The Warner Memo

December 2019

THE WARNER

MEMO

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF WARNER MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

December Calendar

PASTOR’S MESSAGE Faith. The nice thing about faith is that we have a bona fide scriptural definition for the word: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 1:11). The best news about faith, though, is that you don’t need to have a lot of it. According to Scripture (Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6), if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, nothing would be impossible for us. That thought gives me a good deal of comfort.

When I think of faith I think of the little girl, Susie, in the movie, Miracle On 34th Street. If you recall, Susie’s Mom didn’t want Susie to be sucked in by fantasy. Mom took great pains to raise a logical, rational child who would grow up to be a logical, rational adult. Mom made sure that Susie knew there is no Santa Claus.

Susie’s mother works for Macy*s and is responsible for the selection of the store’s Santa Clauses. Susie is, therefore, very much aware that the Macy*s Santas have pillow stomachs and fake beards. (And most of them drink a little too much.) But one day, Macy*s hires a Santa who claims to be the real thing -- Kris Kringle, himself. Susie is not about to be taken in by this; but, gosh, this Santa is VERY convincing. Consequently, life gets muddled and very confusing for Susie.

Susie didn’t want to ask Santa for a Christmas present because, after all, as convincing as Mr. Kringle was, he really was just a very nice man. But Mr. Kringle insisted, so Susie decided to ask Santa for a house. Not a doll house - a real house in the suburbs. Maybe, just maybe this guy really was Santa.

Christmas day was spent at Mr. Kringle’s retirement home, but there was nothing under the tree about a house for Susie. Being the logical, 2

rational kid she was, Susie was politely appreciative for the gifts she received and Susie is utterly disappointed. On the drive home Susie sat in the back of the car joylessly murmuring, “I believe... I believe.... I believe.” Susie was torn between her doubt and her faith. She couldn’t seem to give up either one.

Truthfully, this is where I spend a surprising amount of time - caught somewhere between my doubt and my faith, unable to relinquish either one. The faith part of me knows God is working in the world to bring all of creation back to the perfection God originally intended. When I get a glimpse of that, I know I have encountered pure Grace. But, the doubting part of me cannot drive by the Pentagon and breathe at the same time. I cannot read the newspaper without gasping and breaking into tears. I don’t know what to do about that. But faith does.

Faith, it seems, is not the antidote to doubt. Faith and doubt coexist quite uncomfortably and indivisibly together. But even when doubt is raging, faith seems to maintain the upper hand because we don’t need a lot of faith to outmaneuver a whole lot of doubt. Faith keeps hanging in there no matter what doubt tries to do. A preacher I know once said “the point of faith is not that you will be certain. The point of faith is that you will continue worshiping.”

Huh? I had to think about that. I think what he meant is that when we worship we bring all that we are, including our fears and doubts, and we lay it all in the arms of Jesus. Our doubts and fears are no longer the center of our attention. Jesus is. And that is worship. The more we worship the more we encounter the living Christ. Then the eyes of our hearts become more receptive to the sightings of God working in the world and our faith is sustained.

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it is at least mustard size faith, and it is enough.

Pastor Leslianne 3

UPCOMING WORSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

● The Warner Sanctuary Choir will be presenting a special music offering at the 11:00 AM service on Sunday, December 15. Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols is an exquisite suite of carols from old English sources, accompanied by harp. The choir will be joined by acclaimed local harpist Monika Vasey Rhodes. A Ceremony of Carols is one of the acknowledged masterworks of the 20th century, written first for treble voices and then adapted into a version for mixed choir. It’s a truly extraordinary work that has never before been presented at Warner. ● On Tuesday, December 24 join us for our Christmas Eve candlelight service at 8:00 PM with special music starting at 7:30 PM.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Advent At The Turn Of A New Decade

What is the most compelling reality in your life: Is it awaiting the shopping deals of Black Friday or Cyber Monday; perhaps it’s the inauguration of a new decade at the waning days of this calendar year; maybe it’s the upcoming election; or, is it the pregnant, life-full anticipation of the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom come? You will likely note that my framing of the question posits that it should be the latter for those of us in the Church. My point here is not to exhaustively identify every demand for our desires, affections, and loyalties; nor is it a request for us to retreat from the social, cultural, political, and economic life where we are. Not in the slightest! The simple question I want to ask myself this Advent is this: What is it about worship, fellowship, and education at 10123 Connecticut Avenue that changes our minds to reflect koinonia1 in Christ’s body and blood throughout our lives?

