We are currently holding two worship services.

Our Early Worship service at 8:45AM is offered in-person only in Dunlap.

Our 11AM Traditional Worship service is offered in-person and

virtually on Zoom and YouTube.

All in-person worship attendees are required to wear masks.

October 3, 2021

Sermon: Care For One Another, pt. III

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 26

New Testament Reading: Galatians 6:1-10

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Worship Assistant: Mary Dugan

Early Worship Assistant: Mary Beth Baker

October 10, 2021

Sermon: Care For One Another, pt. IV

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 124

New Testament Reading: Mark 9:38-50

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Worship Assistant: Skip Hess

Early Worship Assistant: TBA

October 17, 2021

Sermon: Care for One Another, pt. V

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 107:1-9, 43

New Testament Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Worship Assistant: Rev. Kelly-Ann Rayle

Early Worship Assistant: Philip Blackburn

October 24, 2021

Sermon: Care for One Another, pt. VI

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 17:1-17

New Testament Reading: Philippians 2:1-13

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Worship Assistant: Rev. Kelly-Ann Rayle

Early Worship Assistant: Mary Beth Baker

October 31, 2021

Sermon: Care for One Another, pt. VII

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 127

New Testament Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Worship Assistant: Tom Goodale

Early Worship Assistant: Bruce King

Please check our weekly newsletter for more information on worship services.

Christian Education programs at Lex Pres seeks to provide a broad range of opportunities for spiritual growth through which we can deepen our faith, live more fully into the new life we have in Christ, and live more faithfully in our relationships and vocations.

*All classes will meet via Zoom until further notice.

Leah Circle will to meet this month on October 13 at 2pm in Brady Chapel. Masks required.

At the September 19th congregational meeting we heard a report from the LexPres Nominating Committee as they presented a slate of nominees to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee. A nomination was made from the floor and a ballot was presented for folks on zoom and in-person to vote for 9 names. The 9 people who were elected are:

Kara Braddick, Ainsley Carter, Mary Dugan, Helen Fure, Margie Page, Mac Baker, Bob James, John Morman, Mike Strickler. 

Please keep these folks in your prayers as they seek to do God's will in their search for the next installed pastor. 

LPC Session Minutes---August 7, 2021 (Synopsis)

Call to Worship: Opened the meeting with a Responsive Call to Worship and a unison Prayer of Adoration. Rev. Kelly-Ann Rayle read a scripture and shared reflections after a time of silence.

Congregational and Sessional Data: Death in Congregation: Kathy Mabe (8/20/21). Marriage: Megan Keeley Mohan and Sean Mohan on August 21, 2021. Current Membership: 369. Communications: 9 letters of thanks from organizations for our donations and an email from Patrick Pettit from the Committee on Pastoral Transitions giving approval for Rev. Tom Groome’s contract through 9/14/2022.

Administrative Committee: Annual staff appraisals completed. 2022 Budget requests due not later than 9/15/21. Planned Finance discussion at Thantastic Thursday dinner on 9/9/21 (may need to be reevaluated due to Covid protocols). Continue planning of stewardship campaign called “Generosity” with a theme of “Doors Open Wide”. Updated financial information was shared. The audit committee (Bob Pickral and Jane Ellington) completed their work of evaluating the financial bookkeeping system and gave feedback. Discussed job descriptions for Director of Christian Education and Parish Associate. 

Christian Education Committee:

Children’s Subcommittee: Since children are unvaccinated, the in-person ability to meet for Sunday School will need to be delayed. They will operate through zoom. Nursery Care and Children’s Enrichment will not begin until a later date.

Youth Ministry Subcommittee: All Youth Group Programs have been cancelled for September. Youth Sunday School will convene on zoom beginning September 19.

Campus Ministry Subcommittee: The committee was at VMI Matriculation and welcomed RATS on Rat Sunday. Contacted Rat’s parents as well as Rats. The committee welcomed W&L freshmen who went to “Get Downtown” and gave them church info.

Communications Committee: Committee chairs are reviewing the LPC website for their committee’s posting and giving Maggie any changes they would like. They are also considering jobs their committee needs to fill in the coming year.

