UPCOMING SUMMER EVENTS

SPRING FORUM
Sabbath: Recovering God’s Gift of Rest and Renewal with Rev. Kris Haig Saturday,
March 13, 9 a.m.–12 noon; 1-2 p.m. (Bring a bag lunch.) Sunday, March 14, 9:15–10:15 a.m.

SUNDAY SEMINAR
The Confession of 1967 with Pastor Tremba
Sundays March 21, 28, 9:15–10:15 a.m., Classroom No. 1
Read and discuss historic, revolutionary, precedent setting “C67.”
Download copy at www.spcworks.org/docs/confess67.pdf or pick up hard copy in Fellowship Hall.

 Looking ahead to Holy Week
Palm/Passion Sunday March 28
Maundy Thursday Service April 1, 7:30 p.m.
Prayer Vigil to follow from 9:00 p.m. through Good Friday 12 noon
Good Friday Ecumenical Service
Christ Reformed Church, East German Street, April 2, 12 noon to 3:00 p.m.
Easter Sunday April 4
Informal sunrise service at Rumsey Monument Park, 6:30 a.m.
Liturgy of the Word and Table, 8:15 and 10:45 a.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS

A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION

As I contemplate taking on both new and greater responsibilities here at SPC, I can’t help but pause in wonder at how in the world I got here; how did I manage this most unlikely move from a 20-year ca- reer as an energy economist to a vocation in minis- try, and specifically, parish ministry? (Although, as I like to point out, economics and theology do actual- ly have much in common—both like to pretend to be sciences while ignoring their grounding in human experience, and both use a lot of Latin to cover up the fact that each discipline ultimately begins and ends in Mystery.)

Sunday, December 13 at 5:30 p.m., Shepherdstown Fire Hall Guests of Honor: New Members Class of 2009 Recognition and Release of all Committee, Guild, and Crew Members Litany of Thanksgiving • Carol singing •Hands-on service activity for children • The Twelve Days of Christmas The Joy Gift Offering is dedicated to the Presbyterian church’s racially ethnic schools and medical supplement for retired Presbyterian ministers and missionaries. (The racially ethnic schools and colleges offer a training ground by which leadership development can take place, where racially ethnic people can gain the confidence and skills that they need to go out into the broader society and take their place.) Dishes, flatware and beverages provided. Bring a food dish to serve 12. Food assignments per last name:A-H vegetable or salad, I-R main dish, S-Z dessert. Volunteers needed to: set-up at 12:30 p.m. and clean-up af- ter dinner; arrange table decorations; make coffee at SPC and transport to Fire Hall. Please contact Mary Ellen Lloyd, 304-876-0805, or gregandme@frontiernet.net.

AN EVENING WITH BETTY EGAN AND PHIL HILL
Wednesday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
Each sharing reflections: “Who and what made me who and what I am.

The season of Lent is upon us, the period of preparation for the feast of all feasts, Easter. It is a time of prayer and repentance—which is to say, returning—our lives to a center more on God than self. I think the invitation is not so much finding some trivial thing to give up for a few weeks, but to some deeper more intentional listening, seeking to let go of those things that keep us from a center in God (which is not a one time thing, but a lifelong process!) This year, as always, there will be many opportunities in the season to listen together.
On Sunday evenings in March we will hold our annual soup and bread suppers with some very special guests, voices from other Christian traditions, including Roman Catholic, African American Pentecostal, Orthodox and Mennonite. This is a very exciting opportunity to listen to the Spirit in a new key. Supper begins at 5:45 in the Fellowship Hall; program at 6:30 in the Sanctuary.
Wednesday, March 25 (from 9:30-3:30) I will be leading a day long retreat with the theme “Listening to the Beloved.” This quiet day will include guided prayer experiences, listening in groups, and listening in communal solitude. This is a rare opportunity to slow down and listen for the voice of Love that is always unfolding in our lives, in our midst, and in our hearts. It will take place at Priestfield Pastoral Center, a beautiful, peaceful and holy place about 20 minutes from here. Cost for the day, including lunch, is $17—pay what you can, more if you are able so all can participate. Please register and pay in the office as soon as possible (no later than March 15) so that we can secure our reservations.

Ethel Hornbeck Parish Assistant for Spiritual Formation

Winter 2009 Adult Education Forum, 
“Praying Around the Communion Table: Cultivating a Spirit of Thanksgiving.”

In a series of events led by Dr. Paul Galbreath, we will explore together ways that the prayer of thanksgiving at the Lord’s Supper provides a shape and vocabulary to guide us in lives of gratitude as well as connect our practices in church with the actions in our daily lives.

Our conversations will begin on Saturday, February 21 at 10 a.m. and we will finish the morning around the table together (please bring a bag lunch). On Sunday, February 22, Dr. Galbreath will continue our dialogue about the links between worship and service at 9:30, as well as being our guest preacher at both services.

