Who We Are

The Community of Ark & Dove

Our Mission

Our Pastors

2005 Restructuring Plan

2005 Long Range
Plan

History of Ark & Dove

PC USA

Presbytery of Baltimore

Presbyterian Symbol

October 1992, The Presbytery of Baltimore announced that it no longer had 69 churches, it now had 70. The Synod of the Mid Atlantic no longer had 1480 churches, it now had 1481. The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) no longer has 11,461 churches, it now had 11,462. It had been 10 years since the Presbytery of Baltimore had a new church. This was an exciting time in the life of the presbytery and our congregation.

In the mid 1980’s Harundale Presbyterian Church was looking for a minister and determined that the county needed another church to handle the growth. The Anne Arundel Clergy Cluster, made up of the five PCUSA churches in Anne Arundel County; Woods Memorial, Prince of Peace, Harundale, Christ Our Anchor, and Annapolis First Presbyterian Church investigated the possibility of a New Church Development at their 1985 and 1986 breakfast meetings. They turned to Rev. Stern, Associate Pastor of Woods Memorial, to lead this effort. As their work continued, the clergy took an all day van tour of the county looking at neighborhoods. They concluded that the West County area was the best area for growth. The church began as a mission project of the New Church Development committee of the Baltimore Presbytery. The committee made more than 7000 phone calls to West County residents inviting them to worship at a new church. The Pastor Nominating Committee called Rev. Stern to lead this new congregation. The Presbytery of Baltimore purchased a beautiful 6.6 acre site on Piney Orchard Parkway to be our new home.

As a result of the phone calls and mailings, 105 local people attended the first worship service of The Presbyterian Church in Odenton. The service was held on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1st, 1991 at the Odenton Elementary School. The first hymn was “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”. The Sermon was “Come This Way, Angel”. Rev. Stern led the worship service, including the Children’s Church during the service and the Choir led the church in music. Kim Weisheit was the Director of Music.

Each Sunday the congregation arrived early to roll out the piano, set up the chairs, hang the banners and set up Sunday School classes and refreshments for service. After service we had to put everything away. The choir practiced in member’s homes, meetings were held around dining room tables and Rev. Stern’s office was on the second floor of an office building on Piney Orchard Parkway.

Before there was a session there was an Organizing Committee. The members were responsible for operating the church and transitioning the church from a mission church to a chartered church. The committee members were Rev. Tim Stern, Debbie Moore, Ron Thomson, Winslow Shaw, Betsy Quigley, Jim Collett, Marcia Collett, Linda Lewis, Mary Byers, Sally Amador, Ray Bussey, David Jones, Pepper Powers, Nancy Stefan, Mark Stancil, Sally Lung, Gene Ostrom, Kathy Winters and Polly Wilson.

In October 1992, we chartered our church with 92 members and changed our name to Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church. “Ark and Dove” has meaning that comes from both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible as well as Maryland History. The name brings to mind God’s Covenant with humanity and God’s Peace through the Holy Spirit. The Ark and The Dove were the first two ships that brought settlers to Maryland in 1634.

Our first real home was a warehouse. October 1992 we moved into the industrial park across from the Odenton Florist. Finally we had space to call our own. We began planning and raising funds for a church home. We created the Arkive, continued our mission activities, Christian education, Logos and fellowship programs. Our congregation continued to grow to over 140 members.

From 1994-1995 we built our church home with the leadership of Don Wilson and Gene Ostrom. Everything that we could cut from the budget was added to the NIC List – Not In Contract. In January 1996 we held our first worship service in our new home during a blizzard!

Evangelism has always been important at Ark and Dove as we invite people to visit our church. We have always been a welcoming and friendly congregation coming together to worship the Glory of God. Within two years of moving into our new building, our 10:30 a.m. worship service was so crowded we had to add a second worship service with contemporary music. Dinner groups, church picnics, theme Sundays, Christmas pageants, children choirs, pot luck suppers all flourished. Pool parties, ice cream socials, dinner groups, Bay Sox games, bowling league, softball games, Men’s breakfast were some of the opportunities for Christian fellowship. The computer committee upgraded our computers and established a website (www.arkanddove.org).

The congregation of Ark and Dove has been involved in mission projects from the beginning. Some of the projects include; The Christian Assistance Program (food pantry, clothes closet, Thanksgiving / Christmas turkey baskets and toys at Christmas), YMCA Family Support Center, Presbytery of Baltimore mission programs, General Assembly missionary programs, North County Emergency Outreach Network, Single Again, Sarah’s House (food, clothing, apartment furnishings, washer/dryer, monthly dinners), Light Street Housing, Habitat for Humanity, Moving on the Healthy Relating, Mission in Guatemala, Holiday Sharing, Partners for Empowerment, Lakota Native Americans, Shoes for children in Kosovo, Emergency Disaster Relief from Hurricane Andrew through victims of September 11th, Health kits for children in need and book bags with school supplies for victims of floods in Kansas, Chrismon tree Christmas gifts and Pioneers in Action.

As the history of the church is written we will always be grateful for the time, talents, treasures, dedication and service of the members, sponsor churches, Presbytery of Baltimore and community members and businesses that have supported us. Each person has been vital to the growth and development of the Church.

1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002