Special Announcements
Everyone is welcome to watch our service online on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. or to attend in person. Starting May 23, Glen Mar no longer requires sign ups to attend this worship.
We will have space for all who would like to come. You may sit a little closer together than the vast space we have been using if you have been vaccinated. We will ask all people in the congregation to remain masked because of the presence of folks who haven’t or can’t be vaccinated (like children under 12). If you would like to have more/plenty of “elbow room,” for any reason, ushers will easily accommodate you.
You will be able to sing with gusto while masked. Everyone leading worship up front who has been fully vaccinated will have the option to speak or sing without masks from the stage area and/or the front. No more plexiglass boxes for your fully vaccinated preacher/pastors while they are preaching. Unvaccinated people up front will remain masked or behind plexiglass.
If the 9:30 a.m. in-person service fills up, we will launch an identical later service at 11 a.m. to accommodate everyone who wants to worship in person on Sunday mornings.
We Have Launched a Saturday evening contemporary praise service on Saturdays at 6 p.m. We are inside the Spirit Center at first, with the congregation masked indoors (because outdoor equipment Glen Mar has ordered hasn’t arrived), but will move outdoors in future weeks.
We will be able to have Holy Communion using individually wrapped/sealed elements (as we have been doing), but we will be allowed to partake of those elements in worship together, by lowering our masks, eating the wafer and drinking the little cup of juice, and putting our mask back on.
Glen Mar will not have indoor eating/coffee or receptions as a general rule, but we will be allowed to gather in the Gathering Place while masked for conversation and to visit ministry tables, etc.
These guidelines are subject to adjustments.
Glen Mar is currently registering children and youth for learning. Visit this website page for more information.
Other youth programs, including confirmation, are available. Visit this website page for more information.
Don't miss out. Sign up for the Family Vine or sign up for one of the Youth Newsletters or contact Margaret Lang for children's learning, Jen Rowell for middle school programs or Sean Danaher for high school programs.
Pathfinders (1st - 5th grade) and Sprouts (preschool - kindergarten) will continue to meet in person and outdoors on the lawn near the playgrounds at Glen Mar on Sundays at 11 a.m. for 45 minutes through June. If the weather does not cooperate or there is excessive heat, children will move indoors. There is no Zoom for now.
Email Margaret.Lang@glenmarumc.org for specific information.
If you are with people who have all been vaccinated (plus 2 weeks), you are not required to mask or socially distance. If anyone in your group is unvaccinated or if you are not sure, masking and distancing are required. No group social eating indoors yet. Please do reserve your space for any "meetings" through the church office, as we may have "reset" our calendars during the pandemic.
Registration for full and half-day programs for the Glen Mar Early Learning Center for 2021-2022 is available. The ELC believes that young children learn best through creative exploration, discovery and play in a setting that stimulates their natural curiosity and encourages their love of learning.
The current school year also has openings.
Follow the Glen Mar Early Learning Center on Facebook or visit the website page www.glenmarelc.org.
For more information email elc@glenmarumc.org or call 410-461-2859.
Glen Mar's Early Learning Center welcomes children leaving kindergarten through third grade to join our school-age summer camp June 21 through Aug. 20, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Before- and after-school options are available.
Water days, themed activities, outdoor play, crafts and more are offered.
For more information or to register visit the website page www.glenmarelc.org/summer-program or call 410-461-2859.
Events Currently Scheduled
The U.S. Army Field Band Federal Brass will perform free outdoors on grassy areas at Glen Mar Church on Fri., June 25 at 7 p.m., weather permitting. Rain date is Thu., Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. The concert will last one hour. Please bring chairs and/or blankets.
Due to Glen Mar’s coronavirus restrictions, refreshments will not be served, and childcare will not be available.
Watch the Orioles take on the Houston Astors on Wed., June 23 starting at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person. For information on the stadium’s COVID-19’s safety measures, click here https://www.mlb.com/orioles/ballpark/health-safety. Your RSVP will allow us to get seating all in the same section. Tickets will be distributed through a ticketing app, so all attendees will need to have access to a smartphone when they arrive at the stadium.
Contact sean.danaher@glenmarumc.org to RSVP or ask questions.
Glen Mar is partnering with Howard Pharmacy to support a COVID vaccination clinic for anyone 18 and over. The vaccine is free.
The vaccine will be given at Howard Pharmacy.
The appointments are on a first come first served basis. One must register online for an appointment. A limited number of walk-ins will be accepted. Bring identification and health insurance card if you have one.
Howard Pharmacy Information
- Phone: 410-740-1600
- Email: howardpharmacy4u@gmail.com
- Address: 8900 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite H, Columbia, MD 21045
Glen Mar's Vacation Bible School is open to students in grades 1 through 7 in the fall of 2021. Registration will be open through June 30. Theme is Treasured: Discovering You're Treasured by God.
Click here for more information.
Glen Mar's singles group will hold virtual brunches on the first Sundays of the month except for July 4. A brunch will be held Aug. 1.
Monthly virtual potlucks will be held on Saturdays, June 26, July 24 and Aug. 28.
For more information, email singles@glenmarumc.org.
Can We Help You?
Opportunities to Get Involved
Join Glen Mar’s own Jennifer Broderick, executive director of Bridges to Housing Stability, for an information session and discussion about the state of affordable housing in Howard County. What are some ways people of faith can help with this issue? This discussion will be on Zoom on Tue., June 22, 7 p.m.
Contact socialjustice@glenmarumc.org for more information and to get Zoom information.
The A/V Worship Team needs additional support for Saturday and Sunday services. If you are tech savvy, have some A/V experience or are willing to learn and are interested in joining, email worship@glenmarumc.org.
