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Virtual Palm Sunday Parade April 5, 2020
Welcome Back Bluebirds! Heavenly Heralcs of Spring.
Thank you, Pete and Gene.
Well earned ice-cream and rest!
Welcome to our church website.
We are glad you are here!
We hope to see you soon!
Our physical gathering has been postponed,
But, our spiritual worship continues with links here.
Click Link Below to Hear
Autumn, Clementine, Finnegan and Kalliope Ferguson
Sing "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" for Palm Sunday:
Welcome Jesus On Palm Sunday:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1moyenJfLRnDQMTr8
Welcome to Our Virtual Palm Sunday Parade:
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Join us as we begin Holy Week.
Please join us live for our Maundy Thursday Service of Worship
7:00 p.m. by connecting with this Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/7908182538?pwd=K2dyQkx0YisxUkpuMWhadWVYQzdaZz09
The Service will be recorded and saved under the Sermons/Worship tab.
Elder Darlne Seippel Shares a Minute for Mission
for The Presbyterian One Great Hour of Sharing Offering:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0Vlf6Ns9U0z9ERan8yrhSRwTA
You may give to the OGHS by choosing the "Give On-line" Tab
(Icon of Hand Offering $) in the Top Right Above.
Preventive Medicine - Get Outdoors!
There are many benefits to being outside during the pandemic, not the least of which is our mental health. Sunny skies, and a little exercise makes us feel better, mentally and physically. Fresh air is also good for our lungs and allows us to expel recycled air and any germs that might be in it. Some research suggests UV light helps kill the virus. Hospital grade sterilization is dangerous, but we know it works. No definitive data has been collected on UV, but the thought is - yes, sunlight will help. We don't know how much time is needed, but any sunlight is a good thing. So enjoy the fresh air, get some Vitamin D and boost your mental health - enjoy the spring!
- Dana Cross
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An invitation to worship, March 29th:
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We share a reflection on a creation psalm: Psalm 104.
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Almighty God, today we celebrate Your magnificent splendor. For by Your hand You placed time in motion. From the first day of creation until this very day, Your creative wonders have filled the universe. On this Sabbath day, we celebrate how by Your mighty power You raised Christ from the grave. From that first resurrection Sunday until this day, Your love has given life to all mankind. Now, O God, as we enter this sacred time of worship, we call upon You to bathe us in Your presence and bless us by Your Spirit. To Your Name be glory and honor, now and forever. Amen.
We open with a discusson of the Old Testament book of Habakkuk:
astor Steve reads a book for Children: Ruby Finds A Worry by Tom Percival:
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COVID-19 Communications
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
Building Closed
In response to the coronavirus, our Session voted to suspend all group activities on church grounds. There is a compelling reason for this action. While most of us are not at serious risk, we have many in our community – namely the elderly and those with medical conditions – who are at risk. We want to protect them. By all reports, social distancing and careful attention to hand cleanliness, are two of the best ways to discourage the spread of the virus. Thus, because we love you and we love our neighbors, we are initiating these decisions.
On-Line Services
We are offering an on-line service of worship on Sunday using the Zoom platform. Worship will be at 11:00 a.m. Visit this site and the manner of the broadcast will be explained on teh right side under announcements.
Child Care Center
The CPC Preschool and Child Care Center has cancelled Preschool and Child Care. However, You may contact our director, Libby Turney, for answers to your questions: 410-836-2148.
Office Hours
The office is without an Administrative Assistant at this time so there may be periods when no one will be there to answer phones. If you want to ask questions, please contact the pastor, Dr. Stephen Melton, by cell: 717-571-6787.
Church Support
For those who wish to provide financial support for the ministry of our church, there is a giving link on the top right-hand corner of this church website. There you will see three icons. The middle one showing a hand giving money, is the one to click. You will be asked to provide a number for a credit card or for a bank account. You can save the information and give again in the future without much trouble.
Open to Christ
The theologian and writer, C.S. Lewis said as people of God we want “the good infection.” We want to get close enough to Christ, so His Spirit infects our spirit. We will become less ourselves and more of Him, and by becoming more of Him, we rediscover our natural state as children of God.
The doors of the church may be closed for now, but we are reminded - the door Christ is knocking on, has been and always will be, the door of our soul – and we can open it anywhere and at any moment.
