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.

March 6, 2022

Sermon: Defeating the Devil

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

New Testament Reading: Luke 4:1-13

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

Early Worship Assistant: Philip Blackburn

11am Worship Assistant: Dianne Herrick

March 13, 2022

Sermon: What We Simply Must Do

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

New Testament Reading: Luke 13:31-35

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

11am Worship Assistant: Tom Goodale

March 20, 2022

Sermon: Cultivating Figs

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

New Testament Reading: Luke 13:1-9

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

11am Worship Assistant: Tom Goodale

March 27, 2022

Sermon: Recklessly Wasteful

Old Testament Reading: Joshua 5:9-12

New Testament Reading: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Preacher: Rev. Tom Groome

11am Worship Assistant: Laura deMaria

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

The first Sunday of the month at 5:00pm, LexPres will offer its monthly service of Prayer for Wholeness and Healing in the sanctuary.

The LPC flower calendar has openings for March 6th, 20th, and 27th. If you are interested in providing flowers for worship, please contact Skip Hess.

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.

LPC will once again offer grants for educational assistance in Spring 2022. Instructions for submitting an application and the grant application form can be found under the "Learn" tab on our website, or click HERE.

Look for more announcements in the March and April newsletters.

All applications for the Educational Grants are due in the church office no later than May 1, 2022.

Call to Worship: Opened the meeting with a Responsive Call to Worship and a unison Prayer of Adoration. Rev. Groome read a scripture and a reflection.

Congregational and Sessional Data: No baptisms, births, deaths, weddings, new members, or transfers out.  Current Membership-347. Approved four weddings: Peyton Bryant on April 9; Elena West on June 11; Catherine Murtha on July 23, and Maddie Schaffer on August 6. (All were involved with LPC during their time at W&L.) 

Worship Numbers: 

·       1/2/22-102 (zoom-37; in-person11:00-50; YouTube live-15)

·       1/9/22-115 (zoom-39; in-person 11:00-51; in-person 8:45-13; YT live-12)

·       1/16/22-100 (zoom-57; in-person 11:00-18; in-person 8:45-10; YT live-15)

·       1/23/22-153 (zoom-55; in-person 11:00-66; in-person 8:45-19; YT live-13)

·       1/30/22-124 (zoom-35; in-person 11:00-66; in-person 8:45-13; YT live-13)

PNC Update: The committee has 4 zoom interviews this week. With additional resumes coming in, a few more interviews may be added to that schedule.

The next Presbytery meeting is Saturday, February 26, 2022. Poppy Orendorf will be our delegate.

Administrative Committee: The Committee recommended, and the session approved a contract with Sandra Hayslette as the part time Director of Christian Education beginning after her retirement from public school teaching on June 15. Until then it was approved to pay her an hourly fee for the four hours per week she offered to work until after June 15.

Christian Education Committee: 

Children’s Subcommittee: Hope to have in-person classes beginning March 6. Worship Enrichment continues in Brady Chapel during the sermon. Children return to the sanctuary just before the offering. Offering teacher orientation sessions to new teachers. Resource room will officially open on March 6. Winter fellowship events are planned.

Youth Subcommittee: 3^rd-5^th graders will be invited to come to Youth Group two Sundays a month to eat with the Youth Group and then leave. Youth Group will also have their own time after that. The groups meet every second and fourth Sunday.

Campus Ministry Subcommittee: The Thursday evening Bible Study group began again January 20.   Our own LPC college students and their families will be receiving information on the 2022 Educational Grants in early February.

Adult Ministry Subcommittee: Actively recruiting new members to the Adult Subcommittee. Neely Young will continue as Chair of this subcommittee as well as Chair of the Christian Education Committee.

Congregational Life:  Restocked the freezer with meals to be distributed. No Thantastic Thursday meals until further notice. The Communications and Congregational Life responsibilities merged. Began the new “LPC Cookie Car” project. Baking, packaging, and distributing cookie bags to community members who are helping to keep our community functioning during these unusual times. Local hospital workers will be the first group to receive a delivery.

Outreach: Allocated $500 to the Meals for Lexington Fund (formerly Meals on Wheels). Continue to participate with Grace Episcopal on efforts to establish a financial counseling service for people at financial risk.

