www.johncalvinpres.org 1 THE Inside this issue: Letter from the Pastor Dear JCPC Friends, Twice in the last week I have encountered young families who have told me about their “church shopping” experiences. Both were tales of whoa regarding having to endure long, boring stewardship sermons. Understandably, in the Thanksgiving / pre-Christmas season they wanted to hear a different message. My response was twofold: churches have to budget and you visited as churches are developing next year’s budget, and, you should have shopped at JCPC. COURIER A PUBLICATION OF JOHN CALVIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Why Sing Global Songs? 3-5 Donate to Kisima Child Care Academy 6-7 Prisca Circle Hypothermia Lunches 8 ACCA 2013-2014 Challenge Grant Begins 8 2013 Alternative Gift Market/ Breakfast in Bethlehem 9 Advent Sermon Series/ Christmas Eve Worship 10 News, Notes, and Anecdotes 11 December Calendar 13 In my sermons I try not to be heavy handed or formulaic in the stewardship season because of the reputation “churches are always looking for money.” Churches are not alone. The average mailbox at this time of year is usually occupied by at least two or three requests for donations to worthy causes every day. It is hard to decide how to stretch those donation dollars. Inside these (continued on page 2) Advent is about actively preparing for and anticipating God coming into our lives – not only preparing for the celebration of Christ’s birth in a few weeks but actively preparing for God to come into our lives EVERY DAY! God’s presence with us – and our presence with those who are precious to God – brings us closer to God. We grow spiritually, love deeply, and work for peace and justice for all God’s people. During this Advent season we hear God’s message of love, peace, and justice from the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah challenges us with a message of peace that demands us to work for the well-being of everyone, not simply to set aside our weapons (Isaiah 2:1–5). God’s peace requires our participation and energy – just as much energy (continued on page 2) Actively Waiting DECEMBER 2013
Transcript
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THE
Inside this issue:
Letter from the Pastor
Dear JCPC Friends,
Twice in the last week I have encountered young families who have told me about their “church shopping” experiences. Both were tales of whoa regarding having to endure long, boring stewardship sermons.
Understandably, in the Thanksgiving / pre-Christmas season they wanted to hear a different message. My response was twofold: churches have to budget and you visited as churches are developing next year’s budget, and, you should have shopped at JCPC.
COURIER A PUBLICATION OF JOHN CALVIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Why Sing Global Songs? 3-5
Donate to Kisima Child Care Academy
6-7
Prisca Circle Hypothermia Lunches
8
ACCA 2013-2014 Challenge Grant Begins
8
2013 Alternative Gift Market/Breakfast in Bethlehem
9
Advent Sermon Series/Christmas Eve Worship
10
News, Notes, and Anecdotes 11
December Calendar 13
In my sermons I try not to be heavy handed or formulaic in the stewardship season because of the reputation “churches are always looking for money.”
Churches are not alone. The average mailbox at this time of year is usually occupied by at least two or three requests for donations to worthy causes every day.
It is hard to decide how to stretch those donation dollars. Inside these
(continued on page 2)
Advent is about actively preparing for and anticipating God coming into our lives – not only preparing for the celebration of Christ’s birth in a few weeks but actively preparing for God to come into our lives EVERY DAY! God’s presence with us – and
our presence with those who are precious to God – brings us closer to God. We grow spiritually, love deeply, and work for peace and justice for all God’s people.
During this Advent season we hear God’s message of love, peace, and justice from the
Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah challenges us with a message of peace that demands us to work for the well-being of everyone, not simply to set aside our weapons (Isaiah 2:1–5). God’s peace requires our participation and energy – just as much energy
(continued on page 2)
Actively Waiting
DECEMBER 2013
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Letter from the Pastor (continued from page 1)
pages are worthy requests for your donation consideration.
I also respectfully request that you review the status of your 2013-pledged commitment to the church. In a year over year comparison, we are a bit behind on collecting the pledged amount. Please also prayerfully consider your pledge for 2014. Your pledges help us to plan for the keeping the day-to-day operations of the church running smoothly.
Advent, the season of anticipation and hope, is upon us. JCPC has much to look forward to in
the coming year; renovated spaces, creative ways to connect with God and each other, as well as ways to serve God out in the world.
Please read on to see how JCPC is bringing faith to life!
Yours in Christ,
as we might have spent fighting. Isaiah also shares a vision of power that’s up-ended, reversed – “And a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). But how can this be? This is the hope-filled vision of a new world, a world of peace and harmony. A world we’d like to live in today.
