When you read the little history book from Bryn Mawr Presbyterian’s 100th Anniversary, Spirit of the Century, it is striking how the vision of our church forebears, decisions made and commitments launched long before most of us were born, have shaped who we are today. Thirteen women and three men chartered a new church in 1873 after meeting for a season in the Temperance Hall. Less than a decade later land was purchased from the Pennsylvania Railroad for $2,500, and the first building was built and dedicated in 1874.
As the decades passed a manse was built to house the pastor, a bigger Sanctuary was erected, and a Sunday School building was added. In reading the history, I am struck by how a vision toward growth influenced every decision. While the significant dates are often linked to buildings, what we know is that more and more people were making a church home: gathering for worship, providing Christian education, supporting one another, and reaching out in service to the local community and across the globe.
In September and October Christian education opportunities will focus on particular church ministry areas. The 150th Vision Committee is evaluating the data collected from its public forums, focus groups and survey to assess where the congregation is feeling called toward deepened engagement and new initiatives. A special Anniversary Weekend is being planned for October 14-15 which will include an intergenerational celebration and homecoming of former staff and members.
Through long years, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church has been a forward-looking missional Christian enterprise. In each generation this congregation has faced the needs of the community with an outlook toward being good stewards of extraordinary resources: human, financial, missional and visionary in the service of the church of Jesus Christ and in recognition of the needs of the community.
Over the course of this summer we will be preparing for a big fall celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of our congregation. A documentarystyle film is being prepared. A visual display will be curated to highlight the church’s history and key moments in our Art Gallery. Special anthems have been commissioned to follow the liturgical seasons of the year.
As we journey through summer toward fall, I hope you will find ways to prepare and engage in celebrating Bryn Mawr’s sesquicentennial! I invite you to be in prayer for this 150-year-old church. Offer prayers of thanksgiving for those saints who started a church in 1873 and for bold decisions of ages past which benefit us today. Offer prayers of intercession for the vitality of the church we cherish today. Offer prayers of petition for clarity about how we might invest ourselves and our abundant resources in the things that will last for generations of Christians to come.
Homer moved to the Philadelphia area from Queens, New York. Before joining the BMPC staff, he was facilities supervisor at Commonpoint Queens, a community-based non-profit organization in Little Neck, New York. He also worked as a facilities coordinator and front desk supervisor at Go Tennis in Manhasset, New York. Homer has a bachelor of science marketing degree from York College, City University of New York, Queens, New York.
Shayla, a native of Wichita, Kansas, is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Villanova University in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics. Before moving to Pennsylvania she earned her master of divinity and master of higher educational leadership from Southern Methodist University. For her bachelor’s, she studied philosophy and religion at Southwestern College. Shayla also is pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church and enjoys teaching yoga classes, watching rom-coms, and spending time with her dog Marshmallow.
Prior to joining the BMPC staff, Tom was a secondary building assistant at Haverford Middle School in Havertown and a crew member at Trader Joe’s in Ardmore. During his career in the printing business he worked as a printing estimator for RR Donnelley/Baum Printing in Philadelphia and Great Atlantic Graphics in Lansdale. Tom has a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Villanova University.
In July we say goodbye to the Rev. Brian Ballard as he prepares to pursue a Ph.D. in homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. Brian joined the BMPC staff in June 2019 as the Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care and Senior Adults. Since that time he has cared for the members of this congregation through countless hospital visitations, staffing senior adult events and trips, presiding at funerals and memorial services, working with the Middleton Counseling Center, and guiding our Caring Ministries Team. We wish Brian the best of luck and will send him off with our prayers and blessings at a reception after church on Sunday, July 16.
It has been a true joy and privilege to serve this vibrant congregation! While I am excited for what is ahead, I will miss this community immensely. The love, generosity, and welcome Amy, Florence and I have received is something we will always cherish.
- BrianFor six years Renee Malnak served our congregation faithfully as the parish social worker. Over these years Renee generously gave of her time and expertise to support church members who were often in moments of great difficulty and challenge. Renee’s compassion and dedication were evident during medical consultations, while leading the DivorceCare program, organizing Deacon flower deliveries, and in her everyday presence to those in need. We will miss Renee, but we wish her well in her exciting new role in which she will continue to care for people in our community.
All are invited to join us in commemorating our sesquicentennial the weekend of October 14-15. Details about our 150th anniversary events are listed below. We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate our legacy and look toward the future!
Church Birthday Party
Saturday, October 14, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Ed. Bldg. Lawn. Celebrate the church’s birthday with cake, fun mission project, games for children and families, and fellowship!
Celebration of Former Pastors
Saturday, October 14, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Ministries Center Court. This informal open house will honor former BMPC clergy and their families.
150th Anniversary Dinner
Saturday, October 14, 6:00 p.m., Congregational Hall. This dinner will be RSVP only. Featuring the premiere of the BMPC anniversary video.
Organ Concert
Saturday, October 14, 7:30 p.m., Sanctuary. Philippe Lefebvre, principal organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, will perform.
Sunday Worship Service
Sunday, October 15, 10:00 a.m., Sanctuary. This service will feature music by the Sanctuary Choir, who will be singing a newly-commissioned anthem by Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen in celebration of BMPC’s 150th anniversary, with a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Agnes W. Norfleet.
Rally Day
September 10
Sunday, September 10, 11:00 a.m., Front Lawn. Join us as we kick off a new season in ministry! All are welcome; bring a friend!
Concerts with the Middleton Carillon
We are excited to announce our summer carillon concert series. This summer’s series starts on Thursday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m. and continues on Thursday evenings throughout the month. So that you may see the pyrotechnics required to play a carillon, this series will be projected onto a large screen near the Atrium in the back parking lot.
July 6 - Dr. Laura Ellis - Professor of organ, University of Florida, and president of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. YouTube interview with Dr. Ellis: https://bit.ly/DrLauraEllis
July 13 - Richard DeWaardt - Carillonneur from Netherlands YouTube performance of “The Waltz of the Flowers”: https://bit.ly/DeWaardt
July 20 – Annie Gao - Carillon fellow at Bok Tower Gardens in Florida. YouTube performance of “Carol of the Bells”: https://bit.ly/AnnieGao
July 27 – Simone Browne - YouTube performance of “Valse Triste”: https://bit.ly/SimoneBrowne
Come to our choir loft at 9:00 a.m. on any summer Sunday from June 18 through Labor Day for a short rehearsal and then sing for the 10:00 a.m. service. Summer choir is simple (one anthem and hymns), and informal (no robes). If you have any questions, please contact Patrick at MFA@bmpc.org.
The Richard Shaull Mission grant, established in 2004, is a celebration of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Richard Shaull. This year’s award was given to Woman, Cradle of Abundance, Inc. (Femme, Berceau de l’Abondance).
micro-savings and micro-loan programs for mature women; educational assistance for destitute children and orphans; a farm to feed its members and demonstrate best agricultural practices; and a shop selling clothing to model business skills and help support other projects.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a paradox: The country is extremely rich in natural resources, yet the vast majority of its population are among the poorest in the world, with 73% of Congolese people living on less than $1.90 a day (World Bank).
Although education rates have improved in recent years, from 52% in 2001 to 78% in 2018, millions of children remain unable to attend school; that includes half of all girls 5-17 years old (UNICEF). The Nobel Peace prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege is one of the best-known voices calling the world’s attention to the toll that war and sexual violence have taken on women and girls.
Woman, Cradle of Abundance focuses on the needs of the poorest women and girls, and most of its 1,200 members come from the margins of society. A significant component of their work provides empowerment and education programs for women and girls that include a Sewing School for young women;
One of the best means of empowering the most vulnerable Congolese girls and women is to educate them to support themselves, so they can confidently make a way for themselves in a highly patriarchal society that favors boys in education, leadership roles, and privilege.
Funds from the Shaull Award will help launch the “Success in the 21st Century for the Least: Computer Sciences for Destitute Young Women” project. The goal of this project is to use the proven social and pedagogical methods of the organization to expand its reach to include an unserved population of women in Kinshasa, the capital city of Congo.
The students in the new computer program will have formal education, competence in math and reading and writing French, but no practical ways to earn a living. The proposed program will teach computer science at multiple levels, from computer literacy and secretarial skills to more advanced computer mastery. Embedded in this instruction will be education in entrepreneurship and business operations skills as well as their signature qualities of personal integrity and confidence, social conscience, and sense of Christian values.
Offering the poorest of the poor access to the kinds of career paths usually only available to well-off individuals establishes and validates women-led businesses and counters stereotypes in a male-dominant culture. While gaining access to the highly marketable skills of digital business, the computer science students will be taking their first steps into the world of 21st-century communication, gaining a firm foundation for participating in and leading their communities into the future. All the young women who will be served are among those who have been excluded from other schools because they are too poor. Besides enabling the least of these to support themselves and their families, these young women will ensure the educational futures of their children and make very desirable skills available to a broader population.
The Computer Science Institute will prepare its students to participate in various commercial services and enterprises in roles ranging from secretarial services for local communities to clerk, administrative assistant, or office manager in established businesses. While a significant number of young women have managed to complete primary and some or all of secondary school, they still need skills for secretarial or administrative jobs, cashier or billing work, web design projects, or other computer-related tasks.
As is the case with most governments, Congo business and government documents must be typed and printed, according to various prescribed forms. However, Congo itself has essentially skipped the typewriter era and moved directly to using computers. Most citizens do not have access to computers nor do they have the skills to use them, so they must find individuals or small businesses to process business or government paperwork. This means that trained young women with computers and printers can conduct a quite profitable “informal” business, perhaps in a designated area of a café or other public place, or in their own rented office.
If you would like to support organizations like Woman, Cradle of Abundance and our other partners building community and hope around the world, contact the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick at RebeccaKirkpatrick@bmpc.org to learn more about the work of the Worldwide Ministries Committee.
One of the longest running mission commitments of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church is our Tuesday Night Tutoring Program in partnership with the William Dick Elementary School in North Philadelphia. Launched over 50 years ago, the most essential part of this program remains the same – peer tutoring between Main Line high school students and elementary students from Philadelphia.
In March 2020, much like everything else in our world, the Tutoring Program was forced to shut down. While we weren’t able to transition the good one-on-one literacy work to an online format, funding was used to support teachers and students at the William Dick School with resources and supplies for the remainder of that school year and the 2020-2021 school year.
This past program year, the Tutoring Program was able to operate at full capacity with 40 students from Philadelphia working each Tuesday night with their tutors from more than six local high schools.
One of the greatest joys of the Tutoring Program today, in addition to watching the relationships grow between and among the students, is how the recent renovations to the Education Building make the program more welcoming and enjoyable for all participants. The newly-expanded fellowship space on the first floor allows students from William Dick to gather for a meal each week before they meet with their students. And a brightened and expanded Tutoring Library on the second floor is an encouraging space for students to explore books and reading resources together.
In the fall of 2021 the Tuesday Night Tutoring program resumed in-person programming at a reduced level to allow for social distancing.
If you are interested in your high school student volunteering with the program this fall, or if you are interested as an adult to be one of the essential volunteers who help make the program run smoothly each week, please reach out to Jackie Henisee, program director, at TutoringonTuesday@gmail.com.
In the past few months, BMPC’s Youth Ministry has been busy. We took our youth to a fantastic retreat at Johnsonburg Camp in March, and in April, we worked with The Common Place for a great day of service and learning. In May we celebrated our seniors in worship, and in June we headed to Hersheypark for a day of fun!
This summer we’re excited to have our youth members help with Vacation Bible Camp in June, experience our mission trip with Cross Missions out of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, and go camping at Massanetta Springs in August!
If you’re interested in helping or volunteering with any of these events, please get in touch with Shay Jordan, our Youth Program Coordinator, at ShaylaJordan@bmpc.org.
As we celebrate 150 years of ministry at BMPC, we have the opportunity to imagine how the church will continue to grow in the next 150 years! Multigenerational churches connect people of all ages, creating a dynamic space where each member, regardless of age, helps one another grow as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. That happens in conversations around Confirmation projects or over cookies after worship. It takes place when we rejoice and weep with one another. This community is formed when we can greet one another by name and praise God in worship. How can you help build a more multigenerational church? Here are a few options to consider:
1. Welcome One Another! Be sure to introduce yourself to parents and children when welcoming a family to worship. Consider volunteering with a ministry like Helping Hands, greeting, or ushering to be among the first to welcome all generations to church.
2. Be a Guest! We have a big campus. Sometimes it can be hard to connect generations when so many things are happening in so many different places. Consider attending a family worship service, coming to family fellowship in the Education Building after worship, or volunteering for a program like the Advent Workshop. This is a great way to meet families.
3. Be in Prayer! The BMPC Prayer Partner Ministry is heading into its fourth year. The Prayer Partner Program pairs one BMPC member with six to eight children or youth. During the year Prayer Partners commit to pray for this small group of students. We have some exciting opportunities to build on this ministry in the coming year and would love for you to participate.
