VBS: Media Wrap-Up

Thank God for a wonderful Vacation Bible School this year.  We traveled to Narnia to hear the story of God's sacrifice for us.  The local media covered our time.  Here is a media wrap-up:

...from the Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood Patch:

NARDMORNIA?  THE LION, THE WITCH, AND 'KINGS AND QUEENS'

...from the Main Line Media News:

ARDMORE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WRITES ITS OWN NARNIA PROGRAM FOR VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

There is a write-up with each video.  We all had a fun time.

2011 Summer Adult Sunday School

Conversations on Faith and Life
8:45 am to 9:45 Mill Creek Room

July 10: Isn't the Bible a Myth? Hasn't science disproved Christianity?

July 17: How can you say there is one way to God? What about other religions?

July 24: What gives you the right to tell me how to live my life? Why are there so many rules?

August 7: Why does God allow suffering? Why is there so much evil in the world?

August 14: Why is the Church responsible for so much injustice? Why are Christians such hypocrites?

August 21: How can God be full of love and wrath at the same time? How can God send good people to hell?

Each session will begin with a 20-minute video in which Tim Keller (a Presbyterian pastor in New York City and author of Prodigal God) interacts live and unscripted with folks he has just met as they share their beliefs and their thoughts about the above objections to Christianity. Following the video we will continue to discuss together that week's objection. Our goal is not to arm ourselves with arguments and answers to counter these objections but to learn how to engage others in conversations about life and faith with sensitivity, gentleness, humility, and respect, whether in the context of a friendship or a group setting. Each week is a separate unit so feel free to join us when you are not on vacation as we learn together about our faith and the ways we and other people think about it. Child care is available but please call the office by Tuesday of the weeks you will need it.

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT VBS

This summer we entered the land of Narnia to learn about the story of God's love.  It wouldn't have happened without the great work of lots of volunteers and the leadership of our Christian Education Director, Kristen Thomas-Clarke.  Thank you so much for your dedication to our children.

Sunday Surprise for July 2011 - Young Children in Worship

Sunday School remains an important part of the Christian education program here at the Ardmore Presbyterian Church.  It is one of the ways in which our community keeps the vows we make at the baptism of our children.  As a result, we are excited to offer a special Summer Surprise for the ages of 4 to10 on the first four Sundays in July of 2011.

Led by Carol Shih and the APC youth, our children will be experiencing four Montessori-based Sunday school sessions from a curriculum called “Young Children in Worship.” This unique approach to Sunday morning learning concentrates on community building and on spiritual formation. Young Children in Worship does not approach Christian education through a school model, but rather focuses on nurturing both spiritual community and the inner spiritual life of children -- by patterning its sessions after Christian worship. This curriculum conceives of Christian education as learning about God through worship experiences, not lessons. Children learn about God by experiencing God through hearing and responding to Bible stories in a liturgical context.

Developed out of this Christian framework, Young Children and Worship is a wonderful way to help children apply the gospel of grace to their own lives.

The sessions are structured in the four-part format of Presbyterian worship:

1. Gathering: children dial down and are invited one-by-one to enter meditatively into the worship space.

2. Hearing the Word: a Bible story is beautifully told with carefully crafted figurines and props (created by APC Youth).

3. Responding to the Word: children first meditate with each other about the story through “I wonder” questions; then respond privately to the story with expressive art; finally the children have the “Feast,” or a communal snack.

4. Sending Out: each child is given a special blessing as they leave to be God's disciples in their homes, schools, and activities.

Important Note: Because the dismissal is an integral part of the four part worship, we ask that parents wait outside the room until the children are given their individual blessings and sent out.

We look forward to the privilege of entering with our children into this experience of worship and learning. We pray you have a blessed summer.

James Hodsden, Senior Pastor

Kristen Thomas Clarke, Director Christian Education

Carol Shih

Sherina Poorman

APC Youth

Pastor's Pen: "Through the Wardrobe"

As a boy, I was never a big fan of fiction.  I was a good reader, but my interests were always in the sciences and how things work.  I still enjoy those subjects, and no one in this modern world can deny their importance.  However, I realize now that I was ignoring broad areas of human life like poetry and passion.  It’s like traveling everywhere only by the interstate.  Sometimes, you need to get off the straight, multi-laned highway to experience fully a locale and a people. 

At twelve years old, I was changed by a book – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  In that story, a group of children cross from our world to another via a magical wardrobe.  Amazingly, the book awakened in me a hunger for literature and story.  The book captured for me the whimsy of fairy tales, and only later, I came to see the Christian allegory.  A world filled with beauty is perverted, and the rightful king must die to save it.  Although I grew up in the church, I loved the lion, Aslan, before I loved Jesus.  In a way, C.S. Lewis prepared me finally to hear the gospel as good news.  For that, I will always be grateful.

In the land of Narnia there is a stone table on which is written the demands of justice.  That table has been there longer than anyone can remember.  The witch reads the words on that table in a simple, mechanistic way.  She uses them to exact revenge on her enemies.  When the witch demands justice against a traitor, the lion pays the cost.  Aslan explains…

“…though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge only goes back to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”

Apparently the world is more complicated than the witch realizes.  Here in a few sentences of a children’s book, Lewis addresses the difficult meaning of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection.  Christ has risen!  He is risen indeed.

Over the years, the children of our congregation have explored the broad themes of God’s grace and love through games, crafts and songs at our annual Vacation Bible School.  This year we will also use the story of Narnia in order to learn the greatest story ever told.  We invite you and your children to journey with us through the wardrobe on the mornings of June 20 through 24.  For registration, please go to our website at www.ardmorepres.org. 

Grace and Peace,

James