good news - providence presbyterian church · pruning, removing vines and dead branches, and...
TRANSCRIPT
Connect for the Night
What does “exile” feel like, look like,
taste like or sound like?
What does “homecoming” feel like,
look like, taste like or sound like?
These are a couple of the questions
The Rev. Dr. Mick Burns would like us
to reflect on during this Summer’s
Connect Study.
The following is an excerpt from the study developed by Mick.
For many of us, living in this demanding, time-filled life of the
Washington, D.C. metro area can be a joy to be sure; but, it can
be just as challenging as it is delightful. While exile is the setting
for the promise of “Homecoming” in our study passage from the
prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:1-9), most of us are not exiles. We
may have friends or acquaintances who have been forced to flee
their homes in another country due to famine, political unrest or
war. I do not want, in any way, to minimize the pain and suffer-
ing of the many exiles we see in our world today. However, the
reality is that many of us have found ourselves far away from
family due to the reality of our regional economy and career
tracks. Many come to the D.C. metro area because they are as-
signed by the military or work for the Federal government and
have left extended family far away. This is why our “church”
family here at Providence takes on an even more vital role in our
lives of faith. All of us need to be connected to “family” and es-
pecially to the “family of God.”
Summer Connect Groups will meet one evening in July and August for
a meal, fellowship and this brief study. Contact the office for details. We
hope you can join in!
Inside this issue:
New Members 2
Prayers for … 2
Creation Celebration 3
Spotlight on Mission 4
Youth Corner 5
Adult Ministry 6
For Kids (& beyond!) 7
SUMMER 2016
Providence Presbyterian Church
Good News
Page 2 Good News
New Members
Prayers for … (as of June 5, 2016)
Deployed Overseas
MAJ Ian Jarvis, USA, friend of Susan & Liz McCannell
LtCol Christopher Beasley, USMC, nephew of David & Brenda Kepley
1LT Geoffrey Ranowsky, USA, nephew of David & Kathi Ranowsky
LCDR Kevin Burel, USN
LT Andrew Tom, USN, nephew of Roger & Laura Baker
Dean Salpini, USAID1, in Pakistan, husband of Joy Salpini
1 US Agency for International Development
Rachel Jankowski, Peace Corps, daughter of Ron & Lynn Jankowski
Continuing Care Edwin Spar
Josiah Lanier, 10 years old former upward Basketball player
Jane McClellan
Carol Shubinski, daughter of the later
Eleanor Shubinski-Mosser
Nancy Evans, sister of Sara Bennett
Garnet McCall, mother of Bruce McCall
Bill Sapp, brother of Walter Sapp
Kitty Snead, mother of Ned Snead
Shirley Strang
Please join us in welcoming our newest members who were received at worship in April and May.
Katie Shafer, originally from Michigan, arrived in the Fairfax area last August from North Caroli-na. She is a School Counselor with the Falls Church City Public Schools. In her free time, she likes to swim, kayak, cross-stitch and read. Katie joins Providence by
Letter of Transfer from North Raleigh Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC.
Jim Trefil, who is from Chica-go, has been in the Fairfax area for 30 years. He is a professor at George Mason University. His outside interests include music (especially opera), foot-
ball (during the season), and working out. Jim joins Providence by Reaffirmation of Faith. His wife, Wanda O’Brien-Trefil, will also be fully engaged in the worship and work of Providence. Wanda was born in England and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. A retired teacher, she has been in the Fairfax area for 13 years. Wanda enjoys piano, accompanying, sing-ing and theater. Jim and Wanda both sing in The Sanctuary Choir.
Jeanie Watson, a Dallas, Texas native, came to the Fairfax area 19 years ago. She does financial analysis for HITT. Outside of work, Jeanie enjoys movies, reading, walking and volunteering. She joins Providence by Profession of Faith. Jeanie has two daughters, Hudson & Parker Dizon, ages 15 and 12.
Continued on page 5
Creation Celebration Sunday On April 17, Providence cele-
brated its 4th annual Creation
Celebration Sunday. We used to
call this our “Earth Day” celebra-
tion, but the team decided to re-
name the event to put it more in
line with our Reformed tradition.
After all, the first verse of the
Bible starts: “In the beginning
when God created the heavens
and the earth….” Also the
Apostle’s Creed, the very first
confession in our Presbyterian
Book of Confessions, begins with
this affirmation: “I believe in
God the Father Almighty, maker
of heaven and earth….” So in
celebrating the Creation we are
drawing attention to God’s crea-
tive powers; God created all that
was, all that is, and all that will
ever be.