4. Be Curious! Find out what the children of BMPC are learning about and learn alongside them! This summer we’re inviting families to share their favorite local adventures, favorite summer books, and favorite family practices. Do you have one? Add your ideas to the bulletin board in the Education Building, or send them directly to Pastor Rachel: RachelPedersen@bmpc.org.
Do you remember starting a new school year? Imagine the worry of walking into a classroom without the basic supplies you needed for the year. The Annual Backpack Project helps assure that children throughout the Philadelphia area have the resources they need to start a new year. Gemma Services provides backpacks filled with supplies to students served through their foster and family programs.
Help us meet this incredible need by either donating a completed backpack or purchasing individual supplies. All backpacks must be received by August 1 to ensure timely delivery.
• 1 backpack
• 3 composition books
• 4 2-pocket folders
• 1 box of pencils
• 1 large eraser
• 1 box of crayons
• 1 box of colored pencils or markers
• 2 glue sticks (no paste)
If you wish to purchase supplies for students to make into backpacks, you may purchase items through Amazon or contact Pastor Rachel for an up-to-date needs list: https://amzn.to/3IYYOcq
Presbyterian’s love books. So when Converse Library moved its 3,000+ volumes from its old home in Converse House to the newly-expanded Fullerton Room in the Ministries Center, it was cause for celebration. The new space, with its generous shelving and loads of natural light, is perfect for browsing. It’s a quiet place where you’ll find plenty of old friends on the shelves, and new ones eager to make your acquaintance.
The library also has transitioned to a new digital system to make it easier to search for books and check them out of the library. You may use this new system on the dedicated library iPad, or even browse the entire collection from the comfort of your home, including putting holds on any titles of interest. Can’t take the class but want to read the book? Put a hold on it,
and it will be waiting for you. Want to read some recommended books on racism but can’t fit another book in your house? Library books are yours for a month. Will bibliotherapy help you through issues of grief and loss? Would you like to plant a garden using plants from the Bible? Or understand another’s faith tradition? And what is this Chautauqua thing? Come in and see what we have for you.
What will you find in Converse Library? What you would expect – deep collections in Presbyterian and Reformed theology and history and Christian classics – and plenty that you wouldn’t expect. Books on social issues, the environment, social justice, comparative religion, health and wellbeing, and much more. Check out the new shelves in the Ministries Center Court for an everchanging display of new, seasonal and topical books. Look for books with blue dots on their spines – because not only do we read books here at BMPC, we write them!
Kat MacMurray, the librarian, is available on Sundays to give you a tour, answer questions, and help you find books. Kat has a master’s degree in library science from Indiana University/Bloomington, was a dealer in rare books, and has been BMPC’s librarian since joining the church in 1997. Interested in volunteering? We always need help with shelving books.
What will you find in Converse Library? Books that will comfort, challenge, entertain and inform. Books that reflect who we are - a congregation committed to making this a better world. Help us continue the conversation.
Find this bookshelf located in the Court on the lower level of the Ministries Center with a new display each month. Feel free to browse these featured books and even check one out by using our online catalogue! For more information, make a visit to Converse Library or reach out to Kat at Katrmac2@icloud.com.
This summer we will be connecting members with the Converse Library collection by printing and distributing personalized library cards. Sunday mornings following worship, you will find library volunteers in the Atrium who will show you how to search the catalog online and create your own card so you may check books out with ease.
Scan QR for more information
Need a card but won’t be here this summer? Contact AliciaFranklin@bmpc.org to place your order.
this fall will focus on celebrating BMPC’s long history of mission and ministry in several areas. Each Sunday will highlight a different aspect of BMPC’s past and future.
September 17 - Presbyterian Women
September 24 - Local Mission
October 1 - Multigenerational Oral History Project
October 8 - Music and Fine Arts
October 22 - International Mission
October 29 - Theologian-in-Residence
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
625 Montgomery Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
610-525-2821
625 Montgomery Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Worship at 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.
Childcare for infants – age 5, 7:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m
Summer Sunday School for age 3 – rising 3rd graders during the 10:00 a.m. worship service (beginning June 11). Three and four year olds meet at 10:00 a.m. in Room 106 in the Education Building. Rising Kindergartners – 3rd graders begin in worship and meet following the Children’s Message in Room 202 in the Education Building.
Grades 4-12 worship with their families
The Messenger The Messenger (USPS #341840) Volume #125, Issue #2, 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