My father hasn’t spoken to me for several years. Alzheimer’s disease has robbed him of the ability to send messages from his brain to his vocal chords for speech. I’m still startled when I hear his recorded voice on my mother’s answering machine because it’s been so long since I’ve heard a word uttered from his mouth. He’s been in a nursing home in Indiana for almost a year and I try to visit him monthly. Conversation and communication is obviously limited, but I want to see him and want to touch him while he’s still around.

During a visit Saturday morning I wheeled him outside to get some fresh air, updated him on what the family was doing, and faced the inevitable silence. I started singing some old hymns to him just to fill the void and found myself enjoying the retreat back in time. At one point I crouched down in front of him, held his hand and said, “Dad, do you remember this one? Do you remember?” and began singing How Great Thou Art. He focused his eyes on me, smiled a little and I detected just the faintest of movements from his lips, mouthing the words along with me. What a tearful, blessed delight to find some connection, some glimmer of the daddy I knew that years ago used to sit next to me in the pew at church and share a hymnal. The dad who lived his long life (89 years!) as a godly man was still a godly man no matter how disease and time had robbed him. How thankful I am that the man he is in Christ has not changed, and God still sees him as perfect as always.

About seven hours later I’m in my living room listening to my daughter and one of her dear friends practicing a song they composed and will be sharing with the congregation the next day. Hearing the text and listening to their sweet voices recalling God’s wisdom and grace extended to us, I was reminded of the words repeated over and over again in the Psalms to sing praises to the Lord, sing songs of praise to God most high. These young women were not only sharing their musical gifts, but had also served as summer interns, sharing His love with the younger crew at CHPC. My heart was filled with such joy, such peace, such thankfulness for the witnessing of His salvation from my father’s generation to my daughter’s and beyond.

Sunday morning singing a hymn during worship became so much more to me than just offering a song to fill up some time in the service, so much more than just enjoying a delightful tune, great harmonies or appreciating an awesome guitar riff. I was proclaiming God’s greatness from generation to generation; His gift of love, mercy, and eternal life which is offered to every one of us now and to countless generations to come. I knew it to be true. I had seen it first hand in just the past 24 hours. Whether through lips wrinkled by time or from the mouths of babes; barely a whisper or a hearty baritone, we have the awesome responsibility, insane privilege and blessed opportunity to sing, speak, share, shout and show His love to everyone we encounter every day. Let’s go!

Ed and Annette Eckert, founders of Bridge for Peace, an international healing ministry (www.bridgeforpeace.org) and good friends of Wally and Kathy Bolduc, have traveled from Long Island, NY to attend this weekend's "Presence" exhibit, and also to meet with CHPC's healing team. They will be joining us during the healing service on Sunday, Sept. 27, as well.

Wally Bolduc and Barry Carlin traveled to Uganda and Ghana with Bridge for Peace in 2008, and the healing team has been studying healing prayer for the past several months using a video produced by this ministry. Please join us in welcoming Ed and Annette!

Most people at CHPC know Polina Bespalko Ellerhorst as the Chancel Choir Accompanist, wife of Gary Ellerhorst - a member of Cincinnati’s Southern Gateway Chorus - and mother of charming 6 year old Nadya.

But Polina has also been described as an “amazing virtuoso” by world famous Russian pianist Nikolai Petrov and has many fans around the world. She began her performance career at the age of 8, and throughout her years at the Moscow Central Music School, she appeared regularly in the most prestigious venues in Russia. Her career continued after her acceptance to the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, as she was requested by the Minister of Culture to participate in numerous musical programs in major cities throughout the region.

She made her American debut in 1998 in Cincinnati, and returned to the Queen City two years later to perform for the 90th anniversary of Matinee Mucsicale, the nation’s longest running music recital series.

A winner of the Silver Medal in the 2001 Wideman International Piano Competition in Shreveport, Louisiana, Polina went on to become a medalist in the 2005 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. This was immediately followed by the Gold Medal in the Rachmaninov Concerto Competition in Catania, Sicily.

Polina holds a Masters Degree from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, and an Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Ms. Bespalko is currently on the piano faculty of Xavier University in Cincinnati.

The College Hill Presbyterian Chancel Choir is a part of the Heritage Music team singing during worship services as well as during special music presentations throughout the year. The choir has blessed many, many people throughout CHPC’s history.

Consider joining the choir. They rehearse regularly on Thursdays from 7 - 9 p.m. If you have any questions, email Brian Donaldson, BDonaldson@chpc.org.

Brian Donaldson, Chancel Choir Director and Kaleidoscope Band Leader, comes to CHPC with over 18 years of music ministry experience. He is a graduate of CIncinnati Christian University with a Bachelor of Music. He also has attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for work toward a Master’s degree.

Active in church and community, Brian also performs in musicals, operas and solo presentations and shares his talents with local high schools. Two of his current engagements are Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati and the May Festival Chorus. He also teaches on the voice faculty at his Alma mater, Cincinnati Christian University and at the Musical Arts Center in O’Brianville.

Maddie du Breuil (pronounced “Broy”) is a native of Pennsylvania and a recent graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. After four years of intense musical study and academic application, she earned her Bachelors of Music Degree in Percussion Performance (i.e., she has a degree in hitting things)!

