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CPC Links
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Past Sermons
CPC Online
Pastor's Blog
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In This Issue
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Worship Changes
December Preview
Pastor on the Road
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Thanksgiving Opportunities
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While CPC will be quiet over the holiday, there are many opportunities in Arlington to share the spirit of gratitude in service to our neighbors. Personally, I'll be taking part in Alexandria's 5-mile Turkey Trot that supports food ministries in Alexandria. I'd be loyal to Arlington, but its race begins at 8:00 a.m. while Alexandria's is closer to our house and begins at 10!
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Pastoral Notes & Words of Thanks
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We continue to hold the entire Kern household in the light this week. Kristi has joined Shawn and Keira suffering serious flu symptoms.
We hold Jean Ensminger in the light this week. Jean is in hospital, feeling better follow heart procedures, and reports that she'll be back with us soon.
Thanks to Cheryl for coordinating last week's third-Sunday brunch, and to Don Hodgen, Peg True, Karen Kimmel, Ted Billings, Clark Chesser, Travis Reindl, Jessica Johnson and Carol DeFord for helping make it possible.
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Help Wanted!
Opportunities to Serve | Coffee hour! As of this moment we have no one signed up to host this Sunday's coffee time. Let me know if you can step in.
Please check the "coffee hour sign-up sheet" this weekend and sign up to host a future coffee time. If you have questions about what's involved, we have answers. And they are all simple!
TAKE TWO: In an effort to cut some significant expenses we are planning an experiment in community self-sufficiency. If you're interested in doing a bit of regular grounds work, contact Marc Scarcella at m.scarcella@gmail.com. If you play your cards right you might get to drive a tractor!
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Make a Joyful Noise!
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We are the joyous people of God at CPC, and the most fun, joyous group going is the choir!
We welcome anyone who likes to sing, whether or not you know a base clef from a fine chef.
We practice at 7:00 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of most months, and meet Sunday mornings at 9:15.
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This Week @ CPC
Progressive ... Inclusive ... Diverse
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November 2009
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Greetings!
 It's a good news/bad news week. The good news? We set a record! The bad news? We set a record.
Monday evening at AFAC we filled 501 bags with groceries. Penn Bauman filled bag number 501, and with fanfare placed it on the shelf to be handed out the next day.
We should take pride in our faithful service to our hungry neighbors, but at the same time be humbled and troubled by the USDA report released this week showing hunger at its highest point in the nearly two decades the department has tracked the numbers.
Lynn Brantley of the Capital Area Food Bank told the NewsHour that "here in Washington, one of every two children is at risk of hunger. That's 50 percent of our children."
The Post reported on the hunger study in Tuesday's paper. I read it over coffee, considered the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and felt abiding gratitude for all that I have been given, and for the opportunity to join each of you in giving back that our sisters and brothers in need may share in the abundance.
Grace and peace,
David
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CPC Worship Week
Sunday is the last day of the year! No, you did not sleep through the holidays, and the November date on this e-news is correct. Still, Sunday is the last day of the liturgical year. We begin a new year the following Sunday, Nov. 29, with the first Sunday of Advent. The Sunday of Christ the King brings liturgical year to its end with acknowledgment that God has fulfilled the promise with which we began: "For unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the
mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." We'll talk this Sunday about what the "kingship" of Jesus means in our lives. The texts for Sunday are
Revelation 1:4b-8 and John 18:33-37. The meditation is "Alpha and Omega and Living Everyday."
We continue our prayerful consideration of giving, and elder Chuck Abbott will share his thoughts with us.
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Worship Team Announces Changes Coming Soon!
With the new liturgical calendar that begins Nov. 29, the First Sunday of Advent, worship at CPC will have a few changes.
For starters, the start of worship will be a bit different. We will begin, as usual, at 10:00 a.m., but our time of gathering will open with community announcements. After the announcements, a brief musical interlude will invite us into the time of worship. The change is designed to make our time of worship remain worshipful throughout by pulling the "bulletin board" time out from the middle of worship and placing it at the beginning.
Worship during Advent will again feature a time of testimony, as members of the community share some of the most meaningful parts of the season with us.
When the secular new year arrives in January, it will bring a few additional changes. Most significantly, for several months, on one Sunday of each month we will worship downstairs in Wilson Hall. We are planning this in order to give the entire congregation the experience of worshiping in different seating arrangements.
The worship team has been studying and considering ways of making our sanctuary better support our community worship, and worshiping together in different arrangements will help us as we move forward.
St. Paul's Chapel, which famously and remarkably survived the collapse of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, and whose sanctuary housed support services for first responders throughout those traumatic days, has recently worked through what it calls "the pew project," through which they dramatically rearranged their worship space. Their on-line slide show tells the story and underscores their theological and community rationale for the changes they made. Watching it, I was struck by the similarity of their theological concerns to the ones the worship team has been discussing. Take five minutes and watch it.
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On the Road ...
I've been waving the Clarendon banner at several peacemaking and social justice events in the past several days. Last Sunday I was down in Richmond for a fundraiser for People of Faith for Equality in Virginia, on whose board is serve. The Rev. Mel White offered a moving and powerful testimony about his years with Soulforce. As you consider your charitable giving this year, please think about the work of Soul Force, People of Faith, More Light Presbyterians and others working tirelessly for a more just and faithful church.
Later in the week I joined the Afghanistan Working Group of UFPJ for a strategy meeting. At the end of the week I attended a White House background meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with representatives from 15-20 faith-based peace and development groups. Details on that meeting are on my blog.
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Holiday Events Calendar
 The new liturgical calendar begins with the first Sunday of Advent -- November 29. We dedicate our pledges for the 2010 CPC budget during worship that Sunday.
We continue the celebration on the second Sunday (Dec. 5) with "deck the halls" day. Plan to stick around following worship as we sign carols, enjoy sweets and decorate the sanctuary.
Watch for order forms at church this week for buying poinsettias ($10 for one; $7.50 apiece for two or more) to brighten the sanctuary for the season.
Saturday, Dec. 5, we hold our 2nd annual CCCC-CPC cookie decorating party at 10:00 a.m. We're getting cookies together for the families of Doorways. If you'd like to prepare some cookies for decorating, please let Molly know.
Saturday, Dec. 12, Cheryl and David host their annual cookie bake open house from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Come and bake, or come and eat! If there are any leftovers, we'll share them following worship Dec. 13.
We will be supporting the families of Doorways again this season. They welcome gift cards from Target, Safeway, or Giant, and are in particular need of new twin bed sheets in neutral colors. In addition to our work on behalf of those families, we will receive the annual Christmas Joy offering on the final Sunday of Advent.
We will gather for our annual service of lights and lessons on Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. We will receive contributions that evening to support AFAC.
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