Chili Night to benefit Mt. Royal Elementary

Come out on February 7th from 5-8pm to join community members, students, families, teachers and our school PTO for a night of good food, fun and help us raise money to send our 6th grade students to Northbay Adventure Camp for the 12th year.

About the event: Chili (Traditional and Vegetarian) will be offered as well as hot dogs, biscuits, corn bread and baked goods.

Event Details: MT. ROYAL CHILI FUNDRAISER

When: Feb. 7th, 5-8PM

Where: The Mt. Royal School Cafeteria, 121 McMechen Street Baltimore, MD 21217

Cost: $10/pp (kids under 12 eat free) / $1.00 drinks, baked goods and raffle tickets. Enter to win prizes from local merchants and restaurants

Tickets sales: In person from Marjorie Forster at church on Sunday or by calling her at 410-523-4339 or online via: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3205375

For those that cannot attend or wish to make a monetary donation, we’ve also setup a You Caring Donation Page: https://www.youcaring.com/mtroyal6thgradestudents-1040225

Pot Luck Luncheon plan and sign up for Annual Meeting

This Sunday after the 10:30 service we'll hold our Annual Meeting where the important business of the parish will be conducted - the gathering and eating of excellent food! There will also be some actual business to conduct - you can find more information about that here.

Amy Krulak, chair of our Hospitality Committee, is organizing the luncheon this Sunday and needs your help to make it truly a Memorial event - by bringin something delicious to share. The plan is for a simple soup and bread lunch, so you don't necessarily need to do much cooking. If you would like to bring something to share, whether it be a tried-and-true family recipe or just something you grabbed at the bakery, please contact Amy by Friday afternoon and find out what is still needed.

We look forward to seeing you at Annual Meeting - and tasting your special dish!

Annual Meeting Agenda

Please plan on staying after the 10:30 service this Sunday to participate in the Annual Meeting. Reverend Grey+, still on bereavement leave,will not be in attendance, but the officers of the church will do a short presentation outlining highlights of 2017 and goals for 2018. We will present the 2018 budget, approved by the Vestry at its December 2017 meeting; we'll also vote on Vestry members for the Class of 2021 and Diocesan convention delegates for 2018.

A simple soup and bread lunch will follow our meeting - all are invited! If you would like to contribute to this lunch, please contact Amy Krulak amykru2002@yahoo.com to sign up. 

Look late Friday in your email for a message from us that will contain a link to the 2017 Annual Report and the meeting minutes for our Jan 2017 Annual Meeting. We are hoping many of you will have time to review both of these documents in advance of Sunday. (Our first order of business Sunday is to amend and/or approve last year's minutes.)

In an effort to live up to a 2018 goal set by our Social Justice Creation Care team we will be going paperless to the extent possible for these two handouts this Sunday. This means we will only have paper copies of the Annual Report and 2017 Annual Meeting minutes if you email the office directly and request them. We encourage you otherwise to print out your own copies, or to download to your own electronic device and bring that with you to the meeting.

Click here by 2pm Friday and request your own hard copy of the Annual Report and the 2017 Annual Meeting minutes. 

Finally: do you wonder if you're a voting member? Here's the definition:

• You are 16 or older.
• You have contributed spiritual and financial support to the church in the past year.

This applies to most people reading these words right now, so WE PLAN ON SEEING YOU THERE!

Sincerely,

Beth

Beth Drummond Casey, Senior Warden

410-790-8820

Annual Meeting 2018

Sunday January 28, following the 10:30 service, we will hold our Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting, if you've never been, is an essential part of the life of the parish. We heartily encourage everyone to attend.

At the meeting we will:

• Review 2017 - we've managed to pack an awful lot into just one year. The actual list of accomplishments and foundational work done this year will surprise you, guaranteed. 
• Look forward to 2018 - we're not content to rest on the laurels from a successful 2017. Rather much of the foundational work that was done will lead directly to 2018 goals and we need interested and engaged people to join in and help ensure that those goals are met.
• Approve the 2018 Budget - Paul Seaton, our treasurer, David Clewell, Dale Balfour, and all of the Vestry have been working hard for months now to figure out how best to use the time, talent, and treasure we all entrust to the church. If you've ever been curious how we allocate resources, this is the best time to find out.
• Vote for the Vestry Class of 2021 - At annual meeting we will say goodbye to some members of the Vestry as they finish their commitment, but we will also say hello to the new members of the Vestry Class of 2021. 

In addition there will be a luncheon, coordinated by Amy Krulak, who sends this message:

Please contact Amy Krulak, amykru2002@yahoo.com, if you feel moved to bring a soup, bread, salad or dessert to our fellowship before the Annual Meeting Sunday January 28.  It makes it easier to do the work of celebrating where our community is and where we are going in the coming year when our bellies are full and we are fed.

Thank you for your support of each other and our work together.

Funeral Arrangements for Mary Ann Lewis

With a heavy heart we write today to let you know that following a short illness our beloved friend and longtime Memorialite Mary Anne Lewis, wife of Gus and mother of Kate and Walker, has passed away.

