ePulse Second Presbyterian Church

Children’s Ministry Intern: Megan Sharp

The Children’s Ministry staff and committee are thrilled to welcome Megan Sharp, the year-long intern in Children’s Ministry, to Second Pres! A native of Tacoma, Washington, Megan graduated from The University of Denver in June with a BA in Psychology, and a BSBA in Marketing. During her college years, she studied abroad in Albania and led Young Life, both as a volunteer and as part time staff. Megan will be working in all aspects of Children’s Ministry during her year at Second Pres. You can contact her at megan.sharp@secondpres.info. Please warmly welcome Megan when you see her!

Vacation Bible School 2009 Results

Our Vacation Bible Schoolers spent last week at Crocodile Dock, where fearless kids learn to shine God’s light. There were 152 participants, 32 teen helpers and 33 adults making each morning of Vacation Bible School the place to be! The children were challenged to find God in their everyday lives and all around us. They saw that God is alive, active and with them!

Kingdom Tales Sermon Series Begins

I’m really excited about Kingdom Tales, the sermon series that begins this Sunday. The series focuses on five parables in the book of Matthew, and in each of these parables, Jesus begins with the phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” We will dig into the parable of the mustard seed and leaven, of the treasure and pearl, of the laborers in the vineyard, of the wedding banquet and of the ten bridesmaids. These parables are like little works of literary art that help paint a picture of a world that is the way that God wants it to be—the world that Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven.

These parables inspired some Second Pres artists to create works of art themselves, and today, you can visit an art show in the south entry (near the Welcome Center.) The elementary age Sunday School classes have sculpted treasure boxes under the guidance of parish associate Roane Deckert, and have made bean mosaics and prints under the guidance of Karen Johnston. At the art show you’ll also see paintings, drawings, and illustrations by Karen, Scott Jones, Anne Murray and Darlene Sommers. Throughout the sermon series, we’ll be using a wide variety of these works to help us climb further inside the parables. This can help us to better imagine how to reflect the kingdom of heaven to those around us.

You can also explore what Jesus is telling us throughout these parables by picking up a copy of a devotional guide that accompanies the sermon series. Jodie Slothower has been faithfully creating the table tents that are on the tables in the fellowship hall for the past few months. These tables tents include the scripture for that week’s sermon, and some thought-provoking insights about it. Jodie’s work is so strong that it deserves a broader audience, so throughout this sermon series, you can pick up a copy of the devotion each week at the welcome center, or go to the church home page (www.secondpres.info) and download it there. Of course, you’ll still be able to find them on the tabletops as well!

I’m really grateful to be able to partner with all of these artists and Jodie in creating a sermon series which, I pray, will be a rich experience for all of us. These parables are a great representation of why I love serving Christ alongside you so much!

Dr. Charles B. Hardwick

•Last Day of Summer Session Classes!

•Adult Classes

That the World May Know, led by David Anderson
Becoming a Contagious Christian, led by Rev. Dean Kladder
dot.com, led by Jason and Tara Kowalcyzk
Ph-lippin’ Through Philippians, led by Eric Peltz

•Children and Youth Classes
Preschool: Making a Joyful Noise to the Lord (M102)
Elementary: The Bible and Art (M105)
Junior High and High School Classes (Java Post)

•West Side Block Party (8/8)
Please join us along with several other downtown churches for the West Side Block Party. Held annually at First Christian Church for the last 11 years, the West Side Block Party provides children with much-needed school kits and health information while offering a time of fun with free games, prizes, raffles and a cake walk. Held from 10am-2pm on August 8, this event not only helps those in the community, but is a way to get together and have a great time of fellowship.

Please sign up today to:
-Volunteer to work a two hour shift (10am-12pm or 12pm to 2pm)
-Provide a cake for the cakewalk
-Donate a new child’s bike for the raffle, or
-Provide a monetary donation to help buy school supplies.
Contact Rhonda Furst at 827.6816 or r_furst@hotmail.com with questions.

Rally Day 2009 (8/23)

Children can find their Sunday school classrooms and meet their new teachers on Rally Day, Sunday, August 23. Only one service will be held at 10am that Sunday, and activities will begin at 11am.

An adult Christian education open house will also meet in Fellowship Hall. Adults can learn more about classes, meet the teachers and class materials will be available for purchase.

Community Outreach Dinner (8/9)
Formerly Sunday Dinner, Community Outreach Dinner (COD) is a new monthly tradition at 2PC. COD is designed to bring the entire 2PC family together and encourage new people to come check out wnat 2PC is all about. Dinner is served from 11am-1:15pm in F100A. Tickets are $6 (available at the front desk or Welcome Center) and $2 of the cost is used to fund tickets for 2PC’s community partners. There is also a $22 maximum cost for families.

•Annual 2PC Fellowship Open (8/16)
You could be the lucky winner of a new set of golf clubs at 2PC’s fellowship open! Held at Highland Park, this tournament offers prizes for skill, and prizes for lack of skill. Tee time is at noon on August 16. The entry fee for this event is $40 and includes green fees, riding cart and appetizers at Schooners following the tournament. Please contact Dave Pendell at 663.2257 to register or with questions.