the
POST EASTER 2016
MESSENGER BRYN MAWR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
New Church Officers (page 2) Supporting Syria (page 6) Confirmation 2016 (page 11) A Story of BMPC Community (page 13)
VOLUME 118 | ISSUE 3
Letter from the Pastor One of the great values of the church is that we celebrate being a truly intergenerational community like no other. Besides a large family reunion where folks are all related, where else can young people have access to the wisdom that comes with years that our senior adults enjoy? Where else do empty nesters get to interact with young children and youth on a regular basis? Where else can adults benefit from the “out of the mouth of babes” plain spoken truth of the gospel? The church is a unique and treasured intergenerational celebration of our communal life together. Some years ago, before I arrived as pastor, a strategic consideration of our church’s mission and ministry engaged the vision, hopes and dreams of church members and leaders to chart a course for the congregation moving into the future. The result was a report called the Self Study and the formation of our Session Priorities Committee. One of the key goals of this visioning process was to enhance intergenerational community by developing “processes, mechanisms and intergenerational activities to more proactively and consistently work across our often independent church silos, such as represented by the Education Building group and the Ministries Center group.” Another major goal was to consider an educational model of Christian formation “responsible for coordinating programming from birth to death.” The pastoral and music staff have conspired to highlight these intergenerational aspirations by incorporating them in our summer worship which, for a season, is our primary gathering as an intergenerational community. While the pastors come and go on vacation and mission trips, and the preachers change from week to week, we have developed a preaching schedule based on the Old Testament stories we teach to our two-and three-year-olds. In a sense, worship will have the feel of an intergenerational Vacation Bible Camp while we explore treasured Bible stories we recall from childhood: the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and the basket, Hannah, Samuel, Daniel and the Lions, Joshua and the wall. Our hope is that children who come to worship with their families in the summer will remember and relive the telling of these stories they learned in Sunday School at a young age, and that the child in each of us will be drawn into a deeper sense of God’s presence with us and our world. So when you are in town in the coming months, I encourage you not to miss the great classic intergenerational stories of our faith! Grace and Peace,
Agnes W. Norfleet 1 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
New Church Officers
Our new elders, deacons, and trustees, as well as members of our Nominating Committee, were elected at a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 31. The officers attended training sessions led by our pastors and were ordained and installed during 10:00 a.m. worship on Sunday, April 17. New officers normally are elected for a three year term with the option to serve for a second term of three years (youth elders and deacons are elected for one term). Currently serving are the classes of 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Pictured are, seated: Cindy Pierce (Elder), Barbara Cobb (Trustee), Patricia Danzon (Deacon), Anne Lee (Deacon). Standing: Yardly Jenkins (Trustee), Lauren Meyer (Elder), Rich Allman (Elder), Kevin Duffy (Trustee), Sheryl Parente (Deacon), Bill McKee (Elder), Anne Montgomery Schmid (Deacon), Kathy Whiteside (Elder),Vicki Peetros (Deacon), David Niedzwicki (Youth Eder), Jean Boehmler Reynolds (Trustee). Not pictured: Peter Haldy (Elder), Anna DaleyGibson (Youth Elder), Davis Burton (Youth Deacon), Julia Getty (Youth Deacon)
Member Spotlight: The Willoughbys By Donna Barrickman
Al and Bobbie Willoughby are lifelong residents of our area. Al grew up in Germantown and is a graduate of Haverford College; Bobbie grew up in Radnor and is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania. They met through membership in the Savoy (Opera) Company and were married in 1965. After starting their family, which now includes two married children and three grandchildren, they visited BMPC in early 1968. “We were very impressed with the way the kids ran the Sunday service,” they said. “This, during a time when it seemed the youth of America were out of control and almost beyond hope. We joined right then.” Al has been a member of our Sanctuary Choir since 1988. He has served on various choir committees as well as being choir president, and he and Bobbie have traveled on most of the choir’s trips abroad. He started playing the carillon when ours was installed in 2005. He continues to climb up the tower stairs to practice and play for 2 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
many Sunday services. Ordained as an elder, Al served with Youth Ministry and Mission Councils and on several Nominating Committees. He has volunteered in many other capacities including our driver program since retiring from his career as a systems engineer at IBM. Bobbie has served as a deacon and on Congregational Care Council, and she was our liaison to Hosts for Hospitals. A former executive secretary to the president of E.J. Lavino, she worked in BMPC’s finance office for several years as well as for the Adult Day Center on our campus. She created and installed our Neighbor Care program, and she was a charter member of our “Follow the Carpenter” home repair ministry. Bobbie has been involved in various Sanctuary Choir fund raising efforts and still helps out occasionally in the church office. She has also been a long-time member of our Urban/ Suburban Book Group. We are grateful for the Willoughbys’ participation during 48 years of membership!
