Slots, Death Penalty Moratorium Face 2003 General Assembly

By Don Schroeder, Bishops’ Special Assistant For Public Policy

A number of issues important to members of the Diocese are expected to be considered when the Maryland General Assembly begins its yearly session in January.

Advocacy groups representing social services that support the needs of the aged, the poor and disadvantaged will face a tough legislative session as they seek to spare cuts in state agency funds while fiscal experts and lawmakers consider ways to solve the state’s budget deficit of $1.8 billion.

There has been some progress in addressing the state’s current $590 million deficit; however Governor-Elect Robert Ehrlich, and the members of the General Assembly will have a much more difficult task finding ways to reduce the projected $1.2 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year 2004 that starts July 1.

The Diocese is involved in a number of statewide advocacy groups that work on legislation and regulations dealing with social issues. The two principal groups are the Maryland Interfaith Legislative Committee comprised of the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant faiths, and the Maryland Senior Citizens Network.

Here are a few of the key issues that we will be following:

• Health Care Initiatives—A major plan would (1) maintain Care First/Blue Shield as a non-private insurer (they have over 30 percent of state health insurers) with independent directors, (2) increase cigarette taxes to help fund affordable health care for Marylanders and reduce teen smoking, and (3) authorize the state to negotiate with drug manufacturers to lower drug prices for seniors and others without insurance coverage.

• Legalizing Slot Machines at Racing Tracks—Public support is growing on this issue viewed as one means to help Maryland’s failing thoroughbred racing tracks and a revenue source to help address the state budget deficit.

• Child Abuse and Neglect—A package of three bills that would seek to tighten the reporting requirements on the existing laws on (1) members of the clergy, (2) failure to report and the penalties for not reporting, and (3) notification of Out of State Abuse and Neglect.

• Death Penalty Elimination—A moratorium is now in place and a study by the University of Maryland is due shortly on whether this penalty when administered in Maryland is racially biased.

• Medicaid Waiver for Older Adults—Increases funding for the waiver that provides disabled seniors alternatives to nursing homes.

During the 90-day session up-to-date information on bills and resolutions can be obtained by logging on to the Legislative Reference Website: mlis.state.md.us.

St. Andrew’s, Glenwood Moves From School to First Parish House

A bagpiper pipes away froom Bushby Park School tp St. Andrew's new parish house

On Sunday, December 1, St. Andrew’s, Glenwood, held its first service in its newly constructed Parish House. St. Andrew’s, one of the Diocese’s newest congregations, celebrated St. Andrew’s Day with a bag piper and parade from Bushy Park Elementary School to its new home.

Following the piper was a replica of the St. Andrew’s Lighthouse with its beacon of light and hope, as well as a horse trailer carrying the platforms, altar, and altar furnishing that had been used for over seven years at Bushy Park School. A motorcade composed of the entire congregation followed to the Parish House.

St. Andrew’s was founded by St. Peter’s, Ellicott City, on St. Andrew’s Day, November 30, 1980. Since that time the congregation has worshipped at historic Union Chapel in Glenwood. In 1995, St. Andrew’s moved one of its three services to Bushy Park School because of its rapid growth.

St. Andrew’s, Glenwood, moves forward.

The Rev. Harry Brunett, Rector of St. Andrew’s, said “Our goal was to open the Parish House on the observance of St. Andrew’s Day. We celebrated the Holy Eucharist in thanksgiving for our twenty-two years of ministry in western Howard County and for the wonderful space dedicated to worship, fellowship, Christian formation, and service.”

Dr. Peter Radue, Senior Warden, said, “The move to our new Parish House was the result of efforts from virtually the whole congregation. Members have helped with fundraising, financing, planning, construction, landscaping and decorating.  

With each new problem, a member of St. Andrew’s would step forward to fill the need. This building is truly the result of a unified effort. The result of this effort is not just the physical building; it is the opportunity for St. Andrew’s to expand its vision of service to this community.”

St. James’ Breaks Ground For New Education Wing

On October 13, the children of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Parkton enthusiastically broke ground for their new education wing. With bright yellow and blue shovels in hand, before a crowd of more than 100 parishioners and guests, the children sang and dug where they will soon learn and grow in Christ.

The church’s rector, the Rev. Robert F. Miller, led the service, which began with ribbons stretched across the site to form the Greek letter chi (“X”; the symbol of both the cross and the name of Christ) and then around the four corners enclosing the area.

Special guest Sherry McCall Ross, Diocesan Youth Missioner, helped turn the first shovel along with Fr. Miller and Sharon Tillman, Planning and Development Committee chair for St. James’. Dan Sheppard, youth group member, and Martha Canoune, Preschool Board Chair, pulled the ribbons that formed the cross.

Peter Schwab, Property Warden, Myrtle and John Leary, long-standing members, Howard Canoune, laity, and Gina and Damon Hammersla, new members, each stretched a segment of ribbon to form the perimeter. Nancy Tillman, senior warden, and Pete Evans, former Planning and Development Committee Chair led the congregation in prayer. The Rev. Jean C. Neylon, deacon and original developer of St. James' Sunday school program, gave the dismissal.

St. James' is expanding its parish hall with a 2,542-square foot addition that will house the church's Sunday school and Preschool programs. Plans include open classroom space, an office, nursery, coatroom, and bathrooms. The parish hall will be refurbished for use by the congregation.

What is sometimes called “the little church on the hill” has experienced tremendous growth, making the need for this expansion critical. Average Sunday service attendance grew from 85 people in 1987 to 112 in 2001. Currently there are 75 children enrolled in Sunday school and there are 24 Preschool students. The parish hall, where all activities currently take place, is bursting at the seams.

Support for this project is strong. Fundraising began in April 2002 and the parish has raised more than $370,000 of its $400,000 goal.

Episcopal Social Ministries Re-named Episcopal Community Services of Maryland

Episcopal Social Ministries (ESM) has officially changed its name to Episcopal Community Services of Maryland.

The impetus for the name change first occurred to the Rev. Elizabeth Gillett, Executive Director of the newly renamed Episcopal Community Services of Maryland (ECSM). After discussions with donors, staff and board, the Board of Directors’ unanimous vote approved the change at its September 2002 meeting, but the legal procedure of officially changing the name kept the organization in limbo until November.

The Executive Director envisioned the changing scope of the organization’s work and its relationship to the broader philanthropic community. No longer was the organization serving individuals in small, focused ministries. Rather ECSM has been moving in the direction of serving communities through collaborations.

ECSM’s work in Collington Square in East Baltimore exemplifies this type of relationship to communities. There ECSM networks and relates to a complement of churches, non-profit and community organizations, as well as schools to produce a continuum of programs aimed at improving conditions for the entire neighborhood.

While ECSM concentrates its efforts through three programs there; namely its after school and two substance abuse recovery programs, it is also “plugged into” and contributes to the broader picture of the community’s needs and challenges. For example, in May 2002, ECSM helped to plan and organize a neighborhood festival. ECSM also engages its volunteers and staff in quarterly neighborhood clean-up projects under the direction of Episcopal Housing Corporation.

The “Maryland” part of Episcopal Community Services of Maryland comes from a view that one day, ECSM will serve those in poverty beyond the boundaries of its current area of concentration.

Funds Sought to Establish William Jefferson Chapel 

By Ray Smith, Grace Church, Elkridge

Throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, many lives were touched by the unselfish giving of Deacon William (Bill) Jefferson, yet none were touched more than the congregation of Grace Church, Elkridge. Through a unanimous vote by the Vestry of Grace Church, a Chapel is being built as an addition to the Grace Church Parish Hall to honor Bill’s work.

In recognition and appreciation of his ministry among us, the Vestry of Grace invites those who knew and worked with Deacon Bill to participate in this project to honor the life and work of this generous man.

If you wish to contribute, send your tax deductible check to: 

Grace Church, Elkridge, Maryland.

Attn: Ray Smith   

6725 Montgomery Road

Elkridge, MD  21075

Please note on the check “The Bill Jefferson Memorial Chapel fund.” The Vestry also welcomes a pledge from anyone who knew and loved Bill but is unable to give at this time.

YOU CAN BE A HERO!

The Dyslexia Tutoring Program needs volunteers. We will train you to tutor dyslexic children and adults.

Give the gift of learning to read!  Call (410) 889-5487.

2003 Maryland Church News Deadline

Issue                                  Deadline                    Projected Mailing Date

March/April                    February 1                 February 26      

May/June                          April 1                      April 25

July/August                      June 1                        June 27   

September/October          August 1                    August 28   

November/December      October 1                  October 28   

January/February 2004    December 1(2003)   December 26     

Please send all materials via email to MCN@ang-md.org or by U.S. mail on disc to MCN, Diocese of Maryland, 4 East University Parkway, Baltimore, Maryland 21218. Questions regarding the MCN may be directed to Pat Rouzer, Editor of the newspaper, at the email address above or by phone 410.840.9220.

Visitation Schedules

 Holy Apostles to Dedicate Organ, Hold Recital February 7

The Church of the Holy Apostles in Arbutus has recently installed a new Rodgers 837 Trillium organ. This magnificent organ will be dedicated and a recital given on Friday evening, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. The organ is a gift from long-time members, Calvin and Audrey Rahm.

