Have you ever wondered about angels? Do you question whether or not they really even exist? Do you believe you have a guardian angel? Then this year’s Lenten Bible study is for you.
Small groups will meet in individual homes to explore five key scripture texts that help us understand the role of angels in the history of
our faith. “Angels Point the Way Toward Easter” will relate these five texts to companion events from Jesus’ passion to enrich our journey through Lent toward the glorious celebration of Easter.
Each session will last an hour. The topics are:
Paradise: Then and Now or What kind of Guardian angel is this?
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Lent begins with Ash Wednesday
By Russell Sullivan Jr.
A lot of Christians live as if the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ never happened. We become self-absorbed in the everydayness of our lives — the size of our houses, the amount of money in our wallets, our busy careers, the trappings of our power and prestige.
We end up forgetting who our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer is. Lent is that gracious time in the liturgical calendar that calls us back to the basics and to remember the cost of our salvation. It calls us to (Continued on page 2)
The recent devastation of the earthquake in Haiti left me with some disquieting thoughts concerning my place in the world order. We are all aware on some level that our lives are the product of chance. No one chooses to be born into abject poverty and neither does anyone choose to be born into a life of wealth and opulence. Yet, we are all given our station in life and common wisdom tells us we must make the best of what God has given us. Many of us, the majority, are born into poverty. Fifty-three percent of the world population lives on less than $2 a day and, even when we take into account cost-of-living differences, 50 percent live in poverty. You and I happen to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. I often fail to reflect on how extremely fortunate I am in this regard. Only 4.5 percent of the world’s population lives in the United States. The chances of you being born in the United States
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Rev. Alexander Lang
PARSON LENT
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spiritual growth by dying to our sins and indifference towards God and our neighbors. And dying to sin, we are called to experience the joy of new life born out of a death to the old life.
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, is the beginning of the Lenten season. Services that day will be at 12:10 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. I hope you will begin your Lenten journey with this solemn service of reflection on Lent and its importance to our spiritual wholeness.
The Gospel reading for that day is Matthew 6: 16, 16-21. It contains what I believe is a blueprint for our Lenten spirituality. Meditate on those words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, and you will begin to discover a way to deepen your relationship with God, neighbor, and self.
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are congruent with the same odds that sports analysts give the New Jersey Nets to win the NBA championship this year. In other words, the odds of being born in America are not very good. However, if you happen to be one of the few lucky people born in the U.S., the opportunities available to you can barely be imagined by the majority of the world’s population. Here I’m not talking about the American dream of gaining wealth and material possession. Rather, I am talking about something much more basic.
America has plentiful supplies of affordable food, housing for almost all of our citizens, some of the best doctors in the world and an educational system that imbues our children with a high standard of learning. It goes without saying that, even in America, there are varying qualities within each of these basic build-
GROUPS
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God wants to communicate with us.
Meeting God face to face.
Angels promise salvation and peace.
Angels ready for action: the end and the beginning.
ing blocks that create our society. People with more means have access to better education, health care, housing, etc. Yet, even the vast majority of the poorest in our country are wealthy by comparison with populations in the developing world.
These basic building blocks fundamentally undergird our belief that, in America, the potential exists, to move beyond the station into which we were born. In Haiti, few dream of moving beyond their station in life because the building blocks for such a dream to become reality do not exist.
Having traveled to Haiti for mission work, I can honestly say I have never seen anything quite so oppressive to one’s sense of self-worth. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. The unemployment rate in Haiti is upwards of 80 percent. Thus, even if you have an education and marketable skills, there is almost no opportunity for you to find gainful employment. We are taught in America
At Christmas we take angels for granted. Luke tells the “angel of the Lord” announced the birth of John the Baptist to the aging Zechariah. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced she had “found favor with God and will bear a son.” The angel of the Lord proclaimed Jesus’ birth to the shepherds and the heavenly host sang “Glory to God.” In Matthew’s gospel an angel of the Lord encouraged Joseph to take the pregnant Mary for his wife, be-
to believe that if you simply put forth your best effort and strive to reach your potential, you will have the opportunity to live a decent and modest life. In Haiti, such wisdom is laughable.
Striving to reach your potential for the average Haitian means that, even in the best scenario, you are living only one step above abject poverty. So what happens when a country that has so little looses almost everything because of a natural disaster? Such an event calls into question the common wisdom that we are all given our station in life from which we must make the best of what God has given us.
I think on an individual level we are willing to accept that each person needs to make the best of his or her situation. However, this logic falls apart when the systemic pressures on an entire population prevent them from realizing their potential. These people, because of circumstances that are well beyond their control,
cause her child was of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph was later warned by an angel to take his family and flee to Egypt to avoid the wrath of King Herod.
