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Lent/Easter | 2022
Photo by Dave Tavani
Letter from the Pastor The Gospel of Luke will be our biblical guide during the seasons of Lent and Easter this year. The Lenten Devotional, made available for people to use for reading and meditation, is filled with lovely reflections by members of our church family based upon key readings from this gospel. These same texts will be the source for our Sunday morning sermons. I look forward to following the life and ministry of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, my favorite of the four. Do you have a favorite gospel? The New Testament writers interpreted the Gospel in distinctive ways for the concrete human situation of their particular church community. Throughout the gospels, each evangelist’s portrayal of Jesus serves to focus on different aspects of the whole gospel’s call to faithfulness. Mark tells a fast-paced story of Jesus, a mysterious wonder-worker whom no one understands. Only the demons and outcasts recognize him, and they are silenced. That is until the very end of the story when the Roman centurion at the cross correctly identifies Jesus as the son of God. LENT/EASTER MESSENGER 2022
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Matthew, on the other hand, says Jesus’ identity is no mystery at all. Jesus is the authoritative teacher of God’s law to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. For Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is the key to understanding who Jesus is and how we should behave in response to his presence among us - Emmanuel - close by to the end of the age.
stories, inviting all kinds of people into his company, and engaging us most directly in the everyday affairs of human life.
Luke’s Gospel also has a literary quality that brings Jesus into our immediate context by his repeated use of the word, today. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” Luke says of Jesus’ first sermon. “Today salvation John paints yet another picture of has come to this house,” Jesus says to Jesus who is the eternal Word of God Zacchaeus after he invited himself over through whom the world is created for dinner. “Today you will be with me and by whom it is saved. For John, in paradise,” he says to the thief at his Jesus alone reveals God to humankind. side on a cross. John’s Gospel reads like it was written by a scholarly theologian with a bent During Lent and Easter we will toward poetry. And although it is consider how the today of Luke’s John who calls Jesus “the Word made Gospel is our day. I hope you will join flesh,” it is Luke who give us the most me in spending the next few months beautiful testimony of the very human immersed in Luke who will be our special guide through this most holy Jesus. and reflective season of the Christian While we breathlessly follow Mark’s year. Jesus dashing about, going immediately Grace and Peace, here and there, and as we sit at the feet of Matthew’s Jesus, learning from his teaching and preaching, Luke invites us to one dinner party after another! We listen to his Jesus telling long 2
AGM RECAP A heartfelt “thank you” is extended to the supporters of the 2021 Advent Gift Market. As a result of charitable donations made in honor of loved ones and friends, a total of $45,780 was distributed to the organizations listed below. These gifts have enabled BMPC to continue to aid our mission partners in need locally, nationally, and throughout the world.
BMPC Hunger Ministries Sponsored by the Hunger Committee Gemma Services Sponsored by Presbyterian Women
Turning Points for Children Sponsored by the Outreach Committee Trees of Life La Oroya Peru Sponsored by the Environmental Justice Committee
BMPC Tutoring Program Sponsored by Youth Ministries
Eldernet of Lower Merion and Narberth Sponsored by the Senior Adult Council
Urban Tree Connection Sponsored by the Environmental Justice Committee Rabbis for Human Rights Sponsored by the Peacemaking Committee
$5,870 $4,060
West Philadelphia Alliance for Children Sponsored by the Adult Education Council
$4,080
National Evangelical Synod of Syria & Lebanon Sponsored by the Children & Family Ministries Council
$3,016
BMPC Refugee Support Fund Sponsored by the Refugee Support Committee
$2,770
T-VOCE Sponsored by the Music and Fine Arts Council
$2,675
The Middleton Counseling Center Sponsored by the Board of Deacons
$2,405
Medical Benevolence Foundation Sponsored by the Worldwide Ministries Committee
$2,350
Heeding God’s Call Sponsored by the Peacemaking Committee
$2,125
Emmanuel Hospital Association Sponsored by the Worldwide Ministries Committee
$1,640
$2,850 $2,730 $2,550 $2,399 $2,180 $2,080
New Members
New S taff
AT BRYN MAWR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH XAVIER GREEN Facilities Specialist
Josh and Katie Hirt, Wayne
Xavier has previously worked as a package handler for UPS and as a janitor for the Dell Music Center. At BMPC, Xavier is responsible for cleaning the Education Building and assisting with room setups. In addition to working at BMPC, he is a janitor at the Harold O. Davis Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
TOSHI MAKIHARA Facilities Specialist
Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner, Drexel Hill Photo not available Gerald and Amy Ferguson, Bryn Mawr Want to know more about BMPC? We invite you to get to know our community better by joining our Discover BMPC classes which will be held in the spring. These classes will give you the opportunity to learn about our denomination, our Reformed tradition, and our sense of Christian Ministry. For more information about our spring class dates or to register for them, contact FrankPottorff@bmpc.org.
