THE LAMB’S KIN www.fpcsanangelo.org September 2011

Worship: Coming before God in an attitude of Joy, Thanksgiving, Prayer & Expectation

A message from our pastor Bill Proctor

First Presbyterian

Church

Devotion for September

B ernard Gilpin was ac-

cused of heresy before

Bishop Bonner, and shortly

thereafter was sent to

London for trial. Gilpin’s

favorite saying was, ―All

things are for the best.‖ He

set out on his journey with

that attitude, but on his

way fell from his horse and

broke his leg.

―Is all for the best

now?‖ a scorner said,

mocking Gilpin for his opti-

mism. ―I still believe so,‖

he replied.

He turned out to be

right. During the time he

was convalescing from the

accident, and before he was

able to resume his journey,

Queen Mary died. Conse-

quently, the case against

him was dropped. Instead

of being burned at the

stake, Gilpin returned home

in triumph.

We tend to see all

accidents and illness that

come our way as misfortune

caused by the enemy of our

souls. That may not always

be the case. Rather than

spend our energy railing

against bad times, perhaps

we should direct our effort

toward praising the One

Who promises to work all

things together for the good

of those who are called ac-

cording to His purposes.

God has many methods and

means for accomplishing

His plan! God’s Little Devotional

Book for Women

A t its August 30th meeting, in a vote of 13 to 4, Session made

the decision to continue holding worship each Sunday morn-

ing at the 10:30 a.m. hour. What this means is that we will

not be returning to the 8:30 a.m. Contemporary and 11:00

a.m. Traditional worship format that was the practice prior to the dis-

covery of the Sanctuary’s structural failure in July of 2010.

This decision of the Elders follows many months of prayer and

thoughtful discussion. The survey of the congregation taken back in May

was inconclusive. 108 individuals expressed the desire to continue with

the single Sunday morning worship format. 95 chose to return to the two

-worship hour format, and 27 expressed no preference.

The Elders understand that while there are many who will be

pleased with this decision, there are some who will be saddened by this

change in the worship schedule. The rationale for keeping our worship

schedule as it has been since July 2010, when we were forced to go to one

worship service in the Wood Fellowship Hall, is as follows:

A single worship hour throughout the year makes it much eas-

ier for members and visitors alike to know when worship is being

held each Sunday. Even when two worship services were held

each week we did not do so on a consistent basis. In the summer

the practice was to hold a single service during July and August.

Single services were held at the beginning and end of each Spring

Break. Single services were typically held on the Sundays nearest

Christmas and New Year’s. Youth Sundays were always a single

service. What this meant is that throughout the year there were

often people arriving for worship at 8:30 a.m. only to find the

schedule had been changed. Not only was this often confusing for

our members, but it was particularly confusing for visitors who

did not have access to the monthly schedule through the newslet-

ter and weekly emails.

Continued on page 2

P A G E 2

Continued from page 1

While there are those who prefer one style of worship over an-

other, neither Sunday morning service could boast strong atten-

dance. One of the great blessings of being compelled to hold a single

service while the Sanctuary was under repair is that worship atten-

dance became so consistently strong week after week. The joy, mo-

mentum, and energy that was created by worshiping at a single time

each Sunday has been a blessing for the entire congregation. You

will remember that while we were still in the gym there were Sun-

day mornings when people would have to stand during worship be-

cause every seat was taken. That is not a common experience for us

Presbyterians!

A third advantage of holding a single service is that the entire

membership has the opportunity to worship together each week in-

stead of just on a few Sundays throughout the year. When we first

moved to the Wood Fellowship Hall it was a regular experience for

some members to meet other members for the first time – not realiz-

ing that for years they had been attending the same church!

While there are those who believe it a disadvantage because of

their worship-style preference, by alternating each week between

Contemporary and Traditional styles of worship many more mem-

bers have now experienced both styles of worship than would have

done so previously. We may be the only congregation in the entire

Presbyterian Church USA that alternates between worship styles

from Sunday to Sunday, but it has worked well for us.

A single worship hour enables members of the Chancel Choir and

Praise Team to have the option of participating in Sunday School

for the first time in many, many years.