Al Willoughby playing the carillon in our bell tower.
Welcome to Our New Members
Andrew and Haley Erdlen Bryn Mawr
Chris and Christy Scheuerman Bala Cynwyd
Lucas and Sharon Garlepp Bryn Mawr
Tobin and Ashley Whamond Haverford
Susan Celeta Harding East Norriton
Jesse Ordonio Strafford
Peter and Trina Wynne Bryn Mawr
If you aren’t a member of our community of faith, we invite you to meet our staff and learn more about us at a “Gathering with the Pastors” on Sunday, June 5. Our next New Member Sunday is June 12.
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Meet Our New Parish Nurse
Jennifer Rocheleau, our new Parish Nurse, will be working closely with Care Manager Lorie Benovic and Interim Associate Pastor for Senior Adults and Pastoral Care, The Rev. Richard Wohlschlaeger. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Villanova University and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. She also works as a nurse practitioner at a health clinic dedicated to the well-being of Vanguard employees in Malvern, which will enhance her work with us. Jennifer and her family live in Havertown and are active members of their Roman Catholic parish.
Reclaiming Evangelism
By the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick
When Joshua and I worked for Presbyterian World Mission, part of our role was to help educate the church not just on the work that we would be doing, but on the overall vision and mission of global mission work that we do as the Presbyterian Church (USA). This meant memorizing talking points as well as educating ourselves about the history of Presbyterian mission and the current work that almost 200 Co-Workers are doing around the world: • addressing the root causes of poverty, especially as it impacts women and children • sharing the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ through evangelism and discipleship • being agents of reconciliation amidst cultures of violence, including our own We were excited to be a part of this work of justice, development and reconciliation. The more time we spent learning about what we would be doing in Egypt and what these three critical issues look like on the ground, it became very clear that the main focus of our work would really be rooted in the second of these issues – the work of evangelism. We all have a pretty narrow stereotype of what an evangelist is, and for many of us to talk about doing evangelism seems outside both our tradition as Presbyterians and our comfort zone as mainline Protestants. But should that really be the case? We call the biblical gospel writers evangelists because through their writings they are telling the “good news” of the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We do this all the time – in fact, every week – here at BMPC. But too often we make the assumption that evangelism means “saving souls” or confrontational conversions. On Sundays from June 26 - July 24 at 11:15 a.m., we are going to dig more into this topic together as a congregation. We will look at the tradition of evangelism and why it makes so many of us uncomfortable. We will also spend time with three of our mission partners here in Philadelphia who consider evangelism to be a vital part of their ministry in the city – Andy Greenhow from Broad Street Ministry, Karen Rohr from Beacon and Adan Mairena from West Kensington Ministry. In our final week we will think about the future of evangelism at BMPC as we prepare to call a new Associate Pastor for Congregational Life who will help us to better engage in authentic evangelism as a congregation. 4 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
Ecology of Wonder By Courtenay Willcox
Your Environmental Justice Committee works to find different ways to connect the BMPC community to creation care and environmental justice. On the weekend of March 5 and 6, we partnered with Adult Education and had an opportunity to see our aweinspiring world through scripture. The Rev. Dr. William Brown, theologian and Old Testament professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, allowed us a glimpse into scripture’s sacred sense of life-transforming wonder. We studied, worshiped, shared the hospitality of the table and explored our talents as silk painters, rendering artistic expressions of air, fire and water. The silk banners have been on display in the Ministries Center Court. Bill reminded us that John Calvin said the Bible is like a pair of spectacles that enable us to interpret the world in new ways, and that God is the author of two books the first is the Bible and the second is nature. We heard three creation stories in Exodus, Proverbs and Job. We saw the fingerprints of the divine in God’s created works; we looked at Wisdom’s play within God’s boundaries, and then we heard from God out of the whirlwind. God’s story is our story. It was a weekend that renewed and energized us to look at creation with a sense of awe and also of responsibility. Our interdependence on our world extends responsibility to us to till, keep, serve and preserve our natural home.
