christmas music sunday - second presbyterian church · christmas music sunday promises to be a...

SpireM o n t h l y n e w s l e t t e r

Building Community Transforming Lives Engaging the World.

December 2009Vol. XXXVIII, No. 12

In ThIs Issue

2 Sages

3 Letter from Lewis

4 Music and Fine Arts

5 Children and Family

6 Deacons

8 Annual Meeting

Christmas Music SundayDeceMber 13, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m. services

Christmas Music Sunday promises to be a unique and joyful experience, with excerpts from Dave Brubeck's "La Fiesta de la Posada" presented by the Children's Choirs, Youth Ensemble and Sanctuary Choir soloists. Accompaniment will consist of mariachi-style instrumentation: acoustic guitars, trumpets, bass, piano and percussion. Brubeck's unique jazz style is evident in this music but with an added Southwest/Latin flavor.

Las Posadas ("the inns") is a nine-day tradition, celebrated throughout the Southwest and Mexico, which re-enacts Mary and Joseph's search to find lodging for Christ's birth. Villagers and children travel from door to door with lit candles and figures of Mary and Joseph, singing songs about the difficulties the holy family experienced. The final house on the journey is designated as the site for a party of food, drink, candies and fruit for all pilgrims and where piñatas are a favorite among the children.

December 2009 Second Presbyterian Church

sunDay Morning worship hours

8:15 a.m.—Chapel 9:30 a.m.—Sanctuary 11 a.m.—Sanctuary

FaMilies@Five worship Seasonal at 5 p.m.—Chapel

seconD@six casual worship

6 p.m.—Sanctuary

service oF coMMunion & wholeness 10:35 a.m.—Chapel

telephone/Fax nuMbersChurch Office

(317) 253-6461 (phone)(317) 252-5590 (fax)

Inspirational Phone Message(317) 522-1943

Children’s Circle(317) 252-5517

Childcare Reservations(317) 252-5519

CenterPoint Counseling (317) 252-5518

oFFice hoursMonday through Friday8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Saturday 9 a.m. to noon

The Spire is published monthly by

7700 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260

Editor: Jamison Coler ([email protected]), Director of Communications

Heating and Air Conditioning Upgrade

It's time for an upgrade! The original boiler from the 1959 building is 50 years old. It has served us very well. The heating and air conditioning in the Sanctuary, Milner Chapel, Community Room, Common Room and fourth floor classrooms and bathrooms will be replaced over the course of the year. In the fall of 2009, two small boilers for summer reheat and one large boiler for winter reheat were installed in the basement under the atrium. In the spring of 2010, a new large air handler, chiller and cooling tower will be added. Please note that the Sanctuary Building will be without heating or air conditioning the months of April and May, 2010. This $1.8 million project is financed by the maintenance funds of our church endowment.

Advent WorkshopsaturDay, DeceMber 5, 3-5 p.m.

welcoming the christ childJoin your church family for this special event as we look forward with

hope to the arrival of the Christ Child. We would LOVE to see you Saturday, December 5, in the Community Room from 3-5 p.m.

Celebrate the Season of Advent as we:

• Make Christmas ornaments for home and trees at Second

• Enjoy warm beverages and tasty treats

• Re-enact Mary and Joseph’s search for a room

• Sing Christmas Carols

• Make an Advent Wreath for your table at home

• Create cards for Christmas Benevolence

• shop at alternative gift booths from: the Imani Workshop, The Village Cooperative, the UMOJA Project, Heifer International and Congo Helping Hands.

There are no tickets to buy or reservations to make, just come and celebrate the joy of Christmas with your church family!

SecondChurch.org December 2009

Dear Friends:

When our children were little, I remember the anticipation they felt when they knew their grandparents were coming to visit. Each day passed with greater excitement. Is this the day? Will they come tomorrow? To our children it felt as if they were moving toward their grandparents’ visit. From the grandparents’ point of view, they were moving with equal, if not greater, anticipation toward their beloved grandchildren.

Advent is a little like that. We long for the coming of Christ, not only as an infant in Bethlehem, but also as our Savior at the end of history. As the days pass

and the years go by, it seems as if we move toward him. Is this the day? Will Christ come tomorrow? All the while Christ is coming to us. God takes the initiative in moving toward us in Jesus Christ. This is why Paul says in Romans that, “salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” God will bring to fulfillment the redemption begun in a cradle in Bethlehem.

