From the Pastor
Rousseau and Barth Died
and Went to Heaven...
At a late summer Men’s Barbeque, I had occasion to tell some of the following stories. I also used them illustratively in a sermon some years ago. In our world of so-passionate ideas, it seems to fit to share them this column.

I have an appetite for “died and went to heaven” jokes. The humorous conceit that drives most is “how you get in.” What makes you acceptable to Saint Peter, and by implication valuable as a human being?

I stumbled across the parallel musings of two immensely influential and radically dissimilar thinkers who imagined themselves having died and gone to heaven. Each arrived with the books they had written in hand, and imagined heaven’s reaction to their life’s opus. Each also imagined heaven’s reaction to the presentation of their life’s opus at the gates of Paradise. But the celestial response each anticipated could not have been more different. In imagining that scene, each pulled the cover off a hidden truth about how he understood his life and his God.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the 18th Century Swiss-French social theorist, profoundly affected his contemporaries, especially the more radical leaders of the French Revolution. But Rousseau’s hand also helped shape the modern Western mind that emerged during and after the Enlightenment. Rousseau bridges the Enlightenment with its praise of reason alone, and Romanticism with its affection for the visceral and intuitive. His most famous intellectual creation was “the noble savage,” who would naturally be virtuous if not constrained by culture and civilization.” Rousseau’s reasoning went like this: people behave poorly only because they have been shaped by a society that has misled them. The right kind of education would free us from the corruptive influence of “civilization” and allow us to be the innocent people we are by nature. A winsome doctrine at first blush, it assures us that our failure to live in natural innocence is not our fault. Of course, Rousseau’s noble savage stands in stark counterpoint to the traditional Christian understanding of sin. “Sin” has understood human nature itself as the problem. Rousseau conceived of culture as the problem.

Karl Barth will be remembered by many as the greatest Christian theologian of the twentieth century. Also Swiss, he did most of his work in the years shadowed by the horrors of the First World War and the totalitarianism of Hitler and Stalin. Barth was early to recognize that the classical liberal theology of the 19th century had run its course. Its naive optimism born of the Enlightenment had wilted before twentieth century reality. Barth laid out a “Neo-orthodoxy, a rediscovery of the radically God-centered theology of Scripture and earlier Christian tradition. If Barth was hopeful for the future, it was not because he trusted in the goodness of human nature, but in God. His work, set alongside Auschwitz and the Gulag, brought many back to an appreciation of the earlier serious appraisal of the human condition called by the uncomfortable name “sin.” Barth believed that hearts needed to be changed by the grace of God, not by liberation from culture.

In his final work, “Confessions,” Rousseau imagines himself having “died and went to heaven.” He approaches the heavenly throne with his head held high, carrying a copy of “Confessions.” As he passes the Pearly Gates, all heaven set aside their praise of God to listen to Rousseau’s story: “I have bared my secret soul as Thou thyself has seen it, Eternal Being! So let the numberless legion of my fellow men gather round me, and hear my confessions. Let them groan at my depravities, and blush for my misdeeds. But let each of them reveal his heart at the foot of Thy throne with equal sincerity, and may any man who dares, say, ‘I was a better man than he.’”

Depravities and misdeeds there were, ranging from his desertion of assorted illegitimate children to a venomous hatred of rival intellectuals. Alan Jacobs points out in a recent essay, “Rousseau claims justification neither by faith nor by works, but by sincerity: sincerity alone enables him not only to transcend his fellow human beings but also to throw his Confession in the face of God, daring even Him to judge Jean-Jacques.”

In his biography, Karl Barth, Eberhard Busch quotes Barth speculating on the same scene, his own appearance at heaven’s gate. Barth wrote far more pages than Rousseau and imagines himself arriving with his books not under his arm, but in a pushcart. The angels do not turn to him for a reading; rather, they laugh. “In heaven,” Barth said, “we shall know all that is necessary, and we shall not have to write on paper on read more . . . Indeed, I shall be able to dump even the Church Dogmatics, over the growth of which the angels have long been amazed, on some heavenly floor as a pile of waste paper.” Barth stands justified before God, neither by his copious work nor by his great sincerity, but by the grace of God alone.

