Parsonage to serve unique use
PASADENA - When Magothy UMC no longer needed its parsonage, they found a way to make it serve the community and become a model for other homes.
The Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services leased the three-bedroom house from the church and with volunteer labor turned it into Harmony House, a place where birth parents can spend supervised time with their children. It is unique in Maryland.
About 270 children are in the county's foster care system on a daily basis. When children are put in foster care, courts can allow birth parents to meet with them in supervised settings. This is usually done in department agencies or shopping malls. Instead, Harmony House has rooms with toys, books, chairs, couches, cribs and a full kitchen for families to use.
'It's been a wonderful relationship for the church and county for community outreach and makes good use of the parsonage on church grounds,' said the Rev. Reg Barss.
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