Palm Sunday, April 1
9:00 AM Bible Study
11:00 AM Worship/Communion, Rev. Powers preaching
12:15 PM Session Meeting

Wednesday,Apr. 4
7:00 AM Lenten Devotion

Thursday, Apr. 5
8:00 PM Maundy Thursday Communion Service

Easter Sunday, Apr. 8
9:00 AM Bible Study
11:00 AM Worship/Communion, Rev. Powers preaching

Thursday, Apr. 12
7:45 PM Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, Apr. 15
9:00 AM Bible Study
11:00 AM Worship, Rev. Alison Halsey preaching

Thursday, Apr. 19
7:45PM Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, Apr. 22
9:00 AM Bible Study
11:00 AM Worship, Rev. Powers preaching
12:15 PM Membership Exploration Class

Thursday, Apr. 26
7:45PM Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, Apr. 29
9:00 AM Bible Study
11:00 AM Worship, Rev. Powers preaching
S.O.B.E.R. Sunday

Light Street Welcomes Six New Members!

On sunday, March 18, Light Street Presbyterian Church welcomed six new members into the congregation: McEwan, Sheila, Nellie, and Gillian Mbambo, and Audrey and Sarah Jewett.

The Mbambo family comes to Light Street from the St. Columba Church in Malawi, a congregation of The Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian. They have been worshipping regularly with us since their move to the United States at the beginning of 2006. They have appreciated the warm welcome they have received at Light Street. Nellie is attending Baltimore City Community College and Gillian is in the 10th gade. Hazel Mbambo (in 8th grade) and Isaac Mbambo (in 4th grade) will have the opportunity to join the church after attending 9th grade confirmation class. The Mbambo family lives in Pikesville.

Audrey and Sarah Jewett come to us from the Catonsville Presbyterian Church. Audrey has been a long-time friend and mission partner of Light Street. She is glad to be joining a "welcoming faith community committed to peace and justice and strengthened and enriched by its diversity and inclusivity." Audrey and her husband, the Rev. Robert Jewett (a minister member of Baltimore Presbytery), live in Ellicott City and are the parents of Sarah and Jonathan. Sarah has visited Light Street from time to time since she was in middle school and also appreciates the church'scommitment to peace, justice, and inclusivity. She lives in Elkridge.

Christian Peace Witness For Iraq Goes Forward In Spite of Wintry Weather

The Christians Peace Witness for Iraq went forward on Friday night, March 16, in spite of rain, sleet, and snow. More than 3,000 Christians from across the country filled the Washington National Cathedral and New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., for a moving ecumenical worship service, featuring testimonies by four Christian witnesses:
Celeste Zappala, a peace activist and United Methodist mother whose son was killed in Iraq in April 2004;
Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, President for the North American Conference of the World Council of Churches;
Rev. Raphael Warnock, Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta;
and Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal.

Following the service, participants braved freezing temperatures as they walked down Massachusetts Avenue in the snow in a candelight procession to Lafayette Park. They encircled the White House with candelight and prayer to express their conviction that the teachings of Jesus call unequivocally for an end to the Iraq War.

Several folks from Light Street participated in the event. Roger, our pastor, served on the Steering Committee and Worship Planning Committee for the event and was one of 222 people arrested in the wee hours of Saturday morning in front of the White House for an act of nonviolent civil resistance.

Timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq was planned by some thirty Protestant and Catholic peace organizations, including the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, American Friends Service Committe, Sojourners/Call to Renewal, and Pax Christi USA. The event received worldwide press coverage.

Please Join us for Bible Study (each Sunday at 9:00 a.m.)

The Living Wage Campaign at Camden Yards

The United Workers Association is a human rights group led by low-wage workers to end poverty. Representatives of the group are going to churches in the Baltimore area to talk to people about connecting their faith with economic justice. On Sunday, March 11, Rose Menustik spoke at Light Street about the group's Living Wage Campaign at Camden Yards. Her remarks follow:

I'm a worker from Camden Yards. My job is a public job paid for by Maryland state money. My job is to clean the stadium. All of the people who clean Camden Yards are day laborers. We work through a temp agency for less than the state minimum wage.

To get to the job, we wait over two hours to hear if our name is called. Then we get in an overcrowded van and ride about one mile to the stadium. The temp agency makes us take the van ride to the stadium and then charges us six dollars. This brings my pay below minimum wage.