All the celebrations of the Advent season whet our spiritual appetite for the coming of Christ among us. The Advent Fair, Handel’s Messiah, Christmas Benevolence, Christmas Music Sunday,

seasonal carols, class parties and Christmas Eve services all heighten our anticipation of the advent of Christ among us. Advent is the beginning of all the ways in which God comes to us throughout the Church year. Advent leads us to Christmas and Epiphany, through Lent to Easter and then from Easter to Pentecost. God comes to us in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit and will come again at the end of time. We anticipate the coming of Christ, not just with festivities, but more importantly by throwing off our spiritual slumber and the darkness of sin and putting on the works of love and “the armor of light.”

Come, Lord Jesus!

Yours in Christ,

Lewis F. Galloway

(The word Advent derives from the Latin root advenire which means to come or to arrive.)

l e t t e r F r o M l e w i s

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day

is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light…

romans 13:11, 12

Group Ministry

®

Christ said, Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in

the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

What is a ChristCare

Group?A ChristCare Group is a gathering

of 5-12 people who meet weekly or bi-weekly to focus on four activities:

� mutual care and encouragement

� prayer and worship

� practical study that relates the Bible to everyday life

� service or outreach to others

Watch the bulletins in the coming weeks to learn more about the ChristCare small Group Ministry.

� How are ChristCare Groups formed?

� When and how can you join a ChristCare small group?

� Who will benefit from participation in a ChristCare Small Group?

s p i r i t u a l F o r M a t i o n


Many of Second's members were moving further north, so the Church had a decision to make: Should it stay at its present location? Should it move the entire church to the north side? Should it retain its downtown site and build a satellite church further north? What would happen "down the road" if the War Memorial Commission ever decided to complete the War Memorial Plaza? These questions weighed heavily on the minds of the Elders and Trustees of the church.

From the state's standpoint, the War Memorial Plaza was just fine as it stood. Representatives and Senators from other cities and towns around Indiana couldn't care less whether the War Memorial Plaza was ever completed. After all, what was in it for them and their constituents?

The time had come for Second Presbyterian to decide its future. Enter three active church members: Nelle Bowman Downey (Mrs. Brandt C.), Charles J. Lynn and C. Wendell Martin.

Nelle Downey was one of the first women ever elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. She served from 1941-1948 and again from 1951 -1954. She was active in women's organizations both at Second Church and in the community.

Wendell Martin, an attorney, was a State Senator from 1953 -1964. He was a Deacon in the church from 1953 -1963 and an Elder from 1964 -1969 and again from 1976 -1979.

The real "power house" in the church was Charles J. Lynn. He had been "on the ground floor" with Eli Lilly and Company since 1895, was Vice President in charge of sales and served on its Board of Directors. He was both an Elder and a Trustee of

The time was the early 1950's. Having been built in 1870, the church was happy at its location on the northwest corner of Vermont and Pennsylvania Streets for 80 years. Seven ministers came and went at that location. Our sister church, First Baptist, was equally

happy on the northeast corner of Vermont and Meridian Streets. But times had

changed and were changing even more. New challenges faced both churches.

After World War I, the State of Indiana decided a War Memorial would be an appropriate addition to Indianapolis. The state acquired the majority of lots of two city blocks: from Vermont to North Streets and from Meridian to Pennsylvania Streets. The original architect wanted the memorial to be built on the northern most block but, because it was to be a site of "deep reverence and reflection," the War Memorial Commission decided a better location would be between the two churches. Since state funds were "tight," the memorial was not completed until 1936. However, this did not include acquisition of the two churches.

By 1950, the Great Depression and a second World War had passed. The economy was on solid ground and life was better than ever. People were looking for a change of living and the big old houses near downtown were being replaced by ranch houses on large lots in the suburbs.

Final service at original church location

Final service at Vermont & Pennsylvania

HOW DID A NICE DOWNTOWN CHURCH LIKE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN END UP IN MERIDIAN HILLS?by Fred Kortepeter, Church Historian and Archivist

Second Presbyterian's Move to Meridian Street


to giving the ground and the matching grant: it could not be disclosed who the donor was. Now the only question left unanswered was: What kind of a church should be built?

Most churches built in the mid-20th century were of a contemporary or modern A-frame design. Cathedral building was pretty much a thing of the past. The original plan for the church on this site is included with this article. Also the original design was to be a satellite church instead of the mother church. Again, Mr. Lynn came to the rescue. He insisted that our new building would be of the Gothic style and not a modern edifice.

