Hurricane Sandy Relief 11/11/2012

HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF

Are you interested in helping relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy?  In the next few weeks, APC will be sharing how you can bring the love of Christ to those affected by this devastating storm.   

This week, we have a very practical way to help. Amy Foote, a child of the church, lives in Brooklyn and is collecting items for St. Jacobi Lutheran Church,  The church is acting as a main hub for donations, cooking meals and transporting volunteers in car pools to the areas in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island that were the most effected.   

Bring your items on Sunday, November 11, during worship, and Amy will get them to the church in Brooklyn.  Please pass the word to folks in and outside of the church. 

These are the types of supplies they need:

• Water! Water! Water!
• Cleaning supplies
• Non-Perishables (Canned goods, soups, vegetables)
• Dry goods and ready to eat food (Cereal, power bars, granola, crackers, etc) 
• Matches
• Cleaning supplies
• Ready to eat food
• Foil
• Cold cuts
• Sliced cheese
• Dish soap
• Vinyl and latex gloves
• Ziploc
• Face masks 
• Paper towels
• Shovels and rakes
• Power strips
• Baby food (vegetarian, with meat/chicken, fruit, cereal stages 1, 2, 3)
• Water
• Evaporated, powdered and regular milk (1/2 gal. or smaller)
• Soy milk
• Pediasure
• Ensure
• Glucern
• Ready made formula (with iron, regular/soy/sensitive)
• Canned goods (beans, vegetables, tomato sauce, soups, tuna fish, sardines, vienna sausages)
• Protein/granola/cereal/fruit bars
• Apple Sauce
• Diapers (newborn, sizes 1, 4 and 6)
• Toddler training pants (sizes 4+)
• Flashlights
• Batteries (especially C and D)
• Candles/Flashlights
• Peanut butter
• Sliced bread
• Fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, etc
• Disposable hand warmers
• Gloves
• Socks
• Dry Ice (we have none and already, some residents' insulin have gone bad.)
• Pet Food

Annual Mainline CROP Walk

To join us walking, click here. 

To donate, click here.

During the 33 years of its existence approximately 5,600 participants from local churches and schools have raised over $310,000.00.

This past year caring people in some 2,000 communities in the United States joine together in 1,532 CROP Hunger Walks and other events to benefit Curch World Service in raising $13.9 million to help end hunger by providing:

• SUSTAINABLE SELF-HELP AND DEVELOPMENT,
• DISASTER RELIEF,
• REFUGEE ASSISTANCE,
• LOCAL HUNGER FIGHTING PROGRAMS,
• FOOD BANKS, SOUP KITCHENS AND
• COMMUNITY GARDENS IN MORE THAN 80 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.

The biggest enemy of health in the developing countries of the world is poverty.

The proportion of the world's population living on less than two dollars a day: almost 50% (2.8 billion).

1.1  billion people are foced to survive to survive on less than a $1.00 a day - one of every six people in the world.

How do we achieve the better world we imagine?

With small steps at first, then larger ones in time. Our steps are powered by simple acts of generosity and the methodical application of intelligene, empathy, ingenuity and faith.

For the poor of the world the daily struggle to survive overwhelms all of life's other possiblities. Our satisfaction comes from witnessing the moment when people who once had no hope suddenly discover the boundless possiblities of their own existence. That's when they realize it's their world too.

We should not - in trying to thnk about how we can make a big differnece - ignore the small daily differences we can make - which over time - add up to BIG differences that we often cannot foresee.

On Sunday, October 21, 2012 you will have the opportunity to join us as a walker - or if you wish  - sponsor a walker. In so doing you will provide a positive way to respond to world hunger. Hunger is an ongoing problem. The world produces enough food each year to provide a healthy diet to everone on the plantet. But over 800 million people (almost three times  the population of the United States) are undernourished - meaning they do not do not get enough food to lead active, healthy lives.

We have the resources.

We have the knowledge.

Indivdually we cannot solve the problem but collectively we can reduce it.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Isn't it worth a try?

-Ralph Miller, Elder

To join us walking, click here. 

To donate, click here.

