Local Church

The pastor read out 13 names at a "service of comfort" in his East Baltimore church -- the apparent dead and injured from yesterday's rowhouse blaze a few blocks away. Gasps and sobs were the response from the hundreds of people gathered in sadness in the Ark Church sanctuary as the Rev. James L. Carter shared the names he had gathered -- still unconfirmed by authorities -- of those who perished in, or survived, the tragedy on Cecil Avenue. Four of the dead were children, he said -- the youngest just 3 years old. "We can't stop the tears from flowing," Carter told the crowd at the church in the 1200 block of E. North Ave. "It's all right to cry."

Julia Seeley, 10, burst into the bustling kitchen in a church hall shortly before 5 p.m. and shouted, "There's buses here!" The first guests began arriving nearly an hour early for a traditional Thanksgiving feast that was still in the making, Although they were preparing about 200 meals, organizers of the 31st annual Greater Towson Jaycees dinner for seniors remained unruffled and on task. They mixed stuffing with herbs and broth and tended steaming caldrons brimming with sweet potatoes, green vegetables and sauerkraut, relying on the dining room help to tend to the guests.

A Maryland Court of Appeals judge yesterday accused members of a Prince George's County church of organizing "a campaign to intimidate this court" by sending letters to the judges, urging them to rule in favor of their church in a property lawsuit. Judge Dale R. Cathell angrily interrupted Jack Lipson, who represents From the Heart Church Ministries, during the beginning of his statement to ask if he knew that his clients had picketed the courthouse during a previous hearing and wrote 30 to 50 letters to each of the seven judges, all ending with what the judge paraphrased as, "We will remember in November."

Take the family out for breakfast Saturday, July 16, when Holy Nativity Lutheran Church's seasoned chefs offer sweets and savories from 9-11 a.m. at 1200 Linden Ave. This repast is free with no reservations required. Get tasty tidbits at 410-242-9441 or walk in. Bring your children to Halethorpe-Relay United Methodist Church, 4513 Ridge Ave., for the shake it up worship hour at 11 am. Sunday, July 17. Youngsters will lead with toe-tapping tunes, interpretive dances and skits about God's bounty.

A Colorado woman who won a $1.2 million home in Edgewater in a $50-a-ticket raffle last January has sold the property to a local church at a bargain-basement price. "Hooray, finally!" said Karen McHale, 47, who lives in a home she built with her husband in the mountains west of Denver and never intended to move to the Mid-Atlantic. "I tell you, that was a giant rock around my neck." McHale said she bought two raffle tickets last year as a contribution to the charity that was co-sponsoring the contest, which came about when a mortgage broker teamed up with the Annapolis-based We Care and Friends, which helps at-risk youths, to sell his home.

WILMINGTON, N.C. - A groundbreaking, two-year nationwide study based at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington has identified some 300 Protestant congregations and 300 Catholic parishes as examples of local church excellence. "Churches like these are beacons of hope in a very confusing time when people are looking for moral guidance and a sense of belonging, of true community," said Paul Wilkes, director of the Parish/Congregation Study and a creative writing professor at UNCW.

Lutheran bishop of El Salvador coming to city church SundayLutheran Bishop Medardo Gomez of El Salvador will speak at two local Lutheran churches this Sunday.Local church officials say Gomez is visiting the United States to publicize the plight of the civilians of the small Central American nation ravaged by civil war for more than a decade.The bishop will appear at the 9 a.m. service of the Lutheran Church of the Living Word, which worships at the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center in Columbia, and then at the 11 a.m. service of the Lutheran Church of the Holy Comforter, 5513 York Road in Govans.

A local church is not usually the place to go when your car needs anoil change.This Sunday, however, the job is just one of those being auctioned off at the Severna Park United Methodist Church. The proceeds will help send 50 church members to Appalachia this summer, where they'll repair homes for needy people.The auction, which begins at 6 p.m. in the church's Fellowship Hall, includes a catered meal, a grass-cutting, a day on the bay, the painting of a room and dozens of other selections.

Life's few necessities drew a long line of the homeless and poor back to Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church yesterday. They came for the weekly organized meal, a rarity in Baltimore on Saturday afternoons, and for a chance to eat in peace. A week after a stabbing death at the previous meal in the church's basement dining room, many who heard or saw the attack were again lined up along Charles Street, still motivated by a need for food and safety, and confident that church leaders would still provide a haven.

Hoping to provide a safe place where Elkridge youngsters can spend time after school, members of a local church are trying to join forces with local organizations to build a teen recreation center."

