THE BEACON. Easter Services. April 4, When is Easter? 7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service. 11:00 a.m. COLLEGE CHURCH, HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA APRIL, 2010

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1 THE BEACON A Message from Reverend Keck When is Easter? Unlike Christmas, which always is on December 25, Easter has a moveable date. Why is Easter April 4 this year and April 24 in 2011? According to longstanding church tradition, Easter occurs on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. Because the dates of full moons vary, the date of Easter varies. Have you noticed how the days have gotten longer, that they are about as long as the night? Have you noticed the recent full moon? These are signs that Easter is upon us. Why is Easter such a moveable feast? As the Bible tells us, the events of Jesus Last Supper, Death, and resurrection all occurred in connection with the Jewish Passover. Jews reckon the beginning of Passover according to the full moon after the spring equinox. The early church kept this important connection between Passover and Easter. When we celebrate the Christian Easter we remember that Jesus was a faithful Jew and that Christians are, to use Paul s language in Romans 11, grafted onto Israel. When is Easter? There is another way to answer this question. Anytime we experience death and resurrection in our own lives, we experience Easter. When a bad habit dies away and God s grace changes our lives for the better there is Easter. When we let go of anger or worry and receive God s gifts of forgiveness or hope there is Easter. When we realize that God s victory over sin and death is also our victory there is Easter. Have you noticed these things happening in your life? These are signs that Easter is upon you. I pray that you will have not just one, but many Easters in DK Easter Services April 4, :00 a.m. Sunrise Service Everett Stadium Lounge (Refreshments to follow) 11:00 a.m. Easter Worship and Communion Sanctuary (Lilies on display) (Please remember to take your lilies with you after the service.) FEED MY SHEEP, APRIL 4, EASTER SUNDAY Since 1949, Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing to share God s love with people experiencing need. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities. Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our sisters and brothers around the world find the hope for a brighter future.

2 SESSION HIGHLIGHTS MARCH 21, Approved uses of building: 2/19 HSC Family Counseling Center for Recovery; 3/2 -- Wesley Foundation Dinner and Fellowship; 3/18 Graduation Planning Meeting; 3/19 Youth Movie Night; 4/2 Good Friday Service 2. Approved pastor s request that we have a potluck congregational lunch after worship on April 25 and present the revised budget, which was approved, plus report on the state of the church. Fellowship Committee would plan this event. 3. Approved suggestion that we create a gift use strategy, i.e., prioritize the list of things that needed to be done so that memorial and other undesignated gifts could be used wisely. 4. Approved May 16 at 4 p.m. installation service for David pending approval (a given!) by Presbytery at its May 6 meeting. Reception will follow which will be planned by Fellowship Committee. 5. Received as information that Nelson/Williams (engineering firm) will evaluate the deterioration of rafter tails and other possible problems with sanctuary roof for $580. This cost would come from Property Budget. 6. Agreed to Stewardship Committee plus George Wells & Virginia Kinman to examine the amounts of benevolences distributed to local groups and make recommendations for better balancing these gifts. Randy Reed s request for a contribution to Young Life was referred to this group. 7. Heard Education Committee report that third grader Sallie Vick will be presented with a Bible this spring, Middle School Youth Movie Night was a huge success, and the Elementary Class plans to take Easter cards & treats to The Woodland residents after Palm Sunday services. 8. Approved Flexible Medical Spending Account for all church employees working at least 20 hrs. per week. 9. Agreed with David s proposal on how to handle his prior commitments for this summer with his College Church responsibilities. 10. Heard Worship Committee s and David s plans for Holy Week: Palms have been ordered & Easter lily orders will be taken until 3/29; Maundy Thursday service at 7:00 p.m. on April 1 with Communion by intinction; Easter Sunrise service will be in Stadium Lounge at 7:00 a.m.; Elementary youth will sing at Palm Sunday worship service accompanied by Rondi Arlton and Brooks Rice. 11. Heard Property Committee s plans for sprucing up church grounds with help from Whitaker Reed & others, including cleaning stones & weed eating pathways in labyrinth so College Grounds crews can mow. 12. Virginia Kinman will present a Minute for Mission on the One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday, March Agreed that the statement We welcome children kindergarten age and younger in our nursery be put in church bulletins and the Newsletter. Also, only one teenager should be on duty in the nursery on any given Sunday. Elna Ann Mayo, Clerk of Session

3 Celebrating Co'ege Church Looking Back...Looking Ahead April 25, :00 a.m. Worship Service 12:00 a.m. Pot Luck Lunch and Program Thompson Fellowship Hall Please plan to attend this special afternoon and bring two dishes to share!

