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
Here is a small language tip if you ever find yourself in Zambia’s Copper Belt: learn the word Mukwai (Moo-k-why). If you know this word you will be able to understand at least half of everything everyone says to you. It is used several times in every sentence. Loosely translated, it means “yes” or “thank you” or “absolutely” or “you are right” or “really?” or “I respect you” etc, etc, etc. I have a list of phrases in Bimba I am trying to learn. I’ve got the important ones so far: I’m hungry, I’m tired, and Mukwai.
I arrived at the Ndola airport, in North-central Zambia, on Monday morning (literally the most modest airport I have ever seen), and it has been an emotional roller coaster all week! I admit that I likely resembled a deer-in-headlights for the first few days, but with each day that passes I grow more and more comfortable with this new, lovely place, and I have no doubt that an incredible year awaits. I will not write an overly lengthy update, but let me offer a few observations...
The poverty is overwhelming. I did not have the imagination for this place. Despite the fact that I have seen countless images of Africa, nothing could have prepared me for the lifestyle of those communities I have encountered thus far. Women sell coal on the roadside (for cooking and keeping warm at night), boys sell toys made out of tin wire and fly kites made of plastic grocery sacks, and carpenters sell goods on the roadside made from trees they pull down and plane in thatch-roofed huts that smell of chemical stain and sweet wood. I have met wonderfully hospitable people and there are certainly many glimmers of hope, but this is a broken, broken place. 1 of 5 people has AIDS here in Kitwe where I live, and the national average is 1 in 3.
I feel privileged to spend the next year here, but I know that this education will be a tough one. I have already met wonderful people (my next door neighbor is a lovely, if not eccentric, British woman whom I will certainly enjoy this year – she had us over for dinner last night). I bathe in a bathtub with a bit of an ant problem which is gross and hilarious, but I believe I will learn a completely new perspective on “clean.” When I bathe or wash my face I have to keep my mouth tightly closed (because of the parasites in the water – I boil everything I drink). And you may be interested in knowing that I have already hired my first “employee” (this is expected here – If you can afford to pay someone for a job, it is selfish of you if you don’t). I hired a boy named Anthony, who is 13 and will come and sweep my porches and do some yardwork on Saturday mornings for 10,000 kwatcha every week ($2 U.S.).
My apartment is outfitted quite well (with loads of bug spray on hand), although I was disappointed to observe that most household goods are incredibly expensive here (they are imported – cheap, cheap goods from China – which is devastating the local economy). Today I dropped off JC Austin at the airport, and on the way home from the airport we stopped at a beautiful banana farm that pays for (amongst a few other small businesses) a Methodist seminary and provides jobs for widowed women (they sell the bananas at local markets and split the profit with the farm).
I leave tomorrow morning for a 2-week “business trip” to teach some “refresher courses” with two of my new colleagues. I love that I am teaching “refresher courses,” in that I have never taught nor experienced the initial courses. I’ve been trying to familiarize myself with the curriculum over the past couple of days, but I have a feeling that I will not be able to gauge the material until I am actually in the classroom setting. I’ve decided that everything about these first few months will be one big, educational crash course.
Over the weekend I attended a kitchen party: picture 75 women – many with little babies slung on their backs gathered to sing, share lessons about marriage, and dance for a beautiful bride-to-be. The woman sitting next to me explained much of what was going on (all traditional stories and enactments). The bride entered the room crawling on her hands and knees and was completely covered in colorful fabric while her sisters and aunties danced around her. Every few steps she would prostrate herself as a sign of respect to those women who have been teaching her about marriage over the last year (very traditional lessons – how to keep your husband at home, how to chase off temptresses, how to prepare good meals, a clean home, etc.). As the only white woman in the place the women around me were eager for me to dance, so I wrapped a chitenge (traditional African fabric) around my waist and went for it. The whole thing was hysterical (and wonderful).
By the way, EVERYTHING is different here – the peanut butter tastes new, the songs of the birds are completely different from any I have heard before, I have come to love the family of lizards that lives in an upper cupboard in my living room (they eat the bugs that get into the house), even the hymns at church are extraordinarily new (and yes, I must say, the singing is superior to most of the singing I have heard in churches in the U.S.).
Every day I learn more about Zambian culture and politics. There is hope and despair all around, and what a privilege to be here!
Thanks for your love, support, and prayers.
