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.

Information about the 2012 Offering of Letters

As the memory of some of us is long enough to remember, Ardmore Presbyterian Church has a history of fighting hunger, including the work of the Hunger Task Force, going back to the 1970s, and a relationship with Bread for the World, during those years.  This year, the Christian anti-hunger advocacy organization Bread for the World again offers an Offering of Letters topic, about which church members are encouraged to write to Congress, and the topic is to continue to call for a “Circle of Protection” around the vulnerable people who would be most hurt by budget cuts that have been proposed; but it is also a first-year sort of Offering of Letters, as it has four mini-campaigns, in a potentially busy year of Congress:  protecting U.S. nutrition programs; continuing improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit; protecting food aid to places of extreme need in the world; letting poverty-focused development assistance be effective in developing nations.

With Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania on the Senate Agriculture Committee, we here have a member of Congress, who is in a position to make a difference in a couple of these areas, and we, constituents, have a responsibility to hold him accountable, but we have other members of Congress, too, and we should be encouraged to write to all of them.

Next week [on Sunday, February 5], there will be an Offering of Letters table, here at Ardmore Presbyterian Church, appropriately on Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday, and I am going to suggest that we consider writing letters about federal nutrition programs.  These include SNAP (Food Stamps) and WIC.  These are vital programs, when someone hits a rough patch in their life, such as a job loss.  Think of some of the families that are housed temporarily in the churches of the Main Line IHN, or some of the people who may be served by our church food cupboard.

Our church is already helping, but the work of charitable efforts must be accompanied by federal efforts, as well.  A small cut to SNAP (Food Stamp) benefits would rival the amount of emergency food handled by Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network.

You can write a letter to a Senator or Representative next week [Sunday, February 5], during the soup luncheon after church.  May the letters be an offering to God, not of money, but of our voices.  This is what can make our campaign unique and powerful.  Please join me and other Christians to expand the Circle of Protection around programs that are vital to hungry people at home or abroad.

Rev. Schaunel Steinnagel

Hunger Action Enabler, Philadelphia Presbytery

Cherub Choir Update

Greetings, Cherub Families!

2012 has started off marvelously for Cherub Choir and we've gained three new members. We are so happy to see 16 shining cherubs each week.

So far this year, Cherubs have learned about Epiphany, the Wise Men and their gifts and sang "We Three Kings." Then Miss Carol taught about Jesus as a young man and the Cherubs learned "The Twelve Disciples," reviewed the "Books of the New Testament" and learned the new song, "A Little Boy in Galilee."

Last week we began talking about love (keeping in tune with upcoming Valentine's Day) and Jesus' teaching of the First and Greatest Commandment in the Book of Mark, which the Cherubs recognized as the second book in their song.

Carrying forward with this theme, the Cherubs will sing in church for the introit on Sunday, Feb. 5. Miss Carol will be working at the Christian Education program at the church where she is employed that day, so Mrs. Garletts will lead the Cherubs. Please have your Cherub in the chapel by 10 a.m. to put on robes. After they sing, Cherubs come to the side door where Mrs. Garletts and Miss Anna will take their robes, then Cherubs return to their parents.

Since they're learning about love, Cherubs will sing the traditional "Jesus Loves Me" along with signing using American Sign Language. They will also sing (in keeping with the second Greatest Commandment) "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself."

There will be no Wednesday Plus on Feb. 22 due to it being Ash Wednesday. There is a church service that evening at 7:30 with child care provided.

We've said it before, but it bears repeating -- We are thankful that you think (as we do) that it is essential for your children to learn about God's love and wisdom for daily living enough to schedule the time to bring them to Wednesday Plus each week. We try our best in our teaching them about God in ways that will help them to grow up knowledgeable about God and His ways. God bless you and your family as 2012 continues to unfold.

In God's Grace - Miss Carol, Miss Emily, Mrs. Garletts and Miss Anna

Pastor's Pen: Requiem

The composer Robert Schumann saw genius in Johannes Brahms even at the early age of twenty.  According to Schumann, Brahms was already a great composer, "like Minerva sprung fully armored from the head of Zeus".  However, what was obvious to Schumann was not yet clear to others.  Both Robert and his wife Clara Schumann took an active interest in Brahms.  They made introductions for Brahms and encouraged his work.  When Robert Schumann was overtaken with mental illness in 1854 and finally died two years later, Brahms lost a mentor, a colleague and a friend.  

Perhaps Brahms was thinking of Robert when he wrote Clara Schumann in 1855, discussing an idea that he had for a composition.  It would touch on the themes of mortality and the fragility of life, yet it would also speak about hope in the midst of grief.  Historically, a requiem was a mass given for the dead.  Brahms took the musical form and transformed it into a piece that emphasized the comfort of the living.  Unlike traditional requiems, he rejected the Latin liturgy and set texts drawn directly from Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible.  Starting with “blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4) and ending with “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev 14:13), Brahms’ work is a witness to a reality that transcends death and human suffering. 

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveal to us that reality.  The empty tomb gives us the assurance that we will not be left in the grave.  Our tears will turn to joy.  Ironically, the most explicit references to the resurrection were not in Brahms’ original.  The sixth movement which includes Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” was added later.  Some say Brahms added this movement in response to his mother’s death.  I wonder if it was because he realized that his witness was incomplete without the context of resurrection. 

The season of Lent gives us the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and anticipate the triumph of the resurrection.  This is not merely an intellectual exercise, but also an emotional and spiritual one as well.  In the past few years, many in our congregation have dealt with the reality of loss.  There is real pain and sorrow.  My prayer is that we make space to acknowledge our grief but place it in the context of Christ’s resurrection. 

This year we will journey through Lent with Brahms’ Requiem.  We will be exploring the Scriptures that he used in our sermons and prayers.  We will be studying the themes in our Sunday Small Group at 9am.  We will hear our choir sing selections throughout Lent, and then join the choirs of the Overbrook Presbyterian Church and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for a full presentation of the Requiem on March 25^th at APC.  Join us as we find our comfort in the context of Christ’s resurrection. 

Grace & Peace,

James Hodsden

2012 PCUSA Mission Yearbook

 Waiting for you on the narthex tables - Copies of the 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study with the theme: Bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God.  This book is an excellent way to work your way through the Scripture and also learn about what is happening in Presbyteries across our country and with Presbyterian mission partners around the world.  If you find all the copies gone from the table, please leave a voice mail for Joanne Poorman, Mission Committee (Ext. 19) and additional copies can be ordered.

Are you interested in reading today's entry in the Mission Yearbook, click here.  

(Y)Ardfarmers Update: Matthew 25:35 Project

AN UPDATE AND REQUEST FROM THE MATT. 25:35 PROJECT:

The Matt 25:35 Project ("For I was hungry and you gave me food ...") is a joint project of Ardmore, Overbrook, and Calvin Presbyterian Churches, and is located at Calvin Presbyterian, at the corner of 60th and Master Street in West Philadelphia.  Many of you will remember that Calvin Church's 'Care Closet' was the recipient of the bounty of the APC vegetable garden last spring and summer (see the APC 2011 annual report for details) and will be again this year. 

The Matt 25:35 project has now expanded to include a nutritious, sit-down, family-style meal each Thursday noon at Calvin Pres., which now attracts over fifty people.   It is called the Heavenly Harvest Meal at Calvin's Kitchen. Prepared by a professional chef, with much of the food donated by local supermarkets, this meal is accompanied by  conversations on healthy eating, which will soon be supplemented by formal presentations from the Penn State University Extension Service.  In addition, APC's Sherina Poorman is teaching a children's after-school group the basic gardening skills that will prepare them to start a vegetable garden at Calvin Presbyterian Church this spring.

The Thursday lunch project is staffed by an enthusiastic crew of volunteers, but has been so successful that they could use a few more!  Needed are people willing to come between 10:30 am and about 1 pm to help prepare the food, serve it, and clean up.  There will be a brief orientation for any new volunteers, then a task will be assigned.  A big part of the project is the participation of volunteers in fellowship, so they are also encouraged to sit down and enjoy the meal with the guests.  No one needs advanced culinary or serving skills -- just a willingness to learn and help.  Calvin Pres. is easy to get to -- only about 15 minutes drive from APC, straight east on Lancaster Avenue, across City Line to 60th St., then less than a mile south to 60th and Master St.