The startling contrast between the “died and went to heaven” scenes imagined by Rousseau and Barth point most obviously to the immeasurable difference between their respective understandings of what is wrong with the world and how things are to be set right. If you can get by Rousseau’s unblinking hubris, you recognize that his assumption of his natural innocence and his appeal to sincerity are both clearly reflected in our time. Modern popular culture blithely lodges its trust in “simple human nature,” and “justification by candor.” And conversely, Barth’s dumping of his life’s work on heaven’s floor as scratch paper for the angels cuts against the grain of our equally potent contemporary bourgeois doctrine, that of “justification by achievement.”

What fascinates me most about the contrast between these two thinkers lies just here: their distinct understandings of the way in which their life’s work mattered. Rousseau‘s view of his achievements, such as they were, is in no sense proportional. That is, he and his effort are relative to nothing transcendent. They are relative only to the thought and work of other humans. He dares to imagine that both God and the angels might actually be illuminated by what he, Jean-Jacques, has to say. He and his work are set at the center of the cosmos.

Karl Barth knew full well that his theology mattered. But for all the passion that formed his ideas and for all the effort that went into his writing, his view of his life’s work was proportional to God. Karl Barth fathomed that God’s thoughts were not, after all, the same thing as Karl Barth’s thoughts. Barth’s passion for theology, his appreciation for its crucial relevance to life must be set next to his understanding that in absolute and transcendent terms, “even the Church Dogmatics” would end up “on some heavenly floor as a pile of waste paper.”

This finely nuanced appreciation of one’s ideas and work - important but never ultimately so - falls on my ears as liberatingly good news. On the one hand, it encourages me to give myself passionately to thinking and working at those thoughts and efforts that I am convinced make a difference. But on the other, it frees me from the crushing burden of imagining that everything depends what I think and what I do. It frees me from the ultimate vanity of fancying that even my most finely wrought ideas and convinced opinions are ever anything but penultimate and provisionary. Our current cocksure and passionate declarations on everything from sexology to and Christology are proportional to a God whose “thoughts are not my thoughts.”

This is the same subtlety of distinction that T. S. Elliott voiced when he prayed in his poem, “Ash Wednesday:” “teach us to care and not to care.” We care - even passionately. We think - sometimes hard. We work - often tirelessly. It all matters very much indeed, but in the end neither our caring nor our thinking nor our working will save us or the world. So when I die and go to heaven, I for one will leave my sermons and my books here. I rather doubt that St. Peter will even ask about them.—Michael L. Lindvall

CCOC Grants $1.5 Million

The Capital Campaign Outreach Committee (CCOC) has awarded the $1.5 million raised by the Brick Church community for the following four areas of outreach: Seminary Education ($300,000); New York City Local Outreach ($700,000); New York City Church Redevelopment ($250,000); and International Mission Outreach ($250,000). Both the New York City Church Redevelopment and International Mission Outreach are operating as part of the Joining Hearts and Hands program of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Seminary Education
Endowment ($200,000)
The endowment will support one seminary student at The Brick Church each academic year. These students will be fulfilling the field work requirement toward their Master of Divinity Degree.

Auburn Theological Seminary ($100,000)
This grant supports Auburn Seminary’s $5 million campaign for Religious Leadership. Auburn’s Center for the Study of Theological Education is the only research institute in the nation focusing specifically on theological education. The Center serves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish theological educators, as well as leaders of religious organizations that oversee theological education.

New York City Local Outreach
Auburn Theological Seminary Face to Face/Faith to Faith Program ($100,000)
The Face to Face/Faith to Faith Program of Auburn’s Center for Multifaith Education teaches teen leaders how religious traditions can be resources of peace. The program focuses on communication skill building, multifaith education and leadership training. Funds will support thirty students from around the world to participate in 2-week summer intensives in New York City. This program aims to create a permanent Face to Face Program in New York City that could be replicated in other large U.S. cities.

