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
The 2005 winner of the David H.C. Read Preacher/Scholar Award is Y. Hui
Chen, who will receive a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological
Seminary, Princeton, NJ, on May 14.
This $10,000 award honoring its former Pastor, the Rev. Dr. David H.C. Read,
is given annually by Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (MAPC) to a student
in the final year of a Master of Divinity degree program who demonstrates
special distinction in both preaching and biblical scholarship and is committed
to the parish pulpit ministry. The intent is to help the winners to continue
furthering their strengths as preacher/scholars after they leave seminary.
The
2005 winner was selected from 29 candidates nominated by 19 Protestant theological
schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. The other finalists, each of whom
received a $500 award, were Katie Bywaters Cummings of Austin Theological
Seminary, Austin, TX; and William Joseph Hutto of Duke University Divinity
School in Durham, NC.
Ms. Chen will preach at MAPC on Sunday, June 12
at the 10:30 am and 7:30 pm services.
“A creative and diligent student whose sermons are biblically based,
theologically sound and address issues that will pertain to the everyday
life of the faith of her listeners, Hui Chen is one of the most outstanding
students I have known in my years at Princeton Seminary,” Dr. Nancy
J. Duff, Stephen Colwell Professor of Christian Ethics at Princeton Theological
Seminary, wrote in her letter of recommendation. “I would covet having
her on staff at the church I attend…”
“Ms. Chen is exactly the type of person for whom this award must have
been created,” wrote Dr. Brian K. Blount, Professor of New Testament
at Princeton Theological Seminary. “It is obviously rare when one
can find a student whose work is so strong that it can be used as a teaching
model.” Dr. Blount notes that Ms. Chen’s contributions to his
classes regularly fall into that category. In commenting on her work in
a course on “The Revelation to John” Dr. Blount wrote: “The
sermon she produced indicates to me that she knows how to connect exegesis
to sermon and she knows very well how to produce a sermon that will come
to prophetic and pastoral life in the midst of a listening congregation.
As was the case with her exegesis paper, her sermon was the finest produced
in the Revelation class.”
Ms. Chen was born in Taiwan, the grand-daughter of one of Taiwan’s
first women ministers. At age 14, she came to study in the U.S. at the Pennington
School in New Jersey. Thereafter, she received a B.A. in Social Science
at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with High Honors,
followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles,
School of Law. From 1991 through 1994, Ms. Chen was with the United States
Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, serving as
a consultant to the Russian Government on legal reform and criminal justice
issues. From 1995 through 1997 she was Assistant United States Attorney
in Brooklyn, New York serving as a federal criminal prosecutor of terrorism,
fraud and narcotics cases. Thereafter, she became Counsel for Microsoft
Corporation as regional Counsel for US East Region and Regional Counsel
for Central & Eastern Europe. In October of 2001, she became a volunteer
attorney for the Family Assistance Center for 9-11 Victims in New York City.
She wrote, “On my way to work on the morning of September 11, 2001,
I saw the huge billows of smoke rising from the World Trade Center. As soon
as I learned of what had happened, my first reaction was to get to the church
to pray with people. This reaction surprised me: as a former terrorism prosecutor,
I would have thought I would want to be back in the prosecutor’s seat
to prosecute the terrorists. Instead, I only wanted to be there as an instrument
of God’s love and comfort for those who were hurting.” She concluded,
“I believe it is into the midst of people’s struggles of life
and faith that God has called me to follow Christ. God has given me gifts—experiences,
curiosities, learning, and passion—that equip me for the caring, preaching
and teaching ministries of the church.”
The David H.C. Read Preacher/Scholar Award was established
by the congregation of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, NYC, to honor
the Rev. Dr. David Haxton Carswell Read, an internationally-renowned preacher,
scholar, author and ecumenist, upon his retirement at the end of 1989 after
serving for 34 years as the church’s Pastor. Dr. Read died on January
7, 2001.
Candidates nominated by the seminaries are judged on the basis of their
seminary record, biographical statement, recommendations by two professors,
audio tapes of sermons on Old and New Testament texts and brief exegetical
papers in support of each sermon. A seminary can nominate no more than two
candidates in a given year.
The materials submitted by all the candidates are first reviewed by a committee
of MAPC members that selects up to four finalists for evaluation by a panel
of distinguished preacher/scholars. In addition to The Rev. Dr. Fred R.
Anderson, the panel for the 2005 award consisted of The Rev. Dr. Amandus
Derr, Pastor, Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church, NYC; The Rev. Laura R.
Jervis, Executive Director, West Side Federation of Senior Housing Inc.,
NYC; The Rev. Michael Lindvall, Pastor, Brick Presbyterian Church; The Rev.
Dr. Heidi B. Neumark, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan; The
Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Tewell, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church; and The Rev.
Dr. Jon Walton, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of New York City.
Madeleine Morris, Chair, Larry Carr, Edward Davis, Curtis Field, Ann & John McChord, Anne Mochizuki, Bill Patterson, Alice Porter, Kathleen Ricketts, Gordon Robbins, Mary Anne Schwalbe, Sharon Swenson.
We invite all—members and friends from far and near—to join us on Sunday, May 22, when we recognize and thank John and Marianne Weaver for their 35 years of ministry and devotion to our community of faith.
Worship Service – 11:15 am
Dedicated to God’s glory and filled with music composed by John.
Celebratory Brunch in the Parish Hall immediately following
the service at a cost of $10 per person.
Concert – 3 pm (details below)
Farewell Reception in the Parish Hall following the concert.