If this project fits your schedule and seems to be part of God's calling for you at this time, send a email with your contact information  to Kristin Jacobson at Overbrook (kristinsjacobson@gmail.com) with a copy to Mary S. Van Leeuwen at APC (mvanleeu@eastern.edu).  If you do not have access to email, fell free to call Mary Van Leeuwen or speak to her at church.

David Hackett Resources

ARTICLES BY REV. DAVID HACKETT

1.      Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, Cape Town 2010 “Conversations” (Partnership Subject Matter Specialist)

a.       Networks benefit by bringing together practitioners from a variety of approaches

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10778

b.      "Partnership" in Major Global Mission Declarations

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10416

c.       The Four Key Questions of Collaboration

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10372

d.      Nurturing a Culture of Exchange

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10119

e.       Are You a Network Owner or a Network Steward?

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10071

f.       A Partnership of Two is Inherently Unstable

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10056

g.      Sure-fire ways to kill a partnership

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10387

h.      On-the-Grounders Missing Media-Generated Inquirers

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10203

i.        Crossing the Will/Skill Divide

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10083

j.        Partnerships: Scarcity-minded or Abundance-minded?

            http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resources/detail/10061

2.      Lausanne World Pulse Magazine

a.       Global Internet Users Present Vast Opportunities for Online Evangelism

            http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/perspectives/304/?pg=1

b.      Casting a Global Net

            http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/worldreports/60

c.       Partnering in Mission: A Better Way to Change the World

            http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/1333/10-2010

3.      Christian Leadership Alliance Magazine

a.       Working Together—It's a God Idea

            http://www.christianleadershipalliance.org/?page=working_together

4.      The Mission Exchange “eXcelerate” Magazine

a.       Equipping the Next Generation for Collaboration

            http://www.themissionexchange.org/downloads/eXcelerate2010.pdf

b.      Linking Arms for a Common Cause

            http://www.themissionexchange.org/downloads/eXcelerate09.pdf

5.      Christian Web Trends

a.       Internet Evangelism Idea #15: 3 Creative Ideas from the Non-Western World

http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/04/22/internet-evangelism-idea-15-3-creative-ideas-from-the-non-western-world/

6.      Cause Collaboration Course (MA/PhD-level Course curriculum)

a.       The Sub-Saharan Technology Evangelism Movement (a fictional teaching story presented as a model for the main course assignment) (available on request to dhackett@visionsynergy.net)

7.      Quoted or Interviewed In

a.       Adeney, Miriam. “Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity”, InterVarsity Press

b.      Petersen, Jonathan. “Mobile, Glocal & Evangelism”, Lausanne World Pulse Magazine

c.       von Buseck, Craig. “Netcasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men”, B&H Publishing

d.      Whittaker, Tony. “The Twenty-first Century Roman Road–Signposts along the Way”, Lausanne World Pulse

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

1.      Well Connected, by Phill Butler, World Vision (now available for free eBook download at www.powerofconnecting.net)

2.      Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity, by Miriam Adeney, InterVarsity Press

3.      The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, by Philip Jenkins, Oxford Press

4.      Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power, by David Aikman

5.      A History of Christianity in Asia: Vol 1 Beginnings to 1500, by Samuel H Moffett, Orbis

6.      A History of Christianity in Asia: Vol 2 1500 to 1900, by Samuel H Moffett, Orbis

7.      The Dictionary of Global Culture, edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah et al, Knopf

8.      How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill, Anchor Books

9.      The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community, by Jesse Rice, David C Cook Publishers

10.  Netcasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men, by Craig von Buseck, B&H Publishing

11.  SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, by Douglas Estes, Zondervan

12.  The Gospel: For Here or To Go?, by Keith Giles; download at http://www.internetevangelismday.com/docs/The_Gospel_For_Here_Or_To_Go.pdf

13.  Social by Social: A practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact; download for free at http://www.socialbysocial.com/content/download

14.  See many free downloadable eBooks at http://IEDay.net/eb