Children’s Storefront ($100,000)
The Children’s Storefront is an independent tuition-free school in Harlem. Funds will provide for tutors, supplies, day trips, transportation and food for the after school and summer enrichment programs. They promote
healthy recreation, develop talent and provide exposure to positive activities, supplying additional academic support and introducing positive role models through the men’s and women’s mentoring programs.

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter ($100,000)
The Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, recognizing that homeless people cannot secure and retain housing without adequate income, created OPTIONS, a pre-vocational training program that addresses multiple barriers to employment. This grant will be used to increase the number of clients, expand educational assessments, double the number of computer classes, increase the number of internships, and support the newly employed.

Sanctuary for Families ($100,000)
Founded in 1984 as a small network of safe homes, Sanctuary for Families is a leader in serving domestic violence victims and their children in New York City. The Economic Stability Project (ESP) is a pioneering initiative designed to move Sanctuary clients from economic survival to self-sufficiency. Funds will be used to hire two dedicated ESP case managers who will work with hundreds of clients and to replenish the ESP client assistance fund.

Search and Care ($100,000)
Search and Care helps frail older people living in the Yorkville and Carnegie Hill neighborhoods to live safely and independently in their own homes. A key part of the mission is identifying the isolated older people who become invisible within the community and fall through the cracks. Search and Care will use our grant to hire an outreach social worker to help locate and assist older people by involving community partners and additional volunteers.

Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center ($100,000)
The Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center assists low-income and more vulnerable members of the community through programs that encourage growth, self-reliance and participation in community life. Approximately 6,000 seniors, children, youth and families benefit from its programs every year.
Funds will support a pilot project for seventy low-income East Harlem children ages 5-11 as part of the community-based After School Learning Center.

Women’s Prison Association ($100,000)
The Women’s Prison Association (WPA) helps formerly incarcerated women realize new possibilities for themselves and their families. WPA’s services make it possible for women to obtain work, housing, and health care; to rebuild their families; and to participate fully in civic life. The grant will help buy and renovate a residence in which eight to ten women will live together, each with her own bedroom, plus a shared common space. Residents will cover the monthly mortgage and operating costs by paying rent and utilities.

New York City Church Redevelopment (Joining Hearts and Hands)
Good Neighbor Presbyterian Church ($50,000)
Good Neighbor Presbyterian Church in East Harlem has fifty active, predominantly Hispanic members with as many as 100 people attending services. One of their many outreach programs is a twice-weekly food distribution program for the local community which aids up to 200 families. This grant will provide for roof repairs and window replacements.

The Church Of Gethsemane ($55,000)
The Brick Church has a long association with the Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which was created by and for prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. Funds will be used to hire a grants writer, upgrade the electrical system and support reentry programs for current prisoners and their families.

Second Presbyterian Church ($72,000)
Former Brick Church associate pastor, The Reverend Leslie Merlin, leads the congregation of this historic church. The congregation is small, but committed and growing. Funds will be used to paint the sanctuary, install a ground floor bathroom and restore their library/meeting room.

Jan Hus Presbyterian Church ($73,000)
Our grant to Jan Hus Presbyterian Church will be used primarily to restore parts of their sanctuary beautifully crafted by Czech artisans in 1874. Other improvements will be made to the lobby of the adjacent neighborhood house, used for their homeless program, and to the theatre, a facility that generates additional operating revenues.

International Mission Outreach (Joining Hearts and Hands)
Puentes de Christo [Bridges for Christ] ($96,000)
The Presbyterian Border Ministry is a joint project of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Puentes de Cristo is one of seven mission projects along the 2,000-mile U.S./Mexican border. The U.S. Coordinator will be based near the border cities of McAllen, TX and Reynosa, Mexico, and will host, organize and facilitate the visits of mission teams that help with various projects sponsored by Puentes de Cristo.

