First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM November 2015

Transcription

1 First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, NM November 2015

2 WCS Alex Burr World Communion Sunday has always been a special communion Sunday in our church, particularly because we have always emphasized our missions work. This year there were many other reasons to specially celebrate. The Faith & Fellowship worshipping community, Iglesia del Pueblo and the new Korean Presbyterian Church all changed their regular worshiping routine to take part in this service. The Cameroonian group also participated. The October 4 service was designed to highlight these various aspects of our organization. The Praise band opened the service. Members of the Cameroonian contingent in their distinctive Cameroonian dress led the procession bearing the elements. Prayers were given in Spanish, Korean, French, and German as well as English. The scripture lesson was read in Spanish by Rev. Jorge Orozco, the leader of Iglesia del Pueblo congregation. The lesson was read in Korean by Rev. Pyong Yu, the leader of the Korean Presbyterian Church congregation. Rev. Pyong Yu, Rev. Norm Story, Rev. Jorge Orozco, Rev. John Himes 2

3 One special feature of the service became apparent when the choir sang the anthem. Psalm 23 but was sung in Korean, by a group that knew no Korean. In any song it is the vowels that carry and define the tune. Korean is not related to English so the vowels are distinctly different. Fortunately Ryan Fellman, our director, has actually sung in Korea, an unusual and useful experience. He provided a phonetic form of the music so the choir could sing the anthem. This effort made a particularly good impression on the members of the Korean Church in attendance. The sermon was particularly well crafted for this occasion. It was entitled Divisions Deny and Damage the Body and was based on Paul s letter to the Corinthians in which he emphasizes the fact that we are all one in Christ. Rev. Story concluded by saying that this communion service was, a very special service at First Presbyterian Church today where four unique worshipping communities, traditional worship, Iglesia del Pueblo, Korean Presbyterian, and Faith & Fellowship have all come together today with each contributing, to praise and celebrate the unity we share in Jesus Christ. Donna Evans It was a very serendipitous coincidence that Donna Evans, one of the missionaries whom we support, was able to visit our church on the Sunday after World Communion. There was ample time to interact with her while she was here. She filled Blaine Goss s Sunday School class in the morning, spoke a few words during the regular Sunday service, and gave a presentation after the fellowship hour. She then had lunch with the missions committee and other interested people. Donna is a translator with the Wycliffe Bible Society based in the Far East. She works with Christians in Indonesia but it based in the Philippians because of visa restriction imposed by Indonesia. An important part of her work is supervising several groups working in translating the Bible into one or another of the many languages spoken in Indonesia. She helps these groups to walk the fine line between a literal and paraphrased translations. She makes sure that independent evaluations are available and keeps the effort moving. Translation is a difficult task. There are surprising cultural difficulties to overcome. As an example she works with a language which has no distinctions between genders. It also has unusual ways of dealing with time. As always. It was good to hear about the works, difficulties, and results of those to whom we supply partial support. 3

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5 Walk to Emmaus Susan Grandle Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The program's approach seriously considers the model of Christ's servanthood and encourages Christ's disciples to act in ways appropriate to being "a servant of all." The objective of Emmaus is to inspire, challenge, and equip the local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, communities and places of work. The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The "Emmaus community," made up of those who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and serving meals, and with other acts of love and self-giving. The Emmaus Walk typically begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday evening. Men and women attend separate weekends. The Walk to Emmaus is an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Cursillo Movement, which originated in Spain in Cursillo de Cristianidad means "little course in Christianity." During the 1960s and 1970s, the Episcopalians and Lutherans, along with several nondenominational groups, such as Tres Dias, began to offer Cursillo. The Koinonia movement began in the Presbyterian Church in Findlay, Ohio in The Upper Room of the General Board of Discipleship adapted the program for a primarily Protestant audience and offers it under the name Walk to Emmaus. In 1984, The Upper Room developed a youth expression of Emmaus called Chrysalis. Kairos Prison Ministry sprang from the Cursillo movement as well. The Walk to Emmaus is ecumenical. The program invites and involves the participation of Christians of many denominations. Emmaus is ecumenical not only because members of many denominations participate, but because Emmaus seeks to foster Christian unity and to reinforce the whole Christian community. This is one of the great strengths and joys of the Emmaus movement. Emmaus is open to members of any Christian denomination. Emmaus is for the development of Christian leaders who are members of a local church, have a desire to strengthen their spiritual lives, may have unanswered questions about their faith, understand that being a Christian involves responsibility, and are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God in an ongoing manner. The experience begins with the prayerful discernment and invitation from a sponsor. After one accepts this invitation he or she completes an application. A sponsor plays a crucial role in the Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis experience. The sponsor will answer any questions, provide transportation to and from the site, provide assistance to the family in one s absence, pray before, during, and after the weekend, and ensure one gets involved in a small group after the weekend. In our region, Walks are held at Sacramento Camp and Conference Center in the Sacramento Mountains. 5

