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September/October 2016 The Palisades Community Church: A Shining Light for Christian Unity and a Spiritual Home for All Vol. 84, Issue 5

Jeff’s Journal

I n recent weeks, I have enjoyed catching up with many of our

college youth home for the summer. Now they are returning to campuses, though moms and dads bid reluctant good-byes. The congregation’s “intercessions” during Sunday wor-ship have been including prayers for the safe-travels of PCC students and families. My own son is now a member of the nation’s freshmen class. To us, the years seem to have flown by, but last week Chris and I helped Danny move into that proverbial, tight dorm room on the campus of the Universi-ty of Maryland. He is a happy Terra-pin, in the “Scholars Program”, with an emphasis on international studies and political science. Danny’s academic interests in-spired us to expose him again to for-eign countries and cultures. We sub-scribe to the theory that there is no better education than that offered by travel. Three years ago, we vacationed in Spain, France, and England. This summer, we traveled in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Our son’s eager embrace of every day’s new adven-tures, and his quick mastery of the systems and opportunities of each new environment, were obvious vali-dation for his parents that the time,

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Dylan Saves a Life with CPR Receives Award from DC Fire Department

O ur own Dylan Mehri refuses to accept the

description “hero”, as we would expect of the young man we know so well here at PCC. But in fact, his quick action helped to save the life of a fellow theatre-goer. For the example he set as a con-cerned, prepared citizen, Dyl-an was honored at a ceremony at fire station Engine Compa-ny 29 in the Palisades on Au-gust 17. The nurse who helped Dylan during the successful recovery effort was also honored. They are pictured above with the “patient” (who is very much alive!), and fire and EMT personnel. More of the story is recounted in the follow-ing Washington Post article: On June 18, Dylan Mehri put the advanced CPR training he learned as an Eagle Scout and in scuba diving to work at the Folger Theatre during a play called “District Merchants.” The 20-year-old resident of Northwest Washington, who recently completed his sophomore year at Oberlin College, was near the back row with his mother and sister when a patron collapsed near

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ICCC Sunday is September 25

I n July, the International Council of Commu-nity Churches (ICCC) installed a new Execu-

tive Minister at its annual conference in Louis-ville, and Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray will be in our pulpit on Sunday, September 25. In his honor, we are making it an “ICCC Sunday”, with an appropriate liturgy in worship, and special fellowship time. Rev. Murray will continue to serve as Presi-dent of Ecumenical Theological Seminary in De-troit, Michigan, where he is also Professor of Sys-tematic Theology and Preaching. We are blessed

Our 93rd Anniversary! Sunday, October 16

Let’s have a “Reunion”! Rev. Dr. Stephen Murray

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Jeff’s Journal continued from page 1

Sept 4 16th Sunday after Pentecost: Communion/Benevolence Offering In recognition of Labor Day, a dialogue sermon on “The Protestant Work Ethic” will be preached by Rev. Stinehelfer and Joe McMannis Sept 11 17th Sunday after Pentecost: Mission Offering Family Sunday! (Rally Day!) Rev. Stinehelfer preaching: “We Like All Humanity” Chancel Choir returns! Sunday School returns with teacher Tricia Lathan Special activities: Moon bounce! Face-painting! Ice cream! BRING OTHERS TO ENJOY OUR WELCOMING COMMUNITY! Sept 18 18th Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Stinehelfer preaching: “Bigotry, Racism, and a Museum on the Mall”

(Church Council meeting following fellowship) Sept 25 19th Sunday after Pentecost: ICCC Sunday Guest preacher: Rev. Stephen Murray, Executive Minister, ICCC Liturgy suggested by the International Council of Community Churches Oct 2 20th Sunday after Pentecost: Communion/Benevolence Offering Pastors Appreciation Sunday—program planned by Church Council Oct 9 21st Sunday after Pentecost: Mission Offering Rev. Stinehelfer preaching: “Where is God?: A Tribute to Elie Wiesel”

(In advance, meditate with the book “Night”, by Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel) Oct 16 22nd Sunday after Pentecost: 93rd Anniversary and Reunion! Rev. Stinehelfer preaching: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”; Special Music; Anniversary Lunch and ANNIVERSARY CAKE. FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, MISSING MEMBERS INVITED TO THE CELEBRATION! Oct 23 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Stinehelfer preaching: “Great Cathedrals and the Great Schism” Oct 30 24th Sunday after Pentecost: Reformation Sunday Guest Preacher (to be announced)

Sundays are special at your church!

Worship is at 10:00! Please be prompt!

