Celebrate Our Faith
This is the season of Easter in our
church calendar, and that is a time to celebrate our faith! Up until
the actual resurrection of our Lord we had very little identity as a
religion, but were in fact a small cult of the Jewish faith. Then
our leader was arrested and executed on the Cross and it seemed for
a while that our movement had died with Him. Then on the third day
the miracle of the Resurrection occurred and the religion known as
Christianity was born. So it is appropriate that we celebrate our
faith during the time known as the Easter season.
The resurrection event becomes the
thing that shows that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. No one had
ever overcome such a horrible death by returning to life. The Romans
were well trained in how to kill a person and the crucifixion was a
very public event. Many people from many different faith traditions
witnessed the long agonizing process that led to Christ’s death.
There was no doubt that He had died and there were plenty of people
who could testify to the fact of His death. The fact that the
crucifixion was so public was an important factor in the formation
of the church as we know it. Had it not been so public there may
have been some lingering doubt surrounding the fact of His death.
For instance if only a few people had witnessed the execution, one
could make the argument that Jesus had not in fact died, and
so the miracle that is the resurrection could come into question. A
few of His followers could have gotten together and made the whole
thing up!
Jesus’ death was a certainty, and
so it was a real miracle when he rose from the dead on Easter
morning. Not only had His death been very public, His resurrection
was very public as well. The Roman soldiers assigned to guard the
tomb were witnesses. His disciples were witnesses to His returning
from the dead. He appeared on the shore and ate fish and bread with
many of His followers and their fellow fishermen (John 21:12-14). It
was clear that He had come back from the dead. He even showed them
the wounds in His hands, feet and the wound in His side, so there
was no doubt that it was in fact Him.
So we celebrate the Easter season
by wearing white and singing joyous songs and proclaiming praises to
our God. This is why we proclaim the “Alleluias” in our
services during this season. We are expressing our joy over the fact
that our Lord and Savior has risen from the dead and in so doing
death has been defeated on our behalf. Our sins will no longer lead
us to death. Death has been defeated because the One who was without
sin has been killed for our sake and rose from the dead, also for
our sake. Anyone who calls on the name of our Lord will be saved
(Acts 2:21). So this is a time when it is worthwhile to celebrate
our faith, because we know that our Redeemer lives. We know that God
loves us and gave Himself for our sake so that we would have eternal
life (John 3:16). So we celebrate our faith in the Easter season and
our joy knows no bounds!
Joyous Blessings,
Fr. John+
Financial Report March 2010
By Bill Parsons
March’s finances continued negative, with a deficit
of $(15,936) for the year. Total income from all funds for the month was
$18,276, while total expenditures were $21,833. For the year, income was
$47,889 with expenses of $63,825. There were no significant unusual
items in income or expenses.
Operating funds for March included $16,566 of
income and $21,616 in expenses for a loss of $(5,051). Income was
derived from parish giving at $8,061 (49%), investment income at $ 5,239
(32%), nursery school receipts of $3,206 (19 %) and other incidental
items. Operating expenses for the month included $9,984 for salaries (46
%), $3,445 (16 %) for utilities, $4,218 (20 %) for maintenance, $512
(2%) for worship expenses, $647 (3 %) for office and administrative
expenses as well as $3,208 (13 %) for the nursery school. Included in
maintenance costs was the payment of $2,260 for snow removal as a result
of the major snowstorms in February.
Allocated (special) income for the month was
$1,710, including $504 in income for Easter flowers and $1,067 for the
church window renovation program. Expenses of $217 were incurred for
flowers and pastoral care expenses..
Our investment portfolio continued to flow with the
market, with some positive change in value. We continue to evaluate the
portfolio and to make incremental changes to increase income while
protecting the asset base.
Flee
Market
Memorial Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase Flea
Market - May 15, 8am - 2pm (raindate May 22), 7902 Oxford Avenue,
Philadelphia, PA 19111. Vendor spots are limited, reserve your space
now. $15 if you bring your own table; $20 if you need to use one of
ours. Please call Yvonne Schwiker for more information or to reserve
your table at 215-632-1345. All proceeds will benefit Vacation Bible
School 2010. Please come out and shop!
Brownie Troop Activities
Our Brownie troop finally had our "Baby Bundles"
baby shower. It was a great success!!
We were hosts to nine troops from our service unit,
including Daisys, Brownies and Juniors. We played baby bingo and had to
match Nursery Rhymes. We also divided the girls into four groups and
each group took their turn at other games. Our Junior troop helped
chaperone these games. The games included "toss the diaper", relay,
"get baby ready for bed", and "taste the mysterious baby food". Each
group also made a craft, "rock a bye baby". We made paper flowers
(trees) and then had a baby in a cradle that was hung from the tree.
Each troop brought refreshments which we all shared. The gifts that
were brought were amazing!! We received a "gently used" crib,
highchair, stroller and bouncy chair, along with almost everything for a
baby or young child. We donated all of the gifts to an organization
called Young Lives. We hope Young Lives gets as much enjoyment out of
receiving as we did of giving.
Our Brownie troop also planted the flowers that
were on the altar at Easter. Look for them to bloom again next spring.
