tidings dec10

Privacy is a hotly debated topic these days. For example, Facebook was recently beset by controversy over its questionable protection of privacy, yet it has over 500 million users. Today’s youth frequently prefer it to e-mail. Many

Facebook users have no qualms about sharing personal information with hundreds of “friends,” or, more likely, friends of friends or acquaintances. The same is true for users of Twitter and You Tube. Some point out that, rightly used, these new

communication tools can better connect us with one another and with new ideas. The “It Gets Better” Video Campaign is an inspiring example of how new technology, such as You Tube can be an amazing tool for ministry, and without Twitter, I often wouldn’t have a clue as to where Rev. Foster Connors (@pulpit) is. Others point out that such technologies can create a false sense of intimacy, threaten our privacy and security, consume too much of our time, and diminish our ability to relate to others face-to-face. It was a college roommate’s posting of intimate videos on You Tube that prompted one of the recent, tragic gay suicides.

The subject of privacy was raised at a recent Urban Witness Committee meeting, when Deb Milcarek shared the recent efforts of the Baltimore Interfaith Coalition (including Andrew and myself) to enlist gun shop owners in efforts to reduce gun violence. One shop owner’s complaint is that by tracking the purchasers of the guns and tracing them to crimes, activists violate the privacy rights of gun owners. Is privacy an inviolable right, even when public safety is at stake? What about the intrusive new “full body scanners” making appearances at the airport? Is that taking it too far? Where do we draw the line?

In preparing the Time, Talents, and Treasure Commitment brochures for this year’s stewardship campaign, there was lively debate over whether or not to give people the option of communicating something more than a dollar amount with their pledge, such as “this represents an increase in my giving from last year” or “this represents a significant sacrifice for me/our family.” The committee ultimately decided that even having the option to make such a statement would be too intrusive and might even offend people. Who would be given access to such sensitive information?

In contrast, during our Wednesday Night@Brown stewardship series, a minister member of the Presbytery, Rev. Scott Blythe, shared with us his experience of the Iona Community’s practice of holding one another accountable for how everyone spent his or her time and money. He explained that small “family groups” of 8-10 met regularly to share and pray together, and

Pastor’s reflections

TheTidings

December 2010

GooD news from

PasTor’s reflecTions ..1

reflecTions during PasTor andrew’s TriP To The holy land............2

Brown MeMorial’s PeoPle on The Move .... 3

she is Building B.u.i.l.d. ...................4

The good news ........... 4

advenT and chrisTMas acTiviTies aT BMPa .... 5

deceMBer resPonsiBiliTy schedule ..................... 5

deceMBer BirThdays ..6

deceMBer 2010aT BMPa .....................7

in this issue

continued on page 3

By rev. eMily rose ProcTor

[email protected]

the tiDinGs December 2010

reflections DurinG Pastor anDrew’s triP to the holy lanD

Note to our readers: Rev. Andrew Foster Connors recently toured the Holy Land. Laura McConnell kept a log of the posts on his Twitter account. Listed below are some of his “tweets” that he posted on his Twitter account to keep us abreast of his experiences. All of the time is Eastern Standard Time. Jerusalem time is 7 hours ahead of Baltimore.

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 6:04 p.m.: Just left Chizuk Amuno Congregation on a bus with Israel-bound pastors and rabbis. Headed to Newark airport for the 10 hour flight to Tel Aviv.

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 9:35 p.m.: So our group was warned that security at El Al airlines is the tightest and that 1 of us would be pulled away and questioned. Yep it was me!

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 9:57 p.m.: Bummer. Missed my own church’s choir on www.sacredclassics.com. Hope to catch a podcast later.

Sunday, November 14, 2010, 1:43 p.m.: At table with Rabbi Michael Melchior, former govt. minister about to discuss “moral dilemmas facing Israel today.”

Sunday, November 14, 2010, 2:43 p.m.: Rabbi Melchior: you cannot build any society of democracy today on hate or xenophobia.

Monday, November 15, 2010, 1:31 a.m.: On the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem

Monday, November 15, 2010, 6:01 a.m.: Toured the entire western wall. Saw one stone that weighs 600 tons.

Monday, November 15, 2010, 9:17 a.m.: Headed to meet with members

of the Knesset.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 1:57 a.m.: Lead article in Jerusalem Post reports that leaders in Netanyahu’s own party moving to block his freeze on settlements proposal.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 2:05 a.m.: Baltimoreans will be interested to know that Jerusalem Post covers a speaking appearance by David Simon of “The Wire.”

