You Were Dead - The Piper for March 11, 2018

March 11, 2018

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Don't be late for church! Remember to move your clocks forward one hour before going to bed Saturday night!

Worship this Sunday

The Fourth Sunday of Lent

You Were Dead, Rev. Ben Robbins

Liturgist: Steph Martin

Music: David Daugherty, Director of Music, Chancel Choir

Stephen Minister Jody Sebben will be available for prayer near the chancel after worship

Chancel Flowers are given to the glory of God in celebration of the arrival of Rev. Ben Robbins as our pastor

Fellowship time immediately follows worship in Polley Fellowship Hall, hosted by: Worship & Music

Need a ride to church?

Call the church office (412) 364-0105 or email before 4pm, Thursday, and we will arrange for a church member to pick you up for Northmont's Sunday service.

This Sunday

You Were Dead

Rev. Ben Robbins

Please join the entire Northmont family for a service of installation

for Rev. Ben Robbins as Pastor of Northmont United Presbyterian Church

Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 2:00pm in the sanctuary

Rev. Sarah Robbins preaching

In case you missed it ...

Audio recordings of our last two Sunday worship services is available by clicking on the links below.

Sunday, February 25 Sunday, March 4

Everlasting Covenant Bring It

Rev. Ben Robbins Rev. Ben Robbins

Audio from all of our Sunday services may be found by clicking here .

Ear Candy & Inspiration for a Lenten Sunday morning

As our Lenten spiritual journey to Golgotha continues, this week we offer a vintage recording of The Soul Stirrers, featuring the legendary Sam Cooke, singing "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" The original poem asked, "must Simon (of Cyrene) bear the cross alone?" Today, regardless of your approach to the lyrics, this song calls each of us to take up our own cross.

Click the link to the right and enjoy!

If you have a musical selection you would like to have featured in this space, we'd love to hear from you! Please send the title (and artist, if it's important to you that we find a specific version of the music) to Bob Addleman.

From the Pastor

Greetings all,

First, let me thank all of you for providing me with such a smooth transition into this new position, and new era in the life of Northmont. It has been a blessing to get to know you, and to work with the wonderful staff that you have assembled. I look forward to all the work and ministry we have ahead of us, especially as we anticipate the blessing of Easter very soon.

This week, I'll be preaching on the subject of grace -- by no means an obscure topic during the season of Lent, or an irrelevant subject at any time of the year.

I think one of challenges for us when it comes to grace is what we do after. The phrases "forgive and forget" vs. its counterpart "forgive but DON'T forget" especially come to mind.

When we talk about God and grace, especially from a theological perspective, we hope and pray that God does both. We are forgiven, and all evidence of the sin is wiped away forever, never to be mentioned again. When we proclaim an Assurance of Forgiveness, we often quote Psalm 103:12

"...as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgressions from us."

At the time, David was trying to allude to that fact God's grace meant that we could not be further from our transgressions- two vectors going in opposite directions. But you and I live at a time when we know a little bit more about the shape of our planet. We know that if you go east and I go west that eventually...we are going to meet again. And it is for this reason that we tend to live more in the 'not forgetting' place, at least when it comes to one person forgiving another. In fact, we would often consider this to be wise- we don't hold on to the hurt, be we also guard ourselves against the possibility of it happening again.

God has one obvious advantage over us when it comes to grace: being all powerful comes in handy. We are finite beings, and once we have found the strength to forgive, we must still keep on living in a world that is broken. It makes we wonder: can we let go (i.e. forget) while still retaining what we have now learned about the other person?

The closest I can get, I think, is rooted in the concept of joy. Can you return to state of loving the other, wishing them well, and in some cases (certainly not all) find reconciliation and relationship? Maybe then, what we seek to forget is not the transgression itself, but the hold that it had on our hearts.

My prayer is that we may we continue to seek grace that is amazing. May God forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And may we have strength and wisdom as we walk this Lenten path.

