PDF Version: Mission_Report_for_Presbytery

Overview

Founded in 1874 and located in suburban Baltimore Country, Ashland Presbyterian Church is a small congregation (170 members) with a big heart and an expansive vision.  We offer two Sunday morning services, of different styles, and are in the process of developing a Sunday evening service as part of our outreach to youth and young adults.  In addition to our own exceptional music program, our "Special Music Program" brings professional classical and folk music to our worship each month.  Our devotion to Christ's ministry in the world involves our members in hands-on activity from Baltimore County to Africa.  We have comprehensive Christian Education and youth programs, and our thriving preschool center has long been considered one of the outstanding programs in the community.

Like our neighbors in the Hunt Valley/Cockeysville area, our congregation is predominately white, with higher than average levels of education and income.  Many of our members are professionals and retired professionals. 

As we look to the future, two demographic projections are particularly important:  1) population growth in the 55-69 year old age group, and 2) increasing racial/ethnic diversity.  Both trends offer opportunities for Ashland to strengthen its existing programs, ministries and worship experiences. 

Many older adults are seeking to put their skills and time to work in ways that provide deeper satisfaction and meaning.  Likewise, minority members who have recently moved to suburban communities often seek ways of contributing to the urban communities they have left.  The diverse ministries of local and international mission that Ashland offers provide a rich variety of ways in which both demographic groups can become engaged in work that is deeply satisfying.  This is a worshiping community through which they can discern how the Spirit is calling them to help build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, brick by brick, person by person.

At the same time, the population of young families in the Cockeysville area is not expected to decline.  Ashland will continue to provide them with rich educational and spiritual opportunities and a vibrant Christian community committed to serving God and one another.

Ashland Preschool Center

The Ashland Preschool Center is a community service and educational outreach of the church, offering kindergarten, nursery school and childcare for 2, 3, 4 and 5 year olds, including full and part-time programs, five days a week.  The school operates on the philosophy that each child is a unique creation of a loving God, with amazing potential for growth in spirit, mind and body.  The school is intended to be an extension of - and a resource for - the family.   The school is licensed and MD State Department of Education approved, and is staffed by personnel who meet the criteria of the licensing agencies.

The Power of the Call to Mission: A 2010 Mission Statement       

Support for Ashland's mission ministries, be it either financial or participatory, has evolved in the last ten years from a rather "normal", or perhaps "expected" phenomenon to become a solid cornerstone of our community's faith life. Each year the congregation has eagerly outperformed the most optimistic of projected budget expectations, making it possible to address our ministry partner's needs more profoundly despite recent downturns in our national economy.  Additionally, a matching annual grant for fifty thousand dollars has propelled us further yet in our ability to reach into the heart of our community's problems, ostensibly becoming a leader among ecumenical associations and non-profit alliances.

Looking back at Ashland's mission ministries over the last decade reveals an extensive acceleration in our outreach: In the year 2000 there was no regional involvement with Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity. Locally, there was no UCAN (United Churches Assistance Network) present to intervene in family and personal crisis. Sarah's Hope was a dream that would come into being in 2003-4 through the combined efforts of five Presbyterian Churches along the York Road corridor allying themselves with some thirty other area churches to become the Abraham's Tent Coalition. Global mission's day had yet to dawn in our consciousness; however, in 2004 Ashland members would assume leadership roles in Baltimore Presbytery's global partnerships in both Guatemala and Cuba, extending our presbytery's cultural and spiritual awareness by offering all its church's members the possibility of actively participating in the development of these ministries.

Perhaps most astounding has been the recent acceleration of our involvement in Malawi, which began in 1999 by supporting a young man's dream to attend a university, to acquire the understanding necessary to build a community for HIV victims and orphans. Over ten years this ministry has come to include a clinic, the building of a secondary school, provision of clean water and food programs benefiting both old and young, and is now led by an Ashland team profoundly called to share in the life of our brothers and sisters at Kasupe Ministries as they sequentially address each of the basic needs of their community.

All of this growth may be attributed to our recognition of the Spirit's call: To put aside some level of our personal comfort, our self-centeredness, and to accompany our neighbors in their experience of life, be it local, regional, or global, sharing and subtly changing both our and their realities by the force of our combined presence.  Unidad, solidaridad are words we have learned that express our combined commitment to each other's growth.

"Being there" represents mission at Ashland in 2010: The being there, sometimes with the Habitat crews hanging drywall in a neighbor's house, sometimes to stand beside a Cuban family in mourning, sometimes listening to an all too familiar story of personal crisis as a volunteer at UCAN?all of this and much more that will not fit this page. None of this would flourish without the simple recognition that each of our personal efforts, be they large or small, is reciprocated and returned to us in the form of those most unquantifiable gifts of all: Friendship, acceptance and love.

 
THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

In 2007, Ashland began a transformation process as part of the "Deep Shift" initiative in the Baltimore Presbytery.  Early in the process, the "Healthy Church Team" was formed to provide leadership in the process and to reflect more deeply on our values and calling.  Over the course of many months, the team prayed for the church's response to God's new call, considered the strengths of our church, and suggested the areas in which we need to grow into our fullest potential.   The team worked with the Session and Deacons to discern our Biblical framing story, to identify the congregation's core values and theology, to explore the "dominant norms" and "hidden rules" (often unexamined beliefs and behaviors) that have shaped our church culture, and to propose actions and structures that will enable us to grow spiritually and to respond more faithfully to God's call in the coming years. 

Engaging the Framing Story

The Bible is a book of stories.  Although today we read the Bible for argument or instruction, the original communication was story telling.  What is our story?  If we don't know our story, we don't know who we are.  Even the disasters in our story have made us who we are.  Until we are clear about our story, we can't be clear about our purpose, mission, principles, values and beliefs. Churches can use a Bible story to give purpose and focus to their work as a community. Our "Framing Story" is the Biblical story that gives us a common theological boundary, the story that we believe most clearly articulates who we are ands who God is calling us to be.

Ashland's Framing Story: Washing His Disciples' Feet  (John 13:1-15)

13Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,
4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.
5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'
7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'
8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, ?Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.'
9 Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!'
10 Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.'
11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ?Not all of you are clean.'
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?
13 You call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for that is what I am.
14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.
17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, "The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me."
19 I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.
20 Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.'

Reflecting on Ashland's Values

FAITH   "We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7
We live in the certainty of God's love without proof.  God offers His love freely to all.  God's love does not have to be earned; it is found through faith.  Faith is our acceptance of God's purpose for us.  We embrace faith by free will as a personal choice.  We strengthen faith through prayer, Bible study and participation in our church community.  We share faith through teaching one another, by exemplary service and by invitation.  We believe God offers the world many paths to faith.  In faith we grow in the Spirit, by the Spirit, toward a closer likeness to Christ.

COMMITMENT  "Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you."   Ps. 37:5
In committing ourselves to God and church, we take a stand that does not waiver.  Accepting the baptism of the Spirit, joining the church, and promising to serve are commitments we make to God and to each other.  It is an expression of our desire to be open to God's call and our determination to act on His message.  Commitment means we are willing to be relied upon and to be trusted.

COMMUNITY "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins."   1 Peter 4:8
God calls us to join in community, to participate together in worship, work, play and care of each other.  We are brought together for a purpose.  We are each different, bringing our individual gifts to God and the community.  We prize each contribution.  "Each individual is an indispensable link in a chain.  Only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked is the chain unbreakable."* We speak the truth in love, trusting the Holy Spirit to direct our common journey.  In community we are an orchestra and a tapestry; our spirits interwoven in a way that brings strength, depth and beauty to God's kingdom.               (*Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

CELEBRATION  "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music."  Ps. 135:3
We celebrate God's presence among us and God's love that forgives, heals, makes new, and transforms.  In worship we celebrate the new work God is doing in our lives.  We are the prodigals coming home in God's Kingdom on earth and we celebrate in joy and thanks.  Worshipping as a community gives power to our expression of love.  We extend the celebration of love through the mission of our daily lives in the world.

MISSION  "I have given you an example to follow.  Do as I have done to you."   John 13:15
In His earthly ministry and service, Jesus set an example for us.  We are taught to comfort the sick, shelter the homeless, stand with the oppressed, steward the earth and share our resources. Mission is doing the work of the Kingdom as He taught us.  Mission goes beyond kindness; it builds foundations that become a base for life-giving relationship with others.  Mission extends and strengthens our community as we mutually embrace each other in partnership and welcome all participation in God's Kingdom on earth.

LOVE      "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength ? Love your neighbor as yourself."   Mark 12:30-31
God's love is inclusive.  He embraces us.  He waits for us.  We accept God's love by choosing to make a commitment to faith.  God's love is extended in our interactions with each other, even strangers, and those with whom we disagree.  In love we recognize the unique value of each individual, while remaining grounded in God's redeeming love that overcomes exclusion and injustice.  When we cherish love, harshness falls from our expression.  In love, God came to us, died for us and lives within us.
 
 A Vision for Our Future

God has been at work in our midst.  During the last decade, we have witnessed His work through our ministry in Baltimore County, Baltimore City and through our mission outreach in Cuba, Guatemala and Malawi.  We have added a second service and a third service is planned to broaden outreach beyond traditional worship.  Our commitment to youth has become stronger through our commitment to a new Director of Youth Ministries and Education.  We even facilitated the launch of a new church which started in our Fellowship Hall, outgrew that facility and moved to new facilities in White Marsh, Maryland.  Our vision for the future will undoubtedly include continued support and expansion of these and other ministries.

Over the past two years, our transformation journey has instructed us through a process of introspection and challenges to how we ?do church'.  As we began this journey, our transformation coaches suggested that we ask ourselves: ?What does God want us to be?' and ?What does God want us to do?'  And most importantly we should listen and discern.  Through the work of the Session, Deacons, Healthy Church Team and many members of the congregation, the answers to those questions have begun to emerge.  Our vision will include listening for God's guidance, discerning His will for our continued transformation; then living and serving in response.

One of the key learnings from our transformation journey is that we need to change from being a pastor-centric church to one that equips people for ministry: this transformation has already begun.  As we prepare to call a new pastor, an ?equipping' skill set and comfort with that role must be key qualifications for our new pastor: helping us to equip ourselves and to call and equip others in the communities that we serve.  Our vision must include a commitment to become a church that helps to fulfill ?the great commission'.

As part of this effort to transition to an "equipping church" and in order to provide more effective outreach to the local community, new pastoral arrangements, including multi-pastor options may be considered.

As we move into the future, our vision is to be companions in faith, loving God, and learning to serve and be served.

 
Goals

Our commitment to transformation continues even as the "Deep Shift" process winds down.  As we move into the next stage of our journey, several priorities have emerged for our common life.  We can cluster these goals into four broad categories: Leadership, Spirituality, Organization, and Outreach and Growth. 

Leadership: The process of discerning, calling, training, and nurturing leaders committed to our values and vision must be one of our highest priorities as we move forward.  To this end we will
1. Provide annual training for the Nominating Committee in the role of church boards and officers, the call to ordained leadership, the nature of spiritual leadership, procedural issues and confidentiality.
2. Provide regular pre-service and in-service training for all officers.  Topics will include leadership development and spiritual growth, polity, team building, communications, and biblical and theological reflection.
3.  Work with the boards, committees and ministries of the church to develop and commit to "rules for the road" - guidelines for healthy community and interpersonal behavior and conflict resolution.
4. Offer all members opportunities and tools for discerning their particular spiritual gifts and ways in which those gifts might be translated into ministry in the church and world.

Spirituality:  A recurring theme of the transformation process has been our need and desire to deepen our spirituality and develop our capacity for meaningful faith-sharing.  To this end we will
1. Offer periodic retreats for biblical reflection, spiritual nourishment and fellowship.
2. Provide a variety of opportunities for faith sharing in worship, in board and committee meetings, in fellowship activities, and in our various ministries and small group activities.
3.  Make a concerted effort to reduce the busy work of the Session in order to allow Elders to devote more meeting time to spiritual reflection and growth and to developing their skills as spiritual leaders.
4. Consider a "small group" approach to some of our ministries, bringing people together who have similar interests for fellowship, faith exploration and mission. 

Organization:  As we have moved through the transformation process it has become increasingly clear that our organizational structure may be unnecessarily encumbering us and keeping us from responding efficiently and effectively to needs and ideas as they arise.  In the coming year we will
1. Streamline our committee/ministry structure, clarify committee roles, responsibilities and procedures, and empower committees/ministries to work more independently, so that the Session can focus more on oversight, visioning, and spiritual leadership and less on day-to-day tasks and management.
2. Reexamine the roles of officers and the optimal number and size of boards for a transformed and transforming APC, and make recommendations for changes as necessary.

Outreach and Growth:  Our transformation process has been largely inward looking, focusing on the health of our relationships, spirituality and leadership.  Having made significant progress on these areas, it is now time to renew our commitment to community outreach and congregational growth.  In the coming year we will
1. Redesign/update our website so that it is both current and informative, and accurately portrays the vibrant congregation that we are and are becoming.
2. Develop more intentional outreach to the families involved in our preschool and to groups using our facilities during the week.
3. Explore ways of becoming more visible in the community through signs, flyers, mailings and newspaper listings and features.
4. Develop a plan for making our buildings and grounds more welcoming through better signage, designated visitor parking, improved adult meeting and study space.