Don't forget to register for the Vessel!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Red Clay Creek PC 

 

Please be advised that NCP offices will be closed on

Monday, October 8, in observance of Columbus Day.

 

Midweek Musings by Jackie Taylor,

Associate Executive Presbyter

 

 

The candidate was escorted out of the meeting commencing a discussion on whether to admit this person into the Presbytery membership.  After a heated discussion, our friend and colleague Robert Bruce Cumming stood up and speaking in favor of the individual said, “Quite frankly, I am looking forward to disagreeing with him at future Presbytery meetings.”

 

For some that was not the case at the September Presbytery meeting.  Jim Moseley asked that group conversations be more like one occurring on a front porch.  I was reminded of a story my mother told about her crotchety old aunts who made her and her siblings eat stewed celery sandwiches for lunch.  From her aunts’ front porch those aforementioned sandwiches were rejected and subsequently hurled off the porch and onto the roof of old man McKinley’s funeral home.

 

Some groups experienced honest and open sharing.  In others, some hurling took place. According to the notes, some people left feeling like the dialogue was helpful.  Others felt isolated, wounded, angry, exhausted, or unclear.  I wonder if anyone felt like they will be looking forward to the November meeting.

 

 

But you know what?  We are going to disagree with someone, somewhere all of our lives.  If conservatives think by leaving the denomination or conducting legal maneuvers on More Light Churches, there will be peace, think again.  In the words of Michelle Woodson, you cannot sue your way to righteousness.  Progressives, if you think, if only people would just accept everyone and everything, and just preach love, the world would be a better place? I don’t think so. We are wired to disagree. We are acculturated differently.  Our stories are different, our experiences, unique.

 

So why can’t we disagree together?  Not even Jesus’ disciples agreed, but together, they created the most powerful witness in history.  I wish you would come over to my way of thinking, but you probably won’t. So, do I throw you out with the bathwater (or like a stewed celery sandwich!) or do I take your hand and model the love of Christ?

 

John 16:33 said that Jesus came so that we might have peace yet in Luke 12:51 said he came to bring a sword.  It’s both, friends.  We meet God in the storm as well as in the calm. It is living abundantly in the uncertainties and ambiguities that strengthen our faith and bring others to Christ.  We are not alone; our God always goes with us into the struggle and into the future. Keep wrestling, be joyful and have faith!

 

 

To that end, I look forward to disagreeing with you at the November meeting.

 

 

SAVE THE DATE!!

 

January 18 & 19, 2008

 

Presbytery Retreat!

 

Dunes Manor Hotel

Ocean City, MD

 

Church of Our Savior Community Yard Sale!

 

Saturday, October 6th, 9:00am - 3:00pm, rain or shine!  Please download flyer for more information and to rent a table during this event.  We look forward to seeing you there!  Community Yard Sale Flyer.pdf

 

That All May Freely Serve

 

Lisa Larges, Minister Coordinator of That All May Freely Serve will be preaching at two Services of Worship at West Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 7, 2007. At the 11:00 AM Service of Worship her sermon title will be “Only What We Ought” and is based on Lamentations 3:19-26 and Luke 17:5-10. 

 

 

Lisa will also be preaching at a Service of Worship at 4:00 PM on that same day at West Church.  Her sermon will be “It’s Stonewall Meets Azusa Street”.  This Service of Worship is being sponsored by West, Hanover Street and First & Central Presbyterian Churches. 

 

 

That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) was formed in 1992 in response to the ecclesiastical court decision setting aside the pastoral call of Janie Spahr to Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY).  TAMFS believes that we are “called by the life and teachings of Jesus, compelled by our faith and charged by our conscience to advocate for an inclusive church that honors diversity and welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons as full members.“  

 

 

Following Janie Spahr’s retirement this summer, Lisa Larges was acclaimed the organization’s Minster Coordinator.  Upon her acclamation as Minister Coordinator, the co-moderator of the TAMFS board said, ”Lisa is the right person for us at this time. As we work toward the removal of G-6.0106B at the 218th General Assembly in 2008, continue our work to nurture the leadership of youth and seminarians, provide Spiritual care for Presbyterians who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and strengthen our witness for creating a church that welcomes ALL persons, Lisa’s gifts, skills, and connection with our regions and the broader church will be invaluable in helping us reach these goals “  Until her recent appointment as Minister Coordinator, Lisa was the Regional Partnership Coordinator for TAMFS.  Lisa is a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary.

