Church Office

YOU DON'T have to be a Civil War buff to appreciate the new book for sale at Toomey's Bookshop in the Shipley-Linthicum Shopping Center on Camp Meade Road. It's not just a war book; it's about the life of a city during a war."Baltimore During the Civil War" will interest everyone who wants to know more about Baltimore's history. The events of the past do not seem that long ago in this book, and more than 125 forts, bridges, hospitals and public and private buildings you'll recognize are identified.

MARY LOUISE POOLE of Westminster works in the admissions office at Western Maryland College and is organizing a campuswide collection of aid packages for victims of the Midwest floods.The materials will be distributed by Church World Service, an interdenominational organization in Indiana.Ms. Poole has arranged for packages assembled by college staff to be stored at Carroll Hall until they can be taken to a collection point at the New Windsor Service Center.In Westminster, packages may be taken to the Westminster United Methodist Church office.

The highest court in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), ruling on cases it heard last week in Baltimore, has upheld the right of ministers to perform blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, as long as it is clear the ritual is not sanctioning marriage. In the decision announced yesterday, the court, known as the Permanent Judicial Commission, said that holy union ceremonies are permitted under the Presbyterians' constitution, called the Book of Order. But it added that "ministers and sessions should take special care to avoid any confusion of such [same sex]

The transition between education and the business environment is the focus of a "Day of Caring" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow at the YWCA Friendship Center, 97-B Langley Road.Sponsored by the United Way of Maryland and Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust, the workshop is offered for the third year, said client advocate Phyllis Schanken.The workshop, open to students in the YWCA's clerical training program, provides a forum in which consultants from Mercantile can offer suggestions on interview techniques, job hunting skills and resumes.

FIVE DAYS of snow-enforced family bonding have taken their toll on just about everyone I've talked too. And more snow is on the way. We were warned that this was going to be a "big one," but not the "BIG ONE."Come July Fourth, long after the last patch of snow has melted from parking lots, we can fondly look back and say we survived the blizzard of '96.Stay warm and safe, Pasadena.*Although Monday's meeting of the Pasadena Sportfishing Group was canceled, area anglers can still sign up for the group's Feb. 7 bus trip to the Harrisburg Sportsman Show.

The Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights begins a new year with an opening tea, "A Hearth Warming -- A Shower of Love," at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at the clubhouse on Hammonds Ferry Road.The club has contributed over the past few years to Hearth House, a Lansdowne transitional shelter that helps displaced women and children.Those attending are asked to contribute household items, toiletries and personal items for the residents of Hearth House and the apartments the organization is setting up for displaced families.

Good times and bad, war and peace, advancing technology, the generation gap, overcrowding, crime, recession, depression, the ills of "modern" society. New problems in our kinder and gentler world?You won't think so after attending Thornton Wilder's play, "The Skin of OurTeeth," presented by the drama department of Chesapeake High School at 7 p.m. tonight and tomorrow evening in the school auditorium.Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for students and children.According to director Dan Ortmeyer, Wilder's comedy-fantasy centers on the trials and triumphs of the Antrobus family confronting "modern" problems.

The Odenton Family Development Center and Odenton Elementary School are sponsoring a kindergarten zoo from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. March 28.This is a free activity for parents and youngsters who are 3 to 5 years old and not enrolled in kindergarten.Space is limited, so register early. Each child will receive a gift related to the activities. On-site care for children of other ages will be available if needed. Please bring infants in strollers or infant seats.The school is at 1290 Odenton Road.

The phone rings in Maj. Paula Meehan's cramped office at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church.The caller has no money to pay for her prescription and thought the Salvation Army might be able to help. Major Meehan tells the woman she'll stop by the pharmacy on her way home and pay the $30 for her medication.Requests for food, shelter, clothes or medicine are routine for Major Meehan, who heads the Salvation Army's Howard County Service Unit. She knows there are people living on the edge in a county where the average price of a town house is $150,000.

The United Methodist Women have been busy preparing for their Craft Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church Hall.There will be snacks, drinks and lunch available, plus a wide variety of Christmas gifts and decorations. Odenton sweat shirts and T-shirts and the new UMW cookbook will also be on sale.If you have handmade crafts or baked goods you wish to donate, you may bring them to the church office or to the bazaar by 9 a.m. Saturday.Tables are available for rent at $10 each.