Charlotte

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, located at 601 Washington Avenue in Hagerstown, has over 100 Samsonite padded metal folding chairs free on a first-come, first-served request(s). Please contact the church office at 301.733.7550 if you are interested in any or all of the chairs.

The Interfaith Roundtable with Rabbi Mark Perman

For the first half, Rabbi Mark is joined by fellow Hagerstown Area Religious Council members Rev. Jonathan Harris and Ashlee Harris of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They talk names and assumptions about members of their faith as well as their community and charity work. You can find out about volunteer opportunities at https://www.justserve.org/.  The second half features a chat with another HARC member, Father Todd Young of St. John’s Episcopal Church. They discuss the openness of the Episcopal Church and how Father Todd navigates their message in the modern world.  Listen to the podcast.  Listen to The Interfaith Roundtable Saturday mornings on 98.9 FM/AM 1490 WARK or catch the podcasts here.

HARC has three upcoming opportunities for area congregations to work together to provide activities for children in the community:

1. Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 17, 10 am – 3 pm. Will your congregation commit to 1 hour of a children’s activity of your choice?  contact Kathy at director@harccoalition.org or 301-842-4272.
2. Fun children’s camp to strengthen families (theme TBD), August 14-18, 9-3 each day. Come together with other congregations for a shared children’s camp, serving children in your own congregation as well as the community. Committed congregations and volunteers wanted. Contact Ashlee at jon2ash@gmail.com.
3. Joint VBS with other churches once per week in the evening for 4 weeks. Contact Rev. Doug Hoffman, revdhoff@gmail.com/  301-733-0391

The Refugee Welcome Network (RWN) of Washington County continues to actively work with six Afghan refugee families, with a goal of helping them become stable and self-sufficient and ensuring they feel welcomed in our community.  Three families are documented, seeking green cards, and the others are all asylum seekers working on documentation.  Three families are close to losing housing as CAC emergency rental assistance has run out 3 months earlier than expected.  All of the families need jobs to become stable and productive, as they all very much want to be.

Housing:  Does a church have a parish house that could be used for housing for a family?  Or does anyone have a house or apartment sitting empty that could be used to house a family for free or low-cost?  Currently families are paying $850+ for apartments they simply can’t afford (nor can the RWN).

Family Highlights & Jobs:

• Ahmad Shah & Mary are documented with work permits. They have four children ranging from 3 to 10 years old and Mary is pregnant.  Ahmad has a software testing background and his English is pretty good.
• Dr. Fawad is documented and worked as a pediatrician in Afghanistan.  While he can’t practice medicine in the U.S. yet, he hopes to find a job in the medical field, but will take just about any work right now. His English is fair.  His wife, Nargis is already working, but can’t earn enough for them to survive.
• Meraj & Sabera are seeking asylum and won’t be eligible for a work permit until 6 months after it is filed, but they are desperate for any work they can get.  They have two small sons, ages 1 and 4.  Meraj was a local mayor in Afghanistan. He loves painting and is very good at it; he’s working on a temporary private painting job right now, but needs more work, and he also wants to give back by volunteering in a local park.  Sabera was a teacher and women’s rights advocate in Afghanistan and loves to read and study. Both are working on their English, but have a ways to go.
• Aref & Freba are seeking asylum and also won’t have a work permit until 6 months after their complicated paperwork is filed. They have a son and daughter, ages 1 and 3.  Aref was a journalist and was also, at one time, involved in directing construction. He likes to sew and says he is a tailor who taught sewing to students. Friba is a nurse who had worked in a hospital.  Aref is currently helping on a farm one day per week, and Friba isn’t working at all. They both are eager to work. Their English is improving, but have a ways to go.

Other needs:  There are several small children who have an ongoing need for diapers.  Grocery gift cards are a big help, and the families would also like to buy some halal meat, which is not available in our food pantries (Alkhair Halal Meat and Groceries on Dual Hwy is a good source).  All of the families have international drivers licenses and would like cars as public transportation is limited.  Donations toward financial needs can be made through the HARC website and designated RWN.

If you can help with any of these needs, please contact Kathy at director@harccoalition.org or 301-842-4272 or Pam at pfbradford@myactv.net.