The recitalist for the evening will be Dan Miller, a world-renowned organist. Mr. Miller comes from Portland, OR. He has taught music, conducted choral groups and orchestras, and is well-known for his composing and arranging. He has several published works to his credit and has recorded nine organ compact discs.

Mr. Miller has been a church organist since age fifteen. At Calvary Church, in Charlotte, NC, he presided over the world’s thirteenth largest pipe organ and was assistant organist to Diane Bish at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The public is cordially invited to this concert. Please join us for this celebration!

Please call the church at 410.242.5477 for directions and information.

George Frederick Handel’s “Messiah” has all but ruined this prophesy for me.

His lilting melody to these rather amazing words from Isaiah 40, lulls me into a comfort not really encouraged by the prophet’s opening words:

“Comfort, comfort my people says your God.” We will hear this passage a lot this Christmas season, but make no mistake the “highway” to be prepared for the Messiah’s coming is the highway of our hearts. Long before the “comfort” sets in there is work to do and no small amount of discomfort! The prophet envisions a leveling. Have you ever watched road building in the mountains? Dynamite is set and the tops of mountains are blasted off; the rubble is then dumped into the ravines and to fill in the low places. It is torturous work and even violent.

Beyond the particular details, what is envisioned is the preparation necessary for our hearts. What kinds of adjustments are necessary for our hearts to become that even road on which God’s Savior will ride more fully into our lives and world? Those lofty, judgmental places from which we look down our noses at our neighbors need to be reduced to rubble. Those secrets and hidden aspects of our lives buried deep in shame need to be lifted up to the light of God’s grace and forgiveness—bared, as it were, to the purifying light of Christ.

All our devious ways as well as all of those side excursions we love to take which prevent us from approaching God directly or responding directly to the needs of our neighbors need to be straightened out. All the rough and craggy edges (and we all have them) of our personality need to be rounded off by our honest participation in the community of believers.

Over time and with grace you and I become the “highway of our God.” This highway becomes not only a regular road for our own receiving of grace and encouragement, it is a path for others which leads to new and exciting disclosures of God incarnate in Jesus through us. In this holy season of Christmastide and Epiphany (God’s Revelation) let us guard against nostalgia or the deceptive thoughts which encourage us to minimize the personal cost of discipleship which can lull us into a false comfort.

Let us take seriously the call to become “a highway for our God.”

After the leveling with its sobriety, painful self-analysis, and readjustments comes the deep and lasting comfort—a sense of well being and of joy! May you have a blessed Christmas and Epiphany!

Faithfully Yours,

Bishop of Maryland

The Diocese of Maryland currently seeks candidates for the following positions:

• Director of Financial Development and Communications

• Development and Communications Assistant

• Assistant to the Office Administrator

To read the position descriptions, please visit the Diocesan website: www.ang-md.org

 Or contact Evie Wagner, Human Resources Coordinator: ewagner@ang-md.org 410.467.1399

Rainbow Camp Serves Special Needs Of HIV-Affected Campers
By The Rev. John E. Wilbur, Director, Rainbow Camp

We are called in many ways to share in God’s life and love, which we call “grace.” The HIV/AIDS pandemic and all that it encompasses is an opportunity to be in communion with one another. HIV/AIDS teaches us that we need one another, that we can’t travel life’s journey alone. We are challenged to be agents of grace, to be reconcilers, to be sources of unity one with another.

Rainbow Camp reaches out into the AIDS community and provides a Christian experience for children ages 8-12 years old affected or infected by HIV/AIDS. The camp provides care and support for those marginalized by HIV/AIDS; a time away from a stressful daily life; renewal through staying at the Bishop Claggett Center; awareness of the significance of faith in dealing with the realities of the life for these children.

Planning for Rainbow Camp 2002 began in October 2001. We reviewed the staff’s evaluation of the last session and learned that we needed to change the camp’s structure and consistency. It was clear that to increase the number of campers we had to have more groups and more time allocated for swimming. We would also need more counselors, especially those trained to work with special needs children who often have multiple medical needs and behavior problems. These are not problem children by definition, but they experience extreme levels of stress from their surroundings and medical diagnosis.

Again this year, we had a marvelous working relationship with the Pediatric AIDS Department of University Hospital. Four staff members there and six other people associated with the staff members joined the program staff, medical staff or counselors at Rainbow Camp. Most of the campers were known directly by these gifted and devoted people who gave of their time to give this experience to the children.

The Montgomery County Department of Recreation, supplied two school buses to transport our campers from the Bishop Claggett Center to the Howard County Fair and the Cedar Ridge Challenge Course. We are very grateful for this most generous donation.

This year we had nine campers associated with the AIDS Interfaith Residential Services, Inc. (AIRS). James Williams and Eddie Dugan arranged for these campers to attend and supplied transportation to and from the Claggett Center. We were really pleased to have these campers.

The RC2002 planning staff was: Phyllis Weston, Dr. Karen Kingry, Fr. John Wilbur, Sandra D. Wilbur, Angelo Seda, and Katie Henry. This group set up the schedule, identified field trips, planned evening entertainment programs and logistics, recruited senior and junior counselors, provided transportation to and from Baltimore, as well as for day trips, and helped raise additional funding to cover extra cost, and incidentals. The University also supplied the bus to transport the youngsters from and to Baltimore.

The RC2002 full-time staff was: Victoria Campbell, Sandra Dean, Dwight Dean, Karina Fitzgerald, Dylan Fitzgerald, Zachary Flinko, Scott Gallagher, Becky Henry, Dr. Karen Kingry, Kay Klovstad, Karen Landry Tariq Malik, Melody Meanor, Becky Rocco, Angelo Seda, Sarah Smith, Joseph Stouffer, Reginald Thompson, David Vaughn, Phyllis Weston, Fr. John Wilbur, and Sandra Wilbur. Except for University of Maryland staff members, none received remuneration. Many of the adult staff took their vacation time to be at Rainbow Camp.

The staffs, for the most part, worked as a cohesive whole for the safety and well being of the campers. This year, out of the 58 campers, 42 were HIV+ or had AIDS. This required medical staff to administer multiple drug regimens at least twice a day. Special thanks to Karen Kingry, MD, Shirley Ferrus, MD and Angelo Seda, RN for their exhaustive care of the campers and their attention to their special needs.

We were blessed by a host of day-volunteers who assisted with daily activities such as baseball, soccer, arts and crafts, photography and general assistance to our full-time staff. Without these gifted and devoted people, we wouldn’t have been able to provide the variety of programs and activities we did. The day-volunteers were: Trudy and Dave Lawson, John Softy, Norma and Lauren Prentice, Jeff and Tiffany Spaulding, Sue de la Cruz, Kevin Dugard.

We tried to provide a healthy atmosphere for our special campers, good food and a challenging program to help them to discover who they are and what they can accomplish if they set their minds to it.

It was interesting to watch campers realize that they could do more than they thought they could. The foundational question under girding Rainbow Camp each year is: “Why do I do the things I do the way I do them?” The follow-on question is: “Why do you do the things you do the way you do them?”

During our occasional chats with those campers who were having a difficult time, we began to understand the real meaning of these questions. The more fully the staff understood the lives these children live, the more the answers reveal themselves.

I believe the name of the camp is a perfect illustration of what God is able to do with each of us as we become aware of His presence. The gloomy and stormy conditions we find in our lives seem to be insurmountable until the light of Christ begins to shine through our lives; the resulting rainbow lifts us beyond the past and into the eternal now.

The Bishop Claggett Center staff, once again, went out of their ways to make us feel welcome. They would do anything to make the program go smoothly and make changes in the snacks to accommodate our campers’ needs. Sue, Denis, and others of the staff could not have been more helpful and they deserve a very special thank you from the Diocese. They are the ones who make things work and keep it going.

Joe Kerner saved the day when we had exhausted every resource to supply an addition van to take the campers to the Cedar Ridge Adventure Camp for the Rope Course and he enabled us to use one of the Claggett Center vans. We greatly appreciate his generosity.

Sr. Helen Prejean: ‘Where is Our Outrage?’
Prison Ministry Conferees are Challenged to Act   By Val Hymes

“Out of Darkness into Light,” the Diocese’s first prison ministry conference Oct. 17-18, resonated with energy and enthusiasm for justice and empathy for victims of crime.

The Rt. Rev. Robert W. Ihloff welcomed an audience of nearly 80 people who had come  to hear Sr. Helen Prejean, the author of the book, Dead Man Walking, which inspired a movie and an opera. Sr. Prejean jump-started the program with fervent pleas for a moratorium on the death penalty and more ministering to the poor.

“People with money don’t go to death row,” she said. “People who live in poor neighborhoods get shot all the time. Where is our outrage?”

Sr. Prejean stopped in Baltimore in her multi-state journey for signatures on petitions for a moratorium that now have more than 500,000 signatures.

She urged the conferees to challenge their legislators with these facts:

    Murder rates are lower in states where the death penalty is banned than in states that employ it; the death penalty costs more than life in prison; it is racially inequitable, and the United States is the only western democracy that executes offenders. (www.moratoriumcampaign.org)

She said her introduction to death row started when someone asked her to write a letter to a condemned inmate who had no visitors and no mail. “We are throwing people away,” she said. “Prison is the place of the untouchables. Who would Jesus visit today?”

