We are pleased to announce that Brian Blount, President of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, will be the next McClendon Scholar in Residence at NYAPC on the weekend of March 9–11, 2012. Please click here for a brochure of the complete program for the weekend.

Rev. Dr. Blount's topic is “An Encounter with the Apocalypse: Studying the Book of Revelation.” He will lecture on Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday morning and will preach at NYAPC's Sunday worship services at 8:45 and 11 A.M. Rev. Dr. Blount has focused his recent biblical research on the Book of Revelation, and that book will provide the subject for the following lectures and subsequent conversations:

• Lecture: “Dawn of the Dead: Preaching the Apocalypse.” Friday evening, March 9, from 7 to 9 P.M. at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Avenue, NW. The church is two blocks from both the McPherson Square and Metro Center stations. Street and garage parking are available.
• Lecture: “No Free Pass: An Apocalyptic Call for Prophetic Witness in the Book of Revelation.” Saturday morning, March 10, 9:30 A.M. to 12 P.M. at the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, 1219 New Jersey Avenue, NW. Mt. Lebanon Baptist is 2/5th of a mile from the Mt. Vernon Place station on the Yellow/Green Lines. Street parking is available.
• Sunday morning, March 11, worship at 8:45 and 11 A.M., Rev. Dr. Blount preaching on “The Bystander Effect” and conducting an adult church school class at 10 A.M., “Introducing the Book of Revelation”—all at NYAPC.

All are cordially invited to attend one or more of these events.

For background reading on Dr. Blount's thought and work, please see:

• "Strong Medicine" Address to the Covenant Network, 2004: www.covnetpres.org/2004/06/strong-medicine/print/
• "The Last Word on Biblical Authority" Address to the Covenant Network, 2000: www.covnetpres.org/2000/11/the-last-word-on-biblical-authority/print/
• "Exclamation Point" Sermon, 2005: www.ncccusa.org/news/051110BrianBlount.html
• "Pick a Fight!" Sermon, 2005: www.journals.ptsem.edu/id/PSB2005262/dmd005
• "Point Jesus Out" Sermon, 2010: www.cathedralofhope.org/sermons/2010/100321_Guest_PointJesusOut.pdf
• "Conversations with Brian Blount", 2011: www.arkansaaalumni.blogspot.com/
• "Wreaking Weakness: A Cultural Studies Reading of the Lamb of the Apocalypse": www.digital.library.ptsem.edu/

The congregation of The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church will celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 203rd birthday on February 12 with a special performance of Alan Gershwin’s anthem tribute to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The Lincoln family attended NYAPC throughout the Civil War, beginning on the first Sunday following his inauguration in March 1861. The organ and chorus presentation of Gershwin's work will take place during the worship service at 11 A.M. All are welcome!

Parishioners from DC and Maryland have until January 21 to sign up for Wind Power in their homes at a special rate with Clean Currents, the organization that furnishes electricity to our church. This is a plea for responsible environmental stewardship. Attend a free event to learn more: Saint Stephen and the Incarnation Church, 1525 Newton Street, NW, Washington, DC on Monday, January 9, from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. There will be a family friendly presentation with a question and answer session. Please bring a copy of your PEPCO bill with you for an opportunity to sign-up on the spot. Bring your whole family; activities for the children are planned. Learn about how and why to make the switch and how you can support your faith community while doing so. Please RSVP gogreen@cleancurrents.com or call 301-754-0430, ext 716. Getting there by public transportation: Columbia Heights Metro Stop on the Yellow or Green Line. Also Metrobus S2, H2, H3, and H4. For more information contact Fritz von Fleckenstein. fritz@alumni,reed,edu, or telephone 202-832-4275. NOTE: 6 NYAPC people have already signed on to this Wind Power offer!

With the launch of its new website, The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church now makes it possible for members and friends to pay pledges and make other financial gifts to the church online. Please see A Guide to Online Giving under the GIVE tab above for step-by-step instructions on how to make electronic contributions.

In providing this new way to donate, NYAPC has contracted with an outside company, Memphis, Tennessee-based ServiceU, for the web-based system that takes and processes donations. ServiceU specializes in working with churches and offers the highest available level of security for online giving. NYAPC members and friends can designate the funds to which they wish to contribute and select the payment method—either e-checks (direct bank account drafts) or credit cards. Donors who establish an online profile or account can make recurring gifts and keep and view a history of their online giving.

Our annual stewardship campaign, Gifts of Gratitude, marks a collective effort to support the annual mission funding for The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. We hope that you will join us in giving gratitude for our blessings by pledging to either begin or continue to support NYAPC through regular financial contributions on top of the time and energy you already put into serving others. NYAPC's online pledge card is available on the Annual Stewardship page under GIVE.