Nominating Committee: The Pastor Nominating Committee candidates have been chosen:  Mac Baker, Kara Braddick, Ainsley Carter (youth), Mary Dugan, Helen Fure, Bob James, John Morman, Margie Page and Mike Strickler. A congregational meeting has been called for September 19 after 11:00 worship to approve the PNC candidates.

Outreach Committee: The committee continues to discuss a financial counseling service, allocations to local benevolences, their 2022 budget, the And (&) Campaign, Youth Outreach projects, pen pals in the TAPS Second Chance opportunity, LAMPS program, and other needs. They arranged to have Kirk Ogden, missionary, to speak at Thantastic Thursday on Nov. 4 and to preach at both services on Nov. 7.

Property Committee: Replaced a toilet, worked on carpeting in 3 classrooms, had the drain tested in the courtyard and found that it is functioning, and did some planning on upcoming projects and their 2022 budget.

Worship Committee: Working on expanding the usher ministry for 11:00 a.m. worship service.

Major Report: The administrative committee subcommittees will be reporting in the Major Report in the coming months. Next month is the Financial Subcommittee.

The meeting was adjourned with prayer at 7:50 p.m.

Mary Atthowe, Clerk of Session

Life of the Church September 19, 2021

A dozen of us gathered at Kevin Burke’s house on July 28 to discuss new ways to 1) engage our congregation in activities of the church, 2) encourage volunteering for tasks that need people in the church, 3) welcome giving generosity to the church and 4) educate members and prospective members about current events in our church.

To pursue one of those goals, the Communications committee has been conducting the Spiritual Gifts Assessment.  At least in part because we had to cancel the scheduled Spiritual Gifts Assessment brunch last month, I have been asked to include some news on that front in today’s remarks.

The Assessment and the August worship services surrounding this topic have had some good results. Three congregation members have stepped up to help with the Campus Ministry Bible Study, and two members have agreed to teach Children's Sunday School. This support is great. Yet, we still need folks to serve with their time and talent in other areas. Please go back to your assessment of your gifts related to the life and ministry of our church. Make this a continuing evaluation as each Committee reports on its activities in a Life of the Church report over the next several weeks.

Another of the subjects that inevitably surfaces when considering our future involves finances. We had hoped to have a Thantastic Thursday presentation on money for all of the congregation. My remarks this morning will have to suffice until we can have such gatherings again.

The Session regularly confronts a number of subjects that our discussions should cover. With respect to assets held by the church: 

1) What do we have? 2) Where did it come from? 3) How is it restricted? 4) How is it invested? 5) How do we determine the amount of investment income that is available to be spent? 6) What changes might we make?

Then, in relation to each year’s operating plan:

7) How much do we spend? 8) What are the most significant categories? 9) What are the demographics of our annual giving? 10) How much do we need?

At some point it will be safe to have that gathered discussion with the congregation and we will have it. For now, I will call attention to a few quick highlights.

In my judgement this is a good news story. There are material and significant needs for sure. Thanks to the amazing generosity of saints who have gone before us we have available resources to meet some, but not anywhere near all of those needs. Choices must be made about how to deploy our current giving and also how to spend investment earnings. Not everything is going to get done that you might wish.

The season for planning our financial operations in 2022 is upon us. We need your generosity. Pledge cards for 2022 will be coming to your door shortly. We appeal that you support our campaign entitled “DOORS OPEN WIDE”, based on Revelations 3:8. 

There are some things you need to know. Our operating budget for 2021 is $602,000. Requests from Session committees for the coming year call for a challenge budget of $633,000, an increase of 5%. Pledge cards received for 2021 totaled only $394,000. We need to significantly raise our current giving.

Our operating plan is a work in progress and I encourage all of you to ask questions and to give your views. We can start today.  I will be available after the service to receive your questions. You may expect our activities in 2022 to be aggressive and consequently we need aggressive support for those activities.