“We have legitimized and legalized vengeance,” she added, but “there is a crack in our Berlin wall.” She said, “We have a cloud of witnesses who want to follow Jesus in forgiveness and we have the facts.”

Kitty Irwin of Radford, Va., forgave the family acquaintance who murdered her 16-year-old daughter two years ago. “Why do we want to kill anyone?” she asked in her keynote address Friday. “We are more like the murderers when we get together as a group to kill.”

Even after she developed breast cancer two weeks after Tara Rose was buried, and before she knew that the defendant, Jeffrey Thomas, came from a family of schizophrenics, she forgave. “I knew what I had to do,” she said. “I got up in court and looked at Jeff and said, ‘I forgive you for what you have done.’ And for the first time, he cried.”

One of the conference participants was Dottie Toulson, 84, of Baltimore, who said from her wheelchair, “Forgiveness is a gift from God.” She said she opposed the death penalty for the inmate who killed her prison officer husband during a riot. “That’s God’s job,” she said.

The Rev. Jackie Means, director of prison ministry for the national church, said there were three executions in two weeks in her state of Indiana. “Where is everybody?” she demanded. “We talk the talk a lot, but we need to walk the walk.”

A former nurse and prison chaplain, Means said Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, has promised to visit a death row next year.

“I want him to cast out the demons, to bless the building, touch the staff and look into the eyes of someone facing death. Until he does, nothing will change.”  She listed successful ministries around the nation, including the Magdalene Hospitality House in Cumberland for families of inmates. Led by Emmanuel with the help of other churches from other states, the house hopes to open in the spring.

Other speakers included Annapolis attorney Frank Dunbaugh, who described the struggle over Maryland’s telephone “tax,” or “commissions,” which drive up the cost of inmates collect calls home and to their attorneys to as much as 71 cents a minute. Corrections officials say the “commissions” paid to the

prisons by the phone companies are necessary to pay for “essential” programs like education, recreation and chaplain salaries.

“They are just plain kickbacks” paid by the telephone companies to obtain the contracts, said Mr. Dunbaugh, a former deputy attorney general for the Justice Department. “It’s an unlawful tax,” that affects the families severely, said the director of the Maryland Justice Policy Institute. “The state Constitution says only the legislature may impose a tax.”

Michael Stark, coordinator of the Baltimore-Washington Chapters of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, described the “Death Row Live” sessions CEDP has sponsored since 1997. Inmates on death row at the “supermax” prison in Baltimore talk on a speaker phone so chapter members and others may interview them.

“It rips off the shroud of labels,” said Stark, “that they are animals and a constant threat. We hear about their dreams, their losses, their poetry. It transforms the listeners.” He said the work of the volunteers—many in area colleges—is overwhelming. “It took only ten years to double the number of prisoners behind bars, now at 2 million with 3,700 on death row despite the fact that thousands have marched in protest,” he added.

But, he said, support for the death penalty is declining—even after 9-11—with the options of sentences of life without the possibility of parole.

Epiphany Honors ‘Icons of Peace’  By Val Hymes

Amid the debates over war, the congregation of Epiphany Church, Odenton, has elected to honor “icons of peace” — all military chaplains.

The Rev. Phebe L. McPherson, Rector of Epiphany, Odenton, holds the Peace Chalice at one of the four monuments to World War One chaplains in the Peace Garden outside the church, once a WWI chapel. George E. Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Chaplains, is the first  recipient to be honored for his work at Ground Zero.  —Val Hymes Photo.

During World War I, five military chaplains celebrated the Eucharist and counseled soldiers from nearby Camp Meade, as it was known then. Epiphany Chapel and Church House was built in the shape of a cross to create not only a chapel, but a home away from home. It was the only military chapel in the nation during the “Great War.”

Earlier this year, a Peace Garden was established outside the church and dedicated to the 2,929 chaplains who served in that war.

On November 10, a special Armistice Day Eucharist was held to announce the first recipient of a Peace Chalice: the bishop who coordinated the work of chaplains at Ground Zero after 9-11. The Waterford crystal chalice is engraved with the name of the Rt. Rev. George E. Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Armed Services, Healthcare and Prison Ministry.

He was cited for “his faithful and courageous leadership in the ‘100 Days of Mission Support’ following the crisis of Sept. 11, 2001,” said the Rev. Phebe L. McPherson, Epiphany’s rector.

Bishop Packard, who is based in New York City, organized and scheduled chaplains for Ground Zero, worked as liaison to the Pentagon, briefed clergy from the 13 dioceses that were directly affected, “and provided solace and counseling for victims, their families, rescue workers and all affected by that terrible day,” she added.

The 20-inch chalice will remain in the church sanctuary. A smaller replica will be presented to Bishop Packard in New York. He is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam and Gulf wars.

“There is nothing simple about the condition of the world,” said McPherson in a recent sermon. “There are no easy answers.”

But when she began searching for information about the chaplains who had served at the chapel near Fort Meade, she discovered a possible answer. “As the names of all 2,929 World War I chaplains crossed my desk, I asked myself, could it be that they are the answer to how we overcome evil with good?”

Perhaps the real leaders, she added, are not so much the ones who make the “charges into battle” but those who “go with us no matter where we are and no matter who we are.”

“Chaplains,” she said “do every day what they have done for many decades in every war and conflict, in different parts of the world, in the dark and dangerous places. With a cloth thrown over the wing of an airplane, or over a munitions box, with a few pieces of bread and a little wine, they create a moment of peace.”

The parish rector said the nearly 3,000 chaplains in the “Great War” included 25 rabbis and 108 African American chaplains. They were issued only “a blue flag with a white Latin cross on it to mark the chaplain’s tent,” say historians.

Epiphany Chapel and Church House was built in the spring of 1918 by the dioceses of Washington D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania.

It was restored to its original board and batten a year ago. On November 10 it was decorated with red poppies.

Offices and Committees Open for Nomination to the 219th Convention of the Diocese of Maryland May 1-3, 2003

Celebrating Musicians Serving Small Congregations

“The Well” Formed To Aid Personal Ministry   By Maybeth Hudson

Well for the Journey, Inc. (“The Well,” as we commonly refer to it) was born over the past year in response to a growing awareness of a yearning in people around us. That yearning, put as succinctly as possible, is to grow in relationship with God—the source of wholeness and love. The vision and mission of The Well were “prayed into existence” by a dedicated group over several months. Beginning last spring, and continuing every 2 weeks, seven of us gathered at noon for lunch, reflection, and exploration of what God was calling us to do.

Several recurring themes emerged: community, small groups, gatherings, spiritual growth, and education. While worship is critically important to nurturing a relationship with God, many need ongoing nourishment throughout the week. The Well seeks to provide opportunities to gather, learn, and grow with one another in our faith.

Some have asked the following question: “How is this different from what churches do?” It is not different, but complementary. First, this is an effort for those of us from different denominations to do it together. The richness of diverse traditions can help all of us to know and grow in God and Christ in ways that we cannot grow within our own denominations. Further, many churches are constrained by money, staff, and energy, such that a more in depth program is not possible.

The Well fills a gap between what churches and seminaries offer. All of us are called to be ministers in the world, not just those who have been ordained. We are all called to love God, love others and love ourselves and to be living water to those around us. Day in and day out. What a challenge!  We hope that The Well will provide nourishment for that challenge.

So, we evolve-here at The Well, and each one of us on our individual journeys. I am thankful for the many people who have been a part of the unfolding of The Well. I am excited and awed by the work that lies ahead. Thank goodness we don’t do it alone.

The Well Offers Training, Fellowship Groups

The Well, a new interdenominational group working in the Baltimore area, offers several training and educational programs. The following are their winter offerings:

• Small Group Facilitator Training

Friday, January 24 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 25 from

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church

For anyone currently facilitating small groups or considering being a facilitator of small groups. This workshop is designed to train leaders of adults gathered for spiritual growth or spiritual formation. Hands-on training will include: resources for building community in small groups, understanding small group dynamics, selection, assessment and evaluation of materials and resources for small groups, and tools for creating lesson plans for adult spiritual formation small groups

Leaders: Barbara Flint, The Rev. Jonathan Oglesbee

Price: $65 (includes Friday night dinner, continental breakfast and lunch on Saturday)

Barbara Flint: Barbara Flint, Director of Christian Education at Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church, graduated from Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary’s seminary with a Masters in Religious Education. She has been an educator and program director in the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches for 18 years and has extensive experience with small groups, retreats and workshops for spiritual formation.

Jonathan Oglesbee: Jonathan Oglesbee, Pastor of Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church, graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity. He has extensive training in leading and facilitating small groups in educational, biblical and recreational ministries.

•  Midday Interludes

Tuesdays  (12:15-1:15 p.m.). January 14 to February 18

Trinity Episcopal Church (Guild Room), 120 Allegheny Avenue, Towson

Leaders: Ginny Barnhart, The Rev. Adrien Dawson, Maybeth Hudson

An opportunity to connect with each other, eat lunch and explore different aspects of living our lives more grounded in faith. Drop-ins welcomed.

Cost:  $25 for 6- week session; $5 per drop-in.

