Congregation

As Trayvon Martin's mother stood at the altar of Baltimore's Empowerment Temple on Sunday, the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant asked for anyone whose child had also been the victim of "senseless violence" to come forward. At least a dozen women and men assembled at Sybrina Fulton's feet before she stepped down to grab one of them. She squeezed the woman, patted her back and whispered in her ear. Then Fulton moved down the line, tightly embracing each mother, grandmother and father, each of them too familiar with loss, until she'd touched them all. Congregants erupted into deafening applause and brushed away tears.

As Trayvon Martin's mother stood at the altar of Baltimore's Empowerment Temple on Sunday, the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant asked for anyone whose child had also been the victim of "senseless violence" to come forward. At least a dozen women and men assembled at Sybrina Fulton's feet before she stepped down to grab one of them. She squeezed the woman, patted her back and whispered in her ear. Then Fulton moved down the line, tightly embracing each mother, grandmother and father, each of them too familiar with loss, until she'd touched them all. Congregants erupted into deafening applause and brushed away tears.

Preaching in a makeshift sanctuary in a school auditorium, the Rev. Tyrone P. Jones IV frequently punctuates the ends of his sentences with a quick "amen. " As only the fifth pastor in the 112-year history of First Baptist Church of Guilford, Jones says he has many reasons to infuse his sermons with such affirmations. Stepping into a job held by a beloved minister for nearly 40 years is one of them. Starting a fresh chapter of church life with his new congregation by shepherding their move into a long-delayed church building is another.

Leaders of a Reisterstown synagogue facing foreclosure said Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with lender Susquehanna Bank to allow the sale of the building on Cockeys Mill Road. "We were able to achieve the goal of allowing the congregation to emerge on a stronger financial foundation for future growth," Arthur Wolf, president of the Synagogue Adat Chaim, said in a statement. The congregation is exploring options for a new location, Wolf said. Members plan to gather in late June to remove the Torah scrolls from the building and install them in an interim home.

The centuries-old church affectionately known as "Old Brick" is far from imposing. It more closely resembles a one-room schoolhouse than it does the newer, larger building that has housed its congregation since the 1990s. Yet Old Brick's historic role as a witness to the development of Howard County and Columbia looms large in the hearts of many, and has inspired its congregation at Christ Episcopal Church to restore the red-brick building on what is now Oakland Mills Road to a close facsimile of its original.

The Rev. Ryan W. Roberts was installed as the new pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church on October 23. His first Sunday was October 30. Pastor Roberts grew up in Baltimore and graduated from Franklin High School and the University of Maryland . He went to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkley, Ca. Pastor Roberts lives with his wife, Breonna, and his daughter, Rosie, in Arbutus. Mrs. Roberts is also a pastor, and serve as the assistant pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor . We welcome Pastor and Mrs. Roberts to our community.

The Rev. Steve Smith knows what it's like to have church members play matchmaker.It's subtle. A church member takes him to dinner and spends the evening talking about an eligible granddaughter.But the 28-year-old single pastor, also knows how to get out of a sticky situation."Oh gee, have you heard I'm engaged?" asks Mr. Smith, who serves a Lutheran church in Virginia, Minn.The truth works every time. The matchmaker's fantasy sizzles. Talk quickly shifts to mashed potatoes.It used to be that single pastors were expected to find a mate in congregations they served.

Members of a North Baltimore church congregation felt they could not hear their own voices while singing a hymn. Others complained they could not hear the choir. Aware of acoustical dead spots in the sanctuary of Second Presbyterian Church, the congregation resolved to spend nearly $5 million on a dramatic refurbishment of the 1929 structure. They closed the main sanctuary for more than a year and held services in an adjoining hall while the church was filled with scaffolding. "It was time to make a bold move," said the Rev. Dr. Thomas Blair, pastor of the church.

An 1883 altarpiece glows after a painstaking restoration at a downtown Episcopal church. The mother of pearl, the gold-leafed opalescent glass, the colors of an Impressionist painting were there all the time, hidden under four layers of retouching and crude repainting. The sculptural panel depicting the Virgin Mary and St. John is the centerpiece of a six-month refurbishment at Mount Calvary Church, Eutaw Street at Madison Avenue. "Before I started, the figure of St. John resembled actor Tony Curtis.

When Valley Brook Community Church's executive pastor, the Rev. Rob Lamp, talks to his congregation today, he won't just speak as a minister. He'll be doing a comedy routine.Mr. Lamp will imitate comedian Tim Allen, star of ABC's hit show "Home Improvement," at a kickoff service for the congregation's four-week family series also titled "Home Improvement"."We're going to do a little spoof on it [the show]. I'm going to be your host Tim Allen," said Mr. Lamp, who has helped produce the church's annual Christmas program and other productions.

