Mt. Hope Prison Ministry operates a food pantry for the community Monday-Thursday each week. They are in great need of volunteers in the mornings each day to help with food pick-ups from grocery stores, sorting and bagging food, and other tasks. If you can help, please contact Wanda at 301-791-2550 or glynnsingleton@msn.com
HARC learns about needs of children, how faith community can help
HARC’s October 2021 meeting focused on the current needs of children and families in Washington County. We were blessed to have a panel of leaders from organizations that work with children speak to us about challenges that children and families are facing, their greatest needs, community resources and programming that’s available, and how the faith community can help fill the gaps in those services. Link to the video recording on YouTube.
Our speakers included:
* Kathy Kerns, Director of the Washington County Judy Center
* Jen Younker, Director of Bester Community of Hope
* Tom Kline, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County
* Jessica Scott, Programs Manager for Habitat for Humanity of Washington County and Board Member/Acting Director for the Robert W. Johnson Community Center (filling in at the last minute)
Our speakers not only shared needs of our children and families, but a window into the world of families in poverty, encouraging us to greater empathy and understanding.
Our apologies for the poor sound quality as we had challenges with our microphone! You may need to turn up the volume at times, but it’s worth listening closely to what these dedicated professionals have to say. Lighting was also a challenge, so you may not see our speakers very well.
Collecting Hats and Gloves
NEW LIGHT METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH, 40 West Church Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740 is once again collecting Hats and Gloves for Head Start Children. Hats and Gloves must be Kindergarten Children size.
Also, New Light is collecting Hats and Gloves for our Homeless Friends in the Community.
Please bring your Hats and Gloves to the church on Sundays, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM.
Other times may be arranged with Pastor Deb at 717-682-1873.
Monetary Donations are welcomed also for the purchase of Hats and Gloves.
Organist Position Available
Shiloh United Methodist Church
SKILLS NEEDED: A love of music and a strong desire to share your faith in Christ through music ministry. Excellent organ skills—technical dexterity and accuracy; command of the instrument. A true church organist with service-playing experience; ability to play hymns with proficiency and sensitivity; a passion for music ministry. Piano playing proficiency a plus.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Organist for Sunday Services at 10:30 AM.
- Provide organ music and any extra rehearsal required for additional special services, such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Christmas Eve, etc. We understand that these dates will need to be coordinated with other organist obligations and are for discussion with the Pastor/Worship Committee and pianist.
- Play for weddings and funerals, as needed and as available. Any remuneration for weddings and funerals will be reasonable and customary and will be paid by the family.
- Coordinate any time-off requests with the church pianist as far in advance as possible.
ACCOUNTABILITY: The organist, as a paid casual employee, is under the guidance of the SPRC Committee and should communicate any employment concerns/change requests to the SPRC Chair.
The pastor will provide advanced worship planning. Songs appropriate for the season are found in The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner. The planner contains suggestions for songs which are appropriate for music according to the reading of the day (Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel lessons). The church will provide The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner for the appropriate year from which to access hymns, voluntaries, and anthems.
Contact: Richard Keller at: kelrdar@aol.com
SALARY: TBD
Download a copy of the job description
Wanted: Custodian/Caretaker
John Wesley United Methodist Church, 129 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. MD is seeking a part-time Custodian/Caretaker to clean and handle basic repairs for all public-facing areas of the church. Working parts of Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays, and Sundays, the custodian/caretaker, working in coordination with church staff and volunteers, will open and close the building for scheduled and special activities. Applicants must have relevant experiences and references, and work well with people. To apply to work on our smoke and drug free campus, go to www.jw-umc.org/employment to view the full job description and the application form.
Embrace Grace Ministry
A 12 week support group for single, pregnant women of any age…it’s all about grace and friendship.
A free baby shower is provided at the end of the semester. We meet each Monday at 6:30pm. Contact us to sign up!
Location: Katie’s Place (A Community Center of Washington Square UMC)
540 Washington Avenue, Hagerstown Md
Cost Free
Contact information for questions or RSVP Terra at Terrad78@gmail.com
Free piano
Family has a Kimball piano to give to a new home or church. Piano is 35 years old, in good shape, originally purchased at “Grand Piano” in Hagerstown. Needs to be tuned, and the recipient must move it. If interested, call John at 301-992-2517
Community collects 13,300 books for children’s literacy
From August 1 – September 9, 2021, a total of 48 houses of worship, businesses, and organizations throughout Washington County, Maryland collected or donated 13,300 children’s books for the ninth annual Community Book Drive. 22 of these were houses of worship. The books were sorted, stickered with reading tips, counted and boxed on the United Way’s Day of Caring, September 16 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
After skipping a year in 2020 due to COVID, the books were greatly needed to refill the shelves of the Community Book Warehouse, which distributes the books to organizations working with vulnerable children, and allows families to pick out books they couldn’t otherwise afford to buy.
The goal of the book drive is to improve literacy rates in Washington County and prepare young children to enter school “ready to learn.” Childhood literacy and school readiness is an important issue in our community. If our children are to be prepared for college or trade school, a successful career and life, we must ensure that they are first prepared to enter school. In 2019 57% of children in Washington County Public Schools began Kindergarten without the expected literacy related skills, including word recognition, verbal skills and vocabulary skills. While Washington County had made some gains over previous years, we anticipate a backslide due to COVID and all efforts are needed to close the gap. 
Thanks to everyone who collected books (click here and scroll down for a list) and participated in the Day of Caring book sorting! The following groups helped out that day: Washington County Public Library, Reach, Dot Foods, The Judy Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and several individuals. Weis Brothers picked up all the books and transported them to the Community Book Warehouse, and United Way GenX Volunteers helped unload the books. Bester Community of Hope, Hagerstown Community College, and several individuals helped pick up books from collection sites, and Lowe’s donated boxes. This truly was a community effort!
The Community Book Drive is a partnership of United Way of Washington County, Hagerstown Area Religious Council (HARC), Hagerstown Rotary Club, The Judy Center, Bester Community of Hope, and The Early Childhood Advisory Council. Special thanks goes to Terry Gwizdala for coordinating much of this big project.
Links to photos from the book sorting: in Dropbox and on Facebook
Meals wanted for Potomac Towers residents
The Hagerstown Housing Authority is looking for help from 3 ministries/groups to provide meals for vulnerable residents of Potomac Towers once per month. Currently 7 churches/ministries serve monthly meals and two more help periodically. The gaps we hope to fill are the 2nd and 3rd Thursday and the 2nd Tuesday of every month. 40 meals are needed – grab-and-go bagged lunches are requested due to COVID and Community Room renovations. Once renovations are completed, groups can choose to serve the residents on site or to continue with dropping off bagged lunches, depending on comfort level. Meals can be dropped off 11-11:30 on your day. For more info, contact Deena at Dholder@hagerstownha.com or 301-733-6911 x 163.
Literacy Council Seeks Students
The Literacy Council is looking for students!! If you know someone who would like some help with reading, writing, or speaking English, or math help (up to, and including, GED prep), please contact them at 301-739-4208 or office@literacyofwcmd.org. They can help. Their services are free of charge.