To everyone – those who are pleased that the Elders have voted to

continue the single worship format, and to those who are disappointed and

grieved over this decision – I want to say this: Ultimately, worship is not

about style – worship is not about music – worship is not about the time or

hour of the day. Ultimately, worship is strictly about coming before God in

an attitude of joy, thanksgiving, prayer, and expectation.

Continued on page 7

T H E L A M B ’ S K I N

P A G E 3

9/2 Daniel Hardwicke

9/3 Hannah Brown,

Virginia Huffman,

Marjie Walten

9/4 Jeff Curry, Robert Meyer

9/5 Suzanne Dorris

9/6 Ricky Johnson, Sutton Allison

9/7 Hayley Perrine

9/8 Randy Mull

9/9 David Scott

9/10 Bette Allison, Alex McCammon

9/11 Sherri Brown, Gigi Mackie

9/12 Anne Lauer

9/13 Fred Roeben

9/14 Lyndon Polhemus

9/15 Thelma McMurtrey, Tamatha Robertson,

Don Hulse

9/16 Ryan Junell

9/17 Alice Edwards, Mason Brooks

9/18 Herman Rivera, Beaver McManus,

Louellen Meyer

9/19 Bryan Brown

9/20 Neal Grigg, Donna Crisp

9/21 Elizabeth Jost

9/22 Meredith Snyder, Ginger Heare,

Kaylee Jo Scott

9/24 Sherry Albert, Leslyn McManus

9/25 Nancy Cargile, Grace Huffman

9/26 Chris Barnett

9/27 Stella Doyle, Cody Hinnant

9/28 Joe Kilman, Carolyn Dawson

9/29 Ana Ross

9/30 Stephen Brown

T H E L A M B ’ S K I N

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

September 2011 4

9:30 Sunday School

10:30 Comb. Service

4:00 Youth - LL

5 LABOR DAY

NO SCHOOL

OFFICE CLOSED

NO AA

6

5:15 Personnel

Co. - CR

6:45 MBS - 210

9:00 AA

12:35 Youth

Lunch

5:15 Praise Team

Speaker Co - CR

5:30 Handbells

6:00 Music Dinner

8 9 10

11 9:30 Sun. School

10:30 Worship

Cong. Meet.

3:30 MS Youth - YC

5:00 Youth Meal—

WFH

Youth Parents - YC

5:30 Sr Hi Youth -Y

5:15 Family Faith -

12

9:00 AA

10:00 Angel Food

4:00 125th Anni-

versary Co-Pastor’s

Study

13

8:45 Staff

12:00 WOW - 107

5:15 Youth Co -107

Vision Co - CR

14 6:45 MBS -

210

9:00 AA

NO Diaconate

Music & Youth -

As above

15

10:30 WID B/S-107

16 17

18

9:30 Sunday School

10:30 Worship Serv.

5:15 Family Faith

19

9:00 AA

2:00 CE Co. - CR

5:15 Steward - CR

20

12:00 WOW - 107

5:15 Session - 210

21 6:45 MBS -

210

9:00 AA

Music & Youth -

22 23 24 Angel

Food Dist.

MS Youth

Retreat -

25 9:30 Sunday

School

10:30 Worship Serv.

5:15 Family Faith

26

9:00 AA

Soup Kitchen

27

8:45 Staff

12:00 WOW - 107

28 6:45 MBS -

210

9:00 AA

Music & Youth -

29

METS Cruise

30

Sr Hi Youth

Retreat-

Stephens’

P A G E 4

T H E L A M B ’ S K I N

First Presbyterian Church Foundation Fund

A new committee for our church, the FPC Foundation Fund Com-

mittee has two questions we would dare ask our members: (1)

Do you have your Last Will and Testament in order? (2) Have

you included our wonderful church in it? While those may

sound rather personal, we truly believe they deserve the attention of us

all. We are certainly aware that our earthly life will end at some point, and

through a Will, we have the opportunity to designate what is to be done

with our estates, rather than leaving it to the state to decide. The idea of

leaving some part of our estate to our church certainly has precedent, as a

good number of our departed Saints have already done that.