Worship Schedule at Palisades Community Church

(Note: By decision of the Church Council, worship continues at the 10:00 hour,

as it has during recent summers; fellowship with light refreshments will follow at 11:00)

effort, and expense are worthwhile. For Chris, visiting Norway has long been a personal goal, because her maternal great-grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Farsand, a fishing and farming village on Norway’s southwest coast. (Has immigration always been the divisive issue that it is today?) It was exciting to successfully uncover traces of the family name (“Havik”) among the region’s land-marks. A day later, in the country’s first and largest cathedral, Chris lit a candle in memory of her ancestors, and her parents. Now Norway’s na-tional flag flies proudly from our front porch, and another watches over Dan-ny in his dorm room! The classic beauty of Norway’s fjords is breathtaking, to be sure. But perhaps most memorable of all was what we learned about the under-ground resistance movement in Nor-way during World War II, thanks to an impressive museum in Oslo. Chris remembers her mother often speaking about it. Ingenuity! Trust! Courage! Defiance! Death! I paused with our son, as we fol-

lowed the heartrending story through

the exhibits, to express the hope that a

young man immersed in international

studies today, would not know

the necessity for an underground

resistance movement—anywhere—

tomorrow.

Jeff, Chris, and Danny at the National Cathedral in Oslo.

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the stage. As people shouted for help, Mehri rushed to the stage while a nurse technician went to grab a defibrillator. “I realized, okay, I need to see if I can do something,” he said. The play stopped as Mehri started CPR. Mehri has been trained in both advanced and Hands-Only CPR, but he said he could see the man was breathing and the audible in-structions on the defibrillator only mentioned chest compressions, which he did for about eight minutes until firefighters arrived. The man sur-vived and has asked through his doctors to meet Mehri. “CPR is not the most difficult thing to learn,” the college student said. “But to be honest, I was a little bit anxious about using it. I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing the whole time. I was in a weird zone, completely focused on keeping this person alive. I just knew that I had to do all that was in my power to keep him alive, and that’s what we did.” Excerpt from an article in The Washington Post

Report of the Council Chairperson

S ummer is gone! Rally Day, September 11, marks the Sunday when our church children will return to Sunday

School with Ms. Lathan, and coffee hour will follow wor-ship. But we will not return to 11:00 start time as we have in the past. For now, we are staying with the summer hours of 10:00-11:00. Let me know if you like that arrangement. I look forward to seeing you there! There is a moon bounce for young children and a potluck picnic following the wor-ship service. Please bring a dish to share, and bring your family, friends, and neighbors! Preschool Update: Success! The newly independent Community Preschool of the Palisades is launched and ready to receive students under its new Board. Church lead-ers are excited to see the newly independent preschool start its new school year. At the same time, Church leaders are excited to have more time to devote to the needs of Church members and prospective members. We all owe a great debt of thanks to Sylvia Becker in particular for her hard work as leader of our Community Outreach/Preschool Task Force (established at our 2015 retreat). Bill Wilson, Jean Schreier, and I also participated in the negotiations with the parents on the new preschool board, but it was Sylvia who worked most closely with our wonderful lawyer Anne Spielberg to draw up the lease and other legal docu-ments needed to transfer responsibility for preschool man-agement. Rick Barton, Lee Wilson, and Lisa Racioppi pro-vided invaluable assistance and expertise. Thank you, every-one! Driveway Repair: The Council is hoping to launch a redesign for the side of the church to repair the driveway, expand parking, and improve the looks of the side yard. Max Merriman has worked with Lee Wilson to provide a rough design. The Council hopes that construction will begin (and end) soon, but it may not be until 2017. Goals for Growth: The next Council meeting is Septem-ber 18, at which time we will be celebrating our progress to date toward our strategic goals and discussing our next steps. If you remember the goals are: 1. To increase church attendance on Sundays; 2. To make the most of our pastors’ and volunteer leadership efforts; 3. To be identified with well-led, local causes that address homelessness, health, and youth; and 4. To improve our service to the community and preschool. To these ends, the Council and ministers have promoted various activities, such as:

* hiring a Sunday School teacher (Trish Lathan); * recruiting special Sunday speakers such as the two Liberian ministers fresh from the annual interna-

tional ICCC meeting, the leader of the National Council of Churches, and several guests to “fill the pulpit” when Jeff and Beth were unavailable;

* additional advertising of special events on the internet

(thank you, Katherine and Robin Anne!) and through signs, fliers, newspaper;

* providing speakers for Mission Sundays; and * Reducing the need to closely supervise the day-to-day

operation of the preschool while still promoting cooperation between the preschool and Church for several special events such as “Grandparents’ Day” and the end-of-school potluck.

