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"Come by here my Lord. Come by here."
On Saturday, March 25 Meg Elseroad and I (along with 350+ others) gathered at St. John's Ellicott City to vote for our next bishop. It was a slate of four exceptionally qualified candidates who could all have done a wonderful job ministering to us all.
As we were waiting for the final results of the first ballot Bishop Sutton led us in singing, as he often will. One of the songs we shared was "Kumbaya". This is a phrase that is often said with derision as in "let's have a kumbaya moment" meaning a moment where you actually think about and care for others. It often invokes a vision of people sitting around a campfire, holding hands and singing and perhaps really not having much to do with God. However, the actual history and meaning of it is so much more profound.
Kumbaya is often interpreted as "come by here". And it is a plea for God to be with us in all of life. It has been used at a multitude of events from civil rights marches to spaghetti dinners; from student uprisings to campfire sing-a-longs. It is truly a beautiful anthem.
Think about these lyrics and how they can be adapted to nearly any situation. This gives us the opportunity to invite God to come into our lives in a full and powerful way.
Come by here my Lord, come by here.
Come by here my Lord, come by here.
Come by here my Lord, come by here.
O Lord, come by here.
Someone's praying Lord, come by here.
Someone's praying Lord, come by here.
Someone's praying Lord, come by here.
O Lord, come by here.
Someone's crying Lord....
Someone's dying Lord...
Someone's laughing Lord...
Someone's singing Lord...
What else could we be doing for which we might want to ask the Lord to come by and be with us?
Last Saturday was certainly a "come by here my Lord" moment. We had a beautiful worship with a spectacular sermon by Bishop Bill Gohl showing the connection between our synod and diocese. We cast our first ballot and then had lunch together. We came back and cast two more ballots before we had an election.
Through all of that there was camaraderie, fellowship, and a deep sense of the presence of God. The Lord indeed came by that space.
You can read below for some more information about our bishop elect, the Rev. Carrie Schofiled-Broadbent. I encourage you to watch her message to the Diocese of Maryland and to keep her in your prayers as she manages this transition.
Kathleen+
If you want to make an appointment with me, check out this link! Pastor Kathleen’s Availability
 
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Sunday, April 2, 2023
8:00am and 10:30am
Pastor Don will be preaching.
The 10:30am service will be livestreamed
on Facebook and YouTube.
Click here for the 10:30am bulletin.
Masks continue to be encouraged and welcomed, especially when singing.
Church Office will be CLOSED Monday, April 10.
Easter/Spring Cleaning
The church needs a bit of sprucing up as we wander our way into Holy Week and Easter.
Saturday, April 1 from 9 - 11am will be an early planting day for our Garden!! Cindy Burggraf would love to have your help if you are interested in helping out with this. Please reach out to her or just show up and if you have gardening supplies bring them along.
Saturday, April 8 from 10am - noon will be a day of work at the church. Setting up flowers, taking down stations of the cross, in general making everything celebratory for the next morning.
Lenten Adult Forum Schedule - Sundays 9:15am - Hart Hall
For Adult Forum during Lent we are making our way through this book. The author is the Dean of St. George's College where Kathleen stayed on her recent pilgrimage. Join us on Sundays during Lent!
Fellowship Opportunities
We have two opportunities to gather and share food together during Holy Week. Maundy Thursday at 5:30pm for dinner; Easter Sunday 9:15am between the services. Come and join us AND sign up to share some goodies with the community. Sign up sheets for both are on the bulletin board in the narthex.
Easter Eggs
If you took eggs to fill for the Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, April 9, please bring them back to us by Sunday, April 2!
Easter Flowers
The last day for which you can turn in flower requests is Sunday, April 2!
Easter is coming upon us quickly and Joyce Valentine is ordering flowers and creating beautiful displays for us to enjoy.
Flowers for the altar can be donated on behalf of loved ones or in thanksgiving. The suggested donation is $20. You can use the form available in church or make an online donation via the link below and select “Give to Flowers” and then send an email to the office specifying how much you are donating and for whom it is in memory or thanksgiving.
Transitions in the office
The time has come and Carolyn Surrick will be ending her tenure as Parish Administrator with us on Friday, April 14. While we will miss her, we are excited for the opportunities that are ahead for her. She will be in attendance at our April 16 services for us to pray for her and send her on her way with love. And then, on May 20, after her concert here, we will hold a reception in which we will joyously celebrate what she has given us.
Another piece of that transition is the hiring of someone to take Carolyn's place on staff. The position has been offered to Lilly Barrett and she will be in the office with Carolyn beginning on April 3. We are excited to welcome Lilly to our community!
Rev. Carrie Schofiled-Broadbent is our Bishop Co-adjutor elect!
The Rev. Carrie Schofiled-Broadbent will be joining the diocese sometime this summer working with Bishop Sutton until his retirement next spring. At that time she will become the Bishop Diocesan, the first woman to hold that position in the history of the Diocese.
She comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience and is excited to join us. Please use this link to see a video where she greets the diocese.
Delaware-Maryland Synod Assembly is coming!!
June 9 - 10 is the annual Synod Assembly. We will be asking for two members of the congregation to attend with Pastor Don (Pastor Kathleen will be out of town for something that was planned a year ago). If you are interested, please let Pastor Kathleen or Pastor Don know. This is a way to represent our congregation in the synod and to do the work of the church that allows the church to keep working in the world.
GEDCO CARES
Current specific requests for the CARES food pantry are:
Cereal, condiments, toothpaste and paper towels.
While any donation is welcome and appreciated - these items are currently much needed.
Thursday Morning Bible Study
Each week, ten folks or so gather on Zoom from 11:00-12:00 for Bible Study. I suppose it might be better to call this a “Faith Study” because we explore issues relating to how our faith fits in the modern world. There is room for you to join us! Sometimes a group of us goes to a local restaurant for lunch afterwards. Click here to join in the conversation each week.
Let me know if you have any questions!
-Pastor Don
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Chair Yoga
Remember to practice Self Love this week. When your self talk is not compassionate, recognize the pattern and start to change the talk. Practice compassion with yourself, and notice what happens.
Both classes gather on Zoom with Linda Mcgill as the leader. Please Email Linda with questions or to get on her email list to receive weekly recordings.
Monday Chair Yoga from 10:00-11:15 am
Thursday Meditation from 7:30-8:15 pm
This ZOOM link is different from other church gatherings below.
Click to join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 410 236 9650. Passcode: yoga
Or call 1-301-715-8592 then press 4102369650#
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Stay Connected
Wednesday 10:30am Healing Service
In Person at the church - a relaxed and spoken Eucharist service with the opportunity to receive healing prayers for yourself or others.
Wednesday Night Live at 7:00p.m. on Zoom.
People talk about prayer and God and what it means to be in this remarkable church community, together. The group prays Compline together and in the midst of it has an opportunity to discuss a passage of Scripture or some other topic important to the community.
Click here to join in the conversation.
Thursday Morning Bible Study at 11:00 a.m. has space for you.
Click here to join Pastor Don and friends on Zoom.
Our Zoom link is always the same except for Yoga and Meditation Class.
Click here to join in the conversation.
Or call 1-301-715-8592 then enter 7062840024#
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