The committee is comprised of Ellen Brown, David Byrd, Steve Cecil,

Tom Early, Brad Holland, Frank Rose, Mary Louise Strain, Lawrence

―Bub‖ Williams and Steve Stephens, Chair. The stated purpose of the FPC

Foundation Fund is “To glorify God through a caring/sharing resolve to en-

hance and perpetuate the mission and ministry of this church for the benefit of

present and future generations.”

You will be hearing more about the FPC Foundation Fund in the

weeks and months to come, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to

contact any member of the committee.

Come cruising with the METS on September 29

J oin the METS on September 29 for a dinner-cruise

of Lake Nasworthy and the Concho River! We

will meet on Thursday, September 29 at 5:15

p.m. at Concho Cruises, located right next to the

San Angelo Nature Center at 7409 Knickerbocker Rd. We

will then set sail at 5:30 p.m. to take in the lovely sights

of Lake Nasworthy and the river. A fajita dinner will be served while cruising.

The cost to attend is $28 per person. Please reserve your spot by September 26,

2011. Call Susan Gober, 655-5694 to register. Let Susan know if financial assis-

tance is needed to participate in this METS event!

The Family Faith

class is going to start

meeting on 9/11/11 in the

evenings. Everyone is

welcomed to attend the

first evening gathering at

the home of Liz & Devin

Bates, 919 Alta Loma

beginning at 5:15 p.m.

and ending at 6:45 p.m.

Childcare will be avail-

able at the Church from

5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m.

Genesis meets in

the Library in Room 203.

They are beginning a Max

Lucado study of the Book

of Romans!

The Awakenings

class meets in Room 210

and their study for the

Fall is Practice Resur-

rection: A Conversa-

tion on Growing up in

Christ by Eugene H. Pe-

terson.

The Knox-

Calvin class meets in the

Parlor and they are

studying the Gospel of

Luke using a Dr. James

―Mickey‖ Efird bible

study. Members of the

Wood class are encour-

aged to attend the Knox-

Calvin class, or a class of

their choosing.

Join a Women’s Bible Study at FPC this fall

T he Women of the Word will begin meeting on Tuesday, September 13 from 12:00

p.m. —1:00 p.m. in Room 107. They will study Jonah: Navigating a Life In-

terrupted by Priscilla Shirer. The Women’s In Depth Bible Study will begin meeting

Thursday, September 15 in Room 107 from 10:30 a.m. —11:30 a.m. Their focus will be

on Worship on Earth as it is in Heaven by Rory Noland. Books for either of these

bible studies are available in the church office.

P A G E 5

Thankful Hearts

T H E L A M B ’ S K I N

Dear Church Family,

Thank you so much for sharing

the altar flowers with us during

my recovery from double carpal

tunnel syndrome repair. I am

healing nicely and appreciate your

thoughtfulness.

Mike and I also enjoyed the won-

derful pork chops and roasted po-

tatoes delivered to us by Carolyn

and Troy on behalf of the Dea-

cons. Thanks so much for your

prayers and blessings!

Cindy McCammon

Dear Church Family,

What a nice surprise for Verna M.

to deliver me such a beautiful bou-

quet, from this past Sunday’s

church service.

The flowers provided by the

Harris Williams family are just so

beautiful.

Thank you for letting me share

them. May God bless each of you

always!

Doris H. Goodson

Dear Church Family,

How excited I was when I re-

turned to my apartment after

lunch on August 7 and found the

most beautiful flowers at my door.

They did make me feel so happy

and loved and especially since I

had been ―not so good‖ a few

days. Thank you so much for your

kindness. I do get lonely, but the

beautiful flowers made me feel

much better. I know everyone was

so thankful for our wonderful rain.

Than you again so much. God

bless each of you.

With love,

Beth Rion

Dear FPC,

Rushing through the Sanc-

tuary early Sunday morning on

August 21, I noticed how beauti-

ful the flowers were that day—the

biggest pinkest roses I’d ever seen!

Later, while sitting in the Worship

service, tears came to my eyes

when I read the flowers had been

placed in my honor. There isn’t

enough space in this newsletter for

me to adequately express my sin-

cere gratitude, joy and happiness

of getting to serve not only the

people in this church but most im-

portantly our Lord and Savior.