Ethiopian Evangelical Church ($150,000)
The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a long-standing partner of PCUSA and has upwards of 5 million members. The mission workers will be based in one of 5 Bethel (Presbyterian) Synods in the western region of the country. They will work on sustainable development programs to provide potable water and water control, food security, and microenterprise development.

Celebration

Laura Mendenhall to Preach in Celebration Series
On October 22, Laura S. Mendenhall, President of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, will be our guest preacher. Mendenhall’s current research interests include the role of the sacraments in the life of the church, the use of daily prayer in structuring Christian community, and strategies for faithful proclamation of Christian stewardship.

She received her B.A. degree from Austin College, an M.A. from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, an M.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a D. Min. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Mendenhall served as Associate pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas from 1983 - 1987, followed by four years as Co-Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Victoria, Texas. From 1991 to 2000, she was Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin.

In 2001, she preached at the General Assembly, in 2002 and 2003 for The Protestant Hour, and for various church-wide events.

Please join in welcoming Laura Mendenhall at a wine and cheese reception on Saturday, October 21, in the Parish House Living Room from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

First Neighborhood Night: New Gnosticism
7:00 p.m., Living Room, Thursday, October 26

Three times a year, the New Members/Evangelism Committee hosts an evening of education and discussion with Michael Lindvall. October’s topic will be “The New Gnosticism: Old Ideas, New Life.” The DaVinci Code (and dozens of similar novels), and Kabala (and Scientology, for that matter) are all the rage. Very old ideas from the spiritual edge are suddenly back in vogue. In a neighborhood forum open to all, Senior Minister Michael Lindvall will briefly explore these venerable spiritual systems and the renewed interest in them in our time.

Feel free to invite your friends and neighbors to attend. The evening will begin with a brief reception in the Living Room.

Michael Lindvall To Lead New Men’s Breakfast Bible Study
7:45 a.m., Living Room, Thursdays, October 5 – November 16

Starting this October, all men are invited to join a 7-week Bible study led by Senior Minister Michael Lindvall. The group will use a study guide and will work to understand and apply the Biblical text. Feel free to invite friends and colleagues; the group is open to all men every week.

New Brick Church Tradition: Fall Family Retreat
October 27-29, Holmes, New York

You and your whole family are invited to join in a new tradition at The Brick Church. Please plan ahead for the fall Family Retreat. On Friday, October 27, Brick Church members and families will assemble at the Presbyterian Center at Holmes (55 miles north of New York City). Holmes is a 550-acre camp and conference center surrounded by forests, lakes, cliffs, trails and wetlands in the lower Hudson River Valley. The camp’s location provides a beautiful view of the area and the spectacular change of colors in the fall.

The retreat begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening and finishes at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday morning will include a time of family worship.

Guest Speakers
Our guest speakers are Rev. Greg and Laura Cootsona, authors of The Power of No, the Yes of God: The Joys and Demands of Contemporary Life.
Greg and Laura Cootsona live in Chico, California. Greg is the Associate Pastor for Adult Discipleship at Bidwell Presbyterian Church. Laura is the Assistant Director at the Jesus Center, a nonprofit organization in Chico that offers hospitality to the homeless in the name of Jesus. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. Greg holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from U.C. Berkeley, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. They have two daughters, Melanie (11) and Elizabeth (8).

Registration
Children will enjoy their own programs during adult speaker times. Families and friends can spend free time together in the afternoon, and other activities for the whole church family will be offered.
Cost includes Friday-Sunday room, board, speaker times, and all activities.
· Adults – $170
· Children 10 and younger – $100
· Children 3 and younger – $50
Registration forms were mailed out in early summer and were due with payment in September, but there are still a few spots open. If you need another form, please contact Caitlin Sparks at csparks@brickchurch.org. If you have other questions, please contact Rev. Christy Lang.

The Art of Fiction
9:45 – 10:45 a.m., Living Room, October 1: Large Group Presentation / October 22 – December 17: Self-selected small group

The Art of Fiction
On October 1 at 10:00 a.m. in the Living Room, Brick Church elder and writer Kent McKamy will explore the gift of creative expression and writing. Come hear Kent reflect on his own experience and offer suggestions for putting some of your own thoughts on paper. Kent will follow this large-group presentation with a small-group course on personal expression and creative writing (see details below in “Write? Right!”).

