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

What Happened at Session on May 24, 2011

The Session of the Ardmore Presbyterian Church met on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mill Creek Room.  The following is a summary of that meeting.

DEVOTIONAL

Rev. Hodsden led a Bible study on Luke 11:1-13.  He also assigned each elder present with the name of another elder for whom prayers should be offered.

STATISTICAL REPORTS

The Statistical Report for the month ending April 30, 2011 were presented as follows:

THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ARDMORE, PA

Statistical Report ending April 30, 2011

• 2 BAPTISMS on 4/3/2001                       
• 15 NEW MEMBERS
• Communicant Membership as of April 30, 2011. . . . . 433.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Rev. Hodsden reported the list of members on the Inactive Roll would be reviewed again by himself, Rev. Clarke, and Joanne Poorman to determine whether any further communication is warranted before asking the Session to remove them from the rolls, and that in the future letters notifying members of their transfer to the Inactive Roll would include notice that after two years their names would be removed from the rolls if they remain inactive.

PRESBYTERY REVIEW OF SESSION RECORDS

The Clerk reported that Session records, including Session minutes and the church register, were reviewed by the Session Records Committee of the Presbytery of Philadelphia at the Willow Grove Church on April 30, 2011 and were approved without exception.

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

Christian Terwiesch, moderator of the Strategic Planning Task Force, reported that the group met on May 22.  There will be a presentation to the Session on Saturday, June 4.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Fellowship & Outreach – Walter Haenn submitted the minutes of the committee’s meeting of May 12, which were received.  There was a discussion on improving communications between committees affected by equipment breakdowns and other events.

Buildings and Grounds – Mary Van Leeuwen submitted the minutes of the committee’s meeting of May 9, which were received.  She also submitted a report on options for capital improvements at the Parish House.  More information will be gathered before there is a full discussion by the Session of various options.

Christian Education – Cathie Calkins submitted the minutes of the committee’s meeting of May 3, which were received.   Vacation Bible School for 2011 will be based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.

Upon motion duly made and passed, the Session approved the following tuition rates for the Preschool for the 2011-2012 school year:

2 Days (Monday and Friday):  $501.00 (3 payments); $1,503 (in full)

3 Days (Tu, Wed, Thurs):  $776.00 (3 payments); $2,238.00 (in full)

5 Days (Mon - Fri):  $1,070.00 (3 payments); $3,210.00 (in full)

Mothers’ Day Out (Mon or Fri)          $237.00 per 10-week session

Mothers’ Day Out (Mon and Fri)       $475.00 per 10-week session

$100.00 tuition discount for Ardmore Presbyterian Church members

Registration fee (non-refundable):  $100.00 for all programs except Mothers’ Day Out; $75.00 for Mothers’ Day Out

Installment payments due June 1, December 1, and March 1

Community Garden - Mary Van Leeuwen submitted a written report, which was received.  She also reported that arrangements are being made to distribution of produce from the garden through the food distribution program of Calvin Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia.

Mission Awareness – Lynn Hepp submitted the minutes of the committee’s meeting of May 9, which were received.  

DEACONS’ REPRESENTATIVE REPORT

Elizabeth Rickenbach reported that Deacons’ Sunday will be on June 5.

PASTOR’S REPORT

Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the Session approved the adoption of policies and procedures for weddings at he church, subject to the development of a section on music by the Music Director in consultation with the Worship Committee.

Materials for the next Session meeting of June 28 are due by June 16.

PRESBYTERY REPORT

Cathie Calkins reported on an impressive worship service and on approval of technical amendments to the Book of Order.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Session, a motion was made, seconded, and passed that the Session adjourn.   The meeting was closed with prayer at 9:08 p.m.

Pastor's Pen: Lent with a Side of Sausage

I have a love-hate relationship with Lent.

For the unaware, the season of Lent begins forty days before Easter. Like the holy days of Christmas and Easter, Lent was a later invention of the Church. The season recalls Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days after his baptism. There he fasted and was tempted by the devil. The Lenten season even suggests the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the desert. There God prepared and shaped them for life in his promised land. Lent is a time for repentance, prayer and fasting as we anticipate the glory of Jesus' resurrection.

As Christians, we rely only on the grace found in Jesus Christ. Despite the fact that we are undeserving, God continues to love us. Only through God's actions in Jesus, am I reconciled to God. That belief makes me cast a suspicious eye on Lent. Are we trying through our own piety to manipulate God to love us more? If so, it is a foolhardy attempt.

In 1522, a group of Christians in Zurich heady with the profound knowledge of God's grace ate sausages during Lent. The simple defiant act of eating meat during the prescribed fast threw the city into an uproar. The Reformation came to Zurich, and the disciplines of Lent demanded by the Church were rejected.

Christians like grace. We busy ourselves asking the question, "How do I know that I've done enough to get into heaven?" The answer is that God's love and mercy is sufficient for you and me. That certainly is a comfort and a relief. However, many Christians who embrace God's grace have forgotten about its high cost. Grace doesn't cost us anything, but God paid a heavy price. Jesus, our Emmanuel, suffered and died on a cross bearing the sins of the world. This costly grace calls us to faithfulness. We live lives of prayer, worship, and sacrifice. We delve into the Scriptures to understand better our Lord. We forgive, love and show mercy because of the grace that we have received.

No season is better than another. Still if we decide to spend Lent reflecting on the incredible cost of God's grace and our response, it will be time well-spent. If the disciplines of Lent are less about us and more about God, the time can be redeemed. As we enjoy our sausages, let us also be shaped for the life God intends.