Calling All Gardeners
Watch for opportunities to help with our Common Ground initiative. This spring and summer, we’ll plant and maintain the beds next to the Radnor Street parking lot. To get involved, contact CarolSchmidt@bmpc.org, ext. 8819.
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Crisis in Syria
By the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick
Since the beginning of 2011 as the Arab Spring movement spread into Syria, the Christian community in Syria has responded with compassion and efficiency to the humanitarian and hospitality crisis in their midst. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been in partnership with the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon since 1823, and they continue to work to provide safety, education and relief to those who have been displaced. Amgad Beblawi, Coordinator for Presbyterian World Mission in the Middle East and Europe, has recently written of his work and observations during the Syrian conflict: New life was breathed into many churches in the region as they responded to crises in their countries by extending hospitality and providing relief to their neighbors. Hundreds of local churches across Iraq and Syria provided shelter for victims of ISIL and implemented relief programs that have proven to be much more efficient and compassionate than secular international relief organizations. Denominational offices of Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic churches became coordinating centers to support the relief work of local churches. Churches worldwide provided financial resources to support the work of Middle Eastern churches. Perhaps this is the first mandate for the global church in disasters like this one – to show compassion, care for the wounded, provide hospitality to the refugee and give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name.
BMPC Responds In the fall of 2015 when the international refugee crisis filled our news and our prayers, we began a variety of conversations about how we could respond to this global humanitarian crisis. It was clear, as we held both large and small conversations, that our response would need to be three-fold. • First, we have been called to partner with the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon as it serves those who have remained in Syria and those who are currently living in UN camps in Lebanon. Our Session, in partnership with our Worldwide Ministries Council, is providing a grant of $80,000 for schools in Lebanon for refugee children, scholarship support for students remaining in Syria, relief to internally displaced Syrians, support for Presbyterian World Mission and the work of Mission Co-Worker, the Rev. Elmarie Parker. • Second, we have been called to a ministry of hospitality to open our lives to support those fortunate few who will be granted refugee status and relocated to the Philadelphia area. Our session has set aside $20,000 to be used in our future work of supporting these local refugees. • Finally, we have been called to respond through education and interfaith dialogue as we seek to change the conversation in our own communities about the connectedness of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and the potential to nurture both institutional and personal relationships. Our Adult Education Council has set a goal for the 2016/2017 program year to provide multiple classes and events focused on Interfaith Dialogue. 6 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
The Need for BMPC’s Hunger Support By Pam Haynes Walsh
Your Hunger Envelopes and food donations to BMPC’s Hunger Committee help fight hunger in our own neighborhoods through financial and food donations to Narbeth’s New Horizons Senior Center, ElderNet’s Ada Mutch Community Resource Center and Food Pantry, and the Ardmore Food Pantry. All serve local residents regardless of income and have experienced increasing demand over the last few years. Narberth’s New Horizons Senior Center helps seniors “age in place” by providing health and wellness, nutrition and educational services as well as recreational activities to approximately 1,000 Narberth and Lower Merion adults. Last year it served nearly 3,700 nutritious daily lunches to approximately 290 seniors and held nutrition education and cooking classes. Providing good nutrition in an active supportive community contributes to overall health, wellness and independent living. “We are so grateful for [BMPC’s] longstanding support. It was remarkably helpful to receive the Hunger Committee’s generous increase, as during the last fiscal year, New Horizons experienced a 39% increase in the utilization of all our programs and services and a 43% increase in the number of meals we provided. Thanks for helping us meet that need!” - Elissa Berardi, Executive Director, New Horizons
