ASHLAND CHURCH NEWS MAY 2018

Ashland Presbyterian Church 116 Ashland Road Cockeysville, MD 21030 Phone: 410-527-1844 The Rev. Shannon Meacham, Pastor On the web at: www.ashlandpc.org

Clerk of Session Bob Williams

Church Treasurer

Jeanette Baldwin

Financial Secretary Cathy Griffiths

Session

Members 2018-2020

Jerry DeBoer Rene Florendo Tom Griffiths

Will Nassau Jacquie Sasser

Carla Ulgen John Walter

Pre-school Director

Anne Auvil

Organist & Music Director Sheila Slade-Lee

Office Manager

Cecil Weber

Ashland Presbyterian Church

@AshlandPresbyterianChurch

Pulpitshenanigans

Continued on page 2

Leadership and Partnership

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. ~ Romans 12:6-8

As Presbyterians we believe and our government is set up with the understanding that two heads are better than one, and that five heads are better than two. The leadership of the church is in all senses of the word, a partnership.

In a newsletter of the Alban Institute I received an article entitled “Key Dimensions of Healthy Partnerships” by Terry Bookman and William Kahn. I will not make you read the whole article, but there are a few highlights of healthy partnerships I wanted to share:

Transparency. The foundation of a healthy partnership is a clearly shared understanding of how the partnership itself operates. Lay leaders and ministers each need to understand where authority for particular decisions is located and the nature of their own and others' tasks and roles and how they relate to their shared mission. Such transparency in turn enables people to be consistent and reliable with one another.

Pulpitshenanigans (continued)

Openness. People being open to one another is a mark of healthy partnerships. Openness, in this context, means people considering others as potential helpmates, as potential partners, rather than as people who are unable to contribute or to partner. Lay leaders and professional staff work with one another far more effectively when they have mutual respect and believe that the other can make real contributions.

Support. Supportive relationships involve a mixture of different elements. People are, first and foremost, available to and for one another: they make time to talk, they listen well, they remain with rather than avoid or rush one another, they challenge one another respectfully, and they show one another warmth. Support also comes in the form of offering salient information, feedback, insights, and interpretations that enable others to reflect on and make sense of situations that they find confusing or troubling.

Managing Differences. Healthy partnerships are marked by differences—in perspectives, agendas, ideas, beliefs, and experiences. Ideally, those differences are worked with rather than suppressed or denied. Managing differences well means engaging them directly. Lay leaders and ministers identify the places where they agree and those where they disagree and then explore the issues in light of their shared interests and goals.

Your partner in Christ,

Pastor Shannon

The Center Needs Volunteers!

Volunteers needed! The Center is holding a

workday to spruce up its dormitory space for

summer mission weeks:

Saturday, May 5, 9am - 2pm.

Some (but not all) tasks will require basic

carpentry and/or painting skills.

To sign up, email Sara Clauss at

saralaine1977@yahoo.com

Worship News

Sunday, May 6 6th Sunday of Easter Communion Sunday

9:30 am Sunday School, 10:30 am Worship Service Fellowship after Worship

Sunday, May 13

7th Sunday of Easter Mother’s Day

Special Music: Bud Stracker, Cellist 9:30 am Sunday School, 10:30 am Worship Service

Fellowship after Worship

Sunday, May 20 Pentecost

9:30 am Sunday School—Last day of Sunday School 10:30 am Worship Service—End of Choir Season

Fellowship after Worship

Sunday, May 27 Trinity Sunday

10:30 am Worship Service; Pastor Shannon away

Greetings, and I hope that all is well with you (as well as our big family of Ashland Presbyterian Church). A lot has been going on at Kasupe, notably the construction of two more teachers' house, a new administration building, and a new classroom & library block (with funding from Toni & Tom Clark). The face of Kasupe Secondary School has completely been transformed! We hope that we will be able to return more teachers because of the new houses and we expect to attract more fee-paying students because of these new facilities (which will have solar power). The new classroom & library block will also have running water in addition to the solar power. Next on the agenda of the school expansion is the construction of a "Girls' Hostel". There is no funding yet but our girls have been having serious problems due to informal accommodations around the villages (some walk long distances) so we want to do something about this problem as soon as possible.

See the latest pictures of the projects. -Fletcher Padoko

SARAH’S HOPE

Please remember Sarah’s Hope during one of

your next shopping trips!

Bread Paper cups Granola Bars Fresh fruit Paper Plates Graham Crackers Breakfast bars Toothbrushes & paste Fruit Cups Pop tarts Shampoo Cookies Cereal Deodorant Plastic ware Instant oatmeal Dove Soap Napkins Canned fruit (big cans) Liquid Soap Laundry detergent Shelf-stable milk Lotion Aspirin Peanut butter and jelly Feminine products Band aids Soup and stews (big cans) Razors First Aid kits Frozen hot dogs Baby wipes Towels & wash clothes

On Sunday, May 13, Special Music features Bud Stack, Cellist at the 10:30 am Worship Service. Bud hails from Kansas City, Missouri and has played the cello since he was ten years old. He studied music and biology at Oberlin College in Ohio, and worked as a biologist for several years in Ohio, Maine and Florida, before entering the United States Peace Corps and serving as a community health volunteer in Mongolia for two years. Bud will graduate this May from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health with a Master's in Epidemiology and his research focuses improving

social protection for patients with tuberculosis and HIV in South Africa. Music remains a passion for Bud and he loves to sing, play ukulele and of course play cello.

