodges on Dec 23. [photo]

 

All are Welcome to attend

The Installation of Sarah Diehl on Sunday, Jan 9

at Towson PC at 4 pm.

 

Prayer Concerns

Mary Gaut, scheduled for surgery in early January.

Stella Dempski Causey on the death of her mother.

 

Retirement

James G. Kirk—December 31, 2004

 

 

People

 

Presbytery Holiday schedule:

   Dec 31   Office closed for New Years

 

Committee Night - Jan 4, 2005

 

Council Meeting - Jan 10, 2005 at the Presbytery Office

 

A Special Called meeting of Presbytery has been called for 2 PM, January 13, 2005 at Catonsville Presbyterian Church for the sole purpose of acting on a request to rescind the Presbytery’s action on the Overture from Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church regarding Civil Marriage for same gender couples. [read more] No other business may be considered at this meeting. [Call]

 

A Remedial Complaint has been filed with the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod regarding the action taken by the Presbytery at the November meeting in support of the right of same-gender couples to marry.  Rev. Joe Condro and David Wilson filed the complaint and have requested the Synod PJC to grant a “stay” that would stop the Presbytery from acting on the resolution until after the PJC heard the complaint.  Additional information is available on the Presbytery website [complaint].

 

Check out Local Church Announcements and the

 

 

Presbytery’s Yearly Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Events
Text Box: Presbytery of Baltimore 5400 Loch Raven Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21239 Office: 410-433-2012 1-800-511-0087 Fax: 410-433-2066 www.baltimorepresbytery.org General email: office@baltimorepresbytery.org Staff Peter Nord Executive Presbyter pnord@baltimorepresbytery.org Bill Millen Associate Executive bmillen@baltimorepresbytery.org Julie Helms Administrative Associate jhelms@baltimorepresbytery.org Charles Forbes Stated Clerk cforbes@baltimorepresbytery.org Terry Martin-Minnich Education/Resourcing tmartinmin@baltimorepresbytery.org Judi Forrester Coordinator of Financial Services jforrester@baltimorepresbytery.org Alice McGee Coordinator of Information Services amcgee@baltimorepresbytery.org Dot Sanchez Coordinator of Communications dsanchez@baltimorepresbytery.org Mary Ellen Barrett Resource Librarian mebarrett@baltimorepresbytery.org

December 28, 2004

. .31 Non-Traditional Worship Services

 

Tidings will be sent weekly on Monday afternoons.

Our primary audience is church professionals in the Presbytery of Baltimore.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions of alternate names for Tidings.  The outcome of the vote was to leave the name Tiding.

Tidings

 

New Mileage Rate for 2005 from IRS - 40.5 cents

 

Final 2004 remittances - Please be advised that 12:00 noon Friday, January 7, 2005 will be the deadline for accepting remittance checks for 2004 – that includes mission and per capita money.  Any checks received after that time will be credited to 2005. In order to avoid any confusion in the beginning of 2005, please mark your checks with the year into which the remittance should be credited.  This will enable us to apply your contributions correctly, without having to call you for clarification.

 

                                                                  Judi Forrester, Coordinator of Financial Services

 

The Peace and Justice Committee has announced that Beryl Smith, our Public Policy Advocate in Annapolis, will retire following the 2005 legislative season.  The Presbytery is seeking a replacement who will work alongside Beryl during the 2005 Maryland General Assembly and assume her position in May of 2005.  Interested persons should contact the Rev. David Pollitt, Chair of the Peace and Justice Committee, at 410-638-6022.

 

The Committee on Ministry has investigated the state of Chaplaincy at Glen Meadows and has concluded that it should not validate that ministry unless certain changes are made. A letter has been created that describes this decision and the current relation between the Presbytery of Baltimore and Glen Meadows. [read more]

 

Is your church planning a Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Service? Please contact the Presbytery Office with the details so we can advertise your service.

 

“Transforming Violence into Wholeness” Nonviolence Training Retreat, sponsored by the Peace & Justice Committee, Jan 14-16, 2005. [read more]

 

COMMITTEE ON MISSION ISSUES NEW “RFP”

Proposals Due March 15, 2005

The Presbytery’s Committee on Mission has just issued a new “Request For Proposals” of new congregational mission projects. Proposals should be submitted by March 15, 2005, and those selected for funding will be announced by June 30. This year the Committee is particularly interested in proposals initiated by youth. Funding for the new projects will come from another anonymous gift of $40,000 received by the Presbytery a few months ago! [read more]

Union Theological Seminary, PSCE, will present four lectures on the Theological Views of The Civil War during their annual Sprunt Lectures, January 24-26, in Richmond, VA. Mark Noll, Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, will be the speaker. For a complete schedule of events and registration information [read more].

Check out the Job Opportunities posted on the Presbytery website.

 

 

 

TakeNote/ActNow

Questions or comments? Email Dot at: dsanchez@baltimorepresbytery.org or call 410-433-2012

To subscribe or unsubscribe please Email Alice at: amcgee@baltimorepresbytery.org or call 410-433-2012
Text Box: Looking at the great new worship space at Towson Presbyterian Church, I gleefully said, “Great! You have space for my rock band service.” “Over my dead body!” glared the Elder. We laughed at our conflict. We both know this is serious business. The fastest way to increase worship attendance is to add a quality non-traditional worship service. The fastest way to cause conflict in a church is to add a quality non-traditional service. Ten years ago, the churches of the Presbytery of Baltimore offered only three non-traditional worship services. Today we have 28 churches offering 31 non-traditional services. Central, Woods Memorial, and Second have two each! Our two new churches, New Imani and St. Andrews, have no traditional services. New services reach new people. “Single services done in a traditional way can confuse tradition with God. But when a new service is started, a church must set aside tradition and carefully consider core beliefs … and the different ways God can be worshiped.” 1 At a recent visioning retreat with the leaders of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, the worship conflict brews. Finally, they agreed on the critical components of meaningful worship. Whether traditional or non, a successful worship service is Bible-based encourages a personal connection to the Spirit of God demonstrates that love for one another is central respects diversity is participatory is intellectually stimulating respects the past but looks to the future is amenable to all people has special relevance to youth and newcomers attracts and nurtures new members sustains and encourages existing members reflects the congregation's prevailing desire for ritual and ceremony considers the demographics, standards, and needs of members provides a springboard for life 2 As the nature and design of worship change in our churches, some really great discussions can be heard. The conversational bar is being raised! Bill Millen 1 How to Start a New Service by Charles Arn p.10 2 From Madison Avenues Vision

 

Coming Attractions

 

Prayers for Churches - Beginning in January we will feature prayer concerns for individual churches. Eleven churches have responded to Christa Burns’ October 20 letter from the Church Growth & Evangelism Committee. Please mail your postcard back to the Presbytery office as soon as possible.

 

Good Ideas to Share -

Has your church had a unique Stewardship campaign that was successful, or a new community mission outreach that received rave reviews? Share the good news with other churches. Contact Dot Sanchez and she will be happy to spread the word.