But once the miracle of Christmas is past, we Presbyterians tend to ignore or at least discount the existence of angels. Perhaps in so doing we not only diminish scripture but also limit God’s ability to communicate with God’s people.
cannot make the best of what God has given them. They are simply surviving. The odds of being born in Haiti are only 1 in 735, much lower than the odds of being born in the United States. Indeed, some might be inclined to call these people unlucky.
Jesus calls these people first in the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us when we serve the poor we serve him by extension. Jesus says, “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” I would like you to take a moment and consider who Jesus assumes his family is in this verse? If you ask me, the members of Jesus’ family are the Haitians and we are here to serve.
Please give generously to the Haiti disaster relief efforts. Visit www.pcusa.org to donate or call Pamela Burdine at (888)-728-7228 ext.5839.
Angels appear in the very first story in the Bible and also the very last. From the Garden of Eden to the Banquet of Lamb angels appear in various forms almost 400 times. You are invited to learn more about these heavenly beings during Lent 2010.
Sign up at the Welcome Center in the Gathering Place to attend a small group, host a small group, or lead a small group. Participants will meet new people and enrich your faith.
Lent brings return of Noonhour organ recitals
The annual series of concerts at the Noonhour will begin at 11:55 a.m. on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. A short recital of 15 minutes given by organist-choirmaster Tom Clark-Jones, precedes the traditional service of Imposition of Ashes and Communion.
We invite you to meditate on
music of the season and be in an attitude of prayer as we remember “we are dust and to dust we will return.” This is always a beautiful and moving service.
The following week the full schedule of concerts begins at 12:10 p.m. on Feb. 24 with Courtney Gray presenting a recital of seasonal
works.
Moving into early March ... on March 3 Michael Shoemaker from St. Stephen’s Cathedral will present an organ recital. Further recitals are listed in the Music at Pine Street brochure available in the Narthex and Gathering Place.
Following each recital, except Ash Wednesday, a simple lunch of bread and soup will be available at 12:40 p.m. The soup is provided by Downtown Daily Bread and is always hearty and filling.
The fellowship around the tables is worth the time to be with us for the meal. Come and enjoy!
MAPS event features music of Cesar Franck
You are cordially invited to a recital by organistchoirmaster, Tom ClarkJones at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 12. The concert is a benefit for the Music at Pine Street series and a donation of $10 at the door is suggested. Suggested … that means even if you can’t donate 10 to the cause, you’re welcome anyway!
The music for the evening is the second composer among organists’ favorites … the 19th Century Belgian master, Cesar Franck. Franck lived most of his creative life in Paris as the organist at the Church of St. Clotilde and as a teacher of composition at
the Paris Conservatory. His total compositional output grows from his mastery of the organ. The organ compositions are the quintessential Franck and serve to outline the various stages of his compositional life even in forms that do not involve the organ. He was a first class symphonist and wrote extensively for the piano and various chamber music ensembles in addition to the organ.
But the organ defined Franck. Featured music for this evening includes the spectacular Finale (from Six Pieces), which is a major
tour-de-force for organ. Following is the devout, quiet Priere (Prayer). This seemingly unassuming work is amongst Franck’s greatest. In it, he pours out his deeply religious mystical Catholic soul in counterpoint so dense and intense as to be all-consuming to the player and perhaps the listener, too.
The second half of the program will feature Franck’s final work, the “Three Chorales” … large tone poems for organ written in the last days of his life. In many ways, they sum up the entire musical outpouring of this great composer.
The music of Franck is indeed a feast. Come and enjoy this beautiful music of the late Romantic era played on an instrument that truly does it justice. All are welcome. Bring a friend. The Gothic splendor of Pine Street is just the place in which to enjoy this sublime music.
