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The Centinel - August 1998, Issue 2
This spring your Session held two retreats to think about Central's
direction, especially as we enter the next millennium. One outcome was
the determination of our Core Values, i.e.,
those values we find most important in our lives as Christians. These are
the values we live by, that we hope others see as important to us:
- A Personal Relationship with Jesus as Savior, Lord, and God
- Commitment to the Truth of God's Revealed Word
- Worship as the Center of Church Life
- The Great Commission - Near and Far in Word and Deed
- A Biblical World View that Speaks to Our Culture
- Kingdom Vision - We are One Part of the Whole Body of Christ
- Growing Mature, Ministering Disciples
- A Diverse, Loving Community
- The Nurture of Children and Youth
- Servanthood & Stewardship Inside and Outside of Central
- Prayer
In addition, the Session also tried to describe the implications of each
Core Value, i.e., ways these Core Values could be visible in the lives
of our members. These implications will be highlighted over the next
several Centinel issues. Think about how they are evident in your own
life and how you can further pursue these values. Use them as starting
points for discussions in small groups or times of fellowship.
"A Personal Relationship with Jesus as Savior, Lord, and God "
implies people who:
- know the Lord through prayer and Bible study
- trust God in every aspect of life
- love the Lord and their neighbor
- strive to live a Christ-like life in the power of the Holy Spirit
- share God's love and truth with others
Copies of the Core Values & Implications should soon be available on the
Information Board.
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by Mike Goodrich
In the spirit of recent elder retreats and special meetings, the
Adult Christian Education (ACE) committee
has developed a strategic plan for the use of the new educational building.
Our purpose is to move people toward Christ, equip them to be disciples
of Christ, and to encourage the community of faith that is Central
Presbyterian Church. Therefore three types of classes will be available
this fall at the Sunday School hour.
New Members/Pathfinders
Each regular term of the ACE calendar will include alternating classes
for new members and the follow-up Pathfinders class. These classes will
serve as "feeders" into the new discipleship/fellowship groups
for people seeking community and into the elective classes for people
seeking enrichment or instruction.
Electives
In order to equip and disciple the broad community of faith at Central,
the ACE committee provides general electives in: Biblical Study,
Theology and Contemporary Christian Issues, and Practical Christian
Living. Each term of electives generally lasts seven weeks.
Discipleship/Fellowship Groups
In addition to electives, we feel it is important to use the Sunday
School hour to make disciples and build community. To that end we will
start Discipleship/Fellowship groups for nurturing, equipping, and
binding various communities of believers. These groups will differ from
the elective classes in a number of important ways: 1) There will be a
leadership team for each group to plan and lead the class and to serve
as greeters. We need team leaders! 2) Each meeting contains fellowship,
prayer, and teaching. 3) There is an implicit commitment to the group by
its members.
In addition we can use our new building for seminars and workshops at
other times.
by Carol Corey and Carolyn Smoes,
Co-Chairs of Interim Music Search Committee
We are delighted to announce the selection of John "Griz"
Gifford as chancel choir director for the 1998-99 season. Griz teaches
at Friends School where he has served as coordinator of instrumental
music since 1984. This year he was named head of the school's music
department. Griz also performs as a free-lance trombonist in the
Baltimore/Washington region. Both he and his wife Laura are members of
Central.
The choir has already worked with Griz on several occasions when he
stepped in as Leo's substitute. We are excited about this new
partnership and pray that God will be honored as the choir helps to lead
the congregation in worship.
fyi . . . transcripts of sermons
Transcripts of sermons are
available on Central's website
(www.centralpc.org) and from the Church Office (if you don't have web
access). This is a great option in addition to our normal tape ministry.
We have the recent Lenten series and are working on the 3 John series.
It is not a quick process so it'll take awhile to get caught up, but
we're hoping to get to the point of having transcripts of every sermon.
by Jan and Dave Turnbaugh
Praise God for the many Centralites who volunteered to teach during our
6-week summer program. Approximately 75 children, ages 3 - 18, and 15
adults attended. Nancy Blechman and Gail Seward taught our
"mothers" class while Cheri Pegues taught our 1st - 3rd grade
girls. Thank you to Dick Ruark, who is a year-round volunteer and an
incredible asset to the mission. Many others helped during the 2 weeks
that Central's VeBS (Very Exciting Bible School) was at the Center (for
which we were delighted and honored!). Special thanks to Rhonda Herman,
Director of Children's Ministries.
