August August 2018

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1 August 2018 A Publication of FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 211 S. Avenue G Clifton, Texas phone (254) Church Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Rev. Clint Schofield, Pastor Brenda Robinson, Church Secretary Pastor Notes August 2018 With Love The creation God has given us to be stewards of is more incredible than we can ever truly imagine. As stewards, this relationship God has placed us within must focus first on the Creator and secondly on the created order. During our time on the Island of Kaua i the dynamics of this relationship were never clearer. The native Hawaiians we met were people of deep personal faith that they shared freely with us. One man told me of the ancient belief his people hold of the creator of all things and the incredible place they have been given to live. Their ancient ritual dances offer praise to the One who created all that they see. His people understood they were charged with caring for this beautiful land and they continue to do so this day. The missionaries who came to Hawaii in the 1800 s were met by a proud people. Through their efforts, God opened these people to the knowledge of and belief in Christ Jesus. That belief continues today but is challenged the same as Christianity is challenged throughout the world. The blending of groups of people is always interesting to observe. On this beautiful island of Kauai the blending of those of faith with those of science was very interesting to experience. We met many dedicated science oriented folks who work very hard to preserve the natural beauty of the island and to repopulate areas with plants that are very near extinction. Within the blending of these groups of people is a common thread which holds them close to God s gift of the creation. One group worships the Creator and another group worships the created. How wonderful it would be if God was brought into the conversation. Well, I did just that during a conversation with the director of the National Botanical Gardens. He is a very nice young man, well educated who is so focused on the work they do there that, in my opinion, he doesn t grasp the full picture of what is happening. Please be in prayer for all those who put the creation before the Creator. May their eyes be opened to the amazing mystery of our Christian faith. Here is a quote from one of Hawaii s most favorite sons : In Hawaii we greet friends, loved ones and strangers with Aloha, which means with love. Aloha is the key word to the universal spirit of real hospitality, which makes Hawaii renowned as the world s center of understanding and fellowship. Try meeting or leaving people with Aloha. You ll be surprised by their reaction. I believe it and it is my creed. Duke Kahanamoku, Olympic Gold Medalist. Grace and Peace, Clint

2 AUGUST MEETINGS 01 Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm 06 Congregational Care 12:30 pm 07 Weekly Prayer Group 1:00 pm 12 Food Bank Collection 14 Weekly Prayer Group 1:00 pm 15 Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm 16 Food Bank Work Day 9:00-12:00 pm 21 Weekly Prayer Group 1:00 pm 22 Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm 26 Goodall Witcher Worship 1:30 pm 28 Weekly Prayer Group 1:00 pm 28 Session Meeting 5:30 pm 29 Choir Rehersal 7:00 pm LEADING WORSHIP IN AUGUST AUGUST GREETERS 05 George & Jenny Walker 12 Mary Bergman & Lois Krause 19 Carol Forson, Nansy Reiss, Ann Wiland 26 Sherrod & Sue Fielden 05 Steve Robertson 12 Hanna O Reilly 19 Carla Sigler 26 Bryan Davis AUGUST LITURGIST AUGUST ELDER OF THE DAY 05 Driscoll Jenkins 12 Debbie Bergman 19 Jim Lemons 26 George Larson Scholarship Program The response from the congregation in supporting our College Scholarship Fund is greatly appreciated! Currently we have 7 students receiving scholarships. Your support will make a big difference in the future of these young people. Thank You! Year to Date Financials thru June Offerings received in June $10,120 Offerings received thru June $85,646 Expenses thru June $85,900 Budgeted exp. through June $103,023 THE FOOD DRIVE BOX WILL BE IN THE NARTHEX Sunday, August 12th Our work day is the 16th 2

3 BLESSED ASSURANCE nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed in Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:12 Frances Ridley Havergal and Frances (Fanny) Crosby never met, but they became dear pen pals the two most famous women hymnists of their age, the former in England and the latter in America. Havergal once wrote a poem about her American counterpart. Sweet, blind singer over the sea, / Tuneful and jubilant! How can it be, / That the songs of gladness, which float so far, / As if they fell from the evening star / Are the notes of one who may never see / Visible music of flower and tree../ Oh, her heart can see, her heart can see! / And its sight is strong is strong and swift and free... Another of Fanny s dearest friends was Phoebe Knapp. While Fanny lived in the Manhattan slums and worked in rescue missions, Phoebe lived in the Knapp Mansion, a palatial residence in Brooklyn, where she entertained lavishly.. She was in extravagant dresser with a wardrobe full of elaborate gowns and diamond tiaras. Her music room contained the finest collection of instruments in the country, and Fanny was a frequent houseguest. One day in 1873, while Fanny was staying at the Knapp Mansion, Phoebe said she had a tune she wanted to play. Going to the music room, she sat at the piano and played a new composition of her own while the blind hymnist listened. Fanny immediately clapped her hand and exclaimed, Why, that says, Blessed Assurance! She quickly composed the words, and a great hymn was born. Many years later, D. L. Moody was preaching in New York at the 23 rd Street Dutch Reformed Church. The Moody/Sankey meetings had popularized Fanny Crosby s hymns around the world and made the blind poetess a household name. But whenever she attended a Moody/Sankey meeting, she refused to be recognized disavowing acclaim. This day the church was so crowded she could find nowhere to sit. Moody s son Will, seeing her, offered to find her a seat. To her bewilderment, he led her onto the platform just as the crowd was singing Blessed Assurance. Moody, Sr., jumped to his feet, raised his hand, and interrupted the singing. Praise the Lord! he shouted. Here comes the authoress! Fanny took her seat amid thunderous ovation, humbly thanking God for making her a blessing to so many. 3

