Messenger | April 16, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Holy Week Services
• Help Provide Medical MAP PACKS for Malawi
• New Adult Education Class Begins on April 27
• Pastors’ Bible Study Resumes Next Week
• WoodsWork 2025
• Get Ready for VBS
• A Night at the Opera
• Langton Green Produce Baskets
• Federally Impacted Listening Series
• Gear Up for Softball Season
• Woods Seeks Coordinator for Children’s and Youth Ministry
  

Pastor's Message

Friends, I am really looking forward to my first Holy Week as your pastor! As I mentioned last week, we have special services planned for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. In doing so, we are participating in the ancient cycle of services that the ecumenical church has followed for centuries, which has historically been called the “Triduum,” which is simply Latin for “three days.” If you’ve ever wondered why tradition says Jesus was raised on the third day, it’s because the Triduum follows the Jewish tradition of marking days beginning with sunset rather than sunrise, since all of Jesus’ followers that were with him through the events of Holy Week were, of course, Jewish.

That means the first day begins on the evening of Maundy Thursday, in which we recall the institution of the Lord’s Supper and Christ’s “new commandment” that we love one another just as Christ has loved us (the word “Maundy” comes from the Latin for “mandate” or “commandment”). We will observe Maundy Thursday with a Communion service at 7:30PM that will include prayers, music, and dramatic monologues from “disciples” recalling their experiences of that night, and will be available both in person and online.

The second night of the Triduum begins on Friday night, which we observe as Good Friday with a Service of Tenebrae. Tenebrae is Latin for “darkness,” and that is what the service involves. The focus of this year’s service will be on Jesus’ last words in sequence, along with hymns or anthems and time for silent reflection. After each passage is read, a candle on the Communion table is extinguished and the lights of the Sanctuary are lowered, until only the Christ candle is left. It is then processed out of the Sanctuary, symbolizing the light of Christ going out of the world at his death, and the Sanctuary is left in total darkness until the service concludes, at which point, enough light is returned to safely exit in silence. It is a very moving service, and I hope you can join in person or online.

Holy Saturday, in many ways, is the forgotten time of the Triduum, but this was not always the case. It is actually the oldest part of Christian Holy Week observances, going back to the early observances of the ancient church, and before the Middle Ages, it was the best-attended service of the year! It was a vigil that began Saturday evening, went all night with prayer, and then ended at dawn with a celebration of Communion on Easter morning. If you want to experience this, though, you will need to visit our friends at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church or St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church here in Severna Park—the Easter Vigil has never been common in Presbyterian churches.

Easter, of course, will be celebrated with a multitude of services, including a Sunrise service led by our youth at 6:30AM, Traditional services at 8AM and 9:30AM, and a Contemporary service at 11AM, as well as a Family Service at 9:30AM in Fellowship Hall. In each of these services, we will gather in person and online to give thanks to God that “Christ is risen; he is risen indeed!”

And that will end our observance of the Triduum, which officially concludes Sunday evening, the end of the third day. I hope you will participate in as many of these rich Holy Week offerings as you are able. I look forward to completing our journey through Lent and Holy Week and to celebrating Christ’s resurrection with you on Easter!

Peace and blessings,

—Pastor J.C.

Church News

Mission News

Help Provide Medical MAP PACKS for Malawi

We each have an opportunity to help supply medications and medical supplies for the mobile medical clinics of Ministry of Hope (MOH) Malawi. A Woods team is traveling to MOH in July, and we are able to take Medical Mission MAP PACKS with us. Each RX pack contains at least 300 treatments that are typically needed in developing countries. The packs provide thousands of dollars’ worth of medicine and supplies for medical mission teams at a cost of $200 per pack, plus about $50–$75 per pack for freight to Maryland.

If you are able to contribute to providing these necessary medicines to children and adults in villages where the only health care access is the monthly MOH mobile clinic, the team and MOH will be so grateful. You may contribute a monetary gift of any size at the Missions table in Fellowship Hall each Sunday in April, online through Realm, or in the church office.

For more information, call or email Pat Johnson at 443.994.3201 or paj10041949@gmail.com. To see more about MOH, visit www.ministryofhope.org.

For information on RX Packs, see www.map.org.

A Message From Cuba with Love

“We have just received the food. Many thanks to the community of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church for sharing with the brothers and sisters of Sancti Spíritus. Thanks be to God such love.”

