April 2014 Issue

An Epistle from Ed
By Ed Cadwallader, Pastor What is it that draws all of us Christians from different backgrounds into Lent? As Lent is getting underway it might be a good time to evaluate the deeper meanings of this season. Many people think of Lent as a period where something is given up for God in order to honor the sacrifice God made on the Cross for us. While this is partially true, it's not exactly how the early Church saw Lent. It's more about anticipating the full impact of Easter both for the good of our hearts now and when Christ returns. When folks talk about giving something up for Lent, it often has the undertone of I'm going to throw God a bone. But the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday is meant to be a time where we take ourselves out of time and out of the business of our world to spend time reflecting on all the aspects of ourselves positive and negative. It's not just our way of giving Jesus a pat on the back, but it's first about re-centering our will to the will of our God and then living that out in our world. The word lent comes from an old English word meaning spring and was originally intended to mirror the Jewish Passover. The days of Lent are intended to parallel the 40 days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai as well as the 40 days Jesus spent praying and fasting in the wilderness. Early in our history the Church recognized the need for Christians to act out these important events in the Scripture in order to remember the divine narrative leading up to the Cross. By the time Palm Sunday comes around, we are celebrants of the coming King. Then on Easter, the love story of God is completed with an empty grave. It's a living memory, and in celebrating Lent, we are, in a way, living through it ourselves. It's important to remember in times of fasting and sacrifice, such as Lent, that Christians dont just give something up, but give something over and that the less we take, the more we can give. And so, Lent becomes the spring of hope for all who believe that the tomb is empty and the oppression of sin and death is released. It becomes the spring of hope for those mourning and grieving. This time of fasting and prayer is both a releasing to God but also a proclamation of freedom through Christ. More than that, it is sharing that hope with others through giving our own lives away, just as Christ did for us on the Cross! Think about it

Bradford Woods Community Church

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

A Tisk, A Tasket, Bring Your Easter Basket!

By Norma Liebenguth An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at the church on Saturday, April 12 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. This is open to all children of the community and friends of the church. Kids: please bring a basket to collect your eggs. Well all meet in Kehew Hall and then venture outdoors. This is a rain-or-shine event. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the kids can search outside for their treats! In the case of inclement weather, the Egg Hunt will be indoors. Afterward, please join us back in Kehew Hall for some special refreshments and a visit with a few quackers!

Rise With The Son at Sunrise

By Ed Cadwallader, Pastor Plan to come out and share in a very special Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday morning, April 20th. Our service will be a truly combined community effort of the Bradford Woods Community Church, Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and Salem United Methodist Church. Beginning at 6:30 am, our service will be held on the hilltop at Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian, where we will celebrate our Lords resurrection as dawn breaks just as it did in that cemetery 20 centuries ago. All of this will be followed by a wonderful breakfast feast, also provided by the congregation at Mt. Pleasant. This is a truly special and moving service that you should seriously consider attending for a kind of spiritual renewal that only comes once a year. See you there!

Missions Report
By Jennie Griffin, Missions Committee This year's shower is a Kitchen Shower, to help stock the apartments for the families in their HOMES program. The HOMES program provides safe, affordable housing to homeless mothers who are committed to completing an educational program, and their children. The shower will be held on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Hearth. Jennie will be out of town that week, so if anyone else would like to attend, please let her know. Jean Hipwell will be back then and may be able to attend as well. On the evening of the shower, groups will bring their "gifts, talk with program participants, and tour the new building. Even if you know about their programs, this is a great opportunity to chat informally with program participants and hear about their challenges and successes firsthand. Here is the list of items that HEARTH is requesting for the shower in order to replenish supplies to be used for the HEARTH program participants (we will be collecting these items throughout April): Dishes (set of 8; Corelle would be great!), set of 8 glasses, salt and pepper shakers, measuring cups measuring spoons, slotted spoon, can opener (not electric), cookie sheet, 2 qt. saucepan with lid, 1 qt. saucepan with lid, electric hand mixer, cutting board, tongs, colander, and pitcher. Thanks to everyone who has already donated items for the NHCO Food Pantry as well as the Spring Share (Easter basket) program. We are building quite a collection! We will keep collecting Easter Basket items through the first week of April, and crackers (along with other food items) for the rest of March. The wish-list item for April is canned fruit.

Save the Date!

By Norma Liebenguth and Jane Siefers Its a show year! The Couples Club Show will be held May 15, 16, 17 at the fire hall. Details will follow.

