In This Issue

Early Morning Service
– 8:30 am 

Adult Sunday School Class 

Wednesday Nights

MSPC Book Club

Looking for a place to recycle

Children’s Education Changes 

September  Birthdays

Important Dates

Monday, September 1
Labor Day – Church Office Closed 

Wednesday, September 3
10:00 am MSPC Writer’s Group
5:30 pm, Bible Study
6:00 PM, Dinner
6:15 pm, Bell Choir
7:15 pm, Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, September 7
8:30 am  Worship/Communion
9:30 am   Sunday School
Worship/Communion  10:50 am 

Wednesday, September 10
5:30 pm Bible Study
6:00 pm Dinner
6:15 pm, Bell Choir
7:15 pm, Choir Rehearsal 

Sunday, September 14
Worship, 8:30 am
Sunday School  9:30 am
Worship  10:50 am
Called Congregational Meeting

Wednesday, September 17
5:30 pm Bible Study
6:00 pm Dinner
 6:15 pm, Bell Choir
7:15 pm, Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, September 21
Worship/Communion, 8:30 am
Sunday School  9:30 am
Worship 10:50 am
12:00 noon, Officer Training 

Tuesday, September 23
7:00 pm, Session Meeting 

Wednesday, September 24
5:30 pm Bible Study
6:00 pm Dinner
6:15 pm, Bell Choir
7:15 pm, Choir Rehearsal

Sunday, September 28
Worship/Communion, 8:30 am
Sunday School, 9:30 am
Worship 10:50 am

 September Birthdays

1 - Valerie Johnson
3  - Alice Yantis
4 – George Ann Smith
     Caleb Louis Reznicek
5 – Donna Upfold
8 – Todd Winn
      Christine Smith
       Maria Garcia
9 – Robert Greenup
11 - Kathy Hilliard
       Rey Menchaca
13 – Steve Reznicek
       Richard Nelson
      Roger Villalobos
14 – Andy Crowder-Schaefer
      Barbara Stoddard
15 – Sarah Wagner
16 – Tim Lytle
       Neille Jackson
      Glenna McCord
17 – Florence Bauer
20 – Olivia Wade
      Larry Beebe
21 – Noland Harper
22 – Sherry Palmer
23 – Helen Pape
        Teri Stronach
24 – James Pingree
        Tricia Lindley
25 – Camille Boyd
28 – Tammy Griswold
         Bill Ross
29 – Samantha Carnahan
30 – Steve Stanphi

the Messenger is the monthly newsletter of Madison Square Presbyterian Church.  Please email your announcements to be published, questions, and comments to: church@msqpc.org

Deadline for publication in the newsletter is the 25th of each month.

Adult Sunday School
Christianity for the Rest of Us
How the Neighborhood Church is
Transforming the Faith
by: Diana Butler Bass
Class led by: Rev. Ilene Dunn
Most pundits will tell you that the mainline churches—Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ—are in decline: it is now commonplace to assume that liberal churches are doomed and only evangelical churches are growing. Think again, says Butler Bass (The Practicing Congregation) in this challenging and hopeful book, which summarizes the findings of a three-year study funded by the Lilly Endowment. Yes, many mainline churches are struggling, but not because liberal Christianity is a contradiction in terms.
Rather, the old neighborhood Protestant church has fallen on hard times because the old neighborhood has been replaced by a strip mall. And many mainline churches are thriving. Butler Bass showcases 10 of them, including Redeemer UCC in New Haven, Conn., and Saint Mark (Lutheran) in Yorktown, Va. She then examines 10 practices, from hospitality to worship to vigorous theological discussion, and posits that these practices are the heartbeat of vital mainline churches. Her provocative conclusions include the observation that today's mainliners have redefined politics by favoring bottom-up acts of service over structural change.
Books can be purchased for $13 before class or during the week in the church office.

Wednesday Nights
The Wednesday Night Bible Study reflects on the scripture that will be preached on the following Sunday. A diverse group gathers to share insights, ask questions and pray together.
The group moves from the Parlor to the fellowship hall for a prepared dinner. All are invited!
Many other activities happen on Wednesday nights.
Bible Study 5:30-6:30 pm
Dinner 6:30-7:00 pm
Bell Choir 6:15-7:15 pm
Choir Practice 7:15-8:00 pm

MSPC Book Club
September 12: Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
    host: Faye Hallford

October 3: Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations -- one school at a time 
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
    host:Dorothy Williams

November 7: A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon
    host: Richard McLean

December 5: Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
    host: Doerte Weber-Seale

Looking for a place to recycle electronics, styrofoam, cardboard?
Look no longer!  We have a place in downtown San Antonio, Corona Visions, Inc., 521-7612, at 411 N. Medina, just southwest of IH 10 and Martin St.
Corona Visions, Inc. is a zero waste stream recycler, providing  high quality electronic recycling, eliminating the risk of electronic waste ending up as landfill. 
They are mentioned in the National Geography article, January 2008, “High-Tech Trash,” page 75. 
From their website, www.coronavisions.com, “We do not allow hazardous or toxic electronics to be sent to landfills or incinerators, prisons or overseas to developing countries neither directly nor through intermediaries.  Corona Visions takes great precautions to ensure that all e-waste is disposed of properly.”
And Corona Visions erases all memory devices using the same technology as the U. S. Department of a Defense.
Corona Visions charges for recycling electronics, depending on the amount, between $2 and $20.

Children's Education Changes
Sunday Morning Schedule
9:15 a.m     Eddie’s Taco House
Come by the kitchen and grab a taco and some orange juice.
9:30 to 10 :15 a.m.     Children’s Choir
Meet in the sanctuary and we will work on music for special worship services like World Communion Sunday and the “Come As You Are Christmas Pageant.”
10:15-10:40 a.m.     Sunday School
Once choir is over join Linda and Erin in the 3rd floor children’s room. If you are hoping to light candles or ring the bell during worship this is the place to be.
10:50 a.m. Worship
At 10:40 the children will move to the 1st pew in the sanctuary. Children are invited to sit with our staff or with parents/guardians.
Worship
10:50-12 noon
Children begin worship in the sanctuary and then move to an experiential worship experience.
Godly Play (approximate ages 3 years to 8 years)
Godly Play is a methodology that uses a storyteller telling a holy story with moveable pieces, wondering about that story, and then using creative stations to help us interpret our feelings, our wonderings, our questions about the stories and how they lead us to God.
This is our third year to use Godly play with the kids & we have found that they are growing exponentially every year we use it. The wondering that they do at the end of a story is so amazingly complex and insightful that it often takes our breath away. What amazing kids we have!
Diving into Discussion (approximate ages 9 years to middle school)
This group will read the same scripture that is being read in the sanctuary. With the help of Pastor Kenny they will discuss what the scripture means in their lives.
After the sermon, the middle school aged kids will go back into church with Pastor Kenny and the elementary aged children will join Linda in the children’s room.
Special Days: While every day is a special one at Madison Square, here are some important dates for the children of the church.
Sunday, Sept. 7th — Godly Play begins
Saturday, Sept 27th—AIDS Walk and Brunch at Pastor Kenny’s.
Sunday, Oct. 5—World Communion Sunday  
Sunday, Oct. 12—Church at the Botanical Gardens
Sunday, Nov. 2—Dia de los Muertos Alter
Sunday, Dec. 14—Santa comes to Ilene’s Christmas Open House
Saturday, Dec. 20—Tamalada
Sunday, Dec. 23—Come As You Are Christmas Pageant