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September 18, 2006 |
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September 18, 2006 |
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Pondering Peace “Guide our feet into
the way of peace.” Luke1:79 Peace.
What does it look like? What do Peacemakers do? Is this an idealistic vision?
How can we have peace in so violent a world? These are questions that I brought
with me to the PC(USA)’s Peacemaker’s conference last week at
Stony Point, NY. A wonderful, tranquil oasis in the mountains, resplendent
with the noise of many cicadas and the whistle of an old train passing
through, Stony Point is the perfect place for such a conference. Our
church sees Peacemaking as a gift from God. The Biblical vision of peace is
repeated over and over again, encompassing the justice and well-being that
God intends for creation. A Peacemaker is called to stand with the poor, the oppressed
and the disadvantaged to make real this vision. Has your congregation made a
public statement of Peacemaking by signing the Commitment to Peacemaking? Visit
www.pcusa.org/peacemaking to
learn more about this. The
21st of September marks the International Day of Peace. Established
by the United Nations in 2001, this day is one when citizens of the world are
asked to participate in a global ceasefire and a celebration of 24 hours of
peace and non-violence. On September 26th, our own Rick
Ufford-Chase will lead a procession in Washington for
all People of Faith to pray for the end of the war in Iraq. Finally, October
1st marks World Communion Sunday and your chance to support the PCUSA Peacemaking offering,
¼ of which remains in your congregations for your own Peace &
Justice ministry. Today,
more than ever, we must support the concept of peace and non-violence. Today,
more than ever, we must bring God’s vision into our lives, the lives of
our brothers and sisters and the life of our world. May the grace and peace of God remain with you- Deb
Milcarek Associate
for Mission and Justice |
Inside this issue Take Note/Act
Now § Board of Pensions:
Retirement § Substitute
Organists Available § Sept. 26 Peace
Rally in D.C. § Essays on
Re-forming Ministry Prayer
Concerns Deer Creek PC Fallston PC |
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People Elizabeth Talbot, former pastor of the
Presbyterian Church in Onancock (one of the 7 Makemie churches), died last
week and her funeral was at First of Annapolis. Julie Erickson has been named the
chair for the Maryland Interfaith Legislative Council. This role is in
addition to her role as the Director of Public Policy for our Presbytery. The Rev. Dr. George Gray Toole,
Pastor Emeritus of Towson PC, has been named a Dunning Distinguished Lecturer
for 2006-2007 by the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary and
University, where he is a professor of homiletics and liturgics. |
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Prayer Concerns Deer
Creek PC asks for prayers: ·
For the growth of
their congregation ·
For the development
of their youth program ·
For success in their
mural project and education programs ·
For discernment on
how best to witness for Christ in church and society Fallston
PC asks for prayers: ·
During this time of
transition |
Take Note/Act Now Baltimore Presbytery
Items (dated items
first, listed in date order) There will be a Pre-Presbytery Event on September 28th
starting at 2pm at Hunting Ridge PC. From 2:00-2:30 there will be a State of
the Presbytery presentation led by Peter Nord. From 2:30-3:30 there will be a
PUP Ramifications presentation and discussion led by the PUP Implications
Task Force (topics: 1) learning what we do with Candidates and Arriving
Pastors and 2) exploring how PUP may impact these plans). LYRA, the Russian
Vocal ensemble from St. Petersburg, will perform two a
capella concerts of Russian sacred music and folk songs in the area. They
will be at Light Street PC in Federal Hill on Thursday, October 5th
at 8pm and at Ashland PC in Cockeysville on Saturday, October 7th
at 3pm. Admission to both events is free; offerings accepted. The Board of Pensions will be hosting two seminars in the Presbytery
of Baltimore in January of 2007: Render Unto Caesar on January 17th
(for pastors under 55 to plan financially for retirement) and a
Pre-retirement Seminar (for pastors over 55 retiring in the near future) on
January 18th-19th. Both will be held at Lochearn PC in
Baltimore City. Looking for a substitute/interim organist and/or choir director? Richard and
Sallie Cartwright have each had over 40 years of experience in church music
with large and small organs and they have recently moved to the Baltimore
area. You may call them at 410.795.6315 or e-mail them: cartrands@aol.com. Synod and GA
items A group of Presbyterians, led by Rick Ufford-Chase,
Director of the Presbyterian
Peace Fellowship, will be joining in the Declaration of Peace Week of Action,
Sept. 21-28, an effort to end the war
in Iraq. There will be a non-violent gathering, interfaith liturgy and
procession in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 26th (Read more: D.C.
event and Rick’s
comments) Four Essays from
the Office of Theology and Worship on Re-forming Ministry have received
wide publication and have been mailed to all churches. If you have not
seen them, they are worth a read and can be found at this web site: http://www.pcusa.org/re-formingministry/work.htm#thinking.
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 18th 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. Craig A. Evans, internationally recognized
NT scholar and expert on early Christianity and its environment, will give
the annual Dunning Lecture at St.
Mary’s Seminary & University on Monday, October 9th at
7:30 p.m. His topic will be “What
Are We to Think of The Gospel of Judas?”
The free lecture, open
to the public, will be held at St. Mary’s campus on Roland Avenue at
Northern Parkway in Baltimore (read
more). 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. |
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Peter Nord, Executive Presbyter |
Bill Millen, Associate Executive bmillen@baltimorepresbytery.org |
Deb Milcarek Associate of Mission and Justice |
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Charles Forbes, Stated Clerk |
Rita Walters Director of Development rwalters@baltimorepresbytery.org |
Julie Erickson Director of Public Policy |
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Alice McGee Coordinator of Information Services |
Judi Forrester Coordinator of Financial Services |
Wanda Morgan Coordinator of Resources |
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Janice Kominski Coordinator of Communications |
Questions? Comments? E-mail
Janice Kominski or office@baltimorepresbytery.org
To unsubscribe email Alice McGee or call the
office. |
Office: 410-433-2012
or 800-511-0087 Fax: 410-433-2066 Online: www.baltimorepresbytery.org |