Mr. Lynn left this earth on September 22, 1958. Our first service at 7700 N. Meridian was on October 4, 1959. Mr. Lynn died one year prior to seeing the magnificent edifice which he helped inspire and build become a reality.

So, as you sit in your pew on Sunday mornings, you know a little more about how and why you are driving to

7700 North Meridian Street to worship.

There are no descendents of Charlie & Dorothy or Wendell Martin left at Second Presbyterian Church; but Nelle Downey's grand-daughter, Becky Hagarty, and her husband Rik, are active members of church.

the church from 1915 -1959 and when "C.J." spoke, people listened.

Harold Handley was very influential in state government and he and C. J. had been friends for years. Lynn was Handley's campaign manager when he ran for Governor a couple of years later. Because of Lynn's influence in the community and in helping Handley through the years, Handley "owed" C. J. for all he had done for him.

Downey, Lynn and Martin "put their heads together" and decided if ever the time was ripe to get the State of Indiana to

make a decision regarding the War Memorial it was now!

Since all appropriations bills had to start in the House of Representatives, Downey introduced a bill to buy the churches. With Handley's backing, it passed and went to the Senate. Martin sponsored the bill in the Senate and again, with Handley's blessing, it got passed. Finally, the churches knew their fate and it was time to look to the future. Unfortunately, the $600,000 price the state paid for the church was well below the appraised value, but it was time to move on.

Lynn and his wife, Dorothy, owned the 20-acres on which our current church sits and he agreed to give it to the church. They also offered a matching challenge grant: if the church could raise $1,000,000 toward a building fund, they would match that amount. There was one stipulation

Original plan for 7700 N Meridian

Final service at Vermont & Pennsylvania

HOW DID A NICE DOWNTOWN CHURCH LIKE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN END UP IN MERIDIAN HILLS?by Fred Kortepeter, Church Historian and Archivist

Second Presbyterian's Move to Meridian Street


DeceMber 6 - January 8

Colors of Joy of the Latino Cultures celebrates the work of two Indianapolis artists, Rosa Maria C. Dies and Mirvia Rivera-Eckert.

Rosa Maria Dies was born in Mexico City. Her first professional work as an artist was the illustration of a reference book on tropical trees that was sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Since 1982, Rosa Maria has made her home in Indianapolis with her husband and two sons. Her work reflects a unique blend of the clean design and attention to detail of her early involvement with biological illustrations, the richness of color and brightness that one associates with her native country and Spanish heritage, and the innovations of form and texture that spring from her vivacious imagination and continuous research. Since 1983, she has been working intensely with different printing methods. Currently, most of her works are mixed media, monoprints and monotypes. She prints her work in her own studio.

Mirvia Rivera-Eckert was born in Corozal, Puerto Rico. Her personality and background are reflected in her colorful artwork that is influenced by years of working as a graphic designer. The major themes of Mirvia's work are

her Puerto Rican heritage, love of family and friends and Christian faith.

She uses lightweight construction materials instead of canvas as the base for her paintings. The boards are customized to be uniquely hers and recycled materials are used when available. All designs are painted to the outer edges, and sometimes Mirvia incorporates 3-D elements, particularly around the border. This makes framing optional as the pieces can stand alone, hanging on the wall like stone tablets or wood panels.

This exhibit is presented by the Fine Arts Advisory Team of the Department of Music and Fine Art. For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Music and Fine Arts office at 726-5402 or [email protected]

saturDay, DeceMber 12, 7:30 p.m.

sunDay, DeceMber 13, 2:30 p.m

A highlight of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra's 2009-2010 Concert Series, Messiah performances will include the Sanctuary Choir and Encore Vocal Arts, an auditioned 40-voice ensemble.

note: Because both performances are expected to be sellouts, parishioners are urged to purchase advance sale discounted tickets for $20 in the Music and Fine Arts Office through December 11. Make credit card reservations through the ICO website: icomusic.com, or by calling the ICO office at 940-9607. Arrive early for best seating. Tickets at the door will be $25.

sunDay, DeceMber, 6 pM

On the second Sunday of Advent, the Second@Six service will focus on Mary, the Mother of God. It will be a literary musical featuring the Beecher Singers as well as a liturgical celebration. Dr. Richard Baker will be preaching.

M u s i c a n D F i n e a r t s

McFarland Hall Art Gallery Colors of Joy of the

Latino Cultures

'Hermanas' by Mirvia Rivera-Eckert

'The Fruit Vendor' by Rosa Maria C. Dies

Mary, the Mother of God

Handel's Complete

MessiahSaturday and Sunday performances


p r e s b y t e r i a n w o M e n

Kendra Smiley LuncheonthursDay, DeceMber 10

Community Room 11:15 a.m.Please join Kendra Smiley, International Speaker, Author and Radio

Program Commentator, on December 10 as she relays her nuggets of wisdom to us in person, speaking on " 'Tis the Season: What it means to each of us."

