Presbytidings First Presbyterian Church of Grand Prairie Minute for Mission Schedule August 3 Brighter Tomorrows: Diane Frenzetti August 16 PDO: Melissa Martinez September 7 Grand Parents Group: Linda Stewart September 21 Peace Making September 28 Peace Making November 2 SERRV: Chris Chandler November 30 Joy Offering December 7 Joy Offering December 14 Waxahachie Children s Home (party on this date as well) WE ARE SALT AND LIGHT! Gathered in community by Christ, Reaching out together to make a difference, we will Celebrate God s love and mercy, Grow in faith and discipleship, Care for the needs of people, Serve church and community, and Share in the joy and excitement of our Christian faith Church Staff Rev. Dr. James Reinarz Minister Jakie Spinks Secretary Linda Stewart PDO Director Ron Ruyle Treasurer Kevin Glaser Organist, Choir Director Austin Yater, Youth Leader Cherish Roundstream Custodian Church 972-262-6676 PDO 972-264-6804 email: fpcgp@sbcglobal.net Pastor Jim s email: jpreinarz@sbcglobal.net Web site: www.grandprairiepresbyterian.org Visit us on Facebook Inside This Issue Pastor Jim 2 Birthdays 3 Finance 4 New Beginnings 4 Primetimers 5 PDO 5 Calendar 6
Dear Friends, In a recent sermon, I talked about how our relationship with God and our relationship with the church is much like any other of our important relationships. For a healthy marriage relationship partners have to attend to each other, care for each other, stay in contact, show interest. We have to love each other and fall in love with each other over and over again. If we ignore our partner, stray from our partner, get too comfortable with each other, fail to show appreciation, then our relationship begins to break down. Often it is the little things we do, such as holding hands, saying I love you, meeting each other at the door with a smile and a kiss that keeps our relationship going. In the Bible we may remember the story of the apostle Peter and his betrayal of Jesus. Three times Peter denied that he knew who Jesus was or that he was a disciple of Jesus. Then in John 21, Jesus and Peter are walking along the beach and Jesus just has to know for sure where Peter is in this relationship. He asks Peter three times, Do you love me? Loving God and loving Christ s church takes the same kind of commitment as our personal relationships. If Jesus asked us if we loved him, how would we answer? The congregation and I came up with 10 ways we can demonstrate our love for God and for the church. 1. We can love and care for one another as Jesus has commanded us to do. 2. We can worship together on a regular basis, weekly if possible. 3. We can study the Bible together so we understand the teachings of Jesus and how he wants us to live. 4. We can use the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us to build up the church and encourage one another in our life of faith. The gift of generosity is especially important. 5. We can be planning and working together for the future of the church. The church is to be a place that offers life and care to the people. How can we ensure this ministry will continue for many more years? 6. We can pray for the church. While we can do much of our own accord we still must pray and seek God s guidance. We must pray and seek the presence of the Spirit. 7. We can spread the good news. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Who have you told about this lately? This is a good church that ministers to its people and to the people of this community. Who have you told about this lately? 8. We can plan our mission work. We have been created and put here by God to do good works and to worship God. As Christ s disciples that is our way of life. 9. We can complete our mission. Mission takes people who care that have gifts to share. As James writes in his letter, faith without works is dead. We can set good examples. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes that we are ambassadors of Christ. What does your behavior say about the kingdom of God? Are you an effective advertisement for Jesus and his kingdom? It is very easy for us to think poorly of the church, to neglect the church, to treat it as unimportant or superfluous. To do so, though, puts one of our most important relationships at risk. The church is the body of Christ in the world, and we together, are that body. For that body to be healthy, for our relationship with Christ to be strong, we have to work at it every day. We have to follow Jesus every day. We have to fall in love again with Jesus and his church every day. If Jesus asks, Do you love me, how will you answer? Yours in Christ, Rev. Jim Page 2
What does a PDA team do on deployment? Presbyterian Disaster Assistance focuses on three major segments of the disaster response pie: spiritual and emotional care of survivors, caregivers and first responders; long term recovery of the community; and the hosting of volunteer workers. PDA is not a first responder, but an early responder. When invited to a disaster area by the presbytery, the team goes there to support the ministry of the presbytery. We help the presbytery and its member churches find ways to respond to the disaster. We are in contact with presbytery leaders and we visit churches, congregations and pastors. We explain the mission of PDA, share resources with them and serve as representatives of the PCUSA. During the deployment to the Texas panhandle this last item was especially important. There are four Presbyterian churches in Amarillo. Three of them are leaving the denomination. We met with St. Luke PC, the remaining church, attended worship, visited with the congregation and the youth group. They are trying to figure out what it means to be the only PCUSA church in Amarillo. We were there to tell them we love them and care about them. When deployed we conduct an initial assessment of the disaster, both what is needed immediately and what may be needed long term. Our ministry is not just for Presbyterians, but for the whole community. We meet with community leaders, fire chiefs, police chiefs, other agencies, like Red Cross, who are responding to the disaster. We also meet with other churches. There are no Presbyterian churches in Fritch, TX, so we met with leaders of Baptist