This will be a time to share memories, laughs, and a few presentations,
express our thanks and say our good-byes. We look forward to seeing you.
The Reverend Dr. Fred R. Anderson, Pastor
| Sunday, May
22, 2005 at
3 pm Sarah Pillow, Soprano St. Andrew Chorale and Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church |
The Seniors Unlimited program will host a bus trip to the beautiful Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island on June 13. The estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the former country estate of financier and sportsman John S. Phipps and his wife Margarita Grace Phipps. Built in 1906, Westbury House is a magnificent Charles II style mansion furnished with fine English antiques and decorative arts. It is nestled amid 160 acres of formal gardens, tree-lined walks, woodlands, lakes, ponds, statuary and grand allées. The bus will leave MAPC at 9 am and return at approximately 5 pm. We will have a guided tour of the house and gardens followed by lunch at the “Café in the Wood” located in the gardens. Space is limited, and reservations are necessary. Call Margaret Williamson at 212-288-8920, x 271 for more information. The cost is $30 and includes the bus, lunch and admission to the gardens.
Please join us at our final gathering of the season for
families with children ages 5 and under. Whether your child is an infant,
toddler or pre-schooler, Families with Young Children provides an opportunity
to get to know other families in the MAPC community. We’ll have toys
to play with, the Roof Garden to enjoy, a craft activity and a story or
two. If your child is too young to run around and play, please come anyway
and enjoy conversation with other parents.
A light breakfast of bagels and fruit, coffee, juice and kids’ snacks
will be available. Please let us know if you’re coming by calling
Margaret Williamson at the church office, 212-288-8920, x271, or e-mail
mew@mapc.com.
The Mid-Timers will enjoy a special night at the movies on Friday, May 20, at 6 pm in the Parish Hall. Academy award-winning director and screenwriter (and good friend of MAPC) Robert Benton will join us to discuss his film Places in the Heart. We’ll begin the evening by watching the movie at 6 pm, with popcorn and beverages available. Afterwards we’ll have dinner and a discussion with Mr. Benton. RSVP to Margaret Williamson at 212-288-8920, x271 or email mew@mapc.com.
We have a wonderful world of books available in the Hood
Library right here at MAPC. If you’ve yet to discover this treasure,
it is just off the Church House Lobby, before you get to the elevators.
The Hood Library has a collection of fiction and non-fiction, including
biography, current affairs and books on religion and faith.
New acquisitions are made every month, some best sellers; all are selected
at the monthly meeting of the Hood Library Committee. The committee also
welcomes your suggestions for books–just drop into the library on
a Sunday morning, or put your suggestion in the box on the library windowsill
during the week.
The Hood Library is open every Sunday morning from September through June.
Look for the little red cart at the Hospitality Hour after worship. It will
be loaded with recent acquisitions, and there are many more books for borrowing
inside the library.
During the month of June, you may borrow up to four books to keep over the
summer. They are not due until September, so come browse and find your summer
reading!
Also, in late June, a new publication of Dr. David H.C. Read’s autobiography
is due off the press. It will combine books covering three periods of his
life, the originally published This Grace Given and Grace Thus Far and the
third book, which covers his years of retirement. The new title is “God
Was in the Laughter” and it will be available for sale for
$20 in the Hood Library.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...”
The East Side Congregations for Housing Justice, proudly
sponsored by MAPC, would like you to know that their next general meeting
is on May 24, at 6:30 pm, at St. James’ Church (71st
Street and Madison Avenue). Please come and be involved in this vital mission.
One of the important topics to be discussed that night will be preparation
for the upcoming Mayoral Candidates Forum on Homelessness and Housing.
The Mayoral Candidates Forum on Homelessness and Housing
will take place on Thursday, June 30, 6:30-9 pm at St.
Paul’s Chapel, Broadway and Fulton Street. The forum is sponsored
by the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (also sponsored by
MAPC!) in partnership with Housing Here and Now, Habitat for Humanity and
other groups. At the meeting, New York’s faith leaders and advocacy
experts will discuss key homelessness and affordable housing policies with
those seeking New York City’s highest elected office. This represents
an extraordinary opportunity to inform the perspective—and affect
the agenda—of whoever becomes our mayor! Please come and let your
voice be heard. By subway: take the #2 or #3 to Park Place, or the #6 to
City Hall and walk across the Park.
The Mayoral Forum is part of the 21st Annual Interfaith Convocation and
Overnight City Budget Vigil for Housing Justice, in conjunction with Building
the Blessed City Together (yet another focus of MAPC support!). The forum
will be followed by an overnight vigil in City Hall Park that you are welcomed
and encouraged to join.
For further information, you may contact the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing 212-316-3171, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, NY, NY, 10025. E-mail: iahhnyc@cs.com, Website: www.iahh.org. For policy and event updates, go to www.housinghereandnow.org.
Parish RegisterBaptisms Jason Theodore Roberts, son
of New Members Bill Burg Death Rakia Hatch (Mrs. Richard
L.) |
Our last Inquirers Seminar before next fall is on Saturday, June 11 in the Philips Lounge. A light breakfast is available starting at 8:30 am; the Seminar itself begins promptly at 9 am and concludes around 4 pm. Dress is casual, and lunch will be provided. If you are interested in attending or have any questions, please call the Rev. J.C. Austin at the church office: 288-8920, x242, e-mail: jca@mapc.com. Professional child care is available but needs to be arranged in advance by calling Bill Philip at the church office (288-8920, x241).
Also, see:
Charles Gounod
Camille
Saint-Saëns