Hope, Love, Joy & Peace

“Do not be afraid; For see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I hear those four words above, I can’t help but think about the children in our congregation. After all, there is nothing that provides more hope for me than all of their smiling faces during the children’s sermon, or when Agatha tells me that they have outgrown their space for Children’s worship. What a great problem to have! And, love, of course love. Children exemplify love in everything that they do, even when they have no idea they are doing it. At the end of the children’s sermon, Katey and Martha always take time to stop and give me a hug and kiss before they run off to Children’s church. I have to tell you, it is a great way to head into the sermon with joy and confidence! And joy, don’t get me started on joy! If you were here on November 20th, then you saw Jackson Lawrence stand up at the beginning of worship and make an announcement. I’m not sure what the announcement was, but it was one of the most joyous moments of 2011! Then you saw all of the children sing an anthem about clapping their hands for God. It was joy defined! And peace, finally peace. Sometime when Jack, Madison, or Ephraim are asleep, just stare at them for a few moments and you’ll see what peace looks like. Recently, I visited Beau and Carina Butler in the hospital when their new daughter Farrah was born. Farrah didn’t move the entire time I was there! Beau had her wrapped up tightly in a blanket, and she just laid there….peacefully in his arms. Friends, the Advent Season, and Christmas itself, is all about children for me. “...You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” When was the last time you laughed like a child, one of those deep uncontrollable giggles? When was the last time you were over-whelmed with joy to the point that you thought your smile might swallow up the rest of your face? When was the last time you gave someone a hug just because you hadn’t seen then in an hour? When was the last time you used your imagination to do something wonderful, especially for someone else?

If you’re looking for the Christmas Spirit this year, if you’re seeking the child wrapped in bands of cloth, if you’re hoping for the birth of Christ into your life this year, then watch the children. They know what we have forgotten: Hope, Love, Joy, & Peace. Follow the children; they know the way to the manger.

Pete

Blogging in Advent!

Last year, it was texting in Advent and Lent. Never one to let something get stale, this year it is blogging in Advent! Each week, on Tuesday, you will receive an e-mail from me with a link to the blog. Here’s the key element: Click on the link! You never know what you

might find! One of the great elements of a blog, one that we don’t have with texting, is the ability for you to respond and a conversation to begin. Join the conversation this December, and let’s walk this journey with intentionality.

Pete

Christmas Fun for Pisgah Girls Saturday, December 10th

10:00am-1:00pm

A creative, messy morning in the kitchen and at the craft table!

3, 4, 5, 6th grade girls and aspiring cookie makers welcome.

Lunch will be served.

3859 Shannon Run Bobbi Sweeney's kitchen

RSVP

Bobbi Sweeney Lindsey McHatton 256-0075 873-5785

The Pisgah Post Worship God, study the Scriptures, practice the Teachings

of Jesus as Lord and Savior

Pisgah Presbyterian Church Woodford County, Kentucky December 2011

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Pisgah Book Club

Please join our small but dedicated group of book lovers on Monday, December 5th at 6:30p.m. in Pete's office. We will be led by Bobbi Sweeney in a discussion of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Join us for interesting discussion and to get the next book! Hope to see you there. Barb Phelps

Pisgah Church proudly presents

The Inn at Pisgah (the greatest story ever told)

Guests are encouraged to arrive early. Entertainment begins at 4:00p.m. sharp

on Sunday, December 18th

Food and Fellowship will follow at the Inn’s dining hall

We invite all travelers to come and join

us at the Pisgah Inn.

