Fathers and Sons

Come to the Missions Luncheon this Sunday to hear from fathers and sons Seth and Noah Cohen and Phil and Josh Ryken as they give reports on their recent trips to Bolivia and South Africa. A worker from North Africa will also share about God's work there. The luncheon is open to all and begins at 1pm in Fellowship Hall.

And come back for the evening service when Ebenezer Sikakane, a representative from African Enterprise, will share about the ministry of AE. You can read more about Ebenezer on the AE website.

Pluto Blues

Aaron Messner is distressed about losing the planet Pluto. I admit it is troubling. Will baseball drop to eight players? They already skip over the shortstop when numbering the infield.

Persian Language Worship Services

Carroll Wynne posted a few days ago about this new ministry in our city. Here is more information from Len Stewart, Assistant Pastor at Proclamation Presbyterian in Bryn Mawr. We have some flyers in the Delancey lobby about the services.

A couple of years ago in God’s Providence, my wife Julie and I stumbled into a small Kabob restaurant on Chestnut Street, to discover that the owners were Iranians who were happy to meet a Persian speaking American and quite interested in spiritual questions. Helen and her Mother Fatima became our very good friends as they studied the Bible with Len and eventually made professions of faith. Their first contact with PPC was when they catered our Mission Conference dinner and sensed the warm welcome and joy of Christian fellowship. How can we forget the glorious day they were baptized here at our church? Since then Pastor Stewart has had a weekly Bible study at the restaurant and had conversations with many Iranians who have heard the Gospel. God has used Fatima and Helen to give Bibles to many Persian speakers, and we know of those who have subsequently come to Christ. Most Iranians know English, but some do not, and none of these converts have been to a service where there is worship, singing, and preaching in their mother tongue.

On Sunday, September 3rd we will hold our first Persian language worship service at the Aromatic House of Kabobs at Chestnut Street at 10:00 a.m. God has provided our worship leader and primary preacher: Mansour Khajehpour, a Ruling Elder from the Evangelical Church of Teheran, (a church started by Presbyterians in the 1800’s). Mansour has experience in Persian Church planting in Washington State and is now in seminary. He and his wife Nahid have two children and are U.S. citizens, having come here as spiritual refugees a few years ago. We are keenly aware that God has brought us together for this new start of a Persian language witness.

Praise God we have the privilege to reach into the mission field right here at our doorstep. Please be in constant prayer for all involved.

Matching Families

Here is the match of parents with their children getting baptized this Sunday.

9:00

Thomas & Susan Constatino.....Anna Grace
Stephen & Hannah Reimer.......Josiah James
Edward & Kelly Dobeck.............Ward Elijah
Joseph and Sarah Bae................Noah Joseph

11:00

JT & Anne Tartikoff..................Blaine Reeve
Gregg & Kami Olmstead...........Luke Nathaniel, Elise Katherine
Lauren & Michael Franchetti...John Edwin
Danny & Attee Bombaro...........Hanniel Zion

Church Picnic

Church Picnic August 26, Noon–7pm
Garrett-Williamson Estate, Newtown Square, PA

Are you coming Saturday? Call in to the church (215.735.7688) and let us know. But even if you don't RSVP, come anyhow. What better way to end the summer than getting together with your church family.

Bring your own picnic supper. Bring your own grills, food, and cooking utensils. Beverages and dessert will be provided. Plan to eat around 5:00 pm. No pets please.

The picnic will feature games and activities for all ages: swimming (1:00–4:00 pm), games for kids, volleyball, basketball, softball, and soccer. Please bring sporting equipment.

Directions:
Follow Route 3 (West Chester Pike) to the first light past Route 252.
Turn left at the light onto Bishop Hollow Road, and follow the road for 1 mile.
The entrance to the estate is on the right. Follow the road to the parking lot.

Ministry Leadership Meeting

If you lead a Tenth ministry or Bible study, take note of this annoucement being sent out. (This is not a closed meeting. No "credentials" of ministry leadership is required!)

You’re invited to a Tenth Ministry Leadership Meeting hosted by the Strategic Planning Committee

When: Tuesday, September 12, 6:30 pm
Where: Fellowship Hall

Dr. Ryken will speak about Tenth’s new mission and vision, and we’ll have a time of prayer for God’s work in and through our congregation. Information on the vision Bible study materials, developed to help Tenth small groups follow along with Phil’s upcoming sermon series, will also be previewed. All Tenth ministry leaders are encouraged to attend!

For more information, contact Frank Harder at frharder@aol.com or Brian Esterly at besterly@excellrex.com.

* Note: There will be a make-up session on Sunday, September 17 at 1 pm in the Catacombs for those unable to attend this meeting.

Moving out, Moving In

The Apples need help Saturday afternoon, September 2 moving Anne-Cara back into her UPenn dorm room, 34th and Samson Streets. Email dapple@tenth.org if you are available.

Day of Prayer

I just posted a list of prayer requests, which reminds me to remind you that the next quarterly Day of Prayer is September 3 (the Sunday I happen to be preaching on prayer). Because the work of the Strategic Planning Initiative is coming to a head and October will be the month of unrolling the results of the initiative, much of the prayer time will focus on prayer for the church. We'll probably use the Vision and Mission statement that was mailed out to the congregation. (Click this link to go to it on the church website.

