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February 28, 2007
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. The season of Lent is now underway, Ash Wednesday last week, our first Sunday and the launch of our Lenten series earlier this week. We will continue to explore the themes in Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians over the next several weeks, both Sunday morning and Monday nights. If you missed the first week of our Lenten series, you are still invited and encouraged to attend any weeks you can. We will gather again next Monday at 6:30 p.m. for a soup & bread supper, followed by time in worship, Bible study, and small group time, concluding by 8:45 p.m..
2. This Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. Jerry McPike continues his adult class India, Africa, and China, this week focusing on Africa.
Following worship this week we will have our monthly first-Sunday buffet lunch. All members, visitors, friends, and newcomers are invited to stay!
3. It's not too late to sign up to join us this Saturday, March 3, (9 a.m. to noon), for our workshop on marriage for all couples in long-term relationships-- getting married, thinking about getting married, already married, or legally barred from getting married-- who would like to work on their relationship by exploring what brings us together, what drives us apart, and how to effectively communicate and grow together as a couple. Let me know if you would like to join us.
4. Two weeks from now the week will begin and end with an opportunity to engage in common mission on behalf of justice and peace:
- Monday, March 12, The Washington Interfaith Network will hold a "public accountability action" with Mayor Adrian Fenty 7 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church (11th & K NW), where he will lay out details for implementing WIN's "Neighborhoods First" agenda, which includes nearly $1 billion in neighbohood investment, affordable housing development and preservation, youth investment.
We will attend this action in lieu of the third week of our Lenten series. You can meet other Pilgrims at Asbury, or carpool over from the church at 6:30 p.m. Also, we will have pizza at 6 p.m. for those who would like a bit to eat before attending the Action. Please sign up with me Suday morning or Monday night.
- Friday, March 16, is the March 16 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq <http://go.sojo.net/ct/Epz_e0F1bm0n/> which begins at 7 p.m. with worship at the National Cathedral, followed by a march and late-night vigil at the White House. You must register to attend the service at the Cathedral because seating is limited (the service is free): Click here to register for the Christian Peace Witness in Washington, D.C.! <http://go.sojo.net/ct/U1z_e0F1bm08/> Local Presbyterians will have a meeting place to gather before the service-- TBD.
5. Don't forget that each week, Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m., the Darfur Interfaith Network holds a vigil in front of the Sudanese embassy. You are invited to attend over your lunch hour. The crowd has been growing each week, despite the frosty weather. (It's supposed to be in the 50's today!)
6. As I note last week, the Memorial Service for Carol Seppala will be Tuesday, March 13, at 11:00 a.m., with a reception to follow. If you would like to help with the reception, please send a note to Nancy Daugherty daughern@arts.endow.gov .
7. Please keep DeLania Hardy and her family in your thoughts and prayers. She lost her uncle this past week to lung cancer.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
February 20, 2007
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. This week begins the Season of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter (not counting Sundays), traditionally a time of prayer, reflection, and self-giving. Each year at Pilgrims, Lent is a period of discernment for the entire congregation, as we reflect on our life together as God's people in light of Jesus' self-giving on the cross.
- Today is Shrove Tuesday, (Mardi Gras) the last day before Lent begins, and you're invited to New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (1313 New York Ave., NW) for a Mardi Gras meal and discussion about what some local young adult Presbyterians (including Pilgrims Kyrie Dragoo and Erin Malick) experienced on their recent mission trip to New Orleans. Pancakes will be served!
- Tomorrow night is Ash Wednesday. We will gather for worship at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary for a service of song and meditation in the style of TaizP, including celebration of the Lord's Supper and the imposition of ashes, (a sign of our mortality and dependence upon God).
- This Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent, and as has been our practice for the past several years, we will celebrate the Lord's Supper each Sunday during Lent.
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- Next Monday (February 26), and for the next five weeks, our Monday Night Lenten Series will take place. We will will gather each week for a soup and bread supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by worship, Bible study and small group work, concluding by 8:45 p.m. This year we will focus on Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthians with the theme "Clay Jar Apostles." Members, friends, new comers, old-timers alike are invited and encouraged to join us for this time of discernment, as we look at our lives, the world, and who God is calling us to be in the present moment. You need not attend all five weeks to participate (and the 3rd week, March 12, we will go together to a city-wide WIN Action at Asbury United Methodist Church).
