Month: May 2015

Sermon: “And Yet, My Eyes Have Seen!”
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8
This wonderful vision of God’s grace in Isaiah is a wonderful way to speak about the work of the Spirit in our lives. What are the things that keep us from having a closer relationship with God? Are we feeling guilty about things in our past? Are we experiencing a sense of shame (a close cousin to feelings of guilt)? What is it that keeps us from relating closely to a life-giving God?

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets in a local restaurant every other week. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Housing for the summer needed!
This request was received through Mark Hoover, a student at Fletcher. If any of you have ideas, are interested, or can help out, please get in touch with Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com), and Ellen will give you contact information.

Hi all,

A friend who teaches at a public school in Philly is trying to help a really promising student go to Harvard’s secondary school program this summer. My friend’s taught her for the past two years, and she’s been working really hard to improve her writing, but unfortunately her school doesn’t have the resources to really challenge her.

Trapeta has received some funding from Harvard and a scholarship to cover the rest, and she’s super excited about going. Unfortunately, by the time she got the scholarship the Harvard housing was gone (it was first come first serve), and now the scholarship donors have retracted all but the money required for tuition.

For the past few weeks, she’s been working to raise money here, so she has some money to spend on housing, but I know it will be tricky for a high school student to find a room. Does anyone have any ideas for her or know a family that might be willing to take her in for this time? My friend’s vouched for her responsibility and maturity.

If anyone has any ideas, please pass them on, and I can put you in touch with Trapeta and her teacher. Educational opportunities in Philly’s public/charter schools are really not great right now, and I know this experience would mean a lot to Trapeta.

Deacons Meeting
The Deacons will meet on Sunday, May 31st, in the Green Room, right after coffee hour.

Boston Gay Pride Parade – Presbyterians for Pride
Presbyterians for Pride will be marching in the Boston Gay Pride parade, which will be held on Saturday, June 13th. The parade begins at noon. If you’d like more information or would be interested in attending, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com)

Sermon:”Fired Up”
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21

Join us for worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Pentecost Service
On Sunday, May 24th, we will celebrate Pentecost. Make sure to wear red! And, in a very fitting way, we will dedicate our new red “Glory to God” hymnals during the service. If you’ve been meaning to help “give our congregation the gift of song”, now is the time to do it! You can find envelopes out on the table in the narthex. For a $20.00 donation, you can help to pay for a hymnal, and have a bookplate placed in the hymnal in memory or in honor of a loved one. Envelopes can be placed in offering plates during the service, or handed to a member of the congregation.

Pentecost Offering
A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency which include Young Adult Volunteers, Ministries for Youth and Children-At-Risk.
We will collect the offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 24th. Our 40% of the offering will be donated to the Presbytery of Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer Program. Please give as generously as you are able.

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets in a local restaurant every other week. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Housing for the summer needed!
This request was received through Mark Hoover, a student at Fletcher. If any of you have ideas, are interested, or can help out, please get in touch with Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com), and Ellen will give you contact information.

Hi all,

A friend who teaches at a public school in Philly is trying to help a really promising student go to Harvard’s secondary school program this summer. My friend’s taught her for the past two years, and she’s been working really hard to improve her writing, but unfortunately her school doesn’t have the resources to really challenge her.

Trapeta has received some funding from Harvard and a scholarship to cover the rest, and she’s super excited about going. Unfortunately, by the time she got the scholarship the Harvard housing was gone (it was first come first serve), and now the scholarship donors have retracted all but the money required for tuition.

For the past few weeks, she’s been working to raise money here, so she has some money to spend on housing, but I know it will be tricky for a high school student to find a room. Does anyone have any ideas for her or know a family that might be willing to take her in for this time? My friend’s vouched for her responsibility and maturity.

If anyone has any ideas, please pass them on, and I can put you in touch with Trapeta and her teacher. Educational opportunities in Philly’s public/charter schools are really not great right now, and I know this experience would mean a lot to Trapeta.

Deacons Meeting
The Deacons will meet on Sunday, May 31st, in the Green Room, right after coffee hour.

Boston Gay Pride Parade – Presbyterians for Pride
Presbyterians for Pride will be marching in the Boston Gay Pride parade, which will be held on Saturday, June 13th. The parade begins at noon. If you’d like more information or would be interested in attending, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com)

Sermon:”Creating a Divine Space”
Scripture: John 17:6-19

In the last series of discourses that Jesus has with his disciples, we have the author of the gospel creating a mindset for the disciples as they engage the world. This passage makes it clear that our faith does not mean we try to escape the world. Rather, heaven, through God’s followers, begins to enter into this world. Its interesting also to think about how this would look internally for each of us (the world is “in” all of us).

Join us for worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Session Meeting
Session will meet on Wednesday, May 13th at 7:30 p.m.

12th Annual Somerville Save Our Homes Walk
Sunday, May 17th, at 2:00 p.m. We’d like to get a group of us to participate in this walk. (We’ve participated in years past.) The Session will be donating money from our mission funds. This is a great way to get some exercise, met other folks from Somerville who are interested in affordable housing, and to see the work that the Somerville Community Corporation is doing to help get and keep people in housing in Somerville. If you’d like to join us, please let Pastor Allen know. More info, see: http://somervillecdc.org/ev…/12th-annual-save-our-homes-walk.

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets in a local restaurant every other week. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Pentecost Service
On Sunday, May 24th, we will celebrate Pentecost. Make sure to wear red! And, in a very fitting way, we will dedicate our new red “Glory to God” hymnals during the service. If you’ve been meaning to help “give our congregation the gift of song”, now is the time to do it! You can find envelopes out on the table in the narthex. For a $20.00 donation, you can help to pay for a hymnal, and have a bookplate placed in the hymnal in memory or in honor of a loved one. Envelopes can be placed in offering plates during the service, or handed to a member of the congregation.

