Messenger | February 21, 2023

This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Communion at Home
• St. Patrick’s Day Fellowship
• Holy Week & Easter Services
• Greeters Needed for Easter
• WoodsWork Registration is Open
• Peep Report
• Jammies & Jesus Returns Soon!
• VBS Registration is Open

Pastor's Message

Dear Friends and Family of Woods Church,

Think for a moment about someone of whom you would say "This is a truly generous person." Generosity invariably involves much more than finances. Generous people are generous and gracious with their time, with the attention they lavish on others, with the way they make space in their own lives to respond to the needs of others. Generosity is truly a wonderful virtue.

Money is but one venue for generosity. Kindness is an even more valuable currency.

—Alan Cohen

To be a generous person requires a willingness to quiet the voices and self-focused demands in your own head long enough to allow another person's situation to enter in. Generous people are almost always good listeners—and in today's hectic world, that is truly a welcome attribute.

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

—Simone Weil

The example of Christ challenges us to remember that we are to give to others without hope of reciprocity. Whether that is a financial gift, a handwritten note, or a phone call to check in with someone who's isolated and lonely, the worth of these acts always exceeds their literal costs.

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

—John Bunyan

Since Lent is a season for intentional acts of faithfulness, strive to be generous in the days ahead. What better way to walk alongside our Lord who endured a cross and then emerged from a tomb so that we might know the depth and generosity of God's love for us?

You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Blessings to you this Lenten season,

Pastor Randy

Church News

Communion at Home

We will be offering communion to those who are homebound on Sunday, March 10. If you would like to receive the elements of Communion to participate virtually from home, contact Maureen Adams by calling the church office at 410.647.2550 or emailing madams@woodschurch.org.

St. Patrick’s Day Fellowship

Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day with us on Sunday, March 17, in Fellowship Hall. Join your Woods friends for themed snacks and fellowship after our 9:30AM and 11AM services. This will replace the previously advertised dinner.

"May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go."

Holy Week & Easter Services

Join us during Holy Week as we complete our Lenten journey together. And worship with us on Easter Sunday as we celebrate the good news of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Maundy Thursday | March 28, 7:30PM

Good Friday | March 29, 7:30PM

Easter Sunrise | March 31, 6:30AM

Holy Grounds Amphitheater

Easter Sunday Services | March 31

8AM Traditional Service

9:30AM Traditional Service

9:30AM Interactive Family Service

11AM Contemporary Service

For more information, click the button to view our Lent brochure.

Greeters Needed for Easter

On Easter Sunday, please consider warmly welcoming our Woods church members, their families, and visitors that may be seeking a church home. We have many greeting opportunities on Easter and they are listed below:

• 6:30AM Sunrise Service, 2 greeters
• 8AM Traditional Service, 2–4 greeters
• 9:30AM Services, 4–6 greeters
• 11AM Contemporary Service, 2–4 greeters

Please email Nancy Nolan at msmum@sent.com, call 410.544.8378, or text 443.822.4081 if you’re able to help

Support the Cecelia McKay Good Neighbor Fund

In the 2023 calendar year, through your blessed generosity, the Cecelia McKay Good Neighbor Fund provided 94 individuals / families with financial assistance to keep them from getting evicted or having a utility shut off (averaging 8 a month)! Our guidelines say we can assist once a year; and only 17 of the 94 have ever asked for our help sometime in the past. There were a total of 318 requests for assistance, but our financial help (averaging $253 per request) was to those who were within (or close to) our designated boundaries (Arnold, Severna Park, Millersville, Pasadena) and some others who were the most needy.

In January 2024, we received 24 calls for assistance and were able to distribute more than $2700 to 11 needy recipients.

The Cecelia McKay Good Neighbor Fund is not a budget item; it relies on directed donations from you! This is an important Woods Outreach to our close by community! No donation is too small. Click on the "Give" button on the church website (woodschurch.org) and select Cecelia McKay Fund from the pulldown menu.

"If there is among you anyone in need. You should open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need." (Deuteronomy 15: 7–8)

Education & Small Groups

Lenten Journeys: From Grief to Gratitude

The Camino de Santiago is one of Christianity’s oldest pilgrimages, dating back to the tenth century. Millions of pilgrims have traveled this route to connect with something larger than themselves. They seek healing, redemption, understanding, and grace. With the Camino as the backdrop, this course explores the journey one pilgrim has taken, from grief to gratitude.

