Advent Anticipation How the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love Candles Light Our Way VIEW Pastor's Desk
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ST. CHARLES AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ADVENT CHRISTMAS EPIPHANY view2016-2017 In this Edition: SCAPC families' Advent Traditions RHINO responds to Baton Rouge flooding Seeking Solitude: a historical perspective on the PW Retreat Advent Anticipation How the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love candles light our way VIEW Pastor's Desk THE PASTOR'S DESK Editor: 3 Kim Thompson Bauer How do we learn to wait and anticipate? Copy Editors: NEWS IN BRIEF Cintra Willcox Dear friends, 4 Hallie Boh -7 6 s Contributing Writers: As I write this letter at the beginning of October, it seems like every time I ge 5 POINT OF VIEW Advent | pa Sarah Chancellor-Watson go to the store more Christmas decorations have snuck onto the shelves! SCAPC families share their Advent/Christmas traditions Greg Beuerman | Bonnie Shoemaker I am reading articles about which stores will close on Thanksgiving and Walter Harris | Stephanie November which will start their Black Friday sales even before the turkeys are cooked Pierce Young | Laura St. Clair ADVENT ANTICIPATION Genny Hagler and the potatoes mashed. I am preparing myself to start hearing Christmas 6 carols on the radio any day now. When it comes to the Christmas season, How Hope, Peace, Joy & Love light our way every year we seem to get more ahead of ourselves. Contributing Photographers: Kate Elkins It is easy to get overwhelmed in this season. In the midst of planning parties, 1 8 WHITE GIFT 2016 -1 10 Pierce Young |Steven Blackmon cooking dinners, sending Christmas cards, and fighting the crowds to buy gifts for Ornaments available starting November 20 s ge Genny Hagler | Michele Murphy RHINO | pa everyone from the mail carrier to your closest loved ones, it’s easy to lose sight of the joy Laura St. Clair | Don Frampton of the Christ Child, whom we celebrate. Thankfully, we have a holiday season built into our liturgical Randy Schmidt | Caroline Cottingham 9 JOSE Y MARIA Phil Luchsinger calendar which calls us to slow down, to sit in reflection and in contemplation, to prepare our hearts and our minds for Christ’s coming, and to—most importantly—wait in hopeful expectation. Contributing Artists: When I was a kid, we had a ceramic nativity set with several pieces: lambs, a cow, shepherds, an angel, the 10 RHINO REBUILDS IN BATON ROUGE Everett Patterson wise men, camels, Mary, Joseph, and of course baby Jesus in the manger. In setting up this nativity set, we were not allowed to put baby Jesus out until Christmas Eve. My parents would remind me that before -13 Christmas “Baby Jesus hasn’t yet been born.” It was one way that we celebrated the season of Advent in 12 12 SEEKING SOLITUDE PW | pages our house, to remember that before Christmas we are waiting for Christ’s coming, and we have to remain A retrospective on the PW Retreat expectant in hope for the weeks leading up to Christmas. My questions for all of us are: what are we going to do to intentionally slow down this season? How are we going 14 STAFF CELEBRATIONS to sit in the waiting and expectation of the season? How are you already doing this in your homes to anticipate the joy of Christmas? What new traditions might you adopt this season, to reclaim Advent from Christmas? 15 MEMBER MILESTONES 15 4- s 1 Staf | page Faithfully, SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Chapel Service with Communion ....................8:30 a.m. Visit the Point of View section on Sunday School Classes .....................................9:30 a.m. ST. CHARLES AVENUE Sarah Chancellor-Watson page 5 to read how two SCAPC Sanctuary Worship with Chancel Choir ..........10:30 a.m. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Associate Pastor for Mission families' Advent and Christmas 1545 State Street traditions help them sit with New Orleans, LA 70118 expectation and anticipate joy. On the Cover: www.scapc.org SCAPC member Isabel Schmidt and daughters Ellie and Caroline select (504) 897-0101 ornaments from the White Gift tree in Frampton Fellowship Hall. WWW.SCAPC.ORG 3 NEWS in BRIEF point of ministries of the Synod of the Sun Two SCAPC families shareVIEW their Advent and Christmas traditions— Renovation Fund place them in the Phifer Library in Wednesday Night Out and to support scholarships for Presbyterian seminary students ways that they intentionally sit with expectation and ways that they Benevolence Grants the box marked Global Ministries or The Congregational Life committee from PC(USA) churches in Louisiana, anticipate the joy of Christmas. The Session is pleased to announce contact Henrietta Harris at (504) 737- is relishing planning Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. that