News

Hunger and the Coronavirus The world is living through unprecedented times. The coronavirus is causing anxiety, uncertainty, and disruption. As is often the case, people living in hunger and poverty are likely to suffer the most. Though we may feel powerless and overwhelmed, we are not. Now is the time to heed God’s call to care for the “least…

Day 5 of the school year on Zoom: Why is Love Important? Distance education for small children poses real hardships, too many to count, but even these contexts are not without their moments of light-hearted humor and maybe, if given an opportunity, some wisdom along the way. A teacher posed this question, Why is Love…

Meditation “Maybe I was praying for him then, in my own way. Does God have a set way of prayer, a way that He expects each of us to follow? I doubt it. I believe some people– lots of people– pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they…

If you’re looking for some casual fellowship, join us on September 11 at 7 p.m. for First & Franklin’s Cocktail Hour . . . our theme, which we will hold loosely, is “Things About Cats . . .” BYO story about a cat, joke about a cat, poem about a cat, something about a cat.…

Meditation “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. . . . If, in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all people the most miserable. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the things which God hath prepared for those who love him.” What…

The year 2020 has presented a number of challenges, COVID-19 and an awakening awareness of systematic racism chief among them. First & Franklin has had to address another issue as well – the state of our financial well-being and our ability to continue operating as we have in the past. These challenges also present us…

HELLO BALTIMORE VOTES! On July 8, Governor Hogan declared that all voters need to request a mail-in ballot if they plan to vote by mail in the upcoming election. This is a big departure from the Primary Election, when all active voters were automatically mailed a ballot. You can beat the rush by requesting your mail-in ballot…

As some of you know, we were camping in the Shenandoah National Park. It was a unique time in the mountains, not only because of the bears (we saw 3 or 4), or the majestic Monarch butterflies happily sipping on the nectar of milkweed, or the turtle we found crossing the Appalachian Trail, or even…

The In The Loop Churches of the Presbytery of Baltimore are excited to announce that we will be holding a joint service of worship on September 13th. A few points for clarification: First, we will worship at our ordinary time, using Zoom/FB Livestream. Please use the regularly published Zoom link/bulletin for the service. In terms…

The word is getting out in our neighborhood that the First & Franklin Presbyterian Church has a pantry. When we arrive to open on Saturdays, we are now greeted by neighbors who are in need of food. The weekly count of bags has jumped from 3 to 18 and we expect the numbers to rise…

Over the course of several weeks, around 400 people were tested through a joint effort of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and First & Franklin Presbyterian Church, and the University of Maryland Health Center, along with BUILD congregations and leaders. Thank you to everyone who participated with packing Safety Bags, conducting surveys, supporting the site testing,…