•  Women at the Well

Wednesday mornings (9:30 to 11:00 a.m.), January 8 to February 19

Church of the Good Shepherd, 1401 Carrollton Avenue, Towson

Leaders:  Becky Slater and Maybeth Hudson

OR

Thursday afternoons (1:00 to 2:30 p.m.). January 9 to February 20

Hunts Memorial United Methodist Church, 1901 W. Joppa Road, Riderwood.

Leaders:  Terri Smith and Maybeth Hudson

An opportunity for women to gather for spiritual nourishment and fellowship. Using Joyce Rupp’s The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth and ordinary coffee cups, we will explore ways we can grow in relationship with God, others and ourselves. Small group format will include scripture, writings from contemporary writers and materials from every day life.

•  Centerpoint

An opportunity to gather to deepen the inner journey and gain insight into the core of our souls. Influenced by the understandings of C.J. Jung, Centerpoint guides people in the forces, patterns, and symbols of the world of the unconscious. Participants will examine principles of analytical psychology such as ego, shadow, persona, anima and animus, dreams, mythology and the process of individuation. Series of 18 gatherings at intervals arranged by those interested persons. On-going groups being formed. Call our offices for more information.

Cost: $100.

SCHOLARSHIP MONEY IS AVAILABLE.

To register or for more information on The Well or its offerings, contact our offices. 6200 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21212.
Telephone: 410-377-9520, FAX: 410-377-9522.  Watch for website at wellforjourney.org.

Uncovering The Hidden Jewel:
Diocese To Host Day of Discernment For Episcopalians of Color

On February 15, the Saturday closest to the day on which the Episcopal Church celebrates the life and work of the 18th-century priest and church leader Absalom Jones, the Diocese of Maryland will host a day of discernment for people of color in the church.

The 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. program, “Uncovering the Hidden Jewel,” is designed to inspire participants in the tradition of call to Christian vocation and to inform them of the ways they can participate more fully in their parishes, the Diocese, and the national church, as lay people and in ordained vocations as priests and deacons. The keynote speaker, Jill Swans, Deployment Officer of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, will open the program with a presentation of stories of God’s call in Christian scripture.

The festive event will be held at the Church of Christ the King, 1930 Brookdale Road, just off Security Boulevard west of Rolling Road, starting at 8:30 a.m. with a light breakfast. After opening prayer, the keynote presentation will be followed by a general presentation on vocation in the church.

A panel of seminarians, priests, and lay leaders of various backgrounds will discuss the ways they participate in local, regional, and national church affairs, and how they discerned and developed their vocations.

An inspirational reflection on the Saints will precede noonday prayers and lunch. The afternoon session will present the discernment and development process in the Diocese of Maryland, in which people are assisted and encouraged as they seek to discern their true call as Christians and to develop skills and credentials as lay leaders and ordained priests and deacons.

The afternoon will conclude at 2:00 p.m. with a short concert by a multicultural choir from several congregations..

To register, send your name, address, phone, email, and any special needs for access or diet, with a registration fee of $5 to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church— Day of Discernment, 730 Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD 21401-2137. You may also register by email to philip@ang-md.org and pay at the door on the day of the event.

For more information, call William Lambert at 410.944.6563 or The Rev. Angela Shepherd at 410.841.6717.

St. Paul’s School Appoints 32nd Headmaster

The Board of Trustees of St. Paul’s School in Brooklandville announced late last year that Thomas J. Reid has been appointed the 32nd Headmaster of St. Paul’s. Mr. Reid’s tenure was effective in November.

Mr. Reid, who served as interim headmaster at the school, came to St. Paul’s in July 2002 from Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn, New York, where he served as headmaster for 14 years. Prior to that, he spent nine years at Pomfret School, an all-boys boarding school in Connecticut, where his roles included history teacher, athletic director, and Dean of Students.

Tom began his career in independent education at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia in 1973 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.A. in History. He earned his M.A. in Educational Administration at the University of Connecticut in 1987.

“The Search Committee and Board Officers unanimously and enthusiastically recommended Tom to the full Board of Trustees,” says Daniel R. Baker, President of the Board of Trustees. “Tom possesses stellar credentials as an educator and head of school, bringing to St. Paul’s thirty years of successful experience in independent education as well as a personal understanding of and deep commitment to the mission and values of our community. He has demonstrated a dedication to service in many ways, including active involvement over many years in an innovative and successful ice hockey program for inner-city youth in Harlem, even while serving as a head of school. He is a high-energy, outgoing, student-oriented leader and we are fortunate to have attracted him to St. Paul’s.” Tom and his wife, Ann, plan to continue to live on campus. They have two children, a daughter who teaches at Gilman School and a son who attends Boston College.

Stevens Named Head of School At St. Timothy’s

The Board of Trustees of St. Timothy’s School has announced that Randy S. Stevens is the new Head of School. He currently is Dean of Student Life at Northfield Mount Hermon in Northfield, Massachusetts.

St. Timothy’s is the diocesan school for girls, and serves girls grades 9 through 12. It is both a boarding and day school.

Prior to Northfield Mount Hermon, Randy was Associate Dean of Students at Cornell University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University. His wife Marcia is Dean of Students at the University of Maryland, College Park. They will move into Lane House, the Head of School’s residence, this summer.

Committee on Older Adult Ministries Honors Exemplary Senior Ministries

The Committee on Older Adult Ministries began collecting stories of senior lay ministers from parishes in the Diocese as part of their May 2002 celebration of Older American’s month. Three of the eighteen ministry descriptions received were selected as exemplary.

Honored were Mack Ridout from St. Margaret’s, Annapolis, Jesse Martak, Sr., from the Church of the Messiah, Baltimore, and Jean Nelson from Grace Memorial Church, Harford County.

Mack guided many projects in the parish including establishing of a parish day school, renovations of church buildings and grounds, and expanding the Honduras outreach program.

Jesse Martak, in his 8th decade, serves his church by involving them in many community outreach projects including the Northeast Emergency Food Panty, church Refugee Service, Paul’s Place and the Antioch Shelter to name a few.

Jean Nelson has for 40 years served Grace Church in most of its activities: Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, Altar Guild, Lay Eucharistic ministry, Vestry, Thrift Shop. She also is a leader of an ecumenical senior program of trips and luncheons called Gadabouts.

The stories of these and other people recognized by their parishes are in the Older Adult section of the Media Center in a book entitled SONG OF THE SAINTS. Those people are: Lula Thorpe, St. Philip’s, Annapolis; Kathryn Hinchcliffe, Middleham & St. Peter’s Parish, Solomon’s Island; Dorothy Evans, Holy Trinity, Baltimore; John Lowe, Ascension Church, Westminster; Verneal Cooley, Grace Church, Harford County; Agnes Bond, St. David’s, Baltimore; John Stokes, Ascension, Harford County; Helen Abner, St. Andrew the Fisherman, Mayo; Edna Snack, Messiah, Baltimore; Delmer Huff, Ascension, Harford County; Anna Ray Suter, St. Thomas’, Providence Road; Maud Roberts, St. James’, Irvington and Luvean Houston, Holy Nativity, Pimlico Rd.

Later this year, The Committee on Older Adult Ministry will ask parishes to honor some of their older members during Older Americans Month, May 2003, and to send descriptions of their ministries to the Committee.

Message from Bishop Rabb

Significance of Epiphany Often Lost In the Post-Christmas Letdown

Often lost in the post Christmas letdown is the deep significance of Epiphany. The event is the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, the first Gentiles to see Christ. It is the manifestation of Christ to all nations. As such it is often called the missionary season.

Of great importance to us is how do we manifest Christ? Mission is the work of each of us to manifest the saving grace of Christ in our lives. I am often bothered with how much we have privatized our faith. We too easily separate out our lives of faith, participation in communities of worship and our work within the church from our vocations in the world. We need to see that we are manifesting Christ in our work in business, education, our professions, and our neighborhoods and even in the actions and decisions we take politically.

Some might say that this is risky business in a pluralistic society. I believe that it is Christian to respect other faiths and work cooperatively and respectfully. Of greatest concern to me is that we have gone too far in divorcing our Christian faith from work we do in the world.

Sharon Daloz Parks, who along with Thomas R. Piper and Mary C. Gentile wrote, “Can Ethics Be Taught? Perspectives, Challenges and Approaches at Harvard Business School (1993)” notes in her chapter on young adults and ethical formation (pp. 40-41) that Western culture has seen a “rupture between commerce and social responsibility.”  

I have heard much of the same from people working in the worlds of medicine, law and education as well. What I see as a first step is to claim as vocation our work in the world, a manifestation of the God’s gifts to us to be shared with others. As such it is necessary for us to see this as stewardship, being trusted with a part of God’s creation for the greater use of God’s people. Unfortunately the word vocation has been limited to religious work, but this is not the intent.

A second step is for us to understand the nature of servanthood. The most often repeated commandment from Jesus is whoever would be first of all will be last of all and servant of all. Servanthood for us means that we see our work, our vocation, as service for the building up of God’s people and of working for the transformation.

A number of years ago I asked a most committed vestry member to be senior warden. She told me she would have to think about it and that it could not conflict with her two other callings, as teacher and as spouse and parent. She pointed out that she did not think service to Christ happened only in specifically church work.

