Although the sanctuary has been quiet, the administrative staff at Tenth has been working hard to implement new software systems that will help us stay better connected as a congregation and achieve greater efficiencies in our administrative processes. Most members are familiar with the Church Life App, also known as Access Tenth, which provides a church directory and is used to process giving. Access Tenth lacks many capabilities we need to stay connected, provide pastoral care, and efficiently process donations. […]

For decades, the Lord has steadily introduced Tenth members to vulnerable people in Philadelphia. As we are all now aware, to use a word like vulnerable is now a massive understatement. Before the COVID-19 crisis, Tenth’s immigrants and homeless neighbors lacked basic resources. As we are now more than 75 days into the lockdown, any margin these neighbors built into their life has dissolved and the relationships developed through the efforts of Tenth’s Mercy Commission and other charities are essential. […]

Jesus  says that the greatest commandment is this: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.” And the second greatest commandment is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our Lord tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the following question: “So, Jesus, who is my neighbor anyway?” In the parable a man is injured by robbers and is left by the side of the road. Two people of high distinction in […]

We as a church have placed our hope in the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Nevertheless, because of the truly unprecedented nature of this moment, each week the pastors and ministry leaders  have spent time changing. Changing plans. Changing expectations. Changing our strategy. What has not changed is our belief that all of us need to meet with God by the Holy Spirit through word and prayer. So, slowly, week by […]

The immeasurable significance of Holy Week is perhaps best attested by the amount of space given to recording its events in the gospels. From the total of 89 chapters in the four gospel accounts, 29 chapters are devoted to describing what Jesus said and did from Palm Sunday to Easter. Not only this, but each gospel is composed so the reader can clearly understand that there is an inexorable movement in Jesus’ life towards the cross and the empty tomb. […]

In a previous Tenth Press article, we spoke about the work the Lord is doing through our Global Partners and the two relief projects we’re supporting for our 2020 Easter Sacrificial Offering (ESO). If you haven’t had a chance to read it, you can find it here. In that article we distinguished between relief work and development work. Relief work provides an immediate solution to a pressing need, whereas development work is oriented around a long-term solution, looking to provide […]

Each year as we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection at Easter, the Global Outreach Commission seeks out beneficiaries for our annual Easter Sacrificial Offering (ESO). This offering is collected and distributed to those who are working to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the global church in some of the harshest parts of the world. This year we’re excited to announce that after much deliberation and prayer, the Commission and Session have decided to support five ministries that are working […]

On March 3, we presented a gift of chocolates to the adult ESL student who won the contest to name the onsite ESL program. Submissions were numerous and included the following words: speak, learn English, class, program, South Philly, and community. For now, though, I need to back up. Tenth’s Mercy Commission includes the South Philadelphia Immigrant Committee, which oversees an ESL outreach program to the adult community from the Kirkbride School, 1501 S. 7th Street. Most of its students receive English language services. A while […]

“‘We are in the very bowels of hell,’ I thought to myself.” So said Brian Fikkert, development economist and founder and president of the Chalmers Center of Covenant College, recalling his observation of poverty so dire that surely anything—anything at all—he could do would help alleviate the suffering of the unfortunate souls so afflicted by it. Right? Wrong, argues Fikkert in When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself. In fact, despite good intentions, he made […]