Messenger | March 13, 2023

This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• The Secret Garden
• Holy Week & Easter Services
• Stephen Ministry Training
• One Great Hour of Sharing
• Savvy Seniors
• Adult Mission Trip with Habitat for Humanity
• VBS Registration is Open
• Art Gallery: A Stitch in Time

Pastor's Message

Dear Friends and Family of Woods Church,

Many years ago, I was privileged to be at a clergy meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He is a gracious man with a perpetual, mischievous twinkle in his eye. Over the years, I've loved certain quotes from him, such as "We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners and God's standards are quite low." On this occasion, I remember him asking, "What was God before God was a Christian?"



That's an amazing question to toss out to a room full of ministers. On one level, if Christ is the eternal Son of God, then Jesus was always a part of God and therefore God was always a Christian. However, it is also true that Jesus entered into human history at a specific point in time, so chronologically there were literally millennia before Jesus' birth when God was something other than a "Christian."

Tutu wasn't looking for a definitive answer to his question, because as soon as he said it, he went right on to say, "Instead of worrying about who's admitted into heaven, I believe we are to help God care for the wonderfully diverse, global family."

In this Sunday's sermon, I'm going to talk about what it means to be a Presbyterian. Most of us know far too little about our own denomination's history and beliefs, which means we tend to see each church as interchangeable with every other church. Yet God has worked in our individual lives and our denominational lives in distinctive ways, lifting up gifts that align with followers of Christ in one place and time while highlighting different gifts among believers in other places and times. God's mischievous streak is to spread love and grace as widely as possible in a range of languages, cultures, and geographies so that all the world may be redeemed.

So even as we'll be talking about what it means to be a Presbyterian, in the end (with Archbishop Tutu), our response is, "Y'know, I'm not so much worried about who is getting into heaven, as much as I'm trying faithfully, humbly, personally to help God care for this wonderful global family." Lent is about getting our priorities straight, so that when Easter dawns, we're ready to share the good news with any and with all.

See you in church!

Pastor Randy

Church News

The Secret Garden

There are three more chances for you to see this beautiful musical, March 15, 16, & 17, 7:30PM! This amazing production is an uplifting story about love, hope, and finding one's home. The story follows the journey of a 12-year-old orphan, Mary Lennox, and the healing she brings to her distant relatives through The Secret Garden. Within the church, we are emphasizing the imagery of a garden as a symbol of our church community as we nurture one another, grow together, and remember the Easter good news of life being victorious over death. The production features incredible vocalists, professional choreography, and beautiful lighting.

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

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, download our Lent brochure.

Greeters Needed for Easter

We’re in need of people who are willing to volunteer as greeters on Good Friday and Easter Sunday to warmly welcome our Woods church members, their families, and visitors that may be seeking a church home. Opportunities are listed below:

• 7:30PM Good Friday Service, 2 greeters
• 11AM Contemporary Service, 3 greeters

Email Nancy Nolan at msmum@sent.com, call 410.544.8378, or text 443.822.4081 for details.

New Round of Stephen Ministry Training

We began a new series of Stephen Ministry training classes on February 23. This is a rigorous program designed to train new Stephen Ministers, lasting 50 hours over about four months. The teachers include Stephen Leaders Susan Cooper, Stacey Hilder, Rev. John Dunham, and Elder Bill Hadley. The trainees are Rev. John Benson, Phyllis Beardmore, Randy Fisher, Beth Hadley, and Bill Hadley. Bill is already trained as a Stephen Ministry leader and is seeking to become a full-fledged Stephen Minister by way of the current training underway. The trainees, once graduated, will be joining the current Stephen Ministers already in place at Woods. We have graduation planned for Sunday, June 7, and commissioning during one of the church services that day.

The training explores a wide range of issues from The Art of Listening, Christian Care Giving, Confidentiality, Grief Counseling, Depression, and Suicide, among others. Stephen Ministers are church lay leaders who are trained to meet confidentially with those confronting life’s challenges—death of a child or spouse, divorce, financial hardship, and other crises—to help them think through issues and seek God’s help in resolving them. Our goal as Stephen Ministers is to listen attentively to issues raised by our care receivers and explore them in depth. We then pray with our care receivers for the Lord’s guidance in seeking to resolve the issues under discussion. We meet weekly for an hour or so with those in need.