We are proud to be serving NYAPC as this year’s stewardship co-chairs. When taking on this role we often reflected on what abundance truly means. We are certainly not Christian scholars and so wouldn’t be able to give you the quality answer Rev. Roger Gench could, but when we think about that abundance we can’t help but be thankful. We often wonder how to pay God back and show our gratitude to Him. Just like many of you, that has led us to serve others. One of the most impactful ways we have found to accomplish this is by giving our time and financially supporting our church home.

The annual operating budget of NYAPC is the heart that pumps resources into the myriad of important mission activities the church leads. We know many of you who are reading this are intimately involved in this mission work, but please take a moment to look at the 2012 Stewardship Campaign brochure to see the long list of activities this funding supports. As relatively new members of NYAPC, we were certainly impressed by this list and think you will be, too. There is likely to be an activity that you didn’t even know our large and active congregation was engaged in!

Our goal for the 2012 stewardship campaign is $700,000. This is a modest 5% increase over last year’s campaign goal. Please consider this increase, along with our existing budget deficit, when taking the time to reflect on what your commitment could be for the upcoming year. We understand that times are hard in this current economic climate, but the strain on church resources only continues to grow. Giving even 5-10% more than you did last year could mean all the difference. We are pleased to announce that the NYAPC Boards are leading the way and, at the kick-off of the campaign, had already committed more than $112,000.

We have made pledging even easier this year by offering a pledge page on our beautiful new website. You may access a pledge card on the site, fill it out, and e-mail it directly to Kitty Smith, Manager of Administration and Finance for the church (Katheryn.Smith@nyapc.org). For those who prefer the traditional pledge card, that option is still available. If you are a member of the church, you will be receiving a pledge card in the mail in the coming days, and you can find pledge cards in our church sanctuary and at the church entryway desk. You can simply fill out the form and drop it in the collection plate during the Sunday worship service, or drop it at the church's entryway desk. And, of course, you can feel free to send an e-mail to Kitty Smith (Kathryn.Smith@nyapc.org) with your pledge amount at any time.

Beginning this year, you may also pay your pledge electronically by setting up an account on the church website and specifying contributions at designated time intervals—for example, weekly or monthly—from your bank account to the church's account. You may also still mail a check to the church office or leave your contributions in the plate during Sunday worship services.

So, dig deep in your hearts… and your wallets… to contribute what you are able to the 2012 Gifts of Gratitude stewardship campaign. The future of our church depends on your generosity. Please fill out those cards and make a pledge before Dedication Sunday on November 13th. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Alex and Michelle Mullineaux

Community, intergenerational connections, the sound system, and our missions to the homeless and the children of the District of Columbia were some of the most mentioned issues that came up in the recent series of listening sessions held during five Sundays in June and July. On each of these Sundays, 35 to 40 people divided into small groups to discuss one of five questions:

♦ What is church to you and why?

♦ What is your deep desire for NYAPC?

♦ What are your concerns for NYAPC?

♦ What is your deep desire for the community around us?

♦ What are your concerns for the community around us?

The listening sessions grew out of the series of “one-to-one” meetings that Session members conducted with close to 100 people over the last year, and both grow out of community organizing principles developed by the Industrial Areas Foundation (Washington Interfaith Network here in the District), of which NYAPC is a member.

Comments relating to the question “What is Church for you and Why?” centered around community and challenge – that the church is both a warm, welcoming place for a diverse group and also a place that challenges us both in our spiritual growth and in how we act in the world.

Deep Desires and Concerns

Responses to the question regarding our deep desires for NYAPC included our finances and deficit and how we can bridge differences between each other and the community around us. Several also made comments about having vibrant programs for children and young adults, and a desire for ways for us to get to know each other better.

Several issues appeared both as things we do well as a church and as issues we are concerned about: intergenerational connections, our mission, and how welcoming we are to newcomers. Concerns also included problems with our sanctuary’s sound system and how we can better communicate and facilitate volunteering and involvement. Several people also wondered how we could better coordinate our various ministries.

The Community Around Us

When discussing desires and concerns for the community around us, comments ranged from reaching out to the children in the district to paying attention to the elderly and homebound.

We also discussed coordinating homeless and feeding programs with other churches, how we might reach out to the Federal and District governments, international mission, and how the church can guide us and others in our work in the world.

Next Steps …

Notes from each of the sessions were forwarded to Rev. Gench, and he will share them with the Session and other boards of the church. In addition, at least a few members have asked that we hold at least one set of listening sessions every year, noting that the opportunity to gather and discuss issues in a small group was valuable as an end unto itself. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions about the Listening Sessions or the One-to-One Meetings, please contact Rev. Roger Gench or Karl Hoffman.

UPDATE: Capital Witness: A History of The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington DC has been published and is available for purchase through this website. Please go to the page titled "A New NYAPC History" (in About Us and then History) to buy your copy. You may pick up your book at the church office on the third floor during business hours, or elect to pay to have it shipped to you.