Education & Small Groups

New Adult Education Class Begins on April 27

Adult Education will be offering a new study on Sundays, April 27–June 8, 11AM, featuring The Call: The Life of the Apostle Paul by Adam Hamilton.

Follow the journeys of Paul, beginning with his dramatic conversion, as he spread the Gospel through modern-day Greece and Turkey. Travel to the early church sites and explore Paul’s conversations with the new believers. In this six-week study, you are invited to experience faith through Christ’s greatest teacher and missionary.

Join us in the Office Conference Room and on Zoom. Books are available in the office.

Pastors’ Bible Study

Lead Pastor J.C. Austin and Associate Pastor Nancy Lincoln Reynolds offer a weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays, 12PM, to examine the upcoming Sunday’s scripture readings before they are presented in worship.

Please note, there will be no Pastors’ Bible Study next Wednesday, April 23.

Join us on Zoom and gain a new understanding of scripture and enhance your worship experience.

Youth News

WoodsWork 2025

WoodsWork 2025 is headed to Nelsonville, Ohio, this summer and all high school youth are invited! This house-building mission trip will be June 19–27, and registration is open now! Click the button below to sign up! For more information, download the flier!



Children's News

Get Ready for VBS!

Register today for Vacation Bible Study! This year’s program will be held July 14–17, 4–7PM, with dinner at 6:30PM.

Music Notes

A Night at the Opera

Join us Saturday, May 10, for an enchanting evening of music and fine dining! Over a delicious spaghetti dinner, enjoy performances by talented opera singers: Soprano Kimberly Christie, Bass/Baritone Jason Buckwalter, Bass Shouvik Mondle, Alto Jennifer Cooper, and Tenor David Merrill as they serenade you with popular opera arias and classic musical theater songs.

Dinner Menu: Spaghetti, salad, bread, and dessert

Doors Open: 5:30PM

️Dinner Begins: 6PM

Performance Starts: 6:30PM

️Tickets: $25

For questions, please email Pam Ward at pward@woodschurch.org.

Church Family News

Woods Seeks Coordinator for Children’s and Youth Ministry

Woods is seeking a dedicated, organized individual to serve as Coordinator for our Children’s and Youth Ministry. This is a part-time job, 25 hours per week, with hours to include Sunday mornings.

The Coordinator will assist the Director of Children's Ministry as well as the Director of Youth Ministry in planning and implementing programs to engage the young people of Woods Church in their spiritual formation.

Click the button below to view the job description. Interested applicants should contact Kat Green at kgreen@woodschurch.org.

In Our Community

Langton Green Produce Baskets

Langton Green, one of our mission partners, is an Anne Arundel County–based residential community that supports neurodivergent adults. They are offering produce baskets from June–October. For more information, see the attached flyer

Gear Up for Softball Season

The Greater Severna Park Coed Church Softball League is once again entering its spring season. No experience required and you already made the team! Qualifications include: you must bring a smile, and be at least 16 years of age by December 31. No full-time commitment is necessary.

Come check it out! The first game will be held on Sunday, April 27, 2PM, at Cypress #1. If you are interested, contact Andrew Wiley at 443.867.8803 or wileyas1@gmail.com.

If you are thinking… “there's no way I can participate... I am way out of shape...,” don't worry, you’ll fit right in! Although the GSPCCSL may sound super legit, it’s actually just a bunch of post-prime athletes working to stay young. You’ll have fun!

A Moment of Prayer

Gracious and Loving God,

In the observances and celebrations of Holy Week, I come before you with a heart filled with wonder, reverence, gratitude, and hope.

As I follow Christ on the road to Calvary, help me to feel the power of Your love:

• A love that chose solidarity with those who are marginalized and suffering;
• A love that confronted those who are powerful with dignity and truth;
• A love that endured ridicule, torture, shame, and even death;
• A love that overcomes any obstacle or barrier to claiming us as your children and blessing us with abundant and eternal life.

On this path of Holy Week, strip away the distractions that dull my heart. Help me to walk slowly, attentively, remembering each step you took through Christ for me.

On Maundy Thursday, let me love and serve, as Christ knelt to wash feet and break bread.

On Good Friday, let me sit at the foot of the cross, in silence, in sorrow, in hope.

And on Easter morning, let me rise renewed in faith, emboldened by grace, a witness to Christ’s resurrection in my life and in the world.

Through Christ our Risen Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.