Over the next few weeks, you will hear from many folks who are responsible for the various functions of our church. They will tell you what is being done to reflect God’s will at this time and in this place. When you hear it, I ask that you respond to God’s grace with generosity of your own. Make your pledge and bring a friend to church.

Dave Hawkins

The Campus Ministry Subcommittee continues its efforts to reach out to VMI Rats and cadets at Matriculation, Rat Sunday, and our church services. Our thanks go out to the six members and families who have volunteered to act as Host Families for 11 Rats. Their efforts for these young men and women are greatly appreciated! 

Thanks go out as well to Hannah Kearns '22 and Lilly Gillespie '22 for their enthusiastic participation at W&L's "Get Downtown" freshmen orientation and the W&L Religious Life Fair. Hannah and Lilly will be launching a Bible Study at Lex Pres on the evening of Thursday, October 7. Look for more information as we come closer to that date! 

Please think of all of these initiatives and their supporters and offer your prayers for their success.  

We can use volunteers to help us maintain these contacts and programs. In addition, we are looking for Lex Pres members who can text or email encouraging messages to our own Lex Pres students away at college. Because of COVID in 2020-2021, they have not had the kind of college experiences that all of us have treasured. They would welcome reminders of the love and support that they will always find at LPC. Be a "babushka" and reach out! If you can help, call or text Liz Ramsey at 540.570.5361 or email at ecramsey1969@gmail.com.  She can provide cell numbers and email addresses.  

The Community Table is back to serving meals each Monday evening and Wednesday at lunch time. Due to COVID these are not sit down meals but rather drive thru meals. So Lexington Presbyterian Church will resume providing desserts on the 4th Mondays of each Monday. Monday Oct. 25 we will provide 100 individually wrapped Pumpkin Spice cookies. Anyone willing to bake, bag and deliver 15 individually wrapped cookies, please contact Mary Beth Baker mbbaker35@yahoo.com or 540-357-0608

Prayer Requests:

1. Start the RICE (Rafiki Institute of Christian Education) program in Rwanda, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
2. Expand outreach to churches, schools, and homeschoolers in Africa and the U.S. with the Rafiki Bible Study and curriculum.
3. See that all orphans and day students are fully funded.

All gifts to the Rafiki Foundation, Inc. are deductible for income tax purposes in the U.S. All funds given to the Rafiki Foundation are under the complete administrative control of the Foundation to ensure that the exempt purposes and programs of Rafiki are met. The Rafiki Foundation will do everything within these guidelines to ensure that donor preferences are honored. Rafiki did not provide any goods or services in return for your gift.

Thank you for your faithful support and partnership in spreading the gospel in Africa. Visit the Rafiki website for more information: www.rafikifoundation.org.

Mark your calendars for a very special Thantastic Thursday presentation at 5:45 on October 7th! On this date, Executive Director Bobbie Wagner and Child Care Director Jordan Givens of the Rockbridge Area YMCA will make a joint presentation in Dunlap Auditorium (also available on Zoom). Although the presentation will address the many facets of the Y’s contributions to our community, the primary focus of the program will be a slideshow discussion of the Y’s efforts to develop and expand area child care programs, especially during the COVID pandemic, during which the Y launched a new preschool initiative and created Enrichment Centers to provide much needed care and educational support to respond to challenges presented when area schools went virtual last fall. The Y’s creative and innovative efforts in this area are well known to Lexington Presbyterian Church, as LexPres coordinated with the Y to provide recreational space for the Lexington Enrichment Center’s activities.  Bobbie’s passion for community development, experiential education, and healthy living will be no surprise for those of you who have known and worked with Bobbie Wagner during her 5+ years at the Rockbridge Area YMCA. Jordan, originally from Clifton Forge, has worked for the YMCA in Virginia for twelve years and began her position with the Rockbridge Y last May, so we will welcome this opportunity to get to know her.