Peace,

Ben

Doc's Clef Notes

Northmont's Chancel Choir will sing Requiem, by Gabriel Faurè, as part of our worship service, Sunday, March 18. This Requiem is one of music's most widely performed choral works and was written as a church work over a period of years, from 1877 till its final revision was sung for the first time on January 21, 1893 at the Church of the Madeleine, Paris, France. Faurè's Requiem had not been performed in the United States until 1931 when it was sung as a student concert at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since that time it has become a favorite work of many choirs in the U.S.

See you in church.

David (Doc)

From the Spiritual Formation

Director
for Early Education

.

Children's Footprints ...

The children are so excited. They get to go away this Saturday to the Crestfield Camp & Conference Center Tweener Retreat! Children from Wednesday Club are going, along with some other Northmont members. There are six "tweeners" in all attending from our group.

The criterion for participation was to be enrolled in third grade through sixth grade, or "use your discretion." There are some children younger than third grade who are going, but I know they are ready!

We leave the church parking lot at 9:00am Saturday, and will return around 11:00am Sunday. We'll be back in plenty of time for Pastor Ben's installation service.

It will be exciting to see how many have never been away. Will their "blankey" or stuffed animal be tucked tightly inside their pillows? I'm looking forward to hearing the car chatter on the way up and then again on the return trip.

How will the Holy Spirit use this time for us individually as well as collectively? Please pray for Grace Z, Penny, Sally, Seth, Ben, Nick, Logan, myself and Steph. Please pray for us that we may be listening and learning. We are very excited and will let you know how it goes!

Thank you!

With much JOY!!

Barb

Sunday School

Sundays at 9am in the Christian Education wing for grades 7 through 12.

Children's Worship Bags are available in the narthex hallway.

Kids Kirk Children from pre-K through grade 6 are invited to join us after Time with the Children (during wo

Children from Pre-K through grade 6 are invited to join us after Time with the Children (during worship) in the Christian Education wing for Kids Kirk.

If you have any questions, please contact Barb Clark .

Impact Bible Study meets Sundays at 9am in the Berean Room.

Adult Bible Study meets Sundays at 9am in the Mangochi Room.

Praying the Psalms meets Thursdays at 10am in the Berean Room.

Nursery Worship time childcare will be available in the nursery.Worship time childcare will be available in the nurser There is no nursery attendant today. Abby and Rashay are on Spring Break. Feel free to take your child(ren) up to three years of age to the nursery, where you can listen to the worship service on the speaker in the room. Abby and Rashay will return next Sunday, March 18.

Vacation Bible School Save the dates! Join us June 25-29th for an " Amped" up experience. Northmont is Save Save the dates! Join us June 25-29th for an "Amped" up experience. Northmont is hosting a joint VBS with Wexford Community Church. Watch The Piper , Web site, and bulletin for details! We will need many hands to help with this venture. If you feel called to help with VBS, we would love to hear from you!

T weener Retreat d is in grade 3-6, we have the perfexxct camping experience for them. Thank you to all wh Thank you to all who prayed for us on our first retreat with the Tweener group. We will be back with joy and thanksgiving in time for church! Penny, Sally, Grace, Seth, Ben, Nick, Barb, Steph & Logan

Wednesday Club Kids in Kindergarten through 6th grade are invited All kids in Kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to join us from 5-7pm, as we have an evening of faith, food and fun! See you Wednesday, March 14, as we learn another name for God -- I AM (Jehovah), followed by bell-ringing for the older children, games & songs for the younger children, and recreation for all! Kid-friendly dinner is included.

Questions? Email Barb Clark or call her at 412-605-7984 .

Youth Group

Our youth group is composed of 6-12th graders pulling from numerous school districts. We enjoy a relaxed atmosphere where we can build meaningful friendships, play games, explore our faith together, and talk about how God is showing up and working in our lives. We hope to be a community where all feel welcome to come and be themselves .

This week, Youth Group meets Sunday at 2pm to attend the installation service for Rev. Ben Robbins as Northmont's new Pastor. Please join us!

