wants you to join us this Summer for….
Oak Lane Presbyterian Church
6637 North Eleventh Street
Philadelphia, PA 19126
215-424-4446
Rev. Judith Brackett, Pastor
Dear Oak Lane Family,
The higher temperatures are setting us into summertime motion; worshipping in the air-conditioned Campbell Room, beginning worship at 10 A.M. to evade the afternoon heat, and suspending some meetings to allow time away.
In June, I will be attending the The Engle Preaching Institute at Princeton Theological Seminary, followed by a week in Portland, Oregon for the PC(USA) General Assembly. I’ll end the month with a week’s vacation with my family in the Pacific Northwest.
July offers some new opportunities for learning and fellowship. Each Sunday following worship, all those interested are invited to brunch and a discussion about the national landscape of the Presbyterian church, religious trends, and thought-filled implications for the future. Each stand alone gathering will include a timely article to give us a conversational jumping off point.
I’ll accompany Elisha, Daraja, and Seth to Indiana for the PC(USA) Youth Triennium in late July. Traveling by overnight coach bus, sleeping in a college dorm, and participating in the 4000+ youth gathering, I’m ironically expecting to be rejuvenated by this experience!
In August, I’ll return to The Collegeville Institute in Collegeville Minnesota, for a week of writing and writing instruction. I’m confident time there will provide a time of rest and renewal.
The summer of 2016 at Oak Lane Presbyterian Church will lead us to a time of celebration of our 125th Anniversary in the fall months. Look for more information as plans develop and ideas bloom.
Wherever your summer travels take you; to the shore, to a family reunion, to your own backyard shade, know that the One who created the world and pronounced it good, also savored time to rest. May you summer be filled with awareness of God’s goodness, and may restful rhythms attend your summer days.
Judith Brackett
Rev. Judith Brackett can be reached by calling or emailing the church office, or by calling (610 747-0366) or emailing (revjudithbrackett@gmail.com).
When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. -Psalm 104:30
We had a lovely shower and delicious breakfast at the Manse this morning. Our beautiful Manse needed some new and gently-used items to help her look her best and function efficiently as a gathering place. What better way to gather those items than a Shower!
Thank you so much to all who came and contributed generously!
Click the photos to view as a slide show.
Dear Oak Lane Family,
This year, Pentecost falls on Sunday, May 15th, and the day we wear red as a visual commemoration of the fiery and energizing gift of the Holy Spirit.
On Pentecost Sunday, we will have a pre-worship breakfast to celebrate what the Spirit is birthing in our midst. We will gather in deep trust and bold confidence that the Spirit fills the empty places and uses her people to continue the ongoing work of creation.
The morning will include a festive “showering” of gifts – items new and gently used to outfit the manse kitchen, making it ready for meals and meetings that extend and enrich our ministry here at Oak Lane.
The Spirit blows where it pleases, inciting both fear and excitement. Assembled together over breakfast and in worship, we will welcome the fierce and purifying power of the Spirit that has been entrusted to us.
On Pentecost and in the weeks and months ahead, we will attentively listen and watch for possibilities born of the Spirit, as we are willingly swept up into God’s good and holy purposes.
All are invited! Contact Helen Hampton to coordinate what you would like to contribute, though gifts are not necessary to attend.
Coffee will be brewed beginning at 8 o’clock. See you on Pentecost Sunday!
Judith
Rev. Judith Brackett can be reached by calling or emailing the church office, or by calling (610 747-0366) or emailing (revjudithbrackett@gmail.com).
We are for one another. We are generous. We speak words that help. We build one another up. And summed up in the affirmation – WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM. 
Dear Oak Lane Family,
At last month’s Session meeting, church leaders re-affirmed our commitment to supporting and maintaining the Oak Lane After School Program (OLASP), which provides childcare both before and after school. We understand that our outreach to neighborhood families with school age children is integral to our missional witness.
This is no small statement that yes, we indeed care about the children we serve. We do care…. and tend, and advocate, and discipline, and love. Because caring for children at OLPC is indeed a matter of demonstrating love that was first made known to us in Christ Jesus.
As your pastor, I understand my role and responsibility to include being pastorally present with the children and their families in our care. I enjoy my time “downstairs”, checking in with staff, reading a picture book, helping with homework, building with Legos, or tying a shoelace.
My time with OLASP has increased these last few weeks, as OLPC ruling elder Theresa Purnell and I are volunteering as interim co-directors. A search is already underway to find a permanent OLASP Director.
This week, when the children arrived with typical release of pent up energy kept under wraps during the school day, they noticed some changes in the physical space. Tables with activities were prepared in advance of their arrival and a quiet classroom has been established for those who have homework. We removed a few tables to allow space for inside games. Though these changes are an improvement, the most important work is teaching and modeling expectations of how we treat one another.
We are for one another. We are generous. We speak words that help. We build one another up. And summed up in the affirmation – WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM.
Easy to say, difficult to live, as feelings get ruffled, emotions become tangled, and actions precede thought. These expectations set a high standard, yet anything less would betray our Christian understanding that we belong to one another in covenantal relationship. Children, adults, neighbors, strangers, – we are entrusted to one another. There is no other that is excluded and left behind.
Our theologically informed ways of being together affirm the love made known to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The love made visible “downstairs” is the same love we worship on Sunday morning, the love we seek in prayer, and the love we share in our work and witness.
May all our relationships reflect the glory of the risen Lord who inspires our efforts and informs the way we belong to one another.
Happy Eastertide,
Judith
