In our culture, summer is a time for Sabbath and rest. People take much needed vacation, visit relatives, and read great books. Our congregation shifts gears too for the summer. Although a steady diet of worship, education, and mission is served to our members, we serve it with a different flavor. Beginning on June 9, we will begin our summer adult forums in the Fellowship Hall at 9:40 a.m. with our missionaries to Lithuania, Eric and Becky Hinderliter. It will be great to hear about their work and ministry. Over the summer we will hear also from favorite theologian and teacher, Lee Barrett of Lancaster Theological Seminary, and other teachers. In worship we will introduce new hymns from the soon-to-bepublished Presbyterian hymnal, Glory to God. You may have noticed in the
pew racks a sampler of these hymns. It is a truly beautiful hymnal that we will be studying and learning more about over the summer.
Alex and I are also preaching some topical series of sermons this summer. For me, that is a departure from my usual fare of texts from the lectionary. As you may recall, I have done that before over the summer. This summer I will be preaching on the subject of relationships, and in August, Alex will focus on select texts from Genesis, chapters 1 through 11. So worship will offer us some new alternatives both in music and preaching.
Mission too has a different focus. Ably led by our Associate Pastor, Alex Lang, our youth will depart on June 22 for Haiti to engage in mission to that island. Let’s keep them in our prayers
Summer Reading Rocks
by Laura Messner
Summer is around the bend. That means it’s time for Mission Committee’s reading program at Hansel and Gretel’s summer camp. This year, Pine Street members have the opportunity to read to a group of 3-4 year-olds on Thursdays between 9:30-10:30, from June 27th to August 15th. Volunteers, you may choose your own book, or find one provided at the Gathering See Reading on page 3
Bagels & Belief
June 2
Spirituality 101
Pastor Sullivan
All forums are held at 9:40 am in Fellowship Hall
The Korn Question
by Rev. Alex Lang
When I was a teenager, like many in that phase of life, I became obsessed with the music that defined my generation. For me, however, the music to which I was attracted was not the mainstream music with which many of my peers had aligned themselves. I found myself on the fringe, listening to a genre of music that most people found intolerable: nu-metal. Nu-metal is hard to describe to someone unfamiliar with the genre. The sound is a blend of heavy metal and rap, but the lyrical content is considered to be blues due to the emotionally negative nature of the vocals.
My favorite band was called Korn, a group that is generally considered responsible for the creation of this particular genre. From the moment I heard their first album, I became infatuated with their songs. They were able to express in music what I felt inside my heart, but lacked the ability to form into my own words. The music was pulsating, angry, raw and most of all it stabbed at the core of how I perceived myself — an outsider who was misunderstood and who, underneath, felt rage that the world was so full of suffering.
The content of the songs is not for the faint of heart. Stamped appropriately with a parental advisory sticker, there is no lack of graphic language. Their debut album raised red flags among the watchdogs who lumped Korn with other black-balled bands who were branded as poisoning the minds of America’s youth. Yet, if one looked beyond the cursing, Korn had captured a feeling of genuine sorrow in a way that no other band had ever done for me.
The lead singer, Jonathan Davis, had been molested by his neighbor when he was a child and was not shy about carrying this baggage into his lyrics. In one song entitled, Daddy, Jonathan talks about how he tried to explain the molestation to his mother, but was met with a dismissive stare. Listening to the song, one comes to realize that the title Daddy is not a reference to Jonathan’s father, but what his assailant called himself during the molestation, since Jonathon’s father was divorced from his mother. The song ends with Jonathan breaking down into tears over the pain of the experience.
In another song, Jonathan sings about the alienation he felt in high school when kids would pick
See Korn on page 4
Session Notes for May
Reviewed and adopted a restatement of policies and rules for Session meetings and operations.
Amended 2013 budget to provide funding for guest preachers if required.
Heard a report that the new Prison Ministry program is already up and running.
Determined to continue serving communion by Intinction at 11am service on first Sunday of each month.
In recognition that healing was an integral part of the ministry of Jesus and that the Church is called to be a healing community, Session recommitted to offering a Service of Healing and Wholeness during communion at both services on the first Sunday of the month.
Session set date for examination of candidates for ordination to the offices of Elder and Deacon.
Youth Mission Trip to Haiti June 22 – June 28
DDB is in need of clothing for men and women, spring and summer, gently worn, clean, and not more than 5 years old. We would appreciate your helping our clients by keeping our clothes closet stocked with clothing. Currently it is almost empty!
Donations can be delivered between the hours of 9:00am-2:30pm Tax deductible thank you cards are available.
In addition, we have a shortage of dessert items in the kitchen. There are very few donations of pastries coming our way. We don’t know why! We would welcome having some folks volunteer to pick up those day old items from their local super markets. I will be happy to write a letter for them to deliver.
