What: This is the Workshop you're looking for:

• One thing that will strengthen your ministries?
• More civility in an increasingly strident and polarized society?
• The ability to work more effectively with other members of your congregation?

Whatever you want for church, community, or world, the answer likely begins with relationship building!

Rev. Janna VanderWoude, Rev. Becca Crate, and RE Susan Moody will lead a workshop based on 6 months of training provided by Next Church the Metro-Industrial Areas Foundation, and Johnson C. Smith Seminary. Together, they will help you become better at building relationships with others in your church and community through information and practice activities. Regardless of your comfort level meeting with people you know casually or total strangers, you will come away from this workshop better equipped for action and growth. We also will have a short business meeting to learn about and approve our budget for 2019, to approve a grant request and to elect a new co-convener.

When: Saturday, June 16, 2018: Gathering 8:45am; Meeting 9:00am-12:30pm; Lunch and fellowship approximately 11:45am

Where: Hebron House, Mt. Hebron Presbyterian Church, 2330 Mt. Hebron Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21042

RSVP: WSS Ministry <wssmgbaltpres@gmail.com> Please reply as soon as possible so we can get an accurate count of participants.

WSSMG Solicits Grant Requests from Member Churches 

 Process for Grant Requests

Step 1: Download fillable form, save and rename. After completion, save and attach form to a new email and send to wssmgbaltpres@gmail.com. Each request must include a justification for how the funds will be used. The justification will need to show clearly how the funds will advance one or more of the objectives for which ministry groups were created. These are:

• Christian formation and leadership development;
• Congregational development;
• Missional engagement with the communities;
• Prophetic witness and action for reconciliation;
• The creation of new faith communities.

Requests for grants should be signed by the pastor or clerk of session with approval of the session, as necessary.

Step 2: Submit the request to the WSSMG convener(s) by email. Once received, the conveners will review the request with the WSSMG Steering Team. The Steering Team will be responsible for determining if the request meets one or more of the goals outlined in Step 1 and if funds are available. The Steering team is not responsible for final approvals. 

Step 3: When the Steering Team has cleared a request, they will submit it to the WSSMG at the next regularly scheduled gathering for discussion and decision on whether to approve the request. Members present at the meeting will prayerfully consider and cast their votes concerning the request. These votes will be considered the decision of the WSSMG, regardless of the number of congregations present.

Step 4: Once a congregation has received approval for a grant request, they should not wait for funds to be delivered to them. Rather, they should spend the money from their own resources and submit an invoice or other documentation of their expenses to the Presbytery with a copy to the WSSMG convener(s) for reimbursement. If the congregation requires the funds prior to performing the project due to hardship or some other reason, they will need to notify the Presbytery of their reasons and request in writing advance issuance of the funds, including pricing details. Once the congregation has spent the funds, they still will need to provide documentation with a copy to the convener(s) of what they have spent.

Step 5: The congregation receiving a grant will be expected to report the outcome of their use of the funds at a future meeting. It is both uplifting and a means of sharing ideas with other congregations when we jointly celebrate the good news of how we are doing the work of Jesus Christ with our sister congregations.

Additional Considerations:

• Although it is not absolutely required, it is certainly a sign of serious and faithful stewardship when the congregation requesting a grant uses some of their own resources in the project in the form of their own money and time. You should indicate in your request how much of your own money, if any, and time will be used.

• If there is potential for other congregations within the WSSMG or Presbytery to join in a project for which the funds will be used, a statement of how other congregations might share in the ministry or project should be included with the request.