June 12, 2006

Habakkuk’s Prayer

God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,

And I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees,

Do among us what you did among them.

Work among us as you worked among them.

Habakkuk’s Prayer - Habakkuk 3:2 The Message

Habakkuk’s prayer is so appropriate for the PC(USA). I find that to be my prayer – God, work among us as you worked among our ancestors. It is a great lesson on building group cohesiveness.

Creating a new vision for the church is exhilarating and confusing. Keeping up with, participating in, and understanding the new directions is a challenge. At the General Assembly level, many things seem to have changed over night.

Change is everywhere. Locally, our Presbytery members are finding new people answering the phone. Council is operating under the leadership of a vision team. The way we are asked to present at Presbytery meetings is different.

Committee work is being evaluated on how each committee aligns with the eight Presbytery goals. Inclusiveness and Evangelism are the first goals to be reviewed. The Presbytery is significantly influenced by the process.

Staffing now matches the mission design – what a unique concept. The staff road trips to each church were designed to identify each church’s resource needs. The analysis underway is designed to enable the staff to respond appropriately to those resource needs.

There is more change – much, much more – like:

designing changes in the way we fund mission;
striving for proportionate representation from the left, middle and right.

Please join me in praying for our Presbyterian Church.

Bill Millen

Associate Executive Presbyter

Inside this issue

Events of the Week:

General Assembly of PC(USA)

Birmingham, AL June 15-22

Presbyterian Women Synod

Summer Gathering

Hunt Valley, MD June 16-18

Take Note/Act Now

§ Van Driver Needed

§ Gulf Coast Volunteer Coord.

§ Ordination Exam Readers

§ Thanks from Jack Carlson

§ Free RSV Bibles

§ General Assembly

§ Ecumenical Institute

§ Justice for Children & Families

Prayer Concerns

Chestnut Grove PC

Northminster PC

People

Please pray for Alice McGee who is recovering from hip surgery.

Please pray for Morton Harris who was hospitalized last week for pancreitis.

Please pray for the PW Synod Summer gathering, hosted by our presbytery’s women at the Hunt Valley Inn. Cheryl Winger (Hagerstown) and Louisa Leslie (1st of Howard) are chairing this event.

Pray for safety and wisdom for our delegates and staff members who will be traveling this week to Birmingham for the 217th GA.

Prayer Concerns

Chestnut Grove PC

asks for prayers:

· their new youth minister, Dani Siegers, who begins her work in mid-June

· for seventeen youth and adults starting a mission trip to Washington, DC on June 18^th

· for “Community Conversations on the Code” (June 15^th and 20^th), an outreach to the neighborhood centered upon the current movie

Northminster PC

asks for prayers:

· for a safe and successful opening of their new Youth Park and for their ongoing outreach to youth in the community

· for a shift to a blending of the contemporary and traditional worship styles into one service for the summer

· for the success of the youth mission trip and urban outreach in Philadelphia this August

Take Note/Act Now

Baltimore Presbytery Items

Towson PC needs an adult driver for a 15-passenger van traveling to and from a youth mission trip to Gulfport, MS from June 17^th-25^th. Contact Pete Berlowitz (410) 440-6715.

Read about the Presbytery of Baltimore’s new Gulf Coast Volunteer Coordinator, Pete Berlowitz. He is already at work, assisting some of our congregations with their Katrina recovery mission trips. (Read more about Pete and his role from Deb Milcarek).

The Committee on Preparation for Ministry is in need of some ministers and (especially) elders who would be willing to serve as readers for the standard ordination examinations (more details). Readers must be elected by the Presbytery; it is the committee’s hope to elect three readers at the June Presbytery meeting. Contact Rev. Bill Pinches at 301-689-3538 or billpinches@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Thank you from Jack Carlson: Just a brief note to say thanks for supporting Friday night's concert (June 2^nd), and to let you know that we raised $2605 for the mission! It was a great night, and Lynn and I are very grateful for the support of our colleagues and friends and family who have really gotten behind this project. Allison is well on her way, with over half the support coming from the concert and from Highland Session.

First PC of Frostburg has approx. 100 red pew Bibles (RSV) that it wishes to donate to a worthy cause (church, charitable org., parachurch org., etc.), either domestic or intn’l. If you or an organization you know of are in need of some Bibles, please contact Rev. Bill Pinches at 301-689-3538.

Synod and GA items

The General Assembly will convene on Thursday, June 15^th. Read about our delegates on the Presbytery homepage: www.baltimorepresbytery.org. Also, Presbyterian Elders in Prayer have created a prayer resource for use before and during GA; a link is posted on our homepage.

Other Resources and Articles

The Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary’s Seminary and University is offering a summer shadowing program for prospective students June 26-29. Registration for fall classes opens July 10^th (more information).

Other Events

On Saturday, July 8, The Committee on Justice for Children and Their Families of the National Council of Churches for Christ is sponsoring A Call to Prayer and Public Witness in Washington, D.C. The day will include a service of prayer and worship, workshops, and a call to advocacy on behalf of children (flyer with local announcement).

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