THE LAMB S KIN. First Presbyterian Church. Devotion for September. Time for a new Sunday school year and music coordinator at FPC!

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1 First Presbyterian Church Devotion for September e realize more W clearly than formerly that the world lies under the wrath and grace of God. We read in Jeremiah 45: Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up...and do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not; for, behold, I am bringing evil upon all flesh...but I will give your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go. If we can save our souls unscathed out of the wreckage of our material possessions, let us be satisfied with that. If the Creator destroys the Divine handiwork, what right have we to lament the destruction of ours? It will be the task of our generation, not to seek great things, but to save and preserve our souls out of the chaos, and to realize that it is the only thing we can carry as a prize from the burning building. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Letters and Papers from Prison THE LAMB S KIN September 2013 A message from our pastor Bill Proctor Time for a new Sunday school year and music coordinator at FPC! W ith September s arrival the life of the church takes on a renewed vitality. This year our Sunday School Kick-Off takes place on Sunday, September 8. Along with the start-up of the new Sunday morning classes for children, youth, and adults, we will also celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord s Supper that morning during the 10:30 a.m. worship hour. All of which brings me to the subject of worship. Those of you who have been in worship the last three Sundays already know the new monitors have been installed and are in operation. Though the majority of responses have been positive, some have expressed they find the monitors to be distracting. My thoughts at this point are these: 1. I want to remind everyone the Session discussed the installation of monitors in the Sanctuary four months in a row before taking a vote and approving their installation. 2. The monitors have only been in use three weeks thus far. 3. Those of us on the church staff are working hard to see how we can best use this new technology and are basically at the beginning of the process of seeking to discover what works and what does not work in terms of enhancing the experience of worship. For the next three weeks the monitors will only be used during worship on Contemporary Sundays. At its meeting on Tuesday, August 20, once again following many months of discussion, Session voted to implement what is called a Blended Worship. This new worship format will begin on Sunday, September 22 and will continue through Sunday, October 13. What is a Blended Worship service? It is basically a service of worship that includes both traditional and contemporary music and worship elements. If you attended the installation service for Joel Moore as Associate Pastor last June you experienced a Blended Worship. On these four Sundays both the Chancel Choir and the Praise Team will sing. For both groups this will mean more effort as they return to singing each Sunday instead of alternating Sundays as we have done for the past two years. Continued on page 2

2 P A G E 2 Continued from page 1 Women of the Word (WOW) (Room 107) WOW is a group of dynamic women who attend various churches in and around San Angelo. They are of no certain age as any and all women are welcomed! The group meets every Tuesday at noon (excluding summer) to study the Bible or other current Christian literature. A leadership team facilitates discussion. It is designed to be completed in an hour so that women working outside the home may attend during the lunch hour. You may bring your lunch. This Fall the WOW group will study Priscilla Shirer s Gideon: Your Weakness. God s Strength. Women s In-Depth Bible Study (Room 107) This group meets every Thursday (except summers) from 10:30 11:30 a.m. Women are invited to meet for probing into the Bible or other works of Christian literature. This group will resume meeting on Thursday, September 5. The first study will be from the book In the Likeness of God, by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand. This trial of a Blended Worship is designed to give all of us the opportunity to simply experience what a blended service can be. This style of worship is being held in many congregations including Presbyterian congregations and comes as the recommendation of the Music and Worship Task Force. Acting on an additional recommendation of the Music and Worship Task Force, Session also approved hiring Julie Pucci to be the new Music Ministry Coordinator. In this newly-created position Julie will direct the Praise Team and serve as coordinator of our entire music program. Julie is married to Tim, who is a newly appointed lieutenant in the San Angelo Police Department. Their son Ryan will be entering kindergarten at Lamar this September. Julie has sung with the Praise Team and is a member of the Chancel Choir. She is a graduate of ASU with a degree in music and has taught music at Glenn Middle School, Central High School, and Bonham Elementary School. She currently teaches voice lessons and has led Praise Teams and Worship Teams at two other congregations. Julie has already been leading the music with the children of the church each Sunday morning as a part of their Sunday school experience and she also led music at our most recent Vacation Bible School. In addition, Julie helped led the music for last spring s Youth Sunday. I hope you will join with me in welcoming Julie to this new position. God bless you! Mid-week activities begin September 5:30 p.m. with a meal, then programming for all ages will begin at 6:15 p.m. Adults will enjoy the History Channel s miniseries on The Bible, led by Lane Puckitt.

