MADISON AVENUE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
921 Madison Avenue
(at East 73rd Street)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212- 288-8920
Fax: 212-249-1466
(at East 73rd Street)
New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212- 288-8920
Fax: 212-249-1466
Don't miss the Homecoming Sunday Luncheon at 12:45 pm in the Parish Hall on Sunday, September 15; it promises to be an exciting new way to begin our program year! We will continue our annual tradition of recognizing and celebrating our 50+-year members, but we will be adding a "Town Hall Meeting" to the program. This meeting will include several brief presentations on some of the new and recent developments in MAPC's life, along with opportunities to respond and ask questions. Topics such as new outreach opportunities, the development of a small groups ministry, and, of course, the arrival of our new Associate Pastor for Congregational Life, Beverly Bartlett, will be addressed. The program will end around 2 pm.
So, mark your calendars and plan to attend this interesting and informative event. Reservations for lunch are not required, but indicating your intention to attend would help in our planning. Call Mary Walling at the church at (212) 288-8920, ext. 241 if you would like to attend.
Remember that we will continue our Summer Schedule through Sunday, September 1, which is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We will return to our regular schedule of two services (9 am and 11:15 am) starting on Sunday, September 8.
Several opportunities for worship, prayer, and ministry will be offered in observance of the one-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. On Wednesday, September 11, 2002, we will have three worship services. Identical special prayer services will take place in the Sanctuary at 8 am and at noon. A full Service of Remembrance will be held at 7 pm that evening in the Sanctuary. Please plan to attend at least one of these services, and be sure to invite friends and colleagues who may not have a church home but may want or need to be in worship that day.
There is also an important opportunity for you to help minister to our city. While the Sanctuary is always available for prayer, we feel it is important to have the Sanctuary doors open and volunteers greeting and assisting visitors during the week of September 8 through September 15. If you are able to take one or more two-hour shifts of this simple yet powerful ministry of hospitality during that week, please contact Nancy Ost, Moderator of Deacons, or call Mary Walling at the church (288-8920, ext. 241).
On Monday, July 29, MAPC's homeless shelter opened for the first eight guests. At about 6:45 pm, a yellow school bus brought the men (one really still a boy) from the 77th Street drop-in center of the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter to the 73rd Street entrance of the Parish Hall. Upon arrival, they were checked in by name and read a set of ground rules, and then they began to set up and make their beds. MAPC members and friends, who had volunteered, helped distribute the city-provided bedding and prepared and served sandwiches and beverages. A VCR was available for movie watching, but in the main our guests had retired to their beds and were asleep before lights-out at 10 pm. Several volunteers also spent the night. Two of the eight men had to rise before the 6 am wake-up call in order to get to their jobs. All stripped and sorted their used bedding and returned their beds to the allotted spaces along the walls. Coffee and juice were served as the men waited for the bus for the return trip to 77th Street, where they are provided with showers and real meals, as well as other appropriate assistance to get back on their feet.
MAPC will provide this service every Monday evening through Labor Day. Session approved this trial period in its May meeting and will hear the evaluation and recommendations of the Outreach Mission Committee and its Director, Dawn Ravella, on the experience in early autumn.
Our Parish Hall facility was designed with this use in mind. All of the basic provisions and city permissions are in place. The guests whom we are serving are decent and dignified neighbors who openly express gratitude for a clean, quiet, and safe place to rest and sleep. If you are available on a Monday evening in August, between 6 and 8 or so, you might wish to come by and see the shelter at work and even volunteer to help prepare the snacks and talk with our guests. Or, if you can spare the time, volunteer to spend the night with our guests, together with a fellow volunteer or two. As we are serving all men at this time, male volunteers will be particularly welcome. This is the sort of outreach that should help all of us sleep better.
Linda Perkin, Chair
Outreach Ministries Committee
The Media & Publications Committee hopes that all of MAPC's members and friends have received the letter (or e-mail message) announcing the launch of our new e-mail program. To those of you who have responded, many thanks. If you have not yet had a chance to tell us whether you would like to participate, we encourage you to take just a moment to e-mail your preferred e-mail address to announcements@mapc.com, drop a note in the offering plate or call the church office at (212) 288-8920, ext. 245. If you received the e-mail on August 1, you do not need to do anything to stay on the list.
The e-mail system is designed to allow you to specify which of our many programs are of particular interest to you, e.g., Adult Education, Concerts, Family Ministries. Once we know your preferences you will receive e-mails related only to those specific programs. If you received the e-mail message on August 1, we encourage you to follow the link at the very bottom of the message and check the boxes for the types of announcements you would like to see in the future.
While we will continue to send program and event announcements via the U.S. Postal Service, we anticipate that one of the many benefits of this program will be a cost savings from reduced printing and postage expenses.
The Media & Publications Committee would also like to take this opportunity to let you know that sermons (print and audio), UPDATE and the weekly schedule can be found on the church's web site at www.mapc.com.
*MAPC Member
Are you interested in exploring the basics of the Christian faith? How about learning more about the character of the Presbyterian Church or the opportunities for fellowship, service, and spiritual growth at MAPC? Have you been thinking about making MAPC your church home?
These are all good reasons for attending our next Inquirers Seminar, Saturday, September 14, where we will address all those questions and more. We will begin gathering at 8:30 am for coffee and breakfast in the Philips Lounge next to Dana Chapel, behind the Sanctuary. The Seminar itself begins promptly at 9 am and concludes around 4 pm. Dress is casual, and lunch will be provided. Professional child care is available but needs to be arranged in advance by calling Mary Walling at the church office (288-8920, x241). If you have questions or concerns in general, please call the Rev. J.C. Austin at the church office (288-8920, x242). He will be pleased to speak with you about the seminars or other questions you might have about membership or the church. E-mail: jca@mapc.com.
Also, see: