Picnic Announced

The church picnic is re-scheduled for Saturday, August 26 at the same location we were scheduled to visit on June 3. Hopefully, this time we will have good weather.

Welcome!

Nathaniel David Tom was born to Paul and Suelynn Tom on June 16, 2006 at 10am. 8 lbs 6 oz 20 inches. Congratulations!

Testimony

Read the except from today's ESPN about Indianappolis Colts coach Tony Dungee:

Dungy, a devout Christian, believes no matter what happens that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. We're talking about a man who views it as a blessing that Pittsburgh moved him from quarterback to defensive back in the mid-1970s, because it was only then that he got to room with Donnie Shell, with whom Dungy would study the Bible as much as they did the Steelers' playbook. Dungy didn't fret when the Eagles (twice) and Packers passed on hiring him as their head coach or even when the Buccaneers fired him, instead holding firm to his faith that God was in charge and had a plan for his life and career.

To read more, click here.

Father's Day

So, any comments about your fathers or what you will be doing for Father's Day?

Sunday

Notes for Sunday:

- will be receiving new members at both morning services
- Aaron is preaching in the morning and Carroll in the evening
- don't forget you can sing (yes, even you) in the choir Sunday evenings in June by going to
practice at 5:15
- the Tenth Press article subject is The Pastoral Prayer

P & C

Tomorrow, CCA graduates will march to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance. I always get goosebumps when I hear that tune. To hear a 30 second rendering, click here. You will also find a brief story about the tune. For a more complete history lesson click here.

CCA graduation begins at 11:00. Our own Michael Kennedy, Parish 1 elder, will be the speaker.

MCO Director

The Board of Directors for Medical Campus Outreach is pleased to annouce that Bryan Stoudt has accepted their offer to serve as the new MCO Director. Please pray for their transition to this ministry and staff team and please join us in praising God for His good provision for MCO.

Search for the Next Great Screenwriters of Faith

"Art Within Labs" is a fellowship that fosters experimenting, innovating, and advancing the way authentic faith is blended with great storytelling. Compensation valued at $40,000 includes two dedicated story coaches consulting on script development, four quarterly retreats with flight transportation and lodging, feedback from industry professionals, a staged screenplay reading at Art Within’s Annual Symposium & Showcase in Atlanta and a $10,000 cash award. This is a year-long non-residency program, not a traditional screenwriting contest. You must have completed at least one feature-length screenplay to apply. Applications are due July 17, 2006. Click here for more information and to download an application form.

Children's Book

Sally Lloyd-Jones, a member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, has written a children's bedtime book, Time to Say Goodnight, illustrated by best-selling illustrator Jane Chapman (HarperCollins). To order, click here.

Listen and Watch the 34th PCA GA Live

Listen and watch the 34th PCA General Assembly live from Atlanta beginning June 20, 2006. The General Assembly will begin with a worship service on Tuesday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. Gavel to gavel sessions as well as worship services will be available; a schedule of the GA is on this site. To register to access the web cast, go to http://www.pcaga.com/.

Phil, Aaron, and Carroll will be representing Tenth.

Flying the Coop

She's gone! oh I
I've got to learn how to take it.

Dot is gone through June 28. But as long as Nancy Hala is here, the church office can still gone on. For bulletin announcements, send emails to Anne-Cara Apple at prussell@tenth.org.

Next week Pat Canavan, Aaron Messner, Carroll Wynne, and Paul Jones will also be out. But, hey, how much work do they really do around here anyhow?

Staff Notes

Notes from Tuesday's staff meeting:

Pat Canavan is teaching Junior Church during the summer on the names of God.
The opening session of Wide Open World Sunday night had 49 kids. Terri Taylor is providing leadership for the summer missions program.
The choir loft is being stained this week.
Anne-Cara Apple will take over the bulletin for the next three of Sundays while Dot is on vacation.
CCA students began their final exams yesterday afternoon.
CCA graduation is this Saturday at 11:00. Michael Kennedy is the commencement speaker. Two Tenth youth are the valedictorian and salutatorian: Jesse Whitley and Samuel Riggs.
Jessie Bible made us delicious "preachers" to snack on. These "preachers" are chocolate cookies.

Prayer Monitors Needed

Prayer Room monitors needed at least one hour a day during the Christian Community Development Association Conference September 27-30 at the Center City Philadelphia Marriott. Your task: insure everything is in order, answer any questions about how conference attenders can use the room, and--as is appropriate--pray with anyone in need. If you have a passion for prayer and can help, you will receive free registration to the conference and a free CCDA T-shirt. Contact David Apple, Prayer Committee chairman, dapple@tenth.org.

Safe Arrival

Pray for a safe arrival today from the team traveling back from the middle east.

The Pastoral Prayer

What a nice email to get from a church member to start the day:

Of the many things that have deeply blessed me at our worship services, one of the most significant has been the pastoral prayers. Here is an excerpt from what I read this morning by author Eugene Peterson that puts perfectly the reason why.

"We commonly think of prayer as what we do out of our own needs and on our own initiative. We experience a deep longing for God, and so we pray. We feel an artesian gush of gratitude to God, and so we pray. We are crushed with a truckload of guilt before God, and so we pray. But in a liturgy we do not take the initiative; it is not our experience that precipitates prayer. Someone stands in front of us and says, "Let us pray." We don't start it; someone else starts it, and we fall into step behind or alongside. Our egos are no longer front and center. This is so important, for prayer by its very nature is answering speech. The consensus of the entire Christian community upholds the primacy of God's word in everything: in creation, in salvation, in judgment, in blessing, in mercy, and in grace. But in the practice of prayer, inebriated as we often are by our own heady subjectivity, we boozily set aside the primacy of God's word and substitute the primacy of our words. We are so sure that here, at least, we get the first word!
But when we take our place in a worshiping congregation we are not in charge. Someone else has built the place of prayer; someone else has established the time for prayer, someone else tells us to begin to pray. All of this takes place in a context in which the word of God is primary..."

So I just wanted to take a minute to express my appreciation for all the pastoral staff whose prayers, centered as they always are on God's word, have at least for a few moments, freed me from my own ego and enlarged my soul. The work that goes into composing them has long been deeply appreciated by me.

Shooting Glass

Bryan Glass and his crew has been in the church shooting. Reports are that they plan to break in again this week. So far no one has been hurt even though an edifice has crumbled.

Actually, they are pleased with the progress of shooting a video of mereBreath's play "The Edifice." Please pray for the production, which they hope to complete by the end of the month.

Prayer Request

The Messners are away most of the week visiting Nancy's grandmother in Michigan who is failing. Pray for safety in travel and blessing for the visit.

Rick Phillips

It was great having Rick Phillips in the pulpit again. I remember the Session meeting in which Rick appeared to seek endorsement as a candidate for the ministry. Dr. Boice leaned over to me and said we could use someone of his caliber. I told him I already had my eye on Rick, and soon afterwards we hired him as an intern to work with City Light. Rick and Sharon will be returning in the fall (September 29-30) to give a seminar on dating based on their new book, Holding Hands, Holding Hearts. Click here to see the book.

To see Rick's church click here. Note on the lefthand column of his site that you can access his sermons by audio and manuscript, including the one he preached yesterday.

Off

I am off today. We have guests coming to town and will be showing them around.

Sermon Posted

Yesterday's evening sermon is now posted on DMC Messages. You will find the link on the right column.