We are well aware that as good as planning is (and biblical), it is prayer (looking to the Lord to provide guidance and discernment) that is most critical. Our attendance at these prayer meetings has significantly increased over previous years, and I hope it will continue to grow. The 9:00 prayer meeting is in Fellowship Hall; the 11:00 prayer time is in the 315 Building, first floor rear.

Prayers for the Church

August may seem a slow month to some, but for the church this is a busy time. For your prayers:

- September is really the start of the year for most ministries and they are gearing up now to be ready. This is especially true for TCU and TIF who receive an influx of new students.
- The Strategic Planning Initiative is reaching a critical phase. The Session meets next Tuesday to discuss the proposals coming out of the SPI. Decisions about the church's priorities are being made in the next couple of months.
- Communicating about the SPI process and presenting the vision and mission coming out of it is critical, and also difficult to accomplish in a large congregation. Pray for that process.
- Craig Claudin, who produced the 175th anniversary dvd and the Liberian orphanages dvd, is working on one now for presenting the vision and mission statement.

Meanwhile other annual time consuming and essential work is beginning:
- The Trustees have begun the process for preparing next year's budget
- We are conducting annual reviews of all the staff

Match That Child

I am not only preaching about infant baptism this Sunday; parents are bringing infants and children for baptism. Here are the couples and their childrn. Can you match them (one couple has two)? I'll give the answer tomorrow along with which service (9 or 11) they will be in:

Parents:
Joseph and Sarah Bae
Danny & Attee Bombaro
Thomas & Susan Constatino
Edward & Kelly Dobeck
Lauren & Michael Franchetti
Gregg & Kami Olmstead
Stephen & Hannah Reimer
JT & Anne Tartikoff

Children:
Josiah James
Ward Elijah
Noah Joseph
Blaine Reeve
Anna Grace
Luke Nathaniel
Elise Katherine
John Edwin
Hanniel Zion

Rudy Update

I spoke to Donna Rudy this afternoon. Here’s a brief update:

Ken and Donna are getting settled in to a nice 1 BR place in Colorado near family. Donna mentioned how nice it is to be close to their granddaughters—the oldest is 14. They live a few blocks from a lake and nature preserve, and have found a good church nearby as well (a small PCA plant). They’ll enjoy the spot for a year, and hope to buy something after that, while maintaining their involvement in Cambodia through mentoring, trips, etc.

They come east on September 21, will speak at our Missions Luncheon on Sept 24, and then have a week of re-entry at Crossworld. For the weeks following that debriefing, they’ll travel to supporting churches in the East, making the Wynne home their base. On October 15, they’ll move into the missions house in Upper Darby for a month (through the World Missions Conference).

They will need a dependable car for their stay and travel in the East. If you know of an available vehicle, let me (cfitzpatrick at tenth.org) know. Also, be in prayer for their continued transition and the traveling they need to do over the next few months. Pray for the family who is in Cambodia, continuing some of the work the Rudys were involved in.

Of Paul and Feasts

I appreciate Paul Jones' contributions to worship, but this may be going too far. Check it out here.

Persian Service to Start

If you know of any Iranian/Persians, let them know of a new Christian Fellowship beginning September 3, 11:30 am at the Aromatic House of Kebob, 113 Chestnut Street. The service will be in Farsi by two pastors. If you would like more information, contact Rev. Len Stewart at 484.288.9771. [For the rest of us, let's pray!]

Biking

I'll let you add the caption to this.

Faculty Day

CCA's faculty orientation is today. I'm not sure who all are the new hires. Joe Sinagra has been hired for art and computer. Cindy Shannon is the new office manager. She comes over from serving that same position at New Life Philadelphia.

Baptism Biblio

Books to recommend for reading on baptism:

Infant Baptism: What Christian Parents Should Know, by John Sartelle. A small booklet written for parents.
The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism, edited by Gregg Strawbridge
Children of the Promise, by Robert R. Booth, P&R
The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century, By Hughes Oliphant Old, Eerdmans
Christian Baptism, by John Murray, P&R
The Presbyterian Doctrine of Children in the Covenant, by Lewis Schenck

The Sartelle booklet will be the easiest to read and the bookstore should have a number of copies. The Old book is the one that most shaped last Sunday's sermon. The others I have yet to read completely through. For an expansion of my message, you can also read my chapter "Baptism: the Joyful Sign" in the worship book Give Praise to God that Phil edited. It should also be available in the bookstore and library.

The library, by the way, has put out on display its books on baptism and the bookstore has ordered the first three books listed above.

Coming Home

Phil and Josh return today from the winter of South Africa to the summer of Philadelphia.

Sermon Posted

Sunday's sermon on Baptism is now posted. Click the right link "DMC Messages."

Need Book Recommendations?

Have you ever wondered what Tenth women read? Click here to see book lists from the last four of Tenth Women's Bookends Picnic Brunches.

Not In

I am in Baltimore today helping my sister get her house ready for the market. Will post yesterday's sermon tomorrow.