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Nearly 2,500 individuals received services and food assistance from ElderNet last year, a number that increases 10-15% annually. The Ada Mutch Center and Food Pantry provided more than 500 people (including 270 seniors) with free food, holiday meals and grocery shopping trips. In addition to directly providing older adults with food, care mangers help them receive government benefits, Meals on Wheels and other nutritional services. “Bryn Mawr’s Hunger Ministry has helped ElderNet and its Ada Mutch Center and Food Pantry immensely. Through continued volunteerism and donations of food, community members in greatest need have received nutritious groceries that have helped them stay healthier, as hunger directly results in poor health outcomes for older adults.” - Marisa Ferst, Executive Director, ElderNet
Last year the Ardmore Food Pantry provided groceries to 2,950 local families, up nearly 74% from 2013. Approximately 50% of the recipients are seniors. Because Ardmore Food Pantry doesn’t receive government funding, it relies on private donations. The Pantry serves “anyone who’s hungry” regardless of income. Every Monday guests can shop for approximately $50 worth of groceries including fresh seasonal produce from local gardens and co-ops. “It’s a real community effort in so many ways. We only survive because of financial and food donations to stock our cabinets. We just received a check from BMPC. The timing was amazing because donations are usually low at the beginning of the year.” - Susan Furst, Ardmore Food Pantry
Our 2016 Outreach Mission Partners L
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By the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick
Each year our Outreach Council works with our mission partners to learn more about new and longstanding initiatives and how Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church can support them through volunteers, prayer, advocacy and financial support. The Outreach Council is unique in its significant support for the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the Presbytery’s mission initiatives and ministries focused on the West Philadelphia region of the city. Above is a snapshot of our 2016 outreach partners. To join the work of the Outreach Council or to learn more about how to connect as a volunteer with these mission partners, contact RebeccaKirkpatrick@bmpc.org, ext. 8818. A. Artwell working in James Rhodes Elementary School B. theVillage working with the Southwest Children’s Wellness Collaborative C. Arch Street Preschool D. Broad Street Ministry E. West Kensington Ministry F. Turning Points for Children – FAST Program
G. Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia – Walking the Walk H. Habitat for Humanity – West Philadelphia Repair Program and House Rehab I. United Community Clinic J. West Philadelphia Alliance for Children K. The Christian Association at UPENN L. Urban Tree Connection
Not pictured on the map are Camp Kirkwood-Brainerd, Central Presbyterian Church of Norristown and Chester Eastside Afterschool Camp. 8 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
Children & Family Update By The Rev. Rachel Pedersen
Thank You, Teachers
Each week over 20 volunteers come together to help lead Sunday school programs at BMPC. They share love, dedication, creativity and a deep faith with our children. They help to welcome new members, proclaim the gospel, and even help our youngest members find their place in the church. Some step in at the last minute as emergency substitutes, some serve for a season, and others are faithful leaders arriving each Sunday. All of them help to create a vibrant and safe space for all of God’s children on Sunday mornings. Take a moment and thank a Sunday school teacher you know! Come and help shape faith as a teacher, classroom helper, or occasional volunteer in our children’s ministry. Contact MaryRichards@bmpc.org, ext. 8811.
Summer Sunday Schedule Last Day of Regular Sunday School: May 22 No Sunday School: May 29 - June 5; July 3 Summer Sunday School (age 4 - grade 3): June 12 - August 21, 10:15 a.m. Childcare with special activities for age 2 - 3, Education Building Room 101. Regular Sunday School Resumes: September 11
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Vacation Bible School Children age 3 - rising 5th graders are invited to join us for a fun-filled week of creating and serving together from June 21 - 24 with a special kick-off on June 20. As we develop a theme of “Building the Kingdom of God,” we will construct a village while learning about the great builders of the Bible—Nehemiah, Noah, Miriam and Lydia. We’ll also help our mission partners around the world as they work for God’s Kingdom here and now. Registration is open online at www.bmpc.org.
