MINISTER S MESSAGE (Continued)

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1 JULY 2013 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh (new) wineskins. (Luke 5:37-38 NRSV) In Luke s gospel Jesus began His ministry with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favor. (Luke 4:18-19 NRSV). Most biblical scholars and theologians believe this to be Jesus mission statement, his raison d tre. He preached this new mission of the Lord s to many people who desired the status quo. They didn t want change. They liked the way things were. The new made them feel uncomfortable. Jesus bothered them so much that the leaders tried to hurl him off the cliff to get rid of Him. But the text says Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on His way. In Jesus God was doing a new thing. God is always doing a new thing. In Luke 5 Jesus tells a parable about new wine and old wineskins a contrast between old and new. The new wine represents the new mission, the new way of doing God s work of ministry. The old way became outdated, obsolete, irrelevant. New wine can only be poured into new wineskins. New wine (mission) requires new wineskins. The old can t hold new wine. New wine continues to ferment. It changes, agitates, stretches, grows. New wine will stretch the old wineskins and the text says both will be lost. Yes, new wine requires new wineskins. The challenge to the Church is to learn from this parable. We must distinguish the wine from the wineskins. We must be ready to find new wineskins for new wine. Some in the Church do not want to let go of the old. They want to preserve old wineskins. This mindset can be summed up with the familiar phrase, this is how we ve always done it. That attitude leads to the decline of many churches. The old wineskin traditional way of worship, preaching, music, liturgy, organizational practices can t hold new wine for a new day. New wine has arrived at Peoples Church. It s here. It bears the brand and date the acceptable year of the Lord. The old is past. We honor and cherish it. But God is doing a new thing in the life of Peoples Church. My installation theme in 2009 was God s Way Forward. It s a vision of God doing a new thing in God s church. The old must allow the new thing to do its thing. I understand that change is hard. Transition is difficult. The challenges are not easy. I believe that the members of Peoples Church want what s best for Peoples Church in 2013 and beyond. (Continued on the next page)

2 MINISTER S MESSAGE (Continued) Over the past four years as your senior minister, I have focused on strengthening worship, fixing our finances, and investing in our children, youth, and families. Worship is central to our household of faith. We want liturgy, preaching, praying, and music to be the best. We want transparency and accountability with our finances. And we want a relevant and meaningful ministry for our children and youth. I am committed to continuing in this spirit. Going forward is about doing God s will and work in new and meaningful ways. Now is the time to put aside our differences and allow God to put new wine into new wineskins! We re moving in the right direction. Let s press on together. Blessings to all! Note: The Eernal Audit Selection Committee will present the findings and recommendations for the recently completed external audit on Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. All members are welcome.

3 2013 MONTHLY MEMORY VERSES (FROM THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION) January: But Jesus looked at them and said, For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) February: For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) March: For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) April: But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31) May: Jesus said to him, If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes. (Mark 9:23) June: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) July: Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) August: He replied, What is impossible for mortals is possible for God. (Luke 18:27) September: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17) October: Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. (James 5:16) November: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11) December: Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us. (Matthew 1:23) JULY LECTIONARY READINGS July 7th Seventh Sunday After Pentecost July 21st Ninth Sunday After Pentecost Theme: Surprising Prophets Theme: Word and Work Old Testament: II Kings 5:1-14 Old Testament: Amos 8:1-12 New Testament: Luke 10:1-11, New Testament: Luke 10:38-42 Epistle: Galatians 6:1-16 Epistle: Galatians 2:15-21 July 14th EighthSunday After Pentecost Theme: Caring Neighbors Old Testament: Amos 7:7-17 New Testament: Luke 10:25-37 Epistle: Colossians 1:1-14 July 28th Tenth Sunday After Pentecost Theme: In God s Presence Old Testament: Hosea 1:2-10 New Testament: Luke 11:1-13 Epistle: Colossians 2:6-19

4 On Sunday, June 23, 2013, we had a wonderful Student Recognition service, a large part of which is the culminating work of the Scholarship committee, awarding scholarships to support pursuit of post-secondary degrees and certification. Kudos and congratulations to the Board of Christian Education for the selection of wonderful speakers and an inspiring service. This year there were 13 church member scholars, 18 community scholars from designated high schools and 6 community scholars from Peoples Church community, for a total of 37 scholarship awards. We disbursed $44,500 in scholarships. All of these scholarships are made possible due to the generous support of the congregation and frineds of Peoples Congregational Church, along with the families, loved ones, and friends who created the six named scholarships: Arthur Fletcher Elmes Community Service Scholarship; Deacon Ashton V. Thomas Memorial Scholarship; Samuel Weston Memorial Scholarship, and the Angela V. Williams and Rachel Y Williams Scholarship. For a third year, Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas has made a special scholarship contribution. This year she has underwritten two community scholarships awarded in memory of her late brother, as the Judge Harry J. Elam Memorial Scholarships. On behalf of the committee, I would like to extend a special thanks to all of the members of the Peoples Church Community for their contributions to the fund, for their work to prepare for Student Recognition Sunday. We extend a special thank you to Reverends Murphy and Cannon for guidance, support, and participation in the award process; to George Loines, Bill Wills, Yvette Hunter, and Karen Lawrence for preparing and signing the award checks and other information circulated through the church; Byron Barlow and Jackie Greene for photos; to Carolyn Veiga and Dane Taylor for the web presence. As I conclude my service as chair, I would also like to thank the members of the Scholarship Committee who worked tirelessly to execute our responsibilities: June Jeffries, Janet McCormick, Janet Pegues, Jeanann Williams Watson, Isadora Wills, Chair Elect James Gittens, and the other committee members completing our service: Caleb Bess, Vence Bonham, Marissa Jennings, Patricia Turner, and Angela Rice. ~Cynthia Robbins Top Left: Peoples Church Members Scholars Top Right: Peoples Church Community Scholars Bottom Left: Guest Speakers Bottom Right: Scholarship Committee Chair Cynthia Robbins with two Community Scholars