In the past, Woods Church has had an active Stephen Ministry program. Like many other such programs around the country, the COVID pandemic has had a negative impact on our work. With the pandemic now largely under control, we are seeking to revive our program with the training class now underway. Depending on interest, we may seek to run another training class this fall.

If you are interested, please contact Bill Hadley at 443.668.2551 or billhdly@gmail.com, Rev. John Dunham at 520.237.3638 or johndunham46@gmail.com, Sue Cooper at 410.544.7281 or scoop21146@gmail.com, or Stacey Hilder at 410.647.7041 or staciahilder@gmail.com.

Home Communion

This past Sunday, a total of 24 people were served communion "beyond the walls of Woods." Eighteen received pre-packaged communion elements and six were served in person. This ministry by our Deacons and other volunteers helps the home-bound remain connected to the sacramental life of our congregation.

Current plans are to offer in-home communion again on Sunday, July 21.

March PNC Update

After many remote interviews, the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) engaged a recruiting consultant who presented a slate of potential candidates. All have passed Committee on Ministry Presbyter Reference Checks. We have interviewed all of the candidates and are proceeding with in person interviews.

Please continue to keep the PNC in your prayers as we work diligently on the important process of selecting a Head of Staff candidate to present to the congregation for its approval.

Support the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering

During Lent, we celebrate that God connects with us through Jesus' resurrection, and connects us with "those who have the least." One Great Hour of Sharing is the single, largest way that Presbyterians come together to work for a better world.

Each gift helps improve the lives of the suffering and the vulnerable through three life-saving programs: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), providing relief form natural disasters; Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), providing food for the hungry; and Self-Development of People (SDOP), providing support for the poor and oppressed.

Click the button below to support the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Remember, if we all give a little, it adds up to a lot!

Mission News

Adult Mission Trip with Habitat for Humanity

Woods is hosting an adult mission trip Monday–Saturday, April 1–6. We will travel to Richmond, Virginia, and work with the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity affiliate, RichmondHabitat.org.

If you’d like to volunteer with our group, spots are still available. Contact Scott Rundle at 443.458.2328 or srundle69@gmail.com for details.

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

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.

Peep Report

Continue the Conversation at Home

How would you want to spend your last day on Earth? Relaxing on the beach? Eating sweets?

Well, during Sunday School classes this past week, we read in John’s Gospel that during Jesus’ last 24 hours, he chose to…WASH PEOPLE’S DIRTY FEET!?!

At the time of the Last Supper, Jesus knew what the following day held in store for him. Yet, even in the final hours before his death, Jesus was thinking about his friends. He knew that big changes were coming, not just for himself, but for his disciples. He knew that the changes might be scary. So, he wanted to teach his disciples an important lesson—that in order to navigate the changes and challenges ahead, the disciples couldn’t just look out for themselves. They would have to put their fear and pride aside to love and serve OTHERS and to allow OTHERS to love and serve them in return.

When we think of a children’s book that ties in these lessons, the E.B. White classic, Charlotte’s Web, comes to mind. In that book, a grey spider named Charlotte understands that change is an inevitable part of life, but that loving one’s friends and being loved by them in return is what life is all about. She forges a strong friendship with Wilbur, a pig. She throws all of her energy, creativity and love into saving Wilbur’s life, but she also tries to prepare Wilbur for the changes that lie in store when she, herself, will no longer be with him. In the end, it is Wilbur—the one who had so often been cared for and taught by Charlotte—who cares for and teaches Charlotte’s babies when Charlotte, herself, cannot. Although changes abound, the circle is unbroken.

Education & Small Groups

Savvy Seniors

Have you given thought to relocating to an Independent Living facility? On Tuesday, March 19, 1:00–2:30PM, a professional representative from our neighbors at Sunrise will meet with us in Fellowship Hall to discuss what to expect in making a transition from your home to a new setting. Join us with your questions and enjoy the dialogue, refreshments and fellowship.

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.

Upcoming Events

Art Gallery: A Stitch in Time

The Woods Quilters art exhibit will be up through Monday, March 18. On Sunday, March 17, after the 9:30AM service, members of the Quilters group will be available in the gallery to discuss their work.

The Woods Quilters group was founded approximately 25 years ago and meets at the church on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 10AM. No skills are required except the love of fabric and fellowship. Our Quilters have aided in the making of the paraments that hang in the Church. Together we share new techniques, patterns, talents, and endeavors.

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.