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THE NEWSLETTER Vol 53, No. 43 October 21, 2020
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Please share your pictures with us on Realm and Facebook.
Worship: Sundays at 11:00 AM In-person and on Facebook Live
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Educational Opportunities
Grades 3rd-5th In-person and via Zoom. Please contact Katie Hoover
Wednesday Night Discussion Group meet via Zoom. Please contact
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Reformation Sunday
There are dates in Ameri ca's history that mark a profound change in our nation's self-understanding. Dates like: July 4, 1776; July 4, 1863; December 7, 1941; September 11, 2001.
October 31, 1517 is such a date for the church. On that day Martin Luther nailed his "95 Theses" to the door of the Wittenberg church in Germany. It marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. All Protestant churches, in fact the whole of the church, owes a debt of gratitude to Luther and his protest against the practices of the church current at that time.
Luther based his protest on the ways the practices of the church deviated from scripture. The Reformation took root due to a technological change. In 1450 Johannes Gutenberg invented moveable type and in 1455 the Gutenberg Bible was printed. The mass production of Bibles fueled the reforming spirit of the time. No longer were congregants dependent upon the religious authorities to tell them what to believe, the believer with access to a Bible could "work out your own salvation." Luther's idea was returning to a closer reading of scripture
Luther also undertook the project of translating the Bible from Latin into German. Other Reformers followed suit making the Bible available in the common language of the people.
The Reformation also had political roots. Prior to the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church collected funds from every local congregation. These funds supported not only the local priest, but the building of great cathedrals, and supported the hierarchy of the church in Rome. Many rulers adopted the Protestant version of Christianity for financial reasons: The money that was going to Rome could now support the local church and the King.
The Presbyterian Church is indebted to the theology systematically written by John Calvin. Calvin was trained as a lawyer in France and adopted the spirit of Protestantism. He left France and was compelled to settle and work in Geneva. His master-work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion is still read as an essential text in Reformed theology.
John Knox played a key role in establishing and shaping the Church of Scotland. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh and played a part in the Reformation of the Church of England. When Mary Tudor reestablished England to Roman Catholicism, Knox went to Geneva to study and work with Calvin. He returned to Scotland and wrote The Scots Confession, one of the confessions adopted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The Presbyterian Church stands upon the reforming zeal of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox. The great themes of the Reformation: sola scriptura, sola gracia, sola fide (scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone) still guide the theology and worship of our church.
Parkway will witness to the important contribution of the Protestant Reformation in worship this Sunday.
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Stewardship Season: Making an Annual Pledge
There is a great sentence in 1 Kings 11, "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle..." as though springtime and wartime were one and the same. In the church we might rewrite the line to say, "In the fall of the year, when churches ask for annual pledges...." It is that time in the church year when the Session starts looking to our ministry and mission for 2021. More so than any year in memory, this is going to be a guessing game. No one knows when the church will return to "normal" activities or whether we will need to create a new normal. However, the church does need your financial support for the work that we undertake. The church borrows the word "stewardship" for this process of managing both your individual household assets and the assets given to the church. Webster's Dictionary provides this definition for "steward: one employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic concerns." A steward is a manager. Financial stewardship is financial management. Annually the church asks its members to share their personal resources to help fulfill the church's ministry and mission. These resources include time, talent, and treasure. Because 2020 has been such an unsettled time and 2021 may have us in the same unsettled state, Parkway's appeal to you is simple: Can you continue your 2020 pledge for 2021? Please watch your mail for an appeal letter and pledge card. Please return the pledge card, fill out the pledge form on www.parkwaypc.org, or complete your pledge in Realm by November 15. Thank you in advance for your dedicated stewardship to the church.
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Parkway Church to Sponsor Poor Man's Supper
Reflecting Parkway's long-standing commitment to Metro Ministries, Parkway was asked to be the sponsoring church for this year's Poor Man's Supper. This is both an honor and a responsibility. The honor is in having another public witness to our engagement with Metro Ministries. The responsibility is to underwrite $5,000 toward the success of the event. Although we have collected $5,175, additional gifts to CCMM help them to provide additional services to our neighbors in need.
You may make a gift by sending a check to the church office, click here or through the "Give" tab on the church website. If you use the church website, when you land on the "Give" page use the "Give Now" link on the right side of the page, then scroll down through the fund accounts to Poor Man's Supper.
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Sara's Kids for November
Sign up for a child here. Not about to shop? You may also contribute to Sara's Kids fund by sending a check to the church (memo line write Sara's Kids), Donating through the website or through Text to Give by texting
parkwaypc to 73256, click the link that is sent to you and follow the prompts.
Once you have an assigned child, you can purchase a gift and drop it off to Parkway, wrapped or in a gift bag. Or you can purchase it from www.amazon.com and have it shipped to the church. Please send an email to Cheryl@parkwaypc.org to let her know the child's name. Traditionally, we give $20 gift certificates to teenagers and buy a gift valued at $10 to $15 for younger children.
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Online Order of Worship
We are posting the Online Order of Worship on Facebook, as well as emailing it via Constant Contact. It is posted on Fridays, Saturdays (around 6 am) and Sundays (at 10:00 am.) |
Sunday
9:30 Sunday School In-person
and Zoom
11:00 In-person and Online Worship
Monday
Tuesday
9:30 Staff Meeting
12:00 WOW - Ladies Bible Study
Zoom Meeting
6:00 Session Meeting
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Wednesday
5:30 Book Discussion Class via Zoom
7:00 Handbell Rehearsal
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Current Projects
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Other (then click memo for more options which include: Flower Fund, Memorial Giving, Guatemala Trip, Coastal Bend Food Bank etc.)
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Poyner Evening Circle ZOOM Schedule for 2020-2021
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November 1
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Horizons Lesson 2
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November 15
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Fellowship
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November 29
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Horizons Lesson 3
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December 13
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Fellowship
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December 27
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Fellowship
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January 10
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Horizons Lesson 4
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January 24
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Fellowship
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Currently meeting via Zoom which is very safe, convenient, and frequent! Please contact Barbara Leal for the meeting link at 361-992-9116 or email.
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Loaves and Fishes (Metro Ministries)
Loaves & Fishes is a free cafeteria that serves nutritious dine-in meals for the homeless, poor, working poor, disabled, and elderly. This program provides lunch and dinner Monday through Friday. Parkway has committed to serving in the soup kitchen every Friday, from 4:45 to 6 pm. A food handler's permit is required and quite easy to obtain. If you would like to participate in this ministry, contact Irene Jones.
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All Parkway shifts have been cancelled until further notice.
Still want to volunteer? Please call Loaves & Fishes at 887-0151, Ext. 242. to let them know you are coming.
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Prayer Concerns
If you would like to place a prayer concern onto the prayer chain, please call or text Karen Wesson at 361-815-2099, or send an e-mail to klwesson@stx.rr.com. If you are not currently receiving the prayer chain emails (or your email address has changed) and wish to participate in lifting up concerns of the congregation, you may add yourself to the distribution list by going to your Realm account at www.parkwaypc.org.
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Judy Forbes
| June Baker | Dallas Marek | Billie Franklin | | Elizabeth Falk | Dick McCracken | Tom Kimes |
Don Liljestrand
| | Wanda Sorrell |
Roy Salziger
| John Piatt
| Ray Cross |
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