We round out Black History Month remembering another Black Presbyterian leader with strong ties to New York City, Dr. Emily Vera Gibbes. She was born in Harlem in 1915.  Her father was a physician, and her mother was a former teacher and a suffragist. She attended Sunday School at St. James Presbyterian Church where the pastor, William Lloyd Imes, pushed her into education. Click below to read more about her incredible life.

The memorial service for Nancy Ost, who died February 15th will be held in the MAPC sanctuary on Wednesday, April30th at 10 am. There will be a reception to follow in the Parish Hall. Please mark your calendars to come celebrateNancy’s life in this service of witness to the Resurrection. 

The Tuesday Evening Bible Study at the Manse is beginning a new series of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. The first meeting is this Tuesday, March 4, at 7:15 pm. We meet on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and encourage you to join us as often as you can (feel free to come once, every week, or now and then). James Edwards, biblical scholar, states, "The epistle to the Romans is the most commanding exposition of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith ever written. It stands first among…

The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5. The pastors will offer the imposition of ashes on the sanctuary steps between 8 -9 am and Noon – 1 pm. The Ash Wednesday service of Word and Sacrament will be held at 7pm in the Sanctuary. 

If you would like daily devotions for Lent click below…

MAPC lost two of our beloved longtime members this past week.  We are sad to announce that Nancy Ost died February 15th at the age of 94 and Barbara Iverson died February 19th at the age of 83.  Both Nancy and Barbara had been in hospice care for a brief period of time.  While saddened by their loss, we are grateful that for them “death is past and pain is ended and they have entered the joy you have prepared.” Click below to read more about them and the full lives they lead.

The Rev. Theodore Sedgwick Wright, abolitionist and minister, was the first African American to graduate from Princeton Theological Seminary, in 1828.  He was the pastor of New York’s First Colored Presbyterian Church, later known as Shiloh Presbyterian Church—successor church to the current St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem. Wright was a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and a conductor of the Underground Railroad, using his own home as a station…

For this year’s Lenten series we will study Christian leaders and churches from the past that have taken a stand against injustice and reflect on what we can learn from them for our current times. We’ll look at Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Barmen Declaration and the Confessing Church in the 1930s and 40s in Germany; The Belhar Confession and the witness of the Reformed Church in South Africa under Apartheid; and Christian involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. The dates are Wednesdays March 12, 19, 26, April 2, and 9th. A light dinner will be available at 6:30 pm and the program will start at 7. 

The next Discipleship Lunch will be Sunday, March 2 in the Parish Hall following the morning worship service.  The Rev. Beverly Bartlett will talk about Celtic Spirituality.  Come enjoy a light lunch and learn about this ancient understanding of how faith and our experience of the Divine infuses every aspect of life and our interaction with the natural world. 

We have access to a wonderful historical resource through the Presbyterian Historical Society—a timeline celebrating the work and witness of African American Presbyterians.  The timeline goes through 2022 with a final entry about the Rev. Gloria J. Tate, who, upon her retirement was the longest-serving African American female pastor in our denomination. Click below for more details and a link to the full timeline.

Dr. Thelma Adair died last August just a few days before her 104th birthday. Dr. Adair was the first African American Woman to serve as moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA (the precursor to our denomination, the PCUSA).  But that was just a fraction of Dr. Adair’s service to the church, her community, and the world…

Sunday, February 2 at 3 pm: Trio Fadolín is a new ensemble with a unique sonority featuring the fadolín – a new instrument that encompasses the range of the violin, viola, and most of the cello. Their performance will bring together rarely heard music from distant lands – contemporary classical compositions from Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Latvia – as well as several pieces composed in New York City. 

On Monday, February 3, at 7:30 pm, MAPC will host a concert of three outstanding choirs. The National Youth Choir of Australia (GONDWANA), the Westminster Choir (of NJ’s Westminster Choir College), and our own NYC Children’s Chorus will each sing several of their choral favorites, then combine their voices together in song. Admission is Free.

This Sunday evening discussion group meets weekly on Zoom at 5 pm. This is an opportunity to gather online with other MAPC members and friends to discuss how we respond as people of faith to current issues of justice, equity, and civil rights in our community and country, particularly with vulnerable communities affected by changing immigration policies, LGBTQ+ policies, healthcare issues and more. As a jumping off point for our weekly discussions, we will read together Daniel Wolpert’s book, “Looking Inward, Living Outward: The Spiritual Practice of Social Transformation”. Click below for more details and information on how to join!