6 The Walk to Emmaus gets its name from the story in Luke 24:13-35, which provides the central image for the three-day experience and follow-up. Luke tells the story of that first Easter afternoon when the risen Christ appeared to the two disciples who were walking together along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Like Christians and churches who are blinded by preoccupation with their own immediate difficulties, these two disciples' sadness and hopelessness seemed to prevent them from seeing God's redemptive purpose in things that had happened. When they arrived in Emmaus, Jesus "took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them," and their eyes were opened. They recognized him as Jesus, the risen Lord, and they remembered how their hearts had burned within them as they talked with him on the road. Within the hour, the two disciples left Emmaus and returned immediately to their friends in Jerusalem. As they told stories about their encounters with the risen Lord, Jesus visited them again with a fresh awareness of his living presence. The Walk to Emmaus offers today's disciples a parallel opportunity to rediscover Christ's presence in their lives, to gain fresh understanding of God's transforming grace, and to form friendships that foster faith and support spiritual maturity. While Emmaus provides a pathway to the mountaintop of God's love, it also supports pilgrims' return to the world in the power of the Spirit to share the love they have received with a hurtful and hurting world. For more information on this program as available in our church, contact Susan Grandle at or grandle@zianet.com Greg Sherman Marjorie Burr Greg Sherman, a 26-year choir member at First Presbyterian, has contributed more than his low bass voice to our worship services over the past decades. He has also composed several pieces sung by the choir or by duets or quartets as part of our congregation's worship. Congregants will remember "One Who Jesus Loved," Greg's own music and lyrics; "Precious Jesus," Greg's words set to the music of Johann Pachelbel's "Canon; or "Be Still and Know That I Am God," an adaptation of Psalm 46 in three verses, set to music by Johann Schop, 1641, harmony by J.S. Bach All these works have been performed at First Presbyterian Church Greg explains the he is not a musician, although his mother Patricia was a gifted pianist with a master's in performance. She has composed many pieces also, in addition to teach- 6

7 ing piano for many years and playing the organ for St. Andrew's Church. The Shermans' son Greg,Jr. is a musician. Greg Sr.'s main interest in his early years was athletics. He received a degree in marketing from NMSU and has made a career as a businessperson in Las Cruces. He is a real estate broker, an owner-manager of a real-estate leasing firm, and an Internet entrepreneur, selling art and frames on ebay and on his website. Music and art are his two passions. Sacred music is a centerpiece of his composing efforts, but his interests extend beyond that. For instance, a few years ago he was part of "Idio-Synchrosy," a rock band wannabe, made up of congregational members Molly Loman, Martha Mitchell, Neil Moe, and Greg Sherman. Their performance at the Women's Retreat engendered much enthusiasm. And he sings with "Celebration Singers," a quartet made up of Larry Courter, Stephen Taylor, Lloyd Kirschenmann, and Greg Sherman. The quartet sings frequently for our congregational worship, and the group is practicing now for the November 5 benefit concert for the Good News Jail Ministry. He sang for me a few lines of a children's song he has written: "Do good to others, your sisters and your brothers, and your enemies." It almost sings itself and should be a hit when our Salt & Light Choir sings it. Then there's "Company Man," a countrywestern ballad. It spoke to me of the plight of our modern young, middle-class workers in this country. This ballad tells a story with a happy ending. What can we expect in the future? He is working on "I Cry for America," which came to him as he was mowing the lawn. In a folder are the beginnings of a piece for harpsichord, "Most High Jesus Christ." Greg gives organist Howard Smolleck a lot of credit for helping him with the harmony and embellishments of his pieces. This is particularly true of "Precious Savior." This piece was professionally produced with Dan Malloy and Emma Rosenthal as duet and Howard at the organ. It is available as a CD; ask Greg about it. It is Greg's favorite, as well as mine. Greg and Janice Sherman are table parents for Salt & Light. Greg leads the singing for this group as well as congregational hymn sings on occasion. And, Greg is helping the Deming Presbyterian Church, on of the churches in our cluster. He has developed a "7 for heaven" marketing plan to help that church revitalize its congregation. Greg is an Elder in our congregation, and serves as an alternate Presbytery representative. Clyde Treat The title of this report on the monthly In-Betweeners meeting emphasizes the importance of this program. The evening started with Clyde Treat and his band setting up and ended with a rousing song from the three of them. The program was an evening of country and western music by Clyde Treat, Willie Rico, and Lonnie Moore. And it was really an evening of music although, as usual, there was lots of food. When the people arrived, they put on the name tags provided by Judith Ames and 7

