MPC NEWS MAGAZINE August 2017 What Happened in July

Transcription

1 MPC NEWS MAGAZINE August 2017 What Happened in July What s Happening in August? Church World Service Kits It s okay to start bringing in your material for the school kits now. These things, you know, are for Church World Service to distribute to refuge camps. The list of supplies is below and bags will be supplied. However if you would prefer to make one, the instructions are on the table in the narthex. Sometime in August we will be assembling the kits after worship, and on a date in September, that has not been set yet, the kits will be taken to the warehouse. If you prefer, you can make a donation and Rosemary and Dot will do the shopping. Envelopes are in the pews. See the article about Rev. Walker s discourse on CWS on page 3 Candidate Norse s First Sermon July 16 The Rev. David Norse addressed the congregation without notes, moving away from the pulpit and speaking on the subject The Same Spirit. He was articulate and personal, reaching out to everyone with this spirit about which he spoke. David grew up in the Northwest on a farm in Oregon, then attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland. He graduated from Princeton Theological College in In 2016, he married Eric Thomas while at the Broad Street Ministry, working with people who were homeless and very poor. Eric is a playwright, and a professional storyteller. Please see information about the congregational meeting on page 2. CWS School Kit Supplies needed: One pair of blunt scissors removed from the package (rounded tip, only) Three 70-count bound notebooks or notebooks totaling pages No loose-leaf or filler paper. One 30-centimeter 12 ruler One hand-held pencil sharpener removed from the package One large eraser No pencil cap erasers Six new, unsharpened pencils with erasers removed from the package One box of 24 crayons (only 24) One 12 x14 to 14 x17 finished size cotton or light weight, solid colored canvas bag with cloth handles (no logos). No reusable shopping bags or backpacks. All items must be packed inside of the cloth bag. Do not enclose money inside the kits or the shipping boxes Reception to meet the ministerial candidate On July 14th, members of the congregation had a pleasant time when they were invited to have a drink and some goodies with David Norse and his spouse Eric Thomas. Please be aware that this August newsletter is published in just 4 pages plus one.

2 Page 2 Published for the members and friends of Maryland Presbyterian Church, 1105 Providence Road, Towson, Maryland (410) Editors: Jo Sack, Rick Dezes Production and distribution Dale Salah, Alma Smith, Bill Sitterley Exciting News Editorial Comment U and U and U I may be Unable to Uncover words beginning with the letter U. There are Lots of Un-words, but without Un, very few. Un-words: Unborn, Unclean, Uneasy, Unfold, Untopped. Okay, I m Undaunted, I ll write U-words yes, Unstopped. The Ushers put the offering plates Upon God s throne. Rev. Ulman went Up the aisle to Use the microphone. Choir Upraised Una Espiga before the bread and wine. Uplifting prayer Uttered in Unison to the Unlimited Devine. Ursula complained of Uterine pain, or in her Urinary tract? Dr. Unger says he s Unsure, may be an Ulcer on her back. Umberto Ululates about his Umbilical red rash, it s raw. He has some Unguent, but it s Unlike the help of Usquebaugh. My Uncle s wife speaks Urdu, yet born in Upper Alaska. Also an Unadorned citizen of the United States of America. My Uncle, a UN delegate, has Unquestionable love for her. United in marriage in Uruguay, they were Ultra-often travelers. The Umpire s job is to be Unfailing on the baseball field. If call Untrue, They ll challenge and then they Urge to yield. In Uniform, they Usually hold the very Ultimate say, But Umpire s, yes, make judgement calls Unlike croquet. Uvella strums her Ukulele best Undressed in Underwear. Fans, Undoubtedly males, Unscrupulously stare. Does the Metric Unit measure as Uniformly as Apothecary? Both Units measure milk, quart equals liter, Um it s dairy. Unicorns are Unreal, but for all Us dreamers they are real. The god Ulysses Unleashed the Trojan horse on wheels. In Ukraine are there Uriels, big-horned sheep with curly hair? Is there life on planet Uranus, maybe an Ursus, a wooly bear? Urban women in Uganda carry Urns for water from the tap. Most people take their Umbrellas to Uganda with their map. Ride an Uber to NY City, board the subway Underground. Head for Uffington Rd., on your Unicycle, Baltimore bound. Ugh! I feel Ugly. Think I ll U-turn. Jo Sack Danell Gill, chair of the Pastoral Nominating Committee, opens the congregational meeting on July 16th. The meeting was set to vote on issuing the call and to agree on the terms. The big news is that the MPC members present then voted to accept David Norse as their next minister. He will begin his ministry in mid- September. Then after- Here is David with his wards: A cake! husband, Eric Thomas Laugh of the Month Classified Ads (British Newspaper) Free Yorkshire Terrier 8 years old, Hateful little bastard. Bites! Free Puppies 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog. Free Puppies Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd. Father, a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound. Cows, Calves, Never Bred Also 1 gay bull for sale. Joining Nudist Colony! Must sell washer and dryer 100. Wedding Dress for Sale Worn once by mistake. Call Stephanie. For Sale by Owner Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica 45 volumes. Excellent condition, 200 or best offer, No longer needed. Got married, wife knows it all.

