Messenger | February 26, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Homebound Communion
• WoodsWork 2025
• Get Ready for VBS!
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame Tickets on Sale Now
• We’re Looking for a Director of Operations
• WCDC Seeks Preschool Teacher
  

Pastor's Message

Friends, this Sunday, March 2, we will be having a single worship service at 9:30 am, followed by a Congregational Meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to receive and act upon the report from the Congregational Nominating Committee about whom they have discerned is called to ordained ministry here at Woods Church as Elders and Deacons, as well as members of an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee to search for our next associate pastor upon the retirement of the Rev. Nancy Lincoln Reynolds later this year. We also will be electing members of the Congregational Nominating Committee itself. This seems like a good moment to remember what all goes into this work and why it is so important.

Presbyterians hold the right of the people to discern and elect their own leaders to be sacrosanct. While almost everything in the life of a Presbyterian congregation is ultimately under the authority of Session, the leadership of the church is chosen directly by the congregation. You, as the congregation, elect the Nominating Committee, and then it is the Nominating Committee’s job to go out and look for those within the congregation who have the gifts, skills, vision, passion, and faith to fulfill the office(s) in question, and at this particular time in the life of our congregation. Typically, they begin their work in the early fall, which includes both their own internal conversation about potential candidates and your suggestions that come in through the written nomination process that we do every fall. After a number of conversations, they begin establishing a list of those whom they think are best to ask, and then go out and ask them if they would consider serving.

Not everyone who is asked to serve agrees with the nominating committee’s assessment of their call to service! But that is both fine and to be expected. In the Presbyterian Church, we understand a calling to have three elements:

• The providential call: the gifts and skills to do the work involved;
• The personal call: the individual having a sense that they are called by God to use those providential gifts in a particular ministry; and
• The congregational call: the church itself recognizing those gifts and issuing the call to the individual.

If any one of those three elements is missing, for any office, then it is not a true call, at least for that moment. In presenting its report, the Congregational Nominating Committee is declaring that they have found the first two elements of call to be in place for the people they are nominating. It is up to you, the congregation, to confirm that the congregational call is also present, which is the significance of your vote on Sunday. Following this call on Sunday, those elected will proceed with a period of training that will be validated by the Session later this spring, and then an ordination and installation service will be scheduled for them. But for this week, we are focusing on issuing that congregational call through the elections.

You will be receiving an email this week the list of people that this year’s Congregational Nominating Committee is bringing for your consideration and potential election to serve. Please take the time to review those carefully, to consider them, and pray over them and our nomination process.

Please also take a moment to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the faithfulness and hard work of your Congregational Nominating Committee over these months of discernment. I want to say a special word of thanks for Elder Jenny Henry and her indefatigable leadership as chair of the committee. I look forward to being with you in the meeting on Sunday, and to us taking up this crucial and sacred responsibility in the life of the church.

Peace and blessings,

—Pastor J.C.

Church News

Homebound Communion

Homebound Communion will be offered on Sunday, March 2, following our 9:30AM service. If you would like to be included or know of anyone in the congregation who might enjoy having communion brought to their home, contact Maureen Adams at 410.647.2550 or madams@woodschurch.org

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

The Deacons of Woods Church invite you to a fun-filled St. Patrick’s Dinner with great food, laughter, and fellowship. Wear your green and bring your appetite—we can’t wait to entertain you with story time and fun activities for our children, bag piper and kilt demonstration, dancing, music, sing-a-longs, and more!

Ticket prices are $20 adults, $10 for children 12 and under, $60 max per family. Tickets are available after worship in Fellowship Hall or online.

Mission News

Adult Mission Trip to Richmond

We are looking for 10+ participants for a mission trip to Richmond, Virginia, to work with the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity affiliate, Monday–Saturday, April 28–May 3.



Education & Small Groups

Israel-Palestine Series Concludes Next Sunday

Please join Adult Education on Sunday, March 2, 11AM–12PM, in Room 208, for the final installment of our Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation series led by Dr. Bill Hadley. We will discuss where is the confrontation is heading. Registration is not required.

