First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM January 2014

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM January 2014"

Cecil Lambert
5 years ago
Views:

1 First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM January 2014

At our Family of God dinners, we fed between 90-126 people each week.

2 Fall 2013 Salt & Light Michelle Osborne The Fall Semester of Salt & Light Children & Youth Program 2013 was joyous. We had between children from pre-kindergarten through high school who attended our 13 weeks of Wednesday fun and faith activities. At our Family of God dinners, we fed between people each week. We brought more children in from our community this semester, which contributed to increasing our numbers and our Sunday worship attendance. Many of the kids who had come regularly passed on the word to bring their friends. Parents of children who came to the children s programs (Salt & Light and Vacation Bible School) brought their younger children to have the same experiences. Some families came in direct response to our announcement flyers at Trunk or Treat during Halloween. Pastor Norm was involved in every aspect of the program, so his duties involved anything that entailed talking to the kids of all ages. His presence was vital to the success of the program, and he shepherded us all in sharing the love of Jesus, and giving His grace to all. He kept our hearts and minds focused on Him, and had a great calming presence. Our Salt & Light Bible lesson teachers in the fall were a mixed bag of special people who blessed us all with their talents, dedication, and willingness to lead our children to Jesus. Our youth interns, Greg and Kelly Temple, led a fabulous mid-school program using games and videos to teach their creative lessons. They have contributed so much of their precious time just in time for a super large group of mid-schoolers weekly. After dinner, they then taught high school kids special lessons gauged for their age group. Our wonderful kindergarten teachers were Judith Ames, Carol Goss, and Peggy White, with help from a talented high schooler raised in the church, Natassja Galaz. This amazing group of teachers can handle any size group like champions. The 2

special activities the kids were involved in made their faces beam with sunshine-filled happiness that all could see. We had a special gift of Kathy Story teaching our 1 st grade class.

3 special activities the kids were involved in made their faces beam with sunshine-filled happiness that all could see. We had a special gift of Kathy Story teaching our 1 st grade class. She enjoyed using the felt story-board to tell the stories of Jesus, and gave attention to each and every student. She is wise and happy, and anyone who entered Branigan Hall could hear the laughter of her class. A newcomer to our church, and a seasoned retired teacher, Dot Otto, joined the teaching staff for our 2 nd -3 rd grade class. She was an asset to all of us, and taught like the pro she really is. She led our children with ease, and was so calming that the children looked forward to learning from her. Also adding to our well-rounded group of Salt & Light teachers was a treasured elder and totally great man with our kids, Lon Anderson. His style of teaching his lessons to the older elementary kids ranged from having them shoot baskets to competing in other games. We were not surprised by his consistent reliable gentleness with every child. We were blessed to have three high school students volunteer to give of their precious time to lead the elementary kids to Jesus. Elizabeth Loman, who has grown up in the church, enjoyed shepherding the younger elementary through their activities and helping them learn about the love of Jesus in Bible classes. Emily and Flora from the Honor Society at Las Cruces High School, were active leaders for the elementary children every week, taking part in shepherding them to and from their activities, leading recreation games and assisting the older elementary teachers with the Bible classes. All three high school students amazed us with their gentle and patient demeanors that was truly beyond their years. These young adults will definitely be doing some blessed things in their futures, in whatever situation they find themselves. We even had a college graduate who grew up in the church, Katie Grandle, who led our children from September through November in recreation games. Not just any games, but ones like her mom, Susan, taught her to play when she was a girl scout leader. Katie came up with the most creative games, and all paired with her own lessons about God or Jesus. Judi Ferguson shared her remarkable talent of creative decorating with us. She isn t just the favorite adult of children entrusted to her care. She amazed us with how she could take a dinner theme and make the stage wall into a different world. She 3

wowed us with her frog that made us all rely on Jesus, then dazzled us with her giant giraffe made of hand prints uf her son, Marquez. She also did a thing or two with monkeys.