When we finally get in to work, typically at 11 o'clock at night, I have to walk down each row of seats picking up trash. It is back-breaking work. I pick up bottles, cups, and old food. We are told to eat our lunch in the bathroom. The supervisors act like prison guards. We are told to work faster all the time.

Each person has to fill up 30 bags of trash every night. We make sub-poverty wages. For a hard night's work we get $29. No one really likes their job, but everyone has to work to get money to pay rent. I have a 17-year-old son to take care of.

Because of my son, I am trying to create a better world - a world that values human life and human dignity, a world that recognizes everyone's economic human rights.

This world is being built one day at a time. Just last month the United Workers Association won a huge victory. The Maryland Stadium Authority, which oversees Camden Yards, along with Peter Angelos, has agreed to start a dialogue with us. And over twenty churches and community groups in Baltimore have endorsed our Living Wage Campaign.

In May we are traveling across Maryland on our Tour to Uncover Public Sector Poverty. Like at Camden Yards we want to identify where public money is being used to create sub-poverty jobs.

Thank you for inviting us to come and speak with you today. I look forward to talking after the church service. And please sign our postcards that we will be delivering to Peter Angelos and the Orioles after our statewide tour. Let's work for a world where everyone's human rights are respected no matter who you are or where you come from.

Interested in Becoming a Member of Light Street Presbyterian Church?

Roger will offer a Membership Exploration Class for those who are interested on Sunday, April 22, from 12:15 to 2:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. The class will offer an opportunity to have your questions answered. What does it mean to be a Presbyterian? What do we believe? What is our history as a church? And what is Light Street Presbyterian Church all about? Please let Roger know if you plan to attend (lightstreetchurch@cavtel.net or 410-539-0125).

One Great Hour of Sharing: Together we Make a World of Difference

Our neighbors are everywhere from Louisiana to Sudan. We know people all over the world are hungry. We know about AIDS, street children and epidemics. About tsunamis, earthquakes, wars and famines. We despise suffering - and desperately want to alleviate it.

Together we are. We're improving nutrition through better food storage in Uganda and the Dominican Republic. We're providing care for refugees in Sudan and expanding access to fresh foods in inner-city Chicago. We're helping recovering alcoholics build new lives in California, supporting job training for AIDS victims in Kenya, rebuilding quake-ravaged villages in Pakistan, and restoring tsunami-damaged coastal mangroves in Indonesia. And we're supporting thousands of our membrs as they volunteer to help rebuild communities on the Gulf Coast.

Christ has commanded us to love our neighbors. On Easter Sunday, April 8, join millions of other Christians who are loving their neighbors by giving wholeheartedly to the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Together we make a world of difference.

OPPORTUNITIES AT FIRST & FRANKLIN STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Members and friend of Light Street Presbyterian Church are welcome and encouraged to participate in activities of our sister church located at 210 W. Madison St. in Baltimore. Here are some of the events going on there in the coming weeks. If you would like more information about any of these events, ask Roger (our pastor, their associate pastor).

"An Inconvenient Truth" and Potluck Supper - Sunday, April 22, 4:00 P.M
Celebrate Earth Day with us! Watch the Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," featuring Al Gore's eye-opening presentation about global warming. Then enjoy a potluck supper while discussing the film together. Please bring a dish to share.

S.O.B.E.R. Sunday - April 29

S.O.B.E.R. stands for South Baltimore Emergency Relief. Two dedicated people, John and Elizabeth, staff the operation, caring for the homeless and others in need of special help. They stock suplies in the small basement of Holy Cross Church at 110 E. West Street. Please help provide financial support, volunteer time, non-perishable food (soups, peanut butter, tuna, and one-dish meals). Flip-top cans are especially helpful for homeless persons who don't have access to kitchen facilities. Please bring your offering of non-perishable food and/or personal hygiene items to church on the last Sunday of the month to be contributed to S.O.B.E.R. (South Baltimore Emergency Relief). Checks made payable to Light Street Presbyterian Church should be clearly marked for SOBER.

ROGER'S SCHEDULE
Roger is generally at Light Street Presbyterian Church (410-539-0125) on Wednesdays and Thursdays and at the First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church (410-728-5545, ext. 12), where he is associate pastor, on Mondays and Tuesdays. Roger also can be reached by email at lightstreetchurch@cavtel.net.

SERMONS
Copies of Roger's sermons are available on the downstairs hall table. Please feel free to pick one up if you missed a Sunday. Or, pass one on to a friend!

DEADLINE FOR MAY NEWSLETTER: APRIL 15
Send all newsletter material to John Ginovsky at jginovsk@aba.com