During the worship service,
Mick provided an inspiring mes-
sage about how we should praise
God for God’s works, which
can be seen in the Creation. The
Sanctuary Choir echoed the
theme in a beautiful rendition of
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
by John Rutter. David Kepley
reported to the congregation on
the results of the annual Envi-
ronmental Audit that the Earth
Care Team must present to the
Presbyterian Church (USA) to
continue to be considered an offi-
cial Earth Care Congregation.
During program year 2015-16
Providence scored 456 points for
our activities over that period in
worship, education, outreach,
and facilities.* We only needed
50 points to be renewed. This
speaks well of both the staff and
the Session, who have all been
extremely supportive of our
efforts to make Providence a
terrific earth care steward.
We were also blessed to have
a number of artists from our
Providence family share with us
their visions of God’s magnifi-
cent creation that Sunday. The
following artists shared their
work with us: Harvey Doerksen,
Joan Hood, Nancy Jones, David
Kepley, Fred Krebs, Emma
McRobbie, Jenn McRobbie, Jim
Ralston, and Frank van Fleet.
In addition you may have
noticed that we brought some
live trees into the Commons
Area as a reminder that nature is
part of our sacred space. The
trees were loaned to us by Burke
Nursery.
Finally the Adult Ministries
Committee offered a four-week
class that featured portions of
Ken Burns’ magnificent docu-
mentary of the history of the
national parks.
Thanks be to God for this
wonderful celebration of the
God’s Creation!
Earth Care Team
Page 3 Good News
*For more on the points, see http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/earth-care-congregations
Nancy Jones Emma McRobbie
Spotlight on Mission
Rebuilding Together
On April 30, several members of Providence’s congregation were part of an ACCA team lending a hand to a group home on Terrace Drive in Annandale operated by Community Living Alternatives (CLA) to make many much-needed repairs to their home. The CLA mission is to en-hance the quality of life for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Home Manager and staff operate the home and assist the two male residents wo are on the autism spectrum to live in a home atmosphere.
This ACCA team also included Ravensworth Baptist Church, John Calvin Presbyterian Church, and Holy Spirit Catholic Church. The Queen of Apostles provided lunch.
The tasks completed include:
Patching walls and painting the entire interior of the house.
Rebuilding the support structure and railings of the front porch.
Cleaning out gutters, downspouts and drains to take water away from the house.
Spreading gravel in muddy areas by the driveway.
Repairing kitchen cabinets and hardware.
Moving outlets in the kitchen and replacing them with GFI units for safety.
Repairing floor and wall tiles in the basement.
Adding reinforcement to the basement stairs handrail.
Repairing bathroom sinks and walls.
Repairing fence gates.
Pruning, removing vines and dead branches, and picking up yard debris.
Providence volunteers: Charles Brewer, Diane & Bill Grothman, Hank Schlenker, Harry Pontius, Angie (Safety Coordinator) & Bruce Urbon, Rev. Mick Burns, Brian Frantz, and Woody & Judy Woodburn, Coordinators for Providence.
Page 4 Good News
Page 5 Good News
Happy summer!
As we all go our separate ways for camps, vacations, and family reunions you may think the Providence Youth are hibernating (you’d be right!). Summer is a great answer to the busyness of the school year but it’s not an empty season. In addition to random summer events, here are some things that I’ll be up to this summer that you may not see:
Planning fall retreats, mission projects and Bible studies
Reading lots of books
Putting together a parent/youth communication resource
Creating a parent Sunday school class (or two!)
Finalizing the ‘16-’17 calendar
Meeting with potential volunteers
Finding out who is in town and up for a spontaneous adventure!
A summer spent wisely is a huge help and head-start for the school year, so please keep me in your prayers as I make the most of this low-activity time of year.
Also, I’m happy to report that I have officially earned my Certificate in Youth and Theology from the Prince-ton Institute for Youth Ministry! I learned a lot, and I’m so happy to have it wrapped up! I’m open to sugges-tions on ways to celebrate!
Enjoying the “down” time,
Mary Ellen
Kent & Julia Christensen have been in the Fairfax area 30 and 26 years, respectively. Kent, who is from Eaton, Colorado, is a Budget Analyst at the Congres-sional Budget Office. He enjoys hiking, biking and following the Washington Nationals. Julia,
from Bethany, Connecticut, also works at the CBO as a Budget Analyst in Public Policy. Her interests include singing, playing piano and guitar (with plans to learn banjo), traveling with family, and hik-ing — Kent and Julia climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1999! Julia is also a Girl Scout leader and is involved in overseas missions and Third World Develop-ment. Kent joins Providence by Reaffirmation of Faith; Julia comes to us by Letter of Transfer from Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. They have twin children, Amber and Jeremy.