Vacation Bible School at Franklin Baptist Church from July 25-29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for kids ages 4 - 17 with transportation available by calling Rick Wilson at 410-378-5346. The church is at 2106 Franklin Church Road in Darlington. All are welcome to attend. Vacation Bible School will be Aug. 1 through Aug. 5 at the Dublin United Methodist Church. A light supper will be served beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the start of the program. For further information call 410-836-3647.

A Colorado woman who won a $1.2 million home in Edgewater in a $50-a-ticket raffle last January has sold the property to a local church at a bargain-basement price. "Hooray, finally!" said Karen McHale, 47, who lives in a home she built with her husband in the mountains west of Denver and never intended to move to the Mid-Atlantic. "I tell you, that was a giant rock around my neck." McHale said she bought two raffle tickets last year as a contribution to the charity that was co-sponsoring the contest, which came about when a mortgage broker teamed up with the Annapolis-based We Care and Friends, which helps at-risk youths, to sell his home.

The pastor read out 13 names at a "service of comfort" in his East Baltimore church -- the apparent dead and injured from yesterday's rowhouse blaze a few blocks away. Gasps and sobs were the response from the hundreds of people gathered in sadness in the Ark Church sanctuary as the Rev. James L. Carter shared the names he had gathered -- still unconfirmed by authorities -- of those who perished in, or survived, the tragedy on Cecil Avenue. Four of the dead were children, he said -- the youngest just 3 years old. "We can't stop the tears from flowing," Carter told the crowd at the church in the 1200 block of E. North Ave. "It's all right to cry."

The old and unjustified rap against classical music holds that it's an elitist art form, reserved for the few and the wealthy. You can get a quick jolt of the truth around almost any corner in the area. Although the largest and most obvious classical venue, the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, may come to mind first, there are all sorts of other places to find quality music-making. From modest-sized recital halls and inviting churches to the elegant ballroom of a (usually)

Life's few necessities drew a long line of the homeless and poor back to Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church yesterday. They came for the weekly organized meal, a rarity in Baltimore on Saturday afternoons, and for a chance to eat in peace. A week after a stabbing death at the previous meal in the church's basement dining room, many who heard or saw the attack were again lined up along Charles Street, still motivated by a need for food and safety, and confident that church leaders would still provide a haven.

Eight years ago, Lindley G. DeGarmo was making $1 million a year, traveling around the world putting together multibillion-dollar deals as the head of Salomon Brothers' global power group. This month, significantly poorer but wiser, DeGarmo was installed as the pastor of the 925-member congregation at Towson Presbyterian Church in a ceremony filled with well-wishers. The leap from business to the ministry was a huge one for DeGarmo, 50, who is married and has a 9-year-old daughter. For Towson Presbyterian, DeGarmo - with his financial expertise and managerial skills - seemed heaven-sent.

What are you doing for your summer vacation? Most of us will do the predictable things -- lounge at the beach, fly someplace new, coordinate a family reunion. But not Wally and Laurel Brown.The Taneytown residents recently returned, refreshed and revived, from a vacation in the American Southwest. They were part of a 41-member construction team that hammered and sawed and wired and plumbed a new building for a Navajo Christian community in Shiprock, N.M.The Browns spent their days working on the Four Corners Native American Thrift Store, a part of the Four Corners Native American Ministry.

DIANNE DEZIO HAS a delightful problem. People want to buy her inventory before it's even for sale. "People see the stuff and want to buy it," she says with a laugh. But they will have to wait for Saturday, when Community United Methodist Church in Crofton will hold its Community Country Market. For more than a year, Dezio has been coordinating the development of the market, working with steering committee members Pam Schweitzer, Sue Berman, Carol Moore and Jean Tate to organize an event that reflects the church's sense of community.

During Holy Week observances in Westminster, a Sudanese bishop will preach on the passion of Jesus Christ and the plight of Christians in war-ravaged Sudan. The Rev. Nathaniel Garang, bishop of the Bor diocese of the Episcopal Church in Sudan, said he hopes to raise U.S. awareness that his homeland has endured nearly four decades of civil strife and that the Islamic government has persecuted Christians. "I will preach Christ, how he came and suffered for us," said Garang, who has been in the United States since January.

DIANNE DEZIO HAS a delightful problem. People want to buy her inventory before it's even for sale. "People see the stuff and want to buy it," she says with a laugh. But they will have to wait for Saturday, when Community United Methodist Church in Crofton will hold its Community Country Market. For more than a year, Dezio has been coordinating the development of the market, working with steering committee members Pam Schweitzer, Sue Berman, Carol Moore and Jean Tate to organize an event that reflects the church's sense of community.