Community
SATURDAY FOR SENIORS
12 STEP PROGRAMS - AA, NA
OLD CITY PRESBYTERIAN APARTMENTS
JAZZ VESPERS
GULF COAST MISSION TRIP
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
FLEA MARKET & NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVAL
BOY SCOUTS
OLD PINE COMMUNITY CENTER
Cancelled
Old Pine Community Center
This year, the Vacation Bible School has been cancelled. In July, we will have a Family Night Cookout, that will be similar to the cookout night of VBS. Please check the calendar page for the Family Night.
Each Saturday a group of 60 older adults gathers at the Old Pine Community Center. Since 1978, this program has provided spiritual and social fellowship, a home-cooked noon meal and a bag lunch for seniors. Seasonal celebrations include special Thanksgiving and Easter meals. A wonderful Holiday meal is served on Christmas Day. The program is staffed by volunteers from the church and the community, as well as a paid chef. The seminary intern provides pastoral care and visits with the seniors each Saturday. Volunteers are welcomed and needed each Saturday.
No need to sign-up in advance - just join us on Saturday morning:
- Senior Pals (to visit with the seniors) 10:00am-1:00pm
- Kitchen Helpers: 9:30am-11:30am
- Servers & Clean up Crew: 11:30am-1:30pm
Saturday for Seniors Celebrates 30 Years of Ministry
On Saturday, April 26, 90 seniors and a cadre of willing and able volunteers gathered to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Saturday for Seniors. When asked what they liked best about Saturday for Seniors, the patrons responded, the fellowship, the friendships, the socialization, It gets me out on Saturdays. Sure, they enjoy the home cooked meal, and often bring plastic containers to enjoy some leftovers at home. Still, its the contact with one another thats important to them. These seniors catch up with one another, check in with one another and pray for one another. This community is a spiritual community, though no religious affiliation is required for participation.
The seniors were greeted with a party favor: a plastic ice cream cone filled with candy and chocolates. They enjoyed a meal of chicken, potatoes with gravy, biscuits, broccoli, fruit cup and more! The meal was topped off with a splendid Birthday Cake, ice-cream and chocolate sauce.
Everyone had a good time. Everyone walked away with their bellies full, their hearts brimming with love and joy, their spirits refreshed.
For more than 30 years Old Pine has provided meeting space for 12-step meetings. All meetings are held in the Duffield Room on the first floor (rear) of the church. You may enter on Pine Street at street level. The building is open 15 minutes before the meeting begins.
11:00am-12:15pm Beginner's Group
12:30pm-1:30pm Hope Group
6:30pm-8:30pm N.A. Group
12:30pm-1:30pm Hope Group
5:30pm-6:30pm Happy Hour Group
12:30pm-1:30pm Hope Group
6:00pm-7:00pm Men's Group
8:30pm-9:30pm Pharmacists
12:30pm-1:30pm Hope Group
11:00am-12:15pm Beginner's Group
12:30pm-1:30pm Hope Group
5:30pm-6:30pm Happy Hour Group
7:00pm-8:00pm Meditation Group
10:00am-11:00am Saturday Happy Hour
Located at 4th and Market Streets and dedicated in 1996, the Old City Presbyterian Apartments are under the auspices of PresbyHomes and Services. Seniors live independently at Old City Apts. Old Pine Supports a strong relationship with the residents at Old City, providing social events 3 times each year: a Valentine Party, a Summer Ice Cream Social and a Harvest Party. Volunteers are always welcome!
After 21 years of ministry, Jazz Vespers at Old Pine has ended. This pioneering ministry has spawned dozens of other jazz vespers throughout the Delaware Valley. We just couldn't generate the leadership needed to continue the ministry. So, with prayerful consideration, and not a small bit of sadness, we held our last Jazz Vespers at Old Pine on June 15, 2007. Old Pine may hold occasional Jazz Vespers services through the year - so stay tuned!
July 4-11, 2008
In the first week of July 2006, a group from Old Pine Church went to Pearlington, Mississippi to work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on post-Hurricane Katrina recovery. The trip ‘stuck.’ We’ve headed down to the Gulf Coast each summer since. 2008 is no exception. We’ll head down July 4-11 to continue the rebuilding process, bringing hope to the folks of this small town. We are mostly unskilled workers with nothing but our faith and a willingness to learn. We insulated, dry walled, framed, put on the final trim and helped Pam and Bubba, Mary, and Mama return home again. In the end, we received far more than we gave.
