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
As I write this on November 13 Thanksgiving Day is still two weeks hence, therefore, I was startled to see Christmas decorations already beginning to appear in the store windows along Madison Avenue. The secular world, whose shopkeepers view Christmas mostly as an economic bonanza, and whose customers see it primarily as a materialistic holiday, simply can’t wait to get started with the pre-Christmas shopping. The story is told that on December 25 all the Macy’s and Sak’s and Bloomingdale’s staff get together and sing a few choruses of What a friend we have in Jesus!
Think back to your childhood for a moment. Was not the anticipation of Christmas Day actually more wonderful, more to be savored than the actual ceremony of opening one’s presents? Do you remember with the same fierce nostalgia as I the time spent wondering and wishing as Christmas Day approached? Of course, I always hoped that there would be some orange and blue boxes of Lionel Trains under the tree. Just so, the Church takes the four Sundays before December 25 to prepare for, to look forward to, to yearn for the annual celebration of the birth of Our Lord.
In many places the Christian Church yields to the secular calendar by starting to sing the hymns and carols of Christmas in early December. Lost to them is the period of preparation and patient waiting that is this holy season of Advent. Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church has a long-standing tradition of observing Advent. One of the ways we do this is by singing the magnificent hymns of the season in the Presbyterian Hymnal, #s 1 through 20. Then, when Christmas Eve finally does arrive we have not been over-saturated with its beloved songs.
Furthermore, Christmas is a 12-day season in the church year going straight through to Epiphany, January 6. Christmas carols we shall indeed sing at the 5 pm Carol Sing and the 11 pm Candlelight Communion Service on the 24th, and at the 11:15 am Service of Lessons and Carols on December 25, and at the Sunday services on the 29th and January 5.
Join us as we keep the spirit of Advent and as we celebrate the Incarnation with unbridled joy and thankfulness.
— John Weaver
The text is from a Word in Action delivered by Ken
Thompson
during the worship services on November 10.
When Jane and I received our pledge request, we discussed what the church meant to us during the past year. We especially remember all the support provided during and after the horrific events associated with the World Trade Center disaster. When Jane called MAPC on the morning of September 11 and told the pastors that I was in One World Trade Center, and she feared for my life, MAPC quickly dispatched Debbie Kirkham, our neighbor and church family member, to stay with Jane till news of my fate had been established. The church also opened its doors on that fateful day to support the needs of the community and the mass of humanity streaming up Madison Avenue. MAPC, staffed by members of the congregation, provided everything from cups of water to psychological support and kept the sanctuary open for all who needed the solace found in this holy place. Special psychological and grief support sessions were held at MAPC to help many individuals through the trauma generated by this mindless act of terror.
This spring the church was there again for Jane and me, when I had spinal surgery. Shortly after returning to my hospital room from Intensive Care, the pastors were at my bedside.
Jane and I have personally witnessed the support this church not only provides its members but gives to the community and the world through its mission activities. We have gratefully pledged our financial and personal support to continue and expand Christ’s work at MAPC.
Please think about what this church means to you when you are considering your pledge, and be generous with your gifts.
After the success of Pledge Dedication Sunday and the “Leap of Faith” Stewardship campaign for 2003, the Stewardship Committee thought that members of the congregation would appreciate knowing that MAPC provides:
The success of these programs and many others are due in part to your generous stewardship pledges of past years and your sustained generosity for the coming year. Thank you for your faithfulness!
On Saturday, December 14, from noon to 2 pm, MAPC will again host its annual Angel Tree Christmas party. For those of you who have not previously been involved in this event, it is a time of fun and celebration with children of an incarcerated parent as well as those youngsters who participate in our LEAP program. At the party, our guests and volunteers will join in making crafts, singing carols and hearing the Christmas story. Each child invited to the event will receive two gifts (one toy or book and one article of clothing) in the name of their parent in prison. In addition, MAPC provides gifts for another 75 children to the Gethsemane Church in Brooklyn, long supported by our Outreach program.
There are a number of ways you can help bring a special Christmas to these children:
Please call Dawn Ravella, Director of Outreach Ministries, if you can help with any of these tasks. Finally, we can all contribute to the 338 gifts needed for these children this year, by picking up an “angel” listing the child’s name, age and gift item, in the church lobby on Sunday, December 1. Gifts should be wrapped and returned by December 8. Give yourself this gift of giving this Christmas.
Interested in learning more about the Christian faith in general, the Presbyterian Church, or MAPC in particular? Have you been thinking about making MAPC your church home?
We will address all these questions and more at the next Inquirers Seminar, so plan on joining in! It will meet over these two Sundays in the Phillips Lounge, starting around 1 pm (after the 11:15am worship service), and concluding around 4:30 pm both weeks. Lunch will be provided. It is a unified seminar broken out over two weeks, so plan to attend both sessions. 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 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)
Please join us for the Seniors’ Ministries Christmas luncheon on December 9, 2002. In addition to food and fellowship, John Weaver will lead us in singing carols and Beverly Bartlett will do a dramatic reading of a Christmas story. Reservations are required, and the cost of the luncheon is $5. Also, please bring a can of yams, gravy or vegetables or a box of stuffing for the Yorkville Common Pantry to help those in our upper Eastside neighborhood who are struggling to feed themselves and their families. To make reservations, please call Margaret Williamson by Monday December 2 at 288-8920, ext. 271.
Our next Families with Young Children (ages 5 and under) gathering will be Saturday, December 7 from 10 till Noon, either on the Roofgarden or in the gym, depending upon the air temperature. We will have a Christmas party with a light breakfast, Christmas music and stories. Each child is asked to bring a small gift to exchange with another child (please don’t spend more than $10). Also, please bring a can of yams, gravy or vegetables or a box of stuffing for the Yorkville Common Pantry. These gatherings provide parents and young children who are part of the MAPC family a chance to talk, play, and get to know one another. Please let Margaret Williamson know if you will be joining us. You can reach Margaret at (212) 288-8920, ext. 271 or mew@mapc.com.
*MAPC Member
If you wish to contribute to the Christmas decorations, please make your check payable to MAPC and send it, with the memorial, to the Chairman of the Chancel Committee, Mrs. Allen T. Hazen, 460 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10027; or telephone her at (212) 666-0563. The deadline for listing the memorials in the Service bulletins is Sunday, December 15.
Also, see: