A Note from Pastor Ben about Healing

“And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, 

the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, 

and he healed them …” 

~ Matthew 15:30

As I sit here with a sinus cold thinking about what to write for the newsletter, it occurs to me, “Why not write about sickness?” A headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, relentless coughing; all are symptoms that each of us have felt before. What do we do when we are sick? Who do we turn to? Depending on the severity of the sickness we may consider going to urgent care or even to the  hospital if we’re feeling horrible. Maybe you’re like me and you turn to modern medicine in the form of Dayquil, while drinking Pedialyte or hot tea. How do you respond to sickness?

Scripture is filled with many examples of people who are sick, afflicted, and diseased. In scripture we have heard about folks who cried out to God for    healing; we have heard how masses of people approached Jesus to be healed. And what did Jesus do? He healed them. Sometimes we can be so fixated on our spiritual sickness [sin] and the healing we find in Jesus [forgiveness/justification] that we forget that Jesus healed physical ailments, too.

When you are sick do you turn to God in prayer? Do you remember that He cares for you and that His caring for you includes your body and physical well-being too? Let us be quick to trust in our Great Physician, to turn to Him for healing, and to believe that He is happy to give us healing.

Pastor Ben

SMALL GROUPS: Connect, Grow, Serve

Our small groups ministry is designed to connect individuals in a Christ-centered environment to grow in their relationship with Him and others through study, prayer and service. 

Authentic Manhood. Sunday 6-7:30 p.m.

PPC FH. Men’s Fraternity Series.

Pinkel Group. Monday 7-8:30 p.m.        

Pinkel Home. Kingdom Disciples.

               

Saaiman/Skube Women’s.

Monday 9:45-11:15 a.m. Dicken’s Home. Ruth. 

(Childcare available)

Monday Night Women’s. Monday 7-8:30 p.m.

Lytle Home. Discerning the Voice of God.

Schumacher Women’s. Monday 6:30-8 p.m.

PPC Room 110. Lies Women Believe.

GriefShare. Monday 7-9 p.m.

PPC Room 108. Grief Recovery.

Tuesday Morning. Tuesday 10-11:30 a.m.

PPC Room 108. Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Mazur/Rhodes. Wednesday 9:45-11:30 a.m.

Rotates Homes. 2 Corinthians.

Financial Peace. Wednesday 6-8 p.m.

PPC FH. Financial Stewardship.

Thursday Morning Men’s.

Thursday 6:30-7:30 a.m. PPC Parlor. Discipleship.

Mary Martha Circle. 2^nd Thursday 9:30-11:30 a.m. 

PPC Room 108. Faith and Miracles.

Miller. Thursday 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Miller Home. New Testament Book.

What Should I Say? Thursday 7-8:30 p.m.

PPC Room 108. Faith Conversations.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

1^st Thursday  6:15-8 pm. Crescini Home. James.

Women’s Prayer Group. Friday 10-11 a.m.

Sanctuary. Praying for Pax Pres.

Some of our small groups are currently full. 

For complete information and to check availability, 

please contact Rachel Portillo,

Director of Small Groups Ministry at: 

Rachel.portillo@paxpres.org

301-863-2033

The Tune of Kate's Ministry

SPREAD LOVE ~ The Tune of Kate’s Ministry 

With the breath of Fall, comes the breath of change. Kate Dickens, our Youth Ministry Director, is gearing up for some pretty significant changes in the upcoming months—which includes her ordination, an overseas move to Japan, and the hope of continuing her ministry abroad. Over the past three years, she has dedicated much time, talent, enthusiasm, and open-hearted love to our youth and their families. When reflecting on her time at Pax Pres, she spoke of how much she has loved the people here and how much she values the support of her colleagues.

The tune of Kate’s ministry is to SPREAD LOVE, citing 2 Peter 4:8 - “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Her unwavering focus has been to create a loving community in a negative world—for the youth of Pax Pres to feel known, to feel valued, and to know how much they are loved. “I never want to close the door on anyone—in order that the youth will are able to build trust, to be honest in hard situations, to think about things more broadly, and to affirm the beliefs of one another,” stated Kate. “This is so important in building relationships, there is never a need to tear someone else down.”

When asked where this comes from, Kate shared about what is was like being raised by Jewish parents. She studied Religion at Emory University, where the Holy Spirit led her to Christian belief and a relationship with Jesus. Her family continues to be her biggest support system.

Kate joined our staff after graduating with her Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary. During her time here, she successfully passed all of her ordination exams, gave birth to her third child, and lived into the call God placed in her heart to serve as our Youth Director. And through all of the joys, sorrows, and challenges, she has remained grateful. “I am thankful to have learned some things about myself—how to name a problem before it becomes a problem and how to find gratitude—always—amidst the grumbling.

