The Lamb’s Kin
www.fpcsanangelo.org June 2014
Be in prayer for PC(USA) as General Assembly meets this month
A message from our pastor Bill Proctor
Church
June Devotion
The Lord is my
Shepherd…
That’s a
Relationship-!
I shall not want…
That’s supply
He maketh me to lie
down in green
pastures…
That’s Rest!
He leadeth me beside
the still waters…
That’s
Refreshment!
He restoreth my
soul…
That’s Healing!
He leadth me in the
paths of
righteousness…
That’s Guidance!
For His namesake…
That’s Purpose!
I will walk through
the valley of the
shadow of death…
That’s Testing!
I will fear no evil…
That’s Protection!
For Thou art with
me…
That’s Faithfulness!
I
n mid-June the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is scheduled to meet in Detroit, Michigan. In light of the fact that we as a congregation are in a time of discernment re-garding our relationship with the PCUSA, Session voted to send two representatives, Randy Gardner and Steve Stephens, who will be non-voting “observers.”You should know there are several “overtures” coming before General Assembly (GA), some or all of which are sure to garner head-lines in the secular press later this month Several advocate same-sex marriage, others gun control, others advocate divestment from compa-nies that do business with the State of Israel – and some also address the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, while another overture advocates that all Presbyterians divest from fossil fuel compa-nies. (This last one likely to be very unpopular among most West Texans…..)
What is often misunderstood – even by commissioners to GA and those who lobby it – is that General Assembly does not usually speak for the church, but rather to the church. This is in part why the secular press almost always gets it wrong when reporting about what transpires at General Assembly every two years. You may well read reports, or hear stated on the evening news, that the PCUSA has ap-proved and/or endorsed any number of controversial issues – reports which may or may not be factually correct.
What is regularly overlooked by the press and many Presbyteri-ans is that most changes regarding how we PresbyteriPresbyteri-ans “do business” must – if passed at GA – then be sent back to each presbytery so that each presbytery may discuss, debate, and then either approve or reject each proposed change to our Book of Order. Only when a majority of presbyteries vote in the affirmative does a change go into effect.
Even so, I have become increasingly concerned with the politi-cal nature of many of the overtures coming before GA. The Westmin-ster Confession of Faith, at 6.175, (4) states – in very King James lan-guage, “Synods and councils are to handle or conclude nothing but that
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which is ecclesiastical; are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which con-cern the commonwealth unless by way of humble petition in cases extraor-dinary; or by way of advice for satisfaction of conscience, if they be there-unto required by the civil magistrate.”
In other words, although there are a great many concerns in the world and in our culture at present, I tend to agree with the Westminster Confession that the church should make pronouncements about political issues rarely and with great humility.
As I recently wrote to the members of Session, I am particularly concerned with three overtures to GA – each of which address same-sex marriage. These three overtures seek to bypass our typical way of making changes to the Book of Order. Each of these overtures advocates for an ac-tion known as an “Authoritative Interpretaac-tion,” better known as an AI. What an AI does is to do away with the deliberative process of presbyteries debating and voting on changes to the Book of Order. In other words, an AI allows General Assembly to not only speak to the church but for the church.
Though I trust the commissioners to GA will not vote to take such action in Detroit, the very fact that three overtures advocate such an action is, in my mind, very alarming. It would be – again, in my mind – a breach of the relationship between General Assembly and the presbyteries. In other words, it would send the message that GA does not trust the church at large to vote in the proper way.
I encourage you to be in prayer for the PC(USA) when General As-sembly meets in Detroit, June 14-21. My prayer is that as GA meets the commissioners will act prayerfully, faithfully, and with great wisdom – all the while seeking to be faithful to Scripture and our calling in Christ Jesus the Lord.
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Thy rod & Thy staff
comfort me…
That’s Discipline!
Thou prepares a
table before me in
the presence of mine
enemies…
That’s Hope!
Thou annointest my
head with oil…
That’s
Consecration!
My cup runneth
over…
That’s Abundance!
Surely goodness &
mercy shall follow
me all the days of
my life…
That’s Blessing!
And I will dwell in
the House of the
Lord…
That’s Security!