4 Congregational Care Please remember those on our church prayer list: Baby of Katherine and Chris Dowdy, family of Elmira Chernault, Myrna McKay, Arik Hunsucker, Stewart Grant, Nellie Mahaffie (sister of Connie Wells), Esther Kernodle, Edna Maddox, Clint Mooney, Rev. Chuck Klotzberger, Don Armstrong, Rev. John Rice, Rondi Arlton, Helen Breckinridge, Lauren Bush, Mary Eubelia Jobe, the Reamer Family, Jim Thomas (father of Krissy Vick), Katie Fitzgerald (mother of Kitty Bush), and our members at the Woodlands: Nancy Anderson, Jewel Fore, Grace Putney, Hassell Simpson, Stanley Titus. Please keep Shanna and Ben Agee in your prayers as they are expecting the birth of their new baby boy any day now. He will be the first grandson of Margie and Gary Agee and first greatgrandson of Lindy and Wanda Hamlett. We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Mrs. Elmira Chernault who passed away on March 25, Elmira was a member of College Church for more than 70 years. She was a leader both in the church and the Farmville community. There was a memorial service at College Church on Sunday, March 28 and a reception followed in the Thompson Fellowship Hall. She was buried in Westview Cemetery where her husband, the late Robert Chernault, is also laid to rest. There is a lovely picture and obituary about Elmira s life posted on the Puckett Funeral Home website at Outreach Madeline's House Thrift Store has closed its doors on Third Street and is no longer accepting donations at that location. Until a new storefront can be found, please continue to bring your supplies to the church basement and we will get them to the Madeline's House contact person as soon as possible. Linda Webber Worship Communion will be served on the first Sunday of each quarter including Easter Sunday. March Attendance 3/7 88 3/ / / FELLOWSHIP We are honored to receive some special donations from the family of lifetime church member, Dorothea Dishman Owen ( Dot ). Dot s daughters, Sally, Mary and Susan and their families have given College Church a crystal punch bowl, a silver ladle with monogram, tablecloths, and several crystal platters and pitchers in loving memory of their mother. Some of the items will be used this Easter Sunday for our lemonade fellowship after the worship service. Treasurer Notes 2010 Budget to date (3/31/10) Income received: $48,543 Budgeted Expenses: $27,371 March Benevolences (1st quarter budgeted donations included) Haitian Mission $1,000 2-Cents-a-Meal $ FACES $640 Habitat for Humanity $290 Meals on Wheels $150 Presbytery/Synod/GA $625 FAMA $50 Madeline s House $ First Quarter Giving Statements will be mailed in mid-april.

5 Midnight Madness Movie Night...Magnificent! Middle School Youth By Lee Bidwell On Friday, March 19, College Church contained more energy than a nuclear power plant. That energy was fueled by 27 middleschoolers who were attending our Second Annual March Midnight Madness Movie event. Students in the middle-school Sunday School class (Samuel Bidwell, T.J. Breckinridge, Mary Clifford Jobe, Olivia Keck, Whitaker and Libbie Reed, Brooks and Caroline Rice) invited many of their friends to join them at the church for movies and pizza. The event, which lasted from 6:00 p.m. until midnight, began with the children enjoying the extra daylight and warm temperatures outside, where the chaperones hoped most of the energy would be expended. Pizza, chips, candy, sodas, popcorn (5 BATCHES), and fruit and veggies refueled the energy when it got dark. Two movies played simultaneously the rest of the night in the Thompson Fellowship Hall and in Mary s World. The chaperones, Barbara Rice, May Reed, Katherine Copeland, and Lee Bidwell, marveled at the energy of the bunch and tried to remember the last time they stayed awake until midnight! The event was a huge success!

