Messenger | June 18, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Pray for WoodsWork
• Update from Your Associate Pastor Nominating Committee
• Seeking Medical Professionals
• Trip to Visit Our Cuban Partners
• Missions Support for Cuba
• Summer Sunday School is Something Special!
• Kids’ Church Club
• VBS Registration: Be Counted
• Adult Education Class: The Reformation & the Republic
• Pastors’ Bible Study
• Softball Game vs. St. Andrew’s
  

Pastor's Message

This Sunday, we will be ordaining new Elders and Deacons, and installing them along with those previously ordained to a new three-year term of office. Ordination and Installation Sunday is always a highlight of the year for me personally; it is the culmination of literally months of conversation, prayer, discernment, and training for both those being ordained and for the Congregational Nominating Committee, which begins its work every fall in seeking out those whom God is calling to serve in an ordained capacity in this congregation.

As I often stress, one of the hallmarks of the Presbyterian Church is that the members of the church elect their leaders, and nothing can interfere with that. The Session does not have a role in either nominating or electing leaders for the church; it only supervises the actual ordination and installation process once those leaders have been nominated and elected by the congregation. I, as the pastor of the church, am an ex officio member of the Congregational Nominating Committee, which means that I can advise the committee, but they don’t have to take that advice. As pastor, I have no power to choose or block anyone for nomination; in fact, I do not even get a vote in the process! So those being ordained this week were called by God and this congregation to serve as Deacons and Elders, and they have answered that call with a willingness to serve and spent the time between the Annual Congregational Meeting and now in training to serve.

As we prepare to ordain and install people this Sunday, I think it’s important to pause for a moment and remember what ordination means in the Presbyterian Church and what these offices, in particular, are charged to do.

For six years, I served as the Visiting Professor of Presbyterian Governance at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (which is a fancy way of saying that I taught a course in Presbyterian government, or “polity,” that is required for people seeking ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament!). In my teaching, I used to always tell my students that ordination in the Presbyterian Church is to service, not to status; people who are ordained are not any more important or holy or powerful than anybody else in the life of the church, they have simply been called to serve to particular service because of their gifts, skills, and personal ministries. And our ordination “hierarchy” is horizontal, not vertical; Ministers of Word and Sacrament are no more ordained than Deacons or Elders, they just fulfill a different function: preaching and teaching the Word and administering the sacraments. Elders could also be called Ministers of Governance and Discipline in that sense; their function is to come together in councils to make decisions about the mission and ministry of the church and to cultivate a sense of mutual respect and care in the life of the congregation. Deacons could be called Ministers of Compassion and Justice in the same way; their role is to ensure that those who are experiencing poverty, illness, or other such needs are cared for, and to help the congregation address systemic problems that lead to such experiences.

Finally, it’s important to note that ordination is for life. Once you are ordained, you remain an Elder or Deacon until you die. That’s because God’s gifts and calling never expire; the only thing that changes is how we engage them. So we install people to particular terms in office (usually three years at a time), but even when those terms expire, people are still called to live out their ordination vows in their ministry within the congregation, even though they aren’t currently sitting on the Session or the Board of Deacons.

So: be sure to offer your blessings and support to those being ordained and installed this Sunday, and your thanks to those who are completing terms on Session or the Board of Deacons, as we all continue to move forward into God’s greater calling to us as a congregation in the coming months.

Grace and peace,

—Pastor J.C.

Church News

Pray for WoodsWork

WoodsWork, our house-building mission trip for high school youth, leaves this Thursday, June 19, for their eight-day trip to Nelsonville, Ohio. We will be building three houses in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and living in community together as we do it.

Please pray for us during our time away; for safe travels, safe worksites, and meaningful experiences. Thanks for your support!

Update from Your Associate Pastor Nominating Committee

Your Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) has begun the process of seeking our next Associate Pastor of Woods Church.

This summer, the committee will be writing the Ministry Discernment Profile (MDP) for approval by our Session and the Presbytery’s Commission on Ministry. The MDP is a detailed document that helps congregations seeking a new pastor clearly articulate their needs, values, and expectations for the position.

We look forward to providing periodic updates to the congregation during this process.

Happy Summer!

Bill Hadley & Karen Lerario (Co-chairs)

Jenna Leer, Charity Matta, Doug Nauman, John Newlin and Sarah Thompson

Woods Church is Seeking Medical Professionals

Woods is looking for members who are either physicians, physician's assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, anyone in the medical field, who would be willing to note their presence in a particular worship service or church event (musical production, etc.)—in the event there is a medical emergency—and would be able to help assist until the EMTs arrive.

Email Jason Jackson at jjackson@woodschurch.org for more information.