Lend A Hand
We have volunteer opportunities for all ages! Before camp begins: prepare crafts • gather pictures and information about mission partners • help with registration and forms • help with decorations and set-up During camp: go to mission sites with 4th and 5th graders • lead a crew of students • help with crafts • help with games • be a greeter • help with snacks After camp: be part of the clean- up crew
VBC Wish List
Contact MaryRichards@bmpc.org if you can donate or lend us any of the following items: Decorations: wheelbarrows • old tools • buckets • extra lumber • crates For Crafts and Games: large cardboard boxes • broken or old pottery and dishes (will not be returned) • tarps or drop cloths • 15 mm or larger crochet hooks • small ladders For Mission Projects: granola bars • snack packs
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Youth Ministry Update
By the Rev. Kellen Smith
Confirmation 2016
Confirmation Sunday marks the end of Confirmation. There are no more sermon review or mentor interview sheets for confirmands to complete. After Confirmation Sunday, confirmands could choose to not walk back into the church until Christmas or Easter. However, what if instead Confirmation Sunday was a defining moment in the lives of our young people? What if Confirmation Sunday wasn’t just a rite of passage, but marked a stronger commitment to the church and a deeper relationship with God? With God’s help, what if the Confirmation classes in our churches redefined the faith of the next generation of Presbyterians? Whether or not we ourselves went through confirmation, we’ve all had defining moments on our journeys of faith. At some point, we’ve experienced something that changed our lives going forward. Maybe it was a week at church camp, a meaningful conversation with a friend or mentor, a mission trip or sermon that left us changed. Defining moments stay with us. For our confirmands, one defining moment is when they are asked the questions of membership as they publicly profess their faith. The first question asks: “Do you trust in the gracious mercy of God?” One way to define the mercy of God is in God’s words to the Apostle Paul found in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My power is made perfect in weakness.” Confirmation Sunday may be the end of Confirmation, but it is also the beginning of a defining moment when the faith of each confirmand becomes their own. That is what changes going forward. The faith of their families, the faith they were raised with, now belongs to them. It is their responsibility and their joy. As parents or adult mentors, our faith is a mirror. Our faith will be reflected in our children. What kind of spiritual lives do we want for our children? It’s not about having all the answers to the mysteries of faith, but about trusting in the gracious mercy of God. Rather than trying to have everything figured out, as parents and caring adults we can model a faith in Christ that makes God’s power perfect in our weaknesses. As children and adults, we are all recipients of God’s gracious mercy. As members of the church universal, we have the opportunity to find strength in our weaknesses. And in those weaknesses, God’s power is made perfect. 11 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
Interfaith Youth Program
On April 10, youth from BMPC took part in an interfaith program called “Walking the Walk,” coordinated by the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia. The event included youth from other local congregations: Mainline Reform Temple, New Horizons Islamic School, and Mainline Unitarian Church. Our time together included an exploration of BMPC’s sacred spaces (the Sanctuary and Chapel) that allowed non-Christian youth to formulate questions about our Presbyterian tradition. There was also a panel with religious leaders from different faiths so our teens could ask questions and more deeply understand the differences and similarities of each tradition. At tables of mixed faith traditions, youth also engaged in an exercise called “speed faithing” where participants rotated around the room with the opportunity to have brief, but informative, conversations about one another’s faiths. Teens shared insights from their perspective with authenticity and explored questions with curiosity. The time of sharing and conversation built upon connections that were made by some of the same youth during the MLK Jr. Interfaith Service Day. The experience that our youth shared is a symbol for peacemaking and interfaith dialogue that can be an example for all.
Peru Mission Trip
In July, high school youth and adult leaders will be serving in Peru with PC(USA) Mission Co-Workers Jed and Jenny Koball. The mission site is the Casa del Buen Trato (“Home of Good Care”) located in Huanuco, Peru, Jenny Koball which is a shelter for child and adolescent survivors of sexual abuse as well as a refuge for women and children survivors of domestic abuse. It provides a comprehensive approach in helping survivors re-integrate into society by addressing the health, psychological, legal, educational, employment, family and spiritual needs of each resident. It is the only such shelter in the country outside of the capital city of Lima, and most of the residents come from extreme poverty. The shelter is located in a quiet rural setting adjacent to a farm. The long-term goal for financial stability of the shelter is to generate funds through a simple bed and breakfast facility on the farm, a small restaurant, and the sale of milk products. The team from BMPC will provide needed assistance to the shelter through several projects: assisting in the construction of a bungalow for visits from family members of the residents, repairing the cowstable on the farm, and planting fruit trees. We’ll also participate in activities with the residents of the shelter: volleyball, crafts, and homework. These community-building activities are a significant part of the healing process for survivors. During the week, as we spend time reflecting about violence against women in the larger society (including the U.S.), we’ll consider what roles we can take as individuals and as a church to address this grave injustice. 12 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
A Story of BMPC Community By Lorie Benovic
Recently I had lunch with church member Audrey Ingram, who asked me if I knew Mary Jane Kleckner, whom she knew from their days of volunteering at BMPC memorial receptions. Not knowing the name, I called Mary Jane and learned that she had given up her car, and that she missed coming to church. I suggested that we could send her CD’s of our worship services, as administrative assistant Amy Bauer makes copies of our recordings and mails them upon request. A few weeks later, Mary Jane called me to tell how much she has enjoyed the CDs. “I try to listen to them from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. during worship time and follow along with the readings in my bible and sing along with my old hymnal,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed them so much I hated to just toss them out, so I am now sending them to my sister
and her husband in Durham, NC who also are unable to get to church due to age and disability. My sister then passes them along to her pastor to distribute to church members who can’t get there on Sundays.” Mary Jane noted that her family has all been involved with the Presbyterian Church for many years. She sang with Singing for Life and says she loves to have the opportunity to hear herself sing at worship. When I asked her if we could share this story, she thanked me and said, “You’ve made my day and now I will ‘go forth,’ as Dr. Watermulder always said at the end of his sermons.” Many thanks to those of you who keep us informed about absent church members and help us make these connections!