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 3:37 a.m.: Just saw Church of the Holy Nativity commemorating the birthplace of Jesus.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 5:52 a.m.: Headed up hwy. 6 to Mount Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 12:31 p.m.: Arab Christian who is Israeli citizen spoke about challenges of living here

Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 5:59 a.m.: Just left Capernaum. Saw house where Jesus lived and synagogue where he taught.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 12:24 p.m.: Met with an Arab Druze Israeli today who is struggling for equality within the state and believes it is possible.

Thursday, November 18, 2010, 12:45 p.m.: Stopped in Nazareth this morning to visit Jesus’ hometown. Big church over a cave where Mary might have lived

Thursday, November 18, 2010, 12:50 p.m.: Just met with the architect of the “security fence.”

Friday, November 19, 2010,

8:21 a.m.: Visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital which treats Palestinian patients from Gaza and the West Bank.

Saturday, November 20, 2010, 12:07 p.m.: Celebrated the bat mitz-vah of a colleague who never had one as a child. In Jerusalem. Quite an experience!

Saturday, November 20, 2010, 1:38 p.m.: On Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem, R.E.M. is playing and the NC State/NC football game is on a big screen outside.

Sunday, November 21, 2010, 3:20 a.m.: On our way to Ramallah to meet with Prime Minister Fayyad.

Sunday, November 21, 2010, 5:35 a.m.: Fayyad’s approach: “Do the most you can as soon as you can wherever you can do it.”

Sunday, November 21, 2010, 5:37 a.m.: Fayyad: “Nonviolence is a powerful thing.”

.Sunday, November 21, 2010, 6:15

a.m.: No stop at security checkpoint. Could be sign of increasing cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian security forces.

Sunday, November 21, 2010, 2:01 p.m.: Back at airport in Tel Aviv. Get ready for El Al Airline security. They will interview leader of our group and one random member to compare.

Monday, November 22, 2010, 5:13 a.m.: On the ground in Newark.

Monday, November 22, 2010, 7:16 a.m. from Hamilton, N.J.: “Israel has Moses but New Jersey has Bruce Springsteen” – today’s rabbinic quote.

December 2010 the tiDinGs PaGe 3

in that context of real intimacy and trust, they forfeited some of their privacy in exchange for the greater gift (in their estimation) of accountability. For many of them, making decisions about money privately had been a burden that often left them feeling some combination of guilt, anxiety, and shame. To their surprise, sharing their financial situations, fears, and dilemmas with one another became a deeply rewarding and spiritual experience, as the community offered them, not condemnation or shame, but compassion and support for the hard choices they all had to make as followers of Christ.

Privacy issues are complex, and I face them often as a pastor, a preacher, and someone who cares deeply about people infected and affected by HIV. There are some cases in which privacy or even secrecy is key to maintaining a person’s dignity or even survival. But I also wonder if privacy can sometimes be a smokescreen that keeps us from being the kind of community Christ calls us to be. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul lifts up for the Church the metaphor of a body, where the members

are all intimately connected and interdependent. One member cannot say to another, “I have no need of you.” Likewise, when one member suffers, all suffer with it; when one rejoices, all rejoice. In a “body” committed to practicing forgiveness, compassion, reconciliation, discernment, and humility, there is little to fear from a process of mutual sharing and accountability.

I have to admit that when Rev. Blythe gave his testimony, I found myself wishing that I was part of a “family group” that was willing to brave accountability. I found myself wondering if there were small groups that existed already in the Church, which might be willing to experiment with a deeper kind of sharing and accountability (the session? the deacons? the urban witness committee? the Kerygma Bible study?). Call me crazy, but maybe Paul was on to something when he said, “you should become fools … For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Cor 3:18-19). If you’re feeling foolish too, let me know. You can find me on Facebook and Twitter (@EmroseProctor) or you can call or e-mail. Of course, there’s always the really old fashioned way, in person…

Pastor’s reflectionscontinued from page 1

brown memorial’s PeoPle on the moveWilliam Bishai, M.D., professor of

medicine and co-director of the Center for Tuberculosis Research, has been named the first permanent director of the ZwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV at the University of

Kwa-Zulu in Durban, South Africa.

John Burton, M.D., professor ofzgeriatrics and director of the Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Education Center Consortium is a co-recipient of a five-year award from the federal Health Resource and Services Administration to support geriatrics

education outreach to physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals throughout Maryland.

Barbara Cook, M.D., medical director of The Access Partnership (TAP), a program that helps uninsured and underinsured patients receive specialty health care from Johns Hopkins Hospital,

recently received the Baltimore City Health Department’s annual Dr. Sebastian Russo Award, presented to her by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Matthew McNabney, M.D., assistantprofessor of geriatric medicine and gerontology and medical director of Hopkins ElderPlus, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the National PACE (Program of

All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) Association.