Dr. Galbreath is Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Union Theological Seminary and School of Christian Education, and author of numerous articles and books including Doxology and Theology  and Leading from the Table. He served previously in the Office of Theology and Worship as part of General Assembly staff for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and as a pastor for 10 years in the Pacific Northwest.

“Hear, child, what I am sent to tell.”—this is W. H. Auden’s version of Gabriel’s message to Mary—

“Hear, child, what I am sent to tell: Love wills your dream to happen, so Love’s will on earth may be, through you, no longer a pretend but true... what I am willed to ask, your own Will has to answer; child, it lies within your power of choosing to conceive the Child who chooses you.”

Mary’s encounter with God’s messenger Gabriel, is known in tradition as “the Annunciation,” the announcement. But as Auden’s version suggests, this story is not just an announcement from on high, it is also an invitation. “It lies within your power of choosing to conceive the Child—the God—who chooses you.” It lies within your power of choosing.

Commentators through the ages have debated whether Mary could choose, whether she could, in fact, have said “no”—but it seems to me clear that if love cannot, by definition, coerce then the possibility of a freely chosen “no” is a precondition for any authentic “yes,” in Mary’s life, in Jesus’s, in Peter’s, Paul’s and in each of ours. And Mary’s choice, her “yes” to that perplexing invitation is both simple and profound—I am yours, let it be.

Dishes and flatware, plus ham, chicken and beverages provided. Bring a food dish to serve 12. Food assignments per last name: A-F dessert, G-L vegetable or salad, M-Z main dish. Volunteers needed to: set-up at 12:30 p.m. and clean-up after dinner; arrange table decorations; make coffee at SPC and transport to Fire Hall. Please contact Esther Murphy, 304-876-8133, or esther_murphy@comcast.net.

• 5:00 p.m. Especially for children       • 8:00 p.m. Choirs and homily       • 11:00 p.m. Carol sing and communion
Offering divided between JCCM and the Presbyterian Disaster Fund

One service only (10:45)
December 28 (Children’s Pageant, see below) and January 4

10. The SPC men’s monthly breakfast with its open sharing of life experience and thought-provoking ideas.
9. The SPC adult education program with its top-shelf, 5-star resources on relevant issues.
8. The SPC children’s program that oozes with love and creativity and energy—it takes a congregation to raise a child these days.
7. Youth leaders with unusual rapport and a distinctive vision swimming up-stream with our youth in a culture of narcissism on steroids.
6. The talent and contributions of Ethel, Barbara, Kari, Georgiann, Kathy, Brandon, and dozens upon dozens of volunteers who make SPC so rich.
5. Randy’s stimulating sermons and wise pastoral care as a servant leader.
4. The fact that SPC is a community of care and support.
3. Support for SPC is the right, responsible and decent thing to do.
2. SPC is ours. Our people, our program, our pastor, our building. And like all assets, it requires our investment—you have to put something in if you want to get something out.
1. Support for SPC is, properly understood, one of many expressions of gratitude for the grace you receive.

In order for our governing body, the Session, to make sound and prudent financial decisions, for the rest of this year and for next, it is very important that each of us submit a signed pledge form. We are a community. We work together for good, in good times and bad. Some of us can give more than others; but each of us can do something to help our worship and witness thrive to the glory of God.

Please vote with your wallet and return your pledge form by Sunday, November 9. I’m Phil Baker-Shenk, a member of Session, and I approved this message.

SPC SUMMER PICNIC
The whole congregation together in one place at one time
Sunday, June 22
5:00 p.m.
Morgan Grove Park
Volleyball • Recognition of Sunday School teachers & students • Camp and folk songs
Soccer match 4:30 p.m. (Children vs. Adults)
Supper begins at 5:30 p.m.

COMMUNITY BIBLE SCHOOL
Classes for age 3 through grade 8
July 14–18
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
All children from Jefferson County and their friends are welcome to attend
Bible stories, daily snacks, sing great songs and make a Bible related craft.

Storied Evenings
Music, Story & Art
July 9, 16, 23
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
The art of Ellen Burgoyne displayed in Fellowship Hall

Sunday Morning Soul Feast

Viewing our Sunday morning gathering as a soul feast prepared for and offered to a large family is one way of evaluating the various dishes and ingredients that go into it. We can’t get everything we want at every banquet, but over time all of us should get tasty and nutritional dishes that please and edify. This is a different way of understanding worship than the entertainment criterion that some people bring to worship. (“I liked it.” “I didn’t like it.”)
    Just think how hard it is to please children in a family with daily meals year after year. Moms or dads can’t cater to all their children’s food demands all the time; but good parents take their children’s tastes into account with the intent of teaching good eating habits and nurturing sound and healthy bodies.
    Now think of blending several dozen families from different eating traditions under one roof and around one table! That’s a good picture of a Sunday morning congregation gathered to partake of a soul feast.
    We then can ask: What in the Sunday banquet feeds and nurtures our souls individually and collectively and helps us grow to be “like Jesus,” i.e., more loving toward others and God? With such a large family, our individual answers will differ.

