Thursday, Apr. 3
7:45 PM Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, Apr. 6
9:30 AM Christian Education: "The Parables of Jesus"
11:00 AM Worship/Communion, Rev. Powers preaching

Thursday, Apr. 10
7:45 PM Choir Rehearsal

Saturday, Apr. 12
9:30 a.m. Garden Spring Cleanup
noon - 4 p.m. Spring Tea Fundraiser (to benefit the music ministry)

Sunday, Apr. 13
9:00 AM Christian Education: "The Parables of Jesus"
11:00 AM Worship/Communion, Rev. Powers preaching
12:15 PM Session Meeting

Thursday, Apr. 17
7:45 PM Choir Rehearsal

Saturday, Apr. 19
9:00 AM Federal Hill Neighborhood Cleanup Day

Sunday, Apr. 20
9:30 AM Christian Education: "The Parables of Jesus"
11:00 AM Earth Day Celebration, Rev. Powers preaching

Thursday, Apr. 24
7:45PM Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, Apr. 27
9:30 AM Christian Education: "The Parables of Jesus"
11:00 AM Worship, Rev. Powers preaching
S.O.B.E.R. Sunday

The Parables of Jesus

Join us on Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. to study and gain insight into some of the teachings of Jesus. We are using the book "The Parables of Jesus" by Simon J. Kistemaker. Please come and join us for what has proven to be very interesting and informative discussions.

Deep Shift Church Transformation Update

Denise Van Eck, our church transformation consultant from Deep Shift, released her report from Phase I of the process. Her recommendations for initial shifts Light Street could make are below. She will make another onsite visit to Light Street on Sunday, March 30, 12-6 p.m. All members and friends of the congregation are invited to participate in the process.

Missional Focus - There has been much work done, especially over the last year, to discern a clear mission focus for Light Street. It is time to land the plane. This process does not need to start at the beginning, but needs some closure. It is my recommendation that we begin our process on some base work on culture (see below), and then move quickly to bring resolution to this question. My sense is that you probably have all (or almost all) of the information you need, and it is time to apply a process to clarify an area of focus and then begin to develop strategy for living it out.

Culture - I believe that there are some cultural dynamics at work that are at the core of some of Light Street's challenges. I am strongly recommending some deep work in this area as a beginning point. I am recommending that as a starting place, we address culture at Light Street in the following areas:
- Church Culture - defining "church", defining the cultural norms that are unique to Light Street, identifying areas that need "re-culturing", aligning expectations and definitions.
- Leadership Culture - development of a culture in which leadership flows from calling, giftedness and equipping, creating an environment in which leadership is welcomed rather than resisted.
- World Culture - deeper understanding of the culture of the world we live in, including the shift from modernity to post modernity and the implications for the Church.

Spiritual Transformation - Part of our goal for the culture work will be to make sure that your missional focus is grounded theologically. As we gain clarity and alignment on cultural issues, we will also be working to develop goals and objectives related to the ongoing development of deeper and/or new spiritual practices at Light Street, as well as an overall discipleship strategy.

Leadership Development - My recommendation is that we incorporate into our process developing a strategy for leadership development at Light Street. This will include introducing teaching and training on Spiritual Gifts, the development of an approach to leadership training and a more team-based approach to getting the work of the church accomplished.

Presbyterian Delegation Returns from the Philippines
Group expresses solidarity with embattled UCCP - by Roger Powers

Eight Presbyterians have returned from the Philippines after a 9-day visit, February 19-27, hosted by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), a Partner of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The delegation, which also included a member of the United Church of Christ, was jointly sponsored by the Philippine Solidarity Project and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. The delegation found the Philippines to be a country of widespread poverty and enormous inequality ruled by wealthy elites and riddled with corruption. As its economic crisis worsens, peoples' movements are rising up to call for change, but they are being met with government repression. "The UCCP joins the struggle because most of its members are peasant workers," explained one UCCP pastor. "The church needs to be with its flock."