4 HIGH FLIGHT During the dark days of the Battle of Britain, hundreds of Americans crossed the border into Canada to enlist with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Knowingly breaking the law, but with the tacit approval of the then still officially neutral United States Government, they volunteered to fight Hitler's Germany. John Gillespie Magee, Jr., was one such American. Born in Shanghai, China, in 1922 to an English mother and a Scotch-Irish-American father, Magee was just 18 years old when he entered flight training. Within the year, he was sent to England and posted to the newly formed No 412 Fighter Squadron, RCAF, which was activated at Digby, England, on 30 June He was qualified on and flew the Supermarine Spitfire. Flying fighter sweeps over France and air defense over England against the German Luftwaffe, he rose to the rank of Pilot Officer. At the time, German bombers were crossing the English Channel with great regularity to attack Britain's cities and factories. Although the Battle of Britain was said to be over, the Luftwaffe was still keeping up deadly pressure on British industry and the country. On September 3, 1941, Magee flew a high altitude (30,000 feet) test flight in a newer model of the Spitfire V. As he orbited and climbed upward, he was struck with the inspiration of a poem -- "To touch the face of God." Once back on the ground, he wrote a letter to his parents. In it he commented, "I am enclosing a verse I wrote the other day. It started at 30,000 feet, and was finished soon after I landed." On the back of the letter, he jotted down his poem, 'High Flight'. Just three months later, on December 11, 1941 (and only three days after the US entered the war), Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., was killed. The Spitfire V he was flying, VZ-H, collided with an Oxford Trainer from Cranwell Airfield flown by one Ernest Aubrey. The mid-air happened over Tangmere, England at about 400 feet AGL at 11:30. John was descending in the clouds. At the enquiry a farmer testified that he saw the Spitfire pilot struggle to push back the canopy. The pilot, he said, finally stood up to jump from the plane. John, however, was too close to the ground for his parachute to open. He died instantly. He was 19 years old. Part of the official letter to his parents read, "Your son's funeral took place at Scopwick Cemetery, near Digby Aerodrome, at 2:30 P.M. on Saturday, 13th December, 1941, the service being conducted by Flight Lieutenant S. K. Belton, the Canadian padre of this Station. He was accorded full Service Honors, the coffin being carried by pilots of his own Squadron." 4

5 High Flight By: John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunwards I ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds and done a thousand things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sun-lit silence. Hovering there, I ve chased the shouting wind along and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air, Up, up the long delirious burning blue I ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, Where never lark, or even eagle, flew; And, while with silent, lifting mind I ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of god. 5

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8 SESSION MEMBERS CLASS of 2018 CLASS of 2019 CLASS of 2020 Driscoll Jenkins Laura Baughman Debbie Bergman Jim Lemon Brian Haenisch Lois Krause Carla Sigler Elisabeth Montgomery George Larson DEACONS TREASURER Punky Penberthy Shayne Embry Jenny Walker Grant & Dana Ferguson TRUSTEES PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN Linda Bracken Lois Krause, Moderator Brian Gillaspie G-Ann Jones, Vice-Moderator Steve Robertson Elane Valero, Secretary-Treasurer Kay Gebhardt, Historian Ann Wiland, Least Coin Laura Jenkins & Joy Williamson, Coordinators for NH parties Sunday School Bible Study All Ages 9:30 a.m.; Fellowship 10:30 10:50 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. Sunday (Communion on 1 st Sunday of month) Presbyterian Women 2 nd Monday of month 12:00 p.m., (Sept.-May) Session Meets 4 th Tuesday of month, 5:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall Adult Choir Practice Wednesday evenings 7:00 p.m. First Presbyterian Church 211 South Avenue G Clifton, Texas 76634