Thanks so much. This is one of the ways that Pine Streeters can get involved in the DDB mission.
Elaine
Homelessness is Everywhere
by Elaine Strokoff
I see homeless people everywhere. Is it because of what I do professionally? It seems that I have a more keen sense of what to look for than most people. I see the human form under the pile of cardboard and debris before anyone else. I see the potential for human habitat under a swaying blanket anchored by cinder blocks and a shopping cart. I can spot a homeless man or woman sitting on a city street bench, sleeping in the library, or digging for aluminum cans before my companions. I am well aware of the human condition of homelessness. It is the work I do and it follows me wherever I go.
In the past few months I visited my children in San Francisco, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Louisville, Kentucky. The homeless must have followed me there. I saw them everywhere. They camped along piers, bridges, on city streets, on park benches, beside fancy restaurants, beside run down bars, outside of playgrounds, and in the city squares. They huddled around homeless missions (which I try to locate) and around social service agencies designed to help the poor.
No matter where I go, either in this country or abroad, I always see the homeless. I suspect they do not follow me. I know that they live everywhere. It is just that I cannot help but look at them. To me, they are not invisible. I try to imagine their lives and I think about what must have propelled them into the state of “not belonging.” Sometimes the answer appears to be obvious, but in reality it never is that clear. I suspect that I will be looking out for the homeless for the rest of my life. I also suspect that the homeless will always be among us.
Summer
Continued from page 1
and thoughts as they witness to the love and justice of God in a new and different culture.
And please remember: maintain your financial commitments to the ministry of our church! Our obligations as a church never take a break. I pray that your summer brings you rest and peace and that the ministry of Pine Street will be a source of your strength and renewal.
Trustees Notes for April
Kevin Brown is the new custodian
There was a steam leak in the heating seating early Easter morning and the system was shut down for safety reasons. Yes, it was cold in the sanctuary.
The Property Committee has signed and “on call” service contract with B&B Communications to maintain our audio and visual equipment.
With the arrival of spring weather repair work on the 3rd Street tower should soon begin.
Reading
Continued from page 1
Place. You may sign up at the Welcome Center, where you will find an information sheet with more details, including a list of weekly themes.
Hansel and Gretel Early Learning Center, located on Walnut Street, serves as a day care center for a diverse group of families in the Harrisburg area. Take the step to make reading rock for these young minds.
on him and taunt him, calling him homosexual. Though Jonathan is not gay, his nick-name became HIV because the rumors about him were so pervasive. In yet another song, Jonathan explores the hidden evils of pornography by singing old nursery rhymes. On the outside the nursery rhymes seem normal enough, but once you look at history behind them, you see that they tell stories of tragedy. In the same way, many people consider pornography to be benign, but it perverts and distorts the minds of the people who view it. Such is the case with pornography and how it contributed to his neighbor’s desire to molest Jonathan.
day lives. So rather than deal with all the distractions, many Christians try to create sequestered communities where they can raise their families apart from the evils of the world.
Continued from page 2 . . . as Christians, are we supposed to remove ourselves from the world to grow in our faith or are we to embrace the world and transform it?
Now I am well aware that many people would not find this type of music appealing in the least. Most people don’t want to hear songs about molestation, being taunted or the evils of pornography. I remember playing a few Korn songs for some of my friends at Oxford and their first response was, “Why would anyone ever want to listen to music like this?” I have learned over time that most people are drawn to music that elicits feelings of happiness. I am prone to listen to music that reflects my pain, my sorrow, my inner struggles with evil in the world and Korn did that for me unlike any other band.
So you can imagine my dismay when I became a Christian and I was told that Korn could no longer be a part of my life. You see, as Christians we are expected to live our lives so as “to please God”1 and the Christians with whom I associated said that Korn was not pleasing to God. I couldn’t argue with them because Korn’s lyrics were often filled with rage and hate, but those lyrics spoke to me and sustained me through a really tough time in my life, and now I’m just supposed to give all that up?
We read in the scriptures that there is a debate among Christians in the early church that is still very relevant in our day and time: as Christians, are we supposed to remove ourselves from the world to grow in our faith or are we to embrace the world and transform it? Those who argue that we should remove ourselves from the world have good reasons for their beliefs. I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s hard to be a good Christian in the world. We are tempted by so many things that distract us from serving God in our day to 11Thess. 4:1
In the early church, there were whole communities who detached from society so that they could focus more readily on living out the commands of the gospel. In our modern world, Mormons are the best known for this and do a very good job of keeping their families from intermingling with those outside the Mormon community. A Mormon parent would never have to worry about preventing their children from hearing a Korn album because the Mormon music stores they frequent would never carry it. Your child can’t be corrupted by lyrics to which they have never been exposed. So when we sequester ourselves from the evils of the world, we gain a sense of security that our families can avoid many of the societal ills that plague our communities.