At 11AM on Sundays, through March 24, Woods member Kathy Lohff will share personal experiences from her journey on the Camino de Santiago while reviewing the nature and lure of spiritual pilgrimages across time. Join us in Room 208 or on Zoom. Please note, the 5:30PM session has been canceled.

For more information, please contact Kathy Lohff at kathylohff@msn.com or Sarah Wilson at swilson@woodschurch.org.

Youth News

WoodsWork Registration is Open

WoodsWork registration is open! All rising 8th graders through graduated 12th graders are invited and encouraged to join us on our building trip to Roanoke, Virginia, June 18–26.

Children's News

Peep Report

Our eggs are happy and humid in their incubator. We are watching them for signs of new life! It’s part of how we remember Easter is coming!

Continue the Conversation at Home

Let's Continue the Conversation at Home about anointing. Our story in Sunday School was about Jesus' anointing with perfume. Anointing was a way of setting someone apart, for blessing, or for demonstrating that they were chosen. David was anointed king, for example, when he was a young boy. Of course, then he went back and took care of the sheep, because that was his job.

Sometimes we anoint babies as part of their baptism. A minister makes the sign of a cross with a thumb dipped in olive oil. "You are sealed as Christ's own forever..." you might hear. YOU are chosen!

Our story today is about a girl who wants to write the best story! It is The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli. The girl asks her brother, her father, and her sister what makes the best story. They give her quite a list! Then, her mother asks what does SHE think makes the best story. So the girl writes the story inside of her. It is HER story. That's what makes it the best story, for her.

Lent is a great time to look inside of you and see what is YOUR story? What do you care about? How can you be part of the story of God's people? Now THAT is a great story...the story of you living as a beloved child of God. I cannot wait to hear that story!

Jammies & Jesus Returns Soon!

Pretty soon it will be CRUNCH time! Captain Crunch that is. Jammies and Jesus will be back for the spring/summer/fall sports seasons. Are you traveling or hitting the ball field? Did you catch the bug going around school? Don't worry! Our online Sunday School class is coming back on April 7, 8–8:15AM. We pray, eat breakfast, hear a Bible story, and tell a silly joke or two. Then we say the Lord's Prayer and finish with a dance party!

VBS Registration is Open

VBS 2024 will be held July 15–18, 4–7PM, for all children 3-years-old to 5th grade. Come explore how Jesus practices justice, model’s kindness, and walks humbly with God. Children will explore lessons on mercy, compassion, generosity, and encouragement through songs, art, gardening, and story time. The cost is $50 per child with a maximum of $100 per family. Dinner is included for registrants, and we welcome family members to come share a meal with us at 6:30PM. Extra meal tickets will be available for additional family members for $5 per person per night.

Music News

The Secret Garden

Come and experience this beautiful musical, March 8–10 & 15–17, 7:30PM! This is a truly poignant and uplifting story about love, hope, and finding one's home. The story follows that of 12-year-old Mary Lennox, and her journey in finding her home: The Secret Garden. Within the church, we will use the imagery of a garden to represent our church and church community, as we nurture one another, grow and learn together, and guide each other along the way. We have incredible vocalists from the surrounding area, professional choreography, and beautiful lighting!

Tickets are $15; doors open at 7PM. For more information, please visit our ticket website at www.woodstix.org.

Church Family News

Prayers for Carolyn Watkins and Family

Our thoughts and prayers are with Carolyn Watkins, and family, as her sister, the Rev. Veronica Wells, died on Tuesday, February 20. If you would like to send a card sharing your condolences for Carolyn and her family, please drop them off at the church office, or mail them to the church at 611 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd., Severna Park, MD 21146.

Congregational Prayer

God of ancient covenants and present-day promises, your steadfast love and faithfulness are still new every morning. During the gift of this day, help me to treat others—family, friends, coworkers, classmates, and even strangers—with love and mercy in our encounters. Open my eyes to the places, people, and circumstances in which your kingdom has truly come near. Renew a right spirit within me this Lenten season, in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.



Amen.