March 12, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. The season of Lent draws to a close this week as we head in to Holy Week, which begins this weekend with Palm Sunday. We have a couple more stories of "encounter, choices, and identity" to share. Today's story comes from Michael Rudolph, husband of church member Betty Rudolph:
In December, we found out that my Mom’s leukemia was no longer in remission. Although her oncologist had known her for less than a year, he knew the value she placed on family and he knew that being home for Christmas would be the best therapy for her. He recommended waiting until January to return to the hospital for treatment.
In my family, Christmas had always meant a late morning gathering at the New Jersey house my parents moved us to 36 years before. Every year, even as marriages and in-laws and extended families brought other commitments to our lives, my siblings and I always promised to gather here. A snowstorm that day ensured that our usual gathering would be extended when additional travel plans to any other celebrations were cancelled. She unenthusiastically marked her birthday that week and I shared a subdued New Year’s Eve with my Mom and my sister in preparation for that last day at home. We knew she would drag her feet and leave haltingly, afraid to face the uncertainty of another difficult battle in the hospital. Her modest house meant so much to her because it was a “home” in the truest sense: a place where a family shares their love and finds strength, in good times and bad.
She put on her bravest face for the first few days there, for us, for herself, probably both. My last, happiest memory of her was the night before I planned to return home to DC, when she reminded me where I get that competitive nature by roundly trouncing me in a Scrabble match. One of my sisters called me at home the next day to tell me that she was having trouble breathing and I should return. She was on a respirator when I got back to New Jersey.
That January was a dismal one. Cold, grey, bleak and bitter just about every day. Through the sedatives, Mom still communicated with a simple hand squeeze or an arched brow over closed eyes, but I could see the life leaving her body a little more every day.
On one of these nights I was there with two of my brothers, Brian and Kevin, when Brian suggested that Kevin and I take a break to get some dinner, away from the room and the hospital. Kevin and I bundled up against the chill blast we knew would meet us outside. We agreed on a Mexican place and we quickly bustled in the entrance, hoping not to let too much of the freeze in behind us. I wasn’t expecting much but a little sustenance and the companionship of my brother. We were quickly greeted in the warmest fashion by a woman who appeared to be the hostess, waitress and proprietor all rolled into one. She welcomed us into her place with smiles, humor and overt friendliness. Here was someone who seemed so full of life and happiness in a time when I was experiencing so much darkness and grief in my own life. I quickly felt she had sensed our sadness and she had made it her responsibility to bring love and hope back into our lives through the simple act of making us feel welcome. Kevin and I enjoyed a delicious dinner and when I left with a piping-hot, foil-wrapped tamale, warming my hand in my pocket, I felt as if I was carrying a bit of this woman’s strong life force back with me to my Mom’s room.
Mom passed away a few days soon after. While the love of my family and the prayers and good wishes of my friends strengthened me in those days that followed, my mind kept returning to the moments at dinner that night. Knowing what those simple kindnesses meant to me when I needed them so much has made me more aware of how little it takes to be an instrument of good and love in the world. I try to remind myself daily that I can honor both women by sharing loving graces and kindness with others.
You can read more of these wonderful and moving stories from members and friends of the congregation at http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/lentstories.html .
2. TONIGHT (Wednesday, March 12), from 7-8:45 p.m., Pilgrims will host a Washington Interfaith Network "Ward 2" Accountability Action with City Councilman Jack Evans, focusing on supportive housing for the homeless. A strong turn-out will demonstrate our resolve to Councilman Evans. If you have not signed up to come, it is not too late! The Action will begin with a special performance of First Congregational UCC's "Community Chorus," which includes members of their congregation, and participants in their homeless outreach program. Councilman Evans is expected at 7:30. Both Jean Stewart and I have a part in the Action. Come and be part of it!