Our efforts will continue into the fall as we experiment with worship in a new timeslot (beginning at 10 instead of 11) and we focus on enhancing our most popular Sunday services: Rally Day (September 11) and Reunion Sunday (October 16, a.k.a. Anniversary Sunday). Let me know if you can help in any way. ICCC: Our Church Council has formed a Task Force to consider our relationship with the International Council of Community Churches (ICCC) and to report back to the Council September 18. If you would like to assist in task force deliberations, please let Pastor Jeff or me know so that we may put you in contact with the group. On Septem-ber 25 the new ICCC Council Minister, Steven Murray, will be addressing our congregation. All in all it should be a great year! Respectfully submitted, Linda Schierow

Dylan Mehri continued from page 1

See page 8 for a CPR training opportunity being arranged for our community!

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Preschool Transitions to Independence August 26, 2016 Dear Member of The Palisades Community Church family, Thanks to the fine work of a number of our community members, I am writing today to celebrate the successful transfer of our Preschool to an independent, parent-led board. We believe the transfer will allow The Community Preschool of the Palisades, Inc.(CPP, Inc.) to continue to serve the families and children of our neighborhood at The Palisades Community Church for years to come. When we started these discussions last fall it was our intent to strengthen the management of the Preschool and to redirect the efforts of our Church leaders to building our congregation and outreach. Over the past several months, a core group of Sylvia Becker, Bill Wilson, Jean Schreier and I met with a dynamic parent contingent to work out the details of the transfer. Large meetings with parents, frequent calls, regular conver-sations, PCC Council deliberations and countless hours were contributed by our team and the preschool supporters. We were ably assisted by our outside counsel, Anne Spiel-berg. We all owe them our gratitude for successfully com-pleting this process at our target date of August. It has been an amicable series of exchanges and we are all looking for-ward to moving ahead together. There are many details and we stand ready to address them with you in the coming weeks. A few highlights: the CPP will be a tenant at the Church for at least the next five years, with the expectation that it will go for at least ten years; the annual rent will start at $48,000 per year and will increase in subsequent years; there are other financial con-siderations that will benefit the PCC; a CPP year-to-year accumulative operating deficit of $57,267 was covered by the PCC Trust Fund before the transfer (thanks to Trustees Rick Barton, Sylvia, Sam Goekjian, and Jean for their sup-port); and an active and engaged board is now in place and in control of the new CPP, Inc. non-profit for the current school year. We are grateful to all of you who have supported this important action in so many ways and we look forward to many more years of partnership with the Preschool. Thank you again, Linda Schierow Chair The Palisades Community Church Council

to be among his first official engagements, and later the same day he will participate in an anniversary event at Park Road Community Church. The ICCC began in 1950 with the specific purpose of promoting racial unity among the various Christian faith expressions. It was a timely vision in America in the years preceding the civil rights movement. Palisades Community Church joined the ICCC soon after it was formed, and has often provided its leadership: Nelson Pierce, Sr. as Presi-dent (1967-69), Jeffrey Newhall as Executive Minister (1991-1998), Michael Livingston as Executive Minister (1999-2010). Numerous laymen and laywomen, as well as our pastors and church staff, have participated over the years in events and meetings held by our region of community churches (Baltimore and Washington) and by the ICCC. The Church Council has formed a task force to study our current and future relationship with the ICCC.

ICCC continued from page 1

ICCC youth at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.

Small group Bible study at the ICCC annual conference.

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Florida Connections! Remember the concert of chamber music that we hosted in June to “Welcome Summer”? The special offering collected at that community outreach event was devoted entirely to assist families of the victims of “the Pulse” nightclub tragedy in Orlando. We received the following thank you letter from the pastor of the church that made use of the funds. Brothers and Sisters -Thank you so much for your donation check, which arrived this week. We are in negotiations for a social worker for our Vacation Bible School, and we will send pictures as the week unfolds. Thank you for enabling this ministry as we begin to heal from the Pulse shooting and the horror that surrounds us. Gratefully, Rev. Leigh McCaffrey and the members of First United Church of Christ, Orlando, FL

Cape Cod Connections! Earlier this summer, Rick Barton (center) stopped by to see the Epperly family in Massachusetts! Former PCC pastor Kate and husband Bruce (left in the photo with grand-sons) serve congre-gations on Cape Cod. Son Matt Epperly (right), also a former member of PCC, returns regularly to Washington in his professional work.

