Summer Staff Lunches

I feel so blessed to have become part of such a great staff team.  We have fun working together during the week, and once a week we enjoy lunch together.
After the rummage sale a nice patio table was left on the upper patio, so we claimed it as our staff lunch table.  Terry has a mini outdoor grill, and so it began.  Each Wednesday in the summer we have grilled hotdogs and everyone brings something to share.  The regulars are Terry, Stephanie, Dale and sometimes Linda from the staff (we can't get Tim to sit down long enough to eat lunch).  Family and volunteers are often around as well, including Lynn Lucas, Elisabeth Southorn, Ginny Vickers, Maxine Gaddis and Terrance.  Dave Dobson has figured out that it is a good idea to plan his volunteer work around Wednesday noon.
So, if you have business at the church during the week, don't be surprised to find us out on the patio enjoying a summer picnic.  And feel free to join us (whether or not  you bring something to share--there's always plenty to eat)!

Midnight in Manhattan
On the hottest night of the year, I joined Rob Zelony and Paula Sigmon and Craig ? on the Midnight Run into the heart of the city.  We worked up a little sweat in the storefront in Dobbs Ferry where we got everything ready to load on  the van.  There was the food that had been packaged in our church kitchen earlier that day and clothes all neatly organized by size.  The air conditioning of the van ride in made us forget just how hot it was.  But when we opened the door in front of St. Bartholomew's on Park Avenue we got a blast of hot, humid air.
We quickly forgot about the heat and got to work because there was a huge crowd of 30 or 40 waiting for us.  Craig opened up shop at the back of the van and handled the requests (got a size 38 belt? Do you have one in brown?) with patience and dignity.  Paula scooped servings of Beth Zelony's famous pasta salad and poured cups of ice tea and cold water (hey, doesn't the gospel say something about offering a cup of cold water?).  My job was to hand out sandwiches and socks (it seemed the socks were more popular).  Rob supervised the whole operation and talked with folks he has seen for years doing the Run.
I met Julio from Mexico.  He looked tired, but was very pleasant.  We could talk a little about my travels in Mexico.  I couldn't tell if he missed Mexico or not.  Life was hard there and life is hard here.
There was a young couple navigating life on the streets together.  She spent a long time looking through a box of women's clothes, while he kept coming back for pasta.  He asked what the weather was supposed to be like the next day.  When we told him it was going to be even  hotter he began to formulate his plan to stay cool.  "We can ride trains all day," he said; but she reminded him that he would get arrested if he fell asleep on the train (not sure if that's true, but you're not supposed to sleep).  Then he listed off the other places they could go in Manhattan.  He didn't seem too worried.  I guess one hot day is not the biggest challenge he's faced in life.
The oldest Jewish Temple in the city was our last stop.  The crowds were thinning as it was now well after midnight.  At this stop I talked to a woman whose country of origin I never did figure out.  She wanted to tell me about her sons.  Her 19 year old lived with her in a shelter in Harlem.  Her 21 year old was on the streets, because he was too old for the shelter.  She prayed for her boys everyday.  I told her I would pray for them too.  She was grateful for what we could share with her and she settled in for the night right there because it was too late to go back to the shelter.
It was late when I got home to my shelter (after 2 am).  We were quiet on the way home.  We were tired, but we also had a lot to think about.  We all talked about how grateful we were to have beds to come home to and no one needed to be up real early the next day.
When I crawl into my warm bed for many nights to come I will think of people living on the streets.  When we gather for worship I will think of the words I read on a poster in the Midnight Run office, "How can you worship one homeless man on Sunday,  and the ignore another on Monday."  Enough said.  Thank you Midnight Run team.

The Bunny Song
If you know the Veggie Tale, "Rack, Shack and Benny," you know what I mean when I say I can't get that song out of my head.  Yesterday we opened the manse to kids and their families to come watch the Veggie Tale version of the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story.  We had two families come with three children and seven grown children (like me).  We all sang the Veggie Tale theme song and then rocked out to the jazzie sounds of The Bunny Song.  We had a great time and got to know a young family just moving into our community who had visited our church for the first time Sunday.

We asked for favorite hymns on Sunday and we have quite a list already.  The challenge will be choosing which ones fit best.  If you like our choices, I'll take the credit.  If you don't like the selection, you can blame Terry!  How's that for covering your bases?

Summer Worship
Our worship services so far this summer have been great.  While many members are away on vacation, we have had strong attendance with members and visitors alike.  There have been children each week to come up and check on the progress of our container garden.  We'll be having cucumber sandwiches before the summer is over (every kid's favorite).  Last Sunday I had a kiss for everyone--a Hershey's kiss, that is, as the Bible story was about sharing.
In July we have been taking a closer look at some classic Old Testament Bible stories like David and Goliath and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  The title for the latter one is "These Guys are Hot!" (remember they were thrown in the fiery furnace and survived unscathed).  In the afternoon of this Sunday we are inviting kids and their famlies to come to the manse at 2pm to watch the Veggie Tales Version of that story called, Rack, Shack and Benny.  It is my favorite Veggie Tale.  We'll have popcorn and ice cream for kids of all ages.
August is going to be full of memorable worship services as well.  First, we are inviting members and friends to give us their favorite hymns and we will try to include them in worship services.  See the note on this in the bulletin or on the church website.
In August the sermons will take a look at Hebrew poetry.  The Bible has several books that are considered poetry rather than prose--they are: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.  THere are some wonderful words of wisdom in these ancient books.  We'll look at the features of Hebrew poetry which will help draw meaning from the text (the Hebrews did not worry about rhyming--they had other cool poetic devices).
Summer worship is more relaxed and informal.  We hope you will join us whenever you are in town this summer and start your week off right!
And in case you need one more reason to come to church this summer, we have great refreshments in the Great Hall with a cool drink and some tasty treats.
See you in church!

Thousands of Presbyterians
Downtown Pittsburgh has been overrun by Presbyterians wearing name tags and carrying Books of Order.  This is my first time to attend GA and it is really quite impressive.  The main assembly hall looks like something from a national political convention (minus the red, white and blue bunting). I continually run into people have known from my church in Portland, to my time at San Francisco and Austin Seminaries.  I have even met ruling and teaching elders from Hudson River Presbytery over a delicious dinner at a local restaurant on Tuesday evening.
The work of the GA is difficult, controversial, and important.  It is where we try to speak with one voice in the midst of our diversity.  Important issues about Palestine and marriage equality are on the docket this year.  You can follow developments at the pcusa.org website.