Worship Leaders and Acolytes

If you would like to volunteer to be a worship leader, please contact Pastor Ed. Thank you for your service! April 6 Jennie Griffin, Ben Cadwallader, acolyte April 13 Jen Hudak, Amber Swann, acolyte April 20 John Liebenguth, Mac Coltharp, acolyte April 27 John Liebenguth, Beth Muhlenkamp, acolyte Pledge Plate

Treasurers Report as of 3/30/14 YTD Actual $ 9,527 $ 8,088 $17,615 YTD Budget $12,500 $ 5,000 $17,500 $70,000

TOTAL: Total Year Budget

Welcome, Cait!
By Norma Liebenguth At the March Council meeting, the group unanimously voted to endorse the search committees recommendation of Caitalyn Kowal as Church Office Manager. Thanks to Pastor Ed and Joe Bayer for serving with me on the committee. And, especially, thank you, Cait, for all of your talent and enthusiasm. Welcome!

He is not here, he has risen . ~ Matthew 28:6

Seder Dinner
By Jane Siefers, Hospitality Committee Hospitality will be providing the Seder dinner prior to the Maundy Thursday service. The dinner will start at 6 p.m. and the service will begin at 7 p.m. This is a meal served on the first night of Passover, commemorating the flight of the Jews from Egypt. Come join us as we partake in this symbolic meal and eat the traditional foods of Passover as we remember what it means to be free.

Good Friday
By Ed Cadwallader, Pastor Good Friday service will be held on April 18th from 12 - 3 p.m. The service will include a moment of reflection and mediation as we observe the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. We will be offering self guided devotional booklet and sanctuary will be decorated to reflect the Lords great sacrifice. Don't miss this powerful evening of REMEMBERING the cross.

Softball Sign-ups!
By Bob Doak The softball team is putting together a roster for 2014! If there are any softball-talented or gifted church members who would like to join the team, they are more than welcome. We have a preseason charity tournament scheduled the weekend of April 5th & 6th , if they would like to see first hand what they are getting themselves into, before committing. The softball is competitive and theres nothing soft about these softballs we use. You can definitely get hurt, and some of us do, even if youre skilled at playing softball. But it is a lot of FUN and we have a great time playing and especially winning. I manage the BWCC/SJP (Bradford Woods Community Church/Sts. John & Paul) merged team. My contact info if youre interested in trying out: cell # (724) 799-9922 | email: robertw.doak@gmail.com. There is a cost to join the team. We pay all of our own expenses. $75.00/person goes toward league fees, umpire fees, and refreshments after the games. We play hard and when we are through, we stick around afterwards to enjoy some cold beverages and snacks while watching the other teams play, sharing some team camaraderie. Opening Day for the ICC Softball season will be Sunday April 13th. We only play on Sundays unless its a weekend tournament before or after the season. There will be NO games on Easter Sunday or Mothers Day.

March Happenings

Bradford Woods Community Church

4836 Wexford Run Road | P. O. Box 421 Bradford Woods, PA 15015 (724) 935-3135
Fax: same as above

Visit our website: www.bradfordwoodschurch.org Contact us: bwcc@consolidated.net

Serving Bradford Woods and surrounding North Hills communities.

ICCC Mission Statement

Bradford Woods Community Church is a member of the ICCC (International Council of Community Churches) whose mission statement is: As people devoted to following Christ we are committed to community, to treasuring diversity, to living our faith i n service and love.

Events for the Month of April:

April Birthdays
1 Jason Riley and Carol Schmidt ; 2 Vanessa Verbaarschott; 5 Cooper King and Glenda Slater; 11 Megan Kurz Anderson; 12 Beth Muhlenkamp and Judy Applegate; 13 Jean Hipwell; 14 Chris Kurz; 18 Kelsey Spec and Sue Keiller; 22 Pennie Cadwallader; 24 Gwen McIntyre; 26 Bob Long

April
5 Charity Softball Event 6 Communion Sunday 9 Council Meeting, 7:00 p.m. 13 Passion Sunday 17 Seder Dinner, 6:00 p.m. 17 Maundy Thursday, 7:00 p.m. 18 Good Friday 20 Easter Sunday Ongoing: AA/NA: Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. Adult Sunday School, every Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Choir Practice, every Monday, 7:00 p.m.

Coffee Hour
Please sign up to handle the duties of coffee hour some Sunday. Preparing coffee, a cold drink and an (optional) refreshment is all thats needed. And, its appreciated!
If you are new to our congregation, please pass your information to Caitalyn Kowal in the church office, regarding your address, phone number, email address, etc. so we can keep our records up to date and keep you up to date. Thank you.
Please help us with our mailing list costs. If you could view this newsletter via email, please contact us at 724.935.3135 or bwcc@consolidated.net.

Prayer Concerns and Praise

Joseph Bossman, Jay Cadwallader, Cathy Carter, Kim DiFuccia, Diane Dilanni, The Davenport Family, Christine Feagin, Kevin & Amy Franks, Joe Gillespie, Tyler Hallsey, Ron Liguori, Jace James Lippert, The Jess Morrman Family, Kelly Oakes & Family, Clay OConnor, Pat Rowe, Myleigh Smith, Linda Tessmer, and The Waldron Family