Come join the Hood Library Fellowship for a movie night! We’ll be watching “Conclave,” the 2024 film based on the novel by Robert Harris, winner of a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay, and nominated for eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor…

To mark the beginning of Black History Month, we will read in its entirety MLK Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” addressed to white religious leaders and churches. Written in August of 1963, this letter is a timely call to the church in any era as society continues to struggle for justice and equality. Please come join in hearing this letter again and discussing its call to us, the church.

Tommy Wazelle is an accomplished opera, oratorio and musical theatre singer, and an Emmy-winning television voice actor. At the core of the program is Dichterliebe, Schumann’s beloved song cycle, Beethoven’s Adelaide, and…

If you didn’t attend our packed 20th Annual Carol Sing this past Sunday, you are invited to experience it online! A link to the performance is available on the Saint Andrew Music Society’s YouTube page and can be reached through the link below.

The Nominating Committee invites the congregation to nominate church members for the offices of deacon and elder and to serve on the nominating committee itself (for the following year). Please send all nominations to be considered to Patrick Howley at pah@mapc.com by January 6, 2025. 

The next MAPC Discipleship Lunch will be Sunday, January 26th, following worship in the Parish Hall. We will welcome Elsia Vasquez, Founding Director of PA'LANTE. Their mission is to reduce poverty and advocate for safe housing by organizing, educating, and empowering residents. They support communities to preserve and improve quality of life by assisting tenants whose rights have been violated, and by holding unresponsive property owners accountable.

Our annual Friday Night Fireside Jazz is January 24^th from 6 – 9 pm in the Church House Lobby.  This is a wonderful evening of fellowship and feasting with a live jazz trio.  You can sign up at Fellowship Hour beginning January 5^th or by following the link below!

Unfortunately, this lunch is being postponed. We truly look forward to this lunch and will announce another date very soon! 

At this meeting, we will hear about and discuss ways MAPC will be working to engage both children and youth in their faith formation this coming calendar year. Childcare will be provided and lunch will be served. Please email Maddie at mrs@mapc.com with any questions or to express interest.

As the weather gets colder, MAPC is excited to be opening up our gymnasium on Saturday, January 11th and 25th from 1-3pm for kids of all ages and their families to spend the afternoon together in community, play some games, and enjoy some fun activities.

There is still time to complete your 2024 giving and fulfill any open 2024 pledges! Please contact our Director of Finance, Grace Kachigian at gfk@mapc.com, by December 30th, if you wish to make a contribution or need assistance in making one. Click below for additional details or ways to give.

The Hood Library has made some new acquisitions. Please visit the library after Sunday’s service and feel free to borrow something that catches your eye. Click below to see a list of books that have been added!

In partnership with First Spanish Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, high schoolers are invited to come help fill backpacks with supplies for elementary & middle school students, be in community, earn service hours, and have dinner. Supplies will be provided! Please RSVP to Maddie Samuelian at mrs@mapc.org by Tuesday, Dec. 10.

We are now accepting donations in memory or in honor of loved ones for the poinsettias and other decorations that will beautify the sanctuary for the Advent Christmas season. You may make a contribution through…

Our 60th Season continues on Sunday, November 24 at 3 pm!

The Saint Andrew Chorale and Orchestra will open their 60th Season with one of the most beloved pieces of twentieth-century choral music, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Hodie – a Christmas Cantata for chorus, children’s chorus, soloists and orchestra. Rounding out the program is Gustav Holst’s rarely heard Three Festival Choruses for chorus and orchestra.

This coming Sunday, December 8, is the annual Advent Festival. After worship, there will be lunch, cookie decorating, Advent/Christmas crafts and the warmth of community and fellowship. All are welcome and there is something for all ages—crafts for wee ones and older ones, cold weather kits to assemble for our unhoused neighbors, good food, and conversation.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, join us as we take time to quiet our hearts and minds and focus on the meaning of Advent and Christmas. The final meeting is December 16 at 7 pm. Please email Laurelkhoffman@gmail.com for more information and to let us know you can join! 

Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church is a growing church community striving to experience and reflect God's love in Jesus Christ. At the link below, you can read my stewardship letter to the congregation, as well as our most recent brochure. MAPC is a community blessed with solid foundations, and as we honor our past, we also look forward with hope and purpose, striving to be a vital witness for Christ in this community and world.