Write? Right!
You are invited to attend a course in personal expression and creative writing. On Sunday, October 1 at 10:00 a.m., Kent McKamy will discuss writing and the creative process at the adult education hour. Those interested may then sign up for a free six-session course (schedule below).


The October 1 presentation will outline the areas the course will cover and will provide useful suggestions about getting your thoughts on paper. Following this session, participants will be asked if they would like to continue, and the first 10 volunteers will be taken for six sessions. The course will emphasize personal expression, with attention to voice, mood, tone, story/plot, narrative line, and character. Each week, one or two short contributions from participants will be read and discussed. The course will be led by Kent McKamy and supervised by Rev. Christy Lang and the Adult Education committee. Guest speakers have been invited. Please note that the course does not meet every week, so you can commit to it and still attend other scheduled Adult Education events.

Adult Bible Studies
9:45 a.m., Anderson Library, Sundays
At 9:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the Anderson Library, our seminary interns Rick Bold, Emily Krause, and Rachel Pederson will be leading Bible study discussions. If you have been reading the Bible your whole life or if you are just starting out, you are welcome to this open group for an hour of conversation and study. Rick, Rachel, and Emily will be choosing topics and themes soon for the fall studies.

Seeking Justice: The Christian Church in the World
10:00 a.m., Living Room, Sundays, October 15 – November 12
Presbyterians have long shown a commitment to justice and peace around the world and in their own cities. We believe that God calls us to pay attention to problems around us and to respond to injustices with courage and wisdom. Come hear four compelling speakers on major issues of justice today: affordable housing, world poverty, environmental justice, and women’s rights in developing countries.

October Classes
"Human trafficking, slavery, sexual exploitation"
Bethany Hoang, International Justice Mission, Washington, D.C.
Sunday, October 15

"Affordable Housing in New York City"
Rev. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Asst. for Social Ministries, Society of Jesus, NY Province
Sunday, October 22

Youth Scripture Readers Needed
Children and youth in the 3rd grade and up are invited to serve as Scripture readers on Family Sundays. Parents of readers will receive the biblical text in advance via e-mail so that the readers can prepare at home. If your child is comfortable reading aloud and is interested in leading worship in this way, please e-mail Thea Luria, Assistant to the Senior Minister, at tluria@brickchurch.org and include the name, age, and grade of your reader.

Sunday School Curriculum Details
We are using two curriculum sets this year. Almost all ages and grades are using Seasons of the Spirit, which is an internationally produced curriculum that incorporates the fine arts and liturgy. It is lectionary based (the lectionary is the series of Bible readings assigned to Sundays in the church year), which means that children often study the same Bible story in class that their parents hear about in the worship service. Such an approach helps the whole church family to be on the same page. The Seasons of the Spirit sessions for this fall will remind children of their identity as God’s children and call them to faithfulness in ordinary life. Look in the bulletin each Sunday to read what the classes are studying.

An exciting development in the 4th-5th grade Sunday Church School program this year is the introduction of the We Believe: God’s Word for God’s People curriculum, produced through the Presbyterian Church (USA). This class of students will begin a survey of the entire Bible this year entitled “The Bible—The Story of God’s Faithfulness: A Survey of the Old Testament.” Next year’s 4th-5th graders will study the New Testament. This class will help older children to gain a coherent, over-arching view of the Biblical narrative and to learn Biblical history in greater depth, which helps prepare them for Confirmation classes in 8th grade and for life in the church.

Friday Night Dinner Program for Brick Church Youth
The Brick Church hosts a meal every Friday evening for residents of the 91st St. Coalition for Shelter community. Brick Church youth in grades 8-12 cook together, meet these friends of Brick Church, and receive community service credit. Pastor Christy Lang and other adults help with the cooking in Watson Hall Kitchen. This month’s youth nights for FNDP are October 6 and 20. Please arrive at 5:00 p.m. in Watson Hall. We are finished by 7:45 p.m.