3 9/3 Virginia Huffman, Marjie Shirey 9/4 Jeff Curry, Robert Meyer 9/5 Suzanne Dorris 9/6 Sutton Allison, Kristi Cswaykus 9/7 Hayley Perrine 9/8 Laura Behrens, Randy Mull 9/9 Haidyn Morgan 9/10 Bette Allison, Alex McCammon 9/11 Sherri Brown, Gigi Mackie 9/12 Sara Flores, Anne Lauer 9/13 Fred Roeben P A G E 3 9/14 Lyndon Polhemus 9/15 Thelma McMurtrey, Tamatha Robertson, Don Hulse 9/17 Alice Edwards, Mason Brooks 9/18 Beaver McManus, Louellen Meyer 9/19 Bryan Brown 9/20 Neal Grigg, Donna Crisp 9/21 Elizabeth Jost 9/22 Ginger Heare, Kaylee Jo Scott 9/24 Sherry Albert, Leslyn McManus 9/25 Nancy Cargile, Grace Huffman 9/26 Chris Barnett 9/27 Stella Doyle, Morgan Newlin 9/28 Joe Kilman, Carolyn Dawson 9/30 Stephen Brown Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Combined - last 10:30 Worship Serv 5:00 Ground Up - YC 2 Labor Day NO SCHOOL OFFICE CLOSED 900 NO AA 3 8:45 Staff - CR 4 6:45 MBS :30 Celestial Bells Youth B/S - YC 7:00 Chancel Choir HS Retreat - Stephens ranch 8 KICK OFF SUNDAY w/communion 5:00 Ground Up YC :00 WOW :45 CE CR 5:15 Adult CE - CR 11 6:45 MBS :30 Celestial Bells Youth B/S - YC Deacons :00 Chancel Choir :00 Ground Up YC 16 5:15 Steward - CR 17 8:45 Staff - CR 12:00 WOW :15 Session :45 MBS :30 Wed. at FPC Music & B/S as above :00 Ground Up - YC 23 Soup Kitchen 24 12:00 WOW :45 MBS :30 Wed. at FPC Music & B/S as above Middle School Retreat - Stephens ranch 29 5:00 Ground Up - YC 30

4 P A G E 4 Wednesday Youth Lunch 12:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday SAISD runs a normal schedule. Get a free meal and a short faith message! Meal sponsors are needed! Sponsors are needed for Sunday evening suppers too! New Sunday school classes begin September 8 Pre-School- (Room 101) This class is for children ages 3 & 4. We use Group s Hands-On Bible curriculum for this age. This class will mark the beginning of your child s formal Christian Education equipping them for a life of loving their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The teachers for this class are: Courtney Epstein, Colleen Hair, Anne Hooker, and Chelsea Sturm. Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Class (Room 103) It s been a few years since we ve been able to have more than two children s Sunday school classes, so adding this class to our roster is very exciting! This class will use Holy Moly from Sparkhouse Publishing, a division of Augsburg Fortress. The teachers for this class are: Alicia Cole, Suzanne Dorris and Lanee Proctor. 3rd 5th Grade Class (Room 201) This is for children who are in 3rd through 5th grade. This class will be using Basic 252 from Orange. This curriculum offers videos, music and podcasts! The teachers for this class are: Elizabeth Jost, Yvonne Kappelmann and Morgan Moore. Middle School (Studio 41) This class provides a fun and accepting environment for all who participate. If there is a middle school child looking to feel accepted and loved, they would have to look no farther than this Sunday school class. This class is using material from Orange as well. It is called XP3. The teachers for this class are: Richard Duerksen, Evalie Grigg and Susan Woods. Senior High Sunday School (Youth Center) This class meets in the Youth Center and is led by FPC Youth Director, Bradley Morgan and youth intern, Colby Koenig. The high school class is using Orange s XP3 for high school students. Knox-Calvin Class (Room 107) This class has been the mainstay of adult classes for over 50 years. Class members are primarily over 50 and include men, women, couples and singles. ALL adults are welcome! Study materials are typically Bible studies utilizing videos and DVDs. They will start the fall with Adam Hamilton s The Way. Continued on Page 5