We too rarely see that our work in the world, our families, our relationships, as callings to serve. More often than not we speak of what it does for us. Servanthood is what God expects of us. As servants we are to always put service to God’s people first and our own selves after that.

I firmly believe that when we are serving God and others we obtain the highest level of satisfaction. By the way, that person did accept the job of senior warden and effectively helped us to see more clearly the deeper meanings of vocation and calling.

To some this all may see unrealistic. I suggest that we look at where we see significant accomplishments. Are they in commerce, medicine, law, education, politics and our family and home lives? I believe we will always see that when we put servanthood first, good things happen and productive things happen.

Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ, should be for all of us a season to ask how we are manifesting Christ in our vocations and in all aspects of our lives.

Faithfully yours,

Bishop Suffragan of Maryland

Priest Offers Personal Reflections Of A Transforming Experience 

By The Rev. David A. Stenner, Spiritual Advisor, Maryland Episcopal Cursillo

When first asked to attend a Cursillo weekend I was reluctant to say the least. My impression was that those folks appeared to be a bit odd. I wondered about the weird dress, the strange language, and no one could be that happy and enthusiastic all the time. The truth is I was very cynical about what I perceived as a private club for church members who relied on an emotional experience to satisfy their faith.

After graduation from seminary, I was appointed Deacon in Charge of a small congregation in rural Northern California. A good percentage of the congregation was active in Cursillo and one of the first questions I was asked was if I ever attended a weekend. I tried to sidestep the question but eventually agreed to go. After all I just graduated from seminary and knew everything there

was to know about Christianity (at least I thought I did). My goal was then to get through the weekend, and maybe learn a little about what made these people tick.

Upon my arrival my skepticism turned to trepidation, I thought “who are these people?” I sat through a number of formalities and was introduced to the Cursillo vocabulary (another strange experience). My skepticism grew, as I lay awake trying to get comfortable on a strange bed in a strange place with strangers.

The next morning I experienced a number of folks who were called upon to share the fundamentals of the faith in simple yet intimate ways. As their stories unfolded I found that I did not know all there was to know; instead what I learned was transforming.

It wasn’t as much what I heard as what I witnessed. I saw a community that was supporting and loving in a real and tangible way. I saw people reaching out in true servant hood and humility, treating one another and us with kindness, dignity, and care. The word had taken flesh right before my eyes.

I write this to encourage any skeptics to come and see. Cursillo is not just an emotionally charged weekend experience, but also a model of what it means to live out a life of Christian service and care.

Yes, Cursillo folks can look and act a bit strange, but the goal is to help pattern a life that takes the Gospel of Christ seriously and to develop a discipline in order to live, share, and act in a manner worthy of our calling. Whether clergy or lay, if you have not already experienced the blessing of Cursillo, consider attending one of the upcoming weekends.

What is there to lose? At least you may understand why so many are so happy and enthusiastic.

Ceremony of Carols Begins Winter Special Music Program at Redeemer

The women of the Church of the Redeemer Adult Choir will offer Benjamin Britten’s popular Ceremony of Carols on the Sunday before Epiphany, January 5 at 11:00 a.m. The choir will be accompanied by harpist Sonja Inglefield, and the work will be woven into the eucharistic setting that morning.

“Britten’s Ceremony of Carols is such a well-loved work,” said Henry Lowe, director of music at Redeemer, “and we feel it is the perfect way to usher in the new year and to lead us into Epiphany.”

The second special music offering at Redeemer in January will be the service of Choral Evensong, sung in the Chapel at Redeemer on Sunday, January 19 at 5:00 p.m. The service will include the singing of Cantata No. 37, by J.S. Bach, “True believers shall be saved,” with choir and soloists accompanied by a small orchestra.

Evening Service by Henry Purcell will also be sung by the choir. The Chapel at Redeemer is the smaller of the church’s two main worship spaces it provides an intimate setting with acoustics that beautifully enhance the singing of this traditional service.

A very special musical offering will be held on February 16 at 5:30 p.m., when the Redeemer choir joins the choir at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen to sing two masses, accompanied by two organs. The program, which is being called 2+2+2, will be held at The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen so that the combined choirs can make use of the Cathedral’s two organs.

The masses are by Charles Marie Widor, written for the Church of Saint Sulpice in Paris, and by Louis Vierne, written for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The Cathedral’s two organs, one in the gallery and one in the chancel will be used. Henry Lowe and Daniel Sansome, director of music at the Cathedral, will direct. Randall Mullin, organist at St. David’s, will also assist.

The final event in February, an organ recital by Henry Lowe, will take place at the National Cathedral in Washington on Sunday, February 16 at 5:30 p.m. The recital will include “Symphonie Gothique” (No. 9) by Charles Marie Widor, “Out of the deep” by Herbert Howells, “Resurrection” by Larry King and “Prelude and Fugue on Alain” by Maurice Durufle

The public is cordially invited to attend these events, which are free and sponsored by the Church of the Redeemer Friends of Music program. The Church of the Redeemer is located at 5603 N. Charles Street. For more information please call 410.435.7333.

ECSM Awarded Grant To Expand Services In Collington Square

On November 11, Episcopal Relief and Development awarded $46,961.00 to Episcopal Community Services of Maryland (ECSM) for the expansion of ECSM’s second of two Re-entry services, Collington Square Re-entry Program (CSRP). The funding will support the addition of new staff to serve a greater number of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

For 15 years, ECSM’s Re-entry programs have helped nearly 1,000 homeless men and women to achieve a deeper spirituality, building the internal basis to sustain sobriety. The programs assist clients in getting and keeping jobs in the 8-week, 8-hour per day sessions held 4 times annually at two sites.

CSRP will be expanding its facilities in the impoverished community of Collington Square by renovating four houses purchased in November with the help of the Rolander Family Foundation. It is anticipated that the renovations will be completed by July and due to the Episcopal Relief and Development grant, ECSM can start hiring new staff to double the size of classes, from eight to fourteen clients and to add a fifth class during the year. The ERD grant will help ECSM copyright and market its successes and techniques in a Re-entry Manual.

Baltimore is ever more in need of intensive services, such as ECSM’s Re-entry program, that help abate the cycle of drug addiction and alcoholism plaguing the metropolitan area. ERD’s funds will save lives and help to make recovering alcoholics and addicts whole again.

Your Children are Not Safe

By The Rev. Dr. Heyward Macdonald, Rector, St. James’, Monkton

Editor’s Note:  Fr. Macdonald wrote this piece this fall as a sniper rampaged through the Maryland/Washington D.C./Virginia area, indiscriminately shooting innocent victims.

Although arrests have been made in the case and this specific danger appears to be over, Fr. Macdonald’s words are very relevant to the everyday world in which we live.

“Your Children are Not Safe, Anywhere or Anytime!” Such a chilling statement from the sniper surely represents a fearful distortion of humanity. It is pure evil; random and indiscriminate. It surprises us and even paralyses us. As Christians, however, we are called to perceive this threat and any other in the context of our biblical story, our understanding of our place in community, and our faith in God. It is in the context of these truths that we are to continue to live and to write our story for others, that they, too, might have faith.

Things happen in this unfinished world. We were never promised otherwise. There will always be snipers of various kinds and wars and rumors of wars. These are not things of God, but are a part of the torn fabric of an incomplete humanity living in an uncertain world. Each of us abhors the evil with which we are faced, but so it has always been.

The people of the Exodus Event faced the wilderness, hardship, and death of their 40-year trek through the deserts with the promise that God was traveling with them, and that they would in that experience learn what it is to be God’s own. In another time, 600 years later, having lost everything, they learned to be God’s people in exile in Babylon, and some of those learnings washed into the New Testament witness, and a new revelation of what it is to be fully human was born in Jesus of Nazareth, who certainly was visited upon by the evil of the world.

Another major story is that of the oppressed Christians of Asia Minor and others in the 2nd century who gained purpose and courage to hold onto their God and one another from the vision of the Revelator, John. In that vision, they were assured that God would gather them as victors into his very presence on the other side of their faithful engagement with evil.

So, as tragic and evil as these and other events of our time are, they must not capture and distort our vision of life or our perception of humanity. A case in point was given to me by Bishop Ihloff this morning, when he told me of his perception of the family in Baltimore which spoke out against the drug networks in its neighborhood, and the dealers wiped them out, including 5 children, by burning them up in their house in the middle of the night. These are people who stood up to evil and became martyrs.

We should pause to name them as such, mourn them, and bewail that part of our society that calls such drug organizations into being. We must recognize our own call to risk mightily for the kingdom, as ever we can. Is it not this family of Christian martyrs who should be receiving the attention of late, and not the twisted sniper?

In truth, it is not our own safety that is the greatest good. For us, the greatest good is to live faithfully and courageously in the midst of turmoil and fear, not being distorted or blinded by evil, but being freed to name that which is of God as well as that which is not. We are good at the second, not so good at the first. Our children are watching us. What humanity will they learn?

