Our mission is to be emboldened by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, we strive to bear witness to the reconciling love of God by nurturing an inclusive community, wrestling with Scripture and tradition, and working for justice and peace.
Our community extends far beyond the walls of our sanctuary and Sunday morning service. We are committed to building one community as our justice-oriented church strives to live out our faith, beginning with the warm and welcoming culture that we work to create together.
At Brown Memorial we engage the entire congregation in mission projects throughout the year to benefit a variety of organizations. Together we engage in hands-on mission work to serve communities in need across local, national, and international borders.
Jesus teaches us to love God and our neighbor (Mark 12). Every other law hangs on this central principle. At Brown Memorial, we’ve worked hard to build relationships across our city and pursue justice in our personal and public life. These relationships take many forms. Some of them are ministries run within our congregation and others are partnerships with sister organizations in the city. Explore some of the ways we connect with our Baltimore neighbors below.
Brown Memorial is a founding member of BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development), a broad-based, non-partisan, interfaith, multiracial power organization in Baltimore City. BUILD is a network of congregations and other organizations that listens to its membership, develops local leaders, and seeks social change with and alongside its people. Successful past campaigns have centered upon the living wage, affordable housing and improvements to Baltimore City Schools.
Currently, BUILD is focused on a citywide campaign, BUILD One Baltimore Now, to address vacant houses, rebuild the city’s neighborhoods, and end the legacy of redlining. A historic housing agreement was struck with the mayor and the Greater Baltimore Committee in December of 2023, securing $300M over 15 year in investment by the City of Baltimore and $750M over 15 years in investment by the State of Maryland.
Rev Andrew Connors serves on the strategy team, and Elizabeth Reichelt is one of the lay co-chairs. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Reichelt, Erika Brockman, or Rachael Edgin.
Brown Memorial’s Ministry of Welcome works closely with our immigrant siblings in the Baltimore region to provide resources, teach English, practice Spanish, and develop friendships. Fellow BUILD institution, Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church and St Patrick, is a key partner in this ministry. For more information on how to get involved Dr. Barbara Cook.
Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit organization that helps home-bound people eat well and remain in their own homes. Meals on Wheels houses one of its many offices within our church and relies on volunteers both in and outside the congregation to deliver meals across the city. The Meals on Wheels coordinator for Brown Memorial is Peggy Whitfield. Contact her at (443) 600-2975 if you are interested in volunteering.
Our Daily Bread is an organization within the larger network of Catholic Charities. They work to alleviate poverty and hunger in Baltimore City through a hot meals program, as well as job training and counseling services. A team of volunteers at Brown Memorial contributes 20 casseroles a month to Our Daily Bread. Contact Gayle Barney to volunteer with Our Daily Bread through Brown Memorial.
The Samaritan Community is a nonprofit that provides services and supports to individuals in crisis. They are located right here in Bolton Hill and are a fantastic resource for the greater community. In addition to making referrals to the Samaritan Community’s services, we regularly collect winter clothing and food items to donate. If you’d like to volunteer with the Samaritan Community you can find contact information on their website.
At Brown Memorial, we believe cross-cultural partnerships enrich our understanding of God. Over the years we have lived into several deep partnerships that remind us of the privileges and responsibilities of our place in the global community. We believe in the principles of accompaniment, authentic relationships and walking alongside our partners with mutual respect.
Our partnerships around the globe are cultivated and connected through Brown Memorial volunteers. Explore our current global mission commitments below.
Since 2003, Brown Memorial members have partnered with the Presbytery of Baltimore and the Dakota Presbytery in South Dakota and Minnesota. Every summer, delegations of adults, youth, and children travel from Baltimore to help run Summer Learning Camps at various sites across the Dakota Presbytery. In addition to helping run the camps, our delegates learn a great deal about Native culture and the unique challenges of life on the reservation.
Our most recent partnership is with the Pejuhutazizi Presbyterian Church in the Upper Sioux Community in Granite Falls, MN, for the Pejuhutazizi Family Learning Camp (PFLC), which started in 2013. PFLC is open to members and friends of Brown Memorial, and families can bring their children (kindergarten and older) to experience this partnership together. Adults and teens who do not apply with their families can also be staff members at PFLC. For more information about PFLC, visit the Baltimore Dakota Learning Camps website. To volunteer with the Baltimore Dakota Partnership at Brown Memorial, contact Chrystie Adams.
In early 2019, Brown Memorial formed a partnership with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Camajuaní, Cuba. Primarily a mission of fellowship, under the partnership agreement between our church communities, we have committed to pray for, learn from, support, and visit one another. Brown Memorial’s church-to-church partnership exists within a broader partnership between the Presbytery of Baltimore and the El Centro Presbytery of Cuba – a relationship that dates to 2004. Brown Memorial sends a delegation of members to Cuba at least once annually, occasionally in coordination with visits organized by the presbytery-level partnership. For more information about the Cuba partnership, please contact Morgana Kinlan.
Brown Memorial has partnered with Maria Madre De Los Pobres, a Catholic parish on the outskirts of San Salvador, since 1986. Brown became an “Accompanying Congregation” during the Salvadoran Civil War, sending delegates to San Salvador to support, witness, and literally accompany congregation members as they faced the dangers of the war. Since then, we have sent more than ten delegations to visit our friends at Madre.
Today, we continue to accompany the congregation by financially supporting the local ministries of their parish and by sending delegations to immerse themselves in the life of La Chacra, carrying on the deep, authentic relationships begun over 35 years ago. Eighteen families at Brown are “Godparents” to children in the neighborhood of La Chacra, supporting their education and basic needs through an annual contribution of $350 per child. If you want to become a Godparent or want more information about the program, contact Karen Stokes. For more information about the El Salvador partnership, contact Barbara Cook.
Check out this video made during our delegation in June 2024.