Toshi was the church and school custodian for St. Norbert Parish in Paoli where he was responsible for cleaning, basic maintenance, and setting up rooms for meetings and events. At BMPC, Toshi is responsible for cleaning the Ministries Center and handling any setup requests on campus. He also currently works as the church caretaker at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne.
ELIZABETH ELLIS Human Resources and Program Administrator Liz worked as a client services manager for a home health agency for two and a half years and was the client service supervisor for a veterinary and family pet resort for two and a half years. She has a bachelor of arts degree in speech pathology with a minor in psychology from West Chester University and hopes to further her education in human resources.
KATIE SINGH Program Assistant, Children and Family Ministry Katie is a 2014 graduate of Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she majored in music and minored in education. In addition to her bachelor’s degree, Katie has an American Montessori Teaching Certificate. She has been involved in early childhood education for the last six years where she has worked with children ages two to six. Katie also has an active career as a music teacher and performer in the Philadelphia area. She is thrilled to join the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church community as Program Assistant for Children and Family Ministry.
PATRICK HOWLEY Music and Fine Arts Manager Patrick hails from Brooklyn, New York, and previously has worked as assistant to the director of music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. He also has served as director of event promotion/special events producer for the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Young Adult group. He has a master of science degree in church management from Villanova University. Patrick is looking forward to the challenge of managing the day-to-day operations of the BMPC Music and Fine Arts Department and becoming involved with the arts community in the Bryn Mawr area.
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LENT/EASTER MESSENGER 2022
2022 Lenten Devotional
The Gospel of Luke This year’s Lenten Devotional – a collection of Scripture passages and personal reflections for each day of the Season of Lent – focuses on some of the most challenging stories and teachings found in the Gospel of Luke. Luke can be characterized in a variety of ways – an intentionally systematic account of the life, ministry and death of Jesus of Nazareth as well as a decidedly political Gospel that doesn’t over spiritualize Jesus’ priority for the poor, for women and others on the margins of first-century culture. In this year’s Devotional, church members, including our youth, and staff members wrestle with seven different texts from Luke that, while seemingly innocuous on the surface, become hard to swallow the deeper we dive and the longer we sit with each passage. From a young Jesus intentionally losing himself in the temple in Jerusalem to the harsh words of the Prodigal Son’s older brother; from Jesus’ teachings on narrow doors, camels going through the eyes of needles, and his lament over Jerusalem, these passages often leave us unsure of how they apply to our own lives. Sometimes that challenge is that we understand all too well how they apply to our lives today.
LUKE IN LENT Sundays, March 13, 20 and 27 11:15 a.m., Congregational Hall
Based on the Luke passages selected for our 2022 Lenten Devotional, this class will explore some of the traditional and contemporary ways that scholars have interpreted these passages from the Gospel of Luke. This class will be led by Dr. Joshua Yoder, whose New Testament scholarship focuses on the Gospel of Luke and the ways that the author uses narrative to express theological, political and social concepts. LENT/EASTER MESSENGER 2022
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The gift of the BMPC Lenten Devotional is the opportunity to enjoy hearing how different members of our congregation encounter these passages, how they push back against them, or how they are challenged by them. Our hope is that just as the Holy Spirit worked within the original Scripture writers to illuminate the promises and expectations of God, the Spirit works within our community to speak a new and challenging task to us today through the thoughtful and honest reflections of this year’s writers. Printed copies of the Devotional will be available in the Narthex of the Sanctuary and at the reception desk in the Ministries Center. You also may download a PDF of the Devotional from the “Season of Lent” page on our website, or you can email CherylJu@bmpc.org to sign up to receive a daily email during Lent that includes that day’s devotion.