When Dwain and I joined FPC

over 15 years ago, we were expec-

tant first time parents, and I cer-

tainly had no idea how much this

church would come to mean to our

growing family and me. Thank

you for giving me this wonderful

opportunity all of these years!

With warmth,

Susan Gober

Save our Sanctuary Campaign Tally

W e owe our deepest gratitude to everyone who

dug deep and made an extra financial contri-

bution to repair the sanctuary. All of the re-

pairs are completed and the sanctuary looks

fantastic! The totals for the project are as follows:

SOS Repairs -$239,450.30

SOS Contributions $208, 775.00

Outstanding SOS Pledges __$13,595.00_

Remaining Balance -$17,080.30

Again, thank you to everyone for all your generosity!

P A G E 6

Please provide

the church office

with the

addresses of your

college

students!

Continued from page 2

These next thoughts I want to express as gently as possible. There is nothing wrong in preferring one

style of worship over another – but there is everything wrong with believing you cannot worship God if the or-

gan is being played, or that you cannot worship God if there are guitars and drums being played. Worship is not

about style – it is about attitude. Worship is really about giving, not about receiving. If we ask, ―What did I get

out of worship?‖ then we are asking the wrong question. A far better question is this, ―What did we bring to

worship?‖ Did we bring a heart that is open to God? Did we bring an attitude of repentance, joy, and thanksgiv-

ing?

1st Presbyterian is a strong church. All of you have been gracious and patient as we have made our way

through the past year. You adjusted to worship in the gym. You adjusted to alternating between two different

styles of worship week after week. You adjusted as we moved back into the sanctuary on Easter Sunday.

I now look eagerly to moving forward in the same spirit of gracious understanding as we seek to be the

church God has called us to be. God is doing a great thing at 1st Presbyterian, and I want each and every one of

you to be a part of the exciting days to come.

First Presbyterian

L^ves Lamar! FPC

Help us appreciate Lamar teachers

F PC will continue with its ministry to Lamar

Elementary school during the 2011-2012

school year. Volunteers are needed to con-

tribute goodie items to the cause! Johnna

Page is coordinating the Lamar teacher appreciation

ministry, so if you have questions, or would like to con-

tribute to the effort, you can reach her at 325-669-1149

or via email at johnnapage@yahoo.com.

T H E L A M B ’ S K I N P A G E 7

Save the date for a church-wide retreat to MO-Ranch,

June 22-24, 2012! A planning committee is forming, please

call Susan Gober if you would like to help plan this

wonderful opportunity for our church family!

10:30 a.m. Service

9/4

Ginger Heare, Julie Cecil,

Dennis Grafa

9/11

Shirley Sherrill,

Gabriela Spraggins,

Devin Bates, Carol Dotson

9/18

Susan & Bub Williams

Sandy Whittley, Julie Quam

9/25

Patt & Earl Warren

Evalie & Neal Grigg

The Lamb’s Kin is

published monthly for

the members and

friends of

First Presbyterian

Church. Deadline is the

20th of each month.

Please email your news

to

Susan Gober

gosusan@msn.com

Church office: 655-5694

Church office email:

choffice@gte.net

Food for the month of

September

Powdered milk, macaroni &

cheese, canned meats and

vegetables

Please place

your donations

in the basket in

the

Commons.

9/4

Bruce Gibson

Susan Little

9/11

Barbara Rogers

Julie Quam

9/18

Evalie Grigg

Ken Newman

9/25

Georgia Edwards

Brad Holland

10/9/11

Look for sign-up sheets

as you enter the gym

from the Commons!

Katie Halbert and family

on the death of Katie’s

uncle, Guy Halbert, who

passed away on

August 26, 2011

September Flower

delivery

Amy Dahl, daughter of

Stacey & Kirby Dahl, was

married July 23, 2011

to Nick Porter.

Amy & Nick were married

in Fort Worth where Amy

teaches first grade at

Chapel Hill Academy and

Nick is a leasing man-

ager for Government

Services Administration.