New Adult Class This March

Please join Adult Education for a six-part series, Sunday, March 9–April 13, on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The twentieth century produced many interesting and provocative theologians. Among the most influential is Dietrich Bonhoeffer of Germany. He lived concurrently with Adolf Hitler and was among Hitler's most insistent critics. He was imprisoned in January 1943 and hanged on April 8, 1945. In 1937 he wrote his most famous book, Discipleship, which has two central themes: Grace and Obedience.



Please join us as we take a look at this remarkable man and his understanding of theology. Classes will be led by Greg Hubert and held in Room 208 from 11AM–12PM. No registration is required.

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.

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 Ministry

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Tickets on Sale Now

Woods Church will present The Hunchback of Notre Dame the weekends of March 28–30 & April 4–6.

What makes a monster and what makes a man? Step into the heart of Paris and experience the powerful tale of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This evocative musical, inspired by Victor Hugo’s classic novel and the acclaimed Disney animated film, brings to life the story of love, acceptance, and heroism set against the backdrop of the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. Join us as we follow Quasimodo, the gentle bell-ringer of Notre Dame, and his journey to find acceptance and love in a world that shuns him. Alongside the courageous Esmeralda and the conflicted Claude Frollo, the story unfolds with themes of compassion, justice, the resilience of the human spirit, and finding your sanctuary.

Purchase tickets at www.woodstix.org. Questions? Email Pam Ward at pward@woodschurch.org.

Church Family News

Employment Opportunity

Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church has a staff opening for a Director of Operations. The new position is responsible for overseeing the property, finance, and human resource functions of the church. Candidates must have skills/experience in property management, basic accounting/bookkeeping, organization/communication, and information technology.



For more information and to apply, please visit woodschurch.org/jobs.

WCDC Seeks Preschool Teacher

Woods Child Development Center is seeking a passion

ate and dedicated preschool teacher to join our educational team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in early childhood education and a commitment to fostering a nurturing and stimulating learning environment for young children. This role involves developing and implementing age-appropriate curricula that promote childhood development, while also ensuring the welfare of each child in our care. The ideal candidate will have completed the 90-hour pre-service training and have experience with preschool-aged children. This full-time position provides a pleasant working environment with generous benefits.

Please contact Roxann Bartone at rbartone@woodscdc.org with questions.

Support Our Bagel Ministry

In the 2025 new year, please consider supporting the Woods Bagel Ministry. The ministry offers bagels every Sunday after each service. You can honor or celebrate a person or special occasion of your choice. It is supported through your generosity and donations are $100. Your financial gift allows us to welcome all into fellowship.

To request a date, please email Kathie Hamlett at khamlett@woodschurch.org or stop by after worship on any Sunday.



"For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."—Matthew 18:20

Counseling & Care Center Offerings

Life Purpose Course 2.0 Offered in March 2025

We are offering the Life Purpose Course again this year. At times, all of us must make some choices about what to do next. This may happen around retirement, or kids leaving the nest, or a career change, or after the loss of a loved one.

This program helps one find their passions. We’ve all experienced the fulfillment that comes from doing something we are passionate about. We explore values, interests, spirituality, and energy (consciousness). We look at how others see us when we are passionate. You are then able to combine the feedback from the tools and assessments with small group discussions. We learn from each other.

This year we are adding a segment on energy. We all have positive and negative energy, and the interplay between them affects how we see the world. Some things to consider:

• Do things beyond your control create stress?
• What would it be like to be able to create your own joy?
• Often awareness can be generative and create positive energy

We’ll start the program on Sunday, March 2, 4–6PM, in the large meeting room of the WCCC. We have received a grant from the Center to cover the costs of assessments. There is a nominal $25 fee for administrative items. No one is turned away.

To sign up, email Maureen Adams at madams@woodschurch.org or contact Bill Daniel at bill@billdaniel.org or 410.570.8500.

A Moment of Prayer

Loving and all present God, we are thankful that you see the big picture of our world and our lives. We know that you have plans for each one of us and we pray that we may know them and follow faithfully where you lead us. Let us reflect your love in Christ in all that we are and all that we do.

Amen.