Garden Harvest Night for Wednesday July 18th

I am writing you about tomorrow night's(July 18th) harvesting. We are without Ray and Mary Van Leeuwen for 2 Wednesdays while they visit their family in California. This is a big loss to our Wednesdays. So it is that we need all of you willing people to come out tomorrow! As always please join us even if you must insist you are no gardener. All who fit in that category can simply combine abilities to make one composite gardener between us : ) If you come to the garden you have a great chance of really becoming a gardener which could be fun. Come when you can and stay until you need to go. 

Tomorrow we will have iffy weather so I am making a few adjustments. I will be there unless it is actually raining. Hadley and I will be there at 5pm this time to start the picking and harvesting in case the weather comes early. Hopefully we can get to the bigger items that way even if we get rained out for the herbs. Please join us at 5 or 5:30-p as usual. Jeff will come and fire up the grill at 5 45p when he arrives from work. We will provide hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a dish to share if you are able to and a chair or blanket to sit on. 

I have not been over to see the tomatoes in the past few days so we will only be picking those if they have suddenly become ready. There is zucchini and peppers, okra, a few more green onions and maybe one more batch of beans. We should have lots of need for people to pick herbs as well. The garden is enormous now. If you haven't looked in awhile, you will be amazed. The efforts of a small army of APC's kids helped to make that happen this year and that is exciting.

We will have the sprinkler out with the heat so come in your suit and bring a towel and change of clothes. I often forget one of those last two things for my own child so I am writing that to myself!

We are always collecting gently used clothes and shoes for all ages to take down to Calvin Presbyterian's clothing closet. The clothes will be taken down at the same time as the vegetables on Thursday mornings. We have been made aware that Calvin will be starting a daycare for 2,3 and 4 year olds in the fall. We have taken one load of toys. learning items and books down already. They were really delighted to receive them. We hope we can help and encourage them further before they launch in the fall. If you would like to purchase or donate a usable toy, game, puzzle, book(etc) to this effort, we could accept that from you at the garden or at church on Sunday. As most of you know our own church and also Calvin also operates a food pantry. Both are needing donations at all times of the year. Please bring any donations to our own church office or any donation for Calvin to the garden and we will get it down there. We are always available to pick up these items from your homes. We mean that. We know it can be too tricky to transport things for a variety of reasons. Let  Jeff or Karen Barnes know in person or at i2thee@hotmail.com.

We are having many good times at the garden this summer as we find we have a mission field right on our church property and certainly right up the road. Come join the harvest and the chance to show the love of Christ to our neighbors and the body at Calvin Presbyterian. We pull the vegetables with the hope that someone will know God cares for their present situation but also that their neighbors(us!) care for them as well.

Blessings,

Jeff and Karen Barnes

Mission Partnership: Calvin Presbyterian

We are still collecting any used clothing or shoes to bring down to Calvin Presbyterian. We can pick that up from you directly or you can bring it to church or the garden night. This need like food never stops, especially for children.

We have also found out that Calvin Presbyterian will be starting a daycare/preschool in the fall. We will be collecting items that would be useful for that as well. This could be new or gently used toys, games, puzzles, books,etc. Anything we could supply them with is something they don't have to buy. We can also pick up items like this from your home or you can bring them to church or the garden night. I am in the process of finding out more specifics about this new program. This might be a fun way we could bless Calvin church itself which is doing much for many with little.

Our own church as well as Calvin Presbyterian operates a food pantry for area people who are hungry. Please bring any food donations and now they will get to a place where they can be used.

THANK YOU!!

Summer Garden Fellowship -- Now with Sprinklers and Picnic Table

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.

Wednesday Garden Summer Fellowship

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.

Garden Fellowship on Wednesdays

Hello all now and future APC gardeners!