This attitude of gratitude will serve her well as she, Matt, and the kids head to Iwakuni, Japan in 2020. Her hopes are to continue her ministry work assisting the chaplain on base and leaning into the call God has placed in her heart to help develop and plant a military young life club beyond in Iwakuni. She remains excited and open to how God is using her to SPREAD LOVE to His people.

Let’s keep The Dickens family in prayer!

Interim Pastor Announced

Introducing Reverend Robert Bayley

We are blessed to announce that Reverend Robert Bayley will begin serving Patuxent Presbyterian Church as Interim Pastor as of October 1st. Robert Bayley was born and raised in Los Angeles, and baptized, confirmed and raised in the Presbyterian Church. A life-changing conversion to Christ experience during his senior year of high school sent him to a Christian school, Vanguard University of Southern California, for two undergraduate degrees. It was there he met and married Ruth, a foreign exchange student from Switzerland. This year will mark their 53rd anniversary. Robert and Ruth Bayley celebrated their first anniversary as school teachers in an isolated Tlingit Indian village on an island off the coast of Alaska. After a move to Anchorage he received a graduate degree in education from Alaska Pacific University. Following three years of graduate study and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rev. Bayley entered local church installed pastoral ministry for the next 30 years, during which time he received the D.Min. degree from United Theological Seminary (Ohio). He then received interim training and served interim pastorates in Alaska, New Hampshire, New Zealand and Seattle. Retiring to Wilmington, NC, Rev. Bayley has been involved both as a stated supply pastor and as regular pulpit supply for small, rural Presbyterian churches. Ruth Bayley was for many years a state licensed professional counselor, LPC, in private practice in Missouri and Alaska, and has also served on staff of several of the churches where Robert has served as pastor. She is a graduate of New York Theological Seminary, an ordained minister with the Disciples of Christ denomination and stated supply pastor of Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Wilmington. She will continue in this position, spending two weeks and a Sunday with Rev. Bayley at Patuxent Presbyterian Church, and two weeks and three Sundays in Wilmington with a daughter, grandson and the church she pastors.  The Bayleys have three children and three grandchildren scattered between Portland, Chicago and Wilmington, NC. They look forward to getting to know the family of faith that is Patuxent Presbyterian Church and beautiful Southern Maryland.   We look forward to welcoming Pastor Bayley  and his family to Pax Pres!

Pastor Ben Becomes Navy Chaplain

Humble. Wise. Hardworking. Tender-hearted. Loving. Easy-going. Powerful Preacher. These are some of the ways members of Patuxent Presbyterian Church have described their beloved associate pastor. In addition to being an Associate Pastor, Reverend Benjamin Garris recently earned the impressive distinction of Navy Chaplain, and is a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the United States Navy Reserves. After completing the required three phases of intensive and varied training, he graduated on July 24^th from the Navy Chaplain School in Newport, Rhode Island.

Since graduating from Union Presbyterian Seminary with his Master of Divinity degree in 2015, Rev. Garris has experienced a whirlwind of life changes in a short span of time – commissioning into the Chaplain Candidacy Program in 2012, marrying his beloved wife Paige in 2015; moving to Southern Maryland and pastoring at Patuxent Presbyterian Church in 2016; training, learning, and more training; experiencing the loss of a close family member; awaiting assignment to a Navy Reserve unit; expecting a son on Christmas Day this year. Through it all, Rev. Garris has possessed a sense of calm by trusting God. “Perhaps it sounds cliché, but trusting God is how I’m able to experience life one day at a time while remaining flexible and open to change,” stated Rev. Garris.

Passionate about serving God and country, Rev. Garris considers Luke 10:27 (NIV) to be his life verse: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself.” As a servant leader in both the church and military, he is devoted to offering a ministry of presence. The similarities in both callings are to provide religious services to those of his own faith and to demonstrate care for everyone by listening and counseling. Exclusive to his Chaplaincy in the Navy Reserves, Rev. Garris will be present to train alongside the sailors and marines and will remind them that God is with them where they are, will facilitate those of other faiths with their religious needs through connections to various faith communities, and will advise the Command on moral and ethical issues, as well as potential religious implications pertaining to a mission.

The ministry of presence is also a vital part of the Garris marriage. “My wife Paige loves the Lord, and she is a constant physical reminder of God’s love to me and everyone who knows her. Her love, prayers, and support are making so many incredible things happen for us as a family and for so many others,” said Rev. Garris.

While completing Phases 2 and 3 of Chaplaincy School early in July, Rev. Garris was impressed with the advice shared by the Chaplain School CO, Capt. Steve Moses regarding the importance of “Upward Living” and adopting the gratitude attitude of “I GET TO do this.” As Rev. Garris awaits word on the Navy unit he will serve, he continues to live by faith, one day at a time. The Bible verse which has been on the forefront of his mind and on his heart is Proverbs 16:9 (NLT): “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”