Mary Anne was an active and engaged member of Memorial Church for decades. A lifelong giver and listener, she was instrumental behind the scenes in helping to establish Memorial Church as a center for outreach to our community. We will never forget Mary Anne's kind demeanor, her genuine warmth, and her deep love for everyone around her.

Prayers ascend on behalf of Mary Anne Lewis and her family.

Funeral services for Mary Anne will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 10:30am at Memorial Episcopal Church. 

Watch this space for more information regarding meals for Gus.

MLK Day Parade

Monday the 15th of January would have been The Rev. Martin Luther King's 89th birthday. We hope he would have been delighted to see the transformation of the Boulevard named in his honor to a pedestrian zone lined with smiling and happy, if cold, faces. An energetic crew of Memorialites and Diocesan youth joined the parade and as you can see from the pictures below, a great time was had by all. 

Special thanks to Monty Howard for doing all of the behind-the-scenes work to get us a spot once again. Also thanks to the youth of the Diocese of Maryland and Kate Riley who have turned up each of the last three years to spend the night at Memorial in fellowship and service and then join us on Monday morning to march, thereby lessening our average age by a considerable margin!

Our ESC interns were also out and leading everyone in song and chant. If you missed the parade this year, we hope that the pictures and stories (ask anyone who was there - they'll tell you!) will make you consider coming out next year.

Our last round of thanks is to all the people we didn't know who came out and lined the parade route and made the whole thing such a joy. 

The View from Bolton Street

Greetings, friends:

While our Rector and his family continue to grieve over the sudden loss of his mother, this new week brings us yet another loss to grapple with, that of our beloved parishioner Mary Ann Lewis. Cynics might assume that these two deaths, both happening suddenly and so close to each other, might serve to lessen our commitment to communal worship, and drive us away from each other and our beloved Memorial Episcopal Church.

NOT A CHANCE.

Paradoxically, these shocking events instead remind us of the importance and strength of our worship community, and the need we all have to gather at Jesus's table with a rich diversity of people, be they skeptics, seekers, questioners, or believers. 

Many ask right now, "How can I support the Maggianos?" or "What can I do for Gus Lewis?"

A powerful gift you can offer both families right now is to SHOW UP at Memorial. 

Attend one of our three services this Sunday (8am, 10:30am, 7pm), or try out the Peace and Justice Eucharist on Tuesday at 7am. 

An important service not to miss is the following Sunday, January 28, 10:30am which will end with our Annual Meeting. You will learn about the many and astonishing achievements of 2017 yet will also be challenged as you learn of ambitious goals for 2018. Deepen your connection to this community - and to the Maggiano and Lewis families - by being a part of our worship, whenever you can. 

Recently, I consulted a child psychologist friend for advice about helping a grieving child. At the end of our conversation, she looked at me and said, "You know, you are really lucky to be a person of faith. Grieving is never easy and is an incredibly long and painful process. But experiencing that pain in the midst of a worship community means that your time with the pain will be so much shorter. I wish I could prescribe attending church for all my patients."

No prescription is needed here, people!

See you this Sunday, and for many Sundays to come, I hope -

Beth

Beth Drummond Casey, Senior Warden

bethdrummondcasey@gmail.com 

(410) 790-8820

Funeral arrangements for Laurie Anne Maggiano

Laurie Anne Maggiano (Jan 3 1954 - Jan 7 2018) passed away this week after an unexpected cardiac arrest.  She is fondly remembered by her four brothers and sisters, many nieces and nephews, her two children Chase and Grey, their spouses Chris and Monica and her two grandchildren, Nicolas and Isabella.

A service of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, January 20th at 11 am at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, VA. Memorial will be carpooling to The Plains that morning. If you would like to go and need a ride, please contact the office. If you are planning to go and have extra seats, please also contact the office.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to two organizations she cared about and embody her life's work of helping others:

Emmanuel Church Middleburg — Memo: The Andy Bergner Center. Named for her father, the Andy Bergner Center is a free place of respite for adults in need, caregivers and the community.

Or: 

Heifer Project International, where every year she donated sheep and goats and pigs and ducks to struggling communities around the world in honor of her family and friends.

MLK Jr Day Youth Lock in Packing List and Parental Consent Form

Must Bring!

• Your favorite snack to share with 8-10 people
• Sleeping bag and pillow
• Pajamas, slippers, robe
• Toiletries (e.g., toothbrush, tooth paste, dry shampoo, deodorant, hairbrush)
• Your regular, prescribed medication(s)
• Water Bottle

Optional

• Books, writing materials, Bible
• Board and/or card games
• Camera
• iPod
• Homework

Please do not bring items that will be sorely missed if stolen or broken. (i.e. tablets, game systems, cash)
Valuables may be collected at the beginning of events to ensure their safety and returned at the end of said event.
Cell phones may be used during the weekend for pictures and sharing, but those on their phones instead of interacting risk having those phones taken by staff for safe keeping until the retreat is completed.

Parental Consent Form

MLK Jr Day Parade Route and Instructions