Participate in the Sleep in Heavenly Peace ministry that provides beds for local children who need them. There will be a build on July 17, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Email shp@glenmarumc.org for more information.
Help folks ponder what it's like to go on an adventure during August Family Worship Services by participating in a skit, sharing an adventure, being a reader or performing music.
Questions? Contact Pastor Melaina Trice at Melaina.Trice@glenmarumc.org.
Honor a loved one or a special occasion by sponsoring one or two altar flower arrangements each weekend. Sign up for an available weekend (two per weekend) by contacting Kyara Kelley at Kyara.Kelley@glenmarumc.org.
Cost is $40 per arrangement. Sponsors can contact The Flower Basket at 410.465.5588 to customize their arrangements if they wish.
John Barnes and Pastor Melaina Trice will lead a small group discussion group using the book Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison. The discussions will be held on Zoom on Mondays, May 3 through June 28 at 7 p.m.
If you would like to join the group, please purchase a copy of the book prior to the start of the group discussions.
Mission trips look a little different during a pandemic. Since we can't travel or send lots of folks across state lines, this summer we're focused on serving locally.
Local Mission Week (formerly known as the Baltimore Mission Camp) is an opportunity to serve in your own backyard. It is scheduled for June 21-25. Volunteers (youth who have completed sixth grade or higher and adults) will work with ministries, non-profits and community organizations all week but sleep in their own beds at night.
COVID-19 related adjustments have been made. Outdoor activities will be prioritized. Families or "pods" must travel and serve together. With the increased demand on parents and guardians for transportation, families can sign up for as many or as few service opportunities as they'd like. Serve for the whole week or select an afternoon slot to participate.
Sign up here by June 14. Questions? Contact sean.danaher@glenmarumc.org.
Glen Mar's Mission Board has been working alongside Glen Mar's Reopening Task Force to plan COVID-smart mission trips for this fall. Glen Mar is currently planning three Hurley trips for adults.
The first Hurley trip will be June 27 - July 3, and is a go. Several people have signed up.
The second Hurley trip is scheduled for Aug. 1 - 7 and the third one for Sept. 12-18. The second and third trips have been approved by Glen Mar's Reopening Task Force. Individuals may begin placing deposits to secure their spots. The total cost for each trip is $425 and a 50% deposit will secure a spot.
All attendees need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least two weeks before trip departure.
Questions? Contact Sean.Danaher@glenmarumc.org.
On the fourth Tuesday of the month Glen Mar volunteers prepare and deliver the dinner entree and milk for all the clientele (about 50 people) at the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, 6700 Freetown Road in Columbia. Each volunteer prepares or purchases a portion of the dinner (two cooked meat loaves in his or her home or five gallons of 2% milk) and drops off the items at the shelter before 3 p.m. on the assigned day. Six volunteers are needed each month.
Email Linda Hunt at grassroots@glenmarumc.org to be added to the volunteer email list. At the beginning of each month an email is sent to all volunteers soliciting help. Those who are interested reply to the email.
Stephen Ministries is an organization that equips lay volunteers to provide Christian care for individuals in crisis. Stephen Ministers partner with ordained staff to identify and minister to those who are struggling with a wide range of life difficulties.
Stephen Ministers get 50 hours of training to develop their skills in listening, compassion, empathy and setting healthy boundaries. They are equipped to be caregivers to those most in need of a non-judgmental listening ear and to rely on God to bring about healing.
More information is available here.
If you are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister, stephenministry@glenmarumc.org will put you in touch with the Stephen Leader who can tell you more about the ministry and training.
Glen Mar's Gift Card Program provides money for ministries so support is appreciated.
To buy and pick up gift cards at the church, email bob.henry@glenmarumc.org.
A second option is to print gift cards at home. This is done from the ShopWithScrip website. If you are not yet registered as a Glen Mar supporter or did not know about this option, contact Van Beall at fundraising@glenmarumc.org.
Also contact Van if you have questions about how your profits are allocated (to a Family Account, the Building Fund, the Pastor's Emergency Fund, Early Learning Center, Music Ministries, Children's Ministries, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Walk/Journey to Bethlehem, etc.,), your family account balance, or if you wish to allocate any/all your family account balance to another ministry.
If you shop at Amazon and are not yet registered with Amazon Smile, please visit www.smile.amazon.com and register as a Glen Mar supporter. That will add half a percent to the 2.25% earned when you shop at Amazon with Amazon gift cards purchased through the Glen Mar gift card program.
Collections, Donations, and Loaned Items
Glen Mar participates in Sleep in Heavenly Peace that provides beds for local children in need. Donate new single bedding for this ministry in the blue bin in the lower level lobby at church. Another option is to write a check to Glen Mar with SHP in the memo line.
See "Build Beds for Children Who Need Them" notice in Opportunities to Get Involved section above if interested in participating in the next SHP build session.
Vacation Bible School will need many boxes this year. It can use 2- by 3-foot boxes. Smaller or larger is also OK. VBS will also need large furniture and appliance boxes.
Email margaret.lang@glenmarumc.org to arrange drop-off or pick up.
If you are interested in donating food, household supplies, or grocery gift cards to these families, Adrienne is willing to deliver them to the families we serve. Limited pick-up is available or you may order online and have the items delivered to Adrienne's house. Please email Adrienne hehhc@glenmarumc.org to make arrangements.
Ministry Updates
Sixteen youth from Glen Mar's Confirmation Class fasted for 30 hours in early February during a 30-Hour Famine. The group raised over $5,500 for World Vision, a Christian organization that works to help lift people out of poverty around the world. The youth also learned about the challenges of poverty.
Donations to the bake sale held at Glen Mar on Feb. 6 raised an additional $780 and a car-load of canned goods for the Howard County Food Bank.
