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Green Hill Presbyterian Church |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
February was named after the Latin term
februum, which means purification. In ancient Rome a
purification ritual called Februa was held on February15 (full moon). January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period of time. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month of the year until the time of decemviris (c. 450 BC) when it became the second month. February is the shortest month of the year. In North America Ground Hog’s Day anticipates the number of days remaining to the long winter (always seems long by Feb 2nd), dependent according to the legendary ground hog’s ability to see its shadow. In the old days of the Roman Catholic Church the 2nd of February was known as, Candlemas Day, because on that day all of the candles to be used in the services of worship for the remainder of the year were ceremonially blessed (set apart). February is famous for Valentine’s Day, and Black History month, and the month we celebrate our Presidents. And February is usually the month that includes Mardi Gras and the beginning of a seven week period called Lent. Lent starts off with Ash Wednesday. The ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday worship are usually saved for use in the high holy worship of Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday begins a time of self-examination in light of the great sufferings of Christ for sinful humanity. This year I will lead once again a “new member’s class”. It’s not only for those interested in joining the church. It is for anyone, young or old, who might like to go through the Sundays of Lent reconsidering the meaning of Christian discipleship, or simply to come to a fresh appreciation for the Church’s two sacraments: baptism and Holy Communion. Would you join me and other followers of Christ by signing up for these special classes that begin the last Sunday of February, the 26th, at 9:30, in my office? We’ll meet for an hour. Do not be afraid that you will know too little, or even so confident that you know enough already. This class is for humble servants of Christ who come together to learn the way of Christ. No question or concern will be too trivial or too difficult to at least ask. We’ll look to the Scriptures for the help we all need. For those who
want to join the church on Palm Sunday, these classes
are designed to help you answer Pastor Dan
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SESSION BRIEFS Concurred with an overture from Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Mobile. The effect of the |
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SWEETHEART BREAKFAST Sunday, February 12, the Men of the Church cordially invite all Women of the Church to a Sweetheart Breakfast at 9:00am. Everyone is a sweetheart on this day, so come and enjoy a delightful morning! |
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BOY SCOUT SUNDAY Please join us Sunday, February 19th, to honor
the boys and their families on Scout Sunday. Scout Sunday |
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ELDER BIOGRAPHY: Kimberli Fougeron |
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PASTOR'S DISCRETIONARY FUND In 2011, the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund distributed
a total of $2467.18 to local families in need. Through |
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GREEN HILL CAFE The Outreach Committee has assumed responsibility
for providing refreshments each Sunday morning for Green Hill Café.
The committee welcomes donations to help defray the cost of the
refreshments and a donation basked will be available for anyone who
would like to contribute. |
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SOUPER BOWL OF CARING February 5 is Souper Bowl Sunday. While we watch
the Super Bowl football game and stuff our faces, other families |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN'S NEWS |
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GREEN HILL SUPER BOWL PARTY The Green Hill Super Bowl Party is open to friends
and members of the congregation as well as Scout families and
members of the softball team. Invite your friends and neighbors.
Doors open at 3:30 pm, program starts at 4:00 pm, |
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GREEN HILL PING PONG TOURNAMENT Get ready to test your Ping Pong skills! On Sunday, February 5, Green Hill will host a Ping Pong Tournament. The Tournament will begin at 4:00pm. We will pause to watch the first half of the Super Bowl, and then the final match will take place during half time, with the winner to be declared prior to the start of the second half. Please sign up for the tournament in the Fellowship Hall. |
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PRAYER LIST
Overseas: Afghanistan - Pedra Aycock, Sam Phillips |
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ANNUAL FOOD CLOSET REPORT |
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Click here to view February Calendar |
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SOFTBALL SEASON It’s almost time
for Softball Season! If you are interested in being on this year’s
team, please sign up in the |
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CURSILLO 2012 Cursillo is just around the corner, and now is the
time to sign up! |
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LOOKING AHEAD Make plans to attend the Family Spaghetti
Dinner and Praise Service Wednesday, March 7, in the
Fellowship Hall. Dinner will be served from 5 to 6 p.m.
followed by a Time of Praise - a chance to thank God and praise Him
for all the many, many blessings in our lives. The cost of the
dinner will be $3 per person or $5 per couple or family. |
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FACEBOOK |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
As another year winds
down, it is appropriate that we enter a holiday season
with a time of thanksgiving. God is good.
All the time.
