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November/December 2015 The Palisades Community Church: A Shining Light for Christian Unity and a Spiritual Home for All Vol. 83, Issue 6

Jeff ’s Journal My wife Chris and I went to Sher-wood High School’s football game on a recent Friday evening, and took note of how the environment had changed from four years ago. Back then, the community’s middle school kids enjoyed free reign in the area behind the end zone, and on one oc-casion our son, among others, was physically victimized by the un-checked behavior of some rowdy peers. The next day, being an upset parent, I suggested to the athletic di-rector that the unruliness was a disas-ter waiting to happen, and that there was no good reason why the younger kids should not take in the football game from the grandstand like every-one else. The result? The area behind the end zone is now off limits to eve-ryone. (Of course, the current middle schoolers have simply moved their operation to underneath the stands!) Did I do the right thing? In her book, “How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success”, Julie Lythcott-Haims warns that parents “in affluent communities have been hobbling their children by (making) sure they succeed and by working diligently to protect them from disap-pointment, failure and hardship.” A former Dean at Stanford, she con-tends that “overhelping” prevents youth from learning who they are, and how to navigate the world. She reports that some “helicopter” par-ents talked to their Stanford freshmen many times a day, and directly inter-vened in any difficulty.

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On October 11, we celebrated 92 years since our founding as a congregation, in 1923. The observance was highlighted by the music of “The Loungers” jazz trio. (Photo on page 2)

92nd Anniversary at Palisades Community Church

BLOOD DRIVE Refer to page 7 for details

O n Saturday, November 14, our congregation will host Region B

churches of the International Council of Community Churches, for the an-nual “banquet” sponsored jointly by the Samaritan Men and the Women’s Christian Fellowship. The banquet has, in recent years, actually become a luncheon, to accommodate the safer driving conditions offered by daylight. A program of worship, music, and dance will begin at 11:00 in our sanc-tuary, followed by lunch at 12:30 in Memorial Hall. Karima Benamri, who is otherwise

PCC to Host Regional ICCC one of our preschool teachers, will be serving as head chef in the kitchen. We need volunteers to assist Karima, to set up the Hall, to serve our guests, and to clean up! Please let Linda Schierow know how you can help. Region B of the ICCC includes Park Road Community Church and Peo-ple’s Community Church in DC, and Douglas Memorial Community Church, Seneca Community Church, Craig Memorial Community Church, and Norbeck Community Church in Maryland. Between 75 and 100 guests are expected!

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Are there indicators that may signal “helicopter” parenting? 1) If you say “we” when you mean your child (“We’re on the travel soccer team”), you may be fostering an unhealthy rela-tionship. 2) If you argue a lot with teachers, coaches, umpires, your child does not learn to advocate for himself or herself. What can a parent do differently? 1) Stop doing your youngster’s homework! 2) Build self-sufficiency for real life by allowing kids to practice such skills on their own—and even sometimes fail. 3) Assign household chores, which teach accountability and a work ethic. Chris and I are enjoying all the special aspects of Danny’s senior year, trying to be available to him while staying comfortably out of his way. But just now, after reading the advice of Dean Lythcott-Haims, I’m glad that I resisted the many occasions last year when I wanted to confront his lazy, incompetent math teacher.

Jeff’s Journal continued from page 1

Nov 1 Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost All Saints’ Day & Holy Communion Rev. McKinney preaching

Nov 8 Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost Mission Sunday: House of Ruth Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Nov 15 Twenty–fifth Sunday after Pentecost Stewardship Sunday Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Nov 22 Reign of Christ Sunday Thanksgiving Sunday & Stewardship Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Nov 26 Thanksgiving Day

Nov 29 First Sunday of Advent Advent Wreath services begin Rev. McKinney preaching

Dec 6 Second Sunday of Advent Holy Communion “The Color of Christmas” (youth/choir) Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Continuing the series of special music groups in our Sunday worship, “The Loungers” (left to right: Joe Whitney, Jim Meyers and Nick Lipkowski) brought their brand of jazz to the sanctuary for our 92nd anniversary.

Worship at Palisades Community Church

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Dec 13 Third Sunday of Advent; Mission Sunday Choir Cantata “The Tapestry of Light” Annual Christmas Tea

Dec 20 Fourth Sunday of Advent Dedication of holiday outreach gifts Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Dec 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 5:30 pm Instrumental music: Mr. Hong Kim Duet: Connie Van Mater & Valerie Hart “O Holy Night” Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

Dec 25 Christmas Day

Dec 27 First Sunday after Christmas Rev. McKinney preaching

Jan 3 Epiphany Sunday Holy Communion Rev. Stinehelfer preaching

In the spirit of the season, when coming to worship, please remember to bring toiletries for the clients of S.O.M.E. and Friendship House. See page 7 for more details.