Looking Ahead:

June 10:

Charm City Bronze Bell Choir Ensemble

Charm City Bronze, founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Beau Lochte, has performed with the

Children's Chorus of Maryland and with Arsis Handbell Ensemble from Estonia. The group recently

premiered original arrangements of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" and Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A

Minor". Mr. Lochte graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Towson University. He

currently directs three handbell choirs including Second Presbyterian Church and also teaches piano

lessons at St. Paul's School.

July 8th:

Sandra Lisicky, Oboe and Gretchen Gettes, Cello

For the cycle of life

which brings death and rebirth

We rejoice in the promise of Spring

For lengthening days

and sunlight's warmth upon the soil

We rejoice in the promise of Spring

For a snowdrop's beauty

reflecting its Creator's artistry

We rejoice in the promise of Spring

For all of creation

and the majesty of its Creator

We rejoice in the promise of Spring

Synod Summer Gathering (SSG) Massanetta Springs, VA

June 8-10, 2018

“God’s Promises”

In 2018 there will be the Churchwide Gathering In Louisville, KY in August. Our Synod will also have its regular Synod Summer Gathering at Massenetta Springs, VA, June 8-10, 2018. This means that the Synod Gathering will be one day shorter, it will start on Friday instead of Thursday. Once again we will have all the meetings on the hotel side of the property--no climbing that big hill. In 2018, Baltimore Presbytery has the assignment of being Assistant Chairperson, filled by Co-Chairs for 2019, Connie Renner and Joan Berry with our Communications assistant Angela Nichols. GET THIS ON YOUR CALENDARS NOW. Look for registration information soon.

Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:30 am

Fellowship after Worship

WEEKLY EVENTS ...

Sundays Special Needs Troop #927 2:00 p.m.; Church of the Nazarene 5:00—7:00 p.m. Tuesdays Daisy Troop #625 6:00-7:00 p.m.; Church of the Nazarene Choir Practice 7:30—9:30 p.m. Wednesdays Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings 8:30 p.m. Thursdays Contemporary Worship Practice 6:30 p.m.-7:30 pm; Chancel Choir: 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Fridays Church of the Nazarene 7:30 pm -9:30 p.m.—2:00 a.m.

Saturday Alcoholic Anonymous Svc. Mtg. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Church of the Nazarene 7:30-9:30 p.m.

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 Nat’l Day of

Prayer

4 5

6 6th Sunday of Easter

Communion Sunday

9:30 am Sunday School;

10:30 am Worship Service

7

Project Linus

will not meet.

8

Session

6:30 pm

9

10

Ascension of the

Lord

11 12 Fair

Trade Day

13 7th Sunday of Easter

9:30 am Sunday School

10:30 am Worship Service

14

Women’s

Group

12:30 pm

15

16 17 18 19

20 Pentecost 9:30 am Sunday School—Last Session of School Year 10:30 am Worship Service Choir Ends for Season

21 22 23 24

25

26

Sarah’s Hope

2-5 pm

27 Trinity Sunday 10:30 am Worship Service

Pastor Shannon away

28 OFFICE CLOSED

29 30 31

Pastor Shannon Away

ASHLAND CHURCH FAMILY CELEBRATIONS

Birthdays Anniversaries Deacon/Elder Ordination

Anniversaries

5/3 Victoria Rudai 5/4 Beka Walter 5/6 Taylor DeBoer 5/7 Samantha Rudai 5/12 Amanda Kobokovich Maria Sasser 5/14 Zach Simmons Carol Walter 5/15 Jeanette Baldwin 5/16 Ressa Benzak 5/26 Carla Ulgen

5/3 Bill & Bonnie Clarke

5/28 Tom & Cathy Griffiths

5/31 Betty Wirtz

ASSIGNMENTS

2018 May

USHERS/

GREETERS

5/6 5/13 5/20 5/27

SERVERS 5/13

LITURGIST 5/6 5/20 5/27

VAN

DRIVERS

5/6 Bob Hensley 5/13 Mike Benzak 5/20 Jerry DeBoer 5/27 Butch Zink

FELLOWSHIP

AFTER

WORSHIP

5/6 5/13 5/20 5/27

Why not become more involved in Worship? Sign up to be an usher/greeter, liturgist or server. Or sign up to host Fellowship after Worship. Sign up sheets are on the table in the hallway.

Do we have YOUR family’s important dates to share and celebrate? Have we made any mistakes?

Please contact the Church Office at 410-527-1844, or office@ashlandpc.org with additions and/or

corrections for the database.

This is your garden, Creator God, a thing of beauty

beyond understanding, a poem that is being written

not in words but in colors, wind's whisper, soaring bird, snowdrop's petal, gentle rain,

sunlight's warmth, This is your garden, Creator God,

A thing of beauty beyond our understanding

Ashland Presbyterian Church 116 Ashland Road Cockeysville, MD 21030