Despite spending the past four years in Pittsburgh, Maddie originally hails from eastern Pennsylvania, growing up in the suburbs of Harrisburg with her parents, her younger sister and the family dog. She enjoys laughing and making other people laugh, and her favorite things include hippopotami, cheese, plastic dinosaurs, Dr. Pepper and Coke. In her free time, Maddie can be found reading, listening to or making music, hiking in the woods, playing in trees, and taking pictures.

Maddie has come to Cincinnati to do a year of service work with the Young Adult Volunteers Program (YAV). YAV is a mission program through the Presbyterian Church (USA) that seeks to introduce its participants to simple living and intentional Christian community while submerging them in vocational discernment and community outreach.

If you would like to find out more about the YAV program, check out their website at www.pcusa.org/yav. As a YAV, Maddie will be responsible for working with College Hill Presbyterian Church’s CRASH ministries while actively seeking God’s direction for the next chapter of her life. Maddie hopes that through her time with the YAV program and CRASH ministires, she will be able to discern a glimpse of God’s direction and plan for her life.

She will be with CHPC through July 2010. Her office is located in the Ministry Center on the second floor, right near the elevator. You can contact her there at 541-5676, ext. 116. When not hanging out with the youth, she will be in her office on Sundays from 3 - 9 p.m. and from Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Please welcome Maddie warmly into our church family.

What could the people of God do for the Kingdom of God if they were debt free? Financial Peace University is a Biblically-based program that teaches you to manage God’s money in God’s way. Using entertaining video lessons and powerful small group accountability, FPU empowers you to make the right decisions about money, eliminate debt, build wealth, and give like never before. During this life changing class, you will learn how to get control of your money, stop struggling to make ends meet, tell your money what to do, and change your family’s future.

Dave Ramsey, a personal money management expert, teaches the class via videos. He knows first-hand what financial peace means in his own life after living a true rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. This class begins Sun., Sept. 20 for 13 weeks, 10:30 a.m. - 12 noon in Barnabas Center, Rm. 203. If you are married, couples are encouraged to attend together. Rob and Robin Bechtel will be the facilitators. They took the class at work last year and were so encouraged and excited that they felt a call to bring it to CHPC. They hope to see you there!

After two years of prayer, planning, and fundraising, the SonLight Power trip to Ethiopia is about to become a reality. Solar power will be added to three medical clinics along the border with Sudan blessing many Anyuaa people and sharing the love of Christ with them. The team, comprised of Allen Rainey and Steve McLemore from CHPC, John Young, his daughter Becky, and Kevin Montgomery will be in Ethiopia September 9 through 23.

Please pray that the solar power equipment will finish clearing customs quickly, that local logistics and other details would run smoothly, and for the Lord to protect Allen, Steve and the team.

Six Acres Bed and Breakfast is hosting six concerts to raise money for The Six Acres Kenya Project during the months of June, July, August, and September. The project helps fund Lucy Gacheru’s Hope Center in Kenya which exists to keep women out of the harsh working conditions and houses more than 250 orphans.

Additionally, the Six Acres Kenya Project has provided a well in one of the country’s poorest villages that serves as the only source of clean water. Before the well was established, drinking the same dirty water as cows and donkeys was a way of life for many Kenyans.

The first concert was on June 21. The remaining five concerts will all take place on Sunday evenings from 7 - 10 p.m. (doors close at 7:30 p.m.).

Concerts are free of charge, but attendees are strongly encouraged to make a donation to the Kenya Project. There will also be food available for purchase. Be sure to arrive early because the maximum seating capacity is 200. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy a pleasant summer evening and provide a glimmer of hope to the disadvantaged.

The schedule for the concerts is as follows:

Sept. 13: Marvin and The Experience (funk, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, and soul)

Contact Six Acres with any questions: Six Acres Bed & Breakfast, 5350 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45224, Phone: (513) 541-0873. Website: http://www.sixacresbb.com

Thousands of mothers and expecting mothers have been cared for through the The Pregnancy Care Center through Christian counseling, education, parenting classes, and mentoring. PCC’s annual Walk for Life is Saturday morning Sept. 19th at Winton Woods.

The festivities kick off at 9 a.m. The 2-Mile Walk will start at 10 a.m. and will be capped off with food, fellowship, and fun immediately following.

If interested in walking or sponsoring a walker, register on their site: www.walkforlifecincy.com

Sunduk Yun: As the son of a Korean pastor, Sunduk was determined to never follow in his father’s steps. The work was too demanding. That changed on a retreat in his teen years. He realized that Jesus Christ had died on the cross for his sins - that turned his plans around!!

Sunduk has been accepted at Yale Divinity School as a student in the Masters of Divinity program. He applied with very high credentials having received his PhD in Hebrew from Hebrew Union Theological Seminary. Sunduk was presented to Session by Rev. Chris Torrey for the purpose of coming under CHPC’s care while he is in the process of pursuing ordination.

The Yun family has become very attached to Cincinnati, and we have appreciated what they have given to CHPC. His wife, Young Hwa, serves as a deacon, and only the promise of a dog has given his two daughters, Anny and Jenny, the impetus to make this transition.