Please be in prayer as final preparations are underway for our two week
overnight camp at Mountain View Bible Camp the week of August 9 for
children ages K - grade 5 and the week of August 16 for grades 6 - 12.
The following are volunteers at the camp: Heidi Bertaux, Carolyn &
Andrew Brooks, Brian Cawley, Pam Dicker, Cathy Guiles, Robin Henderson,
Mary Morlock, Kathy Ritchie, Dick Ruark, and Emerson & Grace Frey.
Also, the Youth Mission Team will be visiting to share about their
Toronto trip. Thanks to all who contributed to sponsor children to
attend camp! This may be their only real vacation away from the inner
city.
The first phase of the "Beyond These Walls..."
campaign will be completed in late September. We will mark the completion
on October 11, "Friendship Sunday," with a brief Dedication Ceremony
followed by a Celebration Time in the new facility. All are encouraged
to come and bring friends and neighbors to give the building, our use of
it, and our very selves to the glory of God. This festive time from 9:45
to 10:45 will include special music, activities throughout the new
building, and refreshments. The focus of the Dedication Celebration is
on Central's many activities: not just those inside the new walls, but
beyond our walls too!
It's hard to believe you won't be back in September with new warm-up
exercises and mystery songs. Our journey with you over the past 19 years
has been challenging, rewarding, demanding, and fun! Your work with all
music groups at Central has been characterized by high standards of
excellence, creativity, patience, good humor, enthusiasm, and vision.
We marvel at the outstanding children's program you have built. You
have instilled in children and adults alike a love of good music, the
satisfaction of mastering new skills, and the joy of close knit
teamwork.
Through your contacts, the church has been privileged to hear many of
the finest musicians in the Baltimore area.
You expected more from us than we ever could have envisioned or been
willing to attempt on our own. How often you reminded us that there is
always more to learn and then stretched us well beyond what was
comfortable.
Congratulations on your new job as Director of The Children's Chorus of
Maryland. In addition to your choral responsibilities, we are pleased to
hear that you will be planning some personal appearances as
pianist/organist in this area.
We are sure we speak for the entire congregation when we say THANK YOU
for your excellent leadership as Director of Music Ministries. We will
miss you.
With love and gratitude,
The Chancel Choir
by Chris Ritchie
So often the problems of poverty and homelessness in the city are
over-simplified or even ignored by many. That was not the case for the
11 Central teenagers and 3 adult leaders who
spent a week ministering
within the city of Toronto, Canada. We went there with hands that were
willing to serve and hearts that were willing to be touched by Jesus as
we encountered the needs of the inner city.
Poverty is not the first word that comes to the minds of many people
when they think of Toronto. However, in the midst of the popular tourist
attractions there are abused teens who are living on the streets,
immigrants who are trying to find a decent place to live and work, and
native Americans who are trying to escape the hopelessness of
reservations. These are the people with whom we worked during our very
intense week.
We rose early each morning to assist at two Christian day camps attended
by mostly non-white and non-Christian children. The Gospel presentations
at these camps were by necessity extremely simple. Many of the children
had literally never heard the words "Bible" or
"Jesus." It was a privilege for us to share God's love with
them through singing, crafts, games, and Bible lessons. The teens that
went are continuing to pray that God will bring to fruition the seeds of
hope that were planted in the hearts of these children.
During the afternoons and evenings we engaged in several different
activities which helped us to better understand the people who live and
work in Toronto. Activities such as the "streetwalk" and the
"sandwich run" helped us to understand and minister to those
who make their homes on the streets of the city
To: Rhonda Herman, Helena Santos, and the many Volunteers
We of the Session give you our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the
way in which you continue to shepherd our little ones with quiet
gentleness and joy as the classrooms keep being re-arranged or
disappear. You are being Christ-like models to all of us and especially
our children. Your organization and implementation of VeBS under less
than ideal circumstances and with no outside play area shows creativity,
patience, and loving servant hearts. We praise and thank God our Father
and our Lord Jesus Christ for all of you and we thank you for doing
these things heartily as unto the Lord.
VeBS (Very Exciting Bible School) presented "Passport to the Holy
Land" the week of 22-26 June. Over 180 children participated,
approximately half of whom were visitors to Central. At the close of
the week, every child received a cassette tape containing the Bible
stories and music of the week.
The following week, the VeBS staff "hit the road" to present
the same message at the Christian Community Center, where 50 children
from grades 1 through 5 attended.
by Carolyn Smoes, Chairman
As she leaves office, the deacons wish to thank June Comegys for her
faithful, capable leadership and her loving commitment to this
congregation.
