News

Amica Center is preparing to file a lawsuit in U.S.  District Court challenging ICE’s unlawful arrests without warrants in the state of Maryland.  The lawsuit is modeled after their successful warrantless arrest lawsuit in DC, which they filed with a number of partner organizations.

As they did in the DC warrantless arrest case, they are seeking to file several amicus briefs in the Maryland warrantless arrest case, including one signed by members of Maryland’s faith community.

These amicus briefs will help demonstrate the larger chilling effect, i.e. how ICE’s mass arrests have caused wide-ranging harm on different key sectors of Maryland life and community.  An amicus brief from religious organizations will focus on the warrantless arrests of parishioners or other community members, and the resulting impairment of the members of the religious organization to freely practice their faith. However, the brief will also emphasize the moral obligation to treat immigrants with dignity, building from the recent statements of Pope Leo, the Archbishop of Washington’s homily and statements calling for compassion and justice. Therefore, religious groups do not need to have members impacted to sign on.

The number of signatories/potential signatories for the amicus brief continues to increase! There are now 24 faith communities that have either agreed to sign on or are seriously considering it, pending reviewing the brief.  Amica Center would love to grow this number!  The deadline to sign on will be sometime around September 9.  If you and/or your faith community are interested in signing on, please contact Kathy at kathy@harc.datachievereview.xyz.

Dominion Ministries is in need of a refrigerator. It can be a used one. On occasions they have dinners at the church and feed the hungry. They will come and pick it up. Call 227-239-3214 or email shirleymaynard@myactv.net.

We are excited to announce that our new Director of Youth Ministry is Jennifer Plummer! Our youth ministry will be blessed by her leadership, experience and education. Jennifer is a gifted 8th grade teacher at E. Russell Hicks Middle School. She brings a depth of passion for youth ministry, founded on her faith and her experience as a youth in our church and church camp. ~ Dr. Brooks, Senior Minister, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

In her own words . . . ”Our youth serve as a bridge between our present and our future and my hope is to provide them the space to grow into their faith and find their own passions and talents which they can use to serve not only our congregation, but our broader community. I am excited to be working with our youth and their families and look forward to this next season for FCC!” ~ Jennifer Plummer, Director of Youth Ministry

Christ’s Reformed Church in Hagerstown was gifted a large collection of new Holy Bibles, “placed by The Gideons.” At this time, they do not have a need for them. Anyone interested can contact the church office from 9am-12pm, at 301-733-4144, to get more info and set up a pick up time.

St. James Brethren Church in Fairplay, Maryland, is prayerfully seeking a Bible-centered Lead Pastor who is passionate about faithfully preaching God’s Word, shepherding His people, and leading our congregation in Christ. We desire a pastor committed to sound biblical teaching, discipleship, and long-term ministry. If you feel God may be calling you to serve, we invite you to learn more about this opportunity and join us in seeking His will for the future of our church.

Please join Shepherd’s Spring in welcoming Melissa Galla as their new Global Village Director and Director of Retreats! A proud Boonsboro High School alumna, Melissa is excited to return to her Maryland roots and continue her passion for Christian camp and retreat ministry.
With years of experience in nonprofit leadership and ministry, Melissa looks forward to helping churches, schools, organizations, and families create meaningful retreat experiences. They are grateful God has brought her to Shepherd’s Spring and invite you to connect with her as they begin this exciting new chapter!