the PRES SUMMER WORSHIP HOURS Summer Hour begin July 2nd ----- 10:00 am to 11:00 am Regular Hours return Sept 17th ----- 11:00 am to 12:00 pm THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A DOVE This Pentecost, June 4th, we will explore the imagery of the Dove as the Holy Spirit. The third part of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is one that can be hard to wrap our heads around. Biblically, some of the ways the Holy Spirit is shown are a cloud (Exodus 16:00), wind or breath (Genesis 1:2), water (1 Coe 12:13) or fire (Exodus 13:21). In Mark 1:10, Jesus sees "the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him" following his baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordon. We will use the dove to help us understand how God wants the Holy Spirit to fill us on this modern day of Pentecost.
A Salute to the Music of America! EFPC Chancel Choir presents its annual Strawberry Festival Friday, June 9, 2017 East Falls Presbyterian Church 3800 Vaux Street Philadelphia, PA 19129 7:30 PM PLEASE join us for our annual Strawberry Festival Concert featuring patriotic, blues and Broadway medleys, and the opening number from the musical Hamilton! The Choir will also perform the rousing American Heroes – a salute to our men and women of the Armed Forces featuring the “Marine’s Hymn”, “Anchors Aweigh”, and “The U.S. Air Force.” Hope you will join us for the concert and the fresh strawberries, cake and ice cream following the performance! KIRKWOOD CAMP WEEKEND The weekend will be Saturday & Sunday June 10-11. All the favorite outdoor activities will be back, plus air conditioning in Stroup House! Watch for additional information, or contact Rebekah Davis or Julie Haines. The end of the Sunday School year is fast approaching. The last day of formal Sunday School classes before Summer break is Sunday, June 4th. The following two Sundays are Kirkwood (June 11th) and Father’s Day (June 18th). Summer Sunday School will begin Sunday, June 25th and will run through August 27th (10 weeks). During the Summer months, we like to give our teachers a break, and have members of the Congregation spend time with our kids. During Sunday School in the Summer you read them a special story (we have a supply in the room, or you can bring your own), discuss their thoughts, and either prepare a craft or have a snack. A signup list will be posted in the Narthex soon – please look for it and consider volunteering. Over the summer, we hope to purchase some new stories for both classes, in order to expand our bible knowledge and keep our kids interested and engaged. We would also love to add a couple of new teachers to help lighten the load throughout the year. If you are interested, please speak with one of the teachers (Jen Connolly, Cathy Michini, Jeff Goddard, or Bethany Mandes). It has been a joy to watch your children grow in their faith this past year. Enjoy the Summer! Notes from Session Meeting in May Ken is taking a well-deserved vacation and study leave from June 12th through July 2nd. On Sunday, June 18th and 25th, we will have guest minister Rev. Megan LeCluyse in the pulpit. Megan is Celebration Service Team Leader at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. She also serves as the Campus Minister of the Christian Association at the University of Pennsylvania. On Sunday, July 2nd, we will have Rev. Judy Dwyer as our guest minister. Many of us have known Judy since she was a Pastor Intern at our church around 2011. She is currently the Chaplain at Wesley Enhanced Living in Doylestown. If a problem should arise or you need a pastor during Ken’s absence, please contact Cathy Michini, Clerk of Session at 215-439-0099. We will be celebrating INDEPENDENCE DAY at church with our ANNUAL PICNIC – the scaled down version. After church on July 2nd, we’ll gather on the side lawn for hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad and other offerings. Come join us for food, socializing and games and prizes for the children! The Session has been discussing a budget for 2017 with the Budget Committee. Because we don’t know exactly when we will get a new minister and salary offered is a range, it is hard to estimate how much we should set aside. As our negotiations continue, we will keep you updated.
June 18, 2017 Youth Sunday Father's Days. Our youth with the leadership of Cynthia Jickling are working on worship ideas.
Projects Big and Small! Cyclical Maintenance is always under way with painting of trim, repairing of bricks, restoring benches, and developing the landscape with tree removals and flower planting! The garden continues to grow and be maintained by several members of our church. The light bulbs are in the process of being replaced throughout the Church, sanctuary and fellowship hall. Hopefully by December we will also have a Cyclical Operations Manual to help pass along to guide the next stewards of this church. The KITCHEN project is finishing with step one of planning and moving into step two of the process. Fred Vidi and Chris Hanson are teaming up to create for us a kitchen that will help to grow our abilities to provide and serve our congregation and community! Hopefully we will be breaking ground after the Strawberry festival and serving a breakfast to welcome everyone back in September! Communications: In its second year as a committee, the committee is getting its feet wet with a new Website! The committee has been working to help update and elevate our abilities as a church. This will be up and running by the end of June! Also we are working to get new inserts for the pews and finalize our update of the contact list. We are investigating a server for the church to help keep our church information and history secure. We also are looking at upgrading a door or two the second half of the year. A proposal will also be put together to digitize all our records. We have such a rich history; with the help of Presbytery we are looking to digitize this information and allow our membership to delve into the past with old plans, pictures, and saved communications. Members of the Property Committee Steve Wallace, Doug Allcorn, Dave McClenahan, Joseph Wilson, Aaron Richardson, Doug Cowley and Linda Duttra. The Church’s 8 Deacons continue to focus on providing care for our members and friends. This past winter, we decided to host weekly instead of monthly Coffee Hour to encourage and support frequent fellowship within the congregation. We also took on the responsibility of planning the Easter Breakfast. Thanks to everyone that brought food and helped out! The schedule for weekly Lemonade on the Lawn has been distributed. Please make sure to contact Joseph Wilson with any questions or changes. One of our biggest endeavors this year was the launch of the Care Circles, designed to connect you directly to an assigned deacon should you have a specific need for care. Many of you received a post card last fall with the name of your Care Circle Deacon. There will be some redistribution of Care Circles over the summer, and you will receive an update early this coming fall. We are currently discussing more frequent at home communion for individuals unable to be in church on communion Sunday. If you or someone you know would benefit from this ministry, please inform a deacon so that we are aware. The Deacons are always looking for new ways to provide our congregation with the care and ministry you need. We would love to hear your suggestions, so please do not hesitate to contact us. PASTOR NOMINATING COMMITTEE While the PASTOR NOMINATING COMMITTEE (PNC) is restricted from passing any information to us, they would like to assure everyone that they are working conscientiously on our behalf. AN AFTERNOON OF MUSIC WITH FRIENDS
Sunday afternoon, May 21st was enjoyed by over 50 members, friends and neighbors. Everyone expressed joy and appreciation for the vocal, flute, cello and piano recital, followed by a hospitality hour in the Fellowship Hall sampling cookies, fruit and brownies. Thanks go to Brenda Browne, Sheila McCaffrey, Roberta Goren, Alison Wear and Jane Wilson who each shared their talents with those who attended. If you missed the program at the Church, please "click" on the following: the PRES will be taking a vacation during the months of July and August We will return in September 1st. June 18th will be the last Sunday that our Chancel Choir will be singing for the summer. They will return in September after Labor Day.
As summer is fast approaching, just about everyone is looking toward their vacations. If you travel far and wide or just have picnics in your backyard, take some photo's and share them with all of us. Get them to "the PRES" before Labor Day, and they will appear in the newsletter. |