First Presbyterian Church of Glidden

Transcription

1 First Presbyterian Church of Glidden May 2015 On my travels, this past month, I had the good fortune of visiting the Mother Church of Presbyterianism St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland.St. Giles played an important role in the founding of the Presbyterian Church,butthe church wasmost influential when John Knox served as its pastor, from 1559 to Even the church building was transformed by John Knox. Firstly, Knox objected to the iconography that had become so common in Catholic Churches at that time, so he had the interior walls of the cathedral whitewashed and the stained-glass windows removed. The pulpit, which stood near the eastern wall of the church was moved into the very center of the building. Knox believed that everything including the architecture and decoration of the church building should reflect Presbyterian theology. His belief was that the Word of God, as preached in the sermon, was the central aspect of the worship service, so he placed the pulpit in the center of the church. Also, he believed that decoration, simply for the sake of beauty, was a distraction that drew people s attention away from the worship of God. At the heart of both of these ideas is a Presbyterian doctrine called the Regulative Principle of Worship. The Regulative Principle decrees that the only proper elements of worship are those explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Some have taken this to mean that musical instruments like guitars and organs should not be used in church because the Bible does not specifically list them as approved instruments. Others have rejected things like church dramas, prayers to saints, and various forms of decoration. That s part of why John Knox had the stainedglass windows removed from St. Giles; stained-glass is not explicitly mentioned as a proper form of worship in the Bible. Most people today don t really have much fondness for the Regulative Principle. No one really likes to be told that they have to have a text from the Bible justifying every single thing they do in worship or every item theyplace in the sanctuary. It s all a bit unwieldy. But the goal of the regulative principle is admirable. The goal is to hold the Bible is as high of esteem as possible. We should read the Bible so much and know it so well that we have a Biblical rationale for everything we do especially when we re worshipping God. So, while most Presbyterian churches do allow organs and guitars to be used in worship, many of us would feel uncomfortable with music that doesn t have a message or a point to it. We do want areason and rationale for everything we do in church and because it s beautiful isn t really good enough. Everything we do must bring God glory. Today, St. Giles Cathedral has stained-glass in almost all of its windows. They put in new windows about a hundred years ago, andthe church looks beautiful. But every panel of stained-glass tells a story or teaches something about the Christian faith. When we worship God, the goal isn t to create beautiful things. The goal is to introduce us to God and to teach us about Scripture. This is a principle that we should never abandon; no matter how we choose to decorate. Blessings, Pastor Brian Pastor Brian s Contact Info: Pastor@GliddenPresbyterianChurch.org or Cell phone:

2 Meet the Members MTM We did the interview for the May Newsletter early as Pastor Brian was traveling to England during the middle of April. On March 30 th, we called Cal Riedesel to ask about the interview and set up an appointment to meet with him. We would like to meet him on Wednesday or April 1 st. Cal s response Is this an April fool s joke? So started our enjoyable visit with Cal at his home at the Howard Center at 507 North 12 th Street in Sac City, Iowa. Cal Riedesel was born July 16, 1951, the son of the late John and Adeline Riedesel. He was born at St. Anthony Hospital in Carroll and was joined in life by four siblings; Warren, Barb, Miles and Suzanne. The Riedesel family lived on the Dean Fisher farm by the Carroll Airport and later moved to the Freda Berns farm one-half mile north of Glidden. Cal loved growing up on the Bern s farm as it was close to town. He could walk to town as a young boy, deliver papers and earn a little pocket money. Cal attended GR School graduating in 1969 in a class of 39 students. In the fall of 1969 he enrolled into college at DMACC in Boone, Iowa, where he received his Associates of Arts degree in the study of Liberal Arts. During his stay at DMACC, Cal worked part time as a janitor for the college. During the summer months he drove a truck for McClue Sand and Gravel located at Lanesboro, Iowa. In the fall of 1971, Cal enrolled at Iowa State University as a junior studying English and Journalism. During Cal s tenure at Iowa State, doctors discovered a disease that would burden Cal throughouthis life. Early stages were diagnosed as Manic Depression and later was changed to bipolar depression. Cal did not receive medication until 1974 for his illness. Because of this illness Cal dropped out of ISU and took a job as janitor at the State House in Des Moines. He later worked for Crouse Cartage of Carroll and traveled, as he two manned an Allied Moving Truck across the country, moving peoples household belongings. While on a trip to the Washington, D.C. area, Cal had a day-long lay over. He hopped on a bus and visited the historical areas of the city; such as the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, reflection pool, and other places of interest. Cal still relishes the memory of this learning experience, except that he forgot in which mall his truck was parked. With some fear and negotiations he was able to return to his truck by nightfall. From Cal worked as a propane delivery person for Northern Propane, During these years, Cal maintained his residence with his parents until 1986 when he purchased a home at 134 West First Street in Glidden, Iowa. Cal s illness continued to decline when in 1980 doctors determined his bipolar depression incapacitated him and he could no longer perform work assignments. Cal was regimented to full disability but was able to take care of himself as he lived at his home in Glidden. Around 2000, Cal spent a couple of years at Mallard View in Carroll. then returned to his home for the next nine years. Cal s health continued to decline and in 2014 he moved back to Mallard View. Today, Cal lives at the Howard Center in Sac City, which he enjoys. This Howard Center provides living quarters for three other male residents. The other side of this duplex provides living arrangements for four female occupants. Cal would like to spend the rest of his life at this location. Cal spends his time reading, listening to radio and stereo, plus watching some television. Cal is a very good student of the Bible as he has read the New Testament three times. He is selective in his reading of the Old Testament as he reads Joshua, Job, Psalms, Genesis, and occasionally reads Proverbs. He likes to question and probe clergy about biblical teachings and especially challenged Rev. Scott Berkley when Scott was the Sunday School Teacher. The challenge was always in good fun. Today, Cal owns a 2013 Toyota Camry but is unable to drive because of a restricted license. Occasionally, he has visitors who calls on him and he gets to spend 10 hours each month in one-on-one therapy, which may include a trip to a local shopping spot or to a restaurant for a soda. As we wrapped up our visit we found Cal very informed about current events and a willingness to openly converse with us. We enjoyed our visit and will continue to stay in touch with this man because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

3 Mark Your Calendars Now for August 9 Members, former members, and anyone who has been involved in The First Presbyterian Church in Glidden since it first opened its doors 145 years ago are invited to participate in a special event on Sunday, August 9. Organizers Wayne Seaman, Jen Flemig and Barb (Riedesel) Iverson said this day s activities are primarily aimed at bringing people together to celebrate the church s progress and to remind them about the church s important role in their lives. We know many people return to Glidden for the All-School Reunion, FFA days and the various class reunions that weekend, so we want to extend an invitation for people to come back to the church that was part of their lives while growing up in Glidden and since, Wayne said. We also hope that our event will encourage people to return to Glidden for the entire weekend s activities. And of course we want current members to be active participants. All activities will be held at the church on Main Street. The schedule is as follows: - 10 a.m., church service - 11 a.m. to noon, coffee and a program - 12 noon, lunch p.m., informal social gathering The goals for this event include: - To celebrate the church s rich 145-year history and its promise for the future - To bring people together who have been members of the church over the many years, who grew up in the church but who may no longer live in Glidden or even Iowa, as well as to bring together current members as a way of thanking them for supporting the church and keeping it strong - To raise awareness of the great things going on at the church and to invite people to get more involved going forward (active participation, volunteering, giving, etc.) Wayne and Jen are currently working on creating a list of former and current members so that mailings can be sent soon to invite people back for this event. If you have addresses of former members, please be sure to get them to Wayne and Jen. The noon lunch will be catered, and reservations will be needed by early August. Details on a perperson price for the lunch are currently being worked out and will be known soon. In the meantime, please mark your calendars. And if you have any questions or wish to help plan this, please ask Pastor Brian or any of the organizers. Pastor Brian Camara, pastor@gliddenpresbyterianchurch.org, (church) Wayne Seaman, seamanws@yahoo.com, (home) Jen Flemig, JenFairFlem@gmail.com, (home) Barb Iverson, biverson@webershandwick.com (work); (cell)