Dear God, we look to You in this time of trouble. May Your Son, our great physician, be present to us all. Especially be with those who will have a difficult time during this period of isolation. May our concern not only be for ourselves but for them. Help us find ways to reach out in faith. Enter our room. Fill us with grace. Send us back out as agents of hope. In Your name we pray. Amen.
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We give thanks for the virtual visit from Missionary the Rev. Sarah Henken.
The Rev. Sarah Henken is a Presbyterian missionary serving in Colombia, South America, where our "Well" project is being pursued. If you would like to send her cards, feel free to use this address:
Carrera 37 #54-44
Apartamento 102
Barranquilla, Colombia
08001
You may send her an e-mail:
http://mailto:sarah.henken@pcusa.org
You may also follow her work through the PCUSA website:
Sarah Henken, PCUSA Missionary
In Christ,
Pastor Steve
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Church: A model community of the imperfect
Eugene Peterson, from his Introduction to the book of James:
When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business, except, perhaps, business – and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It’s similar with sinners outside the church.
So Christian churches as not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human behavior is brought out in the open, faced and dealt with.
Together in Christ,
Stephen
“A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH”
The Presbyterian Church was an unexpected offspring of a religious movement called “The Reformation.” Two of the leading Reformers of the time, Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564), had no intention of forming a new church, at least not initially. Their desire was to reform the present day Catholic Church, to purge the Church of corruptions and set it more in line with the traditions and theology of Scripture and of the early church. The Reformers became known as “Protestants” because their requests for change sounded more and more like protests.
The Presbyterian Church is one of several churches that can trace their origins to the Reformation. Presbyterians get their name from the Greek word “presbuteros” which means “elder.” The term refers to the system, in apostolic times, of choosing leaders from among the wisest members of the church. A prominent doctrine of the Reformation was “the priesthood of all believers.” Reformed churches designed themselves in ways that gave more power to the congregation. The Presbyterians established a representative system where elders, presbyters and commissioners were elected.
The French organized the first congregation in 1555 and the French Huguenots were one of the first Presbyterians to reach America, followed closely by the English, Dutch, German, Irish and Scottish. In 1706 the first American presbytery was formed in Philadelphia and soon after the Synod of Philadelphia in 1716. 1789 marked the First General Assembly in Philadelphia.
The Church grew and diversified as it headed westward. By 1800 there were 20,000 members. In another thirty-seven years, there were 220,000. With the growth in numbers came an increase of conflict, separation and sometimes reunion. “Old School” and “New School” divisions plagued Presbyterians for years. The most infamous of issues was slavery. The Civil War severely divided the Church.
The next 120 years saw movements toward reunification. In 1958 the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) and the United Presbyterian Church of North America merged to form the Presbyterian Church in the United States of American (UPCUSA). In 1983 the two largest Presbyterian Churches united at the Atlanta General Assembly (G.A.): the southern-based Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) and the northern-based (UPCUSA). In 1985 the G.A. approved a seal for the new Church. There are some powerful images in the symbol which reveal what is important to us as Presbyterians. Today there are about 2,000,000 members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), the largest of the mainline Presbyterian denominations.
“Unexpected” may seem like a good way to describe the beginnings of the Presbyterian Church. But for Presbyterians it has always been the “providence of God.”
Together in Christ,
Stephen
Churchville, Maryland 21028
Holy Week Worship
Sunday April 5 began our Holy Week observance. We started the journey of Christ into Jerusalem with a Virtual Palm Sunday Parade. You can find our slide parade just to left. Enjoy the Ferguson family as they sing, "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna."
We are collecting photos for our Virtual Easter Parade. Please send Pastor Steve pictures of your family holding spring flowers: pastor@churchvillepc.org.
Our live Maundy Thursday worship and Communion will take place at 7:00 p.m. Ready your Bread and Cup at home to partake with us. We will be using a Zoom platform. Simply click on this link and it will take you to the Zoom "Meeting Room:" https://zoom.us/j/7908182538?pwd=K2dyQkx0YisxUkpuMWhadWVYQzdaZz09
Easter morning we will have two live services of worship:
Sunrise Service on Facebook at 6:30 a.m.
Traditional Service on Facebook and the same Zoom platform above 11:00 a.m.
Sunday March 29, 2020 Worship
On Sunday, March 29, at 11:00 a.m. we invited the Rev. Sarah Henken to preach for us. You can find a recording of her sermon and other sermons by Pastor Steve, under the "Sermon/Worship" tab above.