Carmen
MAPC’s Saint Andrew Music Society begins its 42nd season of concerts on Sunday, September 30 with a concert featuring our Director of Music & Organist in recital with a program called “Music for the Dance.” Andrew Henderson has put together a collection of inventive works from across the centuries inspired by various dance forms, including two scintillating contemporary works: Calvin Hampton’s Five Dances and Canadian composer Barrie Cabena’s And the Dance Goes On …, as well as pieces by William Byrd, Dieterich Buxtehude, Joseph Haydn and Petr Eben. Copies of the full-season flyer, outlining 25 Sunday afternoon concerts and 3 Wednesday evening events, are available in the narthex and Church House lobby as well as on the church’s web site.
From October 7 through November 4 the Saint Andrew Music Society’s Sunday afternoon concert series will present artists and ensembles performing a wide range of music from the medieval to the classical eras, coinciding with the city-wide “New York Early Music Celebration.”
October 7 at 3 pm: Jolle Greenleaf, soprano, with Hank Heijink, theorbo, & Christian Lane, organ. Sacred and secular songs from France and England, with works by Campra, Charpentier, of Purcell, and the world premiere of Nicholas White’s song cycle for soprano and organ From Earth to Heaven, six settings of Middle English lyrics.
October 14 at 3 pm: Bacchanalia Baroque Ensemble: “Der getreuer Musikmeister.” A concert of comical, serious, and adventurous music by the irrepressible Telemann, the little known Mattheson, and the ever popular Handel, including cantatas, vocal pieces, and works for flute, violin, and continuo.
October 21 at 3 pm: Elizabeth Baber, soprano; Charles Weaver, lute/guitar. “À la mode espagnole.” Exquisite airs de cour alongside Spanish-style airs and dances that betray the influence of popular music on the French courtly sphere.
October 28 at 3 pm: Galileo’s Daughters: “An Italian in Vienna.” 17th-Century vocal works by composers at the Imperial Chapel, featuring MAPC’s professional octet sopranos, Sarah Pillow and Katherine Wessinger!
November 4 at 3 pm: Duo Marchand (Marcia Young, soprano/Renaissance harp; Andy Rutherford, lute): “Courtly Pastimes: Music for Renaissance Royals.” Music of fashion at the court of Elizabeth and other 17th-Century monarchs.
October 7
Kindle the Gift of God - Gerre Hancock
Super Flumina Babylonis - GP da Palestrina
October 14
Jubilate Deo - Seth Bingham
Duet: Christ Rising - William Byrd
October 21
Solo: If With all Your Hearts
(from Elijah) - Felix Mendelssohn
Go Forth Into the World - John Rutter
October 28
Children’s Choir: All Things Bright
and Beautiful - John Rutter
The Pharisee and the Publican - Heinrich Schütz
Thou Visitest the Earth - Maurice Greene
This year’s Peacemaking Offering theme is taken from a verse in the book of Revelation. The verse is part of a larger description of John’s vision of the new Jerusalem. One of the images John uses is the tree of life, with its twelve kinds of fruit and leaves that are to be used for the healing of all the nations of the world. It is an image of a world at peace, with enough for everyone to eat and the “medicine” to heal all the wounds and illnesses of humankind.
We live in the hope of that vision of peace and well-being expressed so vividly in the tree of life. The Peacemaking Offering is a tool of our efforts to live and work within that hope. You are invited to be a part of the work for peace in our world and to participate in the Peacemaking Offering as one way to work toward peace.
25 percent of this offering will be used by synods and presbyteries, 50 percent will be used by the General Assembly ministries through the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the final 25 percent will be designated by session at the recommendation of Outreach Committee to a favorite peacemaking effort that is still to be determined. Thank you for your efforts to support Peacemaking.
During the 11:15 am worship service, we will recognize those who have been members of MAPC for 50 years or more, some of whom will travel quite a ways to be here. After the service, the Ministry Celebration will continue in the Parish Hall and the shelter space in the basement of the Church House. Come enjoy a time of fellowship over lunch with those who have been away for summer weekends. Enjoy hearing the stories of those who joined this church half a century or more ago. See the renovations that have taken place in the Parish Hall and the shelter spaces. And celebrate the wide variety of programs, ministries and service opportunities that are available here at MAPC!
The Hood Library is open again for the fall. We look forward to this new season with many new books. Your donations of paperback and hard-cover books are welcome. Later this fall the library will begin operating on the honor system, which means that it will be open each day, and you can borrow books whenever you are in the building. Please help us ensure that this system will be a success by signing out your books and returning them! The Hood Library has many excellent, current books on a wide variety of subjects. Come check them out!
