tidings jan11

The candlelight service is over, the Christmas presents have been opened, and some Christmas tree owners are almost ready to take down their trees. Still, the Christmas season has just begun. That’s a strange thing to say

when the big box stores have returned to regular store hours, the sales have ended, and the malls have emptied. It’s a strange thing to say when the lists have been checked off, and we look toward a return to normalcy. It’s a strange thing to say when

the Pageant is over, the candles from Christmas Eve have been extinguished, and the Christmas dinner won’t come around again for another year.

Yet for those of us in the church, the birth of Jesus does not mark an ending but a beginning. It marks the inauguration of God’s choice to come and live beside us, to intrude upon our world and our lives with surprising grace and challenging call: grace that is persistently transforming our world, like that great moral arc of the universe that bends toward justice. The challenge for us all is to let the Christian season reawaken our perception, so that we might recognize the many ways that God continues to break into our world.

It happens all the time if, as Jesus said, “We have eyes to see.” It happened to me last week when Kate and I ran into a perfect stranger whose name we recognized from the church’s prayer list. We made the connection, and suddenly complete strangers became friends. It happened to me when a diverse group of Baltimoreans gathered together in BUILD to worship together and we could see a glimpse of the future together. It happened to me when I heard about some choir members going to sing to one of our homebound members, the youth group sharing themselves with families transitioning out of homelessness, the Bible study taking a field trip to a member who is no longer able to get to church.

God breaks into our world with surprising regularity if we are paying attention. So let the several weeks of Christmas stay with you for awhile, long enough to lift the veil that descends on people who become weary with the chatter of the news. Let the season have its way with us so that we might have our vision expanded wide enough to notice God in our midst. Let Christmas last at least as long as the liturgical season prescribes, so that the joy of life and love and community might be noticed and shared by all.

Pastor’s reflections

TheTidings

January 2011

Good news from

PasTor’s reflecTions ..1

ask The PasTor ...........2

Musical echoes of chrisTMas PasT ........... 3

January BirThdays .....3

a TrusTed careTaker. .4

chrisTian educaTion news. .........................4

January resPonsiBiliTy schedule ..................... 5

January 2011aT BMPa .....................6

in this issueBy rev. andrew fosTer connors

[email protected]

the tidinGs January 2011

ask the Pastor

Q: “Can someone not believe that Jesus was the only son of God, or not believe in the immaculate conception and still be a Christian? Can someone not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and still be a Christian?”

A: It sounds like the heart of your question is this: “Are there ‘essential tenets’ of the Christian faith,

and if so, what are they?” This is a question that many Christians have wrestled with over the centuries, including Presbyterians. For example, in 1910, the United Presbyterian Church

of the USA (also known as “the Northern Church” after the Presbyterian Church split over the issue of slavery), adopted five essential doctrines of the Reformed faith for those seeking ordination. These included belief in the inerrancy of scripture, the virgin birth, sacrificial atonement, bodily resurrection, and Christ’s miracles. After years of controversy, the church finally recanted, declaring in 1927 that “The General Assembly does not have the constitutional power to give binding definition to the church’s essential faith.” While we seek unity on the essentials of the Christian faith, all attempts to list or define those have so far been unsuccessful.

Of particular help to me is our belief that Christ alone is the head of the Church, meaning that ultimately Christ alone has the authority to decide who is or is not a Christian or whether that is a category that even matters. The Presbyterian Book of Order doesn’t attempt to define what makes a “Christian;” it limits itself to defining active membership in the church. If pressed for my definition, I would say a Christian is someone who places her trust in the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ and desires to follow Christ in all that he does as part of a community of faith. Baptism for the Church remains the visible sign of that trust and desire and of one’s becoming part of the Body of Christ; it is also a way for us to know God’s grace and claim on our lives more deeply. The fact that we

baptize both infants and adults speaks to two inseparable truths about what it means to be a Christian. As our Directory for Worship states, the “baptism of children witnesses to the truth that God’s love claims people before they are able to respond in faith;” while the “baptism of those who enter the covenant upon their own profession of faith witnesses to the truth that God’s gift of grace calls for fulfillment in a response of faithfulness.” While I don’t want to de-value the importance of wrestling with scripture and theology, the life and words of Jesus lead me to believe that trusting in God’s love revealed to us in Christ and seeking to love God and one another in that same way is more important than assenting to particular doctrines.

I have to admit that I’m not sure what you mean by Christ not being the “only” Son of God. If you don’t think Christians are the only ones who are promised eternal life, I’m right there with you. If you see divine truth and light in the prophets and leaders of other faiths, I am with you. If God revealed to all of us tomorrow that the immaculate conception was based on a mistranslation or an editorial, it would not shake my faith one bit. But the resurrection…. it is how I understand that Christ was revealed to be God incarnate to the first believers, and I see it as essential to God’s demonstration of love’s ultimate triumph over violence and death. Do I understand it, logically? No way. But for me, it’s at the heart of my faith. Now, does that mean that I will call anyone who doubts the resurrection a heretic and non-Christian? No. My prayer is often that of the man in Mark 9:24: “I believe – help my unbelief!” Part of joining the community of faith is that sometimes, the community believes on your behalf – and that’s okay. Faith, too, is a gift. Doubt, especially when it is in the midst of faithful living in commu-nity, is its own kind of faithfulness.

* “Ask the Pastor” is a new feature of The Tidings. You may submit a liturgical or scriptural question to be answered by one of the Pastors to Ellen Carter Cooper at [email protected]. The deadline for questions is the 15th of every month.

?

By rev. eMily rose ProcTor

[email protected]

§

January 2011 the tidinGs PaGe 3

musical echoes of christmas Past

More than any other season, the Christmas celebration is deeply connected with music in most countries throughout the world. Here at Brown

Memorial Church, our Chancel, Children and Handbell Choirs all participated in leading the service of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve. Members of these choirs spent many weeks of

rehearsal in preparation to offer this service for the worshippers who attended that evening. Each choir member dedicated time and energy as their gift to God and to the congregation. In this ongoing joyful act, everyone experienced once again the reality that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” What a simple and direct route to happiness: the gift of being able to give!

On behalf of the entire congregation I express gratitude to the countless persons who have offered their gifts to worship throughout the past year: liturgists, members of the Worship Committee, dancers, singers, instrumentalists, greeters, ushers, acolytes, communion stewards, banner makers and all those I have failed to mention! I know that they all join me in gratitude for the opportunity to share their gifts to enhance the worship of the entire church family.

Sacred Classics, which featured our choir and organ in a special broadcast last autumn, has now placed that

program on its archives, where it continues to be available to everyone with internet access. Listeners around the world may thereby continue to hear music from Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church. Please invite your family and friends to go to www.sacredclassics.com and then to click on Archives, where they will be able to hear this program which was recorded last May in our sanctuary. Many thanks to Jim Howes, producer of Sacred Classics and a frequent member of our choir!

Among many reasons for gratitude when I recall the past year, I am grateful for God’s gift of music. Frequently I ponder Friedrich Nietzsche’s statement that “without music, life would be a mistake.” Through the gift of music we are able to sense a deeper truth beyond perceived reality. When we participate together in making music, we forge a strong and unique common bond; and our sung prayer to God brings us closely into the beauty of God’s holiness. The noted author Kurt Vonnegut once wrote: “If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTANCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC.” As we enter this new year, let us respond to Eric Routley’s poetic invitation, “New songs ofcelebration render to God who has great wonders done….Trumpets and organs, set in motion such sounds as make the heavens ring; all things that live in earth and ocean, sound forth the song, your praises bring.”

By John walker, MinisTer of Music

[email protected]

01/01 FredLazarus01/02 PaulinePiper01/03 JohnWarmath01/04 EmilyBurton

01/05 EldenSchneider01/09 YariArmand01/09 RebeccaThomson01/10 BradBradford01/12 Elizabeth“Lizzie”Mills01/12 Meredith“Nellie”Mills01/13 EmilyBishai01/13 RichardCook01/13 HadichaMurat-bekova01/14 TaylorBranch01/16 KathySmith

01/17 ElenaKirkpatrick01/19 ElizabethWagnerCavallon01/20 MichaelHughes01/21 KristiSatterlee01/22 ChrystieAdams01/22 JaneSwope01/24 CharlesMcManus01/25 ShaynaBlinkoff01/26 SeanArtes01/27 RebeccaAdams01/28 CharlesJosephReichelt,II

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

January Birthdays


Do you know who is well acquainted with the slates on the roofs of the church house and the church? Have you heard who is the “go-to guy” for problems with the church’s heating and air conditioning? Have you wondered who negotiates the leases with the church’s tenants? There has to be someone who takes the lead in such matters. For the past few years, that someone has been the chairperson of the Trustee Board, William (Bill) McConnell.

Bill’s soft-spoken persistence developed early in life. He was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee where his father was a physicist at the nuclear center. The family moved several times during Bill’s early years. In fact, he attended five schools before second grade because the family moved from Oak Ridge to Knoxville, and then, when his father became an air traffic controller, to Memphis.

From the ages of seven to eleven, Bill lived in Memphis, but at the age of eleven, he had to make another adjustment. His father

elected to switch job locations and moved the family to Hawaii, where they resided for Bill’s middle school years. His father’s work took Bill back to Memphis where this peripatetic young man enrolled in high school. During this time, another job opportunity presented itself for the elder McConnell to move to St. Louis, but Bill and his younger brother rebelled and refused to go.

