June 26, 2006

United in Mission

“In response to God’s redemptive action in environment and humanity, Baltimore Presbytery seeks to incarnate God’s justice, mercy and love as an agent of support and transformation for its member congregations as they engage in mission, both locally and throughout the world, endeavoring to enhance the quality of life for all of God’s creation.”

This is the goal of the Global and Local Mission committees of the Presbytery of Baltimore, adopted in 2005 as a result of the very extensive work of the Committee on Goals, Objectives and Strategies (COGOS). This is the guideline that we use to steer us down the road of transformation in our world of mission giving.

Then, we hit the road, literally. As you all know, the Presbytery staff visited every congregation and listened. We heard your praise, your concerns and your needs. Two requests that we heard over and over were for information about other congregations’ mission work and for help establishing partnerships with other congregations to work on similar mission projects. Your appeals fall right in line with our desire to be an agent of support for you. It also is a great beginning on our journey as a presbytery toward a new paradigm of mission giving that depends on partnerships–between sessions, presbytery and organizations–that will enhance your relationships with each.

We have sent surveys to the senior pastor and the mission chair at each church. They will provide us with the essential information that we will need about each particular congregation’s mission patterns. We will gather and sort this data with the intention of producing a usable, easily-read document for use by your mission committees in partnering with other congregations in the mission arena. The Presbytery of Baltimore will use this information to provide you with resources – financial, educational and informational – to meet your future requests for assistance.

We are connectional, we are transformational, and we can do so much more as a whole than as separate parts. Join us.

Deb Milcarek

Associate for Mission & Justice

Inside this issue

Events of the Week:

Presbytery Meeting

Thursday, June 29^th at 1:00pm

Deer Creek Harmony PC

410.734.6087

Take Note/Act Now

§ Presbytery Meeting

§ Restaurants in Harford Co.

§ Adoption Info Request

§ Gulf Coast Volunteer Coord.

§ The Big Event 2/17/07

§ National Pastors’ Sabbath

Prayer Concerns

Christ Our King PC

People

Please pray for the many people in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania who have been affected by the flooding over the weekend.

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

The Presbytery Offices will be closed on Mon. and Tue. July 3-4.

The next issue of Tidings will be released on Mon., July 10^th.

Prayer Concerns

Christ Our King PC

asks for prayers:

· for the trip they are planning to Kenya in mid-August. 17 adults will travel to Christ Our King’s sister parish in Kenya to deepen the relationship and discover new ways for the communities to mutually benefit each other

· for the church as they embark on a multi-million dollar building project

· for their youth who are undergoing a period of transition and particularly for their mission trip this week to North Carolina

Take Note/Act Now

Baltimore Presbytery Items

Papers related to the Presbytery meeting on Thursday, June 29^th at 1:00pm at Deer Creek Harmony PC in Havre De Grace have been posted to the Presbytery website under Downloads, Presbytery Meeting Papers, 818^th Meeting (link).

The Clergy Care Committee has provided a list of restaurants in Harford County for those looking for a place to gather for dinner after Thursday night’s Presbytery meeting. A number of the listings include website addresses in case people should wish to see menus or learn more. The list is posted with the other meeting materials.

From Rev. Elizabeth McLean, Woods PC. Dear Faith Community: I need your help. As you may have already heard, I have decided to pursue becoming an adoptive parent. While I hope and pray that parenthood is a part of God's plan for me, and am working with an agency and a lawyer, adopting domestically as a single parent is still a "long shot." So I would appreciate it if you would please keep your ears and eyes open for me for adoption opportunities, and keep me in your prayers. I would be happy to provide more information as needed. 410-647-2550.

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).

Please enter Saturday, February 17, on your church's 2007 Planning Calendar – the date for The Big Event at Woods Presbyterian Church – a week earlier than in the past. We are thrilled to announce that the key-note speaker will be best selling author and leader in the Emergence Church movement, Rev. Brian McLaren (More re: workshops & Brian).

Synod and GA items

Save the Date! The PC(USA) will host the next National Pastor’s Sabbath from June 28 – July 2, 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Later in the summer, when the site launches, Pastors may learn more about the event, speakers, and location at www.pcusa.org/pastorsabbath.

Other Resources and Articles

Other Events

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