Reservations are $10 per person and are available on line, on Sundays during coffee hour or at the reception desk during the week.

Casting Call Children Invited to Participate in Live Nativity

Planning is underway for the annual Christmas Eve service for families with young children. The 4 p.m. service includes a live nativity scene reenacted by the children of Second Presbyterian Church. This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to share the story of Christ's birth with other members and friends in our community.

Please let us know if your child would like to participate in the service. Children ages three through third grade will portray shepherds, sheep and angels, and may choose their role based on costume availability. Children in fourth and fifth grades will portray the lead roles, be puppeteers or have small speaking roles. There is also a need for fourth and fifth grade ushers.

Lottery for lead and speaking roles

Sunday, December 6th, 10:30 a.m.

45 Degrees classroom (Room 354)

Dress Rehearsal for all cast members

Sunday, December 20, 12:15 p.m.

Lunch will be served

Christmas Eve Service Thursday, December 24, 4 p.m.

Cast members arrive by 3:30 p.m.

please note: There are a limited number of roles and assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please contact Tina McElroy at 259-4874 or [email protected] by Wednesday, December 16, if your child would like to participate in this exciting and meaningful worship service .

c h i l D r e n a n D F a M i l y M i n i s t r y

Farewell, but not Good-Bye to Susan

StewartIt is with sadness that we will bid farewell to

our Children’s Circle Director, Susan Stewart, in mid-December. Susan, a long time member of Second Presbyterian Church, has led our weekday preschool for the past five years with pastoral grace and professionalism. Through Susan’s vision and diligent work, Children’s Circle has nurtured the faith, bodies and intellect of children through play and story. Her leadership has won the confidence of parents and teachers alike and fortified the connected missions of church and school. Susan is looking forward to traveling with her husband, Paul and returning to volunteer opportunities in the church and community. We are reassured that she will remain in our midst and will continue to hold Children’s Circle in her heart. We thank God for Susan’s ministry among us and pray God’s blessing for the journey before her.

nSpiring Speaker Series


If you have recently changed your e-mail address, please contact the church office at 253-6461 or [email protected] to update our records!

7700 North Meridian StreetIndianapolis, Indiana 46260-3699www.secondchurch.org

ADDReSS SeRvICe RequeSteD

Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE PAIDPermit No. 1512Indianapolis, Ind.

Get to Know Your Web SiteThis Month's Tip: Worship 101

Last summer's sermons focused on the Westminster Catechism and how it shapes what we believe and how we worship. If you missed a Sunday or would like to revisit these meaningful messages, visit the Worship 101 pages in the "Worship" section of the web site.

You will find an overview of the sermon series, tips for involving children in worship and the complete sermons in audio, video and print form.

Don't miss this opportunity to check out this online resource!

This will also be available in the literature racks and in the Library.

The Annual Congregational

Meeting and Luncheon

sunDay, January 31

Please mark your calendars and plan to take part in this important church event. The 2010 meeting will be held between the 9:30 and 11:15 services with a luncheon at 12:15. The schedule will be as follows:

WORSHIP 8:15-9:00 a.m.

WORSHIP 9:30-10:20 a.m.

ANNUAL 10:30-11:05 a.m. MEETING in the Sanctuary

WORSHIP 11:15 a.m.-12:05 p.m. please note the time change

LUNCHEON 12:15 p.m. in the Community Room

Church School classes for children and youth will be extended from 9:30-11:05 a.m., and childcare will be provided. Many of the children and youth will participate in a special mission project. Our older youth will be invited to attend the Congregational Meeting.

Watch for details about the Congregational Meeting and Luncheon in the January 2010 Spire and in upcoming Sunday bulletins.

s a g e s o F s e c o n D

Travel Opportunity for AllEastern Caribbean Cruise (New) –

February 5 – 14, 2010Ports include: San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic, Haiti. ( Result of continued requests “Let’s leave the cold!”) Great value! Includes Food/Air. liMiteD space reMains. Call Grueningers 465-1122 to book ASAP or call Wanda Baker (873-4937) or Reva Horine (733-1930) with any questions.

christmas music sunday - second presbyterian church · christmas music sunday promises to be a...

Documents