This is a note to say we hope you will join us this Wednesday at the garden right behind the church for some great food(really!) and fellowship. We have been meeting for several weeks now and we are having a good time. The garden is coming along nicely. We've had Keenagers, younger people, single people, families, pastors and even new visitors to our church attend. You will fit in well. If you have chairs or blankets please feel free to bring those as we add to the supply at the Parrish House. We have hot dogs and (veggie burgers upon request) for the grill and drinks supplied. People have been bringing a side, chips or dessert to share. You don't have to bring anything but we have enjoyed eating everyone's delicious food. 

Do you ever drive through west Philly and feel some despair? Do you cross City Line Avenue and wonder what is to be done about this place so close to where we live? Come to the garden and see. This is fresh produce, grown and given in Christ's name to our neighbors who otherwise would not have access to it. Your kids will understand this idea of feeding hungry people and you not feel so helpless. The company in good and the tasks are not hard- I promise. Mary Van Leeuwen will show you just how to do it all:)

We will be out there every Wednesday unless it is pouring rain. Come for a little while or come for the whole time. We will be excited to see you.

Please pass this email on to anybody else in the church who you think might enjoy this event. This is going out to the families list but all are welcome.

Blessings,

Karen and Jeff

PS.  If you cannot garden, whether because of the health or interest,you have to be somewhere without dirt on you afterwards,etc please join us anyway. we would love to have your company, regardless.

Garden Fellowship, Wed at 5:30p

Hello potential gardeners,

We will be at the Ardmore Presbyterian Church garden this coming Wednesday, May 16, at 5:30p to weed and pick what has already come up. We had lots of people come help last week, and we will be glad to see even more this coming Wednesday. We'll be there with the hot dogs and drinks. Feel free to bring anything else your family would like to eat or something to share. It would be helpful for people to bring chairs or a blanket to sit on as we do not yet have enough of those for everybody. Let us know if you need a vegetarian option and we will have it for you. We found that many hands make light work and left lots of time for fellowship.

Blessings,
Karen

P.S.  If you cannot or choose not to garden because of physical limitations (or something else) please feel free to join us still. Come watch some adults and kids (very cute) pull weeds and have a hot dog. Come smell the herbs. I think you will enjoy watching the garden come to life this summer. What it produces will be a blessing to many. It is a mission of our whole church and all are welcome to come and spend time together.

For Once in My Life

Save February 26 for a light lunch followed by a 12:30p screening of "For Once in My Life", a heartwarming documentary here at Ardmore Presbyterian Church.

All ages youngest to oldest will enjoy seeing the triumphs of this Goodwill Industries band who have a wide range of physical and mental disabilities as well as musical abilities that are pure genius.

The film explores the triumph of the spirit, a celebration of overcoming the odds, and the healing power of music.

A footnote (pun intended) is that Amy Foote who grew up at APC is the film editor and creative director of "For Once in My Life".  Amy will be here to present the film and to Skype the music director of the Goodwill band shown in the film.

Check out the documentary's website, www.4onceinmylife.com, for more information about the film.

If You Have Already Made Reservations: Rembrandt Info

This information is for those who have already made reservations for the Philadelphia Presbytery event:

“Rembrandt and the Face of Christ”
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Presbyterian Night
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
5 – 8 pm

1. Parking: Vans/Buses may park in the parking lot directly North of the Museum Building on the West Entrance Side. 

Auto Parking for those with Accessibility Needs is available in the lot directly South of the West Entrance of the Museum Building.

General Parking located in the Parking Ramp directly Northwest of the West Entrance. Bring the White Parking Ticket to the Registration Table and you will receive a Blue Parking Chaser which will permit you to have complimentary parking. When you return to the Parking Ramp; Go to the Validation Machines located on the Ground Floor; First insert the White Parking Ticket; then the Blue
Parking Chaser; the White Ticket will be validated and returned to you. Locate your car and as you exit insert the White Validated Ticket into the machine and the gate will open automatically.

2. Museum Accessibility: The ramp is located outside the West Entrance of the Museum on the North side. Elevators are available on the Ground Level. Additional wheelchairs are available.