The liturgical season of Advent begins Sunday, December 1 in our church calendar. Let us celebrate Christ’s evergreen invitation to resurrection life when we gather that morning from 9:30-10:30 AM for

1 “refers to communion or fellowship, joint participation, the share which one has in anything,... It identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ.” Wikipedia 5

CE’s annual Advent Wreath Construction Workshop. Please RSVP to [email protected] to help us prepare enough materials. All you need to bring is a vase capable of holding a 4x4” floral foam square. We also encourage you to bring greenery for the wreath (though it will also be provided).

Throughout Advent, CE will also be coordinating with members of the congregation to light the four Advent Candles during worship– a common way of marking the time until Christmas that we encourage you to practice at home with the wreath you take home from the workshop! We are eager to celebrate in worship with the families of young children in our congregation who will light the Advent candles, beginning with that of Kabara Korth on December 1 and Chelsea Cook on December 8.

Dave Grace, C.E. Director

UPDATE FROM THE PASTORAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) is pleased to report substantial progress in the search process. On November 18, Session approved the Ministry Information Form (MIF), Pastor Position Description, and Calls and Jobs Listing, which means our search will soon “go live.” The MIF will be sent to the Church Leadership Connection, which enters it into the database and conducts a match with Personal Information Forms (PIFs) from pastoral candidates. Then the PNC will receive a notice that the matched PIFs are available for download. The position description will be sent to the Congregational Transitions Commission for approval and posting on the Presbytery website. Candidates who are interested in the position can send their PIFs directly to the PNC. 6

These actions will complete step four of the nine-step process in calling a new pastor.

Thus the PNC is poised to enter the heart of the search—reading and evaluating the information received from pastoral candidates. You can follow our progress on the PNC page on Warner’s web site and on our bulletin board, which will soon go up on the wall outside the office near the Calvert Street entrance. Again, we ask you to journey with us in prayer as we ask God to open our hearts and minds and to shine a light on the path ahead toward Warner’s future.

With enthusiastic hope in the search ahead,

The PNC

COMMISSION TO THE COMMUNITY

A Perfect Gift this Advent Season

As we prepare for Christmas, many of us spend time in search of the perfect gift — the gift that communicates to friends and family how much we know and love them. We search our memories for 7

indications of what gift might cause the faces of our loved ones to light up. We scour the stores and shops, hoping to come across the thing that will communicate a depth of love that our words cannot.

As important as gifts to loved ones are, we have an opportunity to give gifts that help many people we do not know through the Christmas Joy Offering. These gifts in particular draw us back to the manger and God’s perfect gift to us — Jesus Christ.

During this Advent Season, we celebrate leadership; past, present and future through our support of the Christmas Joy Offering. We do so because church leaders greatly impact our lives of faith, walking with us down the path to be more like Jesus. We want those church leaders and their families who find themselves grappling with a critical financial need to have the resources they need which are provided through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions. We also support the offering to help our future leaders in the church and world, like those educated at our Presbyterian- related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. Supporting these students helps the whole church develop leaders who reflect the wideness of God’s intended diversity.

Your gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering provide secure homes and a helping hand to retired clergy, staff, and their families during difficult times and develop the gifts of those in the next generation as they enter into service to the church and the world. Please give generously using the envelopes in the pew racks or the QR code in your bulletin.

To learn more about the programs supported by the Christmas Joy Offering, please visit:

● Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions: www.pensions.org ● Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges: www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/resc/

Christmas in July??

At the last Commission to the Community (CTC) meeting those attending discussed the requests we are currently making of our congregation to give generously, and how grateful we are that our congregation is responding generously. Thanks be to God.

We noted that Warner’s congregation always generously participates in three special offerings that PC(USA) conducts - One Great Hour of Sharing, Peace and Global Witness (PG&W), and the Joy Gift. P&GW, which took place in October, and The Joy Gift, which is collected during December, are very close together. In between, in November, Presbyterian Women (PW) collect their Thank Offering! And all of these important ways that we utilize to care for “the least of these” overlap with our essential stewardship campaign. Additionally this year there were two successful fund-raising luncheons, one for the Mission Trip to Puerto Rico, and another to support the LCYC scholarship fund. So we wondered, might it not be wise to put off erecting our beautiful Angel Tree, given to us by Rev. and Mrs. Bowen, and instead have it appear as a “Christmas In July” Angel Tree?

The CTC and Christian Education have always worked together on the Angel Tree project, so together we decided to give this option a try.

