August 28, 2006

Looking Backwards in Order to Live Forward

“Beloved, I do consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:13-14

Two weeks ago my son Chandler (age 10) and a friend were enjoying an indoor game of nerf basketball when he slipped on the carpet, dislocating his thumb. After a not-so-quick trip to the emergency room, he was fitted with a hard cast and told to follow up with a hand specialist where the cast would be removed and replaced with a splint.

The following week arrives, the hand specialist issues a clean bill of health and once again all is right with the world… until, I inquire about my own hand ailment. In my case, my thumb and palm had been bothersome for several weeks; I tell this to the doctor who promptly hands me a brochure on arthritis and states, “This is common in middle-age women.” I thought that would explain why my mother complains but where does that leave me? I suddenly realized that this distinguished man of letters had somehow mistaken me for my mother. Well, coincidently, that same weekend I had plans to reunite with four college friends. We were celebrating almost 20 years since graduation; it was fun reliving memories and antics, chatting and staying up all night. For one weekend, we looked backward. The young women in the photographs didn’t have all the answers then and the middle-age women spending a weekend together do not have all the answers now.

It is humbling; but, having reached middle age, what I know for sure is that while the past is filled with many wonderful memories it is moreso important to continue to reach forward to what lies ahead. We can not rest on what was but must continue to push toward the goal…middle age...old age...at every age; we must “press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Rita Walters

Director of Development

Inside this issue

Take Note/Act Now

§ Sept. 23^rd event cancelled

§ October Guatemala Trip

§ Presby Women Fall Gathering

§ Middle School Retreat

§ Associate Job Opening

§ Plea from Lebanon

§ Care of Creation

§ Triennium Volunteer

§ Synod Bulletin Insert

§ Clergywomen in NYTimes

§ ACS Training

§ Books, not Bombs

Prayer Concerns

The Presbytery of Baltimore

People

Please pray for the family and friends of John Kerr, elder at Second PC and longtime COM member, who died on 8/25. His memorial service will be at Second on 9/8 at 11:00am.

Please pray for Mary Gaut, whose stepfather died last week.

Ron Johnson will preach at his first service for New Imani on Sept. 3.

LeAnn Hodges has resigned from 1^st of Annapolis, effective October 22.

Prayer Concerns

The Presbytery of Baltimore

asks for prayers:

· For the new year of committee work, starting September 5^th

· For our churches looking for new pastors: Hagerstown, Harundale, Govans, Madison Avenue, and Woods

· For the new Presbytery Mission Design, which will be revealed and discussed at the October regional meetings

· That the fall stewardship and evangelism workshops may provide useful new tools to equip clergy and laity for ministry

· For ever deepening relationships between the Presbytery, church communities, and local communities so that through the power of the Holy Spirit we may Together Transform Lives, Church and World

Take Note/Act Now

Baltimore Presbytery Items (dated items first, listed in date order)

The September 23^rd 1-day nonviolence training event has been cancelled due to lack of registration. However, the 8-week class on nonviolence will still take place.

The Fall Gathering of the Presbyterian Women will be on October 7^th from 9:00am to 2:00pm at First PC of Westminster with special guest Debbie Schmidt, author of “Genesis: God’s Grace from the Beginning.” Theme of gathering: God’s Creation (more information)

The 2006 Presbytery Middle School Retreat will be on October 13-15^th at Camp Wo-me-to. The theme is "The Chronicles of Christ--the Cross, the Savior, and the Resurrection". There will be two workshops: one on forgiveness and one on conflict in the family. Dorothy Boulton will be the keynote speaker. Register by Sept. 25^th to Marla Youkers.

A group of adults from the Presbytery of Baltimore will be going to Guatemala for a relationship-building visit from Oct. 26^th – 30^th. The registration deadline is Sept. 6^th. Contact Rev. Steve Tisinger at Christ Our Anchor for details: 410.974.1713.

Associate for Leadership Development, Education and Youth (part-time): The Presbytery of Baltimore seeks a Presbyterian to direct its efforts to educate leaders and build its education and youth programs. Read a detailed job description to learn more. Please pass this along to someone you know who may be interested.

Our sisters and brothers at Harundale PC received news and an emergency plea for support from friends at a church in Lebanon. Read the appeal letter and a personal letter about the situation on the ground in Lebanon.

If you’d like to learn about one church’s Care of Creation Committee and learn about some resources available to all churches to teach about environmental issues, including the film An Inconvenient Truth, please check the local church announcements section of our website, the October 6^th event.

The Presbytery is seeking a volunteer to be the registrar for the 2007 Youth Triennium. Interested persons should contact Peter Nord at 410.433.2012.

Synod and GA items

The Synod September Bulletin Insert and Military Prayer list are now available.

Other Resources and Articles

To read an article from the August 26^th New York Times, “Clergywomen Find Hard Path to Bigger Pulpit”, please follow this link: read article.

There is a training workshop available for current clients of ACS from September 11-15 at First PC of Howard Co. Read the invite from ACS.

Visit the Faithful America website to learn how to participate in “Books, not Bombs”, a program to send school supplies to children in war-torn Israel and Lebanon.

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

pnord@baltimorepresbytery.org

Bill Millen, Associate Executive

bmillen@baltimorepresbytery.org

Deb Milcarek

Associate of Mission and Justice

dmilcarek@baltimorepresbytery.org

Charles Forbes, Stated Clerk

cforbes@baltimorepresbytery.org