McLean Weekly for February 11

From the Ministries of MPC…

Harvest

Join Harvest, the young adult ministry, this Sunday, Feb 13, at 7 pm. We’ll worship together, and MPC Assistant Pastor Bill Fullilove will be discussing Samson and Delilah.  As always, a group will head to Gordon Biersch at the Tysons Corner Mall after Harvest.

Brothers in Christ” Men’s Breakfast on February 12: Ambassador Hank Cooper

All men at MPC are invited to the next “Brothers in Christ” breakfast. Ambassador Hank Cooper will be addressing us to kick off our spring series with a talk titled after Robert Browning’s quote “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” Ambassador Cooper is Chairman of the Board of High Frontier, a non-profit, non-partisan, non-government authority on missile defense.  His career highlights include Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) during the first Bush administration and President Reagan’s Chief Negotiator at the Geneva Defense and Space talks where he successfully defended SDI against the Soviet Union.

We’ll be meeting from 8 – 9:30am on Saturday, February 12, in the Grand Foyer (the space where the donut tables are on Sundays) for breakfast, worship, and fellowship (note that this is the SECOND Saturday of the month and a different location than usual – subsequent breakfasts this spring will be on the first Saturday of each month, and we will be meeting in the McLean Room then, as usual). For more information, please contact Bill Janis, Max Riesenhuber, or call Fox Magee at (703)861-5881. Come for the food, stay for the fellowship, and grow in faith!

DivorceCare

Are you or do you know someone who is experiencing the pain and loneliness from separation or divorce?  Our DivorceCare class will begin again starting March 6 at 11am in Room 19.  This is a 13-week Biblically based class. We will also be offering DivorceCare for Kids beginning March 6 at 11am in Room 13.  Please contact Carolyn Sinclair at (703)394-0568 for more information or with questions.

Tell Your Friends & Family About The Fellows

Chances are you know someone at MPC who has been part of the Capital Fellows program. Many former fellows now serve with the youth, the worship team and other areas at MPC. The program is already recruiting for the 2011-2012 class, so if you know any Christian college juniors or seniors who are considering post-graduate opportunities, please contact Kim Mascher or check out the Capital Fellows online.

Mother’s Day Out

Mother’s Day Out has an immediate opening in the Wednesday program.  This co-op program is for children 18 months through preschool age. Registrants need not be MPC families. The goals of MDO are to provide fun play, learning, and the development of first friendships for children. Sharing and caring is emphasized. Mothers gain camaraderie, teaching experience and some free mornings! Mothers teach on a rotating basis and follow a general preschool-type format. Children enjoy circle time, books, games, outside play, snacks, and a craft. Each month focuses upon a new color, shape, letter, number, and theme. Central to the child’s MDO experience is learning that God made us and God loves us. The fun morning concludes with a packed lunch brought from home. Please note that MPC is a nut-free environment. Two groups – Tuesday and Wednesday, meet weekly from September through June. A summer session also meets for five weeks from July through August. The calendar generally follows the Fairfax County Public Schools calendar for vacations and closings. Registrations are on a rolling basis with vacancies being filled from a waiting list. Want to learn more? Contact Paige Farrington-Himes at mpc@mcleanpres.org.

Service Opportunities at MPC…

Children’s Ministry Needs Your Help!!!

Children’s ministry is bursting at the seams every Sunday with children, averaging almost 450 kids every Sunday!!  This is a wonderful problem to have; however, due to this large number of children, we need to open a new two’s class both hours, split up the three-year-olds during the 11am service, and we need another assistant for Children’s church during the 11am service.  If you are interested in volunteering in one of these classes, please email Melanie Janetsky or call (703)394-0576.

Calling All Creative Fun-loving Organizers!

Vacation Bible School is in search of a person who has an artist eye and would love to organize a team of volunteers as well as brainstorm with them in doing the decorations for VBS.  This year’s theme is PandaMania and MPC will be transformed into a panda paradise.  The VBS curriculum comes with a complete how-to kit as well as all of the required supplies, etc. There is already a team of willing and able-bodied MPC folks willing to help as well as folks from several area churches.  The work is usually done in the months prior to VBS with set-up being the Sunday before it begins. If this sounds right up your alley, contact Carolyn Sinclair at (703)394-0568 for more information or with questions.

