Reaching out
|Mid-Atlantic District|Outdoor Ministry |Other Ministries|
We are connected to 66 other Church of the Brethren congregations and fellowships with more than 10,400 members, in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Our "district" empowers us to do more than we could as a single congregation. This includes: leadership development, pastoral placement, helping churches cultivate a vision for themselves, providing training opportunities in a variety of areas, youth work, outdoor ministries, new church starts, dealing with conflict, and working with other denominations, to name a few.
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Every year (usually around Easter) volunteers process and can meat for distribution to hunger relief agencies near and far. We also hold an auction in Westminster, MD to raise money for disaster relief (usually the first Saturday of May). A Mid-Atlantic District Conference is held in October at various locations with delegates from every church to make decisions on our common work. Donald Booz serves as District Executive, and Mary Cline Detrick serves as Associate D.E., both working out of an office at 10378 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042, 410/465-8777. This office can be contacted by email. |
Two "camp" facilities are owned and operated by the Mid-Atlantic District. One is located on the eastern shore, outside of Denton, MD. Camp Mardela has a year-round retreat cottage, as well as a full summer program for children and youth. Shepherd's Spring is a brand new facility located on the Potomac river south of Hagerstown, MD. Intentionally an "outdoor ministry center," its program goes far beyond summer camp. The Conference Center provides good accommodations for such groups as Elder hostel, in addition to church retreats. Rex Miller is Administrator.
Our congregation is heavily involved in this ministry. Our
pastor serves on the board of Shepherd Springs, also co-directing a week of camp in the
summer. Several other members also direct as well as serve as camp counselors. Many others
help out as cooks and other workers at both camps. We support Shepherd's Spring directly
through our church budget, and Mardela indirectly through giving to the Mid-Atlantic
District. We offer significant scholarships to our young people so they can attend either
camp.
Our church supports Fahrney-Keedy, a Retirement/Nursing Home
east of Hagerstown at 8507 Maplewood Rd., Boonsboro, MD 21713-1844 (301/733-6284).
One of 25 such facilities
operated by Brethren around the country, Fahrney-Keedy Memorial Home provides
excellent care at a reasonable cost. Although at present none of our members reside there,
we support this home through our budget. Many of our members serve on the home auxiliary.
Another nearby retirement village is the Brethren Home Community, just north of Hanover,
PA.
Brooklane is a Mental
Health Facility near Hagerstown, which offers counseling and both in-patient and
out-patient care for adults and youth. One of our members serves on the board of
directors. Brooklane has partnered with Shepherds Spring to provide backup psychiatric
care during the summer. In fact, the past few summers two Brooklane staffers have served
as full-time staff at Shepherd's Spring, providing leadership in recreation and nature.
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