We have also walked around our compound and picked up trash and debris
that we found. Our meetings for the year will be ending very soon. We
will be having a fly-up ceremony with our sister scouts at Abington
Presbyterian Church in May.
FUN
DAY!!
Youth of Holy Nativity, we are having a Fun Day on
Saturday May 15th from 3 pm to 5 pm.
Are you 4 years old to 18 years old? Well then
you are welcome to come. Bring a friend if you would like. Wear clothes
that you would wear to play outside. Come and have a wonderful time and
get closer to God.
If you have any questions please feel free to call
Trisha Wallace @ (215) 758-2709
The
Strawberry Festival and Car Show is just around the corner on
June 5th. Please volunteer to help at one of the tables, donate some
baked good, and used books, cut strawberries on Friday June 4th and have
fun at the festival. For information about what you can donate contact
Joe Madison.
New
Vestry
Congratulations to the newest members of the
vestry. Elected this year are John Thompson, Rob Richardson, Dave
Campbell, Linda Fischler, and Joe Madison. They join Jack Alexander,
Jessica Brown, and Bill Parsons to make up our new vestry. At the
meeting to be held on May 18th they will reorganize their assignments.
May
is a month full of Church Holy Days
Ascension Day May 13th Which is observed on the 40th day of
Easter. It commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven, according
to the New Testament of the Bible. Ascension Day is one of the earliest
Christian festivals dating back to the year 68 AD. According to the New
Testament in the Bible, Jesus Christ met several times with his
disciples during the 40 days after his resurrection to instruct them on
how to carry out his teachings. It is believed that on the 40th day he
took them to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to
heaven. Holy Eucharist
7:30 PM
Pentecost Sunday May 23rd is one of the prominent feasts in the
Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit
upon the disciples of Christ. The feast is also called Whitsun,
Whitsunday, Whit Sunday, or Whitsuntide, especially in the United
Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter
Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension
Thursday.
Pentecost is historically and symbolically related
to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving
the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus. Among
Christians, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon
the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the New
Testament Acts of the Apostles 2:31 during these Jewish "fiftieth day"
celebrations in Jerusalem. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes
described as the "Birthday of the Church".
Trinity Sunday May 30th is the first Sunday after Pentecost it
celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of
God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday has the
status of a Principal Feast in the Church of England and is one of seven
principal feast days in the Episcopal Church. Thomas Becket (1118-70)
was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on the Sunday after Whit
Sunday, and his first act was to ordain that the day of his consecration
should be held as a new festival in honour of the Holy Trinity. This
observance spread from Canterbury throughout the whole of Christendom.
Visitation of the blessed Virgin
May 31st
After the angel Gabriel had announced to Mary that
she was to become the mother of Our Lord, Mary went from Galilee to
Judea to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, soon to be the mother of John
the Baptist. This visit is recorded in Luke 1:39-56. Elizabeth greeted
Mary with the words, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
fruit of your womb." Mary burst forth with the song of praise which we
call the Magnificat, beginning, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord." We are told that even John the Baptist, still unborn, leaped for
joy in his mother's womb. Thus we are shown, side by side, the two
women, one seemingly too old to have a child, but destined to bear the
last prophet of the Old Covenant, of the age that was passing away; and
the other woman, seemingly not ready to have a child, but destined to
bear the One Who was Himself the beginning of the New Covenant, the age
that would not pass away.
Holy Eucharist 7:30 PM
Crafters
The crafters will start to use Argo Hall as their
meeting place. This move was designed to allow them the flexibility of
leaving their unfinished projects out without being disturbed and gives
us a reason to use the building for none commercial activities.
Sunday School Projects
Our Sunday
School children will be undertaking two projects that will make us
all very proud.
As an on-going
project, we will be collecting items to send those in the Armed
Forces for whom we pray each week. Some are parishioners, or
friends of parishioners and even a parent of one of a child
attending our week-day nursery school.
We need the
following items:
FOOD ITEMS
Powdered drink
mixes (hot or cold)
Tea bags and
coffee packets
Cup-a-soup and
Ramen noodles
Granola bars and
power bars
Trail Mix and
raisins
Candy and gum
(wrapped)
Nuts (any
kind)
Dry cereal
(individual servings)
Fruit or
applesauce cups
Cracker Jack and
popcorn
Fruit roll-ups
and fruit snacks
Peanut butter &
jelly
Beef Jerky
Seasonings and
condiments
Cookies
Canned tuna
Canned soup or
stew
PERSONAL
HYGIENE ITEMS
Baby Wipes (50
count)
Kleenex (pocket
size)
Eye Drops (0.5
oz)
Hand lotion
(Travel Size)
Chap Stick
Sun Block
Cough Drops
Soap (Hotel
size)
Toilet paper
Deodorant (1.7
oz size)
Tooth Paste
(Travel Size)
Disposable
cameras
We will also need
cash donations to cover the cost of mailing for each package which
will be $10.50.
Our hope is to be able to send each
member of the Armed Forces for whom we are praying a package monthly
with our thanks for what they are doing for us. The Sunday School
children will pack and ready the boxes. Our intention is to keep
this going until they are home again. But we need your help by
picking up a few of the items listed above each time you are
shopping. Keep the items small because our boxes are small. It is
the thought that counts and knowing that there are people at home
who are grateful for the sacrifice they are making for us.
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