Donate Sunday School Supplies
Our Sunday School classes learn by studying Bible stories, singing songs, playing games, and doing projects. We use a lot of supplies in the process, many of which we must order. You can help us by donating supplies from your home. Drop-off boxes are in the Sunday School Resource Room on the 3rd Floor. If you would like to donate items not listed below, please check first with Christy Lang:
baking trays; chopsticks, new; Christmas cards (used is fine); costumes (clean, gently-used); cotton or work gloves; discarded CDs; egg cartons, clean; fabric, clean; glass bottles or jars (clean, no alcohol bottles); keys; magazines with pictures (no catalogues); paper tubes from bath tissue or paper towels; picture frames; plastic bottles, clean; shells from the beach; silk or nylon scarves (no winter scarves; t-shirts (size small-medium, clean); wire coat hangers.

Community Service Credit Opportunities
If you are in 9th-12 grades in Manhattan, you probably need to fulfill community service credit hours. The Brick Church offers ways for you to help the community and gain credit hours. You can serve meals with other students to residents of a nearby shelter at our Friday Night Dinner Program. You can tutor children as part of the East Harlem Tutorial program. You may assist with Sunday School on Sunday mornings, or you can help with other events throughout the year. Finally, we always have behind-the-scenes tasks at the church offices. For more information about any of these opportunities, contact Christy Lang.

The Church Mouse Program is Up and Running! Is Your Child Away at School?
If you have a student who will be away at school this year, you are invited to sign him or her up for the Church Mouse Program. When you sign your students up, church members will periodically send small gifts and notes to them at school, reminding them that the Brick Church remembers and loves them. To register your student for this wonderful, free program, please contact Chris Curtin-Barnes at ccurtin@nydailynews.com or David Wagener at david@wagenercapital.com.

Sign Up to Be a Church Mouse
Please sign up to support our Brick Church students who are away at school. Those who register for the Church Mouse program will be paired with students who are away at school and asked to encourage them by periodically sending small gifts and notes. This ministry is a great opportunity for your whole family, including children, to get involved in showing God’s love to one another. To register yourself or your family to serve as a Church Mouse, please contact Chris Curtin-Barnes at ccurtin@nydailynews.com or David Wagener at david@wagenercapital.com.

5th & 6th Grade Pioneers, 7th Grade Youth Group Are Starting Up!
The Brick Church Pioneers and the 7th Grade Youth will hold their first events on Sunday, November 5, from 5:00- 7:00 p.m. Come to The Brick Church for 2 hours of fun, fellowship, dinner, and a service project. The cost for October’s event is $15, and the entire year of events costs $75. Bring a friend! Remember also to turn in your registration form that came in the mail. Questions? Contact Preston Davis for Pioneers or Tom Winmill for 7th grade. The dates for Pioneers and 7th Grade events for the 2006-2007 year are: November 5, January 7, February 4, March 4, May 6.

Confirmation Classes Begin October 15
Confirmation Class is for 8th graders who want to explore the Christian faith, learn more about The Brick Church, and grow in faith with their friends. We discuss relevant topics, talk in small groups, eat lunch together, and do activities that help us connect with the topics we discuss. Registration forms will be mailed out in August and were due September 17. If you need another registration form, please contact Caitlin Sparks.

Class Schedule
All classes are held in the Dining Room from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
October 1, 15, 22
November 5, 12, 19
January 7, 21, 28
February 4, 11, 25
March 4, 11, 18, 25.

Additional Events
Saturday, April 14, 9:30 a.m. – Youth Sunday Rehearsal
Sunday, April 15, 10:00 a.m. – Youth Sunday
Tuesday, April 17, 6:30 p.m. – Confirmation students presented to Session
Sunday, April 29, (after church until 4:00 p.m.) - NYC CROP Walk
Sunday, May 6, 10:00 a.m. – Confirmation Sunday

Women’s Association
The Women’s Association was created more than 90 years ago to support and encourage fellowship among church members and to provide vital support through outreach to a host of worthwhile community organizations serving women and children.

