Texts: Acts 4:5-12, 1 John 3:16-24
Sermon: What’s in a Name?

June 24 – July 3, 2019
Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Departure from Phila
Day 2: Arrive Glasgow, travel to Oban via Arnprior and Doune
Days 3-7: On Iona
Day 8: Leave Iona and travel through Stirling to Edinburgh
Day 9: Edinburgh
Day 10: Departure from Edinburgh

Castles: Doune, Dunstaffnage, Stirling, Edinburgh
Farming Life: Arnprior Farms
Worship: Iona Abbey

Reserve your spot with a check made payable to Gladwyne Presbyterian Church
$500 per person by June 3, 2018

Calendar

Tuesday, April 17th

10 am Bible Study: Gospel of Matthew

7:30 pm Session

Thursday, April 19th

7 pm Knit or Knot

7:30 pm Men’s Group

Sunday, April 22nd

9:45 am Christian Education

11 am   Worship: Rev. Margaret Somerville preaching

Tuesday, April 24th

10 am Bible Study: Gospel of Matthew

 

Birthdays

April 16th

Jack Kanzinger

April 20th

Morris Williams

Sermon from Sunday, April 15th

Are we witnesses?

Texts:

Acts 3:12–19 Peter speaks of Jesus’ rejection and calls the people to repent.

Luke 24:36b–48 The risen Lord eats with the disciples and interprets the Scriptures.

Prayers for the people of Syria

Prayers for the leaders of the world that they would work for peace

Prayers of joy for the community of GPC and for the presence of Eric and his family

Prayers of celebration as Esteban begins a new job this week

Prayers of continued support for Anne

Prayers for Joe as he undergoes surgery

Prayers of healing for Peter has he recently had a brain procedure

Prayers of support and comfort for Ryan

The week after Easter is usually a quiet one for pastors, many actually will take the week off to recover from the activities, and most parishioners are tired as well and tend to not want to either be at church or have much for the pastor to do, so the week tends to be quiet. I suppose that adequately describes last week, as I began the week with the kids off from school for Easter Monday. (Someone really needs to explain to me why the kids and/or teachers need a day after having a week off!)

Now that is not to say that it was a week off, since the work of the church continues. A portion of the week was spent getting ready for Pavel’s first Sunday, making sure the service was as straight forward as possible, sitting down with him and going over it so that he was comfortable. Might I add, it is a joy to have him with us as our new music director! It has been a difficult year for the music program, with Tom’s illness and death, and hopefully now we can begin to move forward.

This transition marks something of a new day at GPC, for now planning can begin. Since I have been here, this is the first time that the staff, Pavel, Margaret, Veronica and I, can now sit down and dream about how we envision worship and life at GPC. It is no small thing to do this, and I am looking forward to this opportunity and challenge.

Recognizing that the month is moving along, there was a meeting held last week to plan the next Evening for Outreach event which will be on Saturday, May 5th at 6 pm at the McGowan’s home. Make sure you have the date on your calendar! I am greatly appreciative to the work of Donna McGowan, Sandra Stashik and Margaret Somerville as we prepare for another wonderful gathering.

The week ended with a phone call from Ruth Santana Grace, the executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. We spoke about some concerns within the Presbytery but also spoke of two really exciting ventures. The first is the continued work to create a new West Philadelphia Presbyterian worshiping community that would combine First African Presbyterian Church, Calvin Presbyterian Church and Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church. We are beginning the process of site selection for where this community might be located., and I have been asked to help lead this process. The second is a program called 1001 Worshiping Communities, which is a program of the denomination to help create new non-traditional worshiping communities. We explored the possibility of creating one on Lower Merion. Just another thing for the To Do List.

Oops, almost forgot about Saturday night! It was a lot of fun heading down to the Philadelphia Union game, and while they tied the game, we had a lot fun. After the game, we had a chance to meet and speak with Ray Gaddis, a defender on the team, who shared his own faith story and how it has helped him in this life. The kids asked some great questions, and I think they took something away from it. Thanks to the Union and Ray for making this happen.

Events:

Tuesday, April 10th:

10 am Bible Study: Gospel of Matthew

Thursday, April 12th:

7 pm Women’s Book Club

Sunday, April 15th:

9:45 am Christian Education

11 am Worship: Pastor Todd Stavrakos preaching

Sermon:          Are we witnesses?

Texts:

Acts 3:12–19 Peter speaks of Jesus’ rejection and calls the people to repent.

Luke 24:36b–48 The risen Lord eats with the disciples and interprets the Scriptures..

12:30 pm Scotland Trip Meeting

Tuesday, April 17th:

10 am Bible Study: Gospel of Matthew

7:30 pm Session

 

Birthdays

April 9th:

Annie Sciolla

Sermon from Sunday, April 8th

Loving is forgiving

Texts:

Acts 4:32–35 The disciples share everything and testify to Jesus’ resurrection.

John 20:19–31 Jesus shares the Holy Spirit; a week later, he appears to Thomas.