Stewardship & Planning

We rejoice in a year of good times and good fellowship together as a church family. Many of our gatherings included good food! We hope we have also provided you with food for thought during the stewardship moments and will continue to provide you with good opportunities for future stewardship here at Pisgah. Time, talent, tithing...how can we say thank you to a God who has given us so much? The Stewardship Fair's judges selected David Graham's chili as the winner for 2011 and Stephanie Ball's cake as winning dessert. Congratulations! Thank

you to all who provided for our meal. What a wonderful turn out of dishes and people! The children selected Bob James' hay ride as the best activity of the day. We thank Joe Johnson for providing the excellent camp fire for roasting marshmallows. Have you signed up for a committee? Turned in your time and talent sheet? Turned in your pledge? Together, with God, we can do anything! Thank you to all who have contributed to a "souped up" Stewardship and Planning year. Thanks to our head food taster/encourager/guidance guru...Pastor Pete!

Bobbi Sweeney

Parents and Youth

(6th Grade-12th Grade)

You’re Invited!

December 17th, 2011, 10am-1pm

Pisgah Presbyterian Church

Lunch Provided!

Cost: Free!

The internet is wonderful thing, providing our

children and youth with educational opportunities

that past generations did not have. Of course,

technological advancement also brings new

challenges. Every year, thousands of children and

youth are abused as a result of interactions on the

internet. This, of course, includes predators, but also

cyber-bullying and a host of other dangers.

Project Safe Childhood is a Department of

Justice initiative seeking to educate youth AND

parents on the best ways to protect your home, and

your family. (See ProjectSafeChildhood.gov)

This is a wonderful opportunity! We’ll be

learning from experts in law enforcement, and child

protection. Best of all, it’s free! Please register

ASAP!

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M&Ms would like to thank Martin and Rhonda Fister and Don Schmidt’s brother-in-law, David Siedel, for the donation of laptops for the Mentors&Meals kids. In addition, many thanks are extended to Jim and Wanda Rodgers for the donation of a Lexmark printer. We should have internet access in the Life Center for the students by next week! These donations will enable the students to check their grades on-line and print out missing assignments. The kitchen crew continues to provide wonderful meals each week for 30-35 students and mentors.

Tuesday Crew: Iron Chef David Schmidt whips up something fabulous with whatever ingredients he can find in the “Food Room”. He is assisted by Dottie Schmidt and Emma Mitchell.

Thursday Crew: David-Chef Ramsey-Carpenter, arrives on the scene Tuesday evening and preps Thursday’s meal which is then finished and served by Sandi Bromagen, Sue Fosson, Ann Hayes and Jackie Prewitt. (They also help out in on the “front lines” by sitting at tables during the “Topic TBA” time with the Middle Schoolers while awaiting the arrival of the high school mentors).

Some exciting changes have been made to the M&Ms program this year. After an hour of homework help, the students participate in the following activities:

MONDAY- U.K. College senior, Allie Dougherty leads the students in 30 minutes of fitness (disguised as a “game”).

TUESDAY- Linda Kuder organizes wonderful speakers from our community; We have had a presentation by Marti Congleton with her “Therapy Dog”, Sara Swinford, WCHS Guidance Counselor, spoke to the students about Time Management, Linda Scott talked about her leatherworking business, Joel Meador from the Jack Jouett house told the students the story of Jack’s famous ride, David Schmidt talked about being a restaurant chef, and 22 members of the “Flat Out Fun” Dance troupe from the Beaumont YMCA entertained the students. (Stay tuned for the November and December speaker line-up in the next edition of the Pisgah Post!)

WEDNESDAY- the Life Adventure Center’s “Mobile Challenge Course Unit” works with the students and mentors on team building activities thanks to financial contributions

designated for this purpose from Louise Lagrew and Dr. Mike Gentry.

THURSDAY- Students are engaged in a craft led by Tarona McKee. The students have been making red, white & blue ornaments for the 12 foot Christmas tree at the Thomas Hood Veterans Home in Wilmore, KY.

The next step for M&Ms is to file their own 501©3 in order to become eligible for State and Federal grants. Qualifying for additional STEM (“Science, Technology, Engineering & Math”) monies may allow the M&Ms program to pay for additional professional services for the students and to further engage teachers, mentors, and students in hands-on education that enhances their understanding of the school curriculum.