3 Page 3 Camp McCabe was a Huge Success The McCabe Avenue Youth Empowerment Vacation Bible School/Summer Camp (aka Camp McCabe), a three-week long camp, which ran from June 26 to July 14, was held in the neighborhood s Alhambra Park and averaged 30 kids, ages 5-13, each day. Six churches partnered with the WoodbourneMcCabe Neighborhood Association and Strong City Baltimore; MPC and Ashland had week two. The entire camp was held outdoors; therefore, all of the food, supplies and camp gear had to be delivered and stored at camp including tents, tables, chairs, beverage coolers and a Porta Potty...quite a logistical feat! MPC s week began with an Orientation/Training dinner meeting held at MPC on Sunday, July 2, for all volunteers and staff 27 in total. After a delicious potluck dinner provided by MPC, volunteers were trained by Christian Hall (Strong City), Tishea Lester (Camp Director) and Shannon Meacham (pastor from Ashland), who presented our theme for the week: God s Super Heroes including Esther, Wonder Woman, the Good Samaritan, Superman, and Feeding the 5,000, Spiderman. Each day began at 10AM when we arrived to set-up. The children began arriving about 11:15 as did the food...delivered by Ashland or MPC. After all the children had eaten lunch, everyone convened for the Opening, which usually included a getting acquainted exercise, a song and a story. Then the children were grouped by age and rotated among five stations: Art, Science/ Craft, Story, Recreation and Garden. MPC volunteers Leslie Erickson, J.Wright Witcher and Bill Breakey manned the Science station demonstrating how beans germinate on one day and how pollution affects our environment/waterways on another day. For the bean demo, the children were first given some popcorn and discussed different kinds of seeds and what they needed to grow. Then they learned about seed anatomy, dissecting pre-soaked lima beans. Finally, they were each given cups filled with dirt and planted their own seeds to take home. For the pollution demo, the children interacted with a typical watershed model showing how businesses, farms, cities and neighborhoods often unknowingly pollute the environment. The point was really driven home when each child was given a spray bottle (to simulate rain) and watched as the pollutants washed into the streams and rivers. See photo Forum on Church World Service The Rev. Patrick Walker spoke at MPC on July 9th, presenting a very interesting history of Church World Service and all the wonderful things they do to improve the lives of people in need globally, especially refugees...even in the United States. CWS is a cooperative ministry of 39 Christian communities with the mission of working together as partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. Rev. Walker is a graduate of Ursinus College and Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2002, he accepted the position of Pennsylvania Regional Director for Church World Service. This position allowed him to use his passion for community building in ways that helped to address poverty locally and globally. MPC volunteers Jane Pennington and Linda Koch manned the Story station where the children reenacted the story of the Good Samaritan, while Carol Mason, Ava and I helped out at the Art, Garden and Recreation stations. At the Art station, the children made super hero capes one day and thank you cards to their super hero parents on another day. On Fun Friday, the children enjoyed games, water balloons, face-painting and special treats including chicken wings, ice cream and cupcakes. Unfortunately, camp was rained out the day Joy Brown and Bill Sitterley volunteered to come. Although it was a lot of work and HOT, Camp McCabe was a meaningful and rewarding experience. It was so gratifying to see the children arrive at the beginning of the week somewhat shy and reticent, and leave at the end of the week excited about the Continued on page 4

4 July Happenings MPC News Magazine Page 4 Left: Folks visit at Friday evening, July 14th, reception for David Norse. See p. 1 Maryland Presbyterian Church 1105 Providence Road Towson, Maryland mpc@mpc.org Above: Congregation listens to the ministerial candidate s sermon July 16th. Far left: Jo Sack escorts David Norse and Eric Thomas out while the congregation votes at the congregational meeting following the above worship service. Left: David enters receiving the news that he is MPC s next minister. See p. 2 Mission: To be a welcoming, progressive faith community, nurturing inquisitive Christians for life and service in the twenty-first century. Thursday Choir rehearsal 7:30 PM Again in September Sunday Worship 10:00 AM Beginning 6/11 Communion First Sunday of each month August 2017 Church Staff Rev. Bill Sitterley, Interim Minister Greg Metzler, Director of Music Anne E. Culbertson, Choir Section Leader John Wright, Choir Section, Leader Dale Salah, Administrative Director Kathy Ramirez, Custodian Sun 6 Worship 10:00 AM Sun 13 Worship 10:00 AM; Faith Journey 4:00 Mon 14 Mission Action Group 7:00 PM Sun 20 Worship 10:00 AM Camp Continued from page 3 Sun 27 Worship 10:00 AM good times they had and the new friends they made. I have no doubt they will remember this experience their entire lives. Finally, Team MPC is the best! Everyone gave 100% whether it was food shopping/ prepping/ serving to station planning to setting-up and tearing-down, all of Get your copy now! which allowed the The pictorial directory camp to run like a fine is on the table. tuned machine...no amateurs here! And a special thanks to Carol Mason s niece, Ava, who kept us smiling and cool all week long. Mary Jo Zimbro Visit our website at Facebook and Twitter

5 Page 5 More Pictures of the Marvelous Camp McCabe See article on page 3 Rev. Sitterley wrote the following letter to the Sunpapers when he learned that the sign MPC had by Providence Rd. had been torn down. Watch for it in the Sun. Offended by Tolerance For a couple of months now we have had a banner hung on the front of our church property which read, on one side, God Loves All: All Races, All Faiths, All Orientations. On the other side the banner read: We Stand With Our Muslim Neighbors. This past Monday the signs were taken down under the cover of darkness by someone who was apparently unsettled by this message. I feel we had a good run, though. Much to our surprise and delight we actually received a letter of appreciation that was signed by a dozen or more literal Muslim neighbors! This led to a wonderful forum and discussion that our church hosted on this topic. We have had other people come to our church who were drawn specifically by such open-armed messaging. I am almost surprised to say that I don t feel at all angry by this theft. Perhaps our weekly ritual of lighting the Peace Candle has shaped our imaginations. During this time we recite the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. saying together: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Our fellowship seems like a school in which to learn this kind of love. I suspect we will be putting up another sign sometime soon. I suspect it too will be taken down eventually. That s OK. We have learned that much good is being done in the meantime by sharing a message that many long to hear. I am reminded of a line from our scriptures. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Rev. William Sitterley, Interim Pastor Maryland Presbyterian Church