5 Dear Church Friends, What a blessing you are to me: Dorothy and Oron Lee Schuch s anniversary flowers from the sanctuary, visits from Bill, Joel, Jasper and many others, get well and birthday cards galore, calls, s, flowers and, best of all, your prayers! You sustain me and fill me with your faithful caring. Kay Bates Church Family, Thank you for the stunning flowers, they really lifted my spirits. Thanks for the prayers and cards. Thank you Julie for delivering the flowers. Thank you Joel for the calls and thank you Susan for the calls and thoughtfulness. I am on the road to recovery now and look forward to joining you in worship very soon. I feel so blessed by you. Kind regards, Ruth Hunt FPC Friends Forever! I am so sorry I am behind in writing this thank you note. The special flowers were selected by Jasper McClellan for his August 6th 34th wedding anniversary. They are so bright and colorful. Once again my church is so thoughtful to send Thankful Hearts them over to me at the Rio Concho Manor and let me share them with lots of folks here. Lovingly always, Doris Goodson Dear Friends, I am most grateful to Elder Ronny Hooker and Elder Carolyn Mason who brought me Communion Sunday afternoon. It is very comforting to be able to participate in the rituals of our faith. Also, I appreciate all the Elders who spent a hot afternoon ministering to others. They all exemplify the ideals of Christianity to love and to serve. God bless you all. In Christ, Martha Williams Dear Friends, Another Sunday has rolled around, and I have even more thanks to give! First, thanks to Suzy and Doran Reynolds for delivering the beautiful flowers that Jasper McClellan placed in the sanctuary in memory of his beloved wife, Jean. Then, thanks to Carolyn Mason and Ronny Hooker for bringing communion to me and for their nice visit. I continue to be blessed by my church. Continued from page 4 P A G E 5 Awakening Class (Room 210) This class includes men and women with couples and singles alike participating. The leaders function as the class moderators rather than lecturers. The leaders endeavor to keep the discussion on track and lively discussion is enjoyed by all who participate. Studies include Bible studies, Christian topics and books. They will start the Fall with Richard Foster s Celebration of Discipline. Wood Class (Room 100) This is a Bible study class which begins with a video presentation of the lesson and ends with questions and discussion. This is a small class of seniors, including both men and women, however, we welcome all adults! This Fall they will begin a study on the book of Colossians. Family Faith Class This is our non-traditional Sunday school class as this class meets on Sunday evenings at the church. It will begin on September 8 from 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Childcare will be available. Rev. Proctor will be leading the class and sharing the marriage talks he gives to couples prior to their nuptials.

6 We rejoice with Amber & Joe Smith, parents and big sister, Carlie Jane, on the birth of Joseph Crew Smith, born August 6, 2013 Guatemala Update! The mission team that traveled to Guatemala in July saw 414 patients in the clinic and 19 of those patients came to the Lord! Seven houses were built! We ve donated 68 stoves and impacted 89 families during this calendar year. With approximately 5 people per family that comes to roughly 445 people FPC has blessed, in addition to those seen in the clinic! The Fall Festival is scheduled for October 27! Food for the month of September Of utmost importance is Powdered milk, then canned vegetables and lastly, any kind of pasta whatsoever! Please place your donations in the basket in the Commons. The Lamb s Kin is published monthly for the members and friends of First Presbyterian Church. Deadline is the 20th of each month. Please your news to Susan Gober gosusan@msn.com Church office: Church office choffice@gte.net September 1 Julie Cecil, Susan & Bub Williams, Mary Louise Strain, Rod & Renee Winn September 8 Suzanne & Richard Dorris, Donna Crisp, Tom Granaghan, Susan Woods, Randy Gardner September 15 Robert Meyer, Alicia & Sterling Cole, Allyn Byars, Bette & Don Allison September 22 Julie Quam, Evalie & Neal Grigg, Steve Stephens, Steve Boster, Bill Morehead September 29 Bette & Don Allison, Doran Reynolds, Kathy & Ken Newman, Ronny Hooker September 1 Kathy Newman Ezra Walling September 8 Gabriela Spraggins Doran Reynolds September 15 Paul Little Noma Perrine September 22 Ruth Hunt Casey Puckitt September 29 Colleen Hair Lane Puckitt