THREE MUSIC EVENTS
at the Presbyterian Meeting House

New York Metropolitan Opera’s
ROSS CROLIUS, Bass
with Diane Guernsey, piano
Sunday • April 13 • Four o’clock
Program includes
“Arise, Ye Subterranean Winds” by Henry Purcell
“In diesen heilgen Hallen” from Die Zauberfloete by Mozart
“The Umpire’s Song” from Casey at the Bat by William Schuman
Suggested donation $10
Donations aid Church youth mission to the White Mountain Apache reservation

EARTH FEST
A Community Gathering of prayers for the earth in song & eucharist
Sunday • April 20 • 7:00 p.m.
with Terry Tucker Greg Lloyd Sam Felker Ben Proudman

DAVID LaMOTTE in Concert
Singer • Songwriter • Acoustic guitarist
Sunday • May 4 • 7:00 2008
Rotary World Peace Fellowship Recipient
Farewell Tour
After 17 years 10 CDs 2000 shows 45 states 4 continents.
p.m.
Suggested donation $10

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
February 6, 7:30 p.m. Imposition of ashes is optional

BREAKING THE SILENCE—EMBRACING OUR MORTALITY WITH WISDOM AND GRACE

Woven into the fabric of SPC is the aim to address congregational needs that are encompassed in these words: “In Life and in Death—We Belong to God.” The Lenten season Soup Suppers Program will pro- vide the congregation with information to address personal and family mortality issues in a practical, informed, and timely manner on Sundays, February 10, 17, 24, and March 2 (snow date March 9.) We will have a light soup and bread meal at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall followed by the program in the Sanctuary from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m.

For the Þrst three sessions, congregation members Bill Howard, Yvonne Fisher, and Jack Young will relate their personal experiences with family mortality. There will be time for attendees to ask questions or share some of their individual concerns and experiences. On March 2 several speakers will brießy address Estate Planning, Palliative and Hospice Care, Funeral Considerations, and Church Funeral/Memo- rial Services. Pastor Tremba and/or Ethel Hornbeck will be assisting with each session.

A follow-up Saturday workshop with these speakers is scheduled for March 29. They will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall to answer speciÞc questions and provide detailed information. A workbook will be provided to use in conducting family discussions and making plans.

You are encouraged for yourself and your family to participate in this year’s Lenten season program. — Jack Young

WEATHER-RELATED CANCELLATIONS Check web page or call the church 304-876-6466 for a message.

ADDICTION AND GRACE
Gerald May’s book is the focus of classes to be held on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., January 9, 16, 23 and 30. In his book, Gerald May, a psychiatrist and spiritual teacher, explores the “process- es of attachment” that lead to addiction and describes the relationship between addiction and spiritual awareness. May’s book offers a hope-Þlled vision for those who desire to examine the mystery of who and what they really are. Books are in the Fellowship Hall for $15; pay what you can. The classes will be led by Yvonne Fisher and Ethel Hornbeck.

DIACONATE RETREAT

Part 1, Evening Prayer, Friday, January 11, 7:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Part 2, Saturday, January 12, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Priest’s Field Pastoral Center, Middleway. Carpools leave SPC at 8:30.

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
To elect church officers Sunday, Sept. 23, 9:45 a.m. See NOTICES.

...excerpt....APRIL FORUM ON THE APOSTLE PAUL

Richard Carlson, Gladfelter Professor of Biblical Studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA will return to SPC this April to present a two-day forum on the writings of the apostle Paul, which occupy nearly half of the New Testament. Paul was the first to recognize the political (reconciliation of alienated groups) and mystical (union with God through Christ) implications of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus for all people, not just Jews. For better or worse, Paul shaped the “Jesus movement” into an organization with transnational potential.

The first part of this event will focus on what Paul claims really happened in Jesus’ death on the cross and how that event shapes our lives as Christians. Part two will explore Paul’s notion of spirituality: the reality of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, producing its holistic fruit, endowing us with particular gifts, and empowering our Christian life and praxis (or practice). Carlson’s exceptionally informative and enthusiastic presentation last spring on the Gospel of Mark was one of our most well received offerings in years, and generated a chorus of calls for his return. Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen our understanding of the church’s first and perhaps most influential theologian.

Paul and the Cruciform Life, Friday, April 27, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Suggested reading: Romans 5–6; 1 Corinthians 1–2; 2 Corinthians 5; Galatians 2–3; Philippians 2–3.

Paul on the Spiritual Life, Saturday, April 28, 9:30–11:30 a.m.
Suggested reading: Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12–14; 2 Corinthians 3; Galatians 5–6.