We had an awesome group of 100 volunteers, including parents, who were essential to the program.

decorated and set up the tables, prepared fun meals, cleaned up after the dinners, answered the office phones, washed the tablecloths, drove kids from school to church, baked cupcakes and cookies,

4 wowed us with her frog that made us all rely on Jesus, then dazzled us with her giant giraffe made of hand prints uf her son, Marquez. She also did a thing or two with monkeys. We are definitely not the only ones who have seen her marvelous creations; she is famous on Facebook, thanks to Rev. Norm posting pictures. Judi has made a huge difference with her contributions. We had an awesome group of 100 volunteers, including parents, who were essential to the program. They taught our children about Jesus in the Bible, led them to sing praises to God in music, prepared the menus and did the shopping, table parented the kids at dinner, prepared and served snacks, decorated and set up the tables, prepared fun meals, cleaned up after the dinners, answered the office phones, washed the tablecloths, drove kids from school to church, baked cupcakes and cookies, prepared the hall for birthdays, donated food and money. Yes, this is an enormous amount of work, but the benefits clearly outweigh the efforts for wonderful outcomes full of grace. Here are the themes we based our dinners on and some of the fun activities we did: Aloha to Salt & Light! We wore Hawaiian leis, shirts & skirts! Welcome Back! Bienvenidos! A fiesta party! FROG (Forever Rely On God) Stick Your Neck Out for Jesus (Giraffe Theme) Going Bananas! (Monkey Theme) We made banana splits! Wear Shades, the Son is Shining! We wore sunglasses! Backwards Night We wore shirts backwards! Pumpkin Patch Pumpkins for Halloween Hats Off to all our Volunteers! We wore funny hats! Dino Daze (Dinosaur Theme) PJ [Peace with Jesus] Party (Pajamas & Peacesigns Theme) We wore PJs! Bountiful Blessings Norm, Blaine, Greg and Lyn became Thanksgiving turkeys! What Child is This? (Nativity Theme) We decorated the Christmas Tree! Happy Birthday Jesus Party We decorated sugar cookies! The Salt & Light Singers this semester, were kindergarten through middle school children led by Beth, Dina, Janet, and Winnie. We kicked off fall with a fundraiser luncheon when the kids sang a special Thank You Song for the many volunteers of the program. While performing in church on October 20 and November 10, the kids wore the newest edition of the Salt & Light Purple Shirt t-shirts. Beth held a special musi- 4

cal presentation of Elijah on Nov 17, when the mid-schoolers and one college student, her son Jeremy, dressed in biblical clothing, and sang the story

On December 8, for the Christmas Pageant, children of all ages came together.

They were then joined by the mid-school and high school group who made up a live nativity. This was definitely a merry time for all.

They joined in to learn about Jesus and were a big part of the joyous activities and Sunday presentations.

5 cal presentation of Elijah on Nov 17, when the mid-schoolers and one college student, her son Jeremy, dressed in biblical clothing, and sang the story of Elijah. This was a moving event and was so wonderful to witness by all. On December 8, for the Christmas Pageant, children of all ages came together. The elementary dressed as noel carolers in winter hats and scarves, sang, and told the story of the birth of Jesus. They were then joined by the mid-school and high school group who made up a live nativity. This was definitely a merry time for all. We were honored to have Rev. Wayne Hawkins and children from Iglesia del Pueblo in the program activities this semester. They joined in to learn about Jesus and were a big part of the joyous activities and Sunday presentations. They filled our hearts with their smiles, and built friendships within our church.. Rev. Wayne led many of the parents and older children in Family Parenting Classes, once again sharing his amazing talents with many. God s Grace was abundant this semester at Salt & Light. I want to extend my deep appreciation to all the many volunteers who were able to give of their time and talents, and truly look forward to the spring. 5

6 6

Trudell Visit Alex Burr Joel and Barbara Trudell, workers in Africa whom we support, visited our church in December. Joel is a senior research associate of SIL.

