eathervane: First Presbyterian Church

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First Presbyterian Church

THE

Weathervane 101 101 Bridgeboro Road, Moorestown, New New Jersey

December 2011 January 2012

(856) (856) 235235-16 1688 88

www.fp ww w.fpcmo cmoor oresto estown.or wn.or g

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant … on finding one pearl of great value He goes … Matthew 13:45,46

Dear Friends, Most of us are exhausted ex hausted and turned inside-out as we think about that part of Pennsylvania called Happy Valley. The horror of what took place from my view should hav e stopped everything in its tracks. No more games – removal of all staff. It is time to stop the games and focus upon the reality of what has actually actuall y happened to a community that seemed to have it all together. I have this intense i ntense response because I have sat with too many parents and children who have experienced some of the pain we are reading about. Just as it is true that there iis s more to the story than we know, much more, so i t is with our lives. If “the more” of our lives is mired in sin ~ then more pain can be expected. If, however, "the more" of our lives is held in the love and grace and cleansing work of Jesus then the t he story plays out very differently. Therapists say that 20% of every group of people that gather have experienced some kind ki nd of sexual abuse first hand. Here i s the "good news" ~ God shows a preferential treatment to those whose lives and hearts have been broken (Psalm 34:18). God knows what it is like to be the victim ~ Jesus' death upon the cross makes that clear. For you who have been abused, please do not feel you walk this thi s path alone. Your pastors and elders are talking about and praying for this congregation at this time of high pain for many. The chil dren are the at the center of our concern. Some have said the boys are "damaged goods" and maybe even irreparably broken. Part of what we bear witness to as a community of faith is i s this: while abuse causes staggering staggering emotional,  emotional, psychological, and spiritual damage; and while these scars may never go away ~ healing is possible for the victim of sexual abuse. Many of us know men and women who have experienced the remarkable gift of God's healing heal ing presence in the mi dst of shameful horror. This language of "damaged goods" needs to be changed. Damaged goods ~ no ~ by b y the grace of God you are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139) and the God who made you can redeem that which has been so twisted. He can bend the bad for good. Part of what we can see in this Advent Season is the incredible need we all have for the light to shine out of the darkness as Isaiah would put it. Maybe in this Advent Season it is time to do some house-cleaning ~ some soul-searching. What are you living with that keeps you in the darkness and saps the energy and vitality of your soul? Does it have to do with TV, the computer, what you read, secretive behaviors, where you go, who you hang around? No matter m atter how old we are we need the light that shines in the darkness. And here is the good news ~ that Light has come for us. Jesus, Immanuel, actually comes and is with us and rescues us from the Happy-less Valleys that all of us know too well. The great gift of the season is nothing you can buy in a store ~ it is Jesus, Himself. Have you received the gift? If you have ~ will you help pass on the gift to another? It could very well begin by inviting that person to sit with you on a Sunday morning. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to people I love very much!

p.s. We have just finished the fall series called:  American Idol Idol ~ 8 Kickers. Bob Ford writing for f or the Inquirer wrote the following that I hope all of our sporting families pay attention to: There should be no cheering on Saturday (Penn State/Nebraska) State/Nebraska). There should be silence in the enormous concrete and steel edifice built to deify a program that has now been revealed as a false god. Tell the people not to come. Tell them there is nothing here to glorify. Encourage them to spend the fall afternoon with their children (11.11.11). May we that have ears to hear – hear.

The Weathervane

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December 2011 Sermon Schedul e SUNDAY MORNINGS 8am in Fellowship Hall 8:30am and 11am in the Sanctuary

SUNDAY EVENINGS 5pm New Creation in the Commons

Sermon Series: Isaiah ~ All I Want for Christmas DECEMBER 4

DECEMBER 4 2nd Sunday in Advent The Gift of Peace

The Gift of Patience

Isaiah 11:1-9 and Gospel Lectionary Martha Jordan

DECEMBER 11 The Gift of Hope

DECEMBER 11 3rd Sunday in Advent The Gift for the Underdogs

Isaiah 42:1-5, 61:1-3 and Gospel Lectionary Jonathan Miller DECEMBER 18—Manger Sunday 4th Sunday in Advent The Gift of a Cherished Children

Isaiah 43:1-7 and Gospel Lectionary Richard Herman On Manger Sunday... ...bring your gifts wrapped in white tissue paper to present at the Manger. Please mark them with: gender, age and size THANKS!

