On November 6, First Presbyterian Church in Ipswich is hosting an in-person missions conference called Equip: Cultivating a Culture of Missions in Your Church. The conference will combine a mix of speakers and breakout sessions for practical application. For more information, please contact greg.hills@mtw.org.
Women's Ministry Backyard Gatherings
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Women's Ministry will be hosting another backyard gathering this afternoon at the Jentofts. Please sign up in advance for a time slot. Email office@ctkcambridge.org for the sign up sheet. The sign up is intended to make sure the events stay within city/state guidelines. See you in the yard(s)!
Celebrating 25 Years, pt 2
You can also find the slideshow of photos from the party here. Feel free to add any additional photos. If you need any help adding files, please email Laura.
Congratulations, Stuntzes!
Emily and Andy Stuntz are the proud new parents of Isabel Helen Stuntz, born Sunday, September 12th. She was 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20.5 inches at birth.
Gordon College Job Opening Spotlight
Gordon College is looking for a faithful, community-focused leader with demonstrated experience related to Human Resources to join their team as the Director of Human Resources! The Director is responsible for effectively planning, developing, implementing and administering all services associated with the human resources function, including employment, position classification and compensation, training and development, employee relations, and benefits administration, to promote the welfare of employees (including student employees) and support the programs of the College. Please apply at www.gordon.edu/jobs and reach out to Sarah Anderton with any questions: sarah.anderton@gordon.edu.
Working Remotely
Working Remotely in Community: if you currently work remotely and are interested in working from space outside your home with others from CTK, there is an opportunity for that! Anyone who is interested to learn more details, reach out to Rosemary Boyle at romaryboyle@gmail.com
Looking for Roommate
One room available in a beautiful and sunny 2BR apartment located in Winter Hill within walking distance to Assembly Row, Mystic River, and easy driving access to I-93. Rent is around $1000 per person plus utilities. The current resident is a friendly woman who would like to share occasional meals and create a sense of home together. Please contact Erin at erin.f25@gmail.com for additional information.
Adult Ed (Pic)
Please note, there is no Adult Education this Sunday (9/5).
Adult Education will resume on Zoom on 9/12 with a new class: In continuation of our study of hesed, or God’s lovingkindness, and in preparation for our subsequent study on the theme of God’s justice, the Adult Ed class will be going through a 2-week study of US Presbyterian history, focusing on the history of our tradition’s response to issues of justice, particularly in the area of race and ethnicity. The class will look at teachings about race in the 20th century southern Presbyterian church, the role of African Americans in these churches, the cultural forces at play in the formation of the PCA in the 1970s, and more recent 21st-century denominational statements about race and corporate repentance.
Gordon College Job Openings
Gordon College in Wenham, MA has several job openings available. The most up-to-date position information can be found at www.gordon.edu/jobs. Candidates can fill out this form to get their application started: Gordon College Professional Application (office.com). Once this form is completed, applicants will receive an email with a link to submit their resume, cover letter, memorandum of understanding, and any additional documents they may like to include.
Children's Worship
Children’s Worship is starting soon for children 4 and 5 years! Parents and children are invited to join us after the service on Sunday, September 12 for an Open House. Come tour the classroom in our newly renovated basement, preview our curriculum and familiarize yourself with the class schedule and procedures. Class will then open on Sunday, September 19 for up to 10 registered students (with a waitlist available). Kids will be dismissed from the service prior to the sermon and parents must escort children to class in order to check them in. Please contact Dana Russell with any questions.
Adult Ed
A new Adult Education class is starting this Sunday at 9am on Zoom (link here), going through a 2-week study of US Presbyterian history, focusing on the history of our tradition’s response to issues of justice, particularly in the area of race and ethnicity. A description for the class is below:
Many of us know that longstanding denominations in the US are entangled in the sin of racism, particularly since the issue of holding African Americans as slaves contributed to church splits during the Civil War. It is important, however, to be aware of racial injustices that are institutionally near at hand to us (as a congregation descended from the southern church) and to have a concrete, rather than vague, understanding of the sin and wrong in our denomination’s roots.
The first session will detail 20th century southern US Presbyterian history, following the church through the fundamentalist/modernist controversy of the 20s and 30s, the WWII period, and the Cold War and civil rights era.
