Praise and Worship Team

My mother and I had the great pleasure of being invited guests of the Miller family (Paulette, in particular) at the 93rd Annual Pre-Women’s Day Breakfast held at the Second Baptist Church of Frankford on Saturday morning, October 29th. When we arrived, the cooks had already been busy in the kitchen from early that morning. The forecast for the day was rain changing to sleet and snow (yes, this was the end of October) yet the assembly in their Fellowship Hall was warm and welcoming. This breakfast leads up to Women’s Day (Nov. 6) which is a culmination of all their fundraising efforts for the Church. The Praise and Worship Team lent their voices singing songs to unite us all! Sister Dionne Greene, our Worship Leader, began the morning reminding us of God’s many gifts and blessings. Full of energy, she set the tone for the rest of our morning. Sister Shelly Robinson, in her reading of the Sacred Word, asked those gathered to unite in worship and service, no matter our differences. A good message to remember! We were warmly welcomed by Sister Eliza Fletcher! You believed that, though you were visiting, you were most assuredly invited to return!

Sister Joanie Briggs solo, “It’s Been A Mighty Good Day”, will stay with me always reminding me that no matter what has happened to me that day, it’s still been a good day! Sister Lavon Johns, introduced our guest speaker, her cousin, Licentiate Genene Jones. Licentiate means you possess a license. Her theme resonated with the assembled group that Christians provide service for the glory of God who is always there for us. Very devout and strongly dedicated to serving Jesus and His Father, she invited us to a life of Christian discipleship. Deaconess Marsha Jones blessed our food and Licentiate Jones also gave the Benediction. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of fried fish, scrambled eggs, scrapple, bacon, sausage, home fries, cinnamon apples, grits, biscuits,  juice, coffee and danish.

I had the great pleasure to meet Reverend Marie Johns, also known as the “Mother of Second Baptist”.

She is also the proud mother of 9 children and fondly remembers her husband, Wilmore, who passed two years ago. Deacon Johns was a Head Trustee for Second Baptist for many years.

The Chairlady of this event was Deaconess Pamela Hardy. The Co-Chairlady was Sister Venieta Briggs. Reverent Darrel R. Bradsbery is the Pastor of Second Baptist. All those involved with this event can be very proud of the program that was very moving and the food that was delicious!

We are blessed with many churches and many faiths in Frankford. Whatever your beliefs, this day served to remind all in attendance that we can unite with each other and serve each other well. We need more of that spirit, don’t we?

See below from Netanel Portier, Manager for the Mural Arts Program’s Frankford project, and please help spread the word. We hope you can join us on either of the dates below! Note that you can get a blue recycling bin on the second date listed (November 15th) - as part of the Frankford CDC’s celebration of America Recycles Day.  
 
Hello Frankford,

I hope that you can join Mural Arts and the Frankford Community Development Corporation for a couple of upcoming opportunities to be part of the mural making process. 
 
THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 @ 4900 Griscom Street (Frankford CDC)
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Neighborhood Mural Petition Workshop
Help us spread the word about the murals PLUS show us your neighborhood and your favorite potential mural walls!
Lunch will be provided for participants.
Please RSVP by tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1st
AND
12:30-3:30 p.m. Come tell us your stories of Frankford!
Your story can inspire your community- your story will inspire the mural artist.
Sign up now for a moment to speak with the artist and record your Frankford stories on video. These videos will become part of an online archive for the Frankford community.
Contact Netanel @ 215 685 0725 or netanel@muralarts.org to reserve a time or come by while we are there.
 
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15 @ 4900 Griscom Street (Frankford CDC)
2-6 p.m. Second Session: Come tell us your stories of Frankford!
Your story can inspire your community- your story will inspire the mural artist.
Sign up now for a moment to speak with the artist and record your Frankford stories on video. These videos will become part of an online archive for the Frankford community.
Contact Netanel @ 215 685 0725 or netanel@muralarts.org to reserve a time or come by while we are there.

America Recycles Day is also on the 15th and the Frankford CDC will be distributing recycling bins to those who stop by from 12 to 5 pm!

Thanks so much- we look forward to meeting many of you!

A lot of the rural folks who happen to wander into Frankford notice that we sure do have a lot of trees for a city.  Yes we are arborally blessed and this Friday, if you are available at about 2PM, you might want to take a walk with an expert on trees to see what we really have here.

Dr David Hewitt from the Academy of Natural Sciences will be leading the 5th in a Series of Tree Walks on Friday November 4 at 2:00 PM through Greenwood Cemetery, possibly also Oakland Cemetery, if time allows.  The plan is to meet at 930 Adams Ave Philadelphia, PA 19124 (the house on Adams near Ramona).

If you haven’t been to Greenwood since it has been restored, come on out.  It is much different than what you may remember from a few years ago. Sounds like great exercise on a fine Fall afternoon.

The literal meaning of “treasure trove” from the old English is “treasure that has been found”. Have you discovered all that the Frankford Library has to offer? An Open House was sponsored by the Friends of the Frankford Library on Wednesday, October 26, to familiarize us with the services available at the Library. The Library, at Frankford Avenue and Overington Street, has been at its present location since 1906.

The Frankford Library provides students in grades 1-12 an opportunity to LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program) ahead in their studies. This is a free, drop-in after school program that provides homework help and computer assistance to students. There are literacy enrichment activities for early elementary students. The LEAP Program operates four days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 PM – 6 PM and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 PM – 5 PM.

There are eight computers for the community to use and you can bring your own mobile devices to access the free wifi. This internet access provides a great resource for job-hunters and even for those updating their skills.

What can we do for the Library? We can become Friends of the Library whose mission is to support the Free Library of Philadelphia. Each branch has a volunteer group promoting cooperation and communication between the community and the Free Library. Note that today – not many services are free!

Check it out! For more information, visit the library Monday through Friday! Check out the website at www.freelibrary.org.

Continuation of Lyle (Corky) Larkin remembers:

Halloween was always a very festive time in our neighborhood, we had a beautiful parade that completely closed Frankford Avenue from the Ruan St. fire station (which used to be the home for the “Philly Boy’s Club”) just north of the Frankford and Kensington Ave. split to Bridge Street which by the way was also the end of the line for the “El”.  There were beautifully decorated floats, people dressed as cowboys and Indians on horseback, jugglers, acrobats, mounted police, etc.   They would march down the Avenue past thousands of people standing at the curb, trying not to let one pass without their seeing them.  During this time, people were more than generous in giving out treats.  I can remember going out with my friends and coming home several times with filled shopping bags (from either the Penn Fruit or the A&P stores) and going right out again,  sometime finishing up with as many as 5 filled bags. The parades stopped about 1950 and it seems as though the people started asking us while trick or treating, “do I know you” or “are you from this block?”  At this point the loot went downhill to maybe quarters of a bag on a good night.

To be continued…