Romans 8:22-25 Richard Herman

1 Peter 1:1-9 Jonathan Miller DECEMBER 18 The Gift of Revelation

Hebrews 1:1-4 Martha Jordan

DECEMBER 24—CHRISTMAS EVE 4pm Children’s Christm as Service Mary Had a Little Lamb

Jonathan Miller 5:30pm Family Chri stmas Service Mary Had a Little Lamb

Jonathan Miller 7pm New Creation Service The Gift of Joy

Isaiah 12:3 and Luke 2:8-20 Martha Jordan 8:30pm Christmas Communion Service The Gift Unrivaled

Isaiah 9:2-7 Richard Herman 11pm Lessons and Carols Keeping Watch by Night

Jonathan Miller

DECEMBER 25—CHRISTMAS DAY 10am Chris tmas Day Service Joy to the World

Jonathan Miller

Manger Gifts... ...will be distributed to local families in need by Family Services of Burlington County

The Weathervane

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January 2012 Sermon Sch edule SUNDAY MORNINGS 8am in Fellowship Hall 8:30am in the Sanctuary 11am in the Sanctuary

SUNDAY EVENINGS 5pm New Creation in the Commons JANUARY 1

JANUARY 1 ~ Wors hip at 10am and 5pm Winter Series: The Prayer Jesus Taught

What Is Prayer—How Do You do It? Luke 10:38-42 and Luke 11:1 Martha Jordan JANUARY 8 Holy Communion Be Careful How You Pray

Matthew 6:5-8 Jonathan Miller JANUARY 15 Start this Way ~ Holy Father

Matthew 6:9 Jonathan Miller

Winter Series: Upside Down—How Jesus Brin gs Heaven to Earth

JANUARY 8 Holy Communion Longest Table

Luke 9:10-17 Richard Herman JANUARY 15 The Power of a Seed

Luke 8:1-15 Martha Jordan

JANUARY 22

JANUARY 22

Come Close

Love me Tender

Matthew 6:10 Richard Herman

Luke 8:40-56 Martha Jordan

JANUARY 29 Please Feed Us

JANUARY 29 High Maintenance Messiah

Matthew 6:11 Jonathan Miller

Luke 6:12-16 Jonathan Miller

Coming Soon in 2012—Week of Prayer and Fasting—February 12-19 To pray is the greatest thing we can do, and to do it well, there must be calmness, time and deliberation.– E. M Bounds We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results. – R. A. Torrey

For one week in February 2012, as a church we are giving ourselves to prayer – not fast, quickie, fly-by prayer but prayer deliberately given calm and time. Thatmeanswewilldonothingelsebutpray–nomeetings,nopractices,noeventsorotheractivities…all cancelledforMondaythroughSaturday. To take a phrase fromthe Bible (see: Proverbs 30:18-19) three times a day we wil gather, and four we will pray. We will cometogether morning, midday and early evening to pray …and encourage us all to “pray together individually” before we go tosleep each night. The Psalmist calls us to prayer “seven times a day” (Psalm 119:164) – but we’re going to settle for four.  Aprayer guide will be provided for each person to use during that week—providing resources both for corporate and individual prayer. Gatherings will be led by our pastors and elders. Be on the look-out in the newyear for information, schedules and resources, including a class on an Introduction to Fasting to be taught by Pastors Dick and Martha. If there is anything in the community, country, world or church, anything corporate or personal you would like as something for us to include in our prayers—please convey it in writing with your name to Pastor Dick Herman (via e-mail –[email protected] or by dropping anote or letter in his box at the church office).

The Weathervane

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From Our Executi ve Pastor Dear Friends in Jesus, I love the stillness of Advent and the Christmas season. Some folks really enjoy the hustle and the “sounds of Christmas”. Me, I love the stillness. One of my favorite holiday moments year-to-year is when one of our youth choirs sings – Still, still, still One can hear the falling snow For all is hushed The world is sleeping Holy Star , its vigil keeping Still, still, still One can hear the falling snow. Christmas quiet provides the space for reflection. It’s in those moments when I sit in a darkened family room, looking at a lighted tree, that I recount the blessings and gifts that come to me from the Lord, for as James is quick to remind us: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (1:17). I remember my parents and how they passed on the story of Christ to me and my sister; and then passed it to our families as they grew. I remember a midnight candlelight worship service on Christmas Eve in the little, New England congregational church where I interned in seminary – and walking out of worship into a gently falling snow thinking “We are so blessed!” Christmas quiet provides a chance to observe the gentle movements of God’s Spirit moving like a gentle breeze stirring the last remaining leaf on a tree or hear the whisperings of His voice coming with Good News. As the carol reminds us – How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in. Christmas quiet also invites us to pray. Christmas prayers come in all shapes andsizes. For a child, it can be the “wish-prayer” for a particular gift on Christmas morning. For a mother or father, it may be a prayer that their son or daughter arrive home safe—from a home across the country for the holiday or back to the States from military service overseas. For a son or daughter, it may the prayer that their parents be healthy, able to enjoy their grandchildren and hold fast to Jesus in the later years. For a young woman, it may be a prayer uttered in anxiety as she contemplates introducing her betrothed to family or that of a young man steeling himself to ask his dearest friend during the Christmas break to marry him. The Christmas prayers of God’s people in the Bible are also wide and varied. They range from Mary’s prayer of surrender in Luke 1, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me according to your word”(1:38) to that of both the angels and the shepherds who offer prayers of worship and praise (2:14, 20) and Simeon’s prayer of grateful release (2:29-32).  And carols, again, express prayers that have shaped us which are uttered at Christmas each year – O holy Child of Bethlehem descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born to us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell. O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel Or, what about the child’s prayer, we all sing – Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray; Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and fit us for Heaven to live with Thee there. Friends—enjoy the quiet of Christmas this year. May it be full of life-giving moments for you to reflect, observe and pray. With thanks for our Lord and for you, I remain … Yours in Christ’s Service