 

Pastor's Pen: The Forgotten Spiritual Discipline

The market for books on spirituality has grown considerably in the last twenty years.  Even bookstores which are not particularly religious carry growing sections devoted to titles on prayer or meditation.  Mysticism is big.  Growing interest in Kabbalah or Sufism or even the Eastern faiths suggest a spiritual hunger.  People want to tune into something beyond themselves. 

In the Christian Church, we too see a longing for the spiritual.  People are sampling from a variety of traditions.  Even Protestants are considering the iconography of the Eastern Orthodox.  Others are walking labyrinths supposedly born from Medieval Roman Catholicism.  It is helpful to be reminded that the world is much bigger than we experience.  However, our spiritual practices are too often treated as an escape from the ordinary.  We get caught up in the moment, but then we still have a job we don’t like or some bad habit which continues to bother us. 

The Christian faith is unique.  Instead of us reaching new spiritual heights, God comes to dwell with us in our everyday life.  Jesus Christ does not provide an escape from our lives, but he achieves victory over it.  We are transformed in such a way that our daily efforts are understood as part of God’s realm.  A spiritual practice which is truly Christian must remind us of God’s gift and then send us back into the world to serve. 

In Matthew 6, Jesus discusses spiritual practices.  Two are familiar, even if we don’t practice them, prayer and fasting.  However, he mentions a third--our gifts.  The giving of our money, our time, and our talents are spiritual disciplines.  Our checkbooks may unfortunately speak more about our spiritual lives than our prayer journals. 

Stewardship is not something that occurs once a year at a budget drive.  Instead, our giving to church, to neighbors, and to the least among us reminds us of God’s giving.  Moreover, God uses our giving to transform us and the world around us. 

Christ is Lord of everything…including our hard-earned resources.  I have always been amazed at the generosity of the members of the Ardmore Presbyterian Church.  May God use that generosity to draw us closer to him. 

Grace & Peace,

James

Main Line Hunger CROP Walk

The Annual Mainline CROP Walk.

During the 33 years of its existence approximately 5,600 participants from local churches and schools have raised over $310,000.00.

 

This past year caring people in some 2,000 communities in the United States joine together in 1,532 CROP Hunger Walks and other events to benefit Curch World Service in raising $13.9 million to help end hunger by providing:

• SUSTAINABLE SELF-HELP AND DEVELOPMENT,
• DISASTER RELIEF,
• REFUGEE ASSISTANCE,
• LOCAL HUNGER FIGHTING PROGRAMS,
• FOOD BANKS, SOUP KITCHENS AND
• COMMUNITY GARDENS IN MORE THAN 80 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.

The biggest enemy of health in the developing countries of the world is poverty.

The proportion of the world's population living on less than two dollars a day: almost 50% (2.8 billion).

1.1 billion people are foced to survive to survive on less than a $1.00 a day - one of every six people in the world.

How do we achieve the better world we imagine?

With small steps at first, then larger ones in time. Our steps are powered by simple acts of generosity and the methodical application of intelligene, empathy, ingenuity and faith.

For the poor of the world the daily struggle to survive overwhelms all of life's other possiblities. Our satisfaction comes from witnessing the moment when people who once had no hope suddenly discover the boundless possiblities of their own existence. That's when they realize it's their world too.

We should not - in trying to thnk about how we can make a big differnece - ignore the small daily differences we can make - which over time - add up to BIG differences that we often cannot foresee.

 On Sunday, October 21, 2012 you will have the opportunity to join us as a walker - or if you wish - sponsor a walker. In so doing you will provide a positive way to respond to world hunger. Hunger is an ongoing problem. The world produces enough food each year to provide a healthy diet to everone on the plantet. But over 800 million people (almost three times the population of the United States) are undernourished - meaning they do not do not get enough food to lead active, healthy lives.

We have the resources.

We have the knowledge.

Indivdually we cannot solve the problem byt collectively we can reduce it.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Isn't it worth a try?

 -Ralph Miller, Elder

Youth Music Opportunities

Dear Ardmore Presbyterian Families,

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 5, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., there is a special opportunity to preview two musical groups for youth, grades 6-12.