2. A follow up to two announcements made last week:
- Betty Rudolph has agreed to be the contact person for the March 16 Christian Peace Witness for Iraq <http://go.sojo.net/ct/Epz_e0F1bm0n/> which begins at 7 p.m. with worship at the National Cathedral, followed by a march and late-night vigil at the White House. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is looking for church members who would be willing to put Presbyterian college or seminary students up in their homes Friday night. If you would be willing to do so, please send a note to Betty by this Friday letting her know how many you are willing to host ( vstbeehive@verizon.net ). [Note, they will probably not arrive at your house until midnight, and they are willing to sleep on the floor.]
- Also, if you would like to attend the service at the Cathedral you have to register because seeting is limited (the service is free): Click here to register for the Christian Peace Witness in Washington, D.C.! <http://go.sojo.net/ct/U1z_e0F1bm08/>
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- The Saturday, March 3, (9 a.m. to noon), workshop on marriage that Ashley and I will lead is not just limited to couples who are getting married, thinking about getting married, or already married-- but is also open to all couples in long term relationships, including those legally barred from getting married who would like to work on their relationship by exploring what brings us together, what drives us apart, and how to effectively communicate and grow together as a couple. Let me know if you would like to join us.
3. This Sunday in Adult Education as Ashley concludes her class, Forgiveness: A Wrestling Match upstairs in the Education Room, downstairs in the Bird Room, Jerry McPike will begin a new three-week class:
India, Africa and China (Feb. 25, March 4 & 11)
What applicability should Jesus’s admonition to his followers to love the other, to love the enemy, have when approaching other countries in the world? We will consider how this principle of Jesus might apply as we view the issues confronting India, Africa and China - geographical areas containing the majority of the world’s poorest people.
5. Please keep Carol Seppala and her family, Gregg, Michael and Daniel, in your prayers, in her long struggle with Alzheimers. The progress of her disease seems to be increasing, as her periods of wakefulness and activity become more and more intermitten. Thank you to the members of her Care Team who have been providing support to Gregg and the boys.
6. Finally, a movie review. This Saturday, Kelsey, Cheryl and I went to see Bridge to Terabithia, based upon the much-loved novel by children's author Katherine Paterson. I am too old to have read the book as a child (it was published the year I graduated High School) but it was a favorite of Kelsey and Andrea-- and Cheryl when she was a classroom teacher.
What you may not know is our Pilgrim's connection to the author. Katherine Paterson is Anne Womeldorf's sister (and Jack Womeldorf's cousin). With Anne, she was raised as a child of Presbyterian missionaries in China. She later attended Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, where she was a year behind Pilgrim Jackie Smith, before also studying at Ashley's alma mater, Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Kathryn also spent time as a missionary herself in Japan, and is married to a Presbyterian minister. (It is interesting to note that the most famous Presbyterian authors--Anne Lamot, Kathleen Norris and Katherine Paterson-- are all women!)
The movie is wonderful, co-written and co-produced by her son, David, who is an accomplished screen writer in his own right, and who's own childhood loss of a friend inspired the novel. You should read the book, if you haven't already, and then go see the movie (the previews really give you little sense of what the movie is about). While the movie departs from the book in some ways, it beautifully captures the emotional landscape of the novel. (By the way, Anne and her husband, Larry, flew out to LA for the film's premier earlier in the month! A once in a lifetime experience, I am sure.)
There is a wonderful interview with Kathy in the evangelical magazine Christianity Today:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/katherinepaterson.html
In peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
February 13, 2007
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. I am sending this note early because getting in to the office tomorrow seems somewhat uncertain (as a former Michigander, let me just say about what whimps Washingtonians are about winter weather!).
First, a few quick announcements:
- The Darfur Advocacy Training has been cancelled for tonighyt, and will be re-scheduled.
- We received notice today that Adrienne Tilton gave birth Sunday night to our newest Pilgrim, Dorothy Elizabeth, 7 lbs. 13 oz. 20". Adrienne is doing well, and may come home from the hospital today. Congragulations to Adrienne, Steve, Noah, Sophie and Alex (the Titlon's are going to need a bigger stroller!)
- Please keep DeLania Hardy and her family in your prayers, as they mourn the death Saturday of her cousin Patsy, who as I reported here last week, had entered hospice after a four-year battle with lung cancer.