Our Holy Eucharist each week represents God’s nurture of us in our own fear and uncertainty and in our own journeys in the wilderness. Don’t fail to come, and do bring your families for nourishment. Our practice of Stewardship is our declaration of faith in God’s alternative world. Do it strongly and well. In addition, we here practice being a faith community, so share your thoughts, as I have mine. Talk to each other or to one of your priests. Let us know how you are doing with these things; and may God bless our journey through this “Wilderness of Sin.”

Church Insurance Agency Workshop Scheduled For February 1

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland will sponsor a three-hour workshop on property and liability insurance issues on Saturday, February 1, at the Diocesan Center. Representatives of the Church Insurance Agency will present the 3-hour workshop, which will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end promptly at noon.

The workshop, hosted by the Diocesan Business Office, will be led be Mr. Steve Follos and Mr. Charles Ramsden from the Church Insurance Agency. The goal of the program is to familiarize congregational leaders with the complex world of property and liability insurance. All congregations, regardless of who their insurance carrier may be, are encouraged to send one or more representatives.

All interested parties, especially Rectors/Vicars, Vestry members, Officers, Parish Administrators, and Committee members are welcome.

The program will begin at 9:00 a.m. with registration, fellowship and light refreshments. A free-will offering to help cover the costs of the program and refreshments is suggested.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., Steve Follos and Charles Ramsden will cover a variety of insurance topics including a description and comparison of the different types of insurance products available, as well as a discussion of the typical insurance needs of an individual congregation. In addition, they will explain how the new Church Insurance Agency of Vermont operates. Adequate time will be available for questions and comments.

Please plan on having your congregation represented at this event. The information provided will be of benefit to all congregations, not just clients of Church Insurance Agency. To register, please fill out the short form below and return to Marty Strickland in the Diocesan Business Office, located at 4 E. University Parkway, Baltimore, MD  21218.

Bridge to Youth Holds Sports Clinic, To Add Music Clinics

By The Rev. Edward Chapman

Frostburg State University Athletic Director Ralph Brewer receives an award of appreciation from the Rev. Edward Chapman on behalf of the Bridge to Youth Ecumenical Ministry of Cumberland

Frostburg State University Athletic Director Ralph Brewer and the Frostburg Bobcat are shown with the children and adults of the Bridge to Youth Ecumenical Ministry at their fall sports day in September.

The Bridge to Youth ministry of Emmanuel Parish, Cumberland, which works with the congregations of the Metropolitan A.M.E Church and Ebenezer

Full Gospel Baptist Church and the Athletic Department of Frostburg State University, recently held its third sports clinic for underprivileged children.

Each spring and fall, children journey by bus from the housing

projects in Cumberland to

Frostburg where they participate in supervised sports activities, lunch and a chance to watch a college athletic event. This past summer, many of the same children participated in a basketball camp at Allegany College of Maryland with

NBA star Steve Francis, and also had a summer day camp session through the YMCA.

Beginning this fall, Bridge to Youth has branched out by offering an instrumental

music clinic each Monday evening at Emmanuel along with instruction in Spanish. Over 200 young people and adult supervisors from the three congregations and two colleges have taken part since the program began in the fall of 2001.

Western Maryland Combined Youth Haunt Tunnels For Activities, Charities 
By The Rev. Edward Chapman

Matt Frankenberry, Tunnelmeister of the Haunted Tunnels, presents a check for $1,000.00 from YOE! (Youth of Emmanuel) and the Western Maryland Youth Ministry to Ms. Patty Hanson (St. Mark’s, Lappans) of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

The Western Maryland Combined Youth Ministry, under the leadership of the Rev. Rick Morley, recently teamed up with Y.O.E.! (Youth of Emmanuel) to haunt the tunnels under Emmanuel Church for Halloween.

The four-night activity involved more than 50 youth and advisors from St. Peter’s, Lonaconing, St. James’, Westernport, Holy Cross, Cumberland and Emmanuel and brought in over $1,600 which will fund their activities and charities for the coming year.

On November 10, they made a donation of $1,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research in memory of Alice Frankenberry.

Mrs. Frankenberry, mother of four of the tunnelers, served faithfully for over 10 years as an advisor and supporter of the Haunted Tunnel project. She died in 2001, as the tunnels were going on, after a 12-year fight with breast cancer. Future plans for the Western Maryland Youth Ministry include a trip to Nightwatch in New York and snow tubing at the Wisp in Garrett County.

Church Cat’s Arrival Prompts Mew-sings at Memorial
By The Rev. Martha N. Macgill, Rector, Memorial Episcopal Church, Bolton Hill

Recently, I have been mulling over the nature of God’s Wisdom in our lives. Perhaps I have been mulling over Wisdom because we now have a church cat named Sophia, which is Greek for Wisdom. As I watch Sophia and her antics every day, I am reminded of some of the ways God works wisdom and guidance into our lives.

Sophia arrived just as God often arrives in our lives—unexpectedly. One evening, as my husband was walking our dogs, he passed by the front church steps. The dogs began to go crazy. Up by the glass doors was a small cat. Just hanging out.

The next morning, she was still there. As I went to get into my car on my day off, she called to me in that plaintive cat meow. I hesitated for a moment and then noticed that now, in addition to her presence there was also a small bag of cat food and litter on the front steps.

The day was cold. The day was rainy. I opened the door and brought Sophia into the church office area. Well, I reasoned, we on the staff have been talking about how we needed a church cat. We did have a mouse problem.

One evening, at Inquirer’s class in the Lower Parish Hall, I had seen a small gray creature run past. I had even brought our own cat, Mr. Kitty, over for a productive nighttime mousing reconnaissance missions. So, I left our Sophia in the office with her food, litter and a note for our staff to find.

In a week’s time, Sophia had a new bed, state-of-the-art litter box, food and she had been whisked away for a health check-up and spaying procedure at a local vet. She is a people cat. She follows each of us into our office. She particularly likes to sit in the Rector’s chair—just to let you know who really is the boss around here!

And she is a superb mouser. When I watch her on the hunt, I am amazed at where she scouts out her prey. She is always pointing to that place behind the stove or underneath the refrigerator—where we never really dust. She scouts out the dark places we all walk by everyday. She scouts out her spots every day.

At the risk of sounding profane, God is somewhat like Sophia. God often appears in our lives in very unexpected ways. One day we wake up and there is God. We have a sense, or someone gives us a sense, of a call—to search for or start a new job, to try to stop smoking, to give someone we love or someone we are estranged from a call.

Sometimes God has been hanging around the front stoop of our lives for days, years—quietly or not-so-quietly nudging us to invite her in to our lives. And one day, we just relent. It always seems to happen on a day when we have something else on offer, when we are on the way to something else—God just softly whispers our name ONE MORE TIME—and we are hooked. We open the door and God is in.

And once God is in, once we have welcomed the Almighty Wisdom into our lives, we are loved. And we are followed always. And then we follow. And we are led by God into those dark places in our lives that need some attention.

God helps us to root out those dark places that we try to walk by every day. To heal, to become whole. That’s what our Memorial community is all about. We try to discern God’s voice and then follow God into those dark places in our lives. But unlike Sophia the cat, we do not go into those dark places alone. God the Infinite Wisdom always goes with us. For once we have let God into our lives, God will never leave us or let us go.

Memorial Godly Play Members Pen Prayers of the People

The members of the second level of Godly Play at Memorial Episcopal Church were asked to write the prayers of the people for a regular Sunday morning service. This opportunity was well received by children and adults alike.

The exercise was an opportunity to teach the young people about the Book of Common Prayer as well as let their creativity thrive. In addition to writing prayers, some of the young people drew pictures to express their prayers and petitions. Here is what the young Memorialites came up with:

Today the Godly Play 2 class will lead our prayers of the people. Please answer our prayers by saying: Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the whole church and Memorial Church. For Martha and Stewart, for the bishops, the choir—especially the tenors and Kit, for Sophia, our church cat and Mrs. Evelyn and all the kids in the nursery.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for George Bush and if he sends troops to Iraq, we hope there will be no violence.

We pray for Bob Ehrlich and that when he is governor he will make good choices.

We pray for Mayor O’Malley and also for his new baby.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the people of America and all the countries we are defending and the countries that are defending us. We especially pray for the people who live in the Middle East and also in third world countries. And we pray for the children all over the world.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We all pray for friends and family, especially our grandparents, our parents, our brothers and sisters and our best friends.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for all the people who are too sick to leave their homes or have diseases that have no cure.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Let us take a moment to remember the people who we have loved but they have died,

Especially Grandpa Harry, Johnny Drummond, Great Gramma Svea, Aunt Annabelle, Uncle Earl, Aunt Maryellen, Dad K., Anna Brett Macgill, Scott Macgill, Jackson Kelleher, and Grandma Dreden

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray that the Orioles will have a good season and that the Frederick Keys will get some good players and win. We are hoping that the Bayhawks will win their 2003 season and beat the Lizards. We pray for the Ravens and that Ray Lewis will lead the Ravens to another Super Bowl win.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray that enough rain will fall to end the drought and help all the plants to grow.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for all pets, but especially for Tiber, Sky, Frankie, Mikey, Gretel, Moustache,  Goldie, Luna, Zelda, Lizzie, Zeke, Ali, Babe, Inja, Futie, Mr. Kitty, Fred, Bear, and Finley.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We also pray for pets that have no owners, especially Snuggles Jr. , Snow, Cat the Bunny, and Pokey.

