Wednesday, July 12, 2023

FROM THE PASTOR

Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar

Our family is home after two weeks in the mountains of western North Carolina. I will not share the average temperature while we were there. I suspect those of you who were in Mobile while we were away don't much want to hear about my nightly use of sweatshirts while sitting on the porch and watching the lightning bugs play. Our first week there, I participated in the Worship and Music Conference at Montreat Conference Center. For a pastor, there is no gift quite like a beautiful worship service that you do not have to plan. There were over 750 participants, many of them musicians who gathered each day for worship. Singing together, praying together, and listening to scripture together was indeed a gift. It was, as always, an excellent reminder of the breadth of the community of faith of which we are a part. I know the summer time brings more empty pews in our own beloved sanctuary, but my time away was a reminder that worship happens outside our stained glass windows. Of course, my days gathered with hundreds of others was worship. But also, my time on the porch watching the lightning bugs was worship. Our family time was worship. Time hiking and enjoying the beauty of God's creation was worship.

I wonder how you have worshiped this summer? Certainly, I hope to see each of you in the sanctuary any Sunday you can, but I also hope this summer has brought other moments of worship and praise and wonder for you and for your families. God meets us where we are, so the opportunities for worship are endless.

Grace and Peace,

Rebekah

GSPC News

PW Summer Conference: Presbyterian Women are invited to the Alabama/Mississippi Women's Conference, which will be held July 13-15 at Spring Hill Presbyterian Church. The keynote speaker is Dr. Olive Mahabir, writer of the Horizon's Bible Study for next year. The registration fee for all three days is $160, which includes lunch and supper on Thursday and Friday, and a "to-go" box lunch on Saturday. If you do not wish to attend all three days, you may sign up on a per-day basis at $55 per day (lunch only) or $75 per day (lunch and supper). There is an optional Glass Blowing Field Trip at South Alabama on Thursday, July 13, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The additional fee for this trip is $15. To register for the conference, email Martha Knichel, or stop by Spring Hill Presbyterian to fill out a form. If you have questions, call the SHP church office at 251-342-1550.

Supper Clubs Are Back: Join us as we begin the 2023-24 Supper Club season! Supper Clubs give us the opportunity to have fun, eat delicious food and get to know new people. Beginning in September, Supper Club groups will meet once a month and continue meeting through May 2024. (Clubs will not meet during the summer.) Participants will be placed at random with a group of 6-8 people; husbands and wives will be together. If someone cannot attend one month, there will be a list of substitutes to call as replacements.

Each group will decide the date to meet and whether its dinner will be at a home or at a restaurant each month. Supper Club groups may choose their own format and menus for dinner (cookouts, Italian, seafood, etc.).

In January, the names will be shuffled and people will be assigned new groups through April. In December and in May, all the Supper Clubs will meet together for lunch after church. Sign up for a Supper Club by emailing Blanche Parsons, or by calling Blanche at 251-348-7037 or Linda Reynolds at 251-625-0305. The deadline is July 31. 

The next 20s/30s Women's Bible Study will be Tuesday, July 25, at 6 p.m. in the Guesnard House.

Upcoming Youth Service Days:

• Saturday, July 22: Mobile Baykeeper invites students of all ages and their families to the Summer Blitz cleanup day at Tricentennial Park from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Please RSVP to Sally Ericson if you plan to attend.
• Wednesday, August 2, with Meals on Wheels. Talk to Alexandra Hutson for times and details.

Baytreat is available for rentals this summer. Several of the rooms now have queen-size beds! For information, email Shelley Springer or call her at 251-605-0695.

Sanctuary Flowers: If you would like to place flowers in the Sanctuary in memory of or in honor of a loved one, please contact Ann Adams at Adams-marion@att.net or 251-591-8586.

Balcony closed for the summer: All worshipers are asked to find a seat in the main level of the sanctuary. We will reopen the balcony for Rally Day on September 10.

This Sunday in Worship



On Sunday, July 16, the Rev. Alexandra Hutson continues the "Sailboat Church" sermon series with “Sailboat Church: Mission,” with corresponding scripture of Psalm 103: 1-5, 15-22, and Matthew 9:35-38, and mezzo soprano Meredith Wilson will sing the Spiritual “Deep River.” Hymn selections will include those recently requested from the congregation. Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar will be representing the Presbytery of South Alabama at Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Dothan, AL, for the Rev. Dr. Joseph Johnson's final Sunday before retirement after 32 years of service in that congregation.

Sunday Assistants on Sunday, July 16:

Lisa Goodloe

Toby Lorge

Bulletin for Sunday, July 16:

Sunday, July 23

Next Sunday, July 23, while the Sanctuary Choir is on summer break, our guest musician will be soprano Gabrielle Corlette, who will sing G.F. Handel’s “O Had I Jubal’s Lyre” from the sacred oratorio “Joshua,” based on the biblical story, and an exuberant setting of Psalm 27.

Talking Heads

This Sunday School class has recessed for the summer and will resume in the fall.

Sunday Book Study

9:30 a.m. in the Church Library. The group is studying the Interpretation Bible Series "Exodus."

Sunday School for Children and Youth

Sunday School for Children and Youth has recessed for the summer and will resume in September on Rally Day.

Spring Hill Women Bible Study

Tuesdays at 8 a.m. at the home of Ann Adams. The group is studying "Look Ahead" by George Sinclair. 

Tuesdays at Ten Bible Study

The Tuesdays at Ten Bible Study meets at 10 a.m. at the church. The group is studying the Book of Proverbs and the sermon text for the following week. For details, contact Mary Elizabeth Perry.

Men's Bible Study

The Wednesday night Men’s Bible Study has recessed for the summer and will resume in the fall. Contact: Bo Perry.

Parking lot



We suggest that all of our members park in the GSPC lot, double parking if necessary. If you wish to park in the lot next to GSPC's, you will need to pay $5 for 3 hours of parking.

The State of Alabama has begun issuing new tag plates with current year tag renewals. Please make sure that you update your new tag number by emailing it to the church office.

Premium Parking is handling our parking lot revenue. The company has added a service kiosk next to the Guesnard House patio entrance.

Please remember to update us if you have a new tag and or vehicle.

Please remember:

1. GSPC members park for free in the lot at all times.
2. If you have not registered, you may do so by emailing your license plate number to Heather Hamilton in the church office.
3. If you receive a ticket, do not pay it. Please bring the ticket or send a picture of it to Heather or Barbara in the church office and they will take care of it.