3. Friday Club, our monthly gathering for seniors, meets this week at noon for lunch, followed by a program led by our new Pilgrimage Program Manger, Matt Boote. Let Pat Goeldner pgoeldner@iona.org know if you would like to join us. You don't need to be retired, just free from noon to 2 p.m.
4. The Sacred Art of Fasting will conclude this Sunday at 9:30am in the Youth Education Room. Regular classes for children and adults will resume on April 6.
5. This week is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, when we will receive the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This special offering, received on the same Sunday for over sixty years by churches across the United States, supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Self-Development of People Fund, and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. You can read more about OGHS at http://www.pcusa.org/oghs/ . Please plan now to give generously.
6. This week is not only Palm Sunday, but is Jonathan Mertz's last Sunday with us. As you may know already, Jonathan has relocated to Kansas, to help care for his parents. He is back this weekend to pack up his apartment and move his belongings. Please join us Sunday to bid Jonathan a fond farewell. [Note: Jonathan is having a moving sale this Saturday, March 15, from 10 AM until 2 PM., with furniture, housewares, kitchen supplies. 623 Massachusetts Ave, NE #1.]
7. On Maundy Thursday (March 20), during Holy Week, we gather in the Fellowship Hall for a special service that includes celebrating the Lord's Supper, sharing an "Agape" meal of bread, cheese and fruit, and a "telling" of the Passion story from the Gospel of Matthew. If you can help bring some of the food, please send a note to Jean Stewart jean.stewart@rcn.com .
8. Mark Your Calendars: Habitat Build #2 on Saturday, April 5. Once again Pilgrims are invited to join other local Presbyterians to work on the DC Habitat for Humanity project in NE DC. Let Zach Wilks zachwilks3@hotmail.com or Mary Lib Pate pate38@boo.net know of your interest.
9. Presbyterian Sudan Vigil for Darfur Re-Scheduled: There was some confusion about dates for our monthly vigil, which we had announced for last Sunday. It has been moved to the Third Sunday, which will be this week. We will gather at the church a little before 1 p.m., before joining other Presbyterians and partners from a local synagogue, to stand in vigil for the people of Darfur at the Embassy of Sudan from 1-2 p.m.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
March 5, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. Through out the season of Lent we have been sharing stories of "encounter, choices, and identity." You can read these wonderful and moving stories from members and friends of the congregation at http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/lentstories.html .
Our Calendar for Lent is posted at http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/currentcalendar.pdf .
2. TONIGHT (Wednesday, March 5), from 7-8 p.m., Ashley and I will lead a "Covenant Group" Planning Meeting. "Covenant Groups" are small groups of 4-10 people that gather at regular intervals (once a week, once a month, whatever the group decides) to pray together and share about their lives. A group might be organized around a time (Sunday morning at 9 a.m., or Thursday night as six), a place (for people who live near the church, or who want to gather at the Cathedral), or an activity (joining together in a service project, or learning new types of contemplative prayer). Already there are several ideas in the works. We hope to launch 3-4 new groups after Easter. The planning meeting tonight is to help determine where the energy and leadership will come from. If this sparks an interest in you, you are invited to join us tonight to share your own ideas, hear the ideas of others, and see where people might work together to start a new group. If you have questions, let me know, and I would be happy to share more.
3. Our Monday night Lenten Series, led by Margee Iddings, concludes next Monday night with a slight shift in focus: Margee will lead us through a "Palm Sunday" experience to prepare us for Holy Week. Even if you missed earlier weeks, you are encouraged and invited to join us this week. We will begin each week with at 6:30 p.m. with a soup and bread supper, followed by the Palm Sunday experience at 7 p.m.
4. Our two Sunday morning classes will also conclude this week at 9:30am :
The Sacred Art of Fasting, led by Margee Iddings and Doris Hendershot, will be upstairs in the Youth Education Room.
My class, Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday, will meet in the Bird Room.