Youth Group meets Sundays at 4:30pm in the Youth Lounge.

Join us for games, fellowship, and Bible Study!

Produce to People returns

The Spiritual Formation and Mission ministry teams invite you to participate in a family mission close to home (over 12 years of age) - join us as we drive to Northside and hand out food to help feed the those in need, Saturday, April 21. Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank sponsors this event. The mission of Produce to People is to feed people in need and mobilize the community to eliminate hunger. GPCFB is a proud member of Feeding America. Their vision is a hunger-free southwestern Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Duquesne, GPCFB receives, repackages and sends out food to distribution centers county-wide.

Use the sign-up sheet in the narthex hallway. Space is limited. Please arrive at Martin Luther King Elementary school in the Northside by 8:30am, to prepare the site and package some produce. The actual distribution starts at 10:00am and lasts till noon, with clean-up done by 12:30pm. Dress for the weather. We are under cover, but otherwise exposed to the elements. Children ages 12 and over with adult supervision are welcome to sign up. Any questions please email Barb Clark or contact her at the church.

News from your Mission Ministry Team

by Jim Nicola

One Great Hour of Sharing

This special worldwide offering will be taken Easter Sunday, April 1. The offering is used to loosen the bonds of injustice, share your bread with the hungry, and be a restorer of streets to live in.

Presbyterian Hunger Program - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance - Self-Development of People

World Mission Initiative Conference

The World Mission Initiative Conference will be held April 13-14. This year's title is, All God's Children: Justice in God's Mission . The conference will take place at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Keynote speakers are Mark Adams, Miriam Maldonado, and Brian Cress. For more information, check out their Web page: http://www.pts.edu/wmi-conference.

Niger Mission Trip opportunity!

This mission will run from December 28, 2018, through January 9, 2019. The trip is sponsored by the Niger Mission Network. The contact person is Don Dawson. More information can be found on the Mission bulletin board on the first floor of the church.

New Wilmington Mission Conference

NWMC 2018 - "Love Your Neighbor" - is coming, July 20-27. There will be daily speakers and evening sessions. Check out the Web site (http://www.nwmcmission.org) and select NWMC 2018 at the top of the page for more information. Plan to go up for a day or two, or for the entire week. There are partial scholarships available for young and old. Talk to any Mission Ministry Team member to find out how to get one.

In the Garden with Northmont's Green Thumb Gang


	One of several dogwood trees on the Northmont grounds. To read about the beautiful legend of the dogwood tree, click here.

text and photo by Bill Goff

As winter begins to transform into spring, Northmont's very own

In the Garden group will begin working and tending the beautiful grounds of our church. We will probably begin our work sometime in April.

If you love gardening and working outside, please consider being a part of our team. Yes, we work on the garden beds, and yes we sweat, but it is good work and good fellowship and making our church property look inviting is a rewarding task to be sure.

Contact Bill Goff at goff307@comcast.net if you are interested.

Your Planned Gifts leave a lasting legacy for the future

by Mark Nootbaar

Earlier this year you might have noticed a mention in the bulletin acknowledging a gift from the estate of long-time Northmont member Tom Snaman. Similar bequests have been made by other members who have gone on to meet the Creator. Their decisions to remember Northmont in their wills have helped to ensure the financial future of this congregation, and we thank them once again.

The members of the Stewardship and Finance committee encourage you to honor God and establish your legacy by adding Northmont as a beneficiary in your will or your retirement savings account. Most of these types are gifts are designated to be added to the church's endowment fund, which provides much-needed income to support the annual operating budget. You can also designate the funds for other uses.

For information on how to make such a planned gift, please talk to your financial adviser, lawyer or any member of the Stewardship and Finance Committee.

P W plans annual flea market for mid-May

by Jane Nicola

Starting on your Spring cleaning? Begin thinking of what you can donate to Presbyterian Women's annual Flea Market Saturday, May 12, 2018. Donations can be dropped at Polley Fellowship Hall beginning Monday, April 30, 2018. We are collecting "almost new" toys, baby, holiday and household items, books, jewelry, and curiosities. Proceeds go to local, national and international missions.

