2013 summer playground dates

for all interested moms:

9:30am to 1pm.
make a morning of it; bring lunch!

June 10, 17, 24: Adventure Playground
CPW and 69th or 67th/Tavern on the Green
Bathrooms at Le Pain Quotidien

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: River Run Playground
83rd and Riverside
Bathrooms available

August 5, 12, 19, 26: Hippo Playground
91st and Riverside
Bathrooms available

overheard

“Genius is knowing who to ask.”
– David Plant

#welovedavidplant

the twin sisters of the psalms

my opening notes for
west side women
bible study this morning,

‘The first language of the church in a
deeply broken world is not strategy, but prayer.

‘We are called to learn the anguished cry of lament.

‘Lament is the cry of Martin Luther King Jr from his
kitchen table in Montgomery after hearing yet another death threat,
“Lord I’m down here trying to do what is right…But Lord
I must confess that I’m weak now, I’m faltering, I’m losing my courage.
Now I am afraid. I’m at the end of my powers. I have nothing left.
I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone’

‘It wasn’t a cry of isolation but rather a tradition King
had learned from generations of African American families
who were literally torn apart by slavery. The cry of lament had
been passed down to him in the music of the Christian spiritual,

‘sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home.
sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone, a long way form home.’

‘Lament is the cry of the psalmist of Israel in exile who,
feeling abandoned by God, demanded, ‘Where are you Lord?’
or the psalmists who were bothered by God’s remarkably bad sense of timing,
‘Why are you taking so long? The poor are being crushed.
The wicked are winning. Don’t you see it?”

‘The twin sisters of Psalms are prayers of praise and lament.
They are always walking hand in hand,
sometimes singing, sometimes crying.

‘Lament is not despair, it is not whining. It is a cry into a void.
Lament is a cry directed to God. It is the cry of those who week
the truth of the world’s deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace.
It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are.
We are enjoined to learn and see and feel what the psalmists see and feel
and to join our prayers with theirs.

‘The journey of reconciliation is grounded in the practice of lament.’

-Emmanuel Katongole & Chris Rice, reconciling all things

so grateful for the women gathered
and the prayers & candor shared.

to God be the glory.

pastoral words

careful, helpful words from david bisgrove:

Dear Friends,
 
By now you have heard of the terrible tragedy that occurred on Thursday night on the UWS.  Like you, Alice and I have wrestled with a range of emotions since we learned what happened, and our hearts are broken for the parents of the murdered children. I am writing this note to help us collectively process and support one another in light of what has happened in our neighborhood.  In caring for one another and dealing with our own shock and grief, there are several ways in which we can respond as a Christian community:
 
We can pray (Eph. 6:18).  At times like this where words fail me, I rely on the most honest definition of prayer I know, which is laying our helplessness before God.  Pray for the parents and extended family. Pray also for those in the school community and surrounding neighborhood who are dealing with the shock and grief of this tragedy.  Pray against the evil that led to this tragedy, that God would protect our community from fear and despair in our response to such evil. 
 
We can grieve.  Our grief reminds us that we ‘wrestle not against flesh and blood’ (Eph. 6:12).  It allows us to identify with our suffering neighbors who have lost so much.  We mourn with those who mourn (Romans 15:15) in order to, in some small way, enter into their pain.
 
We can hope.  There is always a danger that grief can turn into despair and paralyzing fear.  The antidote for that is the hope of the resurrection. We must remind ourselves in our conversations with one another that ‘death has been swallowed up in victory’ (I Cor. 15:54).  And as we remind one another of the reality that God will one day wipe away every tear, we can help our neighbors with the message of hope.  
 
In other words, we can love.  The hope of the resurrection means our ‘labor is not in vain’ (I Cor 15:58).  This doesn’t mean that we have all the answers, or that we understand what happened that night.  But the hope that we have in the resurrection that we will live eternally in the presence of God allows the Body of Christ to live out the powerful and simple phrase of Jesus – ‘love your neighbor’ (Mark 12:31).   So comfort, listen to, weep with, share meals and other kindnesses, and offer hope to – your friends and neighbors – as together we seek to bind up our collective wounds in the healing love of Christ Jesus.
 