The 2022 Rev. Dr. David and Ruth Watermulder Theologian in Residence
LISA SHARON HARPER Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1
The Huffington Post, Relevant The BMPC Adult Education Magazine, and Essence Magazine. Committee is thrilled to announce She writes extensively on shalom and this year’s Theologian in Residence is governance, immigration reform, author and activist Lisa Sharon Harper. health care reform, poverty, racial and gender justice, climate change, and Lisa is the author of several books, transformational civic engagement. including Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican... or Democrat; Left Right Lisa earned her master’s degree and Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics; in human rights from Columbia Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised University in New York City, and Faith; and the critically acclaimed served as Sojourners Chief Church book, The Very Good Gospel: How Engagement Officer. In this capacity, Everything Wrong can be Made Right. The she fasted for 22 days as a core faster Very Good Gospel explores God’s intent in 2013 with the Fast for Families for the wholeness of all relationships in Immigration Reform Campaign. She trained and catalyzed evangelicals in light of today’s headlines. St. Louis, Missouri, and Baltimore, A columnist at Sojourners Magazine Maryland, to engage the 2014 push and an Auburn Theological Seminary for justice in Ferguson, Missouri, and Senior Fellow, Lisa has appeared on the 2015 healing process in Baltimore, TVOne, FoxNews Online, NPR, and and she educated faith leaders in South Al Jazeera America. Her writing has Africa to pull the levers of their new been featured in CNN Belief Blog, The democracy toward racial equity and National Civic Review, Sojourners, economic inclusion. 7
From Ferguson to New York, and from Germany to South Africa to Australia, Lisa leads training sessions that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. A prolific speaker, writer and activist, she is the founder and president of FreedomRoad.us, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap in our nation by designing forums and experiences that bring common understanding, common commitment and common action. Lisa will spend the weekend with us focusing on her most recent book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair it All. Drawing on her lifelong journey to know her family’s history, she recovers the beauty of her heritage, exposes the brokenness that race has wrought in America, and casts a vision for collective repair. •
LENT/EASTER MESSENGER 2022
Christmas Story Brought to Life Through Live Nativity
By the Rev. Rachel Pedersen If you drove past the church on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, you might have seen a crowd of people and a few animals stretched across the lawn. If you came closer, you may have noticed children (and a few grown-ups) in costumes, along with some tiny sheep. If you had stepped into the Nativity, you would have experienced prophesying prophets carefully sharing the words of Micah, Jeremiah and Isaiah; angels teaching guests their heavenly proclamation; and census takers making sure you signed in. You might have run into one of our sheep and even a shepherd as they returned from seeing the Christ Child or smelled frankincense that the Magi were burning. From my vantage point, I saw children proclaiming the Gospel and people clamoring for selfies with baby Jesus. I had young children tell me they had been to Bethlehem, and I saw a few of our older members smiling through
their masks as they listened to Mary and Joseph talk about their life with a newborn. It wasn’t perfect: The bags of Cheetos and tennis shoes weren’t exactly historically accurate; a few angel wings broke; and occasionally one of the Magi crowns would be on a shepherd, but there was something beautiful in the chaos. The enduring story of God’s love poured out and enfleshed, took on new meaning when you saw the vulnerability of one of the tiny babies representing Jesus, or if you considered that God entrusted the Good News of Christmas Eve to shepherds who were distractible and prophets who had to learn the art of
reading and teaching. As we welcomed members of our church family and the larger community, I hoped each one could feel the Spirit at work, sensing God’s presence as close as the warm breath of a donkey, as joyful as a host of angels, and as steadfast as a community telling the story with love and imagination. A special thank you to our actors, volunteers, prop makers, set creators, staff and the congregation for their time and care in sharing the Christmas story with so many.
