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Gracias! Lots of Notes of Thanks that We Should Share
| Thanks to James Fisher for hosting a delicious coffee time.
We look forward to the Easter Sunday hospitality of Gwen Wray-Samans.
Coffee hour hosts are listed on the church calendar on our web site.
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Final Wii Kirk of Spring!
| Friday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m., the doors open on the final Wii Kirk night of fun and pizza!
Mr. & Ms. Pizza (aka Clark Chesser and Cheryl Lederle) will once again be churning out the best pizza in Arlington. The Wii will be on the big screen -- including the Beatles Rock Band for all you karaoke crazies -- and plenty of good food and great conversation will be shared by all.
Please bring a beverage, dessert, salad or snack to share.
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April 30: We Rebuild Together!
| Saturday, April 30, is the annual Rebuilding Together day of service. This year we will again be working with a crew from Falls Church Episcopal, and taking on the rehabilitation of a home just south of I-395 in Arlington. For details, and to volunteer, contact Tom Hull.
Boxes Needed!
In advance of the work day a CPC crew will be packing up the client's belongings for safekeeping during the painting and construction work.
We need boxes!
If you can help with finding and procuring boxes please contact Cheryl Lederle, who is organizing the pack up effort.
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| Mark Your March Calendars! | |
Coming soon to the wee kirk:
Maundy Thursday, April 21, soup supper in Wilson Hall at 6:30 p.m. followed by worship in the sanctuary.
Good Friday worship, April 22, 7:00 p.m.
Wii Kirk, Friday, April 29, 6:30 p.m.
Rebuilding Together, April 30, all day.
Music Sunday, May 1.
Christian Ed/Spiritual Formation discernment team, Sunday, May 1, 11:30.
Peter Mika in concert at CPC, Saturday, May 7, 7:00 p.m.
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Peter Mika Brings Chamber Music to CPC
| Clarinetoist Peter Mika brings Ensemble Appassionato to CPC, Saturday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. for an evening of chamber music.
The program will feature Beethoven's clarinet trio in B-flat major, and Brahm's clarinet trio in a minor.
Peter has graced us with his music during worship on several Sundays this year, and will be playing with the choir on Easter Sunday. He is also planning a piece to share on Sunday, May 1, as part of Music and Spoken Word Sunday.
The linked flyer details the ensemble and the program. Please share it with all of your music-loving friends.
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He Is Risen, and
He Is Fabulous!
Progressive ... Inclusive ... Diverse |
April.2011
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Greetings!
 He is risen! He is risen, indeed! The traditional Easter morning greeting tells us everything we need to know about our God and about ourselves: God is lord of life, and we are a resurrection people. Death does not get the last word, and we rise up, again and again and again throughout the length of our days. So, come and worship! Begin your Easter vigil this evening in worship as we gather at table at 6:30 to share a simple meal, and then share the Lord's Supper in a liturgy marking Maundy Thursday. The word maundy comes from the Latin word from which we get mandate, and it refers to the new mandate or commandment that Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: love one another as I have loved you. Our faith really does come down to that. It is all that easy ... and all that hard. The disciples' actions that night and the following day underscore the difficulty and the challenge: stay awake and watch with me. Stay awake to what is going on in the world, and watch for -- and participate in -- God's actions in the world for justice and for peace. On the cross of Good Friday the world gave its response to the new commandment: rejection, violence, death. We will remember that, too, for it is part of our lives as well and we all participate in it. So come and worship tomorrow evening (7:00) also as we remember the suffering and death of Jesus. But death does not get the last word! For he is risen! He is risen, indeed! And he is fabulous! peace, David |
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It's Joyful Noise Season!
Our annual Music and the Spoken Word Sunday worship will be May 1 -- the Sunday following Easter.
For that service, we invite you to share a reading or a piece of music that holds a special spiritual meaning for you. Whether the piece is "sacred" or "secular" is not important. For example, past participants have read from favorite poems, novels, plays, or essays, as well as favorite psalms, Bible stories and religious texts. We've had personal stories and small-group skits as well.
