Calvary Baptist Church Weekly Newsletter March 22, 2017 Issue 86 A Word from the Pastor Corey Fields I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 1 A Word from the Pastor 2 Church Members 3 Family Events 4 Youth events/church events 6 Lenten Devotions 7 Up-coming Events at Calvary One of my favorite TED Talks is by a Nigerian-born author named Chimamanda Adichie. Her talk, from 2009, is entitled The Danger of the Single Story. She talks about the common human tendency to create a simple mental framework a single story about a certain place or group of people. She gives some interesting and sometimes funny examples of how she has seen this in herself and others. The single story is a tool that our brain uses to help us understand the world, but it unfortunately sometimes has dangerous consequences. Here s the key quote from her TED Talk: Show a people as one thing and only one thing over and over again, and that is what they become. Although Adichie draws no such link, I see tremendous connections here with the Christian belief in the incarnation. We believe that, in Jesus, the Word became flesh, that God took on flesh and bone. What s especially significant about this is the Christian affirmation that this incarnation represents God fully revealed ; that in Jesus, God showed us most fully who God is. By implication, this means that, although doctrinal statements and abstract theology can guide us in the right direction, the character of God is most fully seen in the context of lived experience and love given. Such things do not operate by a single story, which is why the people of Jesus day almost missed it. So many were operating with a single story of who God was, what the Messiah would do, and whom God blessed. As a result, even deeply religious people were shocked or confused by Jesus. He did not conform to their single story of God and His work in the world. One of the reasons I enjoy serving here at Calvary so much is because some of our work challenges single stories. Many people have a single story of who the homeless are, but we here at Calvary have seen more deeply into these lives. Many people expect worship or prayer to look a certain way, but we here show an openness to different traditions and ways of connecting. Rejecting the single story is an important part of seeing God, and the world we re called to reach, more fully and completely i.e., better understanding truth. The Christian Citizen is a publication of American Baptist Home Mission Societies. It seeks to put forth a diverse group of prominent and emerging voices living and working at the intersection of faith and politics, discipleship and citizenship. It is a very well-done, yet largely unknown, magazine with a fully online version. So I was honored when they recently asked me to write for them for the first time, as part of this month s publication dealing with the subject of truth and truth and truth-telling. I share some of the reflections above in that article, which you can read here: http://bit.ly/cc-truth-fields, or in the print version which should be arriving soon. Page 1 of 8
Church Members Members and Friends at Home Each week a member or friend of the church at home will be highlighted. Greeting cards are always appreciated! Claudine Bucci 1 Meadow Street Apt. 107 Berlin, MD 21811 Claudine Bucci has been a member of Calvary since the early 1950's. She lived in Newark for years, after her sister, Fern Hadley (who lived here), suggested she move from North Carolina. Claudine has three children, Joan Robbie and Melanie. The whole family attended back then. After her health declined, her daughter, Joan, moved her to downstate Delaware. Before Claudine moved, she was proud to say that she was the oldest active member in Calvary and SHE WAS! Claudine now lives in an assisted living facility. Claudine loves to keep up with Calvary with cards and phone calls. 1 Joyce Lare 2 Anne Elise (Leuhr) Bowers 2 Rowan Duffy 3 Sara Coleman 4 Jennifer Hamilton 4 Megan Koeller 7 Keegan Cahill 9 Kaylee Hickman-Washam 9 Miriam Ramer 11 Gavin Duffy 11 Lynda Parkins 11 Lynsey Hickman 13 Slater Phillips 13 Dan McLeod 14 Erica Chadick 14 Tia Gordon 15 Pat Walker 16 Rebecca Hollomon 18 Nancy Widdoes 18 Mika Jovic 25 Keith E. Swayne 27 John Phillips 27 Ciara Hamilton 28 MacKenzie Cahill 28 Trenton Whitaker 29 June Hare March Birthdays!!! Page 2 of 8