Preaching in a makeshift sanctuary in a school auditorium, the Rev. Tyrone P. Jones IV frequently punctuates the ends of his sentences with a quick "amen. " As only the fifth pastor in the 112-year history of First Baptist Church of Guilford, Jones says he has many reasons to infuse his sermons with such affirmations. Stepping into a job held by a beloved minister for nearly 40 years is one of them. Starting a fresh chapter of church life with his new congregation by shepherding their move into a long-delayed church building is another.

Monsignor Richard E. Parks, pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Graceland Park for 25 years who was also a city Fire Department chaplain, died of cancer Feb. 19 at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 80. Monsignor Parks was remembered by friends for his caring personality and the lasting friendships he established wherever he went. "He never thought of himself," said the Rev. George Gannon, current pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary. "He was generous with his time and had an ability to ascertain just what people needed.

Rabbi Arthur Green, an authority on Jewish thought and spirituality, will speak Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at Oseh Shalom congregation, 7515 Olive Branch Way. His topic is "Jewish Faith, Thought and Spirituality in the 21st Century. " Green has lectured widely throughout the United States and the world.

It all started with a little bit of good-natured trash talk between the pastors of two of Baltimore's most prominent African-American churches. The Rev. Jamal Bryant of Empowerment Temple "fell off the wagon" and confesses he wasn't exercising as much as he should. His trainer used that to pump up another client, the Rev. Frank M. Reid III of Bethel AME Church, telling him he was in better shape than the much younger Bryant. Reid, feeling a little confident, and Bryant, his ego bruised just a bit, then threw out a fitness challenge to one another: Your church against mine.

About a dozen kids sat around a long table Sunday afternoon, waiting for the signal. Before each of them was a plate loaded with latkes, the potato pancakes of Hanukkah. Whoever cleaned his or her plate first could claim the title: Champion Latke Eater of 2011. The contest began and ended in a pan-fried blur, with parents cheering, cameras clicking and a lot of determined chewing. The ultimate champ was a curly-haired youngster who, taking the event seriously, had pushed his sleeves up past his elbows.

Concerts Karaoke and more Karaoke and DJ Dean will be featured Fri., Nov. 25, 9 p.m., at the Second Chance Saloon (Columbia, 410-545-5844). An acoustic showdown featuring a variety of local guitarists will take place at the Second Chance Sat., Nov. 26, 9:30 p.m. On screen Jewish films The Columbia Jewish Congregation is now accepting subscriptions for its 20th season, which starts in late January 2012. The series opens Jan. 21, 8 p.m., with a screening of the 2008 Israeli drama "For My Father," which examines the subject of suicide bombers.

The candles burned brightly on the altar as the 15 Lutheran worshipers lowered their heads and prayed. After a unanimous amen, the men's heads straightened and they began to read the Bible and sing "Jesus, Remember Me.""The theme for this evening kind of picks up from last week when Jesus announced to the world that he was the bread of life," the Rev. Charles Robert Frederick told the men. "When God fills us with his spirit, we have new purpose for our lives."The Lutheran pastor's sermon and the chapel's decorations resembled many other churches.

Like weary pilgrims who have found a haven, members of the Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf celebrated yesterday in a place of their own.For years, the congregation of deaf people -- one of four in Baltimore -- shunted between school cafeterias and cold church basements, losing ministers and meeting places in their trek from building to building. Yesterday, the nearly 50 pilgrims ended their wandering, gathered in their own church building off Beechfield Avenue near Arbutus."It's all theirs," said the minister, the Rev. Peggy Johnson, smiling at the fresh white paint and pink curtains in the renovated sanctuary.

Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro says he has found his spiritual home at Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah Congregation in Mount Washington. After 18 months working together, one of Baltimore's oldest Jewish congregations has made Shapiro, 30, the youngest spiritual leader in its history and officially installed him in a ceremony Sunday. The service was "a celebration of the beginning of my life's work," said Shapiro. MMAE, the shorthand name most members use, was chartered in 1887 and has evolved through mergers of several orthodox congregations.

Members of one of the smallest and oldest African-American churches in Carroll County are leaving the United Methodist Conference and are gearing up to try to retain the church and its property, largely a cemetery where many have ancestors buried. Congregants of White Rock Church in Sykesville, founded by freed slaves in the 1860s, said Sunday that they felt neglected by the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church and feared their church would be ordered to close or merge with another because of its demographic: a tiny congregation with a largely graying membership.