Vacation Bible Camp Preview “Come and see” was an invitation Jesus extended to the skeptical. If you want to know who I am, “Come and see.” To be a disciple means to follow Jesus, to learn not only what he said and taught,
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but how he led, healed, and walked in the world. This year, campers are going hear the same invitation. Meeting some of Jesus’ original disciples and friends, we’ll learn more about what it means to follow Jesus.
old program and our off-site service program for rising fourth and fifth graders.
It takes more than 200 volunteer hours to prepare for camp, and more than 75 volunteers to help facilitate the various Registration for VBC will camp activities. Do you have time to open in early February. give and a desire to help our children Although circumstances grow in faith? Email Pastor Rachel at may change, we are RachelPedersen@bmpc.org to find out tentatively offering our more about volunteer opportunities. traditional three-year-
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YOUTH RETREATS, CAMPS AND FUN EVENTS
PLANNED FOR SPRING AND SUMMER Along with BMPC Youth Ministry’s regular weekly programs - Midweek Meet-Up, Student Serve and Youth Gathering - we are offering Sabbath retreats for our middle schoolers on March 11-13 and our high schoolers on March 18-20. During these retreats we’ll focus on the importance of rest and renewal amid all the busyness of school, sports and extracurriculars, not to mention the frustrations of a pandemic that just won’t seem to end!
in Southwest Philadelphia through educational programs, social service, collaboration and faith formation. Youth will stay at The Common Place and spend the week learning about what it means to follow Jesus in the city of Philadelphia.
Lastly, we’ll return to Johnsonburg Camp for our annual BMPC Youth Camp this summer during the first week of August. Seniors will be invited to arrive early to prepare to lead the youth for the week. It will be a joyful time of play, Our mission as a Youth Ministry is to be an inclusive faith fellowship and discipleship! community that connects, engages and equips youth to discover and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our beautiful We’re grateful for the support of a faithful church family new spaces are in the process of being furnished and that continues to show up for our teenagers. If YOU are decorated. I am so excited for our youth to experience grace- interested in helping with Youth Ministry, please contact filled welcome and a safe place in which to be their authentic Jack Liskey, Youth Director, jliskey@bmpc.org, or the Rev. selves while still working toward the justice, mercy and love Leigh DeVries, ldevries@bmpc.org. Christ calls us to in these incredible new rooms. YOUTH MINISTRY SPRING-SUMMER SCHEDULE In the summer we’re excited to take our rising middle schoolers and their parents on a Johnsonburg Plunge on June 24-26. During this weekend retreat, our younger youth members will learn about camp and experience a bit of it with their parents!
Middle School Retreat • March 11-13, Johnsonburg Camp
Then in July, youth will be invited to participate in an immersion trip in Southwest Philadelphia, working with The Common Place during the week of July 11-17. This BMPC ministry partner serves children and their families
Confirmation Sunday • May 22, Sanctuary
High School Retreat • March 18-20, Johnsonburg Camp Casserole Blitz • April 23, BMPC Bible Jeopardy • April 24, location TBD Confirmation Expo • May 15, Gym Johnsonburg Plunge • June 24-26, Johnsonburg Camp The Common Place Immersion • July 10-15, Southwest Philly BMPC Youth Camp • July 31-August 5, Johnsonburg Camp 9
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BMPC printed materials preserved
in digital format
By Elena Perri
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church is on the cusp of a significant milestone in its storied history on the Main Line. In 2023 BMPC will commemorate the 150th anniversary of its founding.
Session and Trustee minutes and issues of the Messenger have been saved as PDFs that can be keyword-searched, for example, names of previous pastors, ministries and campus buildings.
In preparation for this celebration, nearly 13,000 pages of printed materials dating back to 1873 (the year that BMPC was founded) were digitized by staff members of the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS).