But with any gain, there is always loss. The counterpoint to this line of thinking is that God did not intend for us to live our lives apart from the world, but rather to be enmeshed within it. We see in the gospels that Jesus did not go off on his own, but rather spent a great deal of time with people who could very well have corrupted his faith — prostitutes, lepers, Gentiles, tax collectors. All these people represented some form of societal ill and Jesus was not afraid to be a part of their lives. Indeed, Jesus’ presence was transformative to their corruption and brought hope to their despair. When we sequester ourselves into communities, we might avoid temptation, but we also lose our ability to bring healing to a broken world.
The Mormon solution to this problem is to invite others to leave the world and join their community: “Come, be part of us.” This is why every Mormon spends two years evangelizing and finding converts. Their hope is that once everyone believes, then the entire world will become like their very small sequestered community and, thus, everyone will be safe. This, however, is unrealistic. The world will always be bigger
See Community on page 5
Continued from page 4
than our communities and Jesus knew that. Jesus went to the people and never asked them to leave their world. He brought them healing and said, “Now that you’ve been healed, stay in your community and bring that same healing to others.”
The immediate problem with this line of thinking is that all the evil, which caused their suffering, is still present in the world. How can we bring healing to our worlds when the people around us haven’t experienced that same healing and evil still consumes them? Won’t they just drag us down? Isn’t it just easier to leave and invite others to come along with us? Of course it is, but that’s not the answer. The answer lies in the Korn question.
If we must remain in the world, God expects us to examine our lives and ask, “What are the things in my life that cause me to draw further away from God?” In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, Paul has heard that some of the new converts to Christianity are having issues eating meat that has been sacrificed in Roman temples. Even though Paul knows the Roman gods are not real, these new converts feel that the meat has been tainted because the animals have been ritualistically sacrificed, so they eat only vegetables. Paul tells the converts who do eat meat not to judge the people who don’t as having less faith. Paul concludes that it is perfectly fine and necessary for them to abstain from meat so they can draw closer to God.
What’s important to notice is that these converts do not form a separate community because they have trouble eating meat. They remain in their communities and choose to eat vegetables. They determine the things that cause them to stumble in their faith and they focus on removing those things so their faith can grow. Ultimately, this is how we must approach the things of this world. We must examine our habits and actions to determine if those things are blockades between us and God.
For example, many of us can drink alcohol without any issues, but there are some of you who are addicted to the feeling alcohol provides. As a result, some of us need to stop imbibing alcohol because of the negative impact on our lives. The same is true of food, gambling, money, sex, anger, control, pride, jealousy and the list goes on. Every single person has something in their
lives that continually separates them from God. The beauty of Christianity is that once you identify your stumbling blocks, Jesus will work in your heart to remove those things so your relationship with God can flourish.
For me, I eventually determined that Korn was not something that was going to help my relationship with God. Every now and again I pull out some of my old Korn CDs and play them on my stereo. After a few songs I can feel the anger from my youth begin to well up inside of me. It doesn’t take me long to turn it off. Korn may have helped me express the anger of my childhood, but it was Jesus who helped me to let go of that anger and become a better person.
When you finally conquer your stumbling blocks after weeks, months or years of effort, you then have the ability to be a healing presence to those around you. Part of the anger I felt in my life was toward people who drank alcohol because I experienced so much negativity as the result of drug and alcohol abuse. Now that Jesus has helped me conquer my anger, I have a very different outlook on life: I try to help those who struggle with alcoholism.
Though I am not an alcoholic myself, I do not drink alcohol because I want the people who struggle with alcoholism to know that they have someone on whom they can rely. If an alcoholic is invited to my house for dinner, he knows he will not have to deal with the temptations of alcohol in that setting. He knows that I am there to support him overcoming that stumbling block. This is what Christian community is all about: supporting one another so that we can live in the world and be a light of hope and healing to those who are suffering. This is what I believe Jesus envisioned for us and it is what I hope Pine Street will become for those who are seeking God’s love in this harsh and broken world.
Mission Celebration
Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 10 am - 1 pm at the Presbytery of Carlisle Office, 3040 Market St., Ste. 1, Camp Hill, PA featuring Becky and Eric Hinderliter, Presbyterian Church(U.S.A.) Mission Co-Workers serving in Lithuania
For more information and how to make a reservation go to the Presbytery web page www.carlislepby.org.
There is no cost for the luncheon.
Congratulations Class of 2013!
Cameron Berrier Central Dauphin East High School
Cameron will graduate from Central Dauphin East High School on June 5th. He will be attending HACC in the fall.