5 JUNE HIGHLIGHTS Dr. Murphy presented the UCC Central Atlantic Conference New Visions Campaign for Congregational Vitality and New Church Development at the Annual Conference held in Newark, Deleware in early June. He serves as the campaign chairperson. The highlight of the annual conference was the announcement that the campaign exceeded its fundraising goal of $300,000. For more information on the New Visions Campaign, visitwww.cacucc.org The Peoples Church Men s Fellowship hosted the Men s Day Sunday with guest Speakers Rev. Dr. Otis Clayton of Denver, Colorado (8:30 a.m. service) and the Honorable Ronald C. Machen Jr., US Attorney for the District of Columbia (11:00 a.m. service). Pictured l-r: Deacon James Jones, Men s Fellowship Chair; Rev. Leslie Dowdell Cannon, Rev. Dr. Michael C. Murphy, Rev. Dr. Otis Clayton, and the Honorable Ronald C. Machen, Jr.

6 General Information WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK NEWS: our website address is if you have any questions. The website is constantly updated, so click the refresh button when you visit. The Prodder, Website and Facebook Fan Page exist to further the social connect with Peoples United Church of Christ s membership and the community to promote outreach and notice of important church events. The social networking tools are designed for easy mass communication and media sharing. Through the website, members and users can access the Online Giving page to donate to the General Fund; members/ users can view the Events Calendar to participate in the life of the church; members can also advertise church events on the Facebook Fan Page. The website is the new front door of the church, and allows members/ users to interact, communicate, and connect to foster connectivity and community. The Website address is Prodder Guidelines: All announcements and flyers must be submitted by the third Tuesday of the month by 12:00 noon. Announcements and flyers can be ed to Ms. Karen Lawrence, Executive Assistant, at klawrence@peopleschurchucc.org, to the church account, info@peopleschurchucc.org, or faxed to (202) Do not mail information. Announcements should be no more than 90 words and should be informational about Peoples Church events or members and their families. Announcements may be edited. If you would like to have a flyer inserted in the Prodder, please contact Ms. Lawrence for more information. Join us for Bible Study every Thursday from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the Corbin Lounge! MINISTERS ADDRESSES: Rev. Dr. Michael C Murphy, Senior Minister: michaelcmurphy@ymail.com Rev. Leslie Dowdell Cannon, Senior Associate Minister: ldcannon@peopleschurchucc.org Facility Reservations: If you wish to reserve space for an event and/or activity, please contact Ms. Yvette Hunter, Operations Specialist, at the church office on (202) or yhunter@peopleschurchucc.org to complete a reservation contract. Facility reservations can also be made online through the church s website: Reservations are made on a first come, first served basis; however, religious events and funerals take precedence. Peoples Church is a multiuse venue so reservations are necessary to ensure competing needs are met efficiently and to specification. Member and non-member reservation fees are available. Has your contact information changed? Let us know! Call (202) or us ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF (202) (202) Fax info@peopleschurchucc.org (National Setting) Ms. Yvette Hunter, Operations Specialist, yhunter@peopleschurchucc.org Ms. Karen Lawrence, Executive Assistant, klawrence@peopleschurchucc.org Mr. Frank Blakeney, Maintenance Supervisor Mr. Gerald Ford, Maintenance SUMMER HOURS OF OPERATION CHURCH BUILDING HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, & Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday: 9:00 a.m-8:30 p.m. Saturday 900 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

7 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Church School Pre-K Adult Bible Class Men s Bible Study Youth Ministry GROW Ministry Prayer Meeting Prayer Meeting Bible Study Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday 2nd and 4th Sunday 4th Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 11:00 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 9:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 6:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Elmes Center Nursery Corbin Lounge Small Lounge Youth Lounge Room 203 A & B Small Lounge Corbin Lounge Corbin Lounge CHOIR REHEARSALS (SUMMER SCHEDULE) Chancel Choir Men s Chorus Thursday Saturday 7:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 10:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. CHURCH BOARDS MONTHLY MEETING SCHEDULES THERE ARE NO BOARD MEETINGS FOR THE MONTH OF JULY AND AUGUST. REGULAR MEETINGS WILL RESUME IN SEPTEMBER. PEOPLES NEIGHBORHOOD FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Hours of Operation: Sunday: 9:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. 1:15 p.m. Tuesday: By Appointment Call (202) Saturday: 10:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE ALTAR: To order a designer floral arrangement to remember your loved one or recognize a special day, contact Vernandi Richardson (301) or Diane Miller (202) for additional information. Celebrating Our July People

8 Spring Spiritual Renewal 2013 Dr. Wright s sermons included The Lord is on a Man Hunt (John 1:35-46) and Looking in the Wrong Place (Lamentations 4:17). The Evangelism and Outreach Committee will be selling CDs from the services throughout the summer.