6 Above: Sa'ie Vick receives her Third Grade Bible during Palm Sunday Service ELEMENTARY YOUTH VISIT THE WOODLANDS Following Palm Sunday Services, members of the Elementary School Sunday School class took Easter treats to our friends at the Woodlands. Among those whom the class visited with were Hassell and Grace Simpson, Grace Putney, Nancy Anderson and Shirley and John Rice. Eli Keck, Ellie, Sallie and Ran Vick, and Whitney Jobe made Edible Flower Pot desserts made from poundcake, pudding, crushed oreo cookie crumbs and gummy worms all put together in a clay pot and topped with spring flowers. Some thought it looked too real to eat! PALM SUNDAY RECAP Sunday, March 28, 2010 was a joyful occasion in the sanctuary of College Church. Nearly 130 people attended the Palm Sunday worship service which began with a marching processional of our youngest members who were waving their palm branches high! The celebratory mood continued with special music from the choir and the elementary Sunday school class. Following a prelude on the piano by Ellie Vick, they sang Do Lord and A'elu, Praise Ye the Lord which had the entire congregation waving their palm branches and singing along. The Middle School Youth also participated in the service. Brooks Rice accompanied the children s choir on his guitar, along with Rondi Arlton on the mandolin. Later in the service, Samuel Bidwell played a lovely piano arrangement of Jesus Walked This Lonesome Va'ey. The Middle School Youth also assisted Rev. Keck in presenting Miss Sallie Vick with her Third-Grade Bible which has her full name engraved on the cover. Rev. Keck dismissed the service with a charge and benediction to go out and Celebrate! just as those in the streets of Jerusalem did long ago when Jesus came riding into town on a donkey. NEW NURSERY POLICY We welcome children kindergarten-age and younger in our nursery during the Sunday morning worship service.

7 NEWS FROM THE PEWS Eastby Tours Praque for Semester Abroad Dobry den z Praha! (Hello from Prague!) After an unusually snowy winter (Prague had about 70 days with snow on the ground, as opposed to the average of 9), Spring has come to Prague full force. Starting last Friday, temperatures have been in the 60s every day perfect weather for visiting Prague s famous Easter market in the Old Town Square. So, just a little background on what I m actually doing in Prague: I m studying at Charles University for a semester (instead of the University of Richmond, which is my home university), where I m taking classes on primarily Czech politics and economics. I m also taking a beginning Czech language class and interning at the Fulbright center in Prague for a few hours a week in the student affairs office. Being a student here has been a wonderful experience so far, and I am not only getting to know the beautiful city of Prague, but I have also been given the opportunity to immerse myself in the Czech culture and meet students from all over Europe who have come here to study. In addition, I ve taken trips to towns around the Czech Republic and traveled to Krakow, Poland. Next Friday, I m headed to Budapest for a long weekend. Traveling out of the city is not my top priority in this semester, because I think it s more important that I get to know the city I m in. This past Friday, I went on a daylong hiking excursion with my Czech language class, which consists of myself and another American girl, three German boys, a French girl, a Spanish girl, and a Danish girl. Quite the international mix! On Saturday, I ran the Prague International Half-Marathon, which was pretty cool for a few reasons: 1) I ran it without any difficulties, even though it s hard to train here; 2) I ve never navigated a race this large by myself; 3) The race route went along the river, and Prague Castle was in sight for at least half of the race. It s not every day that you get to run around castles; and 4) In the Czech Republic, the race was big enough news that Vaclav Klaus, the current Czech president (and recent President of the EU), attended the race and was interviewed over the loudspeakers prior to the start-gun going off. So, anyway, coming to Prague has been one of the best decisions I ve ever made, and, I m excited to share more of my experiences when I get back home in June. Until then: Na Schledanou! (Good-bye!) Karin Eastby Pelland in Ireland Will visit Eastby soon! Hello everyone! Happy Easter! I'm writing to you from Cork, Ireland, which (as the people here would say) is the "real capital of Ireland." I'm in the southwest of the island and spent the last three months studying at University College Cork. The spring semester just ended, so now I'm on Easter Break, which lasts until May 3rd! During my time off, I'm going to explore Europe (parts of Germany, Italy, Austria, and Czech Republic) and visit some friends (Karin included!). So far, studying in Ireland has been a fantastic experience; I've met such nice people (both Irish and American), really gotten to know the Irish culture (even though my accent hasn't been Irish-ified), and just had so much fun being on my own in such a beautiful country. I'm really looking forward to my last two months abroad, (even if one of those months is filled with exams,) and feel free to contact me (katie.pelland@gmail.com) if you want more details! I'd be more than happy to share! Katie Pelland