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Report of the Council Chairperson

O ctober is Pastor Appreciation Month! Be sure to thank our ministers for their service. On October 25

we celebrated with a special potluck social hour in their honor, following performance of Pastor Jeff’s play relating the events of the Reformation. Thanks to all who participat-ed! Never a dull moment in this church! Preschool Update: In response to a request from the Church Council, a group of preschool parents is hard at work trying to develop a proposal to establish our preschool as a nonprofit school independent of the church. The pro-posal, including a business plan, is expected to be submitted to the Council sometime in December. For more infor-mation about this process, please see the article elsewhere in this Beacon. Spending Priorities: At the November meeting of the Church Council we will be discussing and voting on how to best use our budget strategically to further our vision and goals for the church. For example, what would bring more people in our doors and get them to return? Should we commit to renovations of the facility or landscaping? Hire a Sunday School teacher? Bring in more guest speakers? Sponsor a refugee family? Install solar panels and a green roof? Give more help to SOME or Friendship Place? Fund a full-time senior minister? Better publicize events at our church? Please let one of the Council members know be-fore November 15 if you have strong views on this subject. Of course final budget decisions will be made at the annual congregational meeting on January 24. Be there to cast your vote! Congregational Meeting: Speaking of votes, on October 4 we held a congregational meeting to vote on incorpora-tion in the District of Columbia as a nonprofit entity.

Unfortunately we fell just a few bodies short of a quorum, so no vote was taken. Rather than waiting until January 24 when we have our next scheduled congregational meeting, we have decided to convene the next time we count 25 church members present in the church. This notice and notices placed in the weekly bulletin will satisfy the Consti-tutional requirement that any meeting be announced at least 14 days in advance. The vote will take only a few minutes and the articles of incorporation are in the narthex if you want to read them first. Annual ICCC Brunch Banquet: On November 14 our church is hosting the annual banquet for churches in our region that are affiliated with the International Council of Community Churches. The entertainment begins in the sanctuary at 11:00 am and includes a gospel quintet as well as liturgical dance. The meal of chicken, rice, vegeta-bles, and dessert will be prepared by preschool teacher Kari-ma Benamri, and will be served between 12:30 and 1:00 pm This is a large event, to which all church members and their families are invited. Roughly 100 people are expected to attend. Ticket sales support ICCC activities throughout the year. Ask Pastor Jeff about tickets, which cost $12.50 for an adult, $6.50 for children. Holiday Giving: Want to help people less fortunate dur-ing the holidays? Buy some toiletries (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, lip balm, disposable razors and shaving cream, shampoo, and conditioner) or find some clean warm hats, scarves, gloves, or winter coats to donate. Bring them to church and we will deliver toiletries and clean, used outerwear to S.O.M.E. and Friendship Place. Respectfully submitted, Linda Schierow

Confirmation Begins for Two of Our Teens

L ilah Mehri and Beau Johnson, both high school jun-iors, are preparing for Confirmation this year, under

the guidance of Pastor Jeff and Pastor Beth. The class meets on Sunday evenings every two weeks. Among other topics, the program includes sessions on the Old Testament, the New Testament, history of Christianity, history of Palisades Community Church, holidays and sacraments, and social and moral issues. A service project, and some fun, will also be scheduled. Lilah and Beau’s confirmation will take place sometime in the spring. Praise God!

Beau the soccer player Lilah the hockey player

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Rally Day The end of summer brought us all back together for the annual Rally Day at church.

Pastor Beth McKinney led the effort to acquaint the children and the congregation with the new Sunday School curriculum , “Deep Blue”. Each week our Sunday schoolers embark on a new adventure with their “Deep Blue” bibles.

On September 13 the sanctuary was transformed into an adventure setting, and everyone present dressed in adventure clothing.

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1. Connie Van Mater and Pastor Beth (behind piano) introduce the Deep Blue curriculum to the kids. 2. Lee Wilson and Bill Wilson say they are not related, but who are they fooling! 3. Alex Zimmerman and Delaney Jones were presented with the bibles by pastors Jeff and Beth. 4. As always on Rally Day, the kids enjoyed the moon bounce.