5:00 p.m. - Youth Choir

5:40 p.m. - Pizza!

6:10 p.m. - Youth Ringers

7:00 p.m. - We're finished!

**NEW - APC Youth Ringers**

 Directed by Maggie Montgomery, this group will meet in three five-week segments (Wed, 6:30-7:00 p.m.), and play a modest piece in worship at the end of each segment.  The segments begin Sep. 12, Oct. 17, and Feb. 20.

You do not have to sing in Youth Choir, nor do you have to read music, to try Youth Ringers.  Come out and try it!

APC Youth Choir

APC is one of the few churches on the Main Line to actually have a Youth Choir!  With a strong history, this choir sings several times per year.  Special projects include a biennial musical, and an annual choir exchange with Trinity Pres-Arlington, VA.  The choir rehearses Sundays after church.

So, if you've never tried our choirs for youth, why not come to the preview next Wednesday?  You can try one or both groups, and be sure to stop in for pizza (my favorite food group).

If you have questions, simply e-mail or call me.  Thanks for reading!

Gary Garletts

Director of Music

music@ardmorepres.org

610-642-6650 x23

Youth Choir, Pizza & Preview

Dear APC Youth Choir and Parents,

Summer days are waning, and a new program year is almost here!

Youth Choir Pizza and Preview happens in one week--Wed, Sep 5 at 5:00 p.m.  We'll take about 40 min. to sing through some great music for the year, including my newest arrangement of "I Saw You" by Ken Medema (composer of "The Tree Song").

Then we'll pause for a meal of pizza and veggies.  After the meal, we'll have about 50 minutes for an Introduction to Youth Ringers with Maggie Montgomery!  We hope you will try this new group.

During 2012-13 this new handbell choir will meet for three five-week segments, starting Wed, Sep 12, 6:30-7:00 p.m.  At the end of each segment, Youth Ringers will play a modest piece in worship.  You do not have to be a member of Youth Choir to try Youth Ringers, so please encourage your non-singing friends to try it!

Regular Youth Choir rehearsals begin after church Sun, Sep 16 at 11:45 a.m.

This is the year for the biennial musical.  It's "The Tale of Three Trees" on Sun, February 10 at Noon (dress rehearsal the previous morning).

Our exchange dates with Trinity-Arlington are:

• Sunday, April 7 at APC
• Sunday, April 14 at Trinity PC-Arlington

I'm excited about a great new year ahead!  Please e-mail back or call if you have any questions.

Gary Garletts

Pastor's Pen: Homecoming 2012

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.   But when I got to twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he’d learned in seven years.”  --Mark Twain

In this famous quote by Mark Twain, we learn one of the problems of coming home.  Home changes while we are gone, or more likely, we change.  There is great comfort coming home.  The familiar sights, sounds and even the smells can evoke feelings of security and refuge.  Nonetheless, like a college student coming home for the first time, we realize that we no longer satisfied with the way things were.  We can’t simply go back to the old curfews and old rules. 

In the journey of faith, there is something similar.  As much as we might long for an idyllic moment in our past, our relationship to God won’t exactly be the same as before.  We change.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  In the Scriptures, God doesn’t plant us naked back in the old Eden.  Instead, there is a new heaven and a new earth.  Coming home means taking part in a new reality.  We are transformed. 

After a summer of vacations and trips, Homecoming at Ardmore Presbyterian Church signals the start of our fall programs.  We ease back into our familiar pews and into the usual routines.  However, I wonder if we should be satisfied with what has happened in the past.  Perhaps, we should treat Homecoming as an invitation.  We can participate in a deeper faith, a stronger community, and a more vibrant witness. 

Some might mistake this invitation as an expanding encroachment on your time.  They believe that the church wants you to be busier like school activities and your favorite non-profit want you to be busier.  Instead, the church invites us to maturity.  If your relationship to God hasn’t shown signs of growth in the past few years, it is time for a reexamination.  Maybe, it is time for a change.

Homecoming is an exciting time in the life of the church.  I pray that coming home will be an opportunity for spiritual growth for you and your family. 

Grace & Peace,

James Hodsden