Nancy Taylor, BMPC member and executive director of PHS, proposed that the documents be digitized to protect the originals and make them more accessible to the pastors and church staff members. The goal is to
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make these digital documents available for church members to view online, possibly in the new library space in the Ministries Center. “I really thought it was important to get the most important records in terms of the official history of the Church digitized, not only because that helps us have another copy just in case something happens to the originals, but also that would just greatly expand
access to the information in the records,” Nancy said. Allison Davis, PHS digital collections specialist, and Gabe Laredo, PHS archives technician, were directly involved in the digitization project which took four months to complete. “The pastors have been able to really quickly search those files from their desk and find things they are incorporating into their sermons,” Nancy said. “I was sitting in the Sanctuary last summer and listening to Rebecca preach a sermon, and she was talking about some sermons that were preached in the 1920s and quoting what some of the pastors were saying around that era. Knowing the pastors and staff are able to use the digitized records is gratifying.” Prior to the start of the pandemic, Nancy had volunteered to begin sorting and organizing the printed materials that were stored in the crypt on the lower level of the Ministries Center. “I’m glad that I had done the work I did because that allowed the digitization part of that project to really happen much more quickly than if we hadn’t even started,” she said. “The pandemic would have delayed things even further, for sure.”
Published in the June 1966 issue of the Messenger
While reviewing the materials in the archives, Nancy noticed changes in the number of women in the 1960s through the 1970s who served on Session and the Trustees. “They were starting to be more outspoken and be quoted in the Messenger and take on leadership positions,” she said. “For most of the 20th century until that period, women tended not to be in those kind of leadership roles, and in fact, until they were able to be ordained as Elders, they couldn’t serve on the Session.” Nancy emphasized the importance of digitizing the Session and Trustees minutes as well as the Messengers. “I found, even as an archivist, you can look at what the official minutes say, and then you have the Messenger, which is more of a reporting, and there’s images sometimes,” she said. “It’s a really nice set of records to help understand the history of this church.”
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A VISION OF THE FUTURE OF BMPC Who are we as a church? What is God of 90-minute focus groups of eight to 10 calling us to do? What is our vision for participants, open to all members. Based the future? on the findings from the public forums and the focus groups, a congregational During the next year, the 150th Vision survey will be created to discern future Committee will engage in conversations directions. The results of the forums, with the congregation on these questions. focus groups and the survey then will be As we approach our 150th anniversary made available to all members in a report in 2023, we are considering the ways and a set of public presentations in the that our ministries have evolved and fall of 2023. changed in recent years. As we begin to use our newly-renovated spaces, we have Our hope is that this process will engage the opportunity as a faith community to the entire congregation in meaningful imagine new directions. The 150th Vision discussions about our vision for the Committee was formed six months ago future, identify core principles that to faciliate this effort. will guide the church into our next 150 years, and inspire members to achieve The committee’s objective is to make the as much within the next 150 years as process of congregational engagement our predecessors accomplished in our substantive, open and inclusive. We first 150 years. Ideally, at the end of would like every member to participate this process, coinciding with our 150th and share their views and vision. To this anniversary celebration in September end, we have planned several activities to 2023, new initiatives will emerge that call engage the congregation. us to action. Your active participation in This spring we will hold public forums this process will make all the difference! open to everyone to explore our core values, goals, strengths and opportunities for ministry. In the fall these topics will be discussed in depth through a series
THE 150TH VISION COMMITTEE Elliot Dee John Frazier Carolyn Gerrish Joan Laleike Sarah Reiner Steven Udicious Ashley Whamond
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Flower Fellowship
Blooms at BMPC By Renee Malnak “What is the heart? A flower opening.” - Rumi Did you know that our Deacons deliver flowers every week after worship and also during Lent and Advent? Did you know these deliveries happened throughout most of the pandemic? Deacons deliver flowers for many reasons: to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, comfort members who are ill, and support those unable to attend church in person. As you might imagine, the connections made between the Deacons and those to whom they deliver flowers is very special. Each year Deacons make two special flower deliveries. During Lent and Advent they deliver flowers to between 80 and 90 members, some of whom have recently lost a loved one. After receiving flowers and a Deacon visit, one member said, “With the loss of my husband it has been hard, but receiving the grief books as well as Kara’s visit and the beautiful flowers that she brought have brightened many days. Seeing the flowers each morning make me smile. I feel very loved and supported by my church.” Another member remarked, “I love the poinsettias I received during Advent. They are absolutely beautiful. I can always count on my church family to remember me during the holidays.” This connection goes both ways. Susie Thorkelson, current moderator of the Deacons, described how much the visits and flower deliveries mean to her. “As a Deacon, my favorite and most meaningful duty is our Flower Ministry. Whenever I visit a church member who is a shut-in, has experienced loss, an illness or just needs some encouragement, I truly feel the presence of God. There is joy in the giving and receiving of the beautiful flowers, but even more important, is the loving connection made that Sunday between a dear church member and a Deacon. I am always warmly welcomed and we have a good chat. Often I learn something new that amazes me! I leave with a deep feeling of gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose as a Deacon. It’s my privilege to make these special flower deliveries!”