The Weathervane

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From Our As sociate Pastor for Families Dear friends, In 2009, The Barna Group released a studyabout Christianity and it’s impact on society. Fromtheir research they noticed four themes. Theme 1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith andspirituality than in Christianity. Theme 2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they canparticipate in the shaping of that faith experience. Theme 3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S. Theme 4: Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or througha church – is not common at this time and it is not likely tobecomecommonin thenear future.  As a pastor whose focus is on education, the third theme is one that has troubled me. I think we asa church can make a difference in the third theme and improve Biblical literacy. I want to challenge you for 2012 to get to knowyour Bible better. December is a busy month and the holidays canbe time of chaos. So as you look towards the NewYear, take time to hear and learn the Word of God better.  According to The Barna Group: “Bible reading has become thereligious equivalent of sound-bite journalism. When people read fromthe Bible they typically open it, read a brief passage without much regard for the context, and considers the primary thought or feeling that the passage provided. If they are comfortable with it, they accept it; otherwise, they deemit interesting but irrelevant to their life, and move on. There is shockingly little growth evident in people’s understanding of the fundamental themes of the scriptures and amazingly little interest in deepening their knowledge andapplication of biblical principles.” The difficulty is that by the time Americans reach the age of 13 or 14, they think they pretty muchknoweverything of value the Bible has to teach and theyare no longer interested in learning more scriptural content. Howmany times can youhear thesame story over andover again? But the reality is that there is so much in scripture that we don’t know and don’t take the time to study. I heard recently someone comment that “you can prove anything from the Bible.” There is some truth in that statement but also error in that statement. The Bible can’t possibly support every imaginable viewpoint. But the truth is that as Presbyterians we canread the same passage andcome todifferentconclusions. For me, one of the great strengths of our denomination is that we encourage people to read scripture and study God’s Word. To handle the Word of God responsibly, Presbyterians have always stressed the importance of scholarship. All the way back to John Calvin it has been crucial that our decisions rest on the understanding of Biblical knowledgeafter a thoroughstudy. This happenswhen oneseeks the guidanceof the Spirit and asksquestions. In 2012, we have anumber of opportunities to explore scripture andget to know it better. OnEpiphany, you can join us at church for the movie TheNativity. This wil be afun event open to all ages, and will provideyou with a studyguide toreflect on howthe movie interprets scripture. Starting June 2012, we are inviting everyone in the church to read “The Bible in 90 Days.” Our Summer Sunday School and sermon series will be guided by the scriptures we are reading. Only a minority of Christians have ever read the entire Bible. However, studies indicate that at least one out of two American Christian adults want to read all of the Bible sometimeduring their lifetime. Unfortunately, without help, most never will. The Bible in 90 Days programhas beensuccessful in many churches across the country. It is a practical program to help Christians and others do what most already want to do -- and manyhave tried and failed to do -- read the entire Bible.

The Nativity Story (PG) Friday January 6, 2012 7 pm in the Commons One family . One journey. One child… who would change the world forever. The Nativity Story is remarkable movie (2006) of Christ's birth. The movie retells a favorite Biblical story in a way that brings it to life. RSVP by January 3 to Elizabeth: [email protected] Drink and Popcorn will be provided!

January 2012 Calendar

The Weathervane First Presbyterian Church 101 Bridgeboro Road Moorestown, NJ 08057

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2012Lenten Small Group Studies Beginning the Week of February 19, 2012 Beginning the week of Ash Wednesday, the last full week of February, members and friends of First Presbyterian will step out to experience the power of prayer to transform and deepen our relationship with God. Inwhathasbecomeapre-eminentbookabout prayer—Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home—best-selling author Richard Foster offers a warm, compelling, and sensitive primer onprayer, helping usto understand, experience, and practiceprayer in its many forms. Heclarifies the prayer process, answers common misconceptions, and shows the way into prayers of contemplation, healing, blessing, forgiveness, and rest. Coming to prayer is like coming home, Foster says. "Nothing feels more right, more like what we arecreated to be and to do. Yet at the same time we are confronted with great mysteries. Who hasn't struggled with the puzzle of unanswered prayer? Who hasn't wondered how a finite person can commune with the infinite Creator of the universe? ... We do our best, of course, to answer these knotty questions but when all is said and done, there is a sense in which these mysteries remain unanswered and unanswerable ... At such times we must learn to become comfortable with the mystery." Foster shows us how prayer can move us inward into personal transformation, upward toward intimacy with God, and outward to minister to others. He leads us beyond questions to a deeper understanding and practice of prayer, bringing us closer to God, to ourselves, and to our community. In late January, information about signing up for small groups will become available and the book wil be on hand for purchase. If you’re wil ing to host a small group in your home during Lent 2012, please give Elizabeth Caggiano a call at the church (856-235-1688) and let us knowas soon as possible; and, should you be interested in leading a group (let us know about that, too), there will be training session with the study guide in February to prepare you to have the best experience possible. I invite you to join us in this wonderful study during Lent 2012. Blessings,

Pastor Dick Herman

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