Attendance at worship has been fairly steady throughout 2011, especially at the beginning of the year and now towards the end. We average between 65 and 70 most Sundays. It hasn't changed much, really, over recent years. For a membership that hovers between 90 and 100, that is not bad. We're a very mobile congregation. If I could just synchronize the Sundays when most of our regular members will be in attendance with the days we have most of our visitors! Well, that's the Lord's business. We ended last year with 91 members. So far in 2011, we have had an increase to 94. We lost Norm and Janet Huppert, the Peevy family and the Jones family. Ironically, we also welcomed the Jones family this year. We really enjoyed Josh and Marcie, Henley and Haskell for the six short months there were here before moving to Minnesota. In addition to the Joneses, we added a very special couple, Sam and Olivia McMaster and two outstanding young people: Alex McDonough through affirmation of her faith, and Andrew Whittington by profession of faith and baptism. Last month we welcomed Hannah Lawrence by profession of faith and baptism. What a joy to receive Hannah into the full communion of the church. The saddest note of the year for me was the loss of Bob Lynch in early March. Our church family has benefited immensely from Bob's faithful wife, Carol, who is very active in our children's ministry and many other opportunities for service through our church, as well as Bob's church, St. John's Catholic Church. The high note for me this year was watching the church family pull together to fund and construct a renovated fellowship hall and brand new kitchen. The building committee led by Jim Cully did a fabulous job. Five men in particular supplemented the work of the contractor so that church was able to come under budget for the entire project (by about $15,000). We thanked the fabulous five and all who gave and worked so well together to accomplish our dream of a new and updated space for the fellowship at a dedication meal September 11. In between the high and low notes we have experienced both joy and sadness, encouragement and disappointment. For the most part we have shared these expected life experiences together in a typical Green Hill fashion: with hope, with complete trust in the Lord who has promised to always be a rock, a refuge and a "very present help in times of trouble." The time of trouble that has visited our denomination concerns us aplenty. The leaders of our church are in the forefront of holding fast to the faith of our mothers and fathers, the faith of those who founded Green Hill some 51 years ago. I hope most of our members will continue to trust the Session to keep us on the straight and narrow way, and to invest the offerings and tithes of God's people in a biblically faithful manner. I could speak of softball games, VBS, Cursillo, special worship services with Make Way Partners and Murray Tilles, mission trips to Yucatan and Honduras, joys and aggravation of gardening, children's sermons, retirements (sad to see Lucy Klein say god-bye) and welcoming of new staff (Sandi DeTora, a super talent of our own) Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, joint services with Lee Street Baptist, and on and on the list goes. Instead, I'll end with a request: consider yourself deeply cherished by your pastor and Anita, his better half. May the new year be filled with knowing that God is with you; a strong fortress and a place of refuge, always. Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!
Pastor Dan
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RECENT VISITORS |
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SESSION BRIEFS · Scheduled a special meeting of the Session for
Monday, November 28 at 6pm to discuss the budget, church operations
and the Fellowship of Presbyterian Conference in Orlando, January
18-20. · Welcomed elder-elect Kimberli Fougeron to the
session for the first time. · Approved minutes of the most recent meeting of the Congregation in which Art Forehand was elected to the remaining two years of Class of 2013, and Kimberli Fougeron, Todd Ayer and Betty Cully were elected to the Class of 2014. Joel Mikuta was elected to the Trustee class of 2014. · Received the news that two new furnace units had
to be replaced at a price of $1450 each. They were installed the
weekend of November 11. |
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CHILDREN'S BIBLE CLUB For more information about Green Hill's Children's Bible Club, call the church office at 334-347-3950. The Bible Club registration form can be downloaded HERE. |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN
Don't forget the PW
Annual Christmas Party! |
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AN INVITATION All members of the Green Hill Family are invited
to attend a Celebration of the 90th Birthday of our Choir
Directress, Midge, Sunday, December 11, immediately following
Morning Worship and the Christmas Cantata. The luncheon will include
soups and sandwiches and, of course, Birthday Cake. Please plan to
attend this very special celebration. |
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THANK YOU Thanks to the generosity of our Green Hill Family at the Thanksgiving Dinner, Green Hill raised nearly $1,000 for the Presbyterian Home for Children. This is a record donation. Well done, Family! |
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FACEBOOK |
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PRAYER LIST
Overseas: Afghanistan - Pedra Aycock, Sam
Phillips
Shut-ins: Charles Davis, Bess Till, Bob Boylston Continuing Concerns: Jonathan Aycock, Margaret Ford, Brendan Franco, Joyce Eline, Hoyce Watson, Rex Everage, Mary Jon Sneckenberger, Don Ramey, Terry Shaffer, Ken Reed, Michael Crooks, Kimberli Fougeron, Marie Schurer, Elmer Heffelfinger, Cheryl Borowitz, Karlene Paufler, Betty Cully, Lou Sanders, Sandy Williams, Judy Miller, Paul & Eva Swindall, Paul & Ilu Worley, Miriam Matthews, Mike Boysen, Linda Bauer, Debbie Deas, Mary Ann Pass, Pat Johnson, Fran & Jeff Norman, Linda Gordon, Vicky Harris, Debbie Jackson, Lucy Klein, Richard Podnar, Carol Martin, Warren Christian. We ask for special prayers for our church family members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families and for all those brave men & women serving in our military here and overseas. Please let the office know if any changes should be made in the prayer list. |
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GHGN DECEMBER NEWSLETTER DEADLINE The deadline
for all the newsletters is the 3rd Tuesday of
each month. Articles for the December newsletter are due TUESDAY,
December 20, 2011.