APNC Report By Susan Dawejko
Your Associate Pastor Nominating Committee has hit the ground running in its work to fill our two open pastoral positions. Over the coming months its members will follow a prescribed process to locate the candidates whom God is calling to serve us in the positions of Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care and Senior Adults, and Associate Pastor for Congregational Life and Stewardship. Committee members have met with liaisons from the Presbytery, our church staff design team, and our pastors to discuss desired characteristics and competencies and how to find the best candidates. The committee also hosted Open Forums for input from the congregation. Please keep the members of the APNC in your prayers as they work to discern God’s will for us: Mary Bassett, Paul Bergsteinsson, Tim Bickhart (not pictured), Susan Dawejko, Ron Gregg, Bob Overhiser, Janney Ryan, Susan Thorkelson, and Brian Walsh. 13 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
Music and Fine Arts News
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony By Jeffrey Brillhart
This June, our Sanctuary Choir is pleased to join forces with Philadelphia’s Singing City Choir and the National Music Festival Orchestra for two performances of a beloved classic - Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, as well as the Mozart Concerto for Bassoon. Members of our choir and Singing City will travel to the National Music Festival in Chestertown, MD to first perform this work as part of the Festival on Saturday, June 11. Then, the Festival orchestra and singers will travel to Pennsylvania to give an encore performance in our Sanctuary on Sunday, June 12, at 3:00 p.m. The mission of the National Music Festival, held at Washington College, is to bring together inspiring mentors and the next generation of gifted musicians, providing education, scholarships and affordable, adventurous public performances. All apprentices receive full scholarships. For two weeks each June, these musicians live and work together, presenting over 35 concerts — ranging from solo recitals to large symphony orchestra performances with chorus — and 200 free open rehearsals for music lovers from all over the world. Tickets to the June 12 performance at BMPC are $10 for adults and $5 for students and are available for purchase at www.bmpc.org. For more information about the National Music Festival, visit www.nationalmusic.us.
Upcoming Exhibits By Jean Wolf and Bonnie Atwood
A Project HOME exhibit, “Empowering the Homeless through Art,” will be on view Sunday, May 8 to Sunday, May 29 in our Ministries Center. Philadelphia’s Project HOME Art Program helps participants reach their fullest potential as individuals as they discover the joy of creativity, learn new techniques, and engage in self expression. The development of these skills not only reduces stress but also renews self-esteem. Learn more about Project Home on Sunday, May 8, at 11:15 AM at a talk by Larry Arney in the Ministries Center. A new mixed-media art show featuring works by church members and friends opens on Sunday, June 5. These items may be sold to profit the artist and our Visual Arts program. Interested participants can download the Guidelines from the BMPC website under Visual Arts. 14 MESSENGER | Post Easter 2016
The Messenger Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church 625 Montgomery Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 610-525-2821 The Messenger (USPS #341840) Volume #118, Issue #3 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
Summer Sunday Schedule • • • •
Worship at 8:00 a.m. and at 10:00 a.m. Childcare for infants – age 3, 7:45-11:15 a.m. Sunday School for age 4 – rising 3rd graders, 10:15 a.m. (beginning June 12 after the Children’s Moment in worship) Grades 4 - 12 worship with their families Evangelism Discussions, Sundays, June 26 - July 24, 11:15 a.m.
Calling All Singers Come to our choir loft at 9:00 a.m. on any summer Sunday from June 19 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). Questions? StephanieSpeakman@ bmpc.org, ext. 8836.