Mary herself becomes a prophet – proclaiming a message of liberation to the poor and marginalized (Luke 1:47–55). She carries the great Liberator in her womb and following God’s will she’ll nurture and protect that hope for us all. And along with Mary, Joseph responds
to God’s message, received in a dream, to welcome and care for Jesus (Matthew 1:18–25). Joseph and Mary gave up their our own lives and desires for God. Their example helps us lean into God’s will for us in today’s world. Advent can be a very busy time of year. It’s a time when the church says, “Wait,” and savor these four weeks of preparation for the coming of Christ into our lives. But many people find themselves rushing to parties, shopping malls, Christmas plays, and family gatherings. During this hurried season, it’s important
to pause and get ready for Emmanuel, God with us, to actually be with us. Advent prepares us for the message that Jesus will bring – peace, love, hope, justice, and liberation for all people. Now that’s something to celebrate!
Copyright Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2013
continued from page 1
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Why Sing Global Songs? submitted by Kevin Allen
Introduction Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God! They will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. Whenever I hear this invitation to share the Communion feast, I envision the Table continuously expanding to accommodate the faithful streaming from east, west, north, and south. While that could make for a very crowded Table, our Host makes room! Likewise, when unexpected guests arrive in our homes at mealtime, the hospitable host rearranges the table and adds additional place settings. Similar actions occur over time with congregational song. Hymnals contain a spiritual feast, replete with psalms, hymns ancient and new, and spiritual songs. As the Spirit inspires new word- and tune-smiths, hymnal committees “make room at the table” and add to the church’s song. Measured in “hymnal standard time,” congregational songs from the global community are relative newcomers. The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) includes selections from other cultures such as “Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather,” “When a Poor One,” and “Sing with Hearts.” When the 1990 hymnal first appeared, some Presbyterians were startled to find hymns printed in languages other than English! Congregations reacted in various ways, from fully embracing new texts and tunes to rejecting them outright. Some congregations found middle ground, incorporating songs representing the global church in worship on Pentecost or World Communion Sunday.
Why Songs from Other Cultures? It requires work to learn, teach, and lead congregational songs from other cultures, so why should we sing them in worship? We certainly
sing about singing with the world. We sing texts exhorting “all people on earth,” or “all creatures,” or “the world,” or “the church” to join together in singing praise to God. Consider our legacy in these eighteenth-century psalm paraphrases by Isaac Watts:
From all that dwell below the skies Let the Creator’s praise arise. Let the Redeemer’s Name be sung (continued on page 4)
Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in local church setting.
Dear God, You are close to us— closer than hands or feet, closer than our breathing. You are the God who has promised to Stay with us in covenants that cannot be broken. We thank you for Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for his institution of the New Covenant. Stand by us in our times of bewilderment, in our times of despondency, in our times of panic. Place our feet on solid ground and Help us to believe that you will lead us each day. Amen. —Robert D. Young, Let Us Pray: Reformed Prayers for Christian Worship, Martha S. Gilliss, editor (Westminster John Knox Press, 2002) 99.
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Through every land, in every tongue. —Presbyterian Hymnal #229
Every Christmas we lustily sing: Joy to the world! The Saviour reigns: Let us our songs employ; While fields, and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy. —Presbyterian Hymnal #40
From “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun” (Presbyterian Hymnal #423), we frequently sing this common Watts text for World Communion:
People and realms of every tongue Dwell on his love with sweetest song, And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on His name.
By singing world congregational songs in our local churches, we move from singing about singing with the world to actual singing with the world! That could transform our worship.
How We Are Changed Michael Hawn, noted practitioner and scholar in global song, suggests that if “you choose to sing and pray locally with a global vision, your worship may never be the same.”1 What will singing global congregational song locally actually do to us?
We worship with new, rich images of God, Christ, and Spirit. D. T. Niles, Sri Lankan evangelist, said, “The gospel came to us as a potted plant. We have to break the pot and set the plant in our own soil.”2 When the gospel does take root in another cul-ture, songs and liturgical practices vary, offering unique imagery.
“Carol Our Christmas,” a New Zealand carol, reminds us that the incarnation was a cosmic event, not bounded by northern European customs. Singing this carol with New Zealanders, we welcome the Christ child in the season of the southern hemisphere.
Carol our Christmas, an upside-down Christmas: snow is not falling and trees are not bare.3 The seventeenth-century Huron carol “’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” (Presbyterian Hymnal #61) depicts the Christ child’s birth in a “lodge of broken bark,” wrapped in a “ragged robe of rabbit skin.”