Bill’s rebellion against living in another city did not extend to his field of study when he entered the University of Tennessee. He was inspired by his father’s interest in public affairs and government to major in journalism. After graduation he was hired for the summer by the New York Times Washington Bureau. This move enabled him to be closer to his mother’s relatives who lived in Arlington, Virginia. When this job ended, Bill enrolled in American University where he merged his interest in economics with his old love, journalism.

Soon another move was in the works. It was a significant one.

Bill was hired by the Daily Record newspaper in Baltimore. Meanwhile, he was involved in another interest, “rehabbing” old houses. While “rehabbing” a house in South Baltimore, Bill met his future wife, Laura. After their marriage, they chose to live where there are numerous old houses, Bolton Hill.

Once they were ensconced in the neighborhood, the McConnell’s narrowed their church selection down to three churches. One of those churches was Brown Memorial. Bill said that they felt so “at home” when they attended BMPA that they never attended the other two churches. He was drawn to the church because of the theology and the commitment to the city.

In typical Brown Memorial fashion, Bill was directed immediately to an interest area. Roger Gench asked him to be the liaison to BUILD. Later on, he served as an Elder on Session, for one term only because commuting from Washington, D.C. presented challenges for him. He then expressed an interest in becoming a trustee, and was selected to serve in that capacity.

As the chairperson of the Trustee Board, he applauds the trustees for assuming the primary responsibility for overseeing Brown Memorial’s physical plant. Bill views the position as often being a “balancing act between whether to spend money on the building or on the church’s missions and programs.” He credits the board members with:

• overhauling the sanctuary’s furnace• roof repairs• addressing accessibility issues

Bill still commutes from his job as Washington Bureau Chief for The Deal, but he is taking a sabbatical from the Trustee Board (no longer the chairperson but is available if the trustees or anyone else wants his advice on projects). He plans to take guitar lessons with his son, Liam and to go on camping trips with the family. This BMPA leader believes, “Leadership requires a significant time commitment, but one should step back after a term to refresh, renew, and then come back to assist.”

a trusted caretaker

BilltearingoutoldcarpetinhisBoltonHillhomein2009.

By ellen carTer cooPer

Vacation Bible School (VBS) is not just for kids! This year we’re inviting everyone, young and old, to join us at a new date and time to explore the topics of book, bath, table & time.* We

will gather each Wednesday evening in July for dinner at 5:30 p.m. followed by fellowship and learning from 6-7 p.m. We’ll conclude the evening with songs around

the “campfire” from 7-7:30 p.m. More information and registration forms will be coming soon. Savethedates–July6th,13th,20th,and27th–5:30-7:30p.m. *Book, Bath, Table & Time is a book written by Fred P. Edie that explores the concept of Christian worship as an alternative model for Christian nurture.

christian education news

January 2011 the tidinGs PaGe 5

acolytes2nd evan cunninGham & charlie mcmanus9th sam enGlish & ruskin nohe-moren16th Blythe Petit & ella may23rd warner Brockman & Peter lulJak30th katie eGan & Julia lulJak

audio enGineer2nd t.B.d.9th t.B.d.16th t.B.d.23rd t.B.d.30th t.B.d.

children’s church volunteer2nd ken mills & elena kirkPatrick9th Grace PenG & mehran armand16th elizaBeth & charles reichelt23rd linnea cheseldine & marya howell30th Jim & Joanne eGan

coffee hour hosts2nd court & sally roBinson9th t.B.d.16th Jenny williams & Jonathan Barnes23rd BarBara francis30th t.B.d.communion PreParation2nd BarBara christen &sandra fink

communion servers2nd carol Graves andy imParato andy Johnston carol newill

Greeters2nd t.B.d.9th t.B.d.16th t.B.d.23rd t.B.d.30th t.B.d.

liturGist2nd Graham richardson9th karen nelson16th susan schindler23rd BarBara christen30th tom stewart

offertory acolytes2nd James cunninGham & Jack mcmanus9th elizaBeth cavallon & JosePhine finney16th samuel todd & Jihar williams23rd James cavallon & eva mcnaBney30th olivia lianG & emily reed

offertory countersken mills & andy ross

usherscharlie oBrecht, PeGGy oBrecht, Jenny williams & John warmath

January 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 Proctor, Associate Pastor. 1316 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217. 410.523.1542.www.browndowntown.org. Send contributions bythe15thofeachmonth to Ellen Carter Cooper, editor([email protected]) or to Sharon Holley, church secretary ([email protected]).

Good news from

TheTidings

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].


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tidings jan11

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