Month: February 2016

Sermon: “Naming Our Fears”
Scripture: Luke 13: 31-33

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

New Leaders
This week, Wellington Mtshali will be ordained and installed to the office of Elder, serving for a one year term. Sarah Donvan will be installed to the office of Elder, serving for a three year term. Currently serving elders on Session include Paul Beran, Chris Roll, and Diana Santiago. We thank Josh Herzig for his service, and heartily thank Liz Cavano and Craig Milanesi for their years of service on Session.
We will also install the Deacons. Liz Cavano and Val Donovan will be installed to the office of Deacon, serving for one year. Also to be installed as Deacons for a one year term of service are Anne Camelio, Jenny Herzig, Kevin Kim and Ellen Schemehorn.

Session Meeting
The Session will meet after church in the Green Room on Sunday, February 21st.

Deacons Meeting Meeting
On Sunday, February 21st, the Deacons/Congregational Care circle will meet after church.

Do Something Else: The Road Ahead for the Mainline Church
Ruth Allen and Craig Milanesi contributed a piece on our relationship with The Nave Gallery for a new book that will be published at the end of the month!
The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 is entitled Where We Are, and includes chapters on Why Would Anyone Want to Do This? Good Old Stones, What We Mean When we Say Church and The Road to Inclusion. Part 2 is entitled The Road Ahead, which has 6 chapters. We are in Chapter 7, which is about Evangelism. Chapter 10 is about cooperative parishes, and includes a piece on Mission at the Eastward (MATE).
In addition, there is a study guide and discussion questions at the end of the book. Our Adult Education group is considering this for future reading and discussion!
Here’s more information about the book, which will be available for sale in a few weeks – tell your family member, neighbors and friends! To pre-order a copy, please see:
http://www.amazon.com/Do-Something-Else-Mainl…/…/ref=sr_1_5…
You can also pre-order the book, and read the blog by the author of the book here: http://www.natephillips.org/

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him in our Contact Page

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Lenten Study
For our Lenten study this year, we will be reading and discussing the book, “If God is Love” by Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland. Copies of the book are available; contact Pastor Allen if you would like a copy. The book is easy to read, and the topic is interesting and relevant. We will meet next Sunday, February 28th, in the Green Room, after coffee hour, to begin our discussion. We will also meet on March 13th. After we finish our Lenten study, we will choose a fiction book for our next discussion. If you have suggestions for a fiction book, let us know.

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.

 

Feb 14, 2016 Announcements
Given the record-setting cold, we will not be having a formal worship service this Sunday. However, Pastor Allen will be at the church, and for those who do wish to venture out into the cold, we will have an informal worship gathering (probably in the Nave Gallery). No one who has a responsibility (worship leader, child care, etc) should feel any obligation to attend. Anyone who shows up will be “warmly” welcomed (perhaps some hot cider while we gather)!! Keep warm everyone!

Guest Preacher
We welcome the Rev. Dr. R. Ward Holder as our guest worship leader and preacher. R. Ward Holder is professor of theology at Saint Anselm College and a minister member of the Presbytery of Boston. He has written and edited several books, concentrating upon the Reformation, the interpretation of scripture, and political theology. He has served in many roles in the presbytery, including service on COM, Nominating, Council, Stewardship and Budget, and the Permanent Judicial Commission. In 2014, he was the honored to serve as the moderator of the presbytery. He is a long-time friend of Clarendon Hill!

Sermon:”Where the Spirit of the Lord is….”
Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2

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

Children’s Christian Education News
We wanted to share the good news with folks that Danielle Feerst will be providing coverage for our nursery this Spring 2016. Some of you may know Danielle from her attendance of services here at Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church. Danielle is currently working on a Bachelors of Science degree at Tufts University. Originally from South Carolina, Danielle has experience working with children and autistic individuals. She is CEO and founder of AutismSees an online software development and research company for individuals with autism. We are very excited to have Danielle with us, and her first day covering the nursery will be February 7, 2016. Please join us in welcoming Danielle.

Session Meeting
The Session will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Green Room on Monday, February 8th.

Do Something Else: The Road Ahead for the Mainline Church
Ruth Allen and Craig Milanesi contributed a piece on our relationship with The Nave Gallery for a new book that will be published at the end of the month!
The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 is entitled Where We Are, and includes chapters on Why Would Anyone Want to Do This? Good Old Stones, What We Mean When we Say Church and The Road to Inclusion. Part 2 is entitled The Road Ahead, which has 6 chapters. We are in Chapter 7, which is about Evangelism. Chapter 10 is about cooperative parishes, and includes a piece on Mission at the Eastward (MATE).
In addition, there is a study guide and discussion questions at the end of the book. Our Adult Education group is considering this for future reading and discussion!
Here’s more information about the book, which will be available for sale in a few weeks – tell your family member, neighbors and friends! To pre-order a copy, please see:
http://www.amazon.com/Do-Something-Else-Mainl…/…/ref=sr_1_5…
You can also pre-order the book, and read the blog by the author of the book here: http://www.natephillips.org/

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him in our Contact Page

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Ash Wednesday Service
Wednesday, February 10th at 7:00 p.m. Please join us as we begin our journey in to Lent.

Lenten Study
For our Lenten study this year, we will be reading and discussing the book, “If God is Love”. Copies of the book will be available at the annual meeting (January 31st). We will likely meet once or twice during Lent, with the exact dates to be decided. After we finish our Lenten study, we will choose a fiction book for our next discussion. If you have suggestions for a fiction book, or if you would like a copy of “If God is Love”, but won’t be at the annual meeting, please contact Pastor Allen. Here’s a synopsis of the book:

Synopsis of If God is Love
If God is love, why are so many Christians fearful, and why do so many church leaders sound hateful? Two controversial pastors address issues the church won′t face, calling us to restore grace as the center of the Christian life.
In “If Grace Is True”, Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland revealed their belief that God will save every person. They now explore the implications of this belief, and its power to change every area of our lives. They attempt to answer one question: If we took God′s love seriously, what would our world look like?
Gulley and Mulholland argue that what we believe is crucial and dramatically affects the way we live and interact in the world. Beliefs have power. The belief in a literal hell where people suffer eternally has often been used by the Church to justify hate and violence, which contradicts what Jesus taught about love and grace. The authors present a new vision for our personal, religious, and corporate lives, exploring what our world would be like if we based our existence on the foundational truth that God loves every person.
Gulley and Mulholland boldly address many controversial issues people in the pews have wondered about but churches have been unwilling to tackle. For too long, the Christian tradition has been steeped in negativity, exclusion, and judgment. Gulley and Mulholland usher us into a new age–an age where grace and love are allowed to reign.

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.