SUPPORT YOUTH MISSION TRIPS

COOKIE WALK DECEMBER 11

In summer 2012, the senior high and middle school youth are going on two mission trips!

The senior highs will be spending a week working with the impoverished populations in Chicago, Illinois along with the senior highs of Maxwell Street Presbyterian. The middle schoolers will work with the Burnamwood

Appalachian Ministry in Irvine, Kentucky and help give families in Appalachia some vital

home repairs.

And with YOUR help, we can make these trips awesome for the youth of Pisgah!

On Sunday, December 11, the youth will be hosting a cookie walk. After church, the

youth will have tables and tables of cookies set up for purchase.

To make this a great fundraiser though, we would love to have contributions from all of you as well! Do you have a great family recipe

for chocolate chip cookies? Is everyone always asking you to make a batch of your cheesecake brownies? If so, please bring

them along and drop them off before church on December 11!

M&Ms Gives Thanks Lisa Johnson

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Youth Group in December

In December, we will be enjoying the season by

giving back!

On December 4, we will be shopping for

Christmas presents for a family who could use

some Christmas cheer.

On December 9, we’ll be ringing the bell for our

local chapter of the Salvation Army. After we

finish, we’ll have dinner together back at the

church!

YOUTH GROUP

DECEMBER 2011

4: Adopt-a-Family Christmas Shopping

9: Salvation Army Bell Ringing 10: Cookie Walk Preparation

11: Cookie Walk 17: Youth Academy Day 18: Christmas Pageant

If you are interested in ordering a Poinsettia for the Sanctuary in honor or memory of an individual or family, please give Jane Pryor a call at 873-8861. The cost is $7.00 each and payment may be made by cash or check to Pisgah Presbyterian Church or Jane Pryor. You can also check the pew racks in church for an envelope/order form to fill out. The poinsettias will be placed in the sanctuary for worship beginning on December 18 and will remain there till after the morning worship service on December 25.

2011 Christmas Eve Services

5:30pm Families and Candlelight

Bring the entire family for this service of Scripture and Carols,

as well as the traditional candlelight vigil during Silent Night.

As the carols are sung, the children of the church will complete

the Nativity Scene.

11:00pm Communion and Candlelight

Again, bring the entire family (or those still awake!) for this beautiful

and intimate service, including Communion by intinction, the Silent Night candlelight service, and the

opportunity to wish each other Merry Christmas at Midnight!

Bring Family, friends, and neighbors

to worship at Pisgah on this hope-filled night!

2011 Christmas Day Service

11:00am Christmas Day Celebration

What an opportunity we are given this year! On this day, a child is born,

come and celebrate! Come and worship! Where else would we choose to be on Christmas morning, then in

God’s house?

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Sunday School Attendance

Congratulations to all of those who attended Pisgah Sunday School in the month of November. The largest attendance in each class is as follows:

Nursery – 2 babies

Preschool – 6 beautiful children

K-5 – 10 students thanks to the Cissell Family bringing an entire crew with them.

Junior High/Senior High – 5 students

Adult Sunday School – 16 adults

Children’s Worship – 13 children (With this many we have out grown the room downstairs and are working on a bigger place for this group to meet.

Keep up the good work and learn lots about what God has to say to us.

Greetings from Pisgah Mission and Evangelism

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR 2012! Please plan to join the Pisgah Relay for Life Team

at Falling Springs on May 11, 2012, starting at 7:00p.m.

Please look for further information about our CENTRAL KENTUCKY DAY WITH SOMALIA – date and location TBA, in late March, April or May.

and

Please plan to join us for the RE-SCHEDULED second Pisgah Academy day of study and work on

February 18, 2012, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Our theme this year is Sacred Air: Breath of Life. We are honored to have several of the leaders of the 2011 Festival of Faiths on our program this year. Our first speaker is Kyle Kramer, who directs the graduate lay ministry program at Saint Meinrad Archabbey, a Benedictine monastery and school of

theology in southern Indiana. He is also an organic farmer. His most recent book: A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer and Dirt, will be our primary text. He is one of 24 Catholic Climate Ambassadors, designated to discuss the moral implications of climate change. Our panel discussion will

include several different perspectives of Sacred Air. Kathleen Lyons, PhD., is Professor Emeritus at Bellarmine University, and is the Festival of Faiths Coordinator, and she will provide a Christian view. She will also introduce the Sacred Air: Faith In Action Tool Kit,

Volume 3, which we will use for our final work session following the panel discussion. Todd Graddy, LCSW, MS, Yoga Alliance RYT 500, will provide a more ancient view from Sanskrit teachings on Sacred Air and Health. Tom FitzGerald, JD., and recipient of the 2008 Heinz Award in the Environment, will provide the legal perspective on Clean Air. After our workshop on Sacred Air: Breath of Life, we will again enjoy a meal of local food, and fellowship. Kyle Kramer opens is most recent book – our text – with his discussion about coming home: From “Chapter One: Coming Home”

In Scripture, blessings empower characters to do things that they might never dare or manage on their own power alone. God blessed Noah, and on the strength of that blessing, Noah and his family repopulated and remade the earth after the flood. God promised a blessing to Abram, which gave him the courage to leave a familiar place and people, venture out into unknown territory, and ultimately become the father of a nation. Jacob wrested his brother Esau’s blessing from his father Isaac, and later, on the bank of the Jabbok, wrestled a blessing out of God, who renamed him and renewed the promise that his posterity would become the people Israel. Ron’s blessing worked similarly on me. That same afternoon, I bought the property. Mr. Kramer also contributed to the Sacred Air: Faith In Action Tool Kit, with the Benedictine perspective:

Benedictines make a vow of stability: they commit their lives to one particular community in one particular place. This “vocation of location” might seem provincial in comparison to the modern American ideal of mobility and cosmopolitanism, but it enables Benedictines to practice responsible stewardship of creation. When you live in a place long enough, you pay attention to the place itself and the people, plants, and animals that inhabit it. This attention leads to knowledge of a place’s gifts and limits. Such intimate knowledge engenders personal investment, affection and love. Knowledge combined with love is the most solid foundation for real environmental responsibility. Stability also means that Benedictines are able to make long-term commitments necessary for ecological stewardship. Few of our global environmental issues can be solved quickly. Healing degraded land takes generations, and even green technologies, such as solar panels or green building techniques, have long-term economic paybacks. Because Benedictines think in terms of centuries, they are acutely aware of their responsibility to future generations and able to invest the time and capital to ensure the continued life of their community, as well as the planet. In a fast-paced, novelty-worshiping modern world, patience and long-term commitments are a radical stance, since “radical,” translated literally, means “rooted.”

Registration is $25.00 per person or $30 per family, and includes A Time To Plant and our meal. Register online at:

http://pisgahchurch.org/academy-day-2011/ Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:20 “And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with

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them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.”

The Mission and Evangelism Committee helps Pisgah Church members go into the community to proclaim the good news and to meet the needs of our neighbors and to help our neighbors “find” Pisgah Church. The Mission and Evangelism Committee have a number of other plans and projects – such as the M & M work for Woodford County youth and the Pisgah Victory Garden. Please join us at our regular committee meeting after church on the first Sunday each month.

Peace to you all, Hank Graddy

Thank You!

Dear Rev. Jones,

I am writing as a recipient of the Pisgah Bicentennial Scholarship Fund for the 2011-2012 academic year at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generous contribution. Receiving the Pisgah Bicentennial Scholarship has been a great blessing to myself and my family enabling me to follow my calling to ministry while not having to carry a large financial burden. Thanks you again for your help and faithfulness.

Sincerely yours,

DeEtte Decker Huey

Snippets

o Don’t forget to pick up your Advent Devotional in the Narthex of the Sanctuary.

o There will be no Sunday School or Youth Group on Sunday, December 25.

o Tavner and Susan Dunlap proudly announce yet another college graduate to their brood. Tavner (Alex) Dunlap will graduate Dec. 17 from the College of Charleston and is considering pursuing a law degree. His sister, Jordan Dunlap, is in her second year at the University of Oregon's College of Law, where she is focused on environmental law.

o The white tobacco barn on Tavner and Susan Dunlap's farm recently received focus from local

National Public Radio affiliate WUKY. The recent raising of an 8'x8' barn quilt in the "Sisters" pattern made it the first designated spot on the new Woodford County Quilt Trail; a part of the Kentucky Quilt Trail, and WUKY reported the event. Barn quilts are large, colorful square wooden blocks, mounted on barns or corn cribs. The Dunlap’s barn quilt was hand-painted to resemble a quilt pattern from Susan's family.

We are always on the lookout for more “Snippets.” Help us keep this column going by sending in any interesting little tidbits you hear!

Happy Birthday to You in December

1 Carlee Miller 2 Chad Scott 4 Beth Straub 5 Jesse Smith 8 Toland Lacy, Phil Lacy 9 Sue Fosson, Judy Simpson 11 Albert Chandler, Mary Hinton, Doug Jones, David Pryor, Elizabeth Shropshire 12 Nancy Florence 15 Branham Chandler, Dee Harper 17 Sarah Kindred, Cary Jacobson, Ted Jacobson 19 Tonya Budovsky 23 Hart Gay James 25 Jesus, Patsy Field, Art Ortenburger 27 Leslie James 28 Jud Davis 29 Martha Prewitt 31 Jessica Garrett, Jackie Prewitt

And in early January…

1 Louise Lagrew 4 Todd Graddy 8 Jac Britton 9 Jamie MacLeod Please help us keep this list up to date!

The Pisgah Post is published monthly by the Pisgah Presbyterian Church, 710 Pisgah Pike, Versailles, KY 40383. The deadline for the January 2012 issue of the newsletter is December 22. Please submit signed articles to the church office or email them to office@pisgahchurch.org.

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Sundays at Pisgah Church 9:45a.m. Sunday School 11:00a.m. Morning Worship

The Staff Email Pete: pastor@pisgahchurch.org Lynn: office@pisgahchurch.org

Presbyterian Web Sites: Presbyterian Church (USA): pcusa.org Transylvania Presbytery: transypby.org Synod: synodoflivingwaters.org Montreat: http://montreat.org Presbyterians Today: pcusa.org/pcusa/today

Pisgah Church Staff Pete Jones, Pastor Linda Jones, Organist Lynn Davis, Secretary Amy Carpenter, Youth Director Ted Bendis, Bookkeeper Bob Keller, Groundskeeper Rhonda Ball, Nursery Worker

The Session Pete Jones, Moderator

Wanda Rodgers, Clerk of Session

Class of 2011 Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Martin Fister Anne Davis Todd Cassidy Mary Hinton Hank Graddy Sue Fosson Joe Johnson David Prater Tony Raider Wanda Rodgers Linda Scott Bobbi Sweeney

The Board of Deacons

Class of 2011 Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Shelia Baker Tessa Dole Susan Dunlap Katie Burrier Ann Hayes Janet Lake Emma Mitchell Melissa Scott Dan McHatton Jackie Prewitt Dani Upton Smith Mitchell

The Board of Trustees

Class of 2011 Class of 2012 Class of 2013 Michael Jones Warley Harper Happy Broadbent Alice Kiviniemi Laura Mancuso Linda Kuder

The Pisgah Post December 2011 Pisgah Presbyterian Church 710 Pisgah Pike Versailles, KY 40383 Address Service Requested

DATED MATERIAL ENCLOSED

Non-profit (bulk rate) U.S. Postage Paid Versailles, KY 40383 Permit No. 192

Web: www.pisgahchurch.org, Voice and fax: (859) 873-4161, email: office@pisgahchurch.org