And on May 15, Confirmation Sunday, we welcomed
eight new confirmands:
Vaughn Burvis, 7th grade, Frost Middle School, Parents: Erik & Helen
Amber & Jeremy Christensen, 7th grade, Glasgow Middle School, Parents: Kent & Julia
Zack Dutke, 7th grade, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Parents: Jack & Kathy
Kyle Garvis, 7th grade, Frost Middle School, Parents: Kent & Heidi
Luke Miller, 7th grade, Langston Hughes Middle School, Parents: Jason & Julie
Nick Parker, 7th grade, Frost Middle School, Parents: Greg & Cori
Celia Vander Ploeg Fallon, 7th grade, Frost Middle School, Parents: Colin & Melinda
New Members, continued from page 2
Adult Ministry Fall Adult Ministry Bible Study Set amid the intensely modern and cosmopolitan world of Corinth, where philosophy and mystery abound, Paul’s first letter to that church speaks clearly to us still today.
So many foundational scripture passages, familiar to most by reference to chapter and verse alone, are found in this first letter to the Corinthians. The “Love Chapter,” “the body is a temple,” “the body requires a variety of members,” and the words of institution for the Lord’s Supper may immediately spring to mind. No Bible study group should miss spending time with Paul as he instructs this troublesome congregation on how to “walk the talk” as well as tackling hot button topics that remain with the church today: the role of women in the church, sexual purity, marriage and divorce.
Paul offers concrete examples of how a believer’s thoughts are affected by genuine faith in Christ. Having the “mind of Christ” affects the way we value ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. It does not gener-ate selfishness, fear, or factionalism. The mind of Christ radiates humility and peace — individually and corporately.
At this Bible study to run on Monday evenings beginning in September, we will cover these timely topics. Look for more details as we get closer to this fall.
◌ A Different Word
◌ Paul and the Corinthian Christians
◌ A Call for Peace and Unity
◌ What Wisdom is the Cross!
◌ Sharing the Mind of Christ
◌ Imitating Christ
◌ Restoring the Church's Integrity
◌ Sexuality and the Church
◌ Responsible Freedom
◌ Seeking Good for Others
◌ Reclaiming Right Worship
◌ Reclaiming Humility and Love
◌ The Risen Crucified Christ
◌ Love in Action
ALSO …
We have a suggestion for Summer study and reflection: visit the Adult Library in Room 209 for books about the Bible, theology, the Church, PC(USA), personal growth, family issues …. If the room is locked, swing by the
Admin Wing during business hours for a key.
Page 6 Good News
For Kids (and beyond!)
Page 7 Good News
Flat Jesus
You may be planning to be
away this summer. But you
can still stay connected with
Providence.
You are invited to bring Flat
Jesus with you on your summer
adventures, taking selfies of
where you’ve been, even if
it’s only as far as your back
yard.
Here’s what you do:
Cut out this image of Flat
Jesus and glue him to a more
rigid surface, like cardboard
or foam board.
Be creative! Decorate Jesus.
Start taking pictures with
Flat Jesus and send them to
Submissions will be posted on
our Facebook page. Or you
can post them on your own
social media account using
#ProvidenceFlatJesus.
And remember —
God doesn’t take a break
from you, so don’t take a
break from God.
Providence Presbyterian Church
9019 Little River Turnpike
Fairfax, VA 22031
Sun days
Com mun ion / F i rs t Sun day: Ch i ld ren in wor sh i p
Trad i t i ona l , 1 0 :00 am, Sanc t ua ry
Con t empo ra ry , 11 :15 a m, Tay l o r Ha l l
10 :00 & 11 :1 5 am (exc ep t 1s t Sunday )
Summe r S unday F i lms
Sig n u p f or VBC!
To register children and to volunteer go to: http://www.providencechurch.org/children/home/
vacation-bible-camp/
( for up-to-date information see
www.providencechurch.org/events/calendar/)
P ro v i d e n c e P re s b y t e r i a n C h u rc h
9 0 1 9 L i t t l e R i v e r T u rn p i k e
F a i r f a x , V A 2 2 0 3 1
7 0 3 - 9 7 8 - 3 9 3 4 O f f i c e
w w w . p r o v i d e n c e c h u rc h . o rg
The Rev. Dr. Michael P. Burns, Pastor
On Sabbatical
The Rev. Mary E. Rodgers, Associate Pastor
Mary El len Moss, Director of Youth Ministry
Shannon Somers, Director of Chi ldren’s Ministry
Lee Faber, Faci l i t ies Manager
Joe Moss, F inancia l Manager
Kathy Knorr , Communicat ions Coordinator
Terry Stoneberg, Director of Music
Jane Kaye, Organist
Rick Thiele, Music Leader & Tech. Coordinator
Gene Kaye, Director of Providence Singers
Car los Guzman, Sexton
Good News Edi tor : Kathy Knorr
Summer 2016
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