Advent Potluck & Craft Night

We had a great time on Sunday eating Thanksgiving leftovers and making Christmas tree ornaments to give away when we go caroling.  Many thanks to Mary Hallam who organized the craft and Susan Hospodka for being the decollage queen.

Check out the slide show of some of the ornaments and join us for caroling on December 15 as we give them away.

Your Moment of Thanksgiving Cuteness

Last Thursday the kids in Little Blessings Christian Preschool had a special Thanksgiving snack and shared this Thanksgiving song.

Bowery Mission Women's Center Gift Drive

CPC's Presbyterian Women are sponsoring a gift drive for the women of The Bowery Mission Women's Center in New York City.  The gifts will go toward helping homeless women rebuild their lives.

Guidelines:

• Any and all sizes are welcome.  Gifts that do not suit women currently in the center will be stored and shared later.
• Do not wrap.
• Items should be in the church, under the Christmas tree, by Sunday, December 15.

The Items:

Watches

Journals

Rain Boots

Pajamas, robes

Slippers

Gloves & scarves

Carrier book bags

Purses, wallets

Toiletry items

Lotions/Body Washes

Make-up

Jewelry

Picture frames

Pocket calendars

Appointment books

New Living Translation hardcover Bibles

Devotional books

Gift Cards (Walgreens, Payless, JC Penny, Starbucks, etc.)

Water bottles

Travel mugs

Sweaters & sweatshirts

Socks/pantyhose

Stationary & stamps

Resume/document folios

Pen & pencil sets

Personal CD players w/ Earphones

Rain boots

2013 Advent / Christmas Schedule

Here is everything that is going on at CPC this Advent/Christmas Season!

First week of Advent

Sunday, December 1 (First Sunday of Advent)

9:45 – 12:00            Worship & church school

             5:30 – 8:00              Family Advent kick-off (Pot Luck Dinner, Family Advent activity, church decoration & evening worship)

Second week of Advent

Saturday, December 7

9:00 am – 4:00 pm       Done in a Day Hurricane Sandy Relief @ First Presbyterian, Freeport

5:00 – 9:00 pm        Lighting of Malverne table w/ hot cider & cookies

Sunday, December 8 (2^nd Sunday of Advent)

9:45 – 11:00       Worship & church school; Decorating of Sanctuary after church

Third Week of Advent

Sunday, December 15 (3^rd Sunday of Advent)

9:45 am       Worship & Church School, Decorating of Christmas Tree, Dedication of Gifts for the Bowery Mission Women’s Center

11:00 am       Presbyterian Women Cookie Walk

4:00 pm       Pre-caroling simple supper

4:45 pm       Christmas Caroling

Thursday, December 19

11:00 am       Little Blessings Preschool Christmas Party

 Saturday, December 21

10:00 – 12:00             Christmas pageant rehearsal

Fourth Week of Advent

Sunday, December 22 (4^th Sunday of Advent)

9:45 am       Worship, Christmas Pageant

11:00 am       Birthday Party for Jesus

Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)

4:00 pm            Family Service w/ Communion

11:00 pm            Service of lessons and carols

2013 Quilt - Sneak Preview

Here's a sneak preview of this year's quilt, made by the Malverne Piecemakers.  Come to the church fair on November 9 to buy a chance to win it.

Crop Walk 2013

About 16 walkers from CPC joined up with other Nassau County churches for the annual Crop Walk in Baldwin Park, helping raise money for Church World Service and the Long Island Council of Churches Food Pantry.  We started out with a lunch provided by Nassau Joint Ministry and then hit the trail.  Here are some picts from along the way.

Christian? Married (or thinking about it?) So What?

A six week discussion on spirituality and relationships

Starts Tuesday, October 15
6:30 pm - 8:00
Includes simple supper
Child care available
Individuals and couples of all orientations welcome

To register: cpcmalverne@optonline.net or (516) 599-3220. 

Marriage is one of the bedrock institutions of our church, deeply rooted in our faith.  Most of us were married by a clergy person "before God," frequently in a church.  For those married in the Catholic church, they experienced marriage as a sacrament: an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.  Despite this, we rarely think about what makes Christian marriage different from just marriage in general.  And, in a time when public perceptions about marriage are radically shifting, we rarely pause to consider what marriage means as we debate who should be married.

Over six weeks, guided by scripture, a common marriage liturgy and our personal experience we will seek to go beyond the culture wars and explore the gift of marriage, for our own lives and for society as a whole.

Culture War Neutral Zone:
This discussion will strive to be a safe place for individuals of all persuasions and orientations.  The nature of marriage and the role of marriage is much debated in our society today.  While it is likely that debate will enter into our discussion, it is not the role of this discussion to definitively define "Christian marriage" and enforce that definition on others.

Celebrating Hope Worship Service

We had a great outdoor service last Sunday.  Here are some pictures courtesy of Shel.

A fountain made from the church's sewer pipe.

Making a chain of hope.

Special service of renewal and restoration

Sewer Line Repairs Completed

Last Friday a crew came in with a back hoe and dug up the front lawn to fix our sewer pipe.  Here's a picture of the hole. (The big round thing is the church oil tank.)  Many thanks to Don Neugebauer for keeping on this vexing problem and getting the bathrooms back in service for the start of Preschool and our fall schedule.  Also thanks to everyone who's contributed to the building fund recently enabling us to make this repair.

