Spreading the Good News March, 2016 FIRST AND ST. STEPHEN S UNIITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 6915 York Road Baltimore, Maryland 21212 410 377 5224 Email: firststucc@aol.com Web: www.first ststephens.org MINISTRY TEAM Rev. Nelson R. Murphy Interim Pastor Georgi Funderburk Dir. Of Christian Education Jeffrey Beyers Organist and Choir Director SUPPORT Rev. Alexander Vishio Asst. Minister for Social Justice & Witness Jennifer Langdon President of the Consistory SUNDAY MORNINGS Children s Church School and Adult Christian Education 9:30 a.m. Service of Worship 10:30 a.m. Celebration of Holy Communion: First Sunday of the Month OUR MISSION STATEMENT As we become more fully God s people, First and St. Stephen s United Church of Christ CARES by Committing to Christ Advocating for social justice Rejoicing in worship Empowering for discipleship Sharing God s Extravagant welcome. WE SUPPORT: Earl s Place & Prospect Place Assistance Center of Towson Churches The United Church of Christ Habitat for Humanity No matter who you are, or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here. Growing Number of Children Going Hungry Members of the Towson Area Ministerial Alliance (TAMA) met for breakfast at our church last Tuesday. Approximately 20 clergy from churches in the area attended. While eating, they listened to an eye-opening presentation about the unbelievable number of children in Baltimore County that never know where their next meal is coming from, and suffer from severe food insecurity. According to Dr. Laurie Taylor-Mitchell, one of the presenters, in 2015, about 52,000 children attending Baltimore County public schools lived in dire poverty, or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level ($36,600 for a family of four). I cannot imagine how a household of four can live on only $36,600 per year. Fortunately, these children qualify for a tax-payer funded food program called Free and Reduced-cost Meals (FARM) on school days. But what do they eat when school is out, such as on weekends, holidays, and snow days when their schools are closed? Many of them don t eat much, if anything at all. I was stunned to learn that 107 children (14%) at Stoneleigh Elementary school fall into this category. At Dumbarton Middle School, 206 children (21%) qualify, and at Towson High School 271 students (19%). In four other Council Districts of the county (1 st, 4 th, 6 th, and 7 th ), the majority of the public schools have over 50% of their students qualifying as living in poverty. The Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal) in Lutherville helps kids by providing their schools with food-laden backpacks every Friday afternoon. Chris and Monica Tang, the church s pastor and his wife, told us about the relationship they have established through this with Padonia International Elementary School and the way it has blessed their congregation. The Principal of Padonia, Melissa DiDonato, also attended the meeting and spoke movingly about the tremendous impact these backpacks make in the lives of the children who receive them especially in terms of their significantly improved academic achievement. I am counting on our Homelessness Task Force to find ways to help us also work effectively toward the mitigation of this county-wide food insecurity crisis. ----Rev. Nelson Murphy
One Great Hour of Sharing The Mission of the Month for March is One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS), a special offering that helps provide funds for disaster assistance, refugee relief and sustainable development efforts undertaken on our behalf across the globe alongside our ecumenical partners who support Church World Service. Currently, we are living in the midst of the largest refugee crisis since World War II. One in every 122 people in the world today is forcibly displaced from their home, seeking refuge either within their national borders or beyond, according to the United Nations High Command for Refugees. Your generous donations to OGHS enable the church to respond to the needs created by the forcible displacement of so many people. Without you, none of this important work would be possible. It all starts with your decision to give. Youth Group Schedule and Events Youth schedule March 6 Lunch and Lenten class 4 March 13 Lunch and Lenten class 5 March 20 Lunch and Lenten class 6 March 27 Easter Sunday Confirmation classes will run April 3rd to May 8th. More information will be sent to the parents of the confirmands. Please be in prayer for them as they embark on this journey. An Association wide Good Friday youth event will take place at FSSUCC on March 25th at noon. It will be child friendly and parents are also invited. Please join Team Griffin in the walk to end juvenile diabetes on April 16th. You can walk with the team, donate money, and give encouragement. Go to web page http://www2.jdrf.org/site/tr?fr_id=6087&pg=team&team_id=201207&ref_px=9607072#.vog v0tozjb0.facebook or see Rachel Ezell or Griffin DuFachard.
Church Community Events Lenten Lunches On the next few Sundays prior to Easter, we will continue to have a light potluck lunch after the service. Please visit http://bit.ly/fssuccpotlucks. This link will take you to "signupgenius.com" where you can sign up for a dish for the Lenten potlucks. There are options ranging from entrees to sides, drinks or snacks. Please designate what you plan to bring on Sunday. Habitat For Humanity "A Habitat build took place on February 6th in the Pigtown/Washington Village Neighborhood. Attending were Brian Barr, Brian McCartin, Dave Noppenberger, Taylor Ramage, and Rev. Nelson Murphy. It was a cold but sunny day, and the team had a wonderful day. The group worked on decks for a group of townhouses that Habitat recently built. In addition to all the hard work, there was also time to get to know the build crew and other volunteers, one of which was a future Habitat homeowner. Stay tuned for the next build which should occur in the next 1-2 months." ~~David Noppenberger Book Group: The Parable of the Sower Despite the dismal weather on Wednesday, the 24 th, we did manage to meet to discuss Octavia Butler s Parable of the Sower. There were five of us attended, although, I know there were a handful of others that at least started to read the book, but were deterred by the weather or their schedules, and could not join us at Barbara s house. While we had differing opinions about Butler s perspective on religion -- some thought she was promoting Christianity, others thought she was criticizing fundamentalist Christianity -- we had a lively and insightful conversation. We were all intrigued enough by the book to choose the sequel, The Parable of the Talents, to read for our next meeting. Please join us! Both books are relatively quick reads and even if you didn t finish (or even start) Sower, we invite you to join us on Thursday, April 7 th, at 7:30PM. ~~Jen Langdon
HELP COLLECT FOOD FOOD ITEMS NEEDED BY THE ASSISTANCE CENTER OF TOWSON CHURCHES Cereal Canned Fruit Tuna Saltines (boxes with individual packages) Peanut Butter (18 oz) Jelly Canned Meat (Beef stew, Chili, spam, etc.) Macaroni and cheese Spaghetti Spaghetti Sauce Canned vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, etc.) Canned tomatoes Potatoes (canned or boxed) Rice Pork and beans Pasta meals Soup Please, NO perishables, home canned food items or institutional-sized cans. FOOD ITEMS PRINTED IN RED ARE IN LOW SUPPLY RIGHT NOW!
Webinar -- Get Active in the Elections Notice from Rev. Marvin M. Silver, Associate Conference Minister: Good afternoon colleagues in ministry. I pray that your Saturday is going well. I am writing this special note to encourage you, and key leaders and disciples in your church, to participate in a webinar, Get Active in the Elections, next Saturday, March 5 th, at 11am (see attached flyer and description and registration information below). We hope you will prioritize this opportunity in your church, announce it this Sunday during worship and promote it with UCCers that you know. If you have specific questions please let me know. And I look forward to you and your church s participation. Register at the link below now. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/700b6c5cfa950b957c24e00bf0acd2b8 Webinar Description Engaging in elections is one way people of faith can live out the call to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and to respond to the needs of the least of these. Come and learn about the Do s and Don ts for local churches and pastors. How to Conduct a Voter Registration Drive; Voter Education; Get Out the Vote; and Organize a Candidate forum. We will share how Maryland churches and members can participate in efforts to register 40,000 formerly incarcerated Maryland citizens before the April 10 th deadline to vote in the April 26 th primary.