5. This week there are a host of events related to the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, with workshops and trainings, (including a noon-time forum on Thursday at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church with former Presbyterian General Assembly moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, who now serves as Director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship); several worship services on Friday at noon, (led by nationally known preachers, including Brian McLaren, who will lead a service at New York Avenue), and a 2:30 Interfaith Witness on the Mall. (Pilgrims will host a workshop Thursday night and Friday morning on a "Global Marshall Plan," sponsored by the Network of Spiritual Progressives.) You can learn more and register at http://www.christianpeacewitness.org/march08 .
6. Thursday night this week you can "Dine Out for Life" to support Pilgrimage partner "Food & Friends." 150 restaurants in the Washington metropolitan area will join together to support men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by contributing a percentage of their sales to Food & Friends, which provides daily, home-delivered, specialized meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to individuals in the community who are facing some of life's most difficult challenges. See http://www.diningoutforlife.com/home.php?city=9 for a list of participating restaurants.
7. Next Wednesday, March 12, Church of the Pilgrims will host a Washington Interfaith Network "Ward 2" Accountability Action with City Councilman Jack Evans, focusing on supportive housing for the homeless. We will begin at 7 p.m. We will need a host of people to help with logistics, and a strong turn-out to demonstrate our resolve to Councilman Evans. Please let Jean Stewart jean.stewart@rcn.com know if you can be present and can help.
8. On Maundy Thursday (March 20), during Holy Week, we gather in the Fellowship Hall for a special service that includes celebrating the Lord's Supper, sharing an "Agape" meal of bread, cheese and fruit, and a "telling" of the Passion story from the Gospel of Matthew. Each year the story is told "by heart" by 10-12 Pilgrims. Would you like to be a story-teller this year? After coffee hour this Sunday, March 9, I will lead a brief Storytelling Training, and make assignments. If you have never done this before, it is a wonderful experience-- anyone can learn to do this! Send me a note if you would like to be a "teller" this year.
9. On Palm Sunday, March 16, at the beginning of Holy Week, we will receive the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This special offering, received on the same Sunday for over sixty years by churches across the United States, supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Self-Development of People Fund, and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. You can read more about OGHS at http://www.pcusa.org/oghs/ . Please plan now to give generously.
10. New in the Dupont Pilgrims Gallery: Five Lenten Crosses by Timothy DeVenney: Timothy is a young artist with a studio in Takoma Park. His medium is fused glass, and the series now showing in the Gallery comprises five fused glass crosses. The inspiration for each cross is a passage of scripture about the Passion, the story of Jesus' betrayal, arrest, trial, mocking, flogging, and crucifixion. Tim meditated on each passage and then created crosses that express his feelings about them. Tim will worship at Pilgrims on Palm/Passion Sunday, March 16, and will be in the Gallery after worship to talk about his art. The crosses are mounted in a simple box with a plastic cover, but they can be removed and worn. The crosses are for sale at $75 each or $300 for the set.
11. A reminder that we are still collecting new or used books, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes for all ages and any genre to support Turning the Page's "Carpe Librum" book drive. Turning the Page promotes literacy in the DC Public Schools (see www.turningthepage.org <http://www.turningthepage.org> ). Look for the donation box in the Narthex outside the sanctuary.
12. Mark Your Calendars: Habitat Build #2 on Saturday, April 5. Once again Pilgrims are invited to join other local Presbyterians to work on the DC Habitat for Humanity project in NE DC. Let Zach Wilks zachwilks3@hotmail.com or Mary Lib Pate pate38@boo.net know of your interest.
13. Attached is the March Calendar, which includes the schedule for Holy Week, March 16-23.
14. Prayer Concerns: With great sadness we share with you the death of Mary Josie Blanchard's mother Mary Cain, who frequently worshipped with us over the years. She passed away unexpectedly following a heart procedure last Friday. Mary Josie and her husband, Bruce, are in Texas now. She may be reading email if you wish to send a note (maryjosie_blanchard@ios.doi.gov). Their home address is 80 Observatory Circle NW, WDC 20008.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
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