Labyrinth Reawakening By Kiki McKendrick When construction began on the Education Building in 2019 and many programs migrated into the Ministries Center, the large canvas Chartres Labyrinth was blessed, closed, folded and stored. As it turned out, much of our lives and social interaction was also closed, folded inward and stored for a while. During the pandemic it was not always clear how the labyrinth would continue to be offered, but throughout the intervening time, we found ways to walk. We walked on the rope labyrinth outside and on the Story Path Labyrinth in the Chapel. In January, the Chartres Labyrinth was brought back into the newly-renovated space in the Ministries Center. It was blessed, opened and offered, and it feels like a reawakening. The labyrinth invites us to walk – follow a path – and know that we will end up in the center. We can rest, pray and meet God in our most vulnerable selves. We can then travel out, knowing the light of the Spirit goes with us. There are many times and places for you to walk the labyrinth. You can see the full list below. The Chartres Labyrinth is offered monthly, and there will be several offerings during Lent and Holy Week. These walks feel like the next step on a path we all have been walking together. We hope you’ll come and walk.
Labyrinth Walks Lenten Labyrinth Open daily during Lent, Chapel Maundy Thursday and Good Friday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., April 14 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., April 15 Congregational Hall Monthly walks in Congregational Hall Tuesday, March 1 Tuesday, May 3 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. 13
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Musical Highlights We are pleased to announce a variety of musical events to inspire and delight you this spring. On Friday evening, February 25, at 8:00 p.m., we welcome The Main Line Symphony in its first appearance at BMPC. A highlight of the evening will be performances by two teens, Audrey Kim and Miro Raj, who won this year’s concerto competition. BMPC provided underwriting for the competition and is delighted to play a role in encouraging young people in their pursuit of a musical career. Info and tickets: Kathleen Scheide, Tyrone Whiting and Wesley Parrott will perform organ recitals in the Chapel in March. See Musical Highlights article for their recital dates.
We look forward to the opening of the Art Gallery with the paintings of Michael Bartmann. After a career as a landscape architect, Bartmann studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Center City Philadelphia. His work is largely inspired by the vacant industrial spaces of cities such as Camden and Philadelphia, and his paintings capture the beautiful and dynamic play of light, surface and space within these abandoned settings. He evokes emotion using spatial dimension, atmosphere and defined architecture. Space is a living thing in these paintings, a tangible presence. To learn more about Michael’s work, visit https://youtu.be/-1X_7Osfypk
http://www.mlso.org/concerts.htm
In March, each Tuesday at noon, you are invited to gather in the Chapel to enjoy a brief recital on the chapel organ. This organ, built by Petty-Madden in 1995, has recently undergone mechanical and tonal upgrades that greatly enhance the instrument. We look forward to welcoming you in the Chapel as you listen to the artistry of Edward Landin Senn (March 1), Kathleen Scheide (March 8), Wesley Parrott (March 15), Tyrone Whiting (March 22), and Jeffrey Brillhart (March 29). On Wednesday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. Polyphony, from Nazareth, Israel, will present a concert in conjunction with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Polyphony aims to bridge the divide between Arab and Jewish communities in Israel through classical music, and to serve as a worldwide model for cooperation based on cultural exchange, dialogue and partnership. We are delighted to present this ensemble in its first Philadelphia area appearance. To watch a video of Polyphony, introduced by legendary soprano Renee Fleming, visit https://youtu.be/AuFwjYspVg4 Finally, on Good Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m., the Sanctuary Choir will present the Philadelphia region’s premiere of Allan Bevan’s “Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode.” A meditation on the Crucifixion, it’s a magnificent fourmovement work. The initial two movements are in Middle English, and the first is a scene with Mary at the cross. The third movement is a setting of the Kyrie; the last begins with “O vos omnes,” then a Christe and Alleluia. To watch a performance of “Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode,” visit https://youtu.be/CoCT-ES_t2o. During these strange and hopefully late days of the pandemic, we look forward to bringing some joy into the world through God’s sublime gift of music. Please join us!