The Chinese hymn “Holy Spirit, You’re Like the Wind” is a sung prayer using several images of the Spirit: wind, spring, fire, sword. A particularly vivid image is the line “Holy Spirit, you’re like the oil that lights houses with glowing lamps.”4
Although these hymns were not “birthed in our culture,” we can sing them because “they teach us something of the richness in God.”5
We worship with new sounds, instruments, and rhythms. The gospel has taken root in cultures that embrace different musical practices. Much of the global church’s song is monophonic and is not accompanied by piano, organ, or praise band. Singing in unison unifies and strengthens our voice. Using appropriate indigenous instruments such as African drums, beaded gourds, maracas, flutes, tambourines, or finger cymbals adds new dimensions to our sound.
We view the gospel through the lens of Christians living, working, and praying in(continued on page 5)
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other parts of the world. The gospel has taken root in cultures where people experience poverty and limited freedom. In singing their song, we stand with them in their struggles. Paradoxically, their texts express a faith, hope, and generosity that both humbles and inspires!
“When a Poor One” (Presbyterian Hymnal #407) envisions a world where the poor share with strangers, the thirsty give water, and the weak strengthen others. Consider the truth and faith beautifully expressed in the Communion hymn “Sheaves of Summer” (Presbyterian Hymnal #518).
We are sharing the same communion meal, We are wheat by the same great Sower sown;
Like a millstone, life grinds us down with sorrow and pain, But God makes us new people bound by love.6
From east and west, north and south, we all come to the Table eager to share our songs at the Feast. When we sing with the world, we catch a glimpse of a Table where there will be no “other,” a Table where there will be no divisions, and a Table where we will all sing a more profound Alleluia!
About the Writer Beverly A. Howard is a professor of music at California Baptist University and organist at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverside, California. She is a former editor of The Hymn: A Journal of Congregational Song and a member of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song.
Endnotes 1. C. Michael Hawn, Halle, Halle: We Sing the World Round (Garland, TX: Chorister’s Guild, 1999), 4.2. Ibid.3. Shirley Erena Murray, In Every Corner Sing: The Hymns of Shirley Erena Murray (Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Company, 1992), #2.4. Wei-fan Wang, “Holy Spirit, You’re Like the Wind,” in Global Praise 3, ed. S T Kimbrough, Jr. (New York: General Board of Global Ministries, 2004), #107.5. Presbyterian Hymnal Project, “The New Collection of Presbyterian Hymns and Songs, ” Theological Vision Statement, http:www.presbyterianhymnal.org/TheologicalVision.asp (accessed March 10, 2011). Cesáreo Gabaráin, “Sheaves of Summer,” in The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990), #518.
Do you ever get frustrated because there are notes to a song or hymn that are just too high or too low? There actually is no hard-and-fast rule regarding singing range for tune writers. However, Americans now sing within a narrower range than we once did because of lack of practice. When we sing regularly, our range extends considerably, though not indefinitely, of course. The hymn range does not matter much for those who are able to sing harmony. They just find the range that fits them.
Most tunes do not go lower than the A below middle C, nor do they go higher than the E an octave above middle C. Previous generations felt comfortable singing as high as F or an occasional G an octave above middle C. When we speak loudly, we usually push down and speak in a lower pitch than we would using our “normal” speaking voice. This makes our singing less flexible unless we sing regularly. Aging voices that don’t regularly sing also lose their ability to sing the outer ranges.
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Prisca Circle will be creating lunches for
Bailey's Crossroads Shelter during the
Hypothermia Season 2013/2014. As in the
past we will meet on Thursday mornings at
9:45am in the Fellowship Hall or Kitchen to
assemble lunches on the following days:
December 26
January 9
January 23
February 6
February 20
March 6
We assemble 50 sandwiches (no pork or
peanuts), a snack bar, chips, fruit, water, and
napkins in a brown bag; then deliver them to the
shelter before noon the same day. It is always
good fun and help is appreciated. Donations are
also appreciated to help purchase the food for the
lunches and can be dropped off at the office or
put in the offering plate with “PRISCA” in the
memo line. Prisca Circle is also accepting
donations of Target gift cards for adults at
Shelter House.
Prisca Circle Hypothermia Lunches
ACCA 2013-2014 Challenge Grant Begins by Diane McEldowney
ACCA Proudly serving the community in its 46th year
“One of the best small non-profits in the Washington Metro Area”
(high-ranking again in 2013, according to Catalogue of Philanthropy)
Why is this organization so well-respected?
Nearly 97 percent of donations go to services because more than 700 volunteers do most of ACCA’s work.
Why is it so important?
Needs are great in our neighborhood and your help is vital.
ACCA’s 2013-2014 Challenge Grant Campaign has begun. The Washington Forrest Foundation has awarded ACCA a challenge grant -- $18,000 this year. Combined with funds from anonymous donors, our current Challenge Grant is $39,000. The goal this year is to raise a grand total of $156,000.