The church's first comprehensive history in 50 years will be published this fall. Fifteen authors tell the NYAPC story in over 180,000 words filling 450 pages and including more than 200 illustrations, five maps, and a timeline that delineates NYAPC's history in the context of the history of the Reformed tradition, religion in America and the country itself. 

Books will be available by Thanksgiving and can be reserved and purchased now.

Each year, members and visitors of NYAPC create Advent Meditations on a set of scripture passages from the lectionary. Contributors take a day and write a brief one-page meditation. The meditations are bound and distributed to church members and put up on the web site as a spiritual meditation tool.

Miriam Dewhurst is currently collecting volunteers for a day and would welcome your participation! Please contact Miriam at miriam.dewhurst@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer or learn more.

Plan now and sign up for NYAPC's next visit (March 27 - April 2, 2012) with our partner church, First Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Havana. The deadlinefor signing up for the trip is December 20, 2011in order to have three months for obtaining Cuban visas. Approximate cost is $1,500 total for one week, including air fare. You do not need to pay any costs by the sign-up date. If you have questions and/or wish to sign up, contact Marilyn Seiber, 703-893-1559, mjs1wan2@bellatlantic.net.

The Board of Deacons invites the congregation to join us in an exciting project that will teach teenagers in the D.C. foster-care system to use documentary photography to tell their stories and seek social justice. We propose that NYAPC host a reception for the youngsters and an exhibition of their work in late spring 2012. We will be working with two fine organizations, Partners for Kids in Care, which promotes the well-being of young people in the District’s foster-care system, and Critical Exposure, which shows students how to use photography to express themselves and advocate for change.

To that end, the deacons have provided seed money to help purchase cameras for the kids to use and to cover the costs of the exhibit and reception. At both services on Oct. 9, deacons will have a minute for mission and will be available in the narthex to talk more about this initiative over coffee and refreshments. We need at least an additional $750 to move forward, and we’re hoping the congregation will join us:

*By contributing money to help buy cameras and pay exhibit costs.
*By sharing ideas about how to enrich this experience for everyone involved.
*And to be there for that moment next spring when a teenager comes to NYAPC, points at a picture on the wall and proudly proclaims, “I did that!”

Already over $250 has been raised and we invite you to help us exceed our goal.  For more information, contact Doug Norwood.  You can learn more about Critical Exposure here.

Members and visitors are invited to gather for coffee and light refreshments following both worship services. After the 8:45 AM service, we gather in the sanctuary. After the 11:00 AM service, we gather in the Narthex. The Nurture Committee offers this as a way for people to meet after church to catch up, gather for brunch plans, or just caffeinate for whatever the day brings!

The Board of Diaconal Ministers is in need of 46 oz. juice or vegetable cans or regular size coffee cans. Members of the Board cover these and use them to deliver flowers each Sunday to six people who are in need of care. You may place cans just outside the door of the Diaconal Minister's room which is next door to Dr. Gench's study. Thanks for helping us in our ministry!

On Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM this summer, we will feature a class preparing for Susan Thistlewaite's visit this fall.  This class will give an introduction to Susan's theology.  Susan will be joining us over the weekend of September 16-18 as our McClendon scholar in residence, and will lead us in a discussion of the topic of interfaith relations and the Middle East. Roger Gench and others will lead the classes.

Susan teaches theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary and she is the past president of that institution. She is also the Senior Religious Advisor for the Center for American Progress here in Washington DC. Her blogs can be found online at the Washington Post.

The choir will sponsor the Third Annual Ice Cream Social on June 5 at 11:00 am, in the Radcliffe Room.
As in past years, the choir will provide sandwiches and all necessary ingredients for you to build your personal ice cream confection, along with entertainment.
The theme this year will be “love.” But listen carefully - all love songs are not what they seem!
There will also be a silent auction to benefit the choir fund.
Like all great expressions of love and hospitality, ice cream, light lunch and entertainment are complimentary. Join us

Welcome to our new web site! After several months of planning and diligent work, we are proud to launch a new look and feature set for nyapc.org. The new site will allow visitor and members to access more information about NYAPC throughout the weeks, and will offer enhanced features such as a sermon archive, video and photos. Members will also eventually be able to access our online directory and give to the church online. NYAPC worked with a company called His&HerAnderson, led by our design/development partner Chris Anderson, on the site. Chris also built a system that will allow more people within the church to update sections, allowing us to use the site to communicate in a more timely fashion.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please contact Rebecca Davis or any member of the evangelism committee.

This scholarship fund assists women who are strong academically but economically disadvantaged as they study for professional careers. The committee is now accepting applications. The deadline is April 29, 2011. You can get an application and more information about the fund from the church staff at office@nyapc.org.

Thanks to everyone who had their pictures made for the new pictoral directory. Our last directory was in 2004, so many of us have changed quite a bit since then! The new directory will be created by a company called LifeWorks.  If you were not able to complete a sitting for the directory, there will be opportunities to submit your own photos and also to participate in future sittings. Printed directories will be available in about a month.