Scripture Readings for February
Monday, Feb. 1
Genesis 19:1-17, 24-29
Psalm 62
John 6:27-40
Tuesday, Feb. 2
Genesis 21:1-21
Psalm 12
John 6:41-51
Wednesday, Feb. 3
Genesis 22:1-18
Psalm 96
John 6:52-59
Thursday, Feb. 4
Genesis 23:1-20
Psalm 116
John 6:60-71
Friday, Feb. 5
Genesis 24:1-27
Psalm 84
John 7:1-13
Saturday, Feb. 6
Genesis 24:28-38, 49-51
Psalm 63
John 7:14-36
Sunday, Feb. 7
Genesis 24:50-67
Psalm 103
2 Timothy 2:14-21
Mark 10:13-22
Sermon: The Rev. Alex Langpreaching
Monday, Feb. 8
Genesis 25:19-34
Psalm 5
John 7:37-52
Tuesday, Feb. 9
Genesis 26:1-6
Psalm 42
John 7:53-8:11
Wednesday, Feb. 10
Genesis 27:1-29
Psalm 89:1-18
John 8:12-20
Thursday, Feb. 11
Genesis 27:30-45
Psalm 97
John 8:21-32
Friday, Feb. 12
Genesis 27:46-28:4
Psalm 51
John 8:33-47
Saturday, Feb. 13
Genesis 29:1-20
Psalm 104
John 8:47-59
Sunday, Feb. 14
Malachi 4:1-6
Psalm 104
Romans 14:1-23
John 8:47-59
Sermon: The Rev. Russell Sullivan,preaching
Monday, Feb. 15
Proverbs 27:1-6, 10-12
Psalm 5
John 18:15-18, 25-27
Tuesday, Feb. 16
Proverbs 30:1-4, 24-33
Psalm 42
John 18:28-38
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Amos 5:6-15
Psalm 5
Luke 18:9-14
Thursday, Feb. 18
Habakkuk 3:1-10, 16-18
Psalm 27
John 17:1-8
Friday, Feb. 19
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Psalm 22
John 17:9-19
Saturday, Feb. 20
Ezekiel 39:21-29
Psalm 43
John 17:20-26
Sunday, Feb. 21
Daniel 9:3-10
Psalm 84
Hebrews 2:10-18
John 12:44-50
Sermon: The Rev. Russell Sullivan,preaching
Monday, Feb. 22
Genesis 37:1-11
Psalm 119:73-80
Mark 1:13
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Genesis 37:12-24
Psalm 34
Mark 1:14-28
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Genesis 37:25-36
Psalm 5
Mark 1:29-45
Thursday, Feb. 25
Genesis 39:1-23
Psalm 27
Mark 2:1-12
Friday, Feb. 26
Genesis 40:1-23
Psalm 22
Pastor
Staff
Russell C. Sullivan Jr.
Associate Pastor
Alexander Lang
Organist/Choir Master
Thomas Clark-Jones
Director of Family and Lay Ministry
Cheryl A. Goode
Parish Associate for Visitation
Heather M. Sigler
Mark 2:13-22
Saturday, Feb. 27
Genesis 41:1-13
Psalm 43
Mark 2:23-3:6
Sunday, Feb. 28
Genesis 41:14-45
Psalm 84
Romans 6:3-14
John 5:19-24
Sermon: The Rev. Russell Sullivan,preaching
PINE STREET LIFE (USPS 574-510) is published monthly by Pine Street Presbyterian Church, 310 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101.
PERIODICALS Postage paid at Harrisburg, PA 17105
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Pine Street Life, Pine Street Presbyterian Church, 310 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
Change in venue for the men's breakfast for February 2010. Just when you thought everything is the same, change comes along. However, it's just for this one time.
Breakfast will be at Roxy's Cafe at 8 a.m. on Feb. 13. Roxy's is located at the corner of 3rd and North streets (274 North Street). See you there.
Help your heart with Valentine’s Day hike
Walk with Pine StreetWalkers around Reservoir Park on Feb. 14. Meet at the Civil War Museum parking lot at 1 p.m. From our vantage point you will look at the city, see a memorial garden and the original snow bowl. If there is any snow on the ground strap your sled to the top of the car. We will see if the sledding is the same as it was many years ago.
To get there from church, proceed East out State Street. Turn right at the red light by the Parkside Cafe. See the City of Harrisburg Department of Parks and Recreation Web site for more information.
Reservoir Park is part of the Greenbelt. For more information, visit the Greenbelt on the Web at www.caga.org. Join us, you will be glad you did.
Last call for Retreat
Ladies, if you haven't stopped by the Welcome Table to sign up for the 2010 Women's Retreat, now is the time to do so. The deadline is Jan. 31. The dates for the Retreat are March 12 (beginning at 6:30 p.m.) to March 14 (ending after lunch). The theme for the retreat is "God's Promises" and our speaker will be the Rev. Ellen Crawford True. The cost is $140 and includes accommodations and all meals.
Knitting 101 will be offered by Pine Street's own Debbie Olson and we will have at least one other craft. Massages given by Pine Street's own Beth Alwine and at least one other massage therapist will be present (signup for massages when you register).
Other activities include horseback riding, hiking and as always, snacking. Feel free to bring snacks for our "Snack Table." Hope to see you at the Retreat.
Downtown Daily
The following was written by a client. She is one of the many helped every day by Downtown Daily Bread. These are her exact words:
My name is “Fay.” I lived in Harrisburg for 16 years. I have three girls one in florida and twins in Halafat I worked for a long time but had to leave my job to raise my twins and help with my father-in-law. I lost my house in March the Daily Bread has help so much they give you a place to stay clean hot food they help with a lot of things a safe place to keep your things thank-you all for all your help
Postage Paid
Harrisburg, PA 17105 THE PINE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