8 talked to their friends while the music stayed in the background. There is much more to an evening of music than stepping in front of a group with your instrument. In this case, the band had to place three microphones and adjust them. They set up and connected three audio mixers and placed and adjusted three large speakers. The players then tuned their instruments, made sure all the sound levels were correct, and checked out the acoustics of the room The concert itself was informal, the right intensity, enjoyable, and even educational with little program notes for some introductions. The evening was a nice combination of instrumentals with some vocals for variety. Arnold McMillian even put in an appearance as a guest soloist. The group enjoyed the music, the musicians enjoyed the groupe. What could be better? As a matter of fact something could be better. The band recorded a CD near the end of There may even be a very few left. If interested contact Clyde Treat at They are also thinking of producing a CD of gospel music. 8

9 Visitation Do not cast me off in this time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent. Psalm 71:9 Rev.Norm Story What happens when, for reasons of health or advanced age, a member of our church family is unable to attend Worship and participate actively in the life of this congregation? Hopefully, in our busyness we do not forget them, or cast them aside now that they cannot be as active. How do we remind them of God s gracious love and promises when we don t see them in Worship each week? How can we provide connecting fellowship and support from their church, and serve the Sacrament of Communion on a regular basis? The needs of our congregation s aging saints cannot all be fulfilled by a single pastor with many other responsibilities for leading a busy church. Many dedicated leaders and members of this church do wonderful ministry in visiting the sick and homebound. Unfortunately, sometimes others in need can fall through the cracks, their needs unmet. For anyone to feel ignored or insignificant to his or her church is a tragedy and a failure of ministry. In the past, Rev. Marcus Burr and then Rev. Carrol Blevins helped out with this ministry. When Carrol died so suddenly and unexpectedly, Rev. John Himes stepped up and agreed to fill the gap temporarily. He has done an amazing and wonderful job of organizing our visitation ministry with regular visits and by providing Communion each month. John has been making 35 to 40 visits each month; with travel time, even a short visit requires about an hour commitment. Rev. Himes has been extremely generous in giving of his time, but will be stepping down from his ministry at the end of December. The visitation ministry is not optional, but is a critical need that must be fulfilled. The Session is looking for help to meet this continuing need on a more permanent basis. If you know of a retired pastor who might be interested in this ministry, the Session would like to speak with him, or with her, even if not Presbyterian. We are hoping God will send someone with a compassionate heart who has some training and background in pastoral care, and who could be authorized to serve the Lord s Supper. Another option would be to train a team of church members to visit and serve Communion to each of our shut-ins each month. A 9

10 third option might be a combination of these: a Minister of Pastoral Care working with and organizing volunteer lay visitors. If you are interested in serving our homebound, Rev. Norm would like to talk with you about this ministry, providing the training and support you will need. One of our members who has experienced visitation from both sides, having been in poor health for an extended time, and now frequently visiting others, said, When visitors come and say they care, you feel like you re part of the world again after all. Those who visit the sick and homebound find satisfaction in knowing they re fulfilling a mission for the Lord. Even beyond that, there is real joy in getting to know the seniors who have truly amazing and interesting life experiences to tell. Please consider being trained and committing to this important ministry of our church. The Cover The cover and the article Walk to Emmaus go together. The cover is a photograph of one of a pair of ear rings which belong to Kelly Temple. She bought them when she attended one of the Walk to Emmaus programs fairly recently. The two illustrations at the start of the first article are particularly interesting too. They are a photograph of a painting given to the church by George Gray and which is displayed in the parlor. Photographs provided by Alex Burr and Howard Smolleck First Presbyterian Church 200 East Boutz Road Las Cruces, NM Tel (575) linda@fpc.lc Web URL Rev. Dr. Norman Story, Pastor 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 aburr@aol.com. to linda@fpc.lc. Editor: Editor: Alex Alex Burr Burr Production: Linda Linda Ramirez Ramirez 10

11 P FIRST E S B Y T E R I A N 200 E. Boutz Rd. Las Cruces, NM Stewardship Sunday November 11 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 youth to into our Christian church. communi- to ty. 11