3. Registration: Before you go to the Great Hall, Balcony Cafέ, and the Exhibit, please stop at the Registration Table on the Ground Level just inside the West Entrance of the Museum to check in and receive a Name Tag.

4. Beverages and Snacks: The Balcony Cafέ on the Main Level will be open during our time at the Museum. Cold beverages such as soda, water, wine, beer as well as light snacks will be available to purchase. As it is after Museum hours, there will be no meal service.

5. Musical Entertainment: During your visit to the Museum, various musicians from our Presbytery will be performing in the Great Hall. Please feel free to linger and enjoy.

6. Exhibit: Trained Docents will be available in each gallery to talk about the artists and their pieces. You are free to listen to each presentation or move at your own pace. There is a brief DVD that describes the various techniques used by Rembrandt to produce his etchings. It is recommended that you begin viewing the Exhibit no later than 7:00 p.m. as it closes at 8:00 p.m. The audio players will not be available during our visit.

7. Exhibition Store: The Store will be open during the hours we are present. It is possible
to enter the Store anytime during your visit.

Ardmore Presbyterian Church in Center City

The Ardmore Presbyterian Church is not a building, but a community belonging to God. Wherever you are, there's the church. As a result, for many during the week, APC is at work in Center City. Come join us as we take APC on the road.

James Hodsden, Nan Clarke, and Jen Herbst will be hosting a luncheon for APC's Center City commuters (and any other interested folks) at Arch Street Presbyterian Church at Noon on September 23rd.

We will be joined by the Arch Street pastors -- Rev. Carmen Goetschius, Rev. Bill Golderer (also of Broad Street Ministries), and Rev. Becky White Newgren. Lunch (sandwiches, salad, beverage, dessert) will be provided by Arch Street ($5 donation requested).

We are only asking for one hour (12pm - 1pm). A rough schedule is as follows:

• Meet in the Arch Street Presbyterian Church sanctuary at 12pm.
• Greetings by Rev. Bill Golderer (10 minutes)
• An elder of the Arch Street Church shares the history of the congregation (10 minutes)
• We retire to the Social Hall for lunch.
• Conversation led by James and Nan about APC's presence downtown.
• Closing Prayer at 12:55pm.

We see this partnership with Arch Street Presbyterian Church as the perfect opportunity to have a conversation about vocation. How does our faith impact what we do from day to day? Does Jesus have anything to do with our careers?

In case you're not familiar with the church downtown, Arch Street is one of Philadelphia's most majestic worship spaces ‐‐ a 1850's‐era massive, domed sanctuary next to the new Comcast Building at 18th and Arch. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, Arch Street was one of the most prestigious pulpits in the country ‐‐ and it played a big role in the fundamentalist‐modernist controversy that rocked American Protestantism in the 1920s. You might recall that Prince Charles visited the place on the royal visit to Philadelphia several years ago, in homage to the church's Welsh tradition.

You have probably passed Arch Street Presbyterian Church countless times while driving or walking around Center City and may have assumed it was a shuttered church. Actually, it never closed, but in recent decades, the congregation had dwindled to a "faithful remnant" of a few dozen. In 2009, the Philadelphia Presbytery made a major commitment to resurrect this church, with new staff, a new administrative body that replaced the former session (of which Jen is a member), and a midweek ministry to the thousands of souls in the surrounding office buildings. In the past year alone, Arch Street has welcomed over thirty new members and Sunday worship attendance has grown in leaps and bounds. The church has a midweek lunch/Bible study (12:10 to 12:40 pm on Wednesdays), midweek services during Advent and Lent, and has sponsored the "Why Series" ‐‐ a breakfast series providing conversations with inspiring artists, activists, and business leaders. Check out the church's website.

Join us for lunch at noon on September 23rd. Please feel free to forward this to any members or other friends who may be interested. Let me know by e-mail by Friday (9/17) if you are coming.

(Philly Skyline by Massimo Catarinella)

SAVE THE DATES!!

