| Pumpkin Patch puts a face on Halloween 
TIMONIUM Most of the 2,000 pumpkins in front of Timonium UMC were sold during the month before Halloween, and many smaller ones remaining were donated to local soup kitchens, said Donna Hill, coordinator of Christian education and youth at the church. The youth and senior members of the church banded together to keep the Pumpkin Patch open from mid-morning until dark each day, a great cross-generational opportunity, she said. At 11 a.m. each day, a pre-school event that included storytelling by a large (costumed) pumpkin, and music was held in the pumpkin patch. The community turned out for the fall festival Oct. 12, which included games, face painting, crafts, music and storytelling. This is our first Pumpkin Patch, Hill said. The pumpkins were shipped from a Navaho Reservation in New Mexico, which receives part of the proceeds. The fund-raiser brought in more than $10,000, a third of which will go to youth ministries. Church tests Hero Quest  SILVER SPRING When Vacation Bible School planners pick Hero Quest as their materials next summer, they will have the children of Woodside UMC to thank for testing it out.
Last June, Cokesbury, which provides many of the materials used each year by churches throughout the United States, asked the Woodside Vacation Bible School to test the new curriculum. Being a test site for VBS was a lot of hard work, said Marie Matthews, director of Christian Education. There were no written materials, teachers books, music or student books, she said. But the hard work paid off. Last summers VBS was almost double the size of the one the year before. Matthews is also seen in a video, Cokesbury produced, to publicize the curriculum. To see a clip from it, go to www.cokesburyvbs.com . Arts in the park PARKTON Although Hurricane Isabel changed the plans a bit, Pine Grove UMC went ahead with the first Arts in the Park fall festival in a decade. The church used to have the festival but as the membership grew older, it was unable to carry out the event, said the Rev. Peggy Click. But now, as more young members have joined the church, the festival is again underway. We intend to make it a yearly event, Click said. Thirty-five different artists, including two members of the congregation, brought their water colors, oil paintings, wood carvings, fabric creations, pottery and high-end jewelry to the event, Click said. There were also bands and individual musical acts. Pastor appointed to governors board MARTINSBURG, W. VA. The Governors Office appointed the Rev. Warren Watts, an extension minister whose charge conference is Calvary UMC, to the Complaint Review Sub-Committee, effective Oct. 1, reported the Rev. Wayne DeHart, Frederick District superintendent. Watts will serve as a resource to the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling, to review and investigate complaints submitted to the board. I am quite honored by being selected to serve on this special and very important committee in our counseling field of West Virginia, Watts said. My work in the service itself, the schools, the Family Law and Circuit Courts, the law enforcement agencies and area industries bears proof to faith and confidence of the ministry offered through the Tri-County Pastoral Counseling Service. Coffeehouse opens in Rockville ROCKVILLE Nearly 90 guests enjoyed a bottomless cup of coffee and dessert at the opening of the Rockville UMC coffeehouse Nov. 1, held in the churchs Wesley Hall. Music for the evening was provided by singer-songwriter Pam Steinfeld; the klezmer band, Alexandria Kleztet; Orange Line Special, a bluegrass group; and Rockville UMCs Elizabeth Richardson on piano to bridge the acts. The audience was blown away by the music, said church member John Warman, who organized the event. Nearly half of the audience was from the community. The church made more than $750 for their benevolences, Warman said. The coffee house will begin meeting monthly in 2004. The next one will be Jan. 17. | 
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