mid-May Performances

We tell you ... let us know when you are in a sporting event, play, musical, dance recital, concert, or anything else that is open to the public. You never know when one (or more) of the Leader's will show up! (You might even get your picture on the blog, if one of us remembers to bring a camera.)

Abby in (or really just after) "Little Shop of Horrors"

Brooklyn after "Much Ado About Nothing"

These were really bad photos taken with my little 1.3 Megapixel camera phone.

Emma (with Beth and Jill) after "Rumors"

Check back soon for more (hopefully clearer) pictures that include Christopher in "Revenge of the Space Pandas".

13: May 19, 2007 - Serving Breakfast

Early on Saturday morning, a few of our hearty souls met to travel to Alphabet City and work at the Father's Heart Ministries soup kitchen where we helped serve breakfast to 478 guests.

2007-05-19 Soup Kitchen

Breakfast was served for an hour and a half, and guests are allowed to eat as much as they would like. Our guess was that on average, each guest had 3 or 4 plates of food, so that means that Haley placed about 1700 fork-and-knife sets onto plates, and Jessica and Juan set over 160 place settings during the morning.

Think about that for a second ... this is generally not a soup kitchen for the homeless, but rather "food insecure" people on the Lower East Side. 478 people were fed in an hour and a half - all they wanted to eat. Men, Women, family's with children, people that should be enjoying their "golden years" all sharing a meal together in this corner of God's Kingdom. Probably in the neighborhood of 140 DOZEN eggs, plus toast, sausage, hash browns, peaches, coffee, and juice. Though their food handling license doesn't allow it, a few guests packed this bountiful food in order to eat later.

While the youth prepared the tables and plates of food, the leaders (Jill, Stephanie, and Mark - where was David?!?) were asked to minister to the guests: roaming, smiling, talking, listening, and praying with those that the spirit lead us to.

Father's Heart is a robust and well-organized ministry. Worship (presented in 6 languages, including sign language), prepared food, food pantry bags, roaming ministers, ESL courses, social workers available, and somewhere around 60 volunteers for the morning to make it all happen!

This is one that we recommend going back to again.

May 6, 2007 - Confirmation Sunday

Confirmation Sunday was May 6th and a fantastic experience on so many levels

2007-05-06 Confirmation Class

The day started with an examination by the Session held in the Manse, next to the Church. Statements of Faith were read by those students who chose to join the Church. After the students, parents made statements about the pride they have in their children - a very powerful experience. Once a motion was made, seconded, and approved, the Class of 2007 was welcomed into membership, along with 2 adult members by reaffirmation of their faith.

The worship service was next and included BOTH of the sacraments of the Presbyterian Church (who knows what they are? ... That's right, Baptism and Communion). Confirmands read excerpts from their individual Statements of Faith as the text of parts of the worship service. All the new members then gathered around the Baptismal font as a symbol of their confirming the vow their Parents made for them at baptism, and Brooklyn presented herself for baptism at this time. Rev. Beth preached a great sermon on John 13:31-35, Jesus charging his disciples: "I leave you with this new commandment to love one another as I have loved you." The Confirmation Class teachers each had a special message for the class, and gifts were presented by the teachers and mentors to the class. With Communion and (the usual) fantastic music - including a piano piece by Harry, and an anthem by Jill - the service was concluded and everyone was invited upstairs to the Elliott Room.

The parents of the class provided a wonderful meal and reception for the entire congregation after worship. Pizza, chicken, salad, veggie wraps, drinks, and desserts (ask Ed about where to get a great sheet cake!) were shared, still MORE pictures were taken, and additional gifts were given - this time it was the parents recognizing the hard work of the Confirmation Class teachers.

A meaningful day; an affirming experience; a community welcoming a community.