With shared grief,
 
David

West Side Congregation | Redeemer Presbyterian Church

new city catechism

joint adult + children’s catechism?

sign. us. up!!
newcitycatechism.com – ipad app – free download

new birth portraits

new birth portrait series.

a must see.
today or tomorrow, preferably.

ps –
if you get into a train car that
ends in a 3 or a 5 (car serial no.)

look up!

womens bible society
sweet ads

thanks, nate

also in AMNewYork on
the bottom of the gossip pg
each day this wk

pps –
most importantly:

my fav people were together.
i’m dying.
i’m teleporting myself
back through time (yesterday)
and across the continent (cali)

brit, lu, p + jules!

a 255w70 reunion!!

dying.
with love.

on gathering + welcome

b’s playmobil as she
left it behind and
headed out the door
for school this morning

what hospitality.

1″ plastic hospitality,
as it were,
but sharing in the non-specific activities
that make up home + community
nonetheless.

i loved tim’s encouragement
as we begin to inhabit the new
w83rd space and make it home,
home is to be a place of

light
rest
shelter
warmth
harbor
food
love
comfort
peace
refreshment
joy.

philoxenia –
the love of stranger as
true hospitality.

a sunday snuggle

sometimes the w71/bway flowerman
gets it really right

to worship we go

c’s chrysler bldg print

getting absolutely blown away on our
walk home from la biblioteca.

q. is there a way to
feed my instagram stream
to my blog?

xo kj

blowing

the days have been blowing by,
beautifully + strainfully?,
the past several weeks.

things to rejoice in
{stacy & chris spoke at mom’s group!
the w83 ministry center opened!
vacation & other rest-s,
baby caris xoxo,
fellowship group! in every wayshapeform,
lisa’s surprise baby shower,
kristie being here,
city seminary,
kathy k’s talk @ the hell’s kitchen mom’s grp,
n’s ypc rehearsals in prep for monday night’s gala,
w83 dedication service last wed,
and so on…}

and things to
pray against
{anxiety,
worry,
fear
and the like}

i am acutelygrateful for His word
and His presence in whirlwind seasons
like this.

what am i saying?
is this a shoutout for the bible?

i think so.
i think so.

xo

the Very First Worship Service
in the new w83 space,
9:15a
4 march 2012

ben prays +
the officers join him,

paul, bill, ellison, cory, kamal, dan,
david, abe & tim
{who can’t i see behind ben?}

a full house

tom, kristen, kyle
{k sang george herbert’s,
‘love bade me welcome’
heart. stopping.ly.beautiful.}

officers at 11:15a
[yes, we went twice,
how could we not?!

full disclosure.
i went to 3 services
and cory went to 4.

it was a tremendously special day of worship.]

i love how they used the
skyline, in finger paint,
on the children’s wall.

after going home for a bit of lunch
and to see clint+lisa off,
we welcomed kristie &
headed back for the 5pm service.

victor prays @ the 5p

best end-of-the-Lord’s-day ever:
fellowship group dinner @ john + shannon’s

thanks, guys. xo

all of these photocredits: hpc

am + carter

henry’s self-portrait of
how gorgeous his face looks,
seriously.

did we mention that on our way
to church last week
(redeemer’s last evening of worship @ first baptist)
he had a scooter accident &
ended up with stitches in his lip and
a hugeswollen abrasion all the way
to his eye? it was a mess. mess!

he missed school on monday
but was back on tues, but in
such bad shape that people were
cringing & calling me to see if he
was okay.

his secret weapon?
comfrey leaf compresses morning & night.
(thanks, rich & emily)

comeonin

anticipating builds:
the dedication service in the
redeemer’s w83rd building;

He has done great things,
bless His holy name.

my favorite way to see our entry way;
a jumbly-tumble of coats +
shoes discarded to promote
quicker entry to being with your friends inside…

ahhh, youth group.

mad props to bijan + his leaders;
you rule.

ohmygoodness,
henry, caroline + betsy
l o v e d
preparing the snacks for yg.

i was touched watching them
so eagerly
and
so carefully
prepare + arrange-on-the-table
their culinary offerings.

mrpibb* + redvines = crazydelicious

the last ones there were playing
some cool game;
i shamelessly sneaked a picture,
their laughter was
eager. penetrating. beautiful. warm.

i was making myself scarce
but had to pop in for one.teeny.minute.

Yet you are near, LORD,
and all your commands are true.

