Messenger | March 6, 2023

This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Communion at Home
• The Secret Garden Debuts
• It’s Time to Spring Forward
• Holy Week & Easter Services
• One Great Hour of Sharing
• Adult Mission Trip with Habitat for Humanity
• VBS Registration is Open
• History Moment: Baptismal Font

Pastor's Message

Dear Friends and Family of Woods Church,

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

There is a season of change all around us. This week you received a letter from Pastor Randy, Interim Pastor at Woods, and learned of significant change coming as his time with us concludes in a few weeks. Pastor Randy has been a blessing to our church family and we will continue to pray and be thankful for his ministry among us. He has helped enable our transition to the next chapter at Woods.

The temperatures outside are suggesting that Winter will surely change to Spring, that the earth will transform itself from brown to green signaling emerging new life. Even Daylight Savings Time announces change. All of this is wrapped in the anticipated onset of Easter where, once again, the Risen Lord changes everything.

While change can be uncomfortable and even threatening, some things never change. The persistent love of God and Christ’s promise of salvation are sure and certain, and that assurance accompanies us always…guiding and transforming. Yes, we will change, but we will change together in the persistent embrace of God who created and sustains us still.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds each day.

Pastor Nancy

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.

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.

It's Time to Spring Forward

As a reminder, Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, March 10. Don't forget to set your clocks forward by one hour. We'll see you bright and early for worship and Sunday School classes.

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.

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 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

Let's Continue the Conversation at Home from Sunday morning. Do you remember what Pastor Randy's sermon and the Sunday School class had in common? They both talked about tables. Of course, in worship you heard about Jesus turning over the tables because people had turned God's house of worship into a place where their own profit set up barriers for people to worship. In Sunday School we heard about Jesus setting a table where everyone was seated, even the disciples who would betray him and deny they knew him.

In worship we gather around a table, God's table, and tell stories of faith and remember God's love for us. I wonder, are there things that we have set up in our lives to keep us from being with God? Is there a "table" in our own life that we need to turn over?

Do you have a table at home? Maybe we have forgotten that OUR table at home is a place to gather and to tell stories, too. Violet is a girl in "Our Table" by Peter Reynolds. Her family forgot about gathering around their table. Their table disappeared! She felt so alone. So Violet asked each family member to use the distraction to help build a new table. Then, the times together returned around their family table.

I know the spring weather brings more exciting activities to do and places to go. However, I wonder if you can find new ways to gather around your table at home? I hope you continue to gather around the table at church where we can hear stories to remind us that we are loved and that God is always with us...no matter what the distraction. Don't forget there is always a seat for YOU around God's table at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church.

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.

History Moment

Learn About Our Baptismal Font

The white marble Baptismal font is the center of our Sanctuary. The 102-year-old font was a memorial gift from the parents of Gerald Sine Steiner, who died at the age of 7 in 1922.

Around the year 2000, the Nine Point Star lid was designed by the Rev. Terry Schoener and James (Jim) F. Luck. A renowned woodworker, Jim then crafted the lid. The font temporarily has been moved to the Narthex during The Secret Garden performances.

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.