8 REV. KECK AND FAMILY RECEIVES WARM WELCOME Above: E.A. Mayo, Nancy Lockwood and Mary Anna Schmidt chatting at the Keck Reception On March 7, the congregation welcomed Reverend David Keck for his first Sunday as our new pastor. His family, wife, Karin Gollin, mother-in-law, Gillian Lindt and her guide dog, Bridgette, and children, Olivia and Eli, was able to travel from Durham to be there for the special occasion. A reception followed so that the congregation could meet and greet the new first family of College Church! COLLEGE CHURCH NEWSMAKERS Ron Heinemann s book, Harry Byrd of Virginia, was recently cited in an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch regarding the proposal to abolish the State Compensation Board. Grace and Hassell Simpson were featured in a March issue of the Farmvi'e Herald for renewing their marital vows at a special event at The Woodland where Hassell resides. The article complimented the couple who has been married 56 years and described them as a daily reminder of what being married is about. They hold hands when the weather is nice, and sit on a bench in the sun reading the paper together. MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH VIDEO PROJECT The middle school Sunday School class needs your help. In conjunction with the upcoming General Assembly meeting this summer, the Presbyterian Church is sponsoring a video competition to give youth groups the opportunity to share their interpretation of this year s Assembly scripture: John 7:38 Out of the believer s heart shall flow rivers of living water. Youth groups are encouraged to make a video, and post it to the Youth Mission Initiative website where viewers then vote for their favorite video. The Presbyterian Church will establish a $25,000 endowment fund for the two winning churches to support their youth ministry. The middle school class would like to participate in this video project. We need volunteers to help us assemble the equipment necessary for the project as well as talent to help us shoot and edit the video. High Schoolers if you want to help, your time can be counted as service hours for National Honor Society. Anyone willing to help with whatever talent you have is encouraged to contact Lee Bidwell (bidwelllm@gmail.com; (cell); (home)). If you d like more information on the project or want to view last year s top videos, visit COLLEGE BOUND! Alice Elizabeth Deis Frye will be attending Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida this fall. Graham Cracker Dream Bars 1 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup milk 1 cup coconut 1 cup pecans, chopped 1 cup graham cracker crumbs Line a 9X13 pan with whole graham crackers. In sauce pan, mix butter, sugars, egg and milk. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add coconut, nuts and crumbs. Pour over crackers in pan. Spread out and add another layer of graham crackers on top. Icing: 1/2 cup butter 2 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 Tbs. (or more) milk Mix well and spread on top of graham crackers. Sprinkle a few more crumbs. Chill overnight. Cut in squares and serve. submitted by Lois Bowles and served at Elmira Chernault s funeral reception Proud Grandma! Look who was recently caught playing with the turtles! Lucie and Joe Zehner traveled to the islands with their son, Rob, and his family. Pictured below is Lucie with her granddaughter, Claire, at a turtle club on Grand Cayman.

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10 ABC Devotional submitted by Lee Bidwell Although things are not perfect Because of trial or pain Continue in thanksgiving Do not begin to blame Even when the times are hard Fierce winds are bound to blow God is forever able Hold on to what you know Imagine life without His love Joy would cease to be Keep thanking Him for all the things Love imparts to thee Move out of 'Camp Complaining' No weapon that is known On earth can yield the power Praise can do alone Quit looking at the future Redeem the time at hand Start every day with worship To 'thank' is a command Until we see Him coming Victorious in the sky We'll run the race with gratitude X-alting God most high Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but... Zion waits in glory...where none are ever sad! THE BEACON College Church P.O. Box 13 Hampden-Sydney, VA (434)