Lydia Humphrey Susquehanna Township High School
Lydia will graduate from Susquehanna Township High School where she was active in Key Club, National Honor Society and field hockey. She will attend Bloomsburg University in the fall where she plans to major
Pine StreetWalkers
Take a hike with your dad or granddad on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16. We will return to Victoria and White Tail trails to make up the hike missed in May. Great workout with a considerable climb up a rocky trail, however, the pace will be as slow as necessary so that all can finish. Wear good footwear and bring water.
We will meet at the trail head at 1:00pm. Directions to the trail: take PA Route 225 north out of Dauphin (approximately 2 miles), turn right onto PA Route 325, go exactly 5 miles, the trail head parking lot is on your left. Be careful, the parking area is easy to miss as it is behind trees and just after you crest a small hill.
Sign up at the Welcome Center. Why not consider car pooling from church?
Bridget Winch Central Dauphin High School
Bridget is graduating from Central Dauphin High School. She was a four year member of the Ram Marching Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. She was active in the National Honor Society, Friends of the Swamp, Youth and Government, and Students for a Democratic Society. An honor roll student for her first three years, during her senior year she attended HACC full time as a dual enrollment student. This fall she will be a student in the College of Engineering at Penn State, State College.
Men’s Breakfast
Before heading out for a day of yard work or golfing, you will need to be properly nourished. So come to the Men's Breakfast on Saturday, June 8. The best breakfast food in all of Harrisburg will be served at 8:00am, conversation and fellowship will follow. Sign up at the Welcome Center desk. There is no breakfast in July and August. See you in September.
Births
April 25, 2013
Lucas Chatham Lang to Courtney & Rev. Alexander Lang
May 16, 2013
Callie Elizabeth Garman to Jennifer & Nathan Garman
Baptisms
April 21, 2013
Korynn Alivia Gerst infant daughter of Cyndi & Edward Gerst
New Members
Howard Ambe Deaths
Judith Hall
October 12, 1942 –May 12, 2013
Welcome to Worship!
Pine Street’s new Greeter Team will be in place starting June 2 to welcome everyone to worship. Besides offering a cheerful hello and a friendly smile, greeters will be handing out bulletins, ushering, and extending a warm welcome to visitors. So take a minute to say hello and introduce yourself as your are welcomed at worship each Sunday.
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.
www.pinestreet.org
Pine Street Presbyterian Church
310 North Third Street Harrisburg, PA 17101
www.pinestreet.org
Saturday June 1
Psalms 56; 149
Deuteronomy 5:22–33
2 Corinthians 4:13—5:10 Luke 16:19–31
Sunday June 2
Psalms 67; 150
Deuteronomy 11:1–12
Revelation 10:1–11
Matthew 13:44–58
Monday June 3
Psalms 57; 145
Deuteronomy 11:13–19
2 Corinthians 5:11—6:2 Luke 17:1–10
Tuesday June 4
Psalms 54; 146
Deuteronomy 12:1–12
2 Corinthians 6:3–13 (14—7:1) Luke 17:11–19
Wednesday June 5
Psalms 65; 147:1–11
Deuteronomy 13:1–11
2 Corinthians 7:2–16
Luke 17:20–37
Thursday June 6
Psalms 143; 147:12–20
Deuteronomy 16:18–20, 17:14–20
2 Corinthians 8:1–16
Luke 18:1–8
Friday June 7
Psalms 88; 148
Deuteronomy 26:1–11
2 Corinthians 8:16–24
Luke 18:9–14
Lectionary Readings for June
Saturday June 8
Psalms 122; 149
Deuteronomy 29:2–15
2 Corinthians 9:1–15
Luke 18:15–30
Sunday June 9
Psalms 108; 150
Deuteronomy 29:16–29
Revelation 12:1–12
Matthew 15:29–39
Monday June 10
Psalms 62; 145
Deuteronomy 30:1–10
2 Corinthians 10:1–18
Luke 18:31–43
Tuesday June 11
Psalms 12; 146
Deuteronomy 30:11–20
2 Corinthians 11:1–21a Luke 19:1–10
Wednesday June 12
Psalms 96; 147:1–11
Deuteronomy 31:30—32:14
2 Corinthians 11:21b–33 Luke 19:11–27
Thursday June 13
Psalms 116; 147:12–20
Song of Solomon 1:1–3, 9–11, 15–16a, 2:1–3a
2 Corinthians 12:1–10
Luke 19:28–40
Friday June 14
Psalms 84; 148
Song of Solomon 2:8–13, 4:1–4a, 5–7, 9–11
2 Corinthians 12:11–21
Luke 19:41–48
Saturday June 15
Psalms 63; 149
Song of Solomon 5:10–16, 7:1–2 (3–5), 6–7a (9), 8:6–7