Odom-eter Connections! We heard in August from Steven Odom, pastor of PCC from 1987-1993, now ministering in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In an email to our current pastors, Steve said he thought of us when “working on a ser-mon and picked up the Bible that PCC gave me when I was installed there in 1987!” He references a “silver cross” engraved for that occa-sion, selected by Jim Rogers, about whose death Steve had only recent-ly learned. He and his wife, Nelia, may return to DC for a visit soon!

Mission Opportunities If you are interested in participating in one or more of the following events, contact Maggie Cissel or Pastor Jeff for details and registration info.

Unity Walk 2016 (InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington) On September 11, 2016, people of all faiths and cultures from around the Washington, DC re-gion will walk down Massachusetts Avenue, NW and visit houses of worship and other religious centers in a public celebration of unity and sup-port for everyone within our diverse community. Today, more than ever, our message of friend-ship and solidarity is critical. The 2016 Unity Walk (12th annual!) will begin at 1:30 pm at Washington Hebrew Congregation (Macomb Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW) and will include a program at The Islamic Center at ap-proximately 4:15. The Unity Walk is open and free to everyone. Registration will be through Eventbrite. These is a suggested donation of $20 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and those of limited income. Benjamin E. Cooper Awards (Friendship Place) 19th Annual Benjamin E. Cooper Awards on Thursday, September 29, 2016 from 7-9pm at the Metropolitan Church 3401 Nebraska Ave, NW. Tickets are complimentary so please join us for a fun evening as we honor the incredible contribu-tions of our volunteers. Friendship Walks 2016 (Friendship Place) Join neighbors, families and friends for a walk to end homelessness and rebuild lives on Novem-ber 5, 2016 on the National Mall. All proceeds from the walk directly support Friendship Place, a nonprofit organization that offers the most effective model for addressing homelessness, with innovative programs that empower individ-uals and families experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives, find homes, get jobs, and re-connect with friends, family, and the community, permanently. Friendship Place’s programs make a real difference for the over 2,600 people we serve every year who are facing homelessness. Friendship Walks 2016 is a 1.5 mile fun and peaceful walk around the National Mall, focused on ending homelessness in the DC region.

Robb Noll, pediatric social worker and educator, works with VBS kids in Florida.

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1. Liberian pastors Sumoiwuo K. Dolo and J. Abraham Dees with our July 24 congregation

2. Rev. J. Abraham Dees 3. Liberian baseball “rookies”

with Pastor Jeff 4. Rev. Sumoiwuo K. Dolo

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Surprise Summer Visitors!

O n July 24, PCC members and friends welcomed Rev-erends Sumoiwuo Dolo and J. Abraham Dees to fel-

lowship and worship—surprise guests from Liberia! Sumoiwuo is Assistant General Overseer of the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, based at the Harvest Ministry Cen-ter in Monrovia. Abraham is the General Administrator of the Evangel World Outreach Ministries, Inc. in Gardners-ville. The pastors are seeking connection with the Interna-tional Council of Community Churches (ICCC), which has enjoyed historic relationships with many faith communities world-wide. Senior Pastor Jeff Stinehelfer met “Dolo” and Abraham at the annual conference of the ICCC in Louisville, July 11-15. Though based in New Jersey during their visit to the United States, they expressed interest in including our na-tion’s capital in their experience. Jeff immediately offered to

host them and invited them to the Palisades. The new friends received the grand tour of the Mall, the monuments, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and enjoyed learning the game of baseball at the Nationals Stadium. At PCC, “Dolo” and Abraham told the congregation about the challenges and opportunities of Christian life in Liberia, and about the personal experiences of their families during past conflicts in their homeland. For long periods of time they had to hide in the bush from marauding militant groups, with little food or shelter. A generous offering from the congregation helped these gentlemen with the extraor-dinary expense of visiting America on behalf of their churches. The African pastors expressed great gratitude for their exposure to Washington and PCC, and they have continued communications with Rev. Jeff since returning to Liberia

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The Light at the End of the Tunnel By Nina Schierow

