By D.C. Veale

Glen Mar was blessed to be able to sponsor another Baltimore Mission Week for the fifth time this July. We had 22 youth and adults serving in Baltimore and Howard County. We had the chance to serve at organizations we’ve worked with for years such as Manna House, Paul’s Place, Hon’s Honey, and The Well.

We served at some “new to us” places like the Family Survivor Network and the Baltimore County Christian Work Camp, where we got to work with some folks from Pastor Jen Eschliman’s church, Reisterstown UMC. After one of our groups assisted one of her members, Pastor Jen wrote, “Thank you for answering the call to help a complete stranger in need – bringing hope, physical safety, and visible reminders of God’s love.”

We also got to work in support of our connectional system by serving in ministry with Ames UMC, Hampden UMC, and Metropolitan Memorial UMC. We supported the Food Collection Ministry and the Back-to-School drive at Glen Mar. We also designed and laid out 37 quilt patterns to assist with the bedding needs of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

On Wednesday afternoon, everyone went to the National Aquarium, which was both fun and educational. At the end of each day, we had a delicious dinner at Glen Mar prepared by a different small group each night. Brad Boyle, leader of the Snack Pack small group, said “We’ve always loved providing dinner for the youth and adults during the Baltimore Mission Week. It’s a fun way for us to serve and participate as well.”

Reflecting on experiences during the week, Alex Escalera said, “I enjoyed all the different ways we served.” Robby Rhoad said, “It was fun to feed people.” Long-time Glen Mar member Jamie Grace said, “The variety of opportunities to serve was great. There was something for everyone.” Perhaps Roslyn Doctor summed it up best when she said, “It was an amazing and transformative experience. I think everyone should do something like this.”