Messenger | July 10, 2024

This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Second Sunday Fellowship
• Homebound Communion
• Stewardship Update
• Save the Date: Woods Holiday Bazaar
• Mission Trip to Guatemala
• Journey to Our Sister Church in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
• Film and Faith
• Softball: Woods Church  vs. Heritage Church

Pastor's Message

Here we are in the middle of summer with heat bearing down upon us. With temperatures consistently in the 90s we may wonder about the ultimate impacts of climate change and the future of our environment.

I decided to look at fluctuating temperatures from God’s perspective, and found that God has more to say about our own faith temperatures than that of the Earth’s. Genesis 8:22 tells us that “as long as the Earth continues, planting and harvest, hot and cold, summer and winter, day and night will not stop.” (There’s probably a sermon in that passage.)

While the beginning of the Bible seems to encourage persistent external temperatures, the end focuses on internal matters of the heart—and the prognosis is not encouraging. In Revelation 3:15–16, God warns, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

We are told that being lukewarm in our faith implies that one is average—not serving God with energy and enthusiasm.

As the gardeners, staff, and volunteers at Woods Church work feverishly to “water“ our grounds, let us do so with an energy and enthusiasm that is not lukewarm, sustaining us even in the hottest of days and serving others in the name of Christ.

In a few months, the season will change to fall, along with the temperatures. Let us choose to continue that energy for God who knows no change, but endures forever.

Blessings and Peace,

—Pastor Nancy

Church News

Second Sunday Fellowship

Remember to "Pop In" to Fellowship Hall after worship on Sunday, July 14, for our Second Sunday celebration! Our sponsors are the Welcome Ministry and the Finance Ministry. Enjoy a POPcorn bar with toppings/add-ins, POPsicles, lolliPOPs, and more! Also, Carolyn Watkins will be making her famous chicken salad!

Families will enjoy a fishing game and being fishers, like Jesus' disciples. The Children's Ministry and Elementary Sunday School kids will share their snacks and their Sunday School offering with a mission partner that the children identify from their Matthew 25 Mission Workbook.

Homebound Communion

Homebound Communion will be offered on Sunday, July 21. Recipients may choose to have the elements dropped off the week before for those who watch services online and prefer to have communion by intinction, or have them administered by a deacon following the 9:30AM service on July 21.

If you would like to be included or know of anyone in the congregation who might enjoy having communion brought to their home, please contact Maureen Adams at 410.647.2550 or email her at madams@woodschurch.org.

Stewardship Update

This Stewardship season, our Clouds of Witnesses have pledged $1,264,231, which represents 82% of our $1,540,000 goal. Thank you so much for your continued support of Woods missions.



If you have not done so already, please make your pledge online at woodschurch.org or fill out a pledge card in the front office.

From Generation To Generation: Woods Child Development Center Marks 70 Years

Up a long driveway in the heart of Severna Park sits a wooden church surrounded by boxed gardens and blooming flowers. During the week, Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church doubles as an accredited preschool for children ages 2–4 in the Severna Park area. The name of the school is Woods Child Development Center (WCDC), and this year, WCDC reached a remarkable milestone: its 70th anniversary.

Sing with Our Summer Choir

Come and sing with us on these summer Sundays: July 21, July 28, August 18, and September 1. Members of the Adult Choir will meet at 8:45AM in the Sanctuary to rehearse an anthem, and then sing it for worship!

It’s fun, easy, and a great way to lend your voice over the summer! For more information, please email David Merrill at dmerrill@woodschurch.org.

Summer Worship Schedule

Join us for worship on Sundays this summer for a blended service at 9:30AM. This single-service will continue through Kick-Off Sunday, September 8.



We're Looking for an Accountant

Woods Church is looking to hire an accountant—someone to maintain the various church funds and accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and the church’s Financial Policies & Procedures Manual. This is a benefit eligible, 40-hour per week position. Knowledge of accounting software and Microsoft Office applications required.

If you’re interested in this position, please contact John McLaughlin at 410.647.2550 x335 or jmclaughlin@woodschurch.org.

Mission News

Mission Trip to Guatemala

Are you interesting in participating in a mission trip with Baltimore Presbytery to the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA) in Guatemala, November 2–9? The trip will focus on causes of immigration, as well as visits to CEDEPCA programs that support women and families, efforts to reduce emigration and domestic violence, and projects to provide sustainable employment within the country.

If you would like more information, email Sher at sheratkinson@earthlink.net or call at 410.647.4824.

Journey to Our Sister Church in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba

Come meet our brothers and sisters in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, November 6–13! If you’re interested and would like more information, please contact Marty Clayton at mclayton@breezeline.net.

Children's News

Film and Faith!

Our new high school youth Bible study Film and Faith! will be meeting throughout the summer, every Tuesday night , 7PM. Each week, we will be looking at scripture through the lens of some of our favorite movies! (We’ll gather immediately following Tuesday Night Thrive!). We hope to see you there!

For more information, contact Oliver Page at opage@woodschurch.org.

WoodsWork Prayer Leaves

Our whole church—adults and children—prayed for our WoodsWork youth and adults! Each leaf has a leader or youth's name on it. Stop by and see them on Oliver Page's office door!

Continue the Conversation at Home

Let's Continue the Conversation at Home from Sunday morning. We were talking about how the church grows. We talked about who helps us learn about God. In worship, we thought about how Eunice and her son Timothy helped the church grow. It is kind of like when you drop a pebble into a puddle of water, or a still pond. You can see the circles go out a long ways.

That reminds me of Brad Montague’s book, The Circles All Around Us. We find out that we can draw a circle of just us, but we can add another circle, then another circle, and so many more circles! Do you have a "faith circle?" It could be your family when you pray at meals or before bedtime. It could be your Sunday School class or people who worship with you.

I wonder, who can you add to your circle? How can you help people know that God loves them?

Friends, I hope to see you on Sunday AND Monday AND Tuesday AND Wednesday AND Thursday...because next week is VBS!

You know what I say? VB-YES!

In Our Community

Woods Church vs. St. Margaret's

This week, our softball team will take the field against St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church at Cypress #1 on Sunday, July 7, 2PM. If you’d like to play, contact Andrew Wiley at 443.867.8803 or wileyas1@gmail.com.

No experience required! Players must be at least 16 years of age as of December 31, 2023. Play as your schedule permits.

A Moment of Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you for the many blessings in our lives and we are especially grateful for the freedoms given to us in this land. Let us be intentionally aware of all we have been provided, and enable us to be generous in sharing and in serving. We pray this week for all who are charged with responsibility for maintaining this country, asking that you grant them wisdom, discernment and a desire to do what is right according to your call to each one of us individually and as a nation.

Amen.