Excerpts from the October edition of The Dome, the monthly publication of the Johns Hopkins Medicine family.

“Ask the Pastor” is on hiatus this month. It will return next month.?

the tiDinGs December 2010

One wonders if Mary Mashburn knows what she started when she conducted a “one-on-one” with Elizabeth Reichelt in the basement of St. Matthew’s Church in Baltimore. The technique, used so effectively by Mary and Rob English, is designed to find out what a person’s passion is and then to lead that individual to act upon that consuming interest. After hearing a stirring sermon by a white Catholic priest to a crowd of B.U.I.L.D. members whose racial origins varied, Elizabeth felt compelled to join this “community of justice seekers.”

How did this happen? It did not occur overnight. Elizabeth was born in Jacksonsville, Florida, but she moved to Tallahassee at the age of 18 months. After graduation from Florida State University, her first job took her to Atlanta, Georgia. Here, part of Elizabeth’s quest for discovering her passion surfaced, but this time it was in the form of Charles Reichelt. They married and moved to Chicago. Joseph, their oldest child, was born icago

In an effort to be closer to family members in Silver Spring, Maryland, the Reichelts moved to Baltimore in 2004 where their second child, Alex, was born. Elizabeth’s passion for justice surfaced very strongly as they encountered Brown Memorial Church and its members. She remembers very vividly attending the Christmas Pageant on Christmas Eve in 2004. Afterward, the family traveled north to North and Greenmount Avenues. She was moved by the contrast of Brown Memorial and the Greenmount neighborhood.

Bolstered by recommendations from one cousin who highly recommended the church and another cousin who highly touted Andrew Foster Connors, the Reichelts attended BMPA on a regular basis and be-came members. Their third child, Cecelia, who was born in 2006, completed the family.

Elizabeth’s association with Brown and the invitation to attend a B.U.I.L.D. meeting enabled her to become involved with the organization. Through B.U.I.L.D., she has met “people who are passionate about Baltimore and the value of life.” The members and associates of the group “walk the talk,” Elizabeth believes. They are role models. She remembers how impressed she was with the residents of the Darley Park neighborhood who just wanted to organize, originally, to have trash remov-al on a regular basis.

This busy wife and mother of three has found a perfect match, B.U.I.L.D. which feeds her passion for justice and Brown Memorial which feeds her spiritual needs. Both are “communities of justice seekers.” It is no accident that Elizabeth serves on the Urban Witness

Committee at Brown Downtown. She, too “walks the talk.”

she is builDinG b.u.i.l.D.

Elizabeth Reichelt during a recent B.U.I.L.D. rally.

By ellen carTer cooPer

the GooD news

During this month (even before this month), one can be swept up by the commercial tide that engulfs us. Even before All Saints Day arrives, television commercials and print advertising attempt to convince us that we must celebrate Christmas by buying the latest cell phones or the latest applica-tions for our phones. These advertisements are relentless in the pursuit of our children’s minds, also. “Ask Mommy and Daddy for this season’s latest toy; all the kids will have it. Don’t be left out.” “Husbands, show her how much you love her by buying diamond earrings, necklaces, rings, and watches from ____.”

We forget that this last month of the year celebrates the birth of Jesus and his family-Mary and Joseph. Mary had no dia-monds; Joseph had no toys to give to God’s son. God did give us the greatest and most lasting gift of all, so perhaps, in the midst of our celebrations and our lamentations, we may pause to read about this sacred day.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: Whereas his mother was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1: 18-21)

This is the good news! We won’t see an extra charge on our credit card bills in January. We will not be tired from all of the frantic preparations. All of us have received the same present: the gift of salvation and the peace that accompanies it.

By ellen carTer cooPer


aDvent anD christmas activities at bmPaAt the beginning of the Advent Services, three

children will be dancing the light to the altar at the beginning of the worship service. Come early to be a part of this new tradition.

Christmas Pageant and Dinner – December 19, 2010All are invited to come to the Christmas Pageant at 4:30

p.m. and for the semi-pot-luck lasagna dinner immediately following around 5:30 p.m. Lasagna will be provided. Please bring a salad, bread or a dessert to share. A free will offering will be collected to help cover the cost of the

lasagna. More information will be forthcoming from the Pageant Committee.

Lessons and Carols Service – Christmas Eve, 5:00 p.m.Come and participate in the Service of Lessons and

Carols, following the tradition of King’s College, Cambridge. It will feature the reading of the Nativity story interspersed with carols sung by the choir and congregation. This candlelight service begins with a boy soloist singing “Once in Royal David’s City” and concludes with the full congregation singing “Silent Night.”