The Fair’s Fall Rummage Sale
October 20 - 21
The Rummage Sale is an important part of our Fair season. It raises funds for our Outreach programs by drawing shoppers from our neighborhood and from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx to buy great quality, low-cost clothes, toys, books and other items. The money goes to Women’s Association Outreach programs benefiting women and children in Harlem.

Come be part of it! Bring your family members – men and women, children over 10 – to set up on Thursday, October 19, and/or help any time during the sale on Friday, October 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, October 21, any time from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you can volunteer, please contact The Women’s Association office.

Support Outreach: Order Stationery and Christmas Cards Through the Fair
The Fair’s Personal Papers Committee Fall Show will be October 24 and 25 at Brick Church. Order your Christmas cards, personal stationery, holiday invitations and gifts for Christmas. We have lots of new and exciting lines. Remember that when you buy your personalized stationery through the Personal Papers Committee, 50% of what you spend goes to the Women’s Association outreach programs. Contact Janet Ley, Amanda Heath or the Women’s Association office for more information.

The Brick Church Fair: Nov. 14– 16: “Shopping for a Cause”
The Brick Church Fair has been part of Brick Church for 64 years and as we get ready this fall for the 2006 Fair, please join us. Whether you have a lot or a little time to give, there are opportunities for service and fun. Committees that work all fall include Opening Night Party, Set-up and Decorating, Publicity, and Family Night. If you like to cook…help with the cooking for our Au Gourmet booth. If you prefer to volunteer during the 3 days of the Fair, there are daytime, weekend and evening shifts. The proceeds of the Fair benefit our great outreach programs…from after school tutoring to providing Sunday lunches for the elderly in our neighborhood. To learn more, contact a Fair Chair, Alison Brown, Maria Wildermuth, Leslie Weiss, Stephanie Wu, or the Women’s Association office. The 64th Annual Brick Church Fair, sponsored by the Women’s Association, will take place from November 14 to November 16.

Young Adults Group
For members and visitors in their 20s and 30s who strive to serve others while creating lasting friendships within the Brick Church community. For more information or to view an updated schedule of events, visit brickchurch.org and click on Young Adults or email: youngadults@brickchurch.org.

Service Opportunity: New York Cares Day
October 21, 9:30–3:30 p.m.
Join the Young Adults Group as we help revitalize a NYC school! On New York Cares Day, the Brick Church Young Adults Group will join 8,000 other volunteers for some good, clean fun, painting murals and classrooms, organizing libraries and planting flowers to help provide thousands of New York City school children with cleaner, safer and more stimulating environments to learn and grow. We need at least 15 volunteers to be a part of our group, so please email us if you’re interested in participating.
For more information, check out the website www.nycares.org.

Brunch after Worship
Please join us in the dining room of the Parish House immediately following worship on Sunday, October 22, for a complimentary brunch and a lively discussion. We will post information about brunch speakers, topics of discussion and upcoming events on the Brick Church website.

New Members/Evangelism

Visitors Welcome Table
The New Members/Evangelism Committee will set up a Visitors Welcome Table, with information about upcoming events and membership opportunities at Brick, at all events at which we anticipate visitors, including all Sunday Coffee Hours. Please feel free to stop by the table and chat with an NM/E Committee member or welcome a guest of Brick. The more people welcoming our visitors the better!

Get in Touch
To contact any member of the New Member/Evangelism Committee, or for more information about our programs and meetings, please contact Tanisha at tcarrell@brickchurch.org. Committee members include Elders Carlton Farrier, Christina Foxley and Camille McDuffie, along with Aileen Birch, Allston Chapman, Katie Couric, Alan Gage, Ashley Gramins, Andrew Heaney, Stacie Kallenberg, Kent McKamy, Gail Newell, Philip Sawyer, Sandy Shaw, Tom Stoecker, Cindy Swensen and Christine Wright. Staff Support: Tanisha Carrell. Pastoral Advisors: Doug King and Christy Lang.