Lord, hear our prayer.

We also pray for our pets who are not with us anymore, especially Sophia, Stalactite, Mandy, Kel, Madis, Fiona, Aster Puppy, Sokus, Double D., D.K.Peanut

Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray that all the people here today will have a good week next week.

Lord, hear our prayer.

All Hallows’ Parish, South River Starts Youth Fellowship

All Hallows’ Episcopal, South River, has started a youth fellowship (EYF) which meets once a month. The goals of the group are to socialize and have fun as well as to serve the community with outreach functions.

The group is lead by a young couple at All Hallows, Jim and Katherine Simpson. The Simpsons have set up a website for the group to help everyone stay informed on events and plans www.allhallowsyouth.org.

In 2002 the EYF events included a hayride and picnic, a Halloween party for the younger children of the parish, bowling, and a group outing for the opening of the latest Harry Potter movie.

The EYF also planned a joint choir and EYF Christmas caroling event for shut-ins and a local nursing home. Future events for the Spring include a tour of the National Cathedral, a ski trip, and assisting with the parish’s annual pancake dinner on Shrove Tuesday.

Ruby Sales To Keynote St. Paul’s School King Day Observance

Ruby Sales will be the keynote speaker at St. Paul’s School’s Martin Luther King Memorial Celebration service on Monday, January 21, at 9:00 a.m. in the campus Chapel.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Sales’ life was saved by a young Episcopal seminarian, Jonathan Myrick Daniels, who pulled her to safety behind him. He was killed by the 12-gauge gun that had been pointed at Ms. Sales.

Ms. Sales now directs a national organization called SpiritHouse located near the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. Her SpiritHouse project uses arts, education, research, spiritual reflection and action as tools for supporting diverse communities in their nonviolent struggle for justice.

All are welcome to join the celebration. For further information or directions to the School Chapel please call Kit Slafkosky at 410.821.3053.

Resource Center Offers New Materials

Kay Barnes, who runs the Diocesan Resource Center, recommends the following resource materials, which are in the Resource Center.

Making Disciples: A New Approach to Confirmation, by William H. Willimon:

Today, making Christians has become challenging work for the church. So many factors in modern life seem to conspire against the church in its effort to make disciples. This material offers a new approach to confirmation. It is based on the belief that you and your congregation have all the requisites for making strong vibrant Christians for today’s church. Making Disciples: A New Approach to Confirmation, represents a process that has proven itself in congregations across different denominations. With solid biblical foundations, this 13-session program will allow both mentor and confirmand to grow as disciples of Christ. Includes Coordinator’s Guide, Mentor’s Guide, Confirmand’s Journal, Support Video, and Faith Shapes Card Game. From Logos Productions.

Voices From the Holy Land: the Peace and Justice office of the Episcopal Church recently produced this video as a guide for reflection and dialog for congregations and groups interested in deepening their understanding of the issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 45 minutes with study guide.

Complete Guide to Godly Play, by Jerome W. Berryman: This new four volume series uses an imaginative method for presenting scripture stories to children in preschool through sixth grade. Based on the Montessori method, Godly Play uses the careful telling of scripture stories, engaging story figures, (available in the Resource Center) and creative activities to help children seek and find their own answers to their faith questions. The Complete Guide to Godly Play includes a handbook for using Godly Play in church school or other settings and three volumes with complete plans for Fall, Winter, and Spring. From Living The Good News.

The Resource Center is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and by appointment. We are happy to have church groups visit. We can be reached at resource@ang-md.org or 410.467.1399 or 800.443.1399. We will gladly send requested materials.

Survey Results Completed For Welcoming, Affirming Program

By Guy H. Wolf II, Ph.D.

The second Diocesan survey of inclusion for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Persons has been completed and a new brochure will be available in January 2003. At present, 40 congregations and three affiliated organizations have opted to self-select for this outreach ministry to sexual minorities.

Of the parishes responding to the survey, 10 new congregations joined those parishes that are already signatories, two submitted statements for inclusion but decided not to be listed as members of this program and one congregation withdrew its membership.

No congregation stated that it was not welcoming and affirming for GLBT persons, a decrease of 7 congregations that gave that response in an initial survey.

However, the vast majority of congregations in the Diocese—78—chose not to respond to the survey. In light of the passage of two resolutions concerning sexual orientation at Frederick in 2002 and the period of Sacred Conversation that preceded the convention, this indicates to us that there is considerable work yet to be done in this area in the Diocese.

Please feel free to contact us for suggestions about ways to advance this outreach to persons who feel marginalized while seeking support for their respective spiritual journeys. We may be reached at: Charles Boyd, beadchuck@aol.com; Guy Wolf, gwolf@towson.edu or call 410.494.4329.

We are in the process of establishing a web page, www.glbt.ang-md.org and hope to have it linked to the Diocesan web page early this year.

Diocesan Youth Create a Window

Each year at summer camp, youth at Claggett explore a wide range of artistic opportunities including dance, crafts, percussion, music, drama, stenciling, weaving and more. Many youth have especially enjoyed Debi Frock’s stained glass workshops. Some have imbedded stained glass in colored mortar to make beautiful doorstops. Others made simple stained glass window hangings. Others cut stained glass fish for Debi to take home and incorporate into a stained glass window for St. Andrew’s Chapel. Over the past several months Debi used stained glass fish from summer camp and youth around the diocese to create the inspirational window, which now occupies the transom opening above the side door of the Chapel. Joe and Donna Kerner visited Ascension Church in Westminster where the window was dedicated with this prayer:

    “O Lord God, the whole world is filled with the radiance of your glory: Accept our offering of this window which we now dedicate to you for the adornment of Claggett and the inspiration of your people. Grant that as the light shines through it in many colors, so our lives may show forth the beauty of your manifold gifts of grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen

Caption:  Debi Frock presents the window to Joe & Donna Kerner

More Music at Claggett  By Tish Weise, Cathedral

Look what’s coming up! Last year’s Choir Directors’ retreat will be expanded to become the MUSIC MINISTRY RETREAT. We’re adding CONTEMPORARY BANDS to our event. If you play an instrument, or if you are a director of a choir or instrumental group, or if you are just interested in what’s happening in music in our diocese, mark September 12 & 13, 2003 on your calendar. Topics will include teaching new music to the congregation, blending music styles in worship, and traditional & contemporary music reading sessions. Design Team members include Ken Phelps+, Tom Leeseburg-Lang, Nancy Stavely, Dan Fortune, Ken Brown, Rosemary Beakes, Caren Bezanson, Hardwick Spencer and overall coordination by Tish Weise.

New Crosses in the Cottages

For many years, Boyd Cook, former Claggett Trustee, has dedicated part of his summer to leading youth in woodworking projects. Using wood from the demolished “Piggery” he precut and led the youth in assembling and finishing a variety of bird boxes for robins, wrens, bluebirds and even wood ducks. In 2002, he led the youth at summer camp in making new crosses for the bedrooms of Farmhouse and Doll Cottage.

Captions: Boyd Cook and Leslie Fraser help youth build birdhouses Caption: New home for the birds

Message from the Executive Director

As I write this, the fields around the Bishop Claggett Center are blanketed with 8 inches of new snow. Yesterday and tomorrow we will host 50-60 sophomores from St. John’s College High School, but today we enjoy the quiet and a sense of tranquility. The storm afforded me the opportunity to linger in bed little longer than usual this morning and all day the phones have been unusually quiet. Donna and I joined good friends for lunch in Frederick and I was able to sit at my PC and “pen” this message.

I am grateful for the change of pace and am reminded that the entire Claggett staff has been operating at full throttle for months, not just serving our guests but improving the facilities with projects like the refurbishment of Buckingham Farmhouse porch even as we work with architects and engineers on plans for the future. If only people throughout this diocese could see how hard the Claggett Center staff works, they would be proud. But there’s so much to be done that we need to be careful not to succumb to the “tyranny of the urgent” while forgetting what is really important. Jesus is Lord!

Next week, the Building and Grounds Committee of the Claggett Board of Trustees will meet for the second time with our architects to review preliminary schematic designs for our new dining and meeting facilities. During this early stage, the architect is like an artist, working from a few concepts to create what we hope will be an extraordinary design that will wow our guests. Please pray for the Building and Grounds Committee and Maria Pryor and Kent Cooper, our architects, as they design the structures that will facilitate ministry at Claggett for decades to come. This is an awesome responsibility and we need your prayers.

 As another year begins, it is important to say “thank you” to those who, throughout 2002, have so generously supported the Bishop Claggett Center and its ministries. Youth and adult volunteer counselors, nurses and chaplains, members of the Board of Trustees and its committees, members of the Ministry Design Team, program coordinators, financial contributors, our guest groups, and most of all, those who consistently lift Claggett and its programs in prayer.

Respectfully,

Joe Kerner

“SUMMER at Claggett”—where being a part of the community is important

How to register for summer camp Use the registration form (found  at www.claggett.ang-md.org and send with $50 non-refundable registration fee to the Bishop Claggett Center, P.O. Box 40, Buckeystown, MD 21717. The registration fee is deducted from the cost of the camp and the balance is due 12 days before camp. If the camper is ill and cannot attend, refunds will be made of all money received, except for the registration fee. No fee will be returned after a camper has been admitted to camp. Registered campers will receive a confirmation letter with directions, what to bring and additional information. Everyone is welcome Claggett programs are open to all regardless of race, color, national origin, religion or gender, thus ensuring a diversity that enriches the experience for everyone.