The UCCP is a church that has taken the side of the poor and supports peoples' struggles for justice and peace. As a result, its leaders have been targeted by political violence. In the past six years, twenty UCCP pastors and church leaders have been killed for working with the poor and advocating for human rights. The most recent was the Rev. Filomino Catambis, who was killed on Jan. 23 of this year. Others have received death threats or have been detained and tortured.

The delegation heard testimonies from victims of human rights violations and their families, including workers at Hacienda Luisita, a sugar cane plantation owned by the family of former President Corazon Aquino, where striking workers were massacred on Nov. 16, 2004. Seven were killed and more than one hundred wounded. "Your coming here and hearing their stories means more than you can imagine," said one UCCP leader.

The delegation also visited UCCP Pastor Berlin Guerrero in the Cavite Provincial Jail, where he has been held on trumped up charges for the past nine months without trial. Members of the delegation pledged to increase international pressure to help secure his release.

The timing of the delegation coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the People Power revolution that ended the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. But as bad as things were under the Marcos regime, the economic and human rights situation is considered to be even worse under current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Manila newspapers were filled with news of a government corruption scandal and calls from civil society groups for President Arroyo to resign.

Asked how Presbyterians in the U.S. could be most helpful to the UCCP, five suggestions were offered:
Tell the stories of the victims of empire to churches and communities in the U.S.
Pray and stand strongly with the UCCP as we exercise our prophetic ministry in the Philippines.
Lobby your country and government for fairer and more humane policies toward the Philippines.
Join in the movement toward global peace and against U.S. interventionist wars.
Organize regular and frequent immersion trips to the Philippines for pastors and leaders of the PC(USA).

Members of the delegation included Matthew Lang, Shelley Milosevich, and the Rev. Richard Williams from Chicago Presbytery; The Rev. Larry Emery, Ann Kohl, and Stuart Robinson, from Sacramento Presbytery; Joel Hanisek Presbyterian Representative to the United Nations; Irene Pak, intern with the PC(USA) Office of Racial Justice & Advocacy; and the Rev. Roger Scott Powers, co-moderator of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

The next PC(USA) delegation to the Philippines is tentatively scheduled for August 2008. For more information, visit www.presbyterypeacefellowship.org or email philippinesolidarity@gmail.com.

Susan Joan Quass Ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament

The Presbytery of Baltimore ordained Susan Joan Quass to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament at a worship service on Sunday afternoon, March 16, at Light Street Presbyterian Church. In attendance were many members of Light Street, Susan's home church; members of Faith Presbyterian Church, where Susan served as a seminary intern for two years; colleagues in ministry from Wellspring Conference Center, where Susan has been called to serve as Co-Director for Program and Administration; family members and friends. The Rev. Christ Fuller Burns, Pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church, gave the sermon, entitled "Words Matter." The service was followed by a reception downstairs in the fellowship hall. Many thanks to everyone who helped out that day. It was a wonderful celebration!

Church Garden Cleanup Day and Springtime Tea - Saturday, April 12

Spring is here! Everyone is invited to pitch in on Saturday morning, April 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. to spruce up the church garden. We will be trimming shrubs, pulling weeds, planting, and mulching. If you have starts of annuals to share, like daffodils, hosta, daylilies, or lilly truf, we will gratefully plant them in our garden. Bring your gloves, pruners, rake, and most importantly, your enthusiasm to make our outdoor sanctuary shine.

Also, Saturday afternoon, from noon to 4 p.m., Bonnie Cosner will be hosting a Welcome Springtime Tea in the Light Street Fellowship Hall. She'll be serving a delicious variety of sandwiches, scones, sweet breads, cookies, (most of which will be freshly baked by Bonnie) and, of course, several varieties of tea. Donations of $15 will raise money for the church's Music Fund. Please call the church office at 410-539-0125 (or sign up on the sheet outside of the church office) to reserve your spot, so we'll know how much food to prepare. Children are absolutely welcome, and this is a great mother-daughter or best-friend event as well. Invite all your friends and neighbors. Hope to see you there!

