Connecting us with one another, our community, and the world...
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“As long as I am breathing,
I am just beginning.”
Criss Jami
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In worship this week:
January 13
Pastor: Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith
Guest Preacher: Rev. Dr. Michael Elmore
Pianist: Bingyu Peng
Liturgist: Todd Steward
Ushers: John and Louise Dye
Hospitality: Mary Martin
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The flowers this Sunday are presented
in loving memory of
Jim Martin.
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The Christian Year
From www.presbyterianmission.org
The festivals and seasons of the Christian year offer a way to order the annual life of the church according to the life of Christ and the events of salvation history. The Revised Common Lectionary provides a set of Scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments that is both organized around the Christian year and attentive to the broad themes and narratives of the biblical story.
The Directory for Worship elaborates: As God created and appointed days, God created a rhythm of time and appointed seasons for worship. In the Old Testament, people observed seasons of fasting and feasting as occasions for festival worship of God. Jesus kept these festivals. For the Church in the New Testament, the festivals were transformed in meaning and purpose by Jesus’ life and teaching, his death and resurrection, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return give meaning to the seasons which order the annual rhythm of worship and guide the selection of lessons to be read and proclaimed in the life of the Church. (W-1.3013)
Through two millennia of Christian worship, a certain cycle of festivals and seasons has emerged and is now recognized and observed throughout the ecumenical church. Some of these events (Pentecost, Holy Week and Epiphany, e.g.) can be traced to the earliest centuries of Christian practice; others (Trinity Sunday and Christ the King, e.g.) developed later in the history of the church.
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This week in PCUSA Mission:
Navy Chief Says Chaplains Meet
Vital Spiritual Needs
While the religious backgrounds of U.S. military personnel have changed greatly over the past three decades, their spiritual care continues to be a pressing need, the U.S. Navy’s chief of chaplains says. Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben, a Presbyterian minister of Word and Sacrament, addressed commissioners to the 223rd General Assembly earlier this year, on the day she celebrated her 35th anniversary as a Navy chaplain.
When she began her career, she said, there was a common religious language that included such words as “forgiveness,” “grace,” “faith” and “reconciliation,” and these words were understood. Today, she said, military chaplains not only serve people from diverse religious traditions but also have many people in their charge who have no religious background. “Many men and women we deal with have never darkened the door of a church, a mosque or a synagogue,” she said.
Nevertheless, Kibben said, chaplains are called to “care for each soul in our command and our service.” She said chaplains have a unique opportunity to provide a listening ear to military personnel in need. “We have access to every space, every place and every office where people serve, and can come alongside them.”
Kibben told commissioners that when young people leave their congregations to serve in the military, they can count on chaplains to help with their spiritual needs. She encouraged those present to suggest military chaplaincy as a vocational option for people who believe they are called to ministry.
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Immediate Church Family*:
Betty Bagent; Inez Geoghegan; Betty Lancaster; the family of Jim Martin; Mary Perry; Deanna Lewis Sklar; Brad Smith.
Extended Church Family*:
Brandon Behrmann (Carol’s nephew); Austin Casey (Jack and Betty Bagent’s grandson); Steve Dull (husband of Lynn Nichols Dull);
Dan Durway (former Pastor of Highland); Eva Fuller (Inez Geoghegan’s niece); Julius Fuller (Inez
Geoghegan’s brother); Randy Geoghegan (Inez’s son); Carol Harrison (Rob Stewart’s Mother); Claudia Hill (Connie Leonard’s sister); Phillip Lanier (friend of Rosemary John); the Miller twins (friends of Brad Smith); Aleta Pickholtz; Earl Rabe (friend of Rick Gurtner);
Family of Joy Walker (niece of the Pfeifers);
Larry Wilcoxson (friend of the Leonards); Barbara Zeagler (friend of the Dyes.)
*
New names added to the prayer list this week are in italics.
Birthdays
January 13 - 19:
Louise Dye, Betty Lancaster, and Bingyu Peng (15)
Anniversaries
January
- none
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Monday, January 14:
12:00 p.m. AA
Tuesday, January 15:
10:30 Tuesday Morning Study
12:00 p.m. AA
7:30 p.m. AA
Wednesday, January 16:
12:00 p.m. AA
7:00 p.m. Ladies’ AA
Thursday, January 17:
12:00 p.m. AA
8:00 p.m. Men’s AA
Friday, January 18:
12:00 p.m. AA
Saturday, January 19:
Yard Crew – John Dye & Mike Groves
Sunday, January 20:
9:30 a.m. Worship
11:00 a.m. Third Sunday Lunch
7:00 p.m. AA
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Upcoming Opportunities at HPC
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- The Rev. Michael Elmore will serve as Pulpit Supply today, Jan. 13. His Sermon title is “God With US” from Isaiah 7:10 – 14.
- The Tuesday Morning Study Class continues its DVD study, Prayer, by Phillip Yancey on Tuesday, January 15, 10:30 a.m., in the Adult Sunday School classroom. Come learn about Prayer, the intersection where we meet God. For more information contact Louise Dye or Connie Buck.
- January Third Sunday Lunch, Jan. 20, will be Soup and Salad. The sign-up sheet for contributions is available on the bulletin board in the fellowship area.
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Highland Presbyterian Church
is a vibrant tree in God's grace-filled orchard. Deeply rooted in God's life-giving presence here on earth, this tree extends its branches to support one another in faith and reach into the world around it to produce fruit. Whether you are seeking God's presence through questions or service, discussion or fellowship, there is a home for you at Highland.
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Connecting with Our Pastor
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Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith
There are no office hours for Rev. Janie this week.
cell (call or text): 314.283.7596
office: 766-5775 (please leave a message)
blog: http://evenbefore.blog
blog: http://highlandtree.blog
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Highland Presbyterian Church (USA)
10024 Highland Road • Baton Rouge, LA 70810 • 225.766.5775 • www.highlandpresbyterian.org
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