Youth have gathered at Claggett for over 50 years where being part of a loving community is important. Participants stay in dormitories in historic Powell Hall and are served home-cooked meals in the dining hall. Everyone’s favorite cook, Virginia, has been a part of summers at Claggett for 50 years.

Claggett’s enthusiastic intergenerational staff works as a team to lead activities, programs and worship. Counselors are selected for their interest in youth, active faith, wholesome lifestyle and spirit of fun. Senior staff stay in the dorm with the youth for the summer and assume key leadership roles. Camps have a Chaplain and a registered nurse or designated health supervisor. Staff training includes CPR, first aid, exploring the Bible, sharing faith stories, outdoor skills, working with youth, and teambuilding.

Claggett friendships can last a lifetime! Each week youth and staff form a close-knit, accepting, loving Christian community. Here youth can feel safe to be themselves, try new things and express their faith openly.

Activities at Claggett in 2003 will include Potomac or Monocacy River trips by canoe or kayak, hiking, mountain biking, campfires, skit night, art workshops, crafts, sports, tent camping, games, basketball, swimming, nature exploration, outreach projects and dances for the older campers. Energizers and icebreakers include everyone and help ignite fun and friendships.

Adventure camps are small, traveling communities that live in tents and go by van to daily adventures. Activities include a high/low ropes course, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, cookouts and MORE. Participants at Boys Fishing Camp will enjoy daily fishing excursions that include pond, river and bay fishing. Since Adventure camps are limited to 10, campers MUST be able and willing to participate in strenuous, lengthy, physical adventures. (Note: All Claggett camps offer outdoor experiences.) 

The heart of summer camps at Claggett is worship and small groups. An important part of Claggett life is belonging to a small group where youth and staff meet daily to communicate and explore their faith, cooperate in working on projects together, respect each other in love, and share fun. Worship is Christ centered, spirited, creative, active, involves the youth and is filled with MUSIC.

Reforestation Project

In 1998, Claggett joined forces with the state and federal governments, Save the Bay and Ducks Unlimited in a project to reforest 32 acres along the Monocacy River. About 14,000 trees and shrubs from 12 to 18 inches tall were planted. Despite several years of severe drought, God has provided the increase and many of the trees are now 10 to 15 feet tall. Amazing!

Building on FAITH

“Claggett for me has always been a place away where I can more deeply get in touch with God.”

— Reverend Ron Fisher, Rector of Ascension, Westminster

 Continuing the Conversations

by Ashby DeLashmutt, Diocesan Staff

40 enthusiastic participants from all over the diocese gathered at the Bishop Claggett Center on October 10, 2002 for the second Parish Administrators and Secretaries Day. The rain poured and the wind blew, but inside spirits were sunny as we listened to excellent workshop leaders and had a chance to break into small groups to share ideas, mutual questions and concerns. The entire day was grounded in prayer, with wonderful meditations by the chaplain, Becki Neumann. The experience was very beneficial, and everyone agreed that such gatherings will continue in the future. Another “Day” at  Claggett is scheduled on October 7, 2003.

This spring administrators and secretaries will gather regionally for sharing, learning, mutual support, socializing and completing a survey on their ministries.

Children of Ascension Raise $700

Youth in the Junior Choir at Ascension in Westminster have been collecting pocket change in decorated jars for a year. On the Sundays that the collections take place, the children sing this short song of praise:

 “Save your nickels, save your dimes, save your pennies, save your quarters;

Jesus’  love will show.

Save your nickels, save your dimes, save your pennies, save your quarters;

Jesus’  love will grow.

We can change the world for many little children,

Through Claggett they will know,

That Jesus loves them so.”

The change collected from the parish added to bake sale proceeds resulted in a check for $700 to scholarship youth at Claggett. The children are learning that little by little they can change the world. Praise God!

BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW  Provides Scholarships

By Jim Knorr, St. Margaret’s Annapolis

 The Brotherhood of St. Andrew in the Diocese of Maryland has had a close relationship with the Bishop Claggett Center over the years. The mission of this organization is “The spread of Christ’s Kingdom among men and youth (16 minimum age) in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion.” In the Diocese of Maryland there are now 11 chapters of the Brotherhood, a growth of 3 in 2002 alone.

        St. Margaret’s Church in Annapolis is one of those chapters that have been actively trying to carry out the Brotherhood mission by providing scholarships for Summer Youth Camps at Claggett. For almost eight years  St. Margaret’s Brotherhood has sent both male and female youth to Claggett camps. For the last two years, they have joined forces with St. Margaret’s Church Mission and Outreach Commission to expand that group’s “Campership” efforts, providing scholarships for six children with financial needs. They provided financial aid not only to children of parish members, but also to Hispanic youth and others who were current or former residents of homeless shelters. The Brotherhood at St. Margaret’s has made this a “Priority One” annual project and the amount of scholarship monies made available has almost tripled over the last two years.

        Since the Bishop Claggett Center is in need of scholarship funds, we hope that many other diocesan groups, including other chapters of the St. Andrew’s Brotherhood, will follow in the footsteps of St. Margaret’s Church and prayerfully consider supporting Summer Camps at Claggett. Together we can spread Christ’s Kingdom to a wide and diverse number of youth in our diocese. For we have only scratched the surface with our Maryland youth. Peace and Love.    

Register Now For…

Lambda Chi at Towson Collects Food for the Hungry

The members of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity at Towson University surpassed their own goal for their recent community service project by collecting over 2500 lbs. of canned food for the hungry.

The project was part of the international fraternity’s 10th annual “North American Food Drive: Brothers Feeding Others.” The international fraternity's goal for this year is to collect a total of 3 million pounds of food for the hungry.

Beginning on Saturday, October 26, the men of Lambda Chi Alpha distributed over 700 empty grocery bags door-to-door throughout the Towson community, requesting donations of nonperishable food. Ron Soprano, manager of the Metro Food Market at Goucher Boulevard and Joppa Road, provided the bags for the project.

The fraternity members revisited homes and neighbors on the following Sunday, November 2, collecting the bags with the donated food items. Additional donations of food were made by fraternity members, alumni, and their families.

On November 5, the fraternity delivered all of the food collected to Holy Cross Church in Baltimore for their Food Pantry outreach ministry. The Rector of Holy Cross is The Rev. Shawn Hill, a 1987 alumnus of Towson University and a founding member of Lambda Chi Alpha at Towson. All of the food will be distributed through the church’s continual community outreach to families and individuals, primarily from Baltimore City, who have either emergency needs or ongoing needs for assistance.

This successful project was coordinated by Andy Miller, an associate member of Lambda Chi Alpha, who will be fully initiated into the fraternity later this Fall. All of the fraternity chapter’s members assisted in the project as well. The annual food drive is part of Lambda Chi Alpha’s regular commitment to active community service.

New... Link to the New Real Time Events Calendar

WANTED

Part-time Organist: St. Luke’s, Annapolis seeks part time organist for one service per week with first right of refusal for weddings and funerals. Small Moehler pipe organ, salary negotiable. Call 410.268.5419 and leave message or FAX resume to 410.253.2414.

Office Assistant: Memorial Episcopal Church—a diverse community, worshipping God, serving people—is looking for an Office Assistant, 18 hours per week, to join our lively and collegial staff. With the assistance of lay volunteers, this staff member works with the parish secretary and others to perform the work necessary for Memorial to operate effectively day-to-day. Key duties include preparing all printed material for worship services, greeting visitors and parishioners, handling requests for information via phone, mail, email and in person, updating the church database (Power Church Plus) and publishing the church newsletter. Experience with word processing software (Word) and use of email is expected. Familiarity with the Episcopal liturgy and publication of worship service material is highly desirable. Desktop publishing experience is a plus. Work hours are Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. To apply for this position, send resume with references to: Memorial Episcopal Church Attn: The Rev. Martha Macgill, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217; fax to 410.225.3695; or email memchur@erols.com. For further information contact The Rev. Martha Macgill at: mmacgill@erols.com or phone: 410.669.0220.

MARYLAND CHURCH NEWS & PARISH MAILING
2003 Maryland Church News Deadline

Please send all materials via e-mail to: MCN@ang-md.org . or by U.S. mail on disc to MCN,  Diocese of Maryland, 4 East University Parkway, Baltimore, Maryland 21218. Questions regarding the MCN may be directed to Pat Rouzer, Editor of the newspaper at the e-mail address above or by phone 410.840.9220.

Parish Mailing Deadlines 2002

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The Maryland Church News is published six times a year, and delivered to 118 parishes and more than 22,000 Episcopal households and friends affiliated with the congregations and ministries of the Diocese of Maryland.  Geographically, the Diocese includes the entire Baltimore metropolitan area, stretches to Garrett County, borders all of southern Pennsylvania and extends south to Prince Frederick County (the Diocese does not encompass the Eastern Shore counties, those bordering the District or St. Mary’s and Charles)
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