Connecting us with one another, our community, and the world...
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“I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other
than real, unconditional love.”
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
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In worship this week:
April 28, 2019
Baccalaureate Service
Pastor: Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith
Pianist: Ana Paula Simões
Liturgist: Dave Adams
Usher: Amy Stewart
Hospitality: Congregational Care Committee
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Flowers this Sunday are given
in celebration of
Caitlin and Taylor Thompson's birthday.
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Focus on HPC:
May 5, Rev. Janie’s Last Sunday
For a month that falls in the middle of the calendar year, May seems to be a month that marks the end of many things. It is the ending of the school year for students and for graduating seniors the end of their high school career. For us at Highland, May 5 will be Rev. Janie’s last Sunday in the pulpit. But even though it marks the end, it also brings the promise of new beginnings – new grades in the fall, new educational opportunities or new career exploration.
Endings are never easy because they foretell an unknown future, but as Christians we are called to embrace the unknown future and the expressions of God’s love that await us there. At a Farewell Reception following Worship, we will share this hope, faith and love with the whole Smith family as they begin a new journey in their lives. We should also carry this hope and faith as a promise of good things in the future for Highland Presbyterian Church as we too look to a new pathway in our journey. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13.
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This week in PCUSA Mission:
Loving God’s Creation Nurtures Our Spirit
Count the stars. Open your eyes and see the well of water. Take a stone and use it as a pillow. During my first year as a new pastor, I decided I would write a curriculum for our children that would focus on common outdoor experiences that they and the main characters in the book of Genesis had. The first lesson focused on God’s covenant with Abraham in which he was told to look at the sky and count the stars to get an idea of the number of his descendants. The next centered on Hagar and what it was like to be hot and thirsty and to discover a water source to quench your longing. The third week focused on Jacob’s falling asleep outdoors with a stone as a pillow. Week four’s curriculum was never written because by then I had discovered that the children in my suburban congregation had never counted stars on a dark night, quenched their thirst in a cool stream or slept out under the sky.
Over the years since then, I’ve learned that it wasn’t just those children in my first church who didn’t have a regular connection with God’s creation. Many of us are oblivious to or alienated from the earth around us. And yet, Presbyterians come from a tradition that calls us to know, honor, rejoice in and care for God’s creation. Our Scripture — from Genesis to Revelation — invites us to be in relationship with trees that clap their hands, as Isaiah proclaims; water that quenches thirst, cleanses, teaches about justice and quiets our anxiety; and animals that serve as helpers, partners and teachers. Our belief is centered on the Word becoming flesh — physical matter.
John Calvin, one of the forefathers of the Reformed tradition, viewed nature as an important source of knowledge of God, awakening us to God’s presence in our daily lives and, thus, is worthy of our care. For decades now, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has called us to be involved in and care for creation. Most recently, the 223rd General Assembly (2018) asked us to “raise a prophetic voice regarding the urgency of healing the climate of the earth, our home and God’s gift for the future of all life, human and nonhuman.”
But it’s hard to care for what you don’t know or have a relationship with.
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Immediate Church Family*:
Betty Bagent; Inez Geoghegan; Mike Groves;
family of Betty Lancaster; Deanna Lewis Sklar; Brad Smith.
Extended Church Family*:
Barbara Behrmann (Carol's mother); 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);
Marilyn Lewis (the Lewis' daughter-in-law);
Aleta Pickholtz; Barbara Smith (Brad Smith's mother); Larry Wilcoxson(friend of the Leonards).
*
New names added to the prayer list this week are in italics.
Birthdays
April 28 - May 4:
none
Anniversaries
April
- none
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Monday, April 29:
12:00 p.m. AA
Tuesday, April 30:
10:30 a.m. Tuesday Morning Study
12:00 p.m. AA
7:30 p.m. AA
Wednesday, May 1:
12:00 p.m. AA
7:00 p.m. Ladies’ AA
Thursday, May 2:
12:00 p.m. AA
8:00 p.m. Men’s AA
Friday, May 3:
12:00 p.m. AA
Saturday, May 4:
Yard Crew – Mike Leonard & Brandon Lithgoe
Sunday, May 5:
9:30 a.m. Worship
10:30 a.m. Farewell Reception
7:00 p.m. AA
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Upcoming Opportunities at HPC
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- The Tuesday Morning Study Class will meet Tuesday, April 30, 10:30 a.m. They continue their study of the books of Luke and Acts. All are welcome.
- The Church of the Way invites the congregation of Highland Presbyterian to celebrate its 101 years of ministry and mission and the retirement of Rev. Ted Roeling on Saturday, May 4, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church, 9340 Florida Blvd.
- There will be a Farewell Reception following Worship May 5 for Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith, Brad, Lucien, and Arthur Smith. It is with mixed emotions that we gather to wish the Smith family a safe and bountiful transition to Rev. Janie’s call in Pennsylvania. Please plan to be present to wish them a fond farewell.
- 29th IFGBR Annual Sounds of CommUNITY Concert will be held on Sunday, May 5, 4:00 p.m., at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 544 Government St. Rev. Janie will be a soloist in this concert.
- Lagniappe Ladies will gather for dinner on Tuesday, May 7, at City Pork (7327 Jefferson Hwy.), 6:00 pm. Please sign-up if you plan to attend.
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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
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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