House for Sale

Harold and Ginnie Mesibov are moving to another place in Center City. Their house is for sale. Below is a description. Here is the online link.

We have enjoyed our home at 407 South 20th Street. Harold used the first floor as his art studio. This space may be used as a store, since it is commercially zoned. It could also be an apartment or a family room. On the second floor is our living room and dining area and galley kitchen. Off the kitchen is a deck – our little oasis in Center City. On the third floor are two bedrooms and a bath.

Worship Conference

Pray for Dr. Scoti Old who is speaking and Dr. Paul Jones who is speaking and leading hymn festivals at the Reformation Worship Conference in Atlanta, Thursday to Saturday, October 21-23.

CCA Senior Speaks to Senate

This week City Center Academy senior, Tanisha Clark, spoke before the Pennsylvania Senate's Education Committee testifying on behalf of School Choice and Opportunity Scholarships.

Tanisha testified about the positive impact CCA's made on her life including the close relationships she enjoys with her supportive teachers and peers and the academically challenging coursework preparing her for college. The Senators were greatly moved while Tanisha shared about the tremendous sacrifices her mother and sister make to send her to CCA. Tanisha testified that her transfer to CCA changed her life and transformed her opportunities for the future.

PA Senator Anthony Williams has asked Tanisha to speak about her experience at CCA again this coming Saturday at a School Choice discussion group. The school is proud to have Tanisha a spokesperson for educational opportunity.

Tanisha Clark in Harrisburg's Capital Building.

NEWS ALERT! NEWS ALERT!

We have permission to use the elevator this Sunday! All sytems go!

Carroll Wynne is now putting together a ribbon-cutting ceremony to take place 8:30 a.m. in Reception Hall.

Coffee hour will also be renewed. No more sleeping in the pews!

Completed Construction

When you come to church on Sunday, you will find a new and improved middle building. We will have the old Reception Hall back and more. The handicapped bathroom and kitchen beside it will be gone. Two new bathrooms and a kitchen will be added in old nursery room space. But we have just as much nursery space because of expansion into the alleyway. The rooms look beautiful.

Go downstairs into the "B" basement area. The hallways are wider. The ceiling pipes covered. Every room is refreshed.

The temporary ramp on the front stairs are being removed at this moment. The permanent ramp in the alleyway is complete and also looks great, as well as being more stable.

The remaining final step is the operation of the elevator, scheduled for its inaugural run the following Sunday, October 24. Those of you unable to climb the stairs will now have access to the basement, Fellowship Hall, and the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Delancey building. There will be essentially no church event that you will be unable to participate in.

Will MacDonald

Many of you have been praying for Will MacDonald, the less than a year old grandson of Sena and Tim McInnes. He has been under critical health condition due to heart related illness. He is now home! The doctors, who had prepared the family for the worse, now say that they can't believe they are looking at the same heart. It has improved beyond their expectations. Please continue to pray for his recovery. But join with the family in praising God for his mercy.

North, South Carolina

Bruce McDowell forwarded this clip from a Bill Cosby game show. It is suppose to make me smile, but I don't see why. Cosby seems slow to understand what any South Carolinian would have known. I think the woman could have been more helpful if she had explained that North was 30 miles north of Denmark, and only 15 miles north of Norway.

Do Doctors Eat Brains?

This is one of many misperceptions Lia Lee's parents have about the American medical system in this year's GO Conference book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman. Things were so much clearer at home in Laos, when they could go to the local shaman. Shamans were polite and spent hours with the family, while American doctors ask rude and intimate questions and spend only minutes. Shamans knew immediately what spirit was to blame for an illness, while doctors demand payments of blood or urine, stall for days, and even then don't always know what the problem is. When their young daughter, Lia, has frequent seizures, the Lees' clashes with the medical community leave them baffled, horrified, and increasingly distrustful, while the doctors fight against what looks to them like the Lees' stubborn and backward refusal to follow advice that is crucial to their child's health.

From a global outreach perspective, the book raises some interesting questions. How can you look past the emotions, interests, and biases of your own culture to understand another one? The doctors were "right" from a scientific point of view, but they nevertheless had cultural biases that prevented them from recognizing the intense and sacrificial love that Lia's parents had for her. How do our medical workers in other countries reach past this barrier to bring not only physical healing, but spiritual truth? At our mini-conference on Saturday, November 13, we will host a lively discussion on this book and the questions it raises, led by our partner Matt Megill, who has experience working in medical ministry across cultural and language barriers. Read the book and come join us!

--David Walton

Welcome, Autumn!

 Jane and Jeff Jue are pleased to announce the birth of Autumn Karis, born Sunday, October 10.

Join the Tenth team to Liberia!

Serve in Liberia, March 3-14, with a team from Tenth. Medical professionals are particularly needed. If interested, come to a brief meeting on Sunday, October 24, in Delancey 3West at 12:40 pm. For more information, contact Bruce McDowell.

Welcome, Philip!

Loren and Anne Chen are pleased to announce the birth of Philip Ethan, born this morning 10/12/10, 5:36AM, 6lbs 8oz.

Parenting Conference Volunteers

We're in desperate need of volunteers to help out with the Parenting Conference, October 22 and 23. Help is needed for registration tables, refreshment setup and particularly for childcare. Childcare workers must be members of Tenth. Even if you're only able to help for Friday or Saturday, any help would be appreciated. This is a wonderful way to serve the body and allow parents to attend the conference while their children are cared for. Please contact Christina Corbett at 215.735.7688x 246 or via email if you are willing to help.

Office volunteers needed

I'm looking for a couple office volunteers to assist with specific GO Conference tasks and with unpacking and reorganizing the GO office. Some tasks require familiarity with basic MS Office applications, copiers, and phone systems. Others involve dusting or washing off book shelves, unpacking files, and generally establishing order.

All volunteers will receive a fantastic lunch/supper and plenty of snacks and drinks for their efforts. Folks who serve for several days will be extra blessed!

Volunteers needed during the following times: Tuesday afternoons-evenings (12-9 pm) or Thursday mornings-afternoons (9a-3p). If available during any part of this time, please contact Liz. Thanks!

Join the Lausanne Conversation!

Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr is offering an opportunity for you to join in the historic Lausanne 2010 Congress on World Evangelization.

Attend interactive broadcasts of great message of this important event! The schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, October 19-Friday, October 22, 6-9 pm
• Saturday, October 23, 9 am-3 pm

A love offering will be received to help cover expenses for this GlobaLink to Cape Town 2010. For more information, contact Rev. Paul Karlberg at Proclamation, www.proclamation.org.

The New Self

The manuscript of Sunday's sermon "The New Self" is now posted.

The scene of Eustace removing his dragon scale is still fresh in my memory when my wife and I were reading through the Narnia Chronicles thirty years ago. She was reading it, and I was lying on the bed face down listening. When she came to the part where it took Aslan to remove the skin, I was saying "Yes, yes, yes" (evidently in my mind since my wife does not recall that reaction from me). So when I came to this text, the scene came back to me and I had to stick it in.

VICTORY!

Elder Hugh Taylor and I invite all our beloved Tenth friends to celebrate with us the epic victory of the South Carolina Gamecocks over the (formerly #1) Alabama Crimson Tide this past Saturday.

Last Call!

Last call for Bible studies or small groups requesting partners during the GO Conference. Sign up by Wednesday!