Membership Meetings in October
Five times a year, The Brick Church hosts a series of Membership Meetings where neighbors, visitors and members can learn about The Christian Faith, the Presbyterian Tradition and the history of Brick Church. We welcome all who are interested to join one or all of these meetings. By participating in this series, you are by no means expected to seek membership at The Brick Church. We encourage members to join these sessions as well, to demonstrate to visitors that we are a faith community, constantly seeking educational, spiritual and social nourishment.

For people interested in exploring membership, The Brick Church offers a series of meetings in October. To accommodate busy schedules, classes on The Christian Faith and The Presbyterian Tradition are held on both Thursday evenings and on weekends.

Meetings on The Christian Faith and The Presbyterian Tradition provide excellent grounding in our basic beliefs, traditions and differences. The Pastors lead these discussions in an informal environment. A Saturday orientation, The Meaning of Membership, led by the Senior Pastor and members of the congregation, focuses on Brick Church and provides an overview of our many activities, events, and programs. Attendance at all three meetings is required for membership.

Please contact Tanisha Carrell (212-289-4400, ext. 230) if you plan to attend, or simply for more information. Childcare is available for all the Sunday classes and upon request for the Saturday orientation.

Schedule of Meetings
The Christian Faith
Thursday, October 12 at 6:45 p.m. or Sunday, October 15 at 9:50 a.m.

The Presbyterian Tradition
Thursday, October 19 at 6:45 p.m. or Saturday, October 21 at 12:00 p.m.

The Meaning of Membership
Saturday, October 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Received into Membership
Sunday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m.

OUTREACH

Brick Church to Host Grief Recovery Program
Grief is the normal and natural reaction to loss and change. Whether you have lost a loved one, experienced divorce or the end of a relationship, lost a job, hopes or health -- consider participating in the Grief Recovery Program. This Outreach Program will guide those who wish to resolve their loss issues and move beyond their grief to a richer quality of life. It is an action step program that involves 9 sessions. The program is affiliated with and endorsed by The Grief Recovery Institute and Sunrise At Midnight. For more information call Chris Randall, In-Reach Chaplaincy Deacon, at 212-534-0707.

Put Blood Drive Sunday, October 15, On Your Calendar
This year’s Fall Blood Drive will be held on October 15 in Watson Hall from 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. New blood donor guidelines designed to safeguard the health of the blood supply have eliminated much of our community’s blood supply, formerly imported from Europe. Yet local demand for blood is on the rise. Your help could save a life.

To be eligible, blood donors must be between 17 and 75 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health, must not have spent time adding up to 3 months or more in the United Kingdom between 1980-1996, and must not have spent time adding up to 5 years or more in Europe since 1980. If you have a New York Blood Center donor card, no further ID is needed. Otherwise, a photo or signature ID is required and you must know your Social Security number.

If you have any medical, travel or general questions on donating blood, call The NY Blood Center Medical Eligibility Line, 800-688-0900, which is open Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. All questions are answered immediately and confidentially.

If you are eligible to donate, please do so. If you are not eligible, but know others who are, please encourage them to join us on Sunday, October 15. For further information, please contact Deacons Todd Aydelotte (212-759-7132) or Cindy Watson (212-860-3155).

Harvest Food Drive for Yorkville Common Pantry – October 22
Help The Brick Church congregation collect 100’s of food bags for Yorkville Common Pantry. On your next grocery run or order remember to shop for YCP staples. Canned tuna, salmon, stews, and low-sugar fruits are always needed as are jars of peanut butter and bags of dry black beans.

Bags will be distributed during worship on October 15 and collected on Sunday, October 22. Thanks in advance for your support from Deacons Beth Green and Willie Carter.

Book Club October Selection
The Brick Church Book Club will read Leaving Mother Lake by Yang Erche Namu and Christine Mathieu for their October meeting. Elaine Abelson will host the meeting at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, October 2. Please RSVP to Elaine at 212-722-7534.