Long ago I learned from your statutes
that you established them to last forever.

psalm 119:151-152

may this be their time of ‘long ago…’

*sadly, sans actual mr. p
in lieu of seltzer.

c’mon, now. who likes mr. p?!

whichremindsme:

a few weeks ago at the start of fellowship group,
betsy came at me full speed saying,
‘MOM we’re OUT of seltzer!!!’

and i responded,
‘woman! my time has not yet come!’

i didn’t.

but the fact that she thought the
Show Cannot Go On
without seltzer at fellowship group,

well,
it was a proud moment.

she’s clearly been raised in the
Nurture & Admonition of the Lord.

itbegsthequestion: can group continue
when the seltzer runs out?

it was difficult,
but we pressed on.

xo

who is jesus

tim & co. were in
oxford last week;
thanks to the oiccu for
posting these.

one tuesday in february

the sparkling hearst bldg
near caroline & jane’s ballet

happy early bday, morv!!
xoxoxo

this counts as your birthday week &
we’re going to celebrate on your behalf.

remember the blt party…
we love you & wish we were there on saturday.

mandarin hwk

reminiscent of
portlandia’s ‘did you read’
on the 2/3 express today

well, hello, city seminary!

‘expect great things from God for the city;
attempt great things for God in the city.’

-harvie conn, via mark’s paper in
the int’l bulletin of missionary research

patient&creative amy
helps caroline w/ a tricky math concept

we weren’t exactly traveling light
to piano lesson.

ps –
thanks to ann & hope
for their book list for girls;
i was just emailing back and forth
with jenny f & elizabeth m re: girls books.
xo

pps –
tim on nyc church/school decision

ppps –
gabe on cade in the huffpo

sneaky lies

‘satan doesn’t leave teeth marks on your skin,
he leaves lies in your heart.’

– tim, last night @ 5p service

b’s taking her timeline to school today,
our fourth first-grader to enjoy
this ritual.

hats off to our youngest cates!

this is what my audience looked like
this morning as we read more of
‘the story of the world: vol 1’

cold & snuggly

they’re fully dressed for school
under their respective blankets,
so i was happy to oblige to their repeated calls,

‘just one more chapter!’

daniel & nathan;
go, suns!

catescraftclub
during n’s bball practice

our moonlit walk home
under the beauty of the riverside church steeple
after an evening of the
clemente’s warmest hospitality. xo

knock-knock jokes on the bus

redeemer thanks you

rpc, wbs & csny

always the hilight of our week,
fellowship group.

‘…the Holy Spirit uses [the scriptures] to form Christ in us.
we are not interested in knowing more
but in becoming more.’

eugene peterson, eat this book


bicycle + pencil skirt [does not equal] love;
lesson learned.

still a beautiful morning for womens bible society &
praying about how to spread God’s word
throughout nyc.

city seminary, baby.

on love + compassion

for as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

as a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

psalm 103:11-13

the words of encouragement
from sunday morning’s service
9:15a
ethical cultural society
64th + cpw

jess, amy + regan

j’s apple-ish handiwork

shall we settle?

a record-setting
fourteen infant baptisms
on sunday morning,
strong work, david.

hooray for ichiro [lin]

may the God of all grace
saturate your heart
through and through, lovey*.

snuggled in between these two,
listening to tim’s ridiculouslygood
sermon on marriage,
what a morning.

i can’t believe you’re
twelve.

iloveyousomuch,njc.

ellie, our jedi-in-training

[i bet they never thought of
this move]

blackjack with daddy

it was a mere twenty degrees
on sunday,
crisp+freezing.

cory’s weekday turf

11 madison,
home-away-from-home

cory + caroline
crossing 23rd toward me
with bookshelf materials in hand,

and look at the bldg to the right.

one of our favorites.

see the name?

‘the caroline’

[one of] the way[s] to my
husband’s heart;
chicken-falling-off-the-bone
chicken-in-the-dutch-oven-for-4-hrs
scrumptious chicken + veg

a special day, mlk day.

thankyou, boys!

bedroom shelves,
breathe in, breathe out.

ps – knock off this
mirror for my bedroom?
yesplease.

via vivian

*remind me to ask j for
the words he prayed over
sweet i – they were stunning.

he thinks he said:

‘this is ichiro takahashi lin.

david asked me to baptize him because he can’t
pronounce his name.

ichiro is first son in his generation on both sides of the family,
which is why we named him ichiro, which in Japanese means “first son.”

ichiro takahashi lin,

i baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, Spirit.

may God’s grace dwell upon you richly.
may you grow in knowledge, love, wisdom and fear of the Lord.

and may you come to know and
experience the grace of Jesus Christ our savior, God’s true “first
son.’

amen & amen.