Of course, the persons who receive the gifts that appear under the Angel Tree, the homeless and the working poor who rely on Interfaith Works to be able to make ends meet in Montgomery County, are also the recipients of the gifts that appear in the Birthday Box. This population needs assistance at all times of the year.

Since the contents of the Birthday Box in the Narthex are taken to Interfaith Works whenever it gets filled, anyone who might be missing the Christmas Angel Tree this year could, if they wished, put a gift in there instead.

May the Spirit of Christmas fill you with Joy and Thanksgiving!

Ina Rae Kramer and Dave Grace

WORSHIP & MUSIC

Each year during Advent we gradually decorate the church leading up to our Christmas Eve service. We could use some help and it’s a great way to get in the holiday mood!

Poinsettias

The sign up chart for donating poinsettias will be posted shortly in the hallway. Please consider donating a plant which you may choose to take home after the Christmas Eve service or may choose to have delivered to a homebound member of the congregation.

If you would like to help arrange the poinsettias in the chancel and hang the roping and wreaths over the balcony please contact Kay Gorman.

Pole Candles

Our pole candles are in need of repair to be used safely this year. If you would be willing to be involved in this project, please contact Geoff Cope. If we cannot repair them, we may need to forgo using the pole candles this year. We will be using our handheld candles as we ring the sanctuary to sing Silent Night and close our evening service.

Taking Down the Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree will be taken down shortly after the holidays. If you can help with that, please contact Sheri Daugherty.

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS

Warner has a new trash/recycling hauler, Potomac Disposal. This change aligns with Montgomery County’s recycling and allows more items to be recycled. We now collect paper and containers separately, like most do at home. You will find a paper-recycling bin in most rooms, at least one bin for containers is on every level. (They are located near the trash cans and have signs.) All you need to do is sort. As a non-profit organization in Montgomery County, we are required to participate in the SORRT program “Smart Organizations

Reduce & Recycle Tons.” Thirty pecent of our disposal is trash and the rest is recycling, yard trim, and scrap metal.

Paper: all kinds of paper and cardboard (no food or paint) PLUS rinsed paperboard food cartons (milk, drink box, frozen food).

Glass, Plastic & Metal (rinsed): bottles, jars, cans with lid attached, caps & lids, foil, plastic containers with a recycling emblem. You can recycle the same plastics as Montgomery County’s recycling program.

You might think recycle, but it’s TRASH: pizza box, plastic bag, separate metal lid, candy wrapper, utensil (knife, fork, spoon), plastic cup, Styrofoam, plastic straw

You might think it’s trash, but RECYCLE IT: paper cup used for water, milk carton, metal jar lid, plastic garden pot, metal pan

For the health of waste workers and our environment, it’s important not to contaminate the recycling stream. When in doubt, throw it out (in the trash)! Looks for signs with pictures near the bins. In the kitchen, you’ll find a place you can reuse plastic food containers and plastic or paper bags.

If you take our refuse to the outside bins, Potomac Disposal has provided 3 toters for trash, 2 toters for paper recycling and 1 toter for containers. Please check the lids to use the proper toter.

PW Cookies and Caroling We look forward to gathering together for fellowship with Warner women, sisters and friends at Lisa Smeallie’s home on Tuesday, December 10 to sing carols and enjoy cookies. For more information, please reach out to Lisa. Sunday, December 15, PW will pack tins full of cookies for the Deacons to deliver to the homebound. We encourage everyone in the congregation to bring their favorite cookies to be shared that Sunday at the Cookie Reception. Hope to see you there!

The New Warner Cookbook Is Here! Warner's new Cookbook, "Feed the Body... Nourish the Soul...", is loaded with 144 pages of over 220 time-tested recipes from Warner family gatherings. Featuring a hardback cover, our new cookbook is a labor of love and the result of countless hours of planning and preparation. Many thanks go to the editors Lisa Smeallie, Sue Burns and Chelsea Cook.!

Included are recipes from Warner Annual Brunches, Church Dinners and Fellowship Hours, Potluck and Salt Shaker groups, and Presbyterian Women. Pick up your cookbooks at Fellowship Hour through December. Cookbooks are $20 each, or 3 for $50. All proceeds will benefit Warner Presbyterian Women mission projects and Warner's General Fund.