 

 

West Presbyterian Church is located at 8^th and Washington Streets in Wilmington.  Parking is available in lots behind the church building.

 

 

Massanetta Springs Respite

for

Church Professionals

 

October 22-25, 2007

 

The Respite Includes:

The three R's ~ Rest, Retreat and Rockers

 

• Lodging on the 22-25, compliments of Massanetta
• Free buffet breakfast on Tuesday, October 23rd.
• Afternoon Tea in the Historic Hotel Lobby Tuesday, October 23rd.
• Daily gatherings for sharing of ministry ideas if desired.
• Arrival and departure to suit your schedule - come for one night or for all three.

 

Print out a registration form at www.massanettasprings.org

 

Mail to:

Laura Holbrook

Massanetta Springs Camp & Conference Center

712 Massanetta Springs Road

Harrisonburg, VA  22801-2259

Tel:  888.627.7774

Email: laurah@massanettasprings.org

 

First Presbyterian Church of Chesapeake City

 

"150th" Anniversary Celebration

Sunday, November 4th, 9:00am Worship

 

Rev. Don Mitchell preaching (former pastor)

 

Brunch following service (anniversary displays)

 

Please pray for God's blessings for the next 150!

 

 

New Covenant PC Presents Brother Andrew Live Via Satellite

 

Sunday November 11, 7:00 p.m.

 

The cost of their commitment is high. The danger they face is great.

 

These are the people you won't hear about on the evening news: Secret Believers.

 

In a most incredible and eye-opening broadcast, CCN and Brother Andrew invite your community to meet the courageous men and women whom you may not know exist: Christian believers in Islamic countries.

 

Hear riveting testimonies of their personal struggles to come to grips with hostile governments, terrorist acts, and an influx of Muslims coming to Christ.

 

In this nationwide simulcast, Brother Andrew issues a call and a challenge to believers across the United States:

"The Church in the Muslim world is growing rapidly. But our brothers and sisters - who once followed Islam and now follow Christ - pay a severe price for their new found faith. They need to know someone will "be there" for them - to strengthen and encourage them. Will that someone be you?"

 

Secret Believers gives your community a glimpse into the lives of these believers and proposes practical initiatives for Christians in the West to support their persecuted brothers and sisters.

 

Your church will learn how to:

• Focus on the real spiritual battle.
• Pray with rather than merely for the Church in the Muslim world.
• Reach out to Muslim neighbors.

 

This is a call to a new kind of jihad - a good fight - replacing vengeance with forgiveness, radical love, and unyielding prayer.

 

Brother Andrew began taking Bibles to Christians behind closed borders in 1955. His international best-seller, God's Smuggler, chronicles the early days of life and ministry, detailing dangerous border crossings, KGB pursuits, and his courageous journey toward living radically for Jesus Christ. That work has since become Open Doors International, a ministry to the Persecuted Church in over 60 countries, providing literacy/vocational training, Bibles, and economic relief in some of the most dangerous countries in the world. Brother Andrew remains among the few Western leaders to travel to the Middle East as an ambassador for Christ, holding private meetings with leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. In 1994, he was knighted by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands. In 1997, he was the recipient of the World Evangelical Fellowship’s Religious Liberty Award.

 

Community Outreach Event

 

Community Outreach Event at Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church, 101 Old Kennett Road, Wilmington, DE  19807.  For Mr. Ken Kolodner ~ Come Out and Enjoy One of Today's Most Accomplished Hammered Dulcimer Artists.