Property: Contracted with Virginia Infrastructure to work on the moisture problems in the courtyard outside of the Sunday School rooms. Approved a contract of $17,800 and they will begin work soon.

Worship: Approved the committee’s recommendation to discontinue offering zoom worship beginning March 6. Live YouTube will be offered as well as in-person. 8:45 worship is offered only in-person.

LPC Session Minutes-Called Meeting on February 6, 2022

To Approve New Members-Synopsis

The session met at 10:40 a.m. in the library to approve the letter of transfer from First Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas, for:

Harrell and Sally Feldt

They responded to the constitutional questions affirmatively. It was moved, seconded, and approved unanimously to bring them into our membership. Each attendee introduced themselves to the Feldts and they were introduced to the congregation at the 11:00 a.m. service.

Mary Atthowe, Clerk of Session

Rafiki has great expectations for God's Word at work in Africa in 2022. They include:

• 10 model classical Christian schools in Africa impacting 3100 students daily and growing.
• 100 Christian schools in Africa using the Rafiki curriculum and Rafiki Bible Study. Thousands of children and their teachers receiving Bibles in those schools. See what one school recently wrote:

"My heart is full of gratitude for the partnership and support

we have been receiving from the Rafiki community.

We are seeing how delighted are our students in learning

about God and His creatures. The strong biblical themes of the

curriculum are ensuring that our student's minds and

hearts are set always to God's work.

My team and I have never been more excited to be

classical Christian educators."

• Hundreds of Rafiki orphans (godly contributors) launching into college and the community.
• Accreditation of all seven RICE Programs providing training for thousands of teachers in the next decade.
• 4000 churches in Ghana using Rafiki's Sunday School materials on Romans impacting 1 million people.
• 10,000 sets of Sunday school materials on Matthew and Acts to be distributed to our church partners in 10 countries.

"How great are your works, O Lord." Psalm 92:5

Prayer Requests:

1. For Jane Hoadley in Tanzania teaching in the RICE program.
2. Continual safety and protection for the Ethiopian Village and conditions that will promote peace, stability, and accountability in the country.
3. For qualified, God-fearing teachers.

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.

The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People - all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope.

There will be a link to donate to OGHS on the church website homepage in the next few days. You can also drop a check off at the Church office, or pay directly to PC(USA) here: GIVE HERE

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC: CELTIC PSALMS FOR LENT

Greetings, dear friends! Once again I delight to share with you some of the writings of the British priest, theologian, and poet, David Adam (1936-2020), who was for many years the vicar of Lindisfarn - known as the Holy Isle - off the northeast coast of England, one of the great ‘holy’ places of Christian pilgrimage. Adam’s creative output includes sermons, commentaries, reflections, but what drew me to him are his poetic psalms and prayers. My most cherished ‘go-to’ devotional source is his collection, Music of the Heart: New Psalms in the Celtic Tradition (London, SPCK, 2004 – sadly out of print). The psalms in this collection are presented in six sections: Singing; Seeking; Sorrowing; Straying; Saved; Seasonal. Running the gamut of the Biblical psalms, from praise and thanksgiving to lament to questioning search, Adam’s prayer-psalms address most of the states of the human spirit. From the ‘Seasonal’ section of the collection I share with you two psalms resonant of the thoughts and hopes of Lent, this time when we reach within ourselves to find our way to a deeper relationship with our Lord. May these words inspire you as they do me. WMcC

BROKEN FOR US

Lord, broken on the cross,

You were shattered for us.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

We come with all broken people,

Whose lives are shattered.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

We come with those suffering from

Broken relationships, broken promises,

Broken hopes, broken dreams, broken hearts.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

We come with those suffering from

Broken bodies, those who have suddenly taken ill,

The injured in accidents, the victims of violence,

With all who are in hospital or needing care at home.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

We come with all those suffering from

Broken minds, the deeply disturbed,

The distressed, the depressed, the suicidal.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

We come to you, shattered on the cross,

Broken for our healing.

You are the risen Lord, the giver of life,

You renew us and offer us life eternal.

We come to you:

For you alone can make us whole.

COMING TO THE CROSS

The closer we come to each other,

The closer we come to God,

The closer we come to the cross.

The closer we come to love,

The closer we come to God,

The closer we come to the cross.

The closer we come to knowing,

The closer we come to the cross.

The closer we come to loving,

The closer we come to the cross.

The closer we come to the heart of God,

The closer we come to the cross.

The closer we come to the resurrection,

The closer we come to the cross,

And the closer we come to eternal life.



David Adam: Music of the Heart: New Psalms in the Celtic Tradition

London: SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge), 2004

© 2004, David Adam

Reprinted with permission – OneLicense net A-717842

I am doing something a little different this month. I usually share some of my recipes with you each month, but this month I am going to share two recipes from Liz Shupe. How did we get to this point? The Congregational Life Committee has been baking cookies each Thursday for our Cookie Car. We delivered cookies to the local hospital and medical center on Valentine’s Day to show out appreciation for what they do for us each day. We will continue to deliver cookies to our first responders, firefighters, and police officers. We looked for some really good recipes that could be made in bulk. Liz provided these two recipes and she has graciously given me permission to share them with you. I know you will enjoy making and eating them! Skip Hess

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the ungreased baking sheet. Using a fork dipped in sugar, make cross marks on the top of the cookies. Bake at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes. Do not over bake. These cookies are best when they’re still soft and just barely brown on the bottoms.

Celebration Cookies

Ingredients:

8 Sheets of Graham Crackers

8 oz. SALTED Butter (2 sticks)

1 Cup Brown Sugar firmly packed

1 Cup Chopped Pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking sheet with parchment paper. Break the sheets of graham crackers on the perforated lines into smaller 1 x 3 inch rectangles and lay them out on the prepared baking sheet as close together as possible, covering the entire sheet.

Mix the butter and sugar in a sauce pan, over medium heat. Once the butter and sugar mixture comes to a bubble, add the chopped pecans and stir together.

Pour the mixture evenly over all of the crackers. Bake for 10 minutes and then cool, about 30 minutes. Break or cut into pieces to serve. These will disappear quickly!

LPC has one employment opportunity. If you know someone who we should consider please email Tom at tgroome@lexpres.org or call the church office.

Job Title: Communications Assistant

•  Proficient user of REALM; church website; Facebook; other social media as needed; all Microsoft Outlook products to include MS Publisher; email

• ASSIST WITH REALM CONGREGATION MAINTENANCE
• Assist congregation members to login, receive notifications, and update profile information on REALM
• Send out correspondence and notifications of meetings, registration events, etc.
• Provide assistance with online giving options for various financial campaigns and special offerings
• Support Church-wide communications –
• Responsible for mass communication to church congregation
• Provide Sunday sermon on website, Facebook, etc.
• Post event registration via various electronic and paper means
• Provide electronic reminders to all members/affiliates for
• changes in worship time/location,
• community volunteer opportunities such as Community Table, summer backpack program, Faith Build, etc.
• events taking place at the church
• events offsite in which the church endorses
• all others
• Provide online payroll forms and background check assistance for all new hires
• Prepare electronic bulletins – worship, weddings, funerals, etc.
• Church newsletter
• create and manage electronic distribution of weekly and monthly
• Church Website:
• Perform all updates, as necessary, required and directed, to church information on website
• Maintain updated calendar on website

• Meet with communications committee on a monthly basis
•  Assist the office assistant by creating electronic flyers, pew cards, signup sheets
•  When possible, provide basic assistance to staff with all church computer applications
• Provide electronic communications assistance to church staff and committee members for bulk campaigns, scholarship applications, student invitations
• Provide development of various electronic templates for church membership, baptism, hymnal dedication, and other certificate work
• When necessary, work with the administrative assistant to provide setup assistance for technical equipment for presentations for Sunday school and any other church programming

The Rockbridge Area Relief Association (RARA) is looking for a representative from Lexington Presbyterian Church to work with the Helpline Committee. The Helpline uses paid staff and volunteers to answer calls for help with rent, housing, and utility bills. The committee helps to set policies for how RARA responds to these needs using the resources available. If you or interested, or for more information, please contact Margie Page, (540) 463-9606.

Lexington Presbyterian Church

120 South Main Street

Lexington, VA 24450

Phone: 540-463-3873



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