Please remember to put your announcements, concerns and
news items in the basket on the office door or send them
via e-mail:
greenhill@greenhillpc.org.
You may also fax your article to the office at
347-9530. |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
From the Desk of Pastor Dan:
At Thanksgiving time I think about Anita’s Mom. Yes, I know, I remember our thanksgiving gatherings in the Islands, and very tender thoughts of my own mother come to me. But Thanksgiving gatherings at the Anderson house in Dayton are something special. I always sense the gentle, hovering, and catering spirit of Anita’s mother, Harriet. Anita is now the “mother” at these gatherings. Anyway, the following story is one of my favorites. I wish I had written it. It expresses the beauty and love memories of Harriet bring to my mind during the holidays. “We were watching TV one night…Mom, Dad and myself. The story was without interest, but it served at least to gather us together in the warmth of our living room. Quietly we enjoyed one another’s presence, not bothering really to say much, but just being happy together. Each was lost in his or her own thoughts, and the long day’s weariness began to take hold.
On impulse, I looked towards my father and noticed him
gazing lovingly at my mother. Her head was bowed in
sleep and her glasses rested precariously on the tip of
her nose. The years, though kind to her, still had left
their mark, and her fresh beauty that I marveled at when
I was a boy, now lingered on, more as a loving memory,
than a living reality. She seemed so fragile to me…more
of heaven than of earth…more of spirit than of
substance. After a few moments, he rose from his chair, lowered the TV, hugged me warmly, and then went over to his wife. He touched her cheek ever so gently and tenderly kissed her goodnight. At that moment, I became overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude towards God, who chose me to be born of such a love. And I am certain, when the time comes to present his bride, and my mother, to God on Judgment Day, my father’s words will be: “Here is my wife, dear God. Isn’t she beautiful…really beautiful?” And of course, God will agree." (By Richard Delisle, submitted by Robert Campbell, Our Lady of the Cape, Brewster, Massachusetts) Overwhelmed with Gratitude to God,
Pastor Dan
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SESSION BRIEFS · This month the Elders spent two hours considering programs and objectives they felt Green Hill should “sustain”, as well as events and experiences they thought should be “improved” (changed or even eliminated). Many members of the church were polled on their ideas as well. The Session is grateful for their feedback. More to come, especially after new elders are elected and a session retreat is held in the near future. · Elders continue to receive glowing responses to the vast improvement of our kitchen and fellowship area. The Session is deeply grateful for those who have given and pledged to this project. All bills are paid. We are still “moving in” to our new space. The Session is anxious to put this new space to maximum usage in service of our community and our church family, as we learn better how to carry out our Lord’s Great Commandment and Great Commission. · Received news that the Nominating Committee is close to completing their task. · The Treasurer’s report showed a small drop in offerings, but the church is only slightly behind budget, even after paying the rather large utility bills of this past Summer.
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A
church-wide work day was set for Saturday, Oct 29th.
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A Note from the
Treasurer |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN'S NEWS
It’s time to contribute to our Annual Thank Offering in support of
many worthwhile, worldwide projects. These include programs that
relieve pain, provide clean water, alleviate homelessness, provide
educational opportunities plus many more others in support of women
and children within the U.S. and overseas. HELP US HELP OTHERS!!!!! If you are willing to represent our church by manning the Salvation Army Red Kettle any 2 hours shift from November 18th to December 24 please sign the list on the white board in the fellowship hall or let Betty Bierbaum or the office know. You will get a call to set up your available time.