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One Great Hour of Sharing During Lent we celebrate that God’s connection with us through Jesus’ resurrection and with “those who have least”; that is what One Great Hour of Sharing is all about. People who experienced oppression, need, loss or lack those are the people Jesus connected with, the Bible says, and they are the people with whom we are invited to connect with today.
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YOU SHALL BE CALLED
of the BREACH
https://onrealm.org/bmpc/give/OGHS
PDS 12138-22-101
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REPAIRERS
One Great Hour of Sharing is the one major way that We connect with the Civil Society Coalition for Presbyterians come together every year to work for a Poverty Eradication in Northern Nigeria, where better world. Each gift to One Great Hour of Sharing cycles of conflict and food security are a tragic helps improve the lives of the suffering and the vulnerable reality. through three life-saving programs: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self58 We connect with Resource Center Matamoros — IsaiahDevelopment of People. at the southern border of the United States that accompanies our neighbors who are seeking You can give to OGHS this Lent by using the envelopes in asylum due to economic problems, violence and the pews, by mailing a check to the church with OGHS in corruption in their own country. the memo line, or by giving online:
PHOTO: © SCOTT CLAUSE – USA TODAY NETWORK
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We connect with the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to halt environmental degradation and its impact on the people of the Navajo Nation, by assisting in a collaborative effort to secure access to clean water.
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PROVIDING RELIEF FROM NATURAL DISASTERS, FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY, AND SUPPORT FOR THE LENT/EASTER MESSENGER 2022 POOR AND OPPRESSED.
The Messenger Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church 625 Montgomery Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 610-525-2821
The Messenger (USPS #341840) Volume #124, Issue #1, is published quarterly by the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. Periodical postage paid at Southeastern, Pennsylvania and additional offices. Postmaster: Send Address Changes To The Messenger Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church 625 Montgomery Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Holy Week Worship Schedule Ash Wednesday, March 2 5:30 p.m. Family Service with Imposition of Ashes, Chapel & Livestream
Good Friday, April 15 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Labyrinth Walk, Congregational Hall
7:30 p.m. Service with Imposition of Ashes, Sanctuary & Livestream
12:00 noon. Service led by BMPC Youth, Sanctuary.
Palm Sunday, April 10 10:00 a.m. Worship Service, Sanctuary & Livestream Maundy Thursday, April 14 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Labyrinth Walk, Congregational Hall 5:30 p.m. Family Service with Communion, Chapel 7:30 p.m. Worship with Communion, Sanctuary & Livestream
7:30 p.m. In observance of Good Friday, the Sanctuary Choir will present the Philadelphia region’s premiere of Allan Bevan’s “Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode,” Sanctuary & Livestream Easter Sunday, April 17 6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service, Front Lawn 9:30 and 11:00 a.m., Worship with Choir and Easter Brass in the Sanctuary or livestream. The Rev. Dr. Agnes W. Norfleet will preach.
Subscribe to our weekly eNews, and like and follow our social media channels for details about our Holy Week and Easter Sunday Services.
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