September 11, 2006

Beginning Something New

We are beginning something new. Our vision is to begin new immigrant fellowships and churches in the Presbytery of Baltimore. The feasibility study for a Hispanic congregation to meet in the Lakeland Presbyterian Church has begun. The plan has three phases:

Demographic information is gathered on the area around the church
Survey is created by Hispanic clergy and then taken at gathering places of the Latino or Hispanic population
Based on the information gathered, a group will be gathered to see if there is interest in organizing a congregation

Your assistance will be needed along the way. Specifically, right now we are identifying Hispanic clergy who can serve as a panel to create the survey. Also, we will be recruiting up to 20 Hispanic people to do the survey in October. Any help you can provide in the identification of people who might be willing to administer the survey would be greatly appreciated.

Overall, minorities account for nearly 96 percent of the state's population growth from 2000 to 2005, according to an analysis by state planners. As a result, the population of non-Hispanic whites slipped to just under 60 percent of the total last year - well below the national average of 67 percent.

At a time when the nation is debating immigration policy, the survey reveals that nearly one in eight Marylanders says he or she was born outside the United States. Five years ago, one in 10 Marylanders claimed foreign birth. More than 85 percent of Marylanders reported that they speak only English at home. But about 300,000 Marylanders, or nearly 6 percent, say they are not fluent in English - an increase of roughly 20 percent since 2000.

Now is the time to serve these immigrant populations. Please pray for our vision.

Thank you,

Bill Millen

Associate Executive Presbyter

Inside this issue

Take Note/Act Now

§ Conference on AIDS

§ Seminar on Homelessness

§ Light a Candle for Children

§ ICJS Seminar Sept. 18

§ Habitat: Building on Faith

Prayer Concerns

Mount Paran PC

People

Jamie Shipley’s pastoral relationship will be dissolved September 30^th.

Prayer Concerns

Mount Paran PC

asks for prayers:

· For guidance as they discern their mission in the community

· For adequate physical space

· For new people

· For our Session and Board of Deacons

Take Note/Act Now

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

Central PC will be offering a Conference on AIDS over the course of three Sundays: 9/24, 10/1 and 10/8. The focus of the event is to discover why and how the church should care about the AIDS pandemic in Baltimore and around the world. All are welcome to come and learn. Learn more about the presenters from near and far, the schedule, and the variety of topics to be covered from the event flyer.

Faith Presbyterian Church will be hosting an event on the root causes of homelessness with guest speaker Rev. Jean Kim, author of “End Homelessness: Jubilee Manual”. The event will be on Sunday, September 24^th from 3-5pm. The event will provide education and a chance for people to let their voices be heard by addressing petitions to government representatives. Read flyer.

Synod and GA items

The 2006 Light a Candle for Children Forty-Day Prayer Vigil takes place from Sunday, September 10^th through October 22^nd, 2006. It is a time of preparation for the observance of Children’s Sabbaths. You may download related materials, including brochures, bulletin inserts, and prayer calendars at http://pcusa.org/children/poverty/worship.htm.

Other Events

The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies (ICJS) will be hosting a public seminar, Faith and Democracy in a Violent World on September 18^th from 7:30-9:00pm in Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College. Taylor Branch will be the featured speaker; there will be a variety of other respondents. Please reserve a seat by calling ICJS at 410.523.7227. Read Flyer.

Other Resources and Articles

Learn how your congregation can support Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity’s “Building on Faith”, a September awareness and fund-raising initiative in partnership with faith communities (read letter). Website: www.chesapeakehfh.org.

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