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From the Church Council A Proposal for an Independent Preschool

F or several years the Church Council and Ministers have devoted considerable time and effort to overseeing the

Community Preschool of the Palisades. It has grown while church membership has become smaller. Last year, we final-ly recognized that the management structure was dysfunc-tional for such a large organization. There was confusion about the distribution of authority and accountability among the staff, preschool board, and Church Council. So, in cooperation with the Preschool Board, we clarified the Board bylaws to reflect the reality that the Church Council is responsible for the preschool. The Preschool Board is advisory. That helped but did not fix the basic problem: that the Preschool Board did not have the authority to run the preschool as it sees fit, and the Church Council would rather not do so, because its hands are full managing the church. We would rather focus our energy on increasing church membership and participation. Recently, the Council sent a letter to the preschool com-munity, parents and staff, asking if they might be interested in exploring the possibility of becoming an independent, nonprofit, educational organization. We held a preschool community meeting to further explain our intentions. The meeting was well attended, and several parents stepped up to look into forming an independent nonprofit. They sub-mitted a letter of intent to the Council and are now engaged in developing a proposal, a business plan of sorts, which must be submitted to the Council before January 1, 2016. At that point, the Council will consider whether to recom-mend to the congregation that the church as a whole accept the proposal at its annual meeting January 24. If you have questions about the details, you may wish to talk to a preschool board member about it. Church mem-bers on the preschool board include Juliana Stein, Lisa Racioppi, Sylvia Becker, Lee Wilson, and Linda Schierow. Respectfully submitted, Linda Schierow, Chair, PCC Church Council

Update from the Preschool

T he children of the preschool have been collecting acorns and colorful leaves as they learn about the arri-

val of fall. The older kids in the Dragonfly class showed interest in houses and have been walking to see the con-struction of a house in the neighborhood and designing their own houses. Starting in November, prospective parents will begin touring the school for next year’s classes. Please let neigh-bors and friends know what a special place the preschool is and encourage them to consider the school for their chil-dren and grandchildren. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the preschool by the Church, and current and former parents are grateful to everything the Church has done to create such a welcoming, stimulating and nurturing place for the community’s children to learn and grow. At the request of the Church Council, a working group of 40 parents and community members are writing a pro-posal to form an independent entity that would oversee the preschool and help it continue to thrive well into the fu-ture. The group put together a 13-member interim board to lead the transition and is on track to submit a proposal to the Council before January 1. The group’s goals are: transition oversight of the pre-school from the Church Council without affecting the operations of the school; preserve the preschool’s cherished play-based approach to learning; ensure the school contin-ues to be accessible to community members. Team leaders of the working group are hosting a Q and A session for preschool parents and community members on November 18 at 8 pm in the Church sanctuary. If you would like to help the working group, please contact the group coordinator Brian Bennett at briantben-nett@gmail.com.

T here is no better time than the Thanksgiving Season to high-

light “stewardship” in our individual lives and in our life as a church. The team of Rick Barton, Bryan Lake, and Jean Schreier are leading this year’s effort, on behalf of the Church Council. In early November, a letter of invitation and pledge form will be mailed to all homes in the parish.

A core group will be prepared and available to schedule home visits with church members. November 15 and November 22 are desig-nated as “Stewardship Sundays” at PCC. Consider how you will “give” “thanks” for the ministry and mission of which you are a part!

“Stewardship” is “Thanks” and “Giving”

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Advent and Christmas Season at PCC

T o begin, we need to decorate the church! All hands on deck (the halls), Saturday, Nov. 28, 4-6pm (tentative)

for “Hanging of the Greens”. Refreshments served. Then, plan to worship thru the Sundays of Advent (Nov. 29-Dec. 20). The traditional Advent wreath will be the cen-tral symbol of our services. The children will be doing songs and carols with movement, joining the adult choir in wor-ship on Dec. 6. We will also celebrate communion that day. On December 13th the choir will present its annual can-tata program, this year entitled “A Tapestry of Light”. The cantata includes scriptures as well as music, featuring guest musicians with our choir. Poinsettias will beautify our sanctuary beginning Decem-ber 20, when we will also dedicate the congregation’s gifts of toiletries and winter outerwear for clients of S.O.M.E. and Friendship House. (See page 7 for details). Our service on Christmas Eve will be held at 5:30 pm, in order to allow for other family activities later in the evening. The traditional candlelight worship will be enhanced by the instrumental music of our friend Mr. Hong Kim, who has been with us often in the past. The duet of Music Director Connie Van Mater and choir member Valerie Hart will sing “O Holy Night”. Rev. Beth McKinney

Christmas Poinsettias As is our tradition at Christmas, the sanctuary will be decorated with poinsettias. If you would like to donate a plant, please complete the form below and bring or mail it with your check to the church office no later than December 10. The price for each plant is $10. I/We wish to place an order for ________ poinsettia(s). In memory of ______________________________________________________ In honor of ________________________________________________________ In celebration of Christmas ________________ Your name as you wish it to appear in the worship bulletin ____________________________________________________________

October: Pastor Appreciation Month!