Help our partners in Wilkinsburg with their Easter Egg Hunt

by Ken Yoest

Second United Presbyterian Church of Wilkinsburg will be having their annual Easter Egg Hunt, Palm Sunday, March 25. Donations of plastic eggs with wrapped candy inside would be appreciated. This supports their effort to meet young families in the community and in vite them to come and join the celebration of Jesus's resurrection on Easter Sunday. There will be two boxes to deposit the eggs, one at the lower entrance and one upstairs near the table where cards are signed. Last day for collection will be Sunday March, 18. They are extremely grateful for the approximately 800 eggs we have provided in past years.

Spaghetti Lunch to benefit Youth Mission trip

Mark your calendars! The youth will host a Spaghetti Lunch during fellowship hour, Sunday, March 18. This will be the first fundraiser for their mission trip to Gatlinburg, TN this summer. A free will offering will be taken. Make sure to come enjoy a great lunch & support our youth!

Group to discuss MLK's "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"

Many have been inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership in the civil rights movement and the impact his words have had in public policy and government. But what about the impact of his words on fellow Christians?

Please join us for a 6-week small group to examine and discuss Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," along with relevant Biblical texts, and its implications for us today. The group will begin meeting this Sunday, March 11 at 9am in the Polley Fellowship Hall, and the last session will be on Sunday, April 22 (the group will not meet on Easter Sunday).

For more information and for a copy of the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," please contact Briana Mihok ( brianamihok@gmail.com ) or Steph Martin steph@northmontchurch.org).

ad-just

/ə' ˈjəst/

verb

TO ADAPT OR CONFORM TO NEW CONDITIONS

Have you or has someone you know recently had to adjust to any of these situations: A new job, a new baby, a new boss, a new house, a separation, a grown child moving back home, a seriously ill parent, a death? If so, a Stephen Minister would like to be there to listen and care as you go through this difficult time.

Contact Nancy Garver at 724-935-2194 or email her

Stephen Minister Pat Krotzer

is making hospital calls this week

She can be reached at 412-364-3767 or email her

Tuesday mornings at 8:30

Fellowship Hall

This Week

Frank Simons

Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War

Ladies Lunch Bunch goes Irish

by Gerri Morris

Ladies Lunch Bunch will meet Tuesday, March 20, as we continue our "Lunches Around the World" fun. We will visit"Ireland" this month when we dine at Sieb's Pub, located at 3382 Babcock Boulevard. Please mark your calendars to meet at Northmont at 11:15am to carpool, or be at the restaurant by 11:30am. When you RSVP, please indicate whether you plan to carpool from the church or meet us at the resturant. Lunch is your choice from Sieb's menu. All Ladies are welcome to come join in the wonderful fellowship! Please RSVP by Sunday, March 18, with an email to Gerri Morris at gmorris1@consolidated.net, or call her at 724-935-6732 .

Please remember in your prayers:

Our pastor, elders, deacons, committee members and all of the Northmont community

Our neighbors

All those affected by natural disasters

All those who must, literally, today pray for their daily bread

All those who must meet secretly, in order to worship God

All those who suffer persecution for loving the Lord

All those in need of healing

All those who are bereaved

Our sister church, Mangochi CCAP, in Mangochi, Malawi

Our sister church, Second Presbyterian Church, in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania

Our global mission partners, the Ludwig family, the Weller family, and Kay Day

Members of the congregation who are seeking employment

The leaders of our federal, state, and local governments

All the men and women of our Armed Forces and our Veterans

Our enemies, as God has called us to pray also for them, even as we may not understand why

As The Piper is posted to the World Wide Web, privacy concerns dictate that we no longer publish the entire weekly Prayer Chain. If you would like to receive the Prayer Chain by email, please contact Jane Nicola or the church office.

Sunday

March