A fter thinking of a way to thank the church and its members for all its done for me, I thought I might

share a college essay. The prompt was asking us to write about place that we felt perfectly content, and why. Before finishing reading through the prompt, I knew exactly what to write about, and the dilemma I had was not writing enough, but figuring out how to con-dense a life filled with love and support into such few words. “I have friends who dread the idea of spending an hour each Sunday at church, but I dread leaving church after the hour is up. Waking up on Sunday morning is easy, since I know that I will be in the red-brick Palisades Community Church soon. I don’t expect to see all of the pews full or to hear a gospel choir. I expect traditional organ-accompanied hymns, a sermon, and silent prayer. While others enjoy loud bands, shouted sermons and collaborative dance, I prefer and cherish a quiet, soothing Sunday morning. While the church is architecturally traditional, the people come in everything from car-go shorts to button downs. Church is not only a place of worship for me; it is a second home. My church unites people of different backgrounds in an environment filled with love that stretches far beyond its walls. It’s where I grew up, and more importantly, the place that helped me develop my love for mu-sic, and helped me realize that music is who I am, and what I am destined to do. I remember hearing music being played in the church as a young child, long before I knew what an organ was. I came to learn that the person responsible for the angelic music was named Simone. As our church organ-ist, she is the first person I remember hearing play music. I habitually piddled around on the piano while my moth-er attended administrative meetings, and one day the choir director told her that I had to take piano lessons. It wasn’t long before Simone and I were sitting on a piano bench together. I quickly knew that I wanted to follow in her foot-steps. For years, I dreaded the idea of playing for an audi-ence, and at times I got too anxious to play for Simone. Af-ter performing and royally messing up when I played for church, I realized that it wasn’t the end of the world. No one booed me off, or came after to tell me what a horrific job I did. Just the opposite-Simone and the other members

of the church praised me, and from that point on, encour-aged me to play more often. While I am still building the self-confidence that I have spent years acquiring, I feel per-fectly content thinking of all the progress I have made from

four-note tunes to Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven.” After coming home from the Univer-sity of Delaware last fall, while feeling overwhelmed worrying how people would look at me knowing I didn’t even complete a full week, I felt that God gave me an opportunity to “press undo” and readdress where I really needed to be in order to fulfill my ultimate goals in life. This past year has been difficult at times, but no matter how dim my light may have been by the end of the week, coming to church and being surrounded by such a warm environment brightened the light and started me off shining for the week to come. I couldn’t possibly express what the Palisades Community Church has given me, but I sincerely thank each and every attendee for play-ing such a special role in my life. I frequently reminisce over a few of my fondest memories: Dr. Kate’s bois-terous laughs and smiles that filled the memorial hall, Marion Mack’s decadent fudge that filled the plates of many, and sharing spearmint gum with Maxine Gould. When I think about those that have passed, I remember their influ-ences on me, and how my life has been shaped by their presence. I wouldn’t be playing piano if Jim Rogers hadn’t told mother to talk to Simone about lessons. I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have with flute if I didn’t have Maxine Gould’s smile and encouraging words secured in my mind for the days when I wanted to give up. I have been nurtured for years by the Palisades Community Church, and

while, at times, I worry about the journey ahead, I remind myself that the strength within the church will get me through every struggle I have. Soon I will attend Westmin-ster Choir College, pursuing a sacred music major with an organ primary. I don’t expect to pass every exam, and I know there will be days when I want to give up, but no matter how dim my light is, the Palisades Church keeps it shining bright enough to light a path for those wandering in darkness.

Nina with church friends, Nelson Pierce, Caroline Pierce, and Max Merriman.

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The Palisades Community Church 5200 Cathedral Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016-2665

Rev. Jeffrey Stinehelfer, Senior Pastor Rev. Beth McKinney, Assistant Pastor Polly Johnson, Administrator 202.966.7929, paliscomch@verizon.net www.thepalisadeschurch.org

On the Church Calendar

Sunday, September 4—Communion Sunday

Sunday, September 11—FAMILY SUNDAY (RALLY DAY!)

Sunday, September 18—Council meeting

Saturday, September 24, 1-3pm—ICCC Region B Meeting

Sunday, September 25—ICCC Sunday with guest preacher Rev. Stephen Murray

Sunday, October 2—Communion Sunday and Pastor Appreciation Sunday

Saturday, October 8, 9am-noon—Storytelling Workshop led by Rev. Beth McKinney

Sunday, October 9—Mission Sunday with guest speaker Alan Banks of Friendship Place

Sunday, October 16—93rd Church Anniversary. Bring family, friends, neighbors, missing members to the Reunion!

Saturday, October 22, 9am-1pm—Red Cross Blood Drive

Sunday, October 23—Council Meeting

Saturday, October 29, 9am-noon

CPR/AED training.

In the spirit of Dylan’s lifesaving experience (see page 1), we are hosting a 3-hour CPR/AED training.

The cost is $35 per person and the training is open to the community. Contact the church office to reserve your space.

Photo-“props” We offer this blanket appreciation to Katherine Samolyk,

Robin Anne Floyd and Polly Johnson for their past, present and future photo contributions, not always acknowledged

with a byline. Thank you ladies!