Pearlington is a small town (population 1600) located about an hour northeast of New Orleans. It was directly in the path of the eye of Katrina and experienced 10-20 feet of flooding from the Gulf and the nearby Pearl River. Many trees fell, and the mud damage from the floodwaters meant that most houses had to be gutted. While some homes have been rebuilt, much work remains to be done. Those who could afford the building materials have had their houses begun or even completed. Many can not afford to buy the materials and have had to wait for grant money. Many folks in Pearlington continue to live in FEMA trailers, waiting.
Pearlington touched our hearts and so we return again and again and again – until the work is completed and the townsfolk are out of FEMA trailers and in their homes. If you would like to make a contribution or join our team, please contact the church office.
For more information please visit Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Seven local Presbyterian congregations partner with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia to rebuild four houses in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia. The first home was completed and dedicated in January 2007. Volunteer opportunities available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
To volunteer for a Saturday, please contact the church office; to volunteer for a Wednesday or Thursday, contact the Habitat volunteer coordinator at 215-765-6000 ext. 10. No construction skills are required: each workday begins with detailed training on the day's activities.
Each year on the Saturday before Mother's Day, Old Pine holds its Flea Market and Neighborhood Festival. For more than 30 years, this has been a day of hard work and fun to raise money for selected mission projects. Beneficiaries have included the Saturday for Seniors Program, Heifer International and the Gulf Coast Mission Project.
The focal point of the Flea Market is the rummage sale with treasures donated by church members and neighbors. But much more than a rummage sale, the Flea Market includes children's activities, a bake sale, burgers and hot dogs fresh off the grill, and vendors lining the sidewalk along Pine and Fourth Streets. It's a festive day, and many volunteers are needed. Click here to rent a vendor table or volunteer.
Old Pine sponsors Boy Scout Troop & Cub Pack #176. Scouting helps the boys develop character, citizenship, and personal fitness. Special activities include the fall biking trip at Jim Thorpe, skiing in January, white water rafting in May, and summer camp in July. Cub Scouts is open to boys age 6 — 10 and Boy Scouts is open to boys age 11-18. All meetings are held at the Old Pine Community Center at 4th and Lombard Streets from September to June:
- Cub Scouts — Friday 7:00-8:30pm the first full week of each month
- Boy Scouts — Every Tuesday 7:30-9:00pm
For more information, contact Scoutmaster Karen O'Hara at 215-817-1769 or KSO121495@aol.com.
401 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 627-2493
www.oldpinecommunitycenter.org
The Mission of the Old Pine Community Center is to provide programs that enrich the lives of the community, without regard to age, race, sex, religion, or social status.
The Center offers a variety of programs for children. It is a licensed Day Care Center, offering a full day pre-school, after school care, and a summer day camp. Some scholarships and discounts are available, and persons eligible for subsidized child–care are welcome. During the week the Center provides its gym for use by St. Peter's Independent School. The Center also sponsors a program of Adult Learning and Literacy. Learners are matched with tutors and they work one-on-one to gain skills and knowledge according to their personal goals—perhaps to pass the GED exam; perhaps to become more proficient in reading or math.
Several community organizations use Old Pine as their regular meeting place, including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, 12-step groups, the South Street Headhouse District and the Society Hill Civic Association. Many groups bring together neighborhood residents and business leaders, and often their guests include representatives of city government. The weekly "Saturday for Seniors" program offers a home-cooked meal and a take home supper to senior citizens, along with the opportunity for fellowship. By serving as a meeting place for such groups, the Community Center is a hub of neighborhood life. On election days, the Community Center serves as a polling place for the neighborhood. In the evenings and on Saturdays, the Center hosts a variety of sports leagues, including wheelchair sports. The Center also hosts a gymnastics program for children.
When available, the Center's gymnasium, which can accommodate up to two-hundred and fifty persons, and Wasson Hall, which can accommodate one hundred, may be rented for private parties, dinners, receptions, or meetings. A full institutional kitchen is available. The Center also can provide space for smaller groups to meet.
• The first floor of the Center including the gymnasium and Wasson Hall is handicap accessible and public parking lots are within a two-block walk.
• For additional information about the Center, its programs and services, please contact Nathan Cooke