Have you been thinking about making MAPC your church home? Are you interested in learning more about the Christian faith in general, the Presbyterian Church, or MAPC in particular? These are all good reasons for attending our next Inquirers Seminar, which begins on Sunday, September 23, when we will address all those questions and more. This Seminar will meet for four one-hour sessions over these four consecutive Sundays; it begins promptly at 10 am so that we can finish by 11 am. Professional child care is available in the Church Nursery on the Fourth Floor, but please allow time for you to drop your child off before the seminar begins. If you have questions or concerns in general, please contact the Rev. J.C. Austin at the church office (212-288-8920 x242 or jca@mapc.com). He will be pleased to speak with you about the seminars, childcare, or other questions you might have about membership or the church. We hope you will join us!
There will be a Healing and Wholeness worship service on Wednesday, October 3 at 6 pm in the Dana Chapel. Jessica Patchett Anderson will be preaching. This service includes the celebration of the Lords’ Supper and anointing with oil for those who wish to come forward to ask for prayers of healing for themselves or others.
Wednesday, September 19, 8 - 8:30 am, Parents’ Prayer Group meets in the Phillips Lounge. Parents of teens and young adults are invited to attend this group that meets for a half hour every other Wednesday morning. Participants reflect together on a scripture passage, share prayer concerns and pray together. The group provides valuable support to one another as they parent their children through these challenging years.
Sunday, September 30, 1 - 2:30 pm, 20s/30s. Watch for program details in the weekly Pastors’ Letter and Sunday bulletin announcements.
Monday, October 1, 3 - 4:30 pm, Seniors Unlimited will meet in the Parish Hall. Our guest will be Joan Kanel Slomanson, author of When Everybody Ate at Schrafft’s: Memories, Pictures and Recipes from a Very Special Restaurant Empire. Come enjoy hearing stories from the era when more than 50 Schrafft’s stores dotted the New York City area. Ms. Slomanson’s book includes photos, history, anecdotes and recipes from Schrafft’s. Joan Kanel Slomanson is a history buff, an accomplished cook, and a former creative director of an advertising agency, and she has helped develop restaurants in several cities. A time of refreshments and conversation will follow. Please come and bring a friend! RSVP to Arabel Bello, 212-288-8920 x245, e-mail: aeb@mapc.com.
Sunday, October 7, 1 - 2:30 pm, 20s/30s will meet.
Tuesday, October 9, 6:30 - 8 pm, Evening Knitters Group in the Hood Library. This group is open to all knitters and crocheters, whether you’re a novice or an expert. Come enjoy fellowship and bring a project you’re working on for yourself or for one of the agencies supported by our Outreach Ministries. In the past, knitters have made scarves and hats for those who are homeless and baby items for the mothers and babies at Inwood House.
Wednesday, October 10, 8 - 8:30 am, Parents’ Prayer Group meets in the Phillips Lounge.
Saturday, October 13, 10 to noon, Families with Young Children will meet in the Roof Garden (or on the Fifth Floor if the weather is inclement). We’ll have our annual Halloween party, and children are encouraged to wear costumes. Families with children ages birth to five (and older siblings) are welcome. We’re adding something new this year–at 11:15 Mary Huff, our Associate Director of Music, will lead a brief music time, and if attention spans allow, we’ll follow that with a story. These monthly gatherings are a great opportunity to get to know other families in the church community. Come play, talk, and laugh. Bagels, fruit, and beverages will be provided. It’s helpful for us to know that you’re coming, so we can be sure there is plenty of food. RSVP to Arabel Bello at the church offices, 212-288-8920 x 245, or aeb@mapc.com . But please come even if it’s a last minute decision!
Tuesday, October 16, 10:30 am - noon, Morning Knitters group meets in the Hood Library. (See above for further information.)
Wednesday, October 17, 8 - 8:30 am, Parents’ Prayer Group meets in the Phillips Lounge.
Friday, October 26, 6 - 9 pm, Church Family Night in the Parish Hall. Come enjoy an inter-generational evening of fellowship for the church family. Children (and grown-ups) are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. We’ll have dinner, show a movie, and enjoy conversation. RSVP to Arabel Bello at the church offices, 212-288-8920 x245, or via email at aeb@mapc.com. The cost for the evening is $15, and children under 12 can come for free.
Parish RegisterDeaths *Robert Drechsler Weddings *Larry Dean Carr and Kathleen Belosic (*MAPC Member) |
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