Phyllis Kidwell and David Schaefers Seek to Serve Grace Presbytery in Their New Roles

Phyllis Kidwell and David Schaefers are about to em-bark on a new journey serving as Moderator and Vice Mod-erator for Grace Presbytery. While these specific roles may be new, their experience as leaders is familiar to them.

Phyllis is Director of Chil-dren’s Ministry at First Pres-byterian in Tyler, where her passions are education and outreach. She connects her ministry with other ministries to show children they can make a difference. She has an extensive background in so-cial work with Child Protec-tive Services and spent sever-al years as a probation officer. She has both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education with an empha-sis on special education. In 1986 Phyllis joined First Pres-byterian in Athens, Texas, and was ordained as an elder in 1999. She was a member of Presbyterian Women and said she was honored to receive a lifetime membership. Phyllis also worked at First Presby-terian Church in Athens. “The jobs there varied and the peo-ple were great,” she said. “I learned a lot about working in the church and in Grace Pres-bytery.” Phyllis has served on

Grace Presbytery committees and the Presbytery Council.

David is Pastor of First Presbyterian in Richardson. He has a bachelor’s degree in history and Master of Divinity degree. He has now complet-ed his coursework on a D. Min. Degree from Colombia Seminary. His first call was to Charleston, South Carolina, where he served four years as the Associate Pastor for Westminster Presbyterian. While there, he served on the Executive Council for Charles-ton Atlantic Presbytery and as the Moderator for the Church and Society Unit. Here David has served as Moderator for the New Church Develop-ment Committee, as a mem-ber of Presbytery Council, the Administrative Commission on Property, and on other ministry teams and adminis-trative commissions. In 2016, he was part of the group from

Grace Presbytery that trav-eled to Lebanon to meet with partners in the National Evan-gelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon. David was an Alter-nate Commissioner to the 222nd General Assembly and will be a Commissioner to the 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis later this year.

Both Phyllis and David are excited about their new posi-tions, and they have spent the last year learning and prepar-ing to serve in 2018. “The Moderator is elected by the Presbytery after being nomi-nated through the nomina-tion committee,” Phyllis said, “and I have prayed about this role since first being asked.”

The Moderator term is one year and leadership is shared between ordained Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. The focus is to moder-ate four meetings throughout

Continued on page 5

Meet the New Moderator

and Vice Moderator

As we approach Holy Week the choir has been busy preparing several old and new works that will enhance your worship experience. For Palm Sun-day I’ve selected two classics from the choral rep-ertoire. The Palms, by Jean-Baptist Fauré, dates to 1881 and features the choir along with soprano, alto, and baritone soloists. The piece has a terrific organ accompaniment that musically depicts Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Canadian composer Henry Willan’s Hosanna to the Son of David, a clas-sic from the 1950s, is a grand a cappella work that has never lost its popularity with church choirs. It has been several years since the sanctuary choir last sang it and I thought it a good time to revive it so our newest members could enjoy its rich fugal style. Also for Palm Sunday, the Ruth Greer Hand-bell Choir is working on a new setting of I Sing the Mighty Power of God, recently published by George Christ, organist at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church. It features both the handbells and piano and it’s nice to know that the composer lives in our neck of the woods!

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are so very important to the narrative of Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday we’ll share communion and re-count Christ’s last moments with his disciples. Becky Lormor has selected a very moving handbell setting of Jesus Walked this Lonesome Valley that will feature Dan White on classical guitar. The Sanctuary Choir will sing the beloved Gilbert Mar-tin setting of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross—a powerful anthem that continues to bless and inspire. For Good Friday the choir is preparing a work composed in 1946 that I know will be new to most of you. English composer Gerald Finzi’s Lo, The Full Final Sacrifice is described as a festival an-

them with a poignant text created by Richard Crashaw based on two hymns by Thomas Aquinas, Adoro Te and Lauda Sion Salvaroei. The work is es-sentially a communion anthem but it is also so much more than that as it speaks to Christ’s suffer-ing and sacrifice. The anthem contains both som-ber and joyful moments and ends with perhaps the most beautiful Amen in the entire choral canon.

For Easter the choir is preparing two brand new contemporary works that will surely inspire you! Heather Sorenson’s In the Name of the Father was only recently published in January of this year. This joyful anthem will inspire you with its grandiose singing! Heather lives in the Richardson area. I met her recently and found her to be a committed Christian with a deep faith and a heart for liturgical music. Also new for Easter is a fun gospel work entitled Now I Can See the Light! by Henry Mol-licone. The choir has had a blast learning it and I know you’ll want to stand and clap along as we praise the risen Lord!

Traveling through Lent is always an enlighten-ing experience. We are more sensitive to the mov-ing of the Holy Spirit as we examine those things within us that need to be changed and corrected. I pray that your personal journey strengthens your faith and enables you to find that blessed peace with Jesus Christ that surpasses all understanding. I encourage you to make this year’s Holy Week services part of your personal journey towards Christ’s glorious resurrection!

Grace and Peace, Ralph

Self Development of People—OGHS

One Great Hour of Sharing made a grant which helped turn the Front Porch Café into a reali-ty. The Front Porch serves youth and adults in one of Akron’s poorest and most racially diverse neighborhoods. At the Front Porch individuals recovering from addiction or re-entering society after prison can eat a good meal, grow and learn alongside others who share their struggles, and receive guidance on housing and

employment opportunities. When Diretha joined the

Front Porch she had been clean and sober for a year, but a dec-ade of unemployment threat-ened her sobriety. She volun-teered at the café and attended its support groups. The staff helped her develop a resume and interviewing skills.

These efforts helped Diretha land a job at a catering company where she has worked for four

years. She continues to live a life free of alcohol and other drug abuse, and believes there is a good chance that if she had not gotten involved with the Front Porch she would have started using again and be in prison or dead. But instead, because of your gifts, she attends a support group at the Front Porch and its weekly worship service and is a productive member of society.

Sometimes I completely forget how to pray. I can still make the words come, they just have no attachment to my heart. I can take special care to mention the obvious needs of the people I know, it just doesn’t resonate with my soul. It is in times like these (wandering through the spiritual wilder-ness) when I especially appreciate the Psalms.

The Psalms capture almost every human emo-tion. They are an incredible resource for worship and personal devotion. And in those times when that special connection to God just seems to be lacking, the Psalms know how to reconnect it. I read them slowly. I trust that every word has been evoked in times stranger and more stressful than the one I am encountering.

There have been times in my life when I have been overwhelmed with work, with situations be-yond my control, with interpersonal strife. The Psalms were my daily companion. There have been times when members of my congregation have shared with me their heartache and loss, sorrow and sin, failure and fatigue. It is in such times that I am reminded how important it is for pastor-types to also have someone to talk to. Often, it is the Psalms that provide a life-raft until other arrange-ments can be made.

I love the Psalms. I love them because they are poetic and full of faithful verses. I love them be-cause they are real – they lay it all out on the table. There is something very human about these words, handed down through the centuries. They are both accessible and mysterious. And when I read (or pray) the Psalms, I often wonder what they are about. It isn’t always clear. Sometimes I can figure out exactly why a particular one was written. I can see the heartache on the surface, that needs to be named and addressed. I can see the joy and the praise that bubbles up within a people who have been following God through un-certain times, when a new perspective is gained and a light shines in the darkness.

But sometimes, I don’t have a clue. I don’t know the context. I don’t know who would have

written down those particular words or why. I don’t always believe that the Psalms were written by who they were attributed to— which makes the wonder-ing even more acute. But here is what I do know. These are special words, poetic words, words that have a history of traveling with the people of God.

Sometimes I just read them and think, “Well, that has nothing to do with me.” Often I am surprised when my daily work circles back around to provide some new insight into Psalms like that. Sometimes they open my eyes a little wider to those who are experiencing circumstances very different than my own. I once hear it said that Christians should sing hymns on behalf of their brothers and sisters who are living under conditions of political oppression because we enjoy a freedom to sing songs of faith that would be seen as confrontational to dictators or oppressive governments. We can sing what they cannot. And we should sing, especially where voices of faith have been silenced.

The Psalms remind me of that. Sometimes we read the Psalms because there are communities that do not have access to them. They would pray those Psalms, if they could. Instead, we have the oppor-tunity to step in and provide intercessory prayer, traditional prayer, ageless prayer – on the behalf of others we may not even know. The Psalms read us, as we read them. There is a wonderful peace that follows them wherever they go. I love the Psalms.

If there is one common book that we could all turn to, to guide our daily prayers, it would be the Psalms. In joy, we read them. In the desert, we read them. We read them when they make sense and sometimes just until they make sense. Some folks have favorite ones. Some people like certain ones over others. As Christians, we should treat them all as gifts from God. Sometimes those gifts are for us. Sometimes they are for those we will meet. And at times, the gift is only that, through these words, we are linked to something greater than ourselves.

Lenten Blessings, Pastor David

New Care Teams Go Out

The Caring Ministry thanks all those who volunteered for a new care group just organized. On Sunday, March 4, one of our nine teams of two visited church members who, for various reasons, are unable to come to wor-ship. Special thanks to Wayne Hughes who sends the teams out each week. Peggy Butler and Jo Bowen are co-coordinators of this vital addition to our ministry.

Easter Lilies and the Flowered Easter Cross

For information about ordering lilies for the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, contact the church office. The cost is $10; deadline to order is Monday, March 26.

Look for details in the Sunday bulletin and the e-Press on how to participate in decorating the Flowered Easter Cross. You may also contact Frank and Cindy Camp.

Lent is a great time to focus more fully on our spiritual lives. For centuries, the church has encouraged us to give up something that brings us pleasure, so that we can be more in touch with Jesus’ self-denial. More re-cently, Christians have taken

on new spiritual practices such as practicing inten-tional hospitality or reading the Scriptures more faithfully as a way of prioritizing God’s ways over our ways.

Lent began on February 14 this year with the lectionary suggesting Isaiah 58:1–12 as one pas-sage. Maybe one thing that caught your attention is that the Israelites are indeed humbling them-selves before God by fasting — a traditional Lenten practice — but the Holy One is not having any of it! God tells Isaiah to declare to them “their rebellion, . . . their sins.”

The Israelites may have known something was wrong even before Isaiah passed along this rebuke, however, because they were already complaining to God, “Why have we fasted and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed?”...

Here’s the problem: All those centuries ago, the people of God fell into a trap that we sometimes fall into today. They started thinking that spiritual practices, like their fasting, are an end unto them-selves, rather than the means to an end.… In other words, we don’t give up chocolate for Lent to prove to ourselves we have the willpower to do so.

We give up chocolate because practicing self-denial prepares us for another step in our Christian walk. We don’t read the Bible every day leading up to Easter to pat ourselves on the back and say, “This is what good Christians do.” We dig into the Scriptures because that strengthens us to do something else. It’s not enough to take on these practices in and of themselves. Their real value is that they equip us to go further in our faithfulness.

So, what is the next step that we are prepared to take? What’s the end for which the spiritual practices serve as a means? The passage from Isai-ah makes it clear: We do these spiritual disciplines to live lives that glorify God and extend God’s blessings to others.

In our passage from Isaiah, God asks the Israel-ites, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free … to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them . . . ?”

We add spiritual practices in Lent as a means for the Spirit to strengthen us so we can humble ourselves and put others before ourselves, to help them experience the abundant life that Jesus offers them — a life of material, physical and spir-itual sufficiency and goodness. When this happens, we realize that Lent isn’t just a great time to focus on our own spiritual lives — it’s a fantastic time to focus on others, too.

This is excerpted from an article in Presbyterians Today by the Rev. Chip Hardwick. He is the former director of Theology, Formation & Evangelism for the PC(USA).

Making a Difference

The pitfalls of ‘giving up’ things for Lent

One Great Hour of Sharing kept this from hap-pening. Through a training program held by Action for Rural Women's Empowerment, a partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Naijuma knew the law was on her side. Our One Great Hour of Shar-ing gifts allowed Najiuma to exercise her lawful right and remain on the land. Today she is sharing with her neighbors not only food but also more efficient farming techniques she learned through training programs sponsored by the Presbyterian Hunger program and its partners.

Your gifts to One Great of Sharing do help to make a better world. The following story could make your heart sing.

Naijuma, a widow in Uganda, grows enough food on eight acres to feed her three children and her eight orphaned grandchildren in her care. Without the crops that spring from this soil she has no means to support her family. However her in-laws ordered her to take the children and leave the land her husband had inherited. This would have left her without a place to plant a single seed— a plight that would have spelled disaster for her and her family.

2 pounds cooked chicken, diced 3 tablespoons butter 1 clove of chopped garlic 2/3 cup rice 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup thinly sliced carrots 10 cups chicken broth 1 tsp. curry powder 1 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper

¼ cup cornstarch ½ cup milk 1 cup light cream

Melt butter in soup kettle, add the garlic and rice and sauté until the rice is straw colored. Add the onion and carrots and sauté a minute or two. Add the chicken broth, curry powder, salt

and pepper. Simmer until the rice is cooked, approximately 20 minutes. Add the chicken. Blend the cornstarch with the milk and stir into the soup. Cook and stir until thickened. Just before serv-ing, add the cream.

Serves 6 to 8.

Nina Rupp shared this recipe.

New Moderators continued from page 1

Ash Wednesday Mulligatawny Soup

the year. Additionally, the Moderator may lead in the commissions created to ordain new pastors and install pastors receiving a new call in the pres-bytery. The Moderator serves as a member of Council.

David said he understands the importance of his role. “A presbytery Moderator (or Vice Modera-tor) is elected by commissioners and minister members of presbytery to oversee and guide the business that comes before the body. I have prayerfully considered serving as Vice Moderator,” he said. “It is a volunteer position, but one that is taken seriously and with much prayer.” David said that as Vice Moderator, he will lead orientation sessions for first-time commissioners to presbytery meetings. He will help plan the worship service at meetings and lead prayers at appropriate times. In the event that the Moderator is unable to preside, he would be next in line to do so.

Both Phyllis and David have deep roots in the Presbyterian Church and will bring that connection to their roles. “I am ‘sinfully proud’ to be Presbyter-ian,” Phyllis said. “My mother’s family has been Presbyterian for many generations and there have been Presbyterian pastors in each generation since they were in Scotland.” David was raised in Tyler, where he was both baptized and confirmed. He was an active leader in his church youth group. “I fondly remember many presbytery-sponsored ac-tivities at Gilmont, Mo-Ranch and Austin College,” he said.

As they prepared for their new roles, Phyllis and David took stock of their experiences in Grace Presbytery. “I think I watched the meetings last year more closely than ever before,” Phyllis said. David said he will also draw from the experiences of attending 40 presbytery meetings in the last 10 years. Phyllis also attended a conference to learn

about being a Moderator. “I met a lot of people from around the country. The conference was short and action packed as we reviewed infor-mation about moderating presbyteries.”

Phyllis spent time with last year’s Moderator, Cheryl Taylor. “She and I became friends as she included me in leadership tasks and shared valuable information,” Phyllis said. “Cheryl moved the meetings with efficiency while letting members be heard. She understood the importance of her role and led with compas-sion and integrity. She made the meetings, and planning for them, enjoyable as we reviewed the work and made plans to enrich the presbytery in its work.”

With their first presbytery meeting just around the corner, Phyllis and David said they have thought about what they hope to accomplish. “My goal for the year is to remind us all that ‘we’ are the presbytery,” Phyllis said. “We work together, or not, to move the church forward. We are not going to agree on everything that comes before the church, and we don’t need to agree on everything. We need to respect each other, listen well, and agree to continue working together.”

“I hope to continue to learn about Grace Pres-bytery and its congregations,” David said. “I am looking at this role as one of faithful service to a group of people that I love. I hope to serve as a good Moderator in the future.”

Phyllis said, “I am grateful for the challenge this will be for me and for all of us. The church is chang-ing. We seek to serve, and our needs in service change with each generation. God is faithful and true. Our foundation is solid. This gives me hope as we look at ways of ‘being church’ in our time.”

Thursday Evening Circle

We meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 8 in the church library to discuss the lesson “Angry Birds.” All women are invited to come. Contact Linda Yeager for more information.

Sunday Evening Book Club

We’re reading The Woman on the Orient Express, by Lindsay Jayne Ashford. Join us at 5 p.m. on March 11, in the church library for an always lively discussion. Contact Ginger (Doug) Anderson for more information.

Monday Book Discussion

The Traitor's Wife, the highly acclaimed novel by Allison Pataki, is our March read. Pataki has writ-ten a riveting tale of the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold, mastermind of the infamous act of treason of our country. Join us Monday, March 26, at 2 p.m., in the church library, as we discuss this intri-guing plot of characters. All are welcome to join us. Our read for April is The Namesake, by Jumpa Lahiri. Questions - contact Anne Healy.

Wednesday Morning Circle

Plan to attend the April 4 meeting which begins at 9:30 a.m. Check the e-Press for details.

Highlights of the February18 Session Meeting

News You Can Use

Open to the Community

Thursday, March 22 Congregation Shearith Israel 9401 Douglas Avenue, Dallas

6 p.m. Check-in 6:15 p.m. Potters House Mass Choir performance 6:30 p.m. Seder Program $20 Kosher meal served

Register through Grace Presbytery at Gloria@gracepresbytery.org and include email , cell number, and church. First 100 people register-ing are free. Deadline for registration is March 10.

Palm Sunday: March 25 Worship: 8:00 and 10:30 a.m.

Maundy Thursday: March 29 Worship: 7 p.m. with Communion

Good Friday: March 30 Worship: 7 p.m.

Easter Sunday: April 1 Sunrise Service: 7 a.m. Worship: 8 and 10:30 a.m. with Communion Egg Hunt: 12 noon

Holy Week/Easter Schedule

1. As of January 31, we have 462 active members and 2 affiliate members. Greg and Marie White are transferring their membership to their new church in Texarkana. 2. Co-Treasurers Harry and Lea Perkins reported that January receipts were behind budget. 3. The Annual Statistical Report is available in the church office. The Presbytery Minutes Review was held on January 11. Surprise, surprise, our minutes passed. 4. A Session Commendation was awarded to members of the Fellowship Ministry for all of their hard work hosting the many church dinners held this year. 5. The Playground Committee reported that work has begun on the east end of the field. The Meja Soccer Club wants to install a tall netting along the new wall on the west side of the field to keep balls from going over the wall into the police parking lot.

The city must approve the installation. The existing backstop and bench will be removed by the city and the old playground will be prepared to become part of the soccer field. 6. Reports from the Associate Pastor and the Or-ganist Search Committees were received. 7. The Safety Commission will meet on March 8. Members of that committee are Marvin Katz, Jeanne Stone, Connie Smith, Bret Owens, and Do-na Blodgett. 8. Bill Warner, Chair of the Facilities Committee, mentioned that Knockout Azaleas have been planted along the Narthex entrance. More will be planted when the nursery receives a new ship-ment. The azaleas replaced the lovely roses that were removed due to an incurable disease.

Lowell Long Clerk of Session

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

4

5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

March/April 2018

March 7, 2018

The Rev. Peg Roy of First Presbyterian in Auburndale, Florida, is being recognized by the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle as a Game Changer in her community, as part of the organization’s #iamagamechanger campaign. The campaign celebrates unsung heroes who are creating communities that meaningfully and fully welcome people with intellec-tual or developmental disabilities.

Roy was nominated by Susan Carleton, a church member raising two children with autism. Both children, Fergus, 17, and Aedammair, 11, compete with Polk County’s Special Olympics teams in track and bowling, and Fergus is training on the county’s inaugural equestrian team. “The welcome we’ve received at First Presbyterian has transformed my kids,” Carleton said. “They’re more confident than before, more outgoing, and so happy to find a community where they can contribute and truly belong. So when I heard about the campaign, I sent in my nomination pretty quickly.” Roy, a native of Chicago, received her Master of Divinity from As-bury Theological Seminary, and was ordained in the PCUSA in 2014. She has served as pastor at First Presbyterian Auburndale since then. A feature story about her appeared on the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games website: www.specialolympicsusagames.org/gc-peggy-roy The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will be held in July. More than 4,000 athletes and coaches representing all 50 states will com-pete in 14 Olympic-type team and individual sports.

Peg Roy (center) with Aedammair (left) and Fergus (right).