Thank you for helping. |
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COFFEE COUNTY ARTS ALLIANCE PRESENTS
The International Tenors at Elba High School |
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Attention All Kids from Kindergarten up to 6th Grade! |
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FACEBOOK |
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PRAYER LIST
Overseas: Afghanistan - Ken Seanard Praise for the safe return of LTC Dennis McKernan from his tour in Afghanistan. We ask for special prayers for our church family members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families and for all those brave men & women serving in our military here and overseas. Please let the office know if any changes should be made in the prayer list. |
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FOOD CLOSET NEEDS Many, many thanks
to all who regularly contribute to our Food Closet.
Your donations are truly appreciated and are most helpful in
this ministry. |
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OUR DAILY
BREAD |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER As the story goes..., most every Friday evening old Ed came strolling along the Florida beach to his favorite pier, clutching a bucket of shrimp. Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does you can hear him say with a smile, "Thank you. Thank you." To many, Ed seems like "a guy that's a sandwich shy of a picnic." Many write Old Ed off. That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better. You see, his full name is Eddie Rickenbacker. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member B-17 crew went down. Miraculously, all survived and climbed into a life raft. Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft. Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull! Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off and he and his starving crew made a meal of it. Then the men used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait, and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea. Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first lifesaving seagull. And he never stopped saying, "Thank you." That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude. Gratitude: Probably the first step in the pathway of humility and service to God and God’s children.
Pastor Dan
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CHILDREN'S BIBLE CLUB |
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SESSION BRIEFS
The Session will
host a Friendship Meal on Saturday, October 8, at 6 p.m. for those
who have recently begun to attend services at Green Hill. |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN
Our first “Beatitudes” Bible study was
very good and the next one is scheduled for Thursday, |
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FACEBOOK |
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PRAYER LIST
Overseas: Afghanistan - Dennis McKernan, Ken Seanard,
Jacob Boylston, Jacob Owen, and Pedra Aycock
Shut-ins: Charles Davis, Bess Till, Bob Boylston Continuing Concerns: Jonathan Aycock, Margaret Ford, Brendan Franco, Joyce Eline, Hoyce Watson, Rex Everage, Mary Jon Sneckenberger, Don Ramey, Terry Shaffer, Ken Reed, Michael Crooks, Kimberli Fougeron, Marie Schurer, Elmer Heffelfinger, Cheryl Borowitz, Karlene Paufler, Betty Cully, Lou Sanders, Sandy Williams, Judy Miller, Paul & Eva Swindall, Paul & Ilu Worley, Miriam Matthews, Mike Boysen, Linda Bauer, Debbie Deas, Mary Ann Pass, Pat Johnson, Fran & Jeff Norman We ask for special prayers for our church family members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families and for all those brave men & women serving in our military here and overseas. Please let the office know if any changes should be made in the prayer list. PRAISE for the safe return of Evan Myers from Afghanistan on Oct. 2. |
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COFFEE COUNTY ARTS ALLIANCE The Coffee County Arts
Alliance 2011-2012 performance season will begin October 13 at 7
p.m. with a performance by the Atlanta Pops Orchestra at the
Enterprise High School Performing Arts Center. The
Green Hill Church bus will be available to transport members and
guests to performances in |
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Letters we like to receive!!!!! |
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GHGN NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER DEADLINE The deadline
for all the newsletters is the 3rd Tuesday of
each month. Articles for the November newsletter are due TUESDAY,
November 18, 2011.
Please remember to put your announcements, concerns and
news items in the basket on the office door or send them
via e-mail:
greenhill@greenhillpc.org.