They were kept busy during the time they were here They spoke at the main worship service, talked to an adult Sunday School class, spoke to he women of the church, and gave an extensive description

7 Trudell Visit Alex Burr Joel and Barbara Trudell, workers in Africa whom we support, visited our church in December. Joel is a senior research associate of SIL. Barbara is Director of Research and Advocacy, SIL Africa. SIL is connected with Wycliffe Bible Translators. They were kept busy during the time they were here They spoke at the main worship service, talked to an adult Sunday School class, spoke to he women of the church, and gave an extensive description of their work after the Sunday fellowship time. They also had a long dinner meeting with the missions team and other interested persons. They both are concerned that the Bible be translated into the local languages and that the various language groups be given the opportunity to learn to read in their local language. The last concern is a real problem. For historical reasons French or English is the language of commerce and often the language of government. Many of the African language groups have little influence outside of a limited region. The lack of schooling in the local language leads to many social and economic difficulties besides limiting the influence of the Bible. Much of Joel's work involves consulting with local Christian communities and local translation efforts on how to proceed to really use the Bible. Barbara works with government and non-governmental organizations to help school systems and other organizations to make good use of the local language in schools, churches, and businesses. Both find that their relatively recent degrees form the University of Edinburgh open many doors and ensures that their ideas are given serious consideration. One of their projects that they discussed in more detail involves efforts to improve the education opportunities of the Maasai people. These are a nomadic minority group in Kenya often left out of develop- 7

8 ment activities. The project involves developing a written language and educational materials for use in schools and churches. The interaction with the local people is one of the highlights of their present work. The unreasonable expectations of some of the financing organizations is one of the more difficult aspects of the program. The missions team briefly talked with them about their finances as well as programmatic issues. They are responsible for raising their own living expenses. They get about half of their expenses from individuals and half from organizations such as our church. It was noted that, while we count them as our missionaries, we contribute well under 5% of their requirements. Staff News Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Jordan Graves, bookkeeper in office 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Staff meetings are held on Tuesdays at 10:00 AM. Deadline for announcements going into the weekly Sunday Bulletin is 10:00 am on Thursday mornings. Michelle Osborne is Salt & Light Intern Coordinator. If you need to make an appointment to meet with Michelle please call Linda at the church office. Michelle will be available on Tuesdays for appointments between 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Office closed on January 1 and January 20 Communion Sunday is January 5 Attendance Sundays Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec (These numbers do not include attendance on Saturdays) The Cover The cover is a photograph of a Christmas tree ornament which is on the tree in Jones Hall. It is one of a large number featuring crosses and other Christian symbols. that were created by Alice Cooper. These ornaments are called Chrismons, Alice s patterns were quite popular on the Internet First Presbyterian Church 200 East Boutz Road Las Cruces, NM Tel (575) fpc1@zianet.com Web URL Rev. Dr. Norman Story, Pastor Photographs provided by Alex Burr and Michelle Osborne The The Lantern Lantern is a monthly is a monthly publication publication of First of First Pres- Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM. NM. Articles and and photos, photos, preferably preferably in computer in computer readable readable form are form welcome, are and welcome, will be used and at will the be discretion used at the of the discretion publisher. of the For further information For further call (575) information call or send or to publisher. send fpc1@zianet.com. to fpc1@zianet.com. Editor: Editor: Alex Alex Burr Burr Production: Linda Linda Ramirez Ramirez 8

9 P FIRST E S B Y T E R I A N Salt & Light January E. Boutz Rd. Las Cruces, NM Mission Mission Statement Statement for To emulate minister the to the work, members the word, of our and Church the way and of Jesus prepare Christ them in ministering for Christian to Outreach the needs of members and preparing them for Christian outreach to people within and outside the Church of Jesus Christ. Vision Objectives To clearly and courageously communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ Our to Vision all within Objectives our reach. for are: To create develop spiritual leadership from within that recognizes our congregation and ministers to recognize those and in need. minister to members in need. To develop and maintain specific ways for members to reach out and draw the community into our fellowship. To create a God-centered atmosphere for for worship that will attract and bind individuals, families, and and youth youth to our into church. Christian commu- to nity. 9

First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM July 2013

First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM July 2013 Bob Waguespack Visit Alex Burr One of the missionaries we support visited our church on June 13. Bob Waguespack works for Latin American Mission in Mexico