2. A warm welcome to new members John, David, Hannah, Stacey, and Jeffrey. Aren't you glad to know which of them are dog people and which are cat people, and that they all love children? By my count there were nearly a dozen "regular" newcomers with us in worship on Sunday, in addition to our new members, all bringing unique and precious gifts with them as we seek to be faithful to God's call to us at the corner of 22nd and P. Thanks also to all those leaders who helped prepare reports (and the great lunch) for our Annual Meeting, especially Gerry Hendershot for his slide show. If you missed the meeting, the Annual Report for 2006 (the best source for all we did together in the past year, including financial reports) will shortly be available on the "newsletter" page of our website.
3. Every once in a while I read something that articulates what we are trying to do here at Church of the Pilgrims so well that I wish I had said it myself! Such was the case in a report from National Capital Presbytery's former General Presbyter Ed White on a recent conference at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia (my alma mater) on the "Emergent Church" movement. The Emergent Church (which Pilgrims has not really had anything to do with) is a loose affiliation of churches that grew out of what you might call the "left wing" of the Evangelical church, is particularly focused (and often led) by young adults, and is variously described as "postmodern" and associated with people like Brian McLaren, founding pastor of the Cedar Ridge Community Church just outside the beltway. The movement is not monolithic, but churches related to it tend to have certain characteristics in common. Here is how Ed understand them:
- They are more preoccupied with changing lives than just changing beliefs.
- Reaching and building relationships with strangers and outcasts is a priority
- They emphasize the corporate character of Christian faith (the Body of Christ) as opposed to excessive individualism.
- They seek to develop followers of Jesus not just “Jesus fans”.
- They want to reclaim the Christian tradition in fresh ways.
- They are more concerned with authenticity than “success”.
- They actively care about social justice and the plight of the poor.
- They want to engage American culture rather than withdraw into a separate “Christian” world. They want to overcome the poisonous “consumerism” that distorts our culture.
- They believe that all Christians are called to “full time Christian service.”
- They favor a decentralized style of church with many leaders and widespread participation.
- One person put it well. “We want to become a good news people in order to incarnate and proclaim an authentic good news message.”
That list may still be more pre-scriptive than de-scriptive for us at Pilgrims, but it is an excellent place to start as we think about our future together.
4. This Sunday we will once again gather around the font as we celebrate the baptism of Phoebe Noonan, daughter of church member Bonnie, and her husband Bill. Come and join us by the waters!
5. Next week February 21 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. We will gather for worship at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary for a service of song and meditation in the style of TaizP, including celebration of the Lord's Supper and the imposition of ashes, a sign of our mortality and dependence upon God.
We will continue with our celebration of Lent for the next five weeks, including our Monday Night Lenten Series which will begin February 26. We will gather each week for a soup and bread supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by worship, Bible study and small group work, this year focused on Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, concluding by 8:45 p.m. Members, friends, new comers, old-timers alike are invited and encouraged to join us for this time of discernment, as we look at our lives, the world, and who God is calling us to be in the present moment. You need not attend all five weeks to participate (and the 3rd week, March 12, we will go together to a city-wide WIN Action at Asbury United Methodist Church).
6. Mardi Gras or "Fat Tuesday" (sometimes called "Shrove Tuesday") is the night before Ash Wednesday, traditionally the "last hurrah" to indulge before "giving up" fat (and other indulgeances) for Lent. Next week February 20, at 7pm, you're invited to New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (1313 New York Ave., NW) for a Mardi Gras meal and discussion about what some local young adult Presbyterians (including Pilgrims Kyrie Dragoo and Erin Malick) experienced on their recent mission trip to New Orleans. Pancakes will be served! There is no charge for the event, and no RSVP is required, but if you plan to attend, please email erin_malick@hotmail.com <mailto:erin_malick@hotmail.com> to help the hosts better plan for the food.
7. Our two Adult Education offerings continue this week at 9:30 a.m.
Downstairs in the Bird Room: Low Wage Work in the United States, Led by Shelly Ver Ploeg
Upstairs in the Education Room, Forgiveness: A Wrestling Match Led by Ashley Goff
8. New Elder for Membership Development Jonathan Mertz has organized a new Membership Task Force, knows at "The Twelve." He is looking for a few more members. There are two required duties. First, be the greeter at the front door every Sunday for one month. Second, attend two meetings to discuss membership growth. The first meeting will be this Sunday, February 18, following the coffee hour. Contact Jonathan Mertz at kstodc@earthlink.net or 202-321-5069 if you are interested in joining The Twelve or would like to learn more.