You may also fax your article to the office at
347-9530. |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
From the Desk of Pastor Dan:
During the muggy dog days of Summer the weather report is usually the same every day: 20% or 30% chance of rain. Of course, there’s always the possibility that clouds will boil up and we will have a sudden downpour. You can see these storms coming in the distance. The horizon gets hazy, then a bit darker; next thing you know lightning strikes and an ugly little storm dumps its contents. Gathering signs of a storm are all around us in other areas of our lives as well: economics, politics, cultural, and even in our denomination. Clouds are boiling up and growing darker. I don’t have time to name the threatening clouds, but one of them just got real dark and powerful. The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, in a rare special called meeting this past month, voted overwhelmingly to disassociate from the Presbyterian Church (USA) after 139 years of mission partnership. Get ready for a rough ride. When brothers and sisters in Christ decide they can no longer work for the Lord side by side with you, there’s something terribly wrong. Either our neighbors to the South are mistaken and unloving, or the Presbyterian Church (USA) is the guilty party. We can’t both be right. Only one side is pleasing the Lord with a faithful stand for the truth of Scriptures. One side or the other is opposing the Holy Spirit. I have no doubt it is our side that has fallen away from the Gospel once for all delivered to the Saints. There is no doubt that the North American Presbyterians are the ones who must repent and humbly return to belief in the authority of Scripture. We have called good what God has called sin. We are depriving sinners the forgiveness God graciously offers all who come to Christ for salvation and victory over sin and death. Green Hill Presbyterian Church has been faithful in calling our Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church (USA) to heed the gathering storm warnings. We thank our Christian friends to the South. They too have shown our denomination the way back to God, the way to peace and safety when the storm finally arrives in all its fury. In God’s Weather Station,
Pastor Dan
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SESSION BRIEFS The treasurer reported that a particularly
heavy electric bill for this month, and one |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN'S NEWS |
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DEDICATION OF NEW FACILITIES On Sunday, September 11, we will dedicate the new
Kitchen & Fellowship Hall immediately |
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Attention All Kids from Kindergarten up to 6th Grade! |
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FACEBOOK |
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PRAYER LIST Overseas: Afghanistan - Evan Myers, Dennis McKernan, Ken Seanard,
Jacob Boylston, Jacob Owen, and Pedra Aycock |
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FOOD CLOSET NEEDS Many, many thanks
to all who regularly contribute to our Food Closet.
Your donations are truly appreciated and are most helpful in
this ministry. |
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OUR DAILY
BREAD |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
From the desk of Pastor Dan,
God has blessed Green Hill with faithful and generous members who support the general budget and mission outreach of the church. This year we have an additional project, the construction of a new kitchen and fellowship space. Our members and supportive friends are like the good man and his wife in the following passage (written by a pastor friend of mine who also goes by “Pastor Dan”) – “A Tale of Summer” from II Hezetations 3:3-21 (King James Unauthorized Version) And so it came to pass, in the year of (Mikuta), Treasurer of the Holy Purse, that a certain couple made plans for summer vacation. ... One hot and humid day, the mister of the house spake thus unto the mistress, “Gadzooks! This heat and humidity doth sore oppress me, and is nigh unto smite me. Even worse, I am betwixt and between the inefficient and the uncaring in my place of employ. Then, as I traverse the great asphalt path hither and yon, I am beset by vile and wicked drivers, and am defiled by the utterances that spew forth mightily from my mouth. Pray tell, wither shall I go, for I can find no relief.” “Away with thy stress, and vex thee not, O provider of Satellite TV. Let us fly to the beaches and the mountains whence thou shalt find respite for thine wrinkled and sweated brow. There shalt thy irons and woods comfort thee, and thine hammock support thee all the days of thy leisure,” replied his beloved. With raised countenance, he exclaimed, “O joy of my heart, thou art better than a thousand iced lattes, for thou dost comfort me with hope. Yea verily, I shall hie our family to the tops of mountains and coasts of waters; for there doth waft the cool breezes of relief. Avast! Let us make plans to hie thee hither.” “But one moment, O mower of grass and slayer of weeds. I know thou art a man of wisdom and compassion, and none can stay thy hand once thou hast purposed to do good in thy heart. Yet let us not forget the summer portion of our stewardship pledge to our Church. For (Alabama Power) doth continue to charge day and night without end; and the obligations of our Treasurer’s purse do not relent, though we are gone. Let us not forget our beloved Church, whilst we vacate.” “Egad! I nearly erred in haste, but thou didst save me from folly. Yea verily I say unto thee, ‘thou art better for me than Bran flakes, and more desirable than second helpings of cheesy mashed potatoes.’ Before we vacate to the places of cool breezes, we shall fulfill our pledge to our Church. Fetch me mine checkbook, and a writing utensil whose ink doth flow abundantly black, and I shall sign the documents. Then tonight, I shall sleep the sleep of the righteous, because I have done what is right!” exulted the man. “Forsooth, O great opener of pickle jars, none can exceed thee in wisdom or compassion, for thou hast remembered thy Church pledge for the summer.” And so it was well with this family, and so it was well with their Church; for they remembered to fulfill their pledge before Vacation. Go thou and do likewise. Love in Chirst,
Pastor Dan
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SESSION BRIEFS Discussed recent passage of Amendment 10-A and the
adoption of a new Form of Government section of the Book of Order.