Mission News

Trip to Visit Our Cuban Partners

A trip is being planned by Baltimore Presbytery to central Cuba for November 4–10. This will be an opportunity to meet our Presbyterian brothers and sisters from several churches in El Centro Presbytery, as well as spend time with our friends at Sancti Spíritus.

Our plans are time-sensitive, as visa information will be needed by July 15. Please contact Marty Clayton at mclayton@breezeline.net for more details.

Missions Support for Food in Cuba

Last month, Woods Church sent an order of food to our partner church in Sancti Spíritus. We have received two lovely thank-you notes:

“We have already received the shipment from Supermarket 23. Many thanks for sharing with the community of Sancti Spíritus in these times of crisis and lack of food and electricity. God go with you and bless you always for such love.”

“Last week, the church enjoyed a delicious breakfast with the cheese you sent. You all cannot imagine the special work you have done. Infinite thanks and we love you with much appreciation.”

Children's News

Summer Sunday School is Something Special!

This summer, the children's Sunday School is a “one-room schoolhouse” of fun for everyone—except the nursery, ages birth–2. We had a wonderful time on Trinity Sunday learning about how the gift of the Holy Spirit gives us power and balance in our lives following Jesus. We started with CJ Dates’ Son Salutation Poem:

The Son, the Son, I salute the Son.

The Son of God lives in everyone.

Christ has risen; Christ has blessed.

The whole world in His heart rests.

With Christ I rise, ready to live, happy to be, and ready to give.

The Son, the Son, I salute the Son.

Christ opens his arms to everyone.

Our closing prayer might bless you this week: “God of Love, it’s amazing how you know the needs of every person. Thank you for always being with me and always offering me help. Help me to clearly see you in my life right now.” Amen. (Written by Michel Le Gribble)

Join us next week to celebrate “Common Time” with Ms. Lindsey and Ms. Kat.

Kids’ Church Club

All kids are welcome to join us on Sundays, 11AM–12PM for Kids’ Church Club!

This week, we will read a children’s book and think about how it relates to the day’s Bible story or what is going on in your life. A creative response and movement will follow. Parents pick up at noon in Room 155.

There's a place for you at Woods Church!

VBS Registration: Be Counted

Sign up for Vacation Bible Study! Learn along with your Woods Church friends and family. We will play and pray with music, games/activities, service, art, and worship as we learn about building up our community and ourselves with Micah 6:8.

VBS Supper Club is open to all friends and family. Stop by after work and leave the dishes to us! Register on the Woods Church webpage.

Monday–Thursday, July 14–17, VBS and VBS Supper Club is where all the children of God are gathering!

Education & Small Groups

New Adult Education Class: The Reformation & the Republic

Pastor J.C. will be teaching an exciting new class, titled “The Reformation and the Republic,” on Sundays through June 29, 11AM.

Presbyterians made up a significant percentage of delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which laid the foundation for the United States as a republic and Presbyterian values and processes from John Calvin and the Genevan Reformation were many of the key building blocks of that foundation. This class will explore the theology behind those principles and give us a chance to reflect on how they shape and guide us today.

Pastors’ Bible Study

Lead Pastor J.C. Austin and Associate Pastor Nancy Lincoln Reynolds offer a weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays, 12PM, to examine the upcoming Sunday’s scripture readings before they are presented in worship.

Join us on Zoom and gain a new understanding of scripture and enhance your worship experience.

In Our Community

Game Day vs. St. Andrew’s

Game On! This Sunday, June 22, 3:30PM, we’re taking the field against St. Andrew’s at Cypress #2.

No experience required and you already made the team! Qualifications include: you must bring a smile, and be at least 16 years of age by December 31. No full-time commitment is necessary.

If you are interested, contact Andrew Wiley at 443.867.8803 or wileyas1@gmail.com.

Church Family News

Woods Seeks Custodian

Woods is seeking a part-time custodian to work Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The position description includes hours and required tasks. Interested candidates should contact Jason Jackson at jjackson@woodschurch.org.

A Moment of Prayer

Gracious and Loving God,

As we move into the summertime, we pause to thank you for the gift of this day and for the beauty of the world around us—for the quiet flow of the rivers, the canopy of green trees, the majesty of Chesapeake Bay, and the richness of the seasons that speak of your faithfulness.

You have called us to be a people of hope, rooted in your Word and led by your Spirit. In a world of shifting foundations, help us to stand firm on Christ, our cornerstone. Remind us, O Lord, that we are not alone, but part of a great cloud of witnesses, walking the path of grace together.

We lift up our church family—those in times of joy and those in times of struggle. May we be bearers of one another’s burdens and sharers in one another’s blessings. Shape us as your disciples, generous in compassion, bold in truth, and gentle in love. Strengthen our hands for service. Open our hearts to the needs of our neighbors. And give us the courage to be salt and light, not for our glory, but for yours.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.