Discovering the Baháʼí Faith with Paula Myers & Blending the Mind and Spirit with Dr. Rachel Bright with Rabbi Mark Perman

The Interfaith Roundtable

This week Rabbi Mark sits down with Paula Myers to discuss Baháʼí Faith. Baháʼí is the unity of God, religion, and of all humanity. Ms. Myers explains that Baháʼí focuses on family in the home and being generous to all individuals. Paula even opens up her home (brownies included) to share the teachings. The second guest is Rachel Bright, a Naturopathic Doctor as well as a holistic tradition practitioner.  Listen to the podcast.  Listen to The Interfaith Roundtable Saturday mornings on 98.9 FM/AM 1490 WARK or catch the podcasts here.

Dear Community Partners and Friends,

For any of our neighbors living with food or housing insecurity, John Wesley United Methodist Church is serving an Easter Dinner at REACH, on April 9, 3-6 pm!

We are not doing it by ourselves and, indeed, cannot do it by ourselves.  Community partners are already assisting in the provision of this meal.  Will you please consider joining us?

You can help in any of the following ways.

Would anyone like to volunteer?

We need volunteers!  We welcome anyone who can serve for an hour or more, beginning at 1 pm on Easter Sunday, when final prep for the 3-6 pm meal will begin.  More hands will make lighter work.  Areas of service include: kitchen prep, food service, hospitality, and clean-up.  We plan to be done cleaning up by 7 pm.

If anyone wishes to volunteer, please call or email the John Wesley UMC church office anytime, 301-733-0391, jwumcmd@yahoo.com, revdhoff@gmail.com … or Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 2 pm, to speak with our church administrator or with Pastor Doug Hoffman.  If calling beyond these hours, please leave a message.

Would anyone like to donate?

Monetary donations will help us purchase any remaining, needed food and supplies for the dinner.  Donations can be made online HERE.

If you have any questions about your donation, please call or email us at the number or addresses listed above.

We are hopeful about setting up a registry for the direct purchasing by donors of needed food and supplies.  If and when successful with that, we will provide a link to such.

Thank you so very much for prayerfully considering your ability to assist with this Easter Dinner.

And thank you for your powerful prayers.

Finally, we are so appreciative of REACH and their generosity, to make their wonderful facility available for this outreach.

Peace and Joy,

Doug Hoffman, John Wesley UMC Pastor, and the JWUMC Committee on Relief

Download flyer here

Tuesdays May 2, 9, 16, 23 from 5:30 – 7 pm

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 601 Washington Ave., Hagerstown

Come learn a variety of activities to build your child’s language and literacy skills and prepare them for kindergarten.  For parents of children ages 3-5 years old. Free to attend, dinner and childcare provided, free take-home materials and books. See flyer for registration info, and pass on to anyone who may be interested.  RSVP by April 21.  Hosted by St. Mark’s, HARC, and the Judy Center Early Learning Hub.

HARC is seeking volunteers to help on the day of the main HARC Hike event on June 10 at Shepherd’s Spring Retreat Center.  We need people to help with set-up, serving and clean-up for the lunch celebration; someone to direct parking; someone able to drive a church bus to help with transportation; and a strong, nimble person to load water, Gatorade and supplies for our hospitality teams in the early morning.  If interested, contact Kathy at director@harccoalition.org or 301-842-4272. Learn more about the HARC Hike and info on participation

Looking for volunteers to serve in your ministry? Or are you looking for volunteer opportunities for yourself and/or your group? JustServe is a website where volunteer needs meet volunteers. All nonprofits, houses of worship and faith-based organizations are welcome to use this service to post your volunteer needs – just contact Ashlee Harris to get started at jon2ash@gmail.com. Those searching for volunteer opportunities can simply search the database by city, state or zip code or even look for ways to volunteer by remote.

Adult & Teen Challenge of Maryland is opening a recovery home in Keedysville soon.  Their mission is to: “teach men principles with purpose. Through biblical principles we help men define who they are and provide them with the tools needed to assist them in the process of recovery. Adult & Teen Challenge offers both personal growth and group studies and mentoring.” The model has proven to be very effective.  Help is needed to get started in Wash. Co.  See info sheet for financial and volunteer opportunities.  For more info, contact Jonathan Gray at jonathan.gray@atcmaryland.com / 703-926-2765.

 

See attached flyer for current needs