Approved a resolution of Disavowal from the Green Hill Session to be
spread upon the minutes of the next meeting of Presbytery (see in
this Newsletter) |
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Letters we like to receive: |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN'S NEWS |
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PRAYER LIST
Overseas: Afghanistan - Evan Myers, Dennis McKernan, Ken Seanard,
Jacob Boylston, Jacob Owen, and Pedra Aycock |
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FOOD CLOSET NEEDS |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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From the Desk of Pastor Dan:
Our denomination recently voted to delete all references to sexual behavior when considering the fitness of candidates for elder and minister. There are now no specific requirements. Every session and Presbytery across the nation gets to decide how to interpret the Scriptures, and are free to ignore or adhere to the Bible and our Book of Confessions as they wish. The “other side” finally triumphed over traditional values to usher in a new era of “transformation”. So, I was remembering a conversation I had back when this battle for the soul of the Presbyterian Church (USA) began in earnest. I remember a particular conversation, like it was yesterday, with a veteran pastor of East Tennessee Presbytery during the days I pastored a church at Lenoir City, Tenn. The year was 1987. We had just enjoyed a breakfast at Shoney’s with the cluster of Presbyterian pastors west of Knoxville. Guess what we were talking about? You could have time-forwarded us to today; same topic. “I draw the line, Dave, if the Presbyterian Church ever allows the ordination of folks living in sexual sin,” I said. “The Bible is very clear about this.” “Oh, you mean, you won’t support the ordination of gays?” “Nor, the ordination of those shacking up,” I rejoined. “Don’t you think that would be an intolerable position for the church to defend? Don’t you believe the Bible clearly states that sexual sin, whether gay or heterosexual, is out of God’s will for His people, especially those called as leaders?” “Why do you pick on gay sex as the one sin that disqualifies for ordination?” “I’m just saying,” I said, “if our denomination decides to ignore either gay or heterosexual sin just to be more compatible with our culture, it will nevertheless be at counterpoint with the Scriptures. Between the Scriptures and what the culture deems okay, what will you choose?” He said, “You know, Jesus never said anything about gay sex.” I said, “Are you trying to tell me that Jesus would have approved of gay sex? I know for sure he did not approve of sex outside of marriage, and that the thought of same-sex marriage would’ve never entered his mind. Matthew chapter 19 is very clear about this. Are you sure you want to go against God’s design for sex?” “Well, Jesus also said zero about overturning the institution of slavery or suggesting that women might have important leadership roles in the church, and look at us now. Thankfully, we Presbyterians see more light on those subjects.” I was astounded. I remember thinking, how can he compare apples and oranges like this? There’s plenty of evidence in Scripture that God desires all people to live free; ditto for spiritual giftedness and leadership capabilities for women. There is exactly zero biblical evidence for condoning sex outside of marriage. “You know, David, we agree on the essentials of the faith, that Jesus is the only Savior God has appointed for the world, that God is triune, that the Bible is God’s Word, and so forth. One of the things we used to agree on is that sex outside of marriage would be against God’s design for human beings, and that sexual immorality is forbidden for followers of Christ. When did you change?” “Oh, I haven’t,” He said. “I just wonder if we shouldn’t be more open to God doing something different in these more modern times. It may yet unfold. We must be open to the possibility of interpreting the Scriptures differently. It’s not right to believe that the biblical writers wrote anything other than what they knew at the time. If gay sex is something folks are born with, like science suggests, then you must admit, God made them that way.” “You’re saying that the Holy Spirit, speaking through admittedly imperfect human beings, was unable to communicate clearly on an issue as important as sexual purity; that for 2000 years the Church of Jesus Christ has been consistently wrong about such an essential moral issue. Am I hearing you correctly?” “Important matters to me,” he said, “ are such things as salvation by faith through Christ; but, yes, I believe some things in Scripture are wrongly interpreted for our day. The more we learn, the more we should question some of the things the bible taught. For example, we no longer stone women for committing adultery; nor do we ask parents to stone their children for being rebellious.” It was at this point that I realized where the real problem lay. And I believe this is the critical, underlying heresy responsible for compromising what we used to believe about “being chaste in singleness, and faithful in our marriages.” The bible is either the authority on matters of our Christian life, or it is not. We cannot have it both ways. Surely we won’t succumb to the idea that “experience” or “feelings” or “cultural norms” should ever trump the