If you have a conflict with this schedule – please call others on the list to make a swap. Then inform the church office of these changes at 410-523-1542 or [email protected].

acolytes

5h no acolytes 12th no acolytes

19th no acolytes

26th no acolytes

auDio enGineer

5th Don PeePles 12th aDrienne williams

19th buD Graves 26th brantley Davis

chilDren’s church volunteer

5th Jim & theresa veatch

12th linnea cheselDine & nicole mitchell

19th micheline & tom mcmanus

26th no chilDren’s church

coffee hour hosts

5th t.b.D.12th t.b.D.19th t.b.D.26th t.b.D.

communion PreParation

5th t.b.D.

communion servers

5th luke cliPPinGer

Gareth imParato

monica rakowski

henry taylor

John warmath

Greeters

5th anDy & Dianne ross

12th Joanne & Jim eGan

19th sue & Joe schinDler

26th DaviD mock

liturGist

5th kathy GraninG

12th John tucker

19th anne bishai

26th DaviD mock

offertory acolytes

5th erin emerick & rachel emerick

12th will coulson & James cunninGham

19th Graham bishai & nicholas imParato

26th no acolytes

offertory counters

Darin crew & buD Graves

ushers

t.b.D.

December resPonsibility scheDule11 a.m. worshiP service

Published monthly for members and friends of Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church by the Membership Committee. Andrew Foster Connors, Pastor. Emily Rose Martin, Associate Pastor. 1316 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217. 410.523.1542.www.browndowntown.org. Send contributions bythe 15th of each month to Ellen Carter Cooper, editor([email protected]) or to Sharon Holley, church secrectary ([email protected]).

GooD news from

TheTidings

12/01 Lynda Burton

12/01 Nicholas Imparato

12/03 Cheryl Finney

12/03 Tony Saudek

12/04 Adam McNabney

12/05 Eloise Jennings Crew

12/05 Alexandra Mihalski

12/05 Jenny Williams

12/07 J. Courtland Robinson

12/07 Brough Schamp

12/08 Nancyellen Brennan

12/11 Cal Buikema

12/11 Katie Rhodes

12/11 Sally Robinson

12/11 Samuel Todd

12/12 Rick Satterlee

12/13 Audrey M. Brown

12/13 Stewart Finney

12/13 Barbara Veldhuizen

12/16 Nate Hubler

12/16 Henry Taylor

12/17 Harry Hinkle

12/18 Nicki Artes

12/18 Stephanie Shapiro

12/19 Richard Proctor

12/19 Jair Williams

12/21 Sam Kelly, III

12/22 Judith Armold

12/22 Gillian Babb

12/22 Michelle Logan

12/23 June Carr

12/24 Edward Richardson, Jr.

Deceased 11/04/2010

12/25 Ian Brown

12/25 Robert Gorham

12/25 Matthew-Daniel Stremba

12/27 Juliette Goodwin

12/29 Macy Branch

12/29 Rachel Cunningham

12/30 Teresa Blythe

12/30 Emily Stanton

12/30 Ruth Brennan Taylor

Note: If you wish to have your birthday listed in The Tidings, please contact Sharon Holley, church secretary, at 410-523-1542, or via e-mail at [email protected].

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Handbell Choir Rehersal6:30 p.m

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Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7 p.m

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Youth Night Out on the Town

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9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m

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9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m

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arm-Up

9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m

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Christian Educators Meeting

11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m

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10:30 a.m-11:30 a.m

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Middle School Youth Group

7 p.m.- 9 p.m

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Candelight Service of Lessons and Carols 5:00 p.m

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Church Office Closed

Church Office ClosedChurch Office Closed

Church Office ClosedChurch Office Closed

Church Office Closed

Christmas Pageant Rehearsal

3:30 p.m.

Christmas Pageant 4:30 p.m

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Christmas Day

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Bolton Hill Garden Club Holiday W

reath Making

6:30 p.m.

Lamda Chi Alpha 9:30 p.m

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Lamda Chi Alpha

7:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m

.Bolton Hill Garden Club Annual Holiday Greens Sale8:30 a.m

. - 12:00 p.m.

Bolton Hill Garden Club Holiday Greens Delivery9:00 a.m

. - 12:00 p.m.

Under the Hill Gathering

BUILD/Baltimore

Education Coalition Training

5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m

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Education Hour 9:45 a.m

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tidings dec10

Documents

jerusalem time

subject of privacy

users of twitter

privacy rights of gun

friends of friends

twitter account

gun shop owners

eastern standard time