Summer Sermon Series: The Apostles

During his earthly ministry Jesus identified twelve key men who would be recognized as first among his followers.  From Matthew 10:1-4:

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.  These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Others would also emerge as leaders, both during Jesus' earthly ministry and in the early Christian community: Mary Madgaline; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas; Stephen, the first deacon; James, the brother of Jesus; and Paul.

This summer we're doing a sermon series on the Apostles: who they were, what happened to them and what lessons we can draw from their lives today.  Click on the links below to read the sermons.

July 7: Judas
July 14: Peter
July 21:Matthew
July 28: Andrew
August 4: James, James & James
August 21: Mary Magdalene (A version of the August 25 sermon preached at The Bowery Mission chapel)
August 25: Mary Magdalene
September 1: Paul

Food Drive a Huge Success

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to our annual community-wide food drive.  Thanks also to the many church folks who put out fliers, picked up food from their neighbors and volunteered to run the collection station and sell clothes for our clothing sale.

Its Food Drive Time

On June 2 CPC kicked off its annual Community Wide Food Drive and we'll be collecting on Saturday, June 8th.  If you got a notice on your door, just leave a bag of food on your steps and we'll pick it up.  If you didn't, bring food by the church between 9 and 3 on Saturday.  All donated food will go to the Long Island Council of Churches Feeding Center in Freeport.  Every month as many as 1,300 families depend on the Freeport Feeding Center to keep healthy food on their table.

Here's an example: One familiy - a husband and wife and three kids.  The parents are in their early 40's.  The kids range in age from eight to twelve.  The wife lost her job.  The husband is a school janitor and receives no pay over the summer.  The family is not eligible for food stamps because their annual income is just over the $35,000 threshold.  Even if they were, they would receive less than $800/month - not nearly enough to feed their entire household. 

All types of non-perishable food are welcome.  Especially welcome are basics such as pasta, sauce, rice, beans, tuna, peanut butter, etc.  Low sodium food are also helpful, as are foods appropriate for Hispanic or Caribbean diets.

Community Presbyterian will also accept money to give to the food pantry or you can give directly at www.liccdonate.org.

Your Minute of Cuteness

Every year Little Blessings Preschool raises caterpillars and watches them become butterflies.  Here the kids are releasing a reluctant new friend.

Holy Week Schedule

Here's the schedule for Holy Week 2013

Palm Sunday - March 24
8:30 am - Breakfast
9:40 am - Parade of Palms
9:45 am - Worship with special music by the Little Blessings Singers

Bowery Mission Trip - March 27
Spend the day at The Bowery Mission, helping make lunch, lead worship and do whatever else needs to be done.  Contact the church office to register.

Maundy Thursday - March 28 @ 4:00
Foot washing & communion

Good Friday - March 29 @ 7:30
A Tennebrae reading of the passion

Easter - March 31
6:30 am - Sunrise Service @ Jones Beach #6
9:45 am - Resurrection Celebration with special music by the CPC Sunday School, Adult Choir and others.

Hurricane Sandy Workday

On Saturday, March 2, CPC members joined with the Presbytery of Long Island for a work day helping homeowners in East Rockaway and Freeport.  By the end of the morning we were tired, dirty and had helped two of our neighbors get one step closer to recovery.

10,360 Food Items!

This year's Souper Bowl Food Drive yielded over 10,000 food items collected by 10 churches.  CPC did their fair share by collecting almost 2,000 food items, making us this year's winner.  Check out the score card below along with a picture of our crew delivering the food to the Long Island Council of Churches Food Pantry in Freeport.

Tuesday Night Lenten Series - The Practices That Transform Us

Here are the details for this year's Tuesday Night Lenten Series

Topic: The Practices That Transform Us
Book: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
Schedule: 6:45 - 8:30; includes simple supper

Dates, locations and themes

February 19 - Malverne - The Practice of Worship
February 26 - Freeport - The Practice of Opening One's Self To God
March 5 - Massapequa - The Practice of Avoiding False Gods
March 12 - Baldwin - The Practice of Sharing One's Life
March 19 - Garden City - The Practice of Making Present the Love of Christ

Spiritual Practice 1 - Breath Prayer

During Lent 2013 we're going to be focusing on simple spiritual practices that have the potential to transform our lives and our relationship with God.  Each week we'll be introducing a simple spiritual practice in worship and posting it to the blog.

Breath Prayer
Prayer is the most basic of spiritual practices and breath prayer is one of the oldest tools for prayer.  Breath prayers can be powerful centering devices as well as a way to feel the calming reassurance of God in difficult and stressful situations.

The prayer is very simple.  Slow down your breathing.  As you breathe in, say to yourself a name of God.  As you breathe out, say to your self a need or request you want God to address.  The graphic below has some ancient breath prayers, but you are free to identify your own names for God and add your own requests.

Its Souper Bowl Time!

Once again CPC has accepted the challenge from Middle Island Presbyterian Church as to who can collect the most canned goods for the Long Island Council of Churches Food Pantry during the month of February.  This year seven other churches joined us.  Already the combined churches have collected almost 5,000 food items, and the month isn't over.

Below is a chart as to how CPC is doing.  We won last year, but we're currently in fifth place!  Invite your neighbors, your friends, your family, even colleagues at work, to join in helping Long Island's hungry families.

Christmas Pageant 2012

We had a wonderful Christmas pageant this year complete with several firsts including inclusion of children from the Little Blessings Christian Preschool and the inclusion of adults in most of the major roles.  Check out the slide show below.