"Will you seek to serve the people with energy,
intelligence, imagination and love?" (Book of Order) This is our
desire as we begin another year of ministry among God's people at
Central.
Too often we don't retain what we have heard unless we reinforce it with
discussion, reading, and/or study. Summertime, especially, is full of
activities and travel, so Sundays are not always spent at Central. To
fill in some of the gaps and reinforce what is hidden in our memories,
we are providing a review of Ron's summer series
on the third letter of John. Get out your Bibles, test your memory, and take a moment to see
how you are integrating this into your life.
| Q. | Ron, why did you preach on 3 John? |
| R. | Over the years I had preached through both 1 John and 2 John.
I was looking for a good time to finish up the trilogy of John's letters and felt
led to do it this summer. |
| Q. | What is the overriding theme? |
| R. | Hospitality to strangers in the Body of Christ -
especially missionaries. |
| Q. | The first sermon was on verses 1-4, about the joy of seeing spiritual
children continuing in faithfulness and truth. What did you want us to remember here? |
| R. | You have a calling to spiritually reproduce yourself in
someone else (your children or other individuals that you lead to Christ and disciple). |
| Q. | The second section, verses 5-8, encourages hospitality to friends
and to strangers. How can we better do that? |
| R. | Cultivate an evangelistic spirit that looks for the stranger in
our midst, and sees every stranger as a potential minister of the Gospel. |
| Q. | Verses 9-12 condemn the self-serving attitude of Diotrephes and
commends Demetrius. What should we condemn or develop in ourselves? |
| R. | We need to condemn behavior that is controlling or manipulative.
We need to develop leaders that are first of all followers of Christ and see
themselves as servants. |
| Q. | The last verses, 13-15, speak of the hope of talking together
in person. How can we take that to ourselves? |
| R. | Remembering that, at heart, the Christian faith is all about
personal relationships: between us and God, between us and fellow believers. |
| Q. | Do you have any additional thoughts? |
| R. | Short letters from believer to believer can still make a tremendous
impact on lives. We need to re-claim letter-writing -- short notes of encouragement,
comfort, etc. -- when we become aware of something going on in someone's life.
This will be more and more important in an increasingly de-personalized world. |
by Kathy Smith
Presbyterian Women
(PW) is the organization of adult women into small groups. These small
groups are called Circles,
and each Circle is named after a woman of the Bible. Central currently
has six circles and each has its own personality, with set meeting times
depending on the composition of the group. PW sponsors gatherings for all
women several times a year as well as an annual weekend retreat.
I have found that the benefit of belonging to a Circle lies in its
inclusive, caring nature. Women learn from Scripture and are encouraged
to walk more closely with God in their daily lives. While many of us are
involved in other small groups, we find that being in relationship with
women allows us to share our common joys and struggles in living out our
faith. Many of us have been meeting for years now and have created what
we hope will be lifetime bonds! We are planning for a brand new Circle
to begin in the fall, designed especially for young moms.
The FOLD: News about our Central Family
by Dottie Jones
Our eyes met as I entered the day room of the hospital, a sunny room
where patients sat waiting for the Love & Action team to arrive. Soon we
would all be in a circle, and the air would be filled with the singing
of favorite hymns and guitar music. That day I sat beside a young lady
in her thirties and her friends. By the look of anticipation in her
eyes, I could tell that it was a real treat to have a visitor from
outside the hospital walls.
Our team is different from other groups who visit; we bring smiles, the
message that "God loves YOU," and Bibles for everyone! A
testimony or message from the Scriptures is tailored to the audience and
the good news of Jesus Christ is always declared. Often the patients
have time to think about life - the life they have lived, the decisions
they have made and the ones they wish they hadn't made, the future of
their loved ones and of their children - these issues and others march
before their minds regularly.
That afternoon the Lord had really empowered the speaker (another AIDS
patient), and his message of hope plucked at the heart strings of my new
acquaintance. She listened intently as I shared Scripture and marked
passages in her Bible. She asked questions which I knew indicated that
the Holy Spirit was prompting her to confess her sins and make a
profession of faith. Her burden was lifted as she prayed and invited
Jesus into her heart as her personal Lord and Savior. In weeks to come I
would learn that she even organized a daily Bible-reading group among
the patients. I have continued to send the young woman letters and
notes of encouragement and instructions for growing in the faith.
Barbara Ellingson, the Baltimore Coordinator, delivers toiletries,
gifts, and miscellaneous items to patients as we get to know them and
their needs. It's like a family reunion when we return on Sunday each
month to share in their joys and sorrows and to receive prayer requests
and updates on their condition. Each patient is prayed with individually
before we leave. The nursing staff says that the patients are more
peaceful and relaxed after our visits.
Perhaps one Sunday you will allow the Lord to use your smile to greet a
"special needs" patient. Give Barbara a call to
volunteer. Be prepared to receive YOUR "Sunday afternoon
blessing!"
by Jean Stuart
The Central Lights
lit up a balmy Monday evening in July with love and
laughter. "Ants In Your Pants" was our second event, bringing
together over 60 people with food, fellowship, and song. And, yes, ants
were sighted!
We all found this a relaxing yet exciting time, sharing with old and new
friends in the Stuarts' "back forty." Lots of fried chicken
and an unbelievable contribution of salads and desserts filled us to
bursting. Kathy & Chris Ritchie (definitely not among the
"chronologically gifted") led our program. Gathered around a
campfire, we sang - usually on key - songs of praise with Chris playing
the guitar. Between songs we heard about the enthusiastic plans of
Central's youth. We all agreed that Central is alive and well and in
good hands for the future. Kathy, with wisdom beyond her years, provided
food for thought in her devotional from God's word: "Let no man
despise your youth" and "Let no man despise your age."
Her message was that God has plans for us to obey and trust Him at any
age.
We learned later that neighbors were on their porches that night,
listening as the breeze carried aloft our testimony of praise in songs
such as "Amazing Grace," "Shine, Jesus, Shine," and
"In the Garden". As the stars came out and the firelight
brightened our faces, Bruce Stuart took us back to campfire days with
his rendition of Robert Service's "The Cremation of Sam
McGee." We ended our picnic reluctantly, with shared hugs and empty
casserole dishes.
A group like this is only special because it is made up of individuals
like you. Won't you join the Central Lights? We look forward to
September knowing that with God's blessing we will be together again,
burning even brighter for Him.
by Rob Smith and Susan Hula
The group known as CCF (College and Career Fellowship) has changed its
name to "Young Adults".
Young Adults ministers to 18-24 year olds and is open to undergraduates,
graduate students, and those in the workforce. Our goal is to help Young
Adults continue to develop their faith and to examine all they are learning
in light of that faith.
The group that used to be called "Young Adults" now goes by
TNT (Twenties-N-Thirties).
This group ministers to both singles and marrieds who are in their 20's and
30's. TNT meets on Monday evenings at the Hulas' home. Call Kevin & Sue Hula.
During the summer months, Young Adults has joined up with the TNT group
for Bible Study. We are also getting together regularly for social
activities. If you are home for the summer and want to get reacquainted
with some folks from your Senior High Fellowship days, give us a call!
Call Rob & Kathy Smith for details and directions.
During the school year, while many of Central's students go out of
state, Young Adults draws students who are coming to the Baltimore area
to study at local colleges. We meet during the Sunday School hour for
food, fellowship, and Bible Study. This fall Young Adults will be
studying Tony Campolo's Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God. Call
Jim Herman.
Sermon Quote
"Anonymity is neither helpful or faithful."
So learn and use people's name as soon and as often as possible.
Be sure to check the bulletin each week for meetings and details.
| September 7: |
Labor Day, Church Office Closed |
| September 10: |
Chancel Choir Begins |
| September 13: |
Kick-Off Sunday |
| September 14: |
Seniors' Bus Tour of Baltimore |
| September 15: |
October Centinel Deadline |
| September 21: |
Ladies' Bible Class Begins |
| September 28: |
Presbyterian Women Fall Gathering |
| October 4: |
Hayride at Beachmont Christian Camp |
| October 11: |
Dedication Celebration |
| Editorial Staff |
|---|
Nancy Nasrallah
Mary Burkey Olga Gerkens Bob Hale
Susan Hula Karen McCaffrey Denise Simms
Thus says the Lord:
"Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask ... where the good way lies;
and walk in it, and find rest for your souls...
Also I raised up sentinels for you;
give heed to the sound of the trumpet!"
- Jer 6:16-17 NRSV
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Submissions: Many thanks to all who have contributed to The
Centinel. The 'Newsletter' mailbox (in the mailbox area), for receiving articles
also contains submission instructions. It would help greatly if articles were
submitted by e-mail or on diskette.
Note that the Our Church Family section won't be
included in the web issue of this newsletter since the information doesn't meet our
privacy policy.