more than $364,000 has been 0871 or [email protected]. activities for all ages EMILY FLESHMAN SAYS: to savor the season of Christ’s coming awarded over the past two years to enjoy after and to cherish the time spent with For a list of available scholarships, Our family Advent traditions have from the “Forward Together” Capital Cuban partner attends Wednesday Night our family. please visit: www.sunfound.org/ evolved over the years, although Campaign Fund to deserving local Clean Water U to learn Suppers. The seminary-scholarships or for more always with the goal of focusing and global ministry causes. maintenance and last few months MEGAN MAZZANTI SAYS: installation information, email Ed Bush at on Christ’s birth. Growing up, my This total amounts to have included Living Waters for the World hosted [email protected]. maternal grandparents hosted an open I love the holidays and holiday nearly 10 percent a surprisingly its first Cuban attendee, Gustavo house party on Christmas Eve for traditions! My husband and I have a (a tithe) of the spirited Collegiate Rodriguez, from Varadero, decades. The party was the highlight growing list of our favorite traditions, over $4 million Night, riotously funny Zucchini Senior Adults Christmas Cuba, at Clean Water U (CWU) Carol Social of the season for my family as we and we sit down with a calendar raised for capital Races and our very own Pumpkin- in September. Gustavo, a The Senior Adults are hosting gathered to visit with friends, some each November and make a plan so improvements to Palooza, complete with costumes the church, including hydrological engineer, was a reception with food, wine and of whom we saw just once a year; my we can fit them all in. As my two and beautifully decorated pumpkins. the ground floor of the able to attend CWU through the Christmas Carols with Steven parents later assumed hosting duties boys grow up, some of the traditions Not to worry, winter will be just as Education Building, Frampton assistance of St. Charles Avenue Blackmon on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 5 until recently. We now enjoy a quiet that used to be at the top of our list, entertaining! We hope you will join us Fellowship Hall, the Chapel, and the Presbyterian Church and a LWW p.m. The reception will be followed dinner with our immediate family, like standing in line to sit on Santa’s for our first-ever Gingerbread House Memorial Garden and Columbarium. scholarship. by a visit to Celebration in the Oaks but the joy and expectation of Advent lap, have been crossed off. New Build (brought to you by RHINO, of in City Park, where those interested remains. When my daughter was traditions have been added in, like Gustavo was born in Cardenas course!), as well as some old favorites Global Ministries Committee can also participate in a train ride. young, I filled our Advent schedule the Reindeer Run, where the four of and attended a Presbyterian like the White Gift wrapping party, seeking photos of church’s RSVP by Dec. 1 by sending $10 with many special activities – seeing a us adorn our shoelaces with jingle school affiliated with Juan G. Hall bingo night and our 2nd annual King mission work (cost of reception only) attn: Bonnie Nutcracker performance, a Christmas bells, and our much faster sons cheer Presbyterian Church where his father Cake contest! There is much more From our earliest beginnings—first as Shoemaker, 1545 State Street, NOLA tea at a downtown hotel, and special on their parents from the finish line. was the Director; he also has close in store, so watch the bulletin and the St. Charles Avenue Branch of the 70118. An additional cost will apply shopping trips. As the years have We always say we just don’t have ties to El Fuerte Presbyterian Church. e-news for upcoming events. If you First Presbyterian Church, and since at Celebration in the Oaks for both passed I’ve felt a need to simplify enough days in December to do it Both churches have LWW water December 19, 1920, as the St. Charles haven’t been to Wednesday Night the season. Having fewer, but more all, so prioritizing is important. A systems, and Gustavo had a desire admission and the train ride. Avenue Presbyterian Church—we Out in a while, come see what you’ve meaningful activities, has allowed us tradition always at the top of our to know more about and to help have had a strong program for been missing! Dinner is $8 per adult, list is shopping for a child from the maintain these systems and to assist world missions. In addition to the $5 per child under 12 and starts at 6 Angel Tree. We select a boy around visiting LWW teams. first missionary supported by the p.m. (program follows dinner). Make a the same age as one of our sons and church, the Rev. Davis in Brazil reservation at: www.scapc.org/wno. He received rave reviews from his set out to the store.