Emmanuel UCC Activities

Community Services of Emmanuel (Baust) UCC

We take seriously Christ's call for his disciples to be in mission to reach out to others with the "Good News" of God's life-changing and redeeming love and with compassionate caring and service to others.

Families of EBUCC are nurtured, cared for and supported by our members and pastor. We seek to convey the love of God and God's healing care to all. A number of community ministries and services in our area are supported by our congregation as a demonstration of our desire to participate in a mission of care and compassion toward others. Some of these ministries include:

Caring and Sharing Ministries of Northwest Carroll County. (This ecumenical council is made up of clergy and lay persons from nine different congregations in the Taneytown area. CSM sponsors a weekly community meal, The Carpenter's Table, which is provided each Thursday, 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Frederick Street in Taneytown).

Carroll County Interfaith Council is an interfaith group that meets to promote understanding, mutual respect and tolerance among peoples of various faiths and perspectives related to their beliefs and practices.

Carroll County Food Sunday provides basic food items for needy families in Carroll County. One of its locations is in Taneytown at St. Joseph's Catholic Church). The central food bank for CCFS is in Westminster at Distillery Ave. and Railroad Ave., on block north of Main Street.

The Shepherd's Staff is an ecumenical service program based in Westminster and which seeks to help provide a safety net of care and help for needy persons and families. Social Services and Human Service Programs services are supplemented by gifts to this voluntary community effort.

Faith In Action - Carroll County Neighbors Helping Neighbors (described below).

A variety of other ministries in our area are supported and encouraged with gifts and volunteer support.

Through our members and pastor, we are actively involved in a variety of community programs and cooperative ministries with other churches. These include shared ministries in the fellowship of the United Church of Christ (Catoctin Association and Central Atlantic Conference), Hoffman Homes for Youth, Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County, 4-H programs, and health/ mental health services such as Senior Keep In Touch (SKIT) program, and Faith In Action program (see information below) through The Partnership. We have supported and encouraged the development of that latter program into Access Carroll: Pathways to Health, a community-based and collaborative effort to provide more primary care health services to uninsured and underinsured low-income residents of Carroll County.

Faith in Action is a new interfaith/ ecumenical initiative in Carroll County funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to The Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County, Inc. The goals of FIA are to bring persons of various faith backgrounds together in active voluntary service to our communities. The local FIA effort has been given the name "Neighbors Helping Neighbors". You are invited to join in helping Carroll County residents with long-term health conditions to live a better life. We hope you will want to put your FAITH IN ACTION. Our Consistory has affirmed our participation as part of the Coalition that is giving oversight to this volunteer ministry. Volunteers will be trained, scheduled, and authorized to help with things like:

Telephone and E-mail Reassurance
Light Housekeeping
Yard Work
Minor Home Repairs
Grocery Shopping and Minor Errands
Medical Appointment Transportation
Referral to Community Services

Volunteers trained will have the option of serving people in or related to their own congregation or to be available for deployment to others in the community in our neighborhoods. The target group will be people with long-term needs and limitations whether due to aging process or other disability and who live at home. It is not intended for service to persons in other care settings such as nursing homes and assisted living.

These are some of the ways we feel called to serve in Christ's name. We believe that each person has gifts that are to be used to demonstrate God's mission of care and wholeness for the world. The ways in which we can minister are as varied as our people themselves. Jesus, in his earthly ministry, demonstrated the love and grace of God that reached far beyond the boundaries of the traditional faith of the time. His parables of "the lost" including that of "the Lost Son" or "the Prodigal Son" told in Luke chapter 15, tell of our God who is reaching out to bring back those who are wandering and lost, those who are separated from their "home" in God's presence. God "rejoices" when the "lost" are "found", when the gap between us and God is overcome, and when we find the fullness of life in God's loving, forgiving, and healing presence. Our God is a God of "extravagant welcome", who reaches out to all that we may find ourselves "whole" through God's presence and power. We strive to be ambassadors of God's love and to act on the wideness of God's mercy. Wherever you are in your journey - filled or empty, hopeful or wanting, broken or whole, full of faith or burdened with doubt--you are welcome. Come grow with us. For all who are still seeking, "God is still speaking".

Several annual events are sponsored which include our Easter egg hunt, Halloween party, and Christmas Eve candlelight service to which all are invited. Baust is one of several churches that share in hosting Holy Week and Thanksgiving interdenominational services.

Our Parish Hall and kitchen are available for use for group meetings of not more than 90 persons (sit-down dinners, wedding receptions, etc.) For more information, or to schedule an event, call our church secretary at (410) 751-1237.