Reminder: Joseph M. Martin Free Concert Saturday, 5/18/13 @7:30 PM

Employment Support Group

What?
The Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church (GPC) Employment Support Group provides a supportive Christian environment for those who are unemployed, about to be unemployed, underemployed, or seeking a career change. The group meets twice a month (second Monday and fourth Tuesday) is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

Facilitated by lay members with support from other job seekers, the meetings begin and end with prayer and include roundtable discussions on each person’s situation, then group discussions on employment resources, job hunting techniques, networking, and interviewing. We bring Jesus into employment-related decisions to encourage each other and meet both practical and spiritual needs.

When?
Second Monday, May 13, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Fourth Tuesday, May 28, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Where?
Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church
Room 202 (North entrance)
610 S. Frederick Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Cost Info:
Free.

Parking Info:
Ample Free Parking in both north and south lots.

Contact:
GPC Office: 301-948-9418

Sources:
http://www.gpchurch.org

 

The Visiting Artist Series – Contemporary Christian Music

What?
The Visiting Artist Series begin in 2003 with an idea from Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church’s music director, Ann Y. Schmidt, to bring the best church musicians living today to our area for all to enjoy. This year Joseph M. Martin will lead the choir in joyful song!

“Recognized throughout the United States for his many choral compositions, both sacred and secular, Joseph's music is published by numerous publishing houses. Over twelve hundred compositions are currently in print and the list continues to grow.”

(c) GPC

When?
Saturday, May 18, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Where?
Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church
Sanctuary (South entrance)
610 S. Frederick Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Cost Info:
A Free Will offering will be accepted.

Parking Info:
Ample Free Parking in both north and south lots.

Contact:
GPC Office: 301-948-9418

Sources:
http://www.martin88.com/aboutme.aspx

http://www.gpchurch.org

National Day of Prayer

First Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray without ceasing.”

Since 1952, “… millions of believers across our great nation join together to worship and pray on the National Day of Prayer.”

America’s founding fathers left their homelands so they could freely practice their religion.

The 1775 Continental Congress began with a petition to God for “wisdom in forming a nation”. They made prayer a formal part of the American dream by guaranteeing that right as part of our Constitution.

However, it took 176 years for the US Congress, under President Truman, to enact a law designating an annual day of observance to petition for God’s “watchfulness in every hour of national prosperity and national peril.”

Our nation started in part because of a struggle to practice religion and that struggle continues today.

Ironically, lawsuits were filed in 2011 challenging the National Day of Prayer’s constitutionality.

See today's  National Day of Prayer Presidential Proclammation by Barck Obama.

Notes:

NDP Timeline Highlights

In 1775, the Continental Congress’s first call to prayer was for “wisdom in forming a nation”.

In 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer.”

In 1952, President Truman and Congress enacted a law designating an annual day of observance to petition for God’s “watchfulness in every hour of national prosperity and national peril.”

In 1988, President Reagan designated the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer.

In 2011, a group called “Freedom From Religion Foundation” filed a suit saying the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

 

Sources:

1.       Community to observe National Day of Prayer, (April 27, 2013); http://www.alexcityoutlook.com/2013/04/27/community-to-observe-national-day-of-prayer/
2.       History of the National Day of Prayer (05/14/12); http://nationaldayofprayer.org/about/history

 3.       National Day of Prayer (05/14/12); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Prayer

 4.       Proclamation 2978 - National Day of Prayer, 1952 (04/26/13); http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/