Scriptures! Yet, I knew this day would come. I just knew it! And I hate it! A time to reset the boundaries is upon us. We have only one default position in the church, the one Christ entrusted and passed on to His Church: the Holy Scriptures. Today our culture says it’s alright for men to have sex with men, women with women. Even some ministers of the gospel agree that God would not have made them that way if homosexual behavior were not okay (in a “committed relationship” is their usual qualifier.) God is a God of justice, they say. And love. It is time, some church leaders insist, that the Church accept people the way they were created. The Bible writers, they opine, could not have known (what we know today). The premise that Scriptures don’t really speak to the issue of modern sexual sin implies that the Apostle Paul (and the Holy Spirit?) was bigoted and callous when he wrote the first chapter of Romans. There we read that God purposefully turns human beings over to their own lusts when they “exchange their natural affections for that which is against nature”. Sin in the human heart is the primary reason human beings feel okay when living contrary to God’s law or design. They even begin to imagine that God agrees with their “doing what feels good.” We dare not help folks feel good about committing sin. We are all sinners. That’s not the point. We are to love and accept all sinners, just as they are. Again, not the point. The point that has been debated all the years of my career as a Presbyterian minister is not about accepting homosexuals as sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness like the rest of us. It is, however, about whether culture and popular acceptance is a better source for discovering what God’s will is for modern-day followers of Christ. It is also about whether gays and lesbians should finally receive a waiver for their particular besetting sin, from our church bureaucracy, if not from on high. Green Hill Church will not go the way of our denomination, despite the official acceptance of of gay ordination by our denominational leaders on July 10th of this year. Our session is committed to keeping us faithful to what Scriptures clearly teach. We will remain faithful to “the faith, once and for all, delivered unto the saints.” You will be hearing more from our Session in days to come. The example given in chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation are helpful to me these days. There Jesus judged seven churches and not once did he encourage anyone to abandon their churches, despite evidence of rampant unfaithfulness to God’s Word, lack of love, and lukewarm concern for holy living. What he did do was tell them there would be eternal rewards for those who would remain as faithful witnesses to those who had become unfaithful. So, we have biblical evidence for what we should do. If we have ears to hear, I believe, we will hear the same judging and gracious word from Christ: “make stronger still the faith we possess, reach out with the love of Christ to those who are weaker, and hold on with an extra measure of patience.” Clinging to God’s Word,
Pastor Dan
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Heard a good progress report on our Summer VBS.
April is our director and the VBS Committee |
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN'S NEWS |
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WEDNESDAY EVENING ACTIVITIES SUSPENDED |
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NEEDED ITEMS |
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PRAYER LIST Overseas:
Afghanistan - Evan Myers, Dennis McKernan, Ken Seanard,
Jacob Boylston, Jacob Owen, and Pedra Aycock |
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FOOD CLOSET NEEDS Many, many thanks
to all who contributed to our recent request for Food Closet items.
Your donations are truly appreciated and will be most helpful in
this ministry. |
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FACEBOOK |
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OUR DAILY
BREAD |
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GHGN APRIL NEWSLETTER
This is a combined June-July edition of the GHGN. The
deadline for the August newsletter is TUESDAY, AUGUST 15. Please remember
to put your announcements, concerns and news items in the
basket on the office door or send them via email to
greenhill@greenhillpc.org You may also fax your
article to the office at 347-9530.
Please include your name and phone number so you can be contacted if there are any questions about your article. This is a hard deadline. If any articles or items arrive after this date, they will be held for the next month's newsletter. Many thanks to all our contributors. |
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Church Office Hours |
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Green Hill Good News |
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PASTOR’S CORNER
I hope everyone will be able to attend the Picnic on Saturday, May 1st, and the very special worship services Sunday, May 2nd.
Charter members at the reception following the official
Commissioning of
Here’s the Schedule for our Jubilee weekend –
Saturday, May 1, 12 Noon Green Hill Memories DVD Reminiscences by Members
Sunday, May 2, 10:15 - 10:50 a.m.
11:00 a.m. The
service will include a formal processional and recessional.
Pastor Dan
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