Shared music pieces have ranged from live instrumental or vocal performances to prerecorded pieces on CD (a CD player is available).
This year the choir will share a special selection or two, and the Sunday school kids will also be singing.
Whatever you feel led to contribute, please let us know no later than Easter Sunday, April 24, so that we can assemble the program. Call (703-931-0515) or e-mail Mike Bagwell with the title of the piece you wish to share, its author or performer, and its approximate length.
Music and the Spoken Word Sunday is always one of our most joyous and meaningful services, but it only works if you bring your gifts to share! |
CPC Is Teaming With Discernment:
We Need Your Discerning Mind
Following up the input from the congregation received during small-group gatherings last fall we are in the midst of a season of discerning our congregational callings around mission, education, spiritual formation, worship, and the use of our space.
About 20 members of the congregation have participated in prayerful gatherings to talk about worship, mission, education and spiritual formation, and next month we'll hold the first gathering of a group whose focus will be how we use, decorate, arrange and care for our space, including the sanctuary.
Each of the meetings has followed a pattern of prayer, reading and discussing scripture, and actively listening for what the Spirit is saying to the church about the concerns in front of us. Every voice is important, and we need you to participate.
The Christian education and spiritual formation team meets again Sunday, May 1, following worship. The sacred space team holds its first meeting Sunday, May 15, following worship.
If you have questions and the process or purposes of these teams, please let me know.
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Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Japan
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, working with partner churches through Church World Service, is providing relief in Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck March 11.
The initial $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing funds provided to CWS has gone towards an immediate response to 5,000 households, about 25,000 individuals, now living at 100 evacuation sites in the northeastern area of Japan - the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, Ibaragi and Tochigi.
The focus of the response is on evacuation sites where basic needs of food, water, sanitation, electricity and fuel are not being met. To contribute to the relief efforts through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, click here for a link to PDA's secure giving site.
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Prayers of the People
Our Seasons of the Spirit "lectionary" comes to a close with the week of Easter. I hope you've found the readings and prayers helpful in your own spiritual journey. Personally, the practice of sending a brief note to people as part of my prayers for them has opened up a few doors that had slipped closed, and reminded me again that prayer has both vertical and horizontal dimensions connecting me with God and with the world.
For the coming week our prayers include those who mourn, that they may find comfort in the grief and hope in their resurrection faith; and these members of CPC: Phil and Joan Taylor, Peg True, Amy Williams, Evelyn Woodson. We also hold Peg in the light this week as she continues recovering from shoulder surgery. Thanks go to Sallye Broome who is coordinating some meals for Peg during her recovery. To sign up, send Sallye a note.
Our texts for the week include Jeremiah 31:1-6; Psalm 118; Isaiah 25:6-9; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28; Luke 24:13-49 .
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A-10 Update as of April 15
The presbyteries' vote on proposed amendment 10-A stands at 80 presbyteries in favor and 59 opposed (including one tie that counts as a "no" vote). No presbyteries met during Holy Week, but the voting resumes next week and includes the meeting of National Capital Presbytery, Saturday, April 30.
It takes 87 presbyteries (a simple majority) voting in the affirmative to change the constitution. Between now and early June the remaining 35 presbyteries will cast votes on the amendment.
Celebrating a Generation of Work for Equality
Seven more affirmative votes are needed to pass the amendment, and although past trends are no guarantee, it seems likely at this point that the 87th affirmative vote will be cast in mid-May.
Michael Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, has a beautiful brief reflection on the long journey to equality that you can read on the MLP home page.
The Open Doors/MLP chapter of National Capital Presbytery plans a worship celebration currently scheduled Sunday, May 22, at Western Presbyterian Church. Watch this space for details.
Clarendon's session drafted one of the overtures to last summer's General Assembly that formed the basis for the present 10-A. If adopted, the amendment would remove the current language of section G-6.106b in our Book of Order and insert this wording:
Standards for ordained service reflect the church's desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate's calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate's ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.
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