Boots Needed for Children

Help is needed to provide rubber boots for

3500 children at the Za'atari

"Winter Storm Batters Middle East"

 

The fiercest winter storm to hit the Mideast in years brought a rare foot of snow to Jordan on Wednesday, caused fatal accidents in Lebanon and the West Bank, and disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt. At least eight people have died across the region.

 

The unusual weather over the past few days hit vulnerable Syrian refugees living in tent camps very hard, particularly some 50,000 sheltering in the Zaatari camp in Jordan's northern desert. Torrential rains over four days have flooded some 200 tents and forced women and infants to evacuate in temperatures that dipped below freezing at night, whipping wind and lashing rain.

 

"It's been freezing cold and constant rain for the past four days," lamented Ahmad Tobara, 44, who evacuated his tent when its shafts submerged in flood water in Zaatari. A camp spokesman said that by Wednesday, some 1,500 refugees had been displaced within the camp and were now living in mobile homes normally used for schools. Weather officials said wind speeds exceeded 45 mph and the rain left two feet of water on the streets."

And APC has been making a difference, even before we knew the need!  As of Tuesday members and friends of APC have contributed $1,229.50 to buy rubber boots for children in the Zaatari camp.  These children are Syrian refugees who left their own country with such short notice that they did not have time to bring much more than what they were wearing.  We will be sending a check to help buy boots within the week but if you want to contribute toward this, please do so with a check marked children's boots and we'll send a second check within another 2 weeks.  Many thanks to all who have helped with this. All contributions are due by January 31st.

 

Christian Education Small Groups at APC

Sunday Morning Adult Small Group January 13^th and 20^th,

9:00 -10:00 a.m. in the Mill Creek Room. We will spend these two weeks in anticipation of this year’s SER. The theme of the SER is “Christianity in Crisis” and the speaker, Dr. Marty Soards, will draw from Paul’s letters to the believers in Corinth. The church at Corinth was marked by internal divisions, immorality, misunderstanding of the nature of Christian spirituality, and selfishness in their worship and participation in the Lord’s Supper. They considered themselves “wise” and “spiritual,” but Paul shows them the nature of true wisdom and gospel spirituality so that they will grow to maturity in Christ. We’ll take time to look at the large themes in Paul’s letters with a view to preparing ourselves to engage with the teaching at the SER.

Sunday Night Live! – resumes January 6^th at 7 pm. We will continue our study in Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Join us as we discover a new way to relate to God, to each other, and to the world around us.  We will wrestle together with God’s word and how it relates to our current context.  Good conversation, laughter, and your questions are always encouraged.  Meets in the Parish House.

Wednesday Women’s Small Group – resumes January 2^nd at noon.  Bring your lunch and join us as we enjoy fellowship and study a Biblical book. Meets in the Library.

Wednesday Men’s Small Group – resumes January 9^th at noon.  We begin with lunch and fellowship and then continue our study of Moses. Films like “The Ten Commandments” and, more recently, “The Prince of Egypt,”  present Moses as a star of the biblical story. In contrast,  we will be studying Moses as a supporting actor in God’s great story of redemption. We will look at Moses through the writings of the Old and New Testaments  and  with an eye to increasing our understanding of God as the star of the story and how God uses broken people to accomplish his purposes.  Meets in the Mill Creek Room.

 

Confirmation 2013

 

CONFIRMATION IS COMING:

On Friday, February 1 at 6:00 p.m., there will be dinner and an initial meeting for all confrmands at the Pastor Hodsden’s home, 1638 Surrey Lane in Havertown.

On Sundays, starting February 3, the confirmation class will be meeting in the church’s library at 9:00 a.m. At this first meeting, all parents are invited to review the requirements for this year.

Confirmation is for anyone in eighth grade or older who is interested in the faith or membership in the Ardmore Presbyterian Church. The purpose of confirmation class is to live the faith in a safe environment.  It is clear that we will be unable to learn every fact or to address every concern in the short time we are together.  Instead, we hope that each youth will continue praying, reading scripture, worshipping, serving, and asking questions long after the classes are over. We ask youth to bring their best, and questions are always welcomed.

 

Confirmation is scheduled this year for Sunday, May 26.  Contact Pastor James at pastor@ardmorepres.org for more information.

 

Pastor's Pen: Yes, Virginia. There is a St. Nicholas

Last December, Thomas and I caught the end of a Christmas animation special on television. When I think of animation and Christmas, I usually think of islands of misfit toys and boys with blankets quoting the gospel of Luke. However, this cartoon was different. Santa Claus rode a rocket sleigh propelled at dizzying speed by eight robot reindeer. Although there was no discernible plot, there were plenty of explosions and battle scenes. It’s as if the Power Rangers were given the opportunity to rewrite "A Visit from St. Nick." What a long strange trip it has been.

Long before being a pop culture icon, before being a huckster for rampant commercialism, before being "a jolly old elf," Santa Claus was simply Nicholas. The boy grew up in the third century in Patara, a small village in what is now modern Turkey. Born and baptized into the Church, his parents raised him to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. While still young, his parents died during an epidemic, and left him a small fortune. Moved by his faith, Nicholas used his entire inheritance in a ministry of compassion. In the name of Jesus Christ, he helped the needy, the sick, and the suffering. While still young, he became a leader in the church and was made Bishop of Myra. He was a leader of steady convictions which drew him into conflict with Roman authorities. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned for his faith. In better times, Nicholas attended the Council at Nicaea in 325. There he and the other bishops hammered out a statement of faith accepted universally by the Church that Jesus Christ is fully human, fully divine.

Over the years, Nicholas’ story has become encrusted with fantasy, hype and cultural baggage. Much of it is harmless fun, like stories of giants and beanstalks. In the process, however, we lost a great man of compassion, faith and conviction. Nicholas belongs to the Church, he belongs to us, and his example is a witness to Jesus Christ. Tell Nicholas’ story. Share it with your children and grandchildren. Receive this Christmas season a visit from old St. Nick.

Grace & Peace,

James

APC Food Pantry

Don’t forget to put the APC Food Pantry on your shopping list. It needs tuna, cereal, canned fruit or write a check indicating it is for the food pantry and we will do the shopping for you. Thank you.

 

YOUTH MISSION TRIP FUNDRAISER!

YOUTH MISSION TRIP FUNDRAISER!

Several  years ago some folks at APC made Christmas Cards to sell. On the front is a beautiful picture of our sanctuary at Christmas time. Inside the card says, “May the Spirit of Christmas with its Peace and Joy abide with you through the year.”.Since there are still many cards, we have decided to offer them again for sale. The cost is $3 for a packet of 20 cards and envelopes. Proceeds will go to support APC’s youth mission trip to Puerto Rico next summer. You can purchase the cards in the office during the week.

 

Boots for children in Jordanian Refugee Camp

Help is needed to provide rubber boots for 3500 children at the Za'atari Refugee Camp, in Northern Jordan.  The camp is a very large enclave recently set up in Jordan to receive refugees who have fled their native Syria during the continued violence there.  The children in the camp are between the ages of 6 and 15 and do not have appropriate footwear for the cold, damp and rainy winter season which has just started.  The cost of a pair of boots is $13.50 each. Contributions may be made with a check payable to Ardmore Presbyterian Church and "children's boots" in the memo line of the check. The APC Mission Committee is also sending money to support this project.