Prayers for the Week of April 14th

/ Todd Stavrakos

Prayers of healing and recovery for Elliot after transition surgery

Prayers of joy at the presence of the Warner family at worship.

Prayers for Lorna, Sandy’s new sister.

Prayers of recovery for John as he was in a car accident.

Prayers to end homelessness.

Prayers of healing for Thomas after emergency heart surgery.

Prayers of support for the coffee house Great Expectations.

Prayers for Peter as he visits the doctors for his eye.

Prayers of celebration for Douglas’ birthday.

Prayers for sacred spaces, particularly the Chapel in the Woods.

One Great Hour of Sharing

/ Todd Stavrakos

One of the special offerings that the PCUSA gathers is the One Great Hour of Sharing. This offering supports the work done by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Self Development of People.

You have probably heard of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Presbyterian Hunger Program, but might not have heard about the Self Development of People. SDOP is the program that the denomination created over forty years ago to address issues of poverty and justice by supporting grassroots organizations.

Perhaps you are aware the Philadelphia is the poorest of the large cities in the United States and has the poorest zip code in the nation within its boundaries. The Presbytery of Philadelphia has renewed its emphasis on addressing poverty and justice issues and I am proud to say that I am the new moderator of the SDOP committee in Philadelphia.

I would strongly ask that you continue making a donation to the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Envelopes will be in the pews over the next two Sundays.

If you would like more information on the Offering click http://specialofferings.pcusa.org/oghs

Holy Week

/ Todd Stavrakos

This Sunday is Palm Sunday which begins our journey through Holy Week. Many of the events this week ask for sign ups so that we know how many people are coming so please make sure to check here for the sign ups. The events asking for sign ups will have an *.

Sunday, April 14th: Palm Sunday

9:45 am Community Breakfast*

11 am Worship

Thursday, April 18th: Maundy Thursday

6:30 pm Dinner*

7 pm Worship 

Friday, April 19th: Good Friday

Noon: Worship at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church

Saturday, April 20th: Easter Vigil

8 am Easter Vigil begins*

10 am to 1 pm Easter Outreach*

Sunday, April 21st: Easter

6:30 am Sunrise Service followed by breakfast

10:30 am Easter Egg Hunt

11 am Worship

 

 

 

Calendar and Birthdays

/ Todd Stavrakos

Events:

Tuesday, April 9th:

10 am Bible Study: Book of Isaiah chapter 6

7 pm Session

Thursday, April 11th:

7 pm Women’s Book Group

Saturday, April 13th:

9 – 11 am Chapel clean up

Sunday, April 14th: Palm Sunday

9:45 am Community Breakfast

11 am Worship: Pastor Todd Stavrakos preaching

Sermon: Awareness of Expectations

Texts:

Luke 19:28–40 Jesus enters Jerusalem on a colt; the disciples praise God with joy.

Isaiah 50:4–9a The Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty?

Tuesday, April 16th:

10 am Bible Study: Book of Isaiah chapter 8

Birthdays:

April 9th:

Annie Sciolla

April 14th:

Douglas Roberts

April 16th:

Jack Kanzinger

Prayers for the Week of April 8th

/ Todd Stavrakos

Prayers for Lilian as she struggles with cancer.

Prayers of strength for Nancy as she continues chemo treatments.

Prayers of healing for Kevin as he recovers from brain surgery.

Prayers of remembrance for Paul on his birthday.

Prayers of comfort and hope as Tim celebrates his birthday in prison,

Prayers for the GPC community as it “stretches”.

Prayers for students as they prepare for and hear about college decisions.

Interfaith Hospitality Network – volunteers needed

/ Margaret Somerville

Our next week hosting families from the Interfaith Hospitality Network with Beth David is April 28-May 5.

Check here to see what is needed and to sign up.
Opportunities to help include setting up the beds at Beth David before the families arrive, making a meal and eating with the families, and sleeping overnight. The families stay at Beth David for the week but are out at IHN during the day.
For those of you who work during the day, the overnight shift ends at 6:30 in the morning. And for those of you with children, IHN encourages you to bring your families both to eat and to sleep overnight.

For those who haven’t volunteered before, we need your police and child abuse clearances on file.

Many thanks for helping in whatever way you can!

It’s time for Christians to get out of politics!

/ Todd Stavrakos

A Thorn in the Flesh

I know it seems strange for me to say this, since I am one who has firmly stated that the church and Christians have a role in the public discourse in this nation, and I believe this with all my heart. But I do think it is time for Christians to break from the political process in a very important way, I think it is time for Christians to leave the two party system! This might seem drastic but I fear for the soul of the church as both Christians on the left and the right get sucked into the partisan divide that is destroying any sense of moral fiber our nation has. We must take a stand in the public realm.

Perhaps this has been a slow evolution of mine or perhaps the release of the Mueller report has just been the last straw, but I cannot in good…

View original post 646 more words