Forever…
6/3 Becky Swiderski, John Parsons, Tim McQueen, Cotey Cswaykus 6/4 Alicia Cole, Amanda Hooker 6/5 Bitsy Stone, Lad Linthicum
6/6 Natalie Pfluger, Randall Mull 6/7 Mary Gail Stinnett, Chase Akin 6/8 Beau Lasater
6/10 Dan Duke, Lyndon Patrick 6/12 Kelly Monk
6/13 Nancy Sutton, Clara Cargile, Frank Cargile Doug Massey, Allie Kate Treadwell
6/15 Prissy McCollum 6/18 Cole Cecil, Bill Hipp
6/19 Michael McCammon, Matthew Cobb 6/20 Annette Lasater
6/21 Carson Collins
6/23 Joy Morehead, Hannah Hill, John Gray 6/25 Carson Lauer, Elijah Epstein, Porter Epstein 6/26 Carson Mackie
6/27 Debbie Bruno, Ivan White, Victor Probandt, Julie Vann 6/28 Joel Moore
6/30 Randy Bruno, Gabby Collum
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 VBS begins 9:00 Praise Service 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Serv. 6:00 VBS Family Fun @ the LL 2 VBS (9:00—12:00) No AA 3 VBS (9:00—12:00) 4 VBS (9:00—12:00) 6:45 MBS - 210 No AA 5:15 Praise Team 6:30 Chancel 5 VBS (9:00—12:00) 10:30 WID - 107 5:30 Adult CE 6 7 8 PENTECOST with Communion 9:00 Praise Service 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Serv. 9 No AA 10 8:45 Staff 12:00 Children’s CE 5:00 Youth CE 11 6:45 MBS - 210 No AA 5:15 Praise Team 6:30 Chancel 12 10:30 WID - 107 13 14 15 9:00 Praise Service 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Serv. 16 9:00 AA 5:15 Steward-ship,CR 17 5:15 Session, 210 18 6:45 MBS - 210 9:00 AA 5:15 Praise Team 6:30 Chancel Choir Deacons 19 10:30 WID - 107 20 21 Middle School Youth Great Escape 9:00 Praise Service 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Serv. 23 9:00 AA 9:00 Soup Kitchen 24 8:45 Staff 25 6:45 MBS - 210 9:00 AA 5:15 Praise Team 6:30 Chancel Choir 26 10:30 WID - 107 27
Great Escape returns 28
Women’s Summer Book Club
T H E L A M B ’ S K I N
A
women’s summer book clubwill begin meeting the last Tuesday of the month begin-ning on June 24. The subse-quent dates are July 29 and August 26. The group will meet at noon on each of those three dates. The first book to be read is The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.
The book is available at Christian Book Distributors (cbd.com), Amazon and other book selling outlets. During the June
meeting we will vote and decide on the books for July and August. Every-one will be responsible for obtaining their own book in whatever form they prefer.
You may bring your lunch if you’d like, tea and water will be availa-ble. Please come prepared with 2-4 discussion points from the book. Con-tact Glenda Kunath if you have any questions, 655-1272 or 374-0576.
HELP WANTED!
Join the fun and help cook a meal at
Lake Brownwood on July 3 for House
of Faith summer camp! Call the
church office FMI, 655-5694.
Cooking and service at HOF Camp is
a wonderful opportunity for an entire
family to share in a service project.
This is the third year we have
provid-ed a meal for House of Faith camp.
Please help us make this year as
Thankful Hearts
Dear FPC,
I want to take the time to let you know how much that Cornerstone appreciates y’all al-lowing us to use your facilities. Please accept this small love of-fering. May the Lord continue to work through you.
God Bless, Lora Bird
Dear FPC,
Thank you so much for feeding me and my friends for nearly three years. And the food has been awesome the whole time I’ve gone. I also love the devos Joel gives us cause it is so good to hear the word of God and he does it very well. Thank you to every-one that helps with these lunch-es. I enjoy them so much. Sincerely,
Samuel Stone
O
ur mission trip toGuatemala is just about one month away. Twenty-six members of our congregation are assisting Promised Land Ministries in their mission to provide for the medical and housing needs of poor families in the San Lucas Tolimán region. Please prayerful-ly consider how God might be call-ing you to help with your special pledge toward the Guatemala mis-sion. Here are a few ways in which you could help:
Buy a house. A two bedroom house costs $2,000. · Buy a quarter of a house for $500. Buy a share of a house for 200.
Buy a stove for $150. Proper food preparation helps keep peo-ple healthy!
Buy medicine for 10 people for $100.
Buy a water filter for $50. Buy crafts for 10 kids for $20 . We will run VBS during health clin-ic hours!
We are so grateful for the generosity of this church. Above and beyond your financial contributions, please pray for this trip and for
Mission Trip!
I
t’s summer time andthere’s no better time to enjoy our church’s Lake Lodge! We prayed, the Lord answered and now Lake Nasworthy is full of water. Join us Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m. for burgers and more on the lake shore! The church will provide burgers, hotdogs, the appropriate condiments and beverages. You are asked to bring chips, salad or dessert! This event is for our entire church family. If you have a boat you’d like to make available for those attending, please call Pastor Joel at the church office. And,
June Usher List
June 1 9:00 a.m.
Steve Stephens,
Susan Woods, Susan & Paul Little,
Gabriela Spraggins
11:00 a.m.
Doran Reynolds,
Cybee & Bob Hamblen, Bette & Don Allison,
Robert Meyer
June 8 9:00 a.m.
Evalie & Neal Grigg,
Renee & Rod Winn, Suzanne & Richard Dorris
11:00 am.
Susan & Bub Williams,
Mary Louise Strain, Allyn Byars, Ronny Hooker,
Randy Gardner
June 15 9:00 a.m.
Susan & Paul Little,
Bill Morehead, Julie Quam
11:00 a.m.
Bette & Don Allison,
Allyn Byars, Ronny Hooker, Randy Gardner
June 22 9:00 a.m.
Fran & Tom Early,
Suzanne & Richard Dorris
11:00 a.m.
Steve Boster, Doran Reynolds, Tom Granaghan, Alicia & Sterling Cole
June 29
One Combined Service At 11:00 a.m.
Please call to volunteer