 

(For directions, visit our website: www.lowerbrandywine.org)

 

As a major part of the rebirth of the hammered dulcimer in the US, Ken is recognized as ‘one of today's most accomplished, musical hammered dulcimer artists.’ Viewed by many as one of the most influential players in the United States, Ken is widely known for an expressive and improvisational style and for creative ensemble playing. His extensive repertoire ranges from the traditional music of Ireland, Quebec and Appalachia to music from over 20 countries from around the world. Ken has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe. He has been featured in nationally-broadcast concerts on NPR, All Things Considered, German National Radio, the CBC, and on the Voice of America. His credits include an Emmy-nominated CBS-TV Christmas special.

 

The PCUSA Peacemaking Offering

The Peacemaking Offering is one of four special offerings designated by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The 192nd General Assembly (1980) of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America called for an offering to be received to support peacemaking initiatives and peace education throughout the church when it adopted the recommendations in the report, "Peacemaking: The Believers' Calling."   

 

The Peacemaking Offering is received by most congregations on World Communion Sunday, celebrated the first Sunday in October. It is recommended that 25 percent of the Offering received be retained by each congregation, 25 percent be used by synods and presbyteries, and 50 percent be used by the General Assembly ministries through the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.

 

In future Midweek Musings I will share how churches in our presbytery have used their 25% for peacemaking at home and abroad.

--Tom Davis, Peacemaking Chair, New Castle Presbytery 

 

Be Web Wise

 

Beginning in this issue of Midweek Musings, I'll post a short word to the Web wise, tips for finding and using great free programs and services on the Internet.  I'll post these Web Wise articles in one place, so if you miss a week, or would like to consult a previous article, look here.

 

Now, for today's word for the Web wise:  There's a great photo editor on the Web called Picnik.  It's an online service, not a program to download.  You go to http://www.picnik.com, open a free account there, and then you can use Picnik to dress up your photos and share them.  Picnik has tools for rotating, cropping, resizing, changing the brightness and contrast of your photos, sharpening them, and removing "red eye" from flash pictures.  There are also special effects tools for transforming colored photos into black and white or sepia, and a host of cool and wierd treatments.  After editing your photos, Picnik helps you to share them on such free social networking sites as Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, Face Book, and Photobucket.  One nice feature of having an online photo editor is that you can work on your photos while you're traveling.  All you need is an Internet connection.

--Tom Davis

 

Invitation to Join a Honduras Mission Trip June 2008

 

 

You are invited to join 15 to 18 Limestone Presbyterians and friends who will be traveling on a mission trip to Honduras from June 7 – 15, 2008.  In Honduras, we will be hosted by Tim and Gloria Wheeler, PC(USA) mission co-workers who also work with Heifer Project International.  The group will be working in a rural village on a construction project and a sewing project.  Limestone’s Pastor Carolyn Gillette will be the mission trip leader and has led five previous mission trips to Honduras. An American doctor (Frank LaSalla, an emergency room physician who has done mission work in Honduras and is the husband of First Presbyterian Church in Newark’s interim pastor Kathy Stoner LaSalla) will be joining our mission team and will set up a small, rural health clinic for the week.  The construction project will include work such as building or finishing basic concrete-block homes with metal roofs— digging foundations, laying block, or framing out doors and windows.  Specific work will depend on the community to which we are assigned, once the group is complete and our group’s skill-level becomes clearer.  The sewing project will provide sewing machines and training to the women in the community; most likely, the women already know how to sew quite well by hand, but the machines will make their work faster and more efficient.  Our group will provide sewing machines that are fitted with hand-cranks (since there is no electricity in most rural communities) and instruction on how to use and maintain the machines, as well as fabric and thread for sewing dresses and other clothing.  Eleven people have already signed up to be part of this wonderful mission opportunity. We especially need more volunteers with some construction skills and volunteers who are fluent in Spanish.  We also have room for participants who do not have these specific skills but who have a willingness to help out.  Cost of the trip is $1650, including air fare from Philadelphia and room/board/transportation in Honduras, and a visit to the Mayan Ruins in Copan.  Please contact Pastor Carolyn Gillette by email at bcgillette@comast.net at 302-994-5646 for more information by Nov. 1st.  Thank you.

 

 

 

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