PW Officers for 2020 PW held our annual meeting on Sunday, November 17. Our officers for 2020 will be:

Co-Moderators: Hannah Cope and Madalena Aspiras

Vice-Moderator: Lora McGlade

Secretary: Chelsea Cook

Treasurer: Ginny Atwood

Marilynn Victory Thomas is stepping down as co-moderator and we thank her for serving this past year!

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

The information below reflects the most recently approved minutes, which are from the October stated meeting. ● The Financial Report was received. Commissions have been asked to submit their 2020 budgets. Our Per Capita assessment for 2020 is $9039.68. ● Building & Grounds is working with ReCurrent Innovations to reduce maintenance costs. Bill Burns is working to replace the chairs in social hall. ● Session approved a motion from CE that Warner serve as the partner organization with Tim Cook in his proposal to the Sustainable Environmental Public Art Grant offered by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County in partnership with the county Department of Environmental Protection. ● Intergenerational Advent Wreath-Making Sunday School will be held December 1. ● A Mission Trip to LaPosada de Angeles, Anasco, in Puerto Rico is planned for January 19-24, 2020. A fundraiser is planned for rd November 3 in the Social Hall. ● LCYC Updates: LCYC is at full enrollment. Anniversary Friendsgiving will be held on November 17 at 12:30pm. A collection will be taken for the scholarship fund. ● The PNC reported that the Ministry Information Form is in progress. The Presbytery’s EEO/AA policy was also presented and discussed. The Church will adhere to the policy, which states in part that the PNC must include at least one woman among its final candidates. Session authorized the Clerk, the pastor and the PNC chair to sign the EEO/AA Form to verify the presentation of the policy to the Session and the PNC. ● The interim pastor’s contract was modified as required by the Board of Pensions and approved by Session.

October 21, 2019 Congregational Meeting

Session has approved the minutes of the October 27 Congregational Meeting. These minutes are available for review in the church office and will be approved by the Congregation at its next meeting. Below is a short summary of the business conducted.

The Second Semi-Annual Meeting of the Congregation is ordinarily held following worship on the last Sunday in October. The primary order of business is to nominate and elect the next class of Elders and Deacons as well as the members of the following year’s Nominating Committee.

● For Session, Sheri Daugherty was elected to fill an unexpired term in the Class of 2020. Kate Addo and Joel deJesus were elected to the Class of 2022 ● For the Board of Deacons, Lora McGlade and John Morris were elected to the Class of 2022

Note: There are additional openings to be filled on Session, the Board of Deacons and the 2020 Nominating Committee. Please consider if you could serve in one of these important roles.

NOTES

You are welcome to take some of the wood chips that are in piles north of the Shepherd's Garden. They were produced in September when trees were removed. For more information, talk with June Eakin.

If you know anyone who would take the black upright piano from the social hall, please contact Kay Gorman or the church office.

Volunteers are needed each and every Sunday. Check out the sign up sheet and serve where you can as an usher, counter, greeter or liturgist. Thank you!

Show your love for the less fortunate of the area by bringing food for the "For I Was Hungry" barrel this Sunday. The MUM (Mid County United Ministries) pantry is in particular need of cereal, 1 lb. bags of rice and cans of black beans.

WARNER PEOPLE

Update Your Address Books! Beverly Sceery (thru March 2020) Susan Bates 6580 Beach Resort Drive, Apt. 7 507 Cape May Street Naples, FL 43114 Englewood, NJ 07631 239-331-8894

December

1 Scott Bunn 3 Ty Bragg, Mark Eakin, Tim Geiger, Ginger Kleinguenther 10 Sungho Paik 11 Varsha Datta, Ted Human 17 Cara Eakin Burgess 18 Andrei Pinkus 19 Sheri Daugherty 20 Brad Hill 21 Leigh Cook 22 Laura Kline 25 Tim Cook 27 Bill Landfair 28 Nathan Bresee, Mary Cameron 29 Donald Stalker 30 Loyce Bowen, Susan Middleswarth 31 Sean Brosnan, Calvin McGlade

Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church 10123 Connecticut Avenue Kensington, MD 20895 301-949-2900 FAX 301-933-7704 Home Page: http://www.warnermemorial.org Interim Pastor: Rev. Leslieanne Braunstein Director of Christian Education: Dave Grace Director of Music: Peter Smeallie Organist: Sungho Paik Learning Center for Young Children: Rana Oriolo 301-949-2933 Office Manager/Administrative Assistant: Dina Bickel Sunday Morning Preschool/Nursery Aide: Shervonne Johnson Warner Weekly: [email protected] Warner MEMO: [email protected]