9. Other upcoming events:
- Saturday, March 3, from 9 a.m. to noon, Ashley and I will lead a workshop on marriage for couples who are getting married this coming year at the church, as well as any other couples-- getting married, thinking about getting married, already married-- who would like to participate. Together we will explore what brings us together, what drives us apart, and how to effectively communicate and grow together as a couple. Let me know if you would like to join us.
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- Circle 4, for all women of the congregation over the age of 17, will meet Thursday, March 15th at 6:30 PM at the home of Pat Goeldner for a potluck dinner and fellowship. All woman over the age of 17 are invited to attend. Pat lives at 4435 Albemarle Street, NW near the Tenleytown Metro stop. Please R.S.V.P. to Pat at 202.362.0813.
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- Friday, March 16, thousands of Christians will gather in Washington, D.C., and at local vigils across the country for the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq <http://go.sojo.net/ct/Epz_e0F1bm0n/> to reclaim the hope that stands at the center of our faith and declare, "Enough! The war must end." Sponsored by many national faith leaders, including the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, the evening will begin at 7 p.m. with worship at the National Cathedral, followed by a march and late-night vigil at the White House. More information to follow.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
February 8, 2007
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. For those of you who missed worship last Sunday, you missed a wonderful service as we baptised Ryan Goff-Glennon (Ashley and Bob have quite an entourage!)
This Sunday, February 11, will be equally special, as we will welcome new members into the congregation during worship.
Following worship, we will gather in the fellowship hall for a buffet lunch followed by The Annual Meeting of the Congregation. Both members and friends are invited to join us both for lunch and the meeting (which will be brief) in which we will receive reports from the Session, and elect Trustees and a new Officer Nominating Committee.
2. Sorry for the confusion last week about the start dates for our two new Adult Education Classes (both meeting at 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings)
Continuing through February 18 in the Bird Room:
Low Wage Work in the United States:
Led by Shelly Ver Ploeg
How does immigration affect native-born workers’ wages? What other public policies are geared towards low-wage workers? In this three class series, we’ll explore these questions and others surrounding the state of low-wage workers in the United States.
Starting This Week, February 11, in the Upstairs Education Room,
and continuing through February 25th:
Forgiveness: A Wrestling Match
Led by Ashley Goff
What is forgiveness? What does it mean to ask for forgiveness or be forgiven? What do biblical stories have to say about what forgiveness means? Through biblical stories, God-talk, stories of betrayal and rejection, and group sharing, we will explore these questions and begin to name what forgiveness means to us and how this theological concept is part of the fabric of our lives.
3. This week Friday Club, our monthly gathering for seniors, meets at noon in the Bird Room. Following lunch, Stan Lou will share about his recent trip to Cuba. Come and join us! (Let Pat Goeldner know if you will be with us for lunch.)
4. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (February 21). Begining the following Monday, February 26 (and continuing through the end of March), we will hold our annual Monday Night Lenten Series, beginning with a soup and bread supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by worship, Bible study, and small group work, this year focusing on discernment, using Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, chaters 3-5, as our text. All members, friends, new comers, old timers, are welcome. More information in the coming weeks.
5. Remember that the Darfur Interfaith Network sponsors a vigil each Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. Come to the Embassy, (just north of 22nd Street on Massachusetts Avenue). In addition, DIF is sponsoring a workshop next Tuesday February 13 for congregations that wish to be more involved, especially in organizing their own vigil day. This is something we hope to pursue at Church of the Pilgrims, perhaps in partnership with other Presbyterian Churches. If you might be interested in helping organize this, send me a note.
6. Prayer Concerns:
- DeLania Hardy's cousin, Patsy, was placed in hospice care on Thursday, following a four year battle with lung cancer.
- Cheri Hall, a close friend and mentor of Carol Huls, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and is undergoing surgery this week.
- Sara Turner, Patrick Cox's daughter, recovering from surgery.
7. Upcoming Events:
- Sunday, February 18: The Baptism of Phoebe Noonan.
- Wednesday, February 21: Ash Wednesday Taize Service, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, February 25: The First Sunday in Lent.
- Mondays, February 26-March 26: Our Annual Lenten Series
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
January 2007 Pastor's Updates
December 2006 Pastor's Updates
November 2006 Pastor's Updates
October 2006 Pastor's Updates
September 2006 Pastor's Updates
August 2006 Pastor's Updates
July 2006 Pastor's Updates
June 2006 Pastor's Updates
May 2006 Pastor's Updates
April 2006 Pastor's Updates
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