Pine Street Pine Street Presbyterian Church
VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 8
Haiti Impressions by Howard Ambe
by Rebekah Anderson
When first landing at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port Au Prince Haiti, you see the overused abandoned planes on the side of the airport. You see a few shacklike homes on the verge of collapse being hidden by taller and slightly more appealing buildings. As you enter the airport, you’re first greeted by a small band playing Caribbean style music; making you feel welcome into their island home. You make your way through the airport, get through customs, taking notice of the new and obvious renovations done to the airport. You notice the art on the walls, the cafés, the shops, all modern and Westernized. Then you make you make your way outdoors. After gathering your things, getting on the bus, having gotten over the initial shock of the intense humidity, you start to drive into the city of Port Au
When you imagine Haiti, it is difficult not to envision Haiti as it was in 2010 following its devastating earthquake. The images of chaos and destruction wiping out countless homes and killing thousands of people are hard to forget. I was fortunate enough to see an entirely different Haiti than what is often portrayed in the media. Driving through Port Au Prince immediately after arrival in Haiti was a shocking experience. Despite the blazing heat, leaving the parking lot of the airport seemed almost normal. A few miles from where our bus was parked, I could see a bill board advertising Coca Cola products. Cars zoomed by at a pace that I was used to. People were speaking English all around me. As I got into the bus, I couldn’t help but think that this familiarity wouldn’t last. As we drove around Port Au
See HOWARD on page 4
See REBEKAH on page 5
Rally Day 2013: Opening Doors to Discipleship by Cheryl A. Goode
September marks the beginning of the church year for Christians. This is a time to rally together, but more so a time of reflection on the hope for the church, and the call that we have as Christians to share God’s love and peace with the world. We will continue to be thinking about our church and what we do at Pine Street. We will be thinking about “fellowship” which is an important word in the life of local churches. Fellowship means more than simply meeting for a chat over coffee. It means to share in common, with a mutual commitment to one another.
See RALLY DAY on page 2
AUGUST 1, 2013
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Session Notes. . . . . . . . . . . 2 Trustee Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DDB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 August Calendar. . . . . . . . . 7 August Scripture. . . . . . . . . 8
August At A Glance Receiption for Rev. Lang . . 11 Potluck/Hymnal Info. . . . . . 25
PSL Deadline Articles, photos and items of interest for the September, 2013 issue of Pine Street Life are due by August 15, 2013. Please e-mail to Sue Black at BL3COL@aol.com