4 Kudos Korner Congratulations to our graduating High School Seniors for their fine accomplishments. They are: Evan Arellano, Ethan Mueggenberg, Charlie Neuman& Wesley Reever. A job well done! Congratulations also to our college graduate who graduates from Iowa State University, Will Reever. Good luck on reaching goals in your career! A big thank you to our dedicated Sunday school teachers for the school year. They are: Pastor Brian, Pastor Lorenda Hoover, Marlys Conner, Lindsay Cose, Krystal Lloyd, Brandy Snyder,& Diane Thelin Recognition goes out to Elaine Crawford who represents First Presbyterian at monthly Presbytery meetings. Ed and Mary The families of Ed and Mary invited you to join them in celebrating Mary s 80 th Birthday and Ed s 90 th Birthday. Sunday June 7 th, :00-4:00pm The Lincoln Club 708 Idaho St., Glidden, IA Your presence is your gift to them.

5 Quarterly Financial Overview Jan. Feb. March 2015 Operations Capital Campaign Income 9, $ Expenses 17, Thank You Received Thank You for your gift given for Project Share created by the City of Glidden to assist in paying heating bills. The Project Share program follows guidelines adopted by the Glidden Ministerial Association. Last winter, thirty one grants were awarded to qualified Glidden households. Thank You City of Glidden Building and Grounds The Building and Grounds Committee met this month to discuss needed repairs to the church building and how to best allocate capital campaign funds. A close examination of the upper stained-glass windows, on the northern and eastern sides of the church, revealed significant damage to the wood frames around the windows. These upper windows are not currently covered by storm glass and have rotted badly. The north window, in particular, is leakingwater into the ceiling above the north room. It was decided that repairs to the water damage in the narthex, north room, elevator room, and upper storage area should be put on hold until all water leaks are successfully repaired. The Building and Grounds Committee recommended to the Session that a local carpenter be hired to fix the wood frames around the upper stained-glass windows and new Plexiglas be installed to protect the windows from further damage. The Session approved the recommendation. The condition of the roof is also a major concern. In many areas, shingles have curled significantly and pose a risk of allowing more water into the church. Given the distribution of the damaged singles (as well as the overall age of the roof) it was deemed impractical to replace less than the whole roof. The current singles were installed between 20 and 25 years ago. It is unlikely that they fall under warranty, largely because of concerns about proper ventilation in the attic. Significant improvements to ventilation would be both difficult and expensive, at this time, and were not recommended to the Session. The Building and Grounds Committee recommended to the Session that a local roofer be hired to replace the shingles on the entire roof. The Session approved the recommendation. Once the committee is confident that no more water is leaking into the church, then repairs to existing water damage can commence.

6 -4 th -Jeremy Douglas -9 th -Roy Middaugh 9 th -Jeremy & Sarah Douglas Anniversary 11 th -Wesley Reever 14 th -Rick Burdine 20 th -Tim Reever 21 st -Ron Burdine 25 th -Kathe Schutte 28 th -Ty & Lindsey Cose Anniversary May Birthdays and Anniversaries Announcements: -On Sunday, May 3 rd, we will honor our graduates in church -Sunday, May 10 th, is Mother s Day -PW meets on Wednesday, May 13 th, at Perk Central -Session meets on Wednesday, May 20 th, at 5:30pm -Ed and Mary Walkup are having a joint birthday celebration on Sunday, June 7 th *2:00pm 4:00pm at the Lincoln Club -Glidden Presbyterian s 145year reunion will be on Sunday, August 9th Quotes of the Month "If the Lord calls you, He will equip you for the task He wants you to fulfill" ~Warren Wiersbe *************************** "Do not limit the limitless God! With Him, face the future unafraid because you are never alone." ~Mrs Charles E Cowman *************************** "Like a spring of pure water, God's peace in our hearts brings cleansing and refreshment to our minds and bodies" ~Billy Graham