Pentecost Offering
A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency which include Young Adult Volunteers, Ministries for Youth and Children-At-Risk.
We will collect the offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 24th. Our 40% of the offering will be donated to the Presbytery of Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer Program. Please give as generously as you are able.

Housing for the summer needed! 
This request was received through Mark Hoover, a student at Fletcher. If any of you have ideas, are interested, or can help out, please get in touch with Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com), and Ellen will give you contact information.

Hi all,

A friend who teaches at a public school in Philly is trying to help a really promising student go to Harvard’s secondary school program this summer. My friend’s taught her for the past two years, and she’s been working really hard to improve her writing, but unfortunately her school doesn’t have the resources to really challenge her.

Trapeta has received some funding from Harvard and a scholarship to cover the rest, and she’s super excited about going. Unfortunately, by the time she got the scholarship the Harvard housing was gone (it was first come first serve), and now the scholarship donors have retracted all but the money required for tuition.

For the past few weeks, she’s been working to raise money here, so she has some money to spend on housing, but I know it will be tricky for a high school student to find a room. Does anyone have any ideas for her or know a family that might be willing to take her in for this time? My friend’s vouched for her responsibility and maturity.

If anyone has any ideas, please pass them on, and I can put you in touch with Trapeta and her teacher. Educational opportunities in Philly’s public/charter schools are really not great right now, and I know this experience would mean a lot to Trapeta.

Deacons Meeting
The Deacons will meet on Sunday, May 31st, in the Green Room, right after coffee hour.

Boston Gay Pride Parade – Presbyterians for Pride
Presbyterians for Pride will be marching in the Boston Gay Pride parade, which will be held on Saturday, June 13th. The parade begins at noon. If you’d like more information or would be interested in attending, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com)

Sermon: “Can I Get a With-ness?”
Scripture: Acts 10:44-48; John 15:9-17
The very pastoral practice of being “with someone” in their time of need or growth is very present in our passages for this week. In Acts, the disciples with Peter hang out with a bunch of Gentiles — a revolutionary action! In John, Jesus tells the 12 that God will be with them– in love. As a practice of discipleship, we will explore what it means to orient one’s daily life around the notion of with-ness, and what that means for our friendships and the demands of justice in our communities.

Join us for worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Session Meeting
Session will meet on Wednesday, May 13th at 7:30 p.m.

Fellowship Event – Rock Climbing @ Brooklyn Boulders
Saturday, May 16th, meet at 1pm– Join us at Brooklyn Boulders right here in Somerville for rock climbing/fitness! Brooklyn Boulders is a gym that also includes rock-climbing walls! Participants will have access to all fitness equipment and rock walls if they participate in a 15-minute orientation class and sign a waiver. The cost is $30 for students/$35 for adults, however, if we get at least 9 people to RSVP in advance, we can get a group rate of $19 per person. Therefore, Please RSVP to Jenny Herzig by Friday, May 8th. For more information, visithttp://brooklynboulders.com/somerville . *Please note, although children are allowed at Brooklyn Boulders, any children under 14 years of age must be supervised closely by an adult at all times. Children are not allowed on cardio equipment or to run freely in the gym. If you wish to bring your child, please carefully read the guidelines for children and parents on the Brooklyn Boulders website. The Deacons are planning a more family-oriented event in the coming weeks.

Adult Education Group
On Sunday, May 17th, (note date change!) the Adult Education group will meet in the Green Room after coffee hour. We will finish our discussion Sabbath Economics, using two books: The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics by Ched Myers (which talks about the scriptural basis for this concept) and Sabbath Economics: Household Practices by Matthew Colwell (which talks about the practical application in your life.) See Pastor Allen if you’d like books, or more information. Everyone is welcome to join!

12th Annual Somerville Save Our Homes Walk
Sunday, May 17th, at 2:00 p.m. We’d like to get a group of us to participate in this walk. (We’ve participated in years past.) The Session will be donating money from our mission funds. This is a great way to get some exercise, met other folks from Somerville who are interested in affordable housing, and to see the work that the Somerville Community Corporation is doing to help get and keep people in housing in Somerville. If you’d like to join us, please let Pastor Allen know. More info, see: http://somervillecdc.org/ev…/12th-annual-save-our-homes-walk.

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets in a local restaurant every other week. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Pentecost Service
On Sunday, May 24th, we will celebrate Pentecost. Make sure to wear red! And, in a very fitting way, we will dedicate our new red “Glory to God” hymnals during the service. If you’ve been meaning to help “give our congregation the gift of song”, now is the time to do it! You can find envelopes out on the table in the narthex. For a $20.00 donation, you can help to pay for a hymnal, and have a bookplate placed in the hymnal in memory or in honor of a loved one. Envelopes can be placed in offering plates during the service, or handed to a member of the congregation.

Pentecost Offering
A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency which include Young Adult Volunteers, Ministries for Youth and Children-At-Risk.
We will collect the offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 24th. Our 40% of the offering will be donated to the Presbytery of Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer Program. Please give as generously as you are able.

Deacons Meeting
The Deacons will meet on Sunday, May 31st, in the Green Room, right after coffee hour.

Boston Gay Pride Parade – Presbyterians for Pride
Presbyterians for Pride will be marching in the Boston Gay Pride parade, which will be held on Saturday, June 13th. The parade begins at noon. If you’d like more information or would be interested in attending, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com)