Hospitality Leaders Needed

Is the Lord nudging you to consider serving as a co-leader of our Hospitality Team? After the upcoming Easter Reception our current leaders are stepping down and we will have no one to lead the following church-wide events: the Easter reception, the Congregational Dinner, the Hanging & Un-hanging of the Green, and the Christmas Concert reception. There is lots of volunteer help to support these events but we need leaders to make them happen. If the Lord has equipped you with skills necessary for this volunteer position, we would love to talk with you! Please email Diane Hutchinson or call her at (703)394-0572 for more information.

Usher for Sunday Worship Still Needed

We are short one usher to serve once a month during the 9:15am Sunday morning worship service.  If you are interested in joining an usher team and are a member of MPC, please email John Bouma or call (703) 425-6555 for more information.

From Our Friends Outside MPC…

Romanians Love Peanut Butter!

RCE is collecting peanut butter – all kinds – to send to the kids of Sunshine School and Darius House.  While we usually don’t ship items to Romania, a generous donor is shipping various items to Romania a couple of times a year at no cost to RCE, so this gives RCE many more opportunities to help our dear friends in Romania.  We will be collecting peanut butter on Sunday, February 13 by the coffee table and February 20 by the Kingdom Kids’ Welcome Desk downstairs.  Please make sure the peanut butter you purchase is in a plastic container so it will be less likely to break during shipment.

Don’t Forget to Bring Those Bottles Back

Gather up your loose change and fill your baby bottle to support the work of the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center.  Bottles may be returned to our ministry table in the Tower Entrance through Sunday, February 13.  As you fill your bottle, pray for the young women, men and babies that will reap the benefits of your loose change.  If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Kipps.

Attention Men & Women of the Church!

The Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center is seeking volunteers for a variety of positions: mentoring, pregnancy counseling, childcare, receptionist, board support, data entry, material resources, etc.  Upcoming counselor training dates on Tuesday evenings (6-9pm) are:  February 15 & 22; March 1, 15, 22, & 29.  Please contact Ryan Tarr at volunteers@chpc.us or (202)546-1018 for details.

Lay Counselor Training

The Lay Counselor Institute invites you to join them on February 19 at Alexandria Presbyterian Church for their Level 1 training, The Glorious Mess: Who we are and how we relate.  This Saturday seminar is open to anyone who wants to understand themselves better (a biblical look at human nature) and consider how they relate to others.  It is especially helpful to any who are in significant relationships and/or relational ministries.  This is a pre-requisite for LCI’s Level 2 lay counseling training.  Sign up online at www.lciministry.org or call (571)490-3030.

Prison Aftercare Course Begins on February 26

(Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:30am for 8 weeks – no class on April 16 & 23). The course covers listening skills, substance abuse, mental health issues and mentoring skills for those persons God has called to work with inmates at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center both before and after their release into the local community.  The ministry brings the love of Jesus Christ to incarcerated men and women who have made a commitment to change their lives and who need support in walking as Christians and in accessing resources in our local community.  The program offers one-on-one mentor relationships (care giver and care receiver) and corporate support and prayer through monthly meetings of all care givers.  We encourage you to consider this ministry that includes Christians from several local churches. Contact Max Riesenhuber or call (202)277-4288 for more information.

FCA Fundraising Rally

You are invited to the Northern VA Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Fundraising Rally on Sunday, March 13 at 6:30pm in the NOVA Community College Theater. Celebrate what God is doing through coaches and athletes in our schools and hear from Jerry Leachman (former Washington Redskins chaplain). There is no cost to attend but please reserve a seat by going to www.novafca.org or call (703)225-0070. Gourmet desserts will be served following the program. Due to limited seats we ask that only adults attend.

Free Apologetic Weekend Conference with Greg Koukl

Friday, March 18, 2011 (7:00pm – 9:30pm) and Saturday, March 19, 2011 (9:30am – 1:00pm)
Noted author and Christian apologist, Greg Koukl, president and founder of Stand to Reason will be speaking on the following topics during the conference: “Any Old God Won’t Do”, “The Bible: Has God Spoken?” and “Why I’m Not an Evolutionist”. These topics will cover such issues as how to answer assertions made by those who don’t believe that the Bible is divine rather than human in origin; How to know if your understanding of God is accurate and how to deal with the controversial issue of evolution and so much more. This conference is FREE and OPEN to all, but registration is required. For more information and to register, please visit www.HisTruthBeTold.org or contact (240) 606-2291. This event is being hosted by His Truth Be Told Ministries. The event will be held at the National 4-H youth Conference Center: 7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.