Family Events Important Youth Group Annoucements! Page 3 of 8
Youth/ Church Events 30 Hour Famine - Friday April 7th, 5:00pm to Saturday April 8th, 7:00pm. All students in 6th through 12th grade as welcome to join us as we go without food for 30 hours to raise money and awareness for world hunger. Students should eat their last meal at school around noon on Friday then meet at CBC at 5pm as we spend the weekend together playing games, learning about how hunger effects those close to home and on the other side of the world, worshiping together, and serving alongside one another. This year we will be partnering with New-Ark UCC church right down the street. The event will end on Saturday with a potluck dinner at 6pm at New Ark UCC youth parents are asked to bring a dish to share! We have some exciting events planned so you don't want to miss this one. See Kyle West for more information and to get signed up! CREATION Christian Music Festival - Tuesday June 27th (meet at CBC at 9am) to Sunday July 2nd (arrive at CBC around 1pm). We will be traveling to the middle of nowhere, PA (Shirleysburg, PA is the closest town) for 5 days of camping, Christian music, speakers, fellowship, and fun. This has been a staple event for Calvary students the last few years and always a good time. We will once again be joining up with several churches that our students know including the church of our former youth pastor CG Coats. The cost for the week is $130 per camper, we would ask that each family pay as much as they can afford, scholarships for the balance will be available. A $40 non-refundable deposit will be due by April 9th. More information on the festival can be found here.. https://creationfest.com/ne/ Please let Kyle West know if you will be attending this event ASAP. Wednesday Night Adult Study March 22, 29 Pastor Corey will share and lead discussion on his sabbatical research on Christian Community Development Join us to hear some fascinating stories of churches from the around the country who are doing groundbreaking and unique work with impoverished communities. Baptism Class for Children March 26 and April 2, 1:00 p.m. @ Calvary (Two sessions with work at home) For any children under the age of 12 who have or are thinking about making their profession of faith and being baptized. Join us to go get lunch together downtown after worship on those Sundays, and then we will come back to the church for an hour class. We will finish by 2:00 p.m. each day. Page 4 of 8
Youth/ Church Events It's finally Tyler's turn! Tyler's Ph.D defense info: Date: April 7th, 2017 (Fri) Start Time: 11 am, refreshments starting at 10:45 am Location: Rm 322, Harker Lab (Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Laboratory), 221 Academy St (at the corner of Academy St and Lovett Ave) Come early at 10:40 and share a prayer with us, if you can't make the whole 2-hour commitment! And if you are free, the defense is open to the public if you want to come show your support! Tyler will be giving a 45 minute presentation, followed by questions (for possibly a long time, depending on what the professors ask). If all goes well, call both of us Dr. Josephson after that! Miss you all, Tyler & Lilian Josephson Page 5 of 8