Success in this campaign will help ACCA provide emergency assistance and other critical services for thousands of struggling households in our immediate area. ACCA also provides high-quality day care for infants and preschool children, enabling their parents to work and to give their young ones a fair start in school and in life. Examples of ways ACCA has been able to help our neighbors in need include:
Rent to prevent eviction of families Utility bill payments so utilities will not be
shut off Payment of security deposits that allow
families to move to subsidized housing Delivery of food and hygiene essentials
to families Help in purchasing critical medication Providing basic furniture, bedding and linens
for refugees and families Tuition assistance to keep children enrolled
in the Child Development Center
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2013 Alternative Gift Market
Want to give the gift that inspires change this Christmas season? You can do that at
John Calvin's 2013 Alternative Gift Market (AGM). This year we will be holding it in Fellowship Hall from 11 to 1 on Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8. Instead of buying another thing for Christmas, the Alternative
Gift Market gives you the opportunity to buy water for a village, food for a child, or education for a girl, all in the name of the gift recipient. And there are several categories of gifts, including education, gender equality, child mortality reduction, maternal health, medical services, and environmental sustainability. The gifts come in many price ranges, some as little as $6.
For each gift you buy you will get a Christmas card for recipient that explains the alternative gift. You will also be able to give alternative gifts for ACCA and Kisima Child Care Academy. Come to the Alternative Gift Market and give gifts of hope and love this holiday season!
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Sunday Worship 10:00 am
ENTER THE SONGS
Dec 1 Mary’s Song— “God Is My Redeemer”
(from Luke 1:39-56)
Dec 8 Zechariah’s Jesus Song— “The Horn of Salvation”
(from Luke 1:67-75)
Dec 15 Zechariah’s John Song— “The Rising Sunshine”
(from Luke 2:25-33)
Dec 22 Simeon’s Song— “Light to the Gentiles”
(from Luke 2:25-33)
Faith Formation Hour for all ages at 11:15 a.m.
Christmas Eve
Worship Services December 24
Family Service
5:00 pm Lessons & Carols
7:00pm (Prelude at 6:45pm)
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Assistance such as this cannot continue without your support. Evictions, foreclosures, unemployment, and cuts in federal, state and local government programs mean that more funds need to be raised by ACCA. Our annual Challenge Grant Campaign is a critical source of funding.
Please consider a generous contribution and send it to ACCA by January 31, 2014 and note
“Challenge Grant” in the memo line. Donations also can be made online at atalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org. (Look for the ACCA profile.) Please also consider workplace giving: United Way #8058 or Combined Federal Campaign #58934. Thank you in advance for your generosity. ACCA is hopeful that in its 46th year it can continue to serve our needy neighbors.
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Cents-ability boxes are being collected on
the first Sunday of every month. The next
one will be January 5.
Information for the January Courier must be received by the church
office by December 20th.
December 3 ~ Joy Hodge Jean Leach 5 ~ Laura Johnson 7 ~ Don Knieriem 9 ~ Joseph Semendinger 11 ~ Alexis Granados 15 ~ Jung Smith Jay Sloan 17 ~ Robin Pesnell Laura Loy 23 ~ Ryan Trimble 24 ~ Allan Kuhns Grace Ofosu 27 ~ Ellen McCrary-Mayer Susan Budney 28 ~ Ruth Semendinger 29 ~ Lisa Dolan Ruby McIntyre
The Lunch Bunch Holiday Luncheon will be at Marie Monsen's house on Friday, December 6 at noon. Call Marie (703-354-9408) or Marti Kirschbaum (703-941-9236) if you would like to go. Newcomers are always welcome.
Youth Bake Sale The annual Bake Sale sponsored by our JCPC
Youth will be on Dec. 8, following the worship
service. It will beheld in conjunction with the
AGM. All proceeds go to the youth group for
their activities. Come prepared to stock up on cookies,
brownies, small cakes, and more, and to support
your youth!
Longest Night Meditation Service December 19, 7:00 pm
In this season , as days get shorter, there is a longing for the light of God’s presence. Join
us for a contemplative service of readings, meditations, and simple hymns in which to center and
reflect on the many emotions of the season.
Prisca Circle
Annual Wrap, Warble & Wassail We will wrap holiday cookies for the adults at Shelter house, drink some
Wassail and Warble a few Christmas Carols
Tuesday—7:30 pm ~ Dec 10th
at the home of Margie White
4007 Whispering Lane (across from
Church)
703-642-0749
Please bring dozens of Holiday Cookies to share & wrap for Shelter House