Federal Hill Neighborhood Cleanup - Saturday, April 19

Here's a great way for us to increase our church's visibility in the neighborhood and help clean up our urban environment. The Federal Hill Neighborhood will be holding a spring cleanup on Saturday, April 19. Trucks will come around starting at 9:00 a.m. to provide bags, rakes, and shovels. They'll return to pick up debris later in the day. Interested in helping with the cleanup or offering coffee, tea, and baked good in front of the church to neighbors? Contact Debbie Szostak (call the church office for her number).

Opera by Light Street Organist/Choir Director Nick Werner to be Performed

Household Hazardous Waste Dropoff

The next opportunity to drop off household hazardous waste in Baltimore City will be Saturday, April 26 (9-3) and Sunday, April 27 (11-4) at Patterson High School, 100 Kane Street, on the east side of the City. Carole Norris-Shortle plans to drop off the household batteries we have collected at church over the past several months. Other acceptable materials include: automotive fluids, brake fluid, button batteries, car batteries, coal tar products, creosote products, floor care products, fungicides, furniture strippers, gasoline, herbicides, household batteries, insecticides, kerosene, laser toner cartridges, oven cleaners, paint, oil-based and latex paint, paint thinners, pesticides, pool chemicals, propane gas tanks (30 gal. only), rust removers, solvents, turpentine, varnishes and stains, weed killers, wood preservers, and florescent light bulbs. Baltimore City holds this event only twice a year (April and October).

2008 Baltimore Green Week
"Public Policy and Faith and the Environment"
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at Grace Fellowship Church

Sheilah Kast, WYPR Morning Show Host, will moderate two exciting events, one on public policy and the other on faith and the environment. Join the Maryland League of Conservation Voters for the State Legislative Review, an overview of the green legislation being debated in Annapolis. The program is followed by Faith and the Environment, a conversation by a panel of religious leaders about environmental stewardship and creation. Learn how our different faiths calls us to be stewards of our environment and how we are responding to the call.

Evening schedule:
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. - State Legislative Review
7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Refreshments
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Faith and the Environment

Faith and the Environment Panelists include:
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is the Founder and Director of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network. She is a prominent figure in a variety of important environmental initiatives including COEJL, the National Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.
William D. Dinges is a Professor of Religious Studies in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Dinges has taught a course on Religion and Ecology in the University Honors Program for the past 14 years.
George Fisher is Emeritus Professor of Geology at Johns Hopkins University. He teaches religious perspectives on Sustainable living in Hopkins' Master of Liberal Arts Program and at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary's Seminary and University.
Russ Pope is a Towson attorney and also serves as an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Timonium. He was one of only four republican candidates for the Maryland state legislature in 2006 who received the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

Location Information - Grace Fellowship Church, 9505 Deereco Road, Timonium, MD, 21093.

Baltimore Green Week holds a weeklong series of events promoting environmental sustainability from April 25th to May 2nd. For additional information on these events, please visit www.baltimoregreenweek.org.

It's Coming! Light Street's Annual Flea Market and Silent Auction!

All of us - members, friends, neighbors, and supporters - are encouraged to help make the Light Street Flea Market and Silent Auction a huge success on Saturday, May 17. Donate items for the flea market, silent auction, bake table, and lunch table. Also, donate your time, talents, and skills before, and during the event. Stay tuned for more information or contact Colleen Seremet, Julie Helms, or Jackie Nunn.

S.O.B.E.R. Sunday - April 27

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, all year 'round. They stock supplies 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.

Help Lead Worship!

Volunteers are needed to help lead worship each Sunday. This usually involves leading the congregation in the "Call to Worship" and "Prayer for Illumination" and reading the scripture lesson(s) for that Sunday. There is a sign up sheet on the downstairs bulletin board.

Fellowship Hour Volunteers Needed

It's wonderful each Sunday morning, following worship, to be able to gather downstairs for a time of fellowship and refreshment. But, it means someone needs to take responsibility each week for making coffee, providing refreshments, and cleaning up afterwards. If everyone in the congregation signed up to do this just a few Sundays a year, we would have it covered. Many hands make light work! Please sign up on the downstairs bulletin board.

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