B ut then, isn’t every month? ;) The Church Council ar-ranged and hosted a special Fellowship Hour in honor

of Pastors Jeff and Beth, on October 25. Our clergy team was showered with many kind words of appreciation. Let it be known that they are also appreciative, of a supportive and dedicated congregation!

November: Are They Still Playing Baseball? One day the devil chal-lenged the Lord to a baseball game. Smiling, the Lord proclaimed, “You don’t have a chance. I have Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and all the greatest play-ers up here.” “Yes,” snickered the devil, “but I have all the umpires.”

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In the next few issues we will re-connect with our youth that have gone off to college. With the help of moms and dads we plan to report on more PCC students in future editions of the Beacon. David Winkler began his freshman year at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, this past Au-gust. After an exciting “orientation” canoe trip in nearby waters to kick off the academic year he has settled into his dorm room and first-year classes. David is playing intramu-ral soccer and has already established his West Coast bona fides by taking up longboarding and hacky sack. Big sister Julia Winkler began her sophomore year at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in August (Go Blue!). She is happy to have moved off-campus to a group house with friends. Julia is studying languages and linguistics among other subjects, and is active in various university social justice and service groups.

Campus Connections

Red Cross Blood Drive November 7 Memorial Hall 9am-1pm

To register online visit www.redcrossblood.org and search by sponsor code 05314829 or by zip code 20016.

Walk-ins are always welcome. Or call 1-800-RED-CROSS to schedule your appointment.

Eligibility questions about travel or health? Call 1-866-236-3276 Remember to drink plenty of water and eat foods rich in iron.

Volunteers from the church are also needed to welcome donors, staff the social hall, and to help clean up.

Please contact Dave Berkebile or Pastor Jeff to volunteer your time as host.

HOLIDAY OUTREACH

Beginning Sunday, November 22

and continuing through Advent we will be collecting toiletries for clients of S.O.M.E.

and Friendship House.

A special box will be in the Narthex to collect soap, deodorant, toothpaste, tooth-brush, floss, lip balm, disposable razors and shaving cream, shampoo, and conditioner.

In addition, we are once again collecting

winter outerwear: warm hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters and coats. All items

should be gently used or new.

A collection box will be available in Memorial Hall beginning November 22.

Your contributions will bring holiday

comfort and joy to others. All items will be dedicated during worship on December 20.

Annual Meeting Sunday, January 24, 2016

following worship. A quorum is needed.

Come and be counted. Lunch will be served.

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The Palisades Community Church 5200 Cathedral Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016-2665

Rev. Jeffrey Stinehelfer, Senior Pastor Rev. Beth McKinney, Assistant Pastor

Polly Johnson, Administrator Phone: 202.966.7929, email: paliscomch@verizon.net,

www.thepalisadeschurch.org

Saturday, December 12, 9-10:30 am—Palisades Citizens’ Association Breakfast with Santa and Cookie Exchange in Memorial Hall Friday, December 18, 11 am—Holiday Sing-Along and Reception, Community Preschool of the Palisades Saturday, December 19, 10 am-1 pm—Parents Day Out in Memorial Hall. Girl Scouts from Troop 6694 will care for your kids while you complete your holiday to-do list. For details contact Polly Johnson at PollyPolliwog@mac.com. LOOKING AHEAD—Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 24 immediately after worship. Lunch will be served. (see page 7) OFFICE SCHEDULE—The church office will be closed on Wednesday, November 11 for Veterans Day, and on No-vember 26-27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. The office will be closed December 24-25 and December 31-January 1.

Seasonal Events for the Community Thursday, November 5—BSA Troop 61 Wreath Sales begin, with delivery on December 5. Wreaths are $20. Contact Beau Johnson (beaujohnson5332@gmail.com) if you would like to support Troop 61 and order a wreath. Saturday, November 7—Blood Drive (see page 7) Thursday, November 19, 7:30 pm— InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington annual concert. The event brings people of all faith backgrounds together sacred song. Washington Hebrew Congregation 3935 Macomb St, NW. Questions to Judy Bond at 202.234.6301. Sunday, November 22, 2-6 pm—BLAST (Babysitters “Lessons and Safety Training) for ages 11-14. Cost is $66. Please contact Polly Johnson (Troop 6694 Leader) at Polly-Polliwog@mac.com if you would like to register. Tuesday, November 24—”Dickens Village” set up. Volunteers needed 10 am-noon in Memorial Hall. Saturday, December 5—Turkish Craft Fair, Memorial Hall