With this timeline in place, the second session will consider several themes, such as the doctrine of the spirituality of the church, Presbyterian opposition to mixed-race socializing and marriages, theological teachings about “separateness” or “intrinsic boundaries,” and the ways southern Presbyterians opposed racial integration as a part of their larger social and political conservatism.
The class will be taught by Morgan Crago, and is largely based on For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America (2015) by Sean Michael Lucas, professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Women's Morning Bible Study
Women’s Morning Bible is starting this Thursday, September 16 from 9:30-11a with a brunch outside on the front patio. Feel free to bring something to share. This semester we will be studying, What’s She Doing Here? The Messy Women in Jesus’s Genealogy. Books will be distributed on Thursday and childcare will be provided. Contact is Kelly Sawyer: bostonkelly@gmail.com
CTK's Anniversary Party
Save the Date! CTK’s 25th Anniversary party will be Saturday, September 18th from 5-8p. In addition, there are other ways to participate, including video and photo submissions and signing up to volunteer at the event. Video and photo submissions are due by Sunday, September 12. Please visit ctkcambridge.org/ctk-anniversary for more details.
Also, the group hosting the 25th anniversary is looking to borrow a couple pop-up canopy tents. If you own one that you are willing to loan for a day please contact Naomi Layne at nlayne@comcast.net.
Congregational Meeting Links
For those who were unable to make the Congregational Meeting on Sunday night, here is a link to a letter from the elders regarding the end of the Five Year Plan as well as the budget overview for 2021-2022. Please contact office@ctkcambridge.org if you have any questions or would like more information.
Work Day
Join us for a summer work day at the church building, Saturday August 14th from 9am-noon! Come for 30 minutes or the whole 3 hours and help out with some gardening, cleaning, landscaping, and small projects around the building. ("Supervising"/socializing also allowed.) Let us know if you can make it or if you have any questions: deacons@ctkcambridge.org.
Note from Pastor Clyde
Dear CTK Family,
This week I would like for you to read chapter 8, To the Uttermost in Gentle and Lowly. Let us take into our hearts together the invitation to be yoked to Jesus in our worship and work, in our words and deeds. And as my friend Rick Downs liked to say to me, "Brother, get ready to stand back and be amazed."
New Weekly Prayer Meeting. Beginning August 12, we will be adding another weekly prayer meeting by Zoom on Thursday evenings from 8:15 - 9:30. We will be using liturgies and scriptures to unite our hearts in prayer. There will be time for personal requests. Hopefully, this weekly PM Prayer Meeting will allow for those who cannot join the Tuesday AM meeting to participate. There is an old saying among missionaries, "much prayer, much power."
Shalom, Pastor C aka Papa C
Congregational Meeting
The CTK Cambridge congregation is called to an informational meeting tonight from 7-8:30pm via Zoom. There will be an optional time of prayer starting at 6:30p for those who are able to make it, using the same Zoom link. The agenda for the meeting is as follows:
6:30 - 7 PM :: Prayer ( Optional )
7 - 7:30 PM :: Presenting the 2021-2022 budget with Q&A
7:30 - 8 PM :: Plans to close the CTK network with Q&A
8 - 8:30 PM :: The decision to end our relationship with McGowan and Associates with Q&A
Adjourn with Doxological Hope
CTK's Anniversary Party (pic)
Happy Anniversary, Christ the King! Come celebrate 25 years of God's faithfulness to CTK at a drop-in neighborhood street party in front of the church on Saturday, September 18, from 5-8pm. Enjoy good food and live music with a city block party ambiance, as we seek to share with our neighbors from the abundance we have received. Stay tuned for other ways to help us celebrate!
Building Meeting
The deacons are hosting a monthly meeting about building care and improvements on Tuesday, August 10th from 7-8:30pm here on Zoom. Anyone in the congregation is welcome to join the discussion or to send us your thoughts (deacons@ctkcambridge.org)! Topics this month will include 8/14 work day planning, balcony rail extensions, nursery carpeting, and the schedule for exterior masonry renovations.
Pentecostal Tabernacle
Come serve with Pentecostal Tabernacle, a neighboring Cambridge church, at their pop-up food pantry on Saturday, August 21! From 10am-12pm, they will be distributing groceries and clothes at the Pisani community center at 131 Washington St, Cambridge (near the PT North campus). You can sign up for various time slots on Friday evening or Saturday morning. CTK members have helped with these events in the past, and it is a great way to connect with fellow Christians and serve those in need in the Cambridge area.