Although the presentation will be in person and we hope to have a good turnout, current church rules require masks and do not allow our regular Thantastic Thursday buffet dinners. However, Skip and his wonderful team have come to the rescue with Italian box dinners, which registrants for the Thantastic Thursday event will be able to pick up and take home with them to eat while they join in the presentation via Zoom, or if they prefer to take it home to eat following the presentation in person. Please join us to give Bobbie and Jordan a warm and enthusiastic welcome on the 7th, and please be sure to register so we know how many boxed meals to prepare! The meal will be $8/person or $20/family. Register HERE.

We will be hosting another Thantastic Thursday dinner on October 14th. More information to come!

From the Director of Music

Greetings, dear friends, as we leave summer behind and resume – in some fashion –our yearly routine. Our choirs are reclaiming there work, adjusting to the situation and wisdom of the moment. As you know, the Adult Choir returned to singing at 11:00 worship some weeks ago. We have created a ‘choir’ component of the children’s Sunday School time, in which we continue, even in the cacophony of Zoom, our learning and singing of wonderful songs of our faith. The Lam Handbell Choir has plans to gather (magnificently spaced out in one of our larger rooms) on October 10. There is energy and comfort in claiming our routine, in whatever adapted and adjusted format it may take.

At this beautiful and energizing time of the year,  I want to share with you one of my favorite hymns, “Awake, Awake to Love and Work,” which calls us to claim the joy and promise of stewardship in God’s kingdom.  The text is by the English/Irish clergyman and poet, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929). In several hymnals it is sung to the tune “Morning Song,” which first appeared in John Wyeth’ Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second (Harrisburg, PA; 1813).  A staple anthem in the repertoire of our choirs is a lovely arrangement of this hymn and tune by the English church musician and composer, Eric Thiman. The Adult Choir will sing this piece in worship on one of the Sundays in October. The hymn text follows.

AWAKE, AWAKE TO LOVE AND WORK

Awake, awake to love and work!

The lark is in the sky;

The fields are wet with diamond dew,

The worlds [are] awake to cry

Their blessings on the Lord of life,

As He goes meekly by.

Come, let thy voice be one with theirs,

Shout with their shout of praise;

See how the giant sun soars up,

Great lord of years and days!

So let the love of Jesus come

And set thy soul ablaze.

To give and give, and give again

What God hath given thee;

To spend thyself nor count the cost;

To serve right gloriously

The God who gave all worlds that are,

And all that are to be.

-Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, 1921

Skip's 'Simply Fabulous & Wonderful,

Soon-To-Be World-Famous'

Pimento Cheese Recipe

I was going to shorten the name of this recipe but Linda and Liz said to leave it alone. Thanks!

I have been asked how I come up with my recipes. I start off by researching 10 to 12 recipes finding the common ingredients in each. Next, I make a list of the optional ingredients like seasonings. Then it’s off to the kitchen! I start experimenting with different combinations and ingredients and seasonings. I make notes of measurements and then I sample and sample and sample to find what is missing.  For instance, do you put just a pinch of sugar in your pasta salad? Try it and you will taste the difference.

That’s all there is to it, except for finding what to do with all the left0vers.

I hope you enjoy this very simple pimento cheese recipe! 

Skip Hess, Director of Culinary Ministries

Ingredients:

1 - Cup FRESHLEY shredded extra sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 - Cup FRESHLEY shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 - 8 Ounce Philadelphia Cream Cheese, at room temperature & cut into

½ - Cup Duke’s Mayonnaise

¼ - Teaspoon Garlic Powder

¼ - Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (adjust to your taste)

¼ - Teaspoon Onion Powder

1 - 4 Ounce Jar Pimento Peppers, drained and diced 

¼ - Teaspoon Sugar

1 - Dash Texas Pete (use more if you want a little more “heat“)

Directions:

Grate cheeses with the fine blade of a food processor or box grater. Pre- grated cheese contains a powder to prevent sticking and does effect the taste! 

Put all ingredients into a large mixer bowl with a paddle. Mix until all is well combined. Fold in pimentos. 

Chill. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

For easier spreading, allow spread to warm slightly. This recipe can be doubled when the crew is coming over! 

Lexington Presbyterian Church

120 South Main Street

Lexington, VA 24450

Phone: 540-463-3873



Like us on Facebook and Subscribe to our YouTube channel!