The new school year has begun, and we find our calendars filling quickly. The Fellowship and Outreach Committee wants all of our young adults and families to know about the great things being planned this year at APC. Save the dates! Place them in your calendar!

Also, check out the APC website at http://ardmorepres.org/calendar.html . You can look ahead and see what the church is planning.

10/16 - Hayride w/ Pumpkin decorating (Families)
11/6 - Adult Social (Adults)
11/21 - Community Outreach (Families)
12/5 - Advent Night (Families)
1/9/2011 - Churchwide Birthday Party & Games (Families)
Feb 2011 (TBD) - Couples Workshop (Adults)
3/5 - Dinner for 10 w/ dessert at church (Adults)
3/18 - Family Movie Night (Families)
4/16 - Easter Egg Hunt (Families)
May (TBD) - Minor League baseball game outing - i.e. Reading Phillies, Camden Riversharks or Wilmington Blue Rocks (Families)
May (TBD) - Prepare dinner at Ronald McDonald House (Adults)
June (TBD) - Pool Party (Families)
July (TBD) - Canoeing on Brandywine River (Families)

Souper Bowl of Caring

Sunday, February 7th the Youth Group will join forces with our Fellowship & Outreach committee to partake in the 2010 “Souper Bowl of Caring”.

The Souper Bowl of Caring is a nationwide fundraising effort taken on by churches and schools alike. It was started in 1990. On Super Bowl Sunday, the youth collect funds in soup pots to raise money for an organization of their choice that has to do with hunger. Throughout the US, youth have raised millions of dollars each year. In 2009, 10 million dollars was raised in funds and donated food.

This year the youth have chosen Covenant House, an organization that helps homeless youth, to receive the funds collected.

In addition to what the Youth collect during the service, the Fellowship & Outreach committee will be sponsoring a soup lunch immediately following worship. A $3 per person donation is requested and will go directly to Covenant House. Please plan to join us!

Movie Night at APC: Nov 13

Save Friday night, November 13 to gather with others in the church family for a pizza supper (Fellowship Hall) and to view the movies “Horton Hears a Who” (9 yrs. and under) or “Holes” (10 yrs. and up). “Holes” is based on the teen adventure novel by Louis Sachar and stars Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Patricia Arquette. The movie teaches valuable lessons about respect, team work and honesty.

KEENAGERS: "A Man Named Pearl"

KEENAGERS/DOUBLES & SINGLES LUNCHEON
& “A MAN NAMED PEARL”
Friday, October 23 at 12:15 pm (Fellowship Hall)

Enjoy lunch prepared by Jim Moore and a delightful 2008, highly acclaimed short film, “A Man Called Pearl” – a compelling documentary focusing on one genial man who reshaped his yard and unexpectedly reshaped the lives of hundreds of people. Pearl Fryar and his wife sought to buy a house in an all-white neighborhood in South Carolina where he eventually transformed his ordinary yard into a horticultural wonderland and this sharecropper’s son then became an internationally acclaimed artist and a celebrated cultural and spiritual icon of his impoverished town. This film is delightful, inspiring and totally irresistible. A free-will donation will be requested for the lunch.

RSVP to the church office. Friends welcome!

All Church Hayride, RSVP by Oct 5

ALL-CHURCH HAYRIDE AND HOT DOG AND S’MORES BONFIRE

• Saturday, October 17^th from 5 to 7 p.m.
• At Sugartown Farms in Malvern
• Cost: $5 per person

So that wagons can be reserved, we’ve been asked to give Sugartown a head count by Monday, October 5^th.

Please RSVP via e-mail or phone the Church Office at 610-642-6650

Homecoming Picnic

September 13, 2009 - 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at South Ardmore Park

Greet old friends and meet new friends – Delicious food – Fun for all ages
Volleyball, Softball, Frisbee, Tennis and more - Playground for young children adjacent to picnic area
Please bring picnic dishes to share: hearty appetizers, salads, casseroles, desserts
RSVP: Covenant of Friendship pads or phone the Church Office
In case of rain picnic will be held in Fellowship Hall