Grilled Cheese and Jesus Grilled Cheeses and Jesus a Success Late at night on St. Patrick's Day a small handful of folks from Calvary assembled by the front sidewalk. We were joined by a few students from Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. It was chilly but the wind had subsided. We had about 75 students and friends stop by. They downed grilled cheeses, hot dogs from the BBQ grill, coffee, hot chocolate and snacks. Our grilled cheese sandwiches even had the face of Jesus cooked in! Students were blessed and prayed for. One student commented, "This is the most awesome thing that has ever happened to me!" He had just received an unanticipated blessing. By 2 AM we were cold and ready to pack up. But there was more. A young couple who looked like college age was asking about places to stay. It seems they were newly homeless, having been evicted that day. So we set up a "Code Purple" for two. We helped them out in the morning with some breakfast, backpacks, guidance and a prayer. Will we ever see them again? We don't know. We fed them when they were hungry, and gave them a warm place to sleep. This year Cinco de Mayo falls on a Friday. On the first Friday night of May, Calvary will again be by the sidewalk. Hopefully somewhat warmer. Page 6 of 8
Lenten Devotions Lenten Prayer Calendar 2017 Calvary Baptist Newark Text at Lenten Devotions 2017 by Richard Rusbuldt http://bit.ly/2017lentrusbuldt Calvary Lenten Prayer Calendar Thanks to Jim Dunson for putting together this prayer calendar for the 2017 season of Lent. Each day alternates between a ministry/person/group in the church to pray for that day, and a scripture reading from the Lenten devotional booklet by Richard Rusbuldt. You can download/view the devotional at http://bit.ly/2017lentrusbuldt, or ask the office to print you a copy. Please pray for ministries of the Calvary congregation! 01 Mar John 1 : 1-2 02 Mar Growing disciples of Jesus with Lenten disciplines 03 Mar Matthew 21 : 23 05 Mar Church campus and its website 06 Mar John 5 : 5-9 06 Mar Worship services in-the-house 07 Mar Luke 9 : 45, 50 08 Mar Internet streaming of services out-of-the-house 09 Mar John 15 : 17 10 Mar Calvary youth and their leaders 11 Mar Matthew 16 : 13 12 Mar Good Samaritan Fund mercy ministries 13 Mar Luke 19 : 1-6 14 Mar Childcare for younger children 15 Mar Luke 10 : 30 16 Mar Hope Dining Room meal 3 rd Thursdays 17 Mar 1 Corinthians 15 : 10 18 Mar Special interest missionaries 19 Mar Luke 3 : 1-6 20 Mar Diaconate 21 Mar Luke 3 : 21-22 22 Mar Church employees 23 Mar Luke 3 : 21 24 Mar Code Purple severe weather shelter 25 Mar John 10 : 30 26 Mar Board of Christian Education 27 Mar Matthew 13 : 37-39 28 Mar Nominating committee 29 Mar Matthew 16 : 23 30 Mar Homebound members & friends 31 Mar Matthew 6 : 25 01 Apr Food fellowship team 02 Apr Matthew 16 : 15-16 03 Apr Vision Team 04 Apr Matthew 18 : 1-3 05 Apr Teachers of children and adults 06 Apr Luke 10 : 27-28 07 Apr Church finance team 08 Apr Matthew 23 : 27-28 09 Apr Board of missions 10 Apr Matthew 22 : 13 11 Apr Musicians 12 Apr Luke 12 : 28 13 Apr Board of trustees 14 Apr John 19 : 30 15 Apr Senior Pastor Corey Fields 16 Apr Easter : The Lord is RISEN! he is risen indeed! Page 7 of 8
Upcoming Events at Calvary March 22 6:00pm Dinner for all ages-chicken Alfredo w/ziti 6:30pm Age group activities 25 12:00pm Field Trip to the Delaware Children s Museum 26 1:00pm Children s Baptism Class (optional: join us downtown for lunch before hand) 29 6:00pm Dinner for all ages- Hamburger bar 6:30pm Age group activities 30 7:00pm Praise Team Rehearsal April 2 1:00pm Children s Baptism Class 2:30pm Easter Egg Decorating 4 6:30pm Finance Committee 5 5:45pm Road to Resurrection & Easter Experience for everyone- Dinner included 7-8 Youth Group 30 Hour Famine 11:15 Family outing to see Boss Baby 9 Palm Sunday 12:00pm Board Meetings 12 NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT PROGRAMS 13 6:00pm Maundy Thursday Service followed by dinner 15 NO ABW 16 Easter Sunday 19 6:00pm Dinner for all ages- Ham 6:30pm Age group activities 20 9:00am Hope Dining 22 9:00am Church wide clean-up day 23 Baptisms 26 6:00pm Dinner for all ages- Tacos 6:30pm Age group activities May 1 7:00pm Worship Team 9 6:30pm Finance Committee 10 6:30pm Youth Group 11 7:00pm Vision Team 14 MOTHER S DAY 12:00pm Diaconate Christian Ed. 17 6:30pm Youth Group 18 9:00am Hope Dining 20 10:30 ABW Potluck at Carol Kidwell s 21 12:00pm Trustees Mission Board 24 6:30pm Youth Group Page 8 of 8