and Non-denominational churches. We introduced ourselves, explained who we were and what we do. We listened to them and how they were serving the community. We build friendships and connections which will be helpful later in the response effort. When deployed we also keep an eye out for churches and community facilities that may be able to host volunteers during the long term recovery effort. PDA does not set up tent villages anymore like in the response to Katrina. Instead, we work with churches, camps, schools, community centers to train their people and help them get their facility ready for hosting. We help manage the host sites and use the PDA Call Center to schedule volunteer groups coming to work in a disaster area. Currently there is a team traveling in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, assessing facilities for volunteer hosting in response to recent tornadoes. Basically, that is our task during the initial deployment- to assess and report back to PDA, build connections, and to support the presbytery in its efforts. We have come to understand that disasters tear at the fabric of a community. When done well, short and long term recovery can help reweave that fabric so the community is stronger and even more united and whole. No one church or agency can do it all, but together we can help a community leave behind the past destruction and move forward into the new thing God is doing. Thanks for your support. 3 Fred Nash 3 Lowell Yoder 5 Michael Seabolt 10 Wanda Helms 13 Carolyn Wheeler 14 Katrina Zerda 15 Abraham Zerda 19 Rosie Chandler 20 Keely Iguta 21 Jason Iguta 21 Tyler Madison 23 Susan Reinarz 27 Daisha Resendiz ANNIVERSARIES 2 Shirley & Byron Lewis 9 Tom & Mary Wilson 16 Karl & Steffie Johnson Freedom was not free Page 3
Why Did Jesus Talk about Money So Much? Jesus insistence that money is both physical and spiritual explains why he spoke of it so frequently. Buttrick s classic book, The Parables of Jesus, lists forty-three parables. Twenty-seven of these (62 percent) refer to money and possessions. One out of every ten verses in the four Gospels (a total of 288 verses) deals with money. The Bible includes 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money and what it buys. The question Jesus illustrates so perfectly with the story of the rich barn builder is as current as the morning paper. Each of us asks the same question every day of our lives: Will I try to achieve a quality life by focusing on money or by focusing on God? As we answer that question, we tend to believe yet resist believing Jesus teaching that money is both material and spiritual. On one hand, we see that Jesus is right. On the other hand, we are constantly tempted to think and behave as if Jesus missed the turn on this issue. (Money Is/Isn t Everything, Herb Miller) The Bride of Christ As all brides do, Joni Eareckson Tada wanted her wedding day to be perfect. Yet the longtime quadriplegic wheeled over the hem of her gown, leaving a greasy tire mark. To top it off, her daisies were off-center, and she couldn t rearrange them herself. May January - May Actual Income 11,749 71,360 Expense 16,786 73,812 Profit/(Loss) (5,038) (2,453) She wasn t a picture-perfect bride by any stretch, according to Joni and Ken: An Untold Love Story (Zondervan). Yet as soon as Joni saw her beloved craning his neck to get a glimpse of her, all the worrying and self-loathing washed away. In fact, she wanted to get out of her chair and run to him. In his eyes, she was the pure and perfect bride. His bride. Joni and Ken write: This is how it will be when we see Jesus. Overcome with longing. Overtaken with joy. We ll catch a glimpse of him and want to run to him. Right out of this life and into the next one. What s happening with New Beginnings? We have been assigned an assessor, Bill Lawser. We are completing a number of forms describing our church ministries- worship, fellowship, mission. When completed, these forms, as New Beginnings well as financial information, will be sent to our assessor. Mark the date of Wednesday, July 16, on your calendars. Mr. Lawser will be here at the church to conduct a number of interviews and to tour the church and the neighborhood. At 7pm he would like to meet with members of the congregation. I hope that many of you will come and participate in that discussion. As we receive more information about this we will pass it on to you. Page 4
PDO is out for the summer. We have had a great second semester and will hopefully have as profitable of a fall session beginning August 25th. We have quite a few returning students so our base is looking good so far. I do believe that God is blessing us with the children to have a successful program. I am very happy and excited about our program and the possibilities for our great new school year. Please pray for our success as we go forward with this wonderful family based ministry. Now is the Time to Start Thinking About the Craft Fair The planning has already started for the annual Arts and Crafts Fair. So mark your calendar for November 8, 2014. Sara Shaw and Kathy Smith are co-chairing this event. Letters have been sent to previous vendors and the reservations are coming in. There are applications in the church office if you or anyone you know are interested in having a space. More information will be coming as the time gets closer. The Primetimers will be going to the Uptown theater to see "Hello Dolly" June 21st. For July, we will have a picnic on July 3rd (not celebrating independence, but my birthday). The picnic will be in the Fellowship Hall at noon, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers. There is a sign up sheet on our bulletin board, if you are interested, please sign up early and indicate whether you want hot dogs or hamburgers. Jean Athon needs this information so she can figure how much food to buy. ***submitted by Lowell Yoder*** Page 5
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 noon 4 Happy Birthday America 5 6 Food Drive Communion Committees 7 Quilt Guild at 7 p.m. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 New Beginnings 7 p.m. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Scouts 6:30 29 Bipp Training 8-5 30 Bipp Training 8-5 31 Bipp Training 8-3