march 2006 pisgah post newsletter, pisgah presbyterian church

8/8/2019 March 2006 Pisgah Post Newsletter, Pisgah Presbyterian Church

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Thoughts from Ground Levelid you notice that Ash Wednesday falls

between two grand celebrations of humanachievement? The Winter Olympics and the

Academy awards. Last month, the WinterOlympics celebrated human achievement in athleticcompetition and the determination of individuals andteams. On the first Sunday of March, the Academy

Awards will celebrate human achievement instorytelling and art on the big screen. Personally, I washoping for a nomination for Elizabethtown.

In between these two temples to humanachievement is the beginning of Lent, a season notabout human success but about failure, not about

human strength but about frailty. Lent does not lift uphuman greatness, but instead points us toward thegreatness of God. It begins with ashes, not medals notnational anthems, not a red carpet, not golden statues.

Ashes symbolize repentance and human mortality.To begin Lent with ashesis to recognize our needfor God, who, in JesusChrist, brings forgivenessto our repentance, andeverlasting life to ourmortality. No amount ofhuman success or talentcan accomplish that.

At just over the half-way point in Mark, Jesusand the disciples begin heading south from Galilee to

Jerusalem for the Passover. They leave the Galileesgreen hills for the rockiness of Judea. That yearsPassover would be unlike any previous Passover, and

what Jesus said to the disciples as they walked showedjust how different the days ahead would be.

Jesus told them, The Son of Man is to be betrayed

into human hands and they will kill him, and three daysafter being killed, he will rise again. Mark writes thatthe disciples did not understand what this meant and

were afraid to ask him.What Jesus told them is the center of our Christian

faith. In the years to come, those Galileans wouldproclaim this good news in worship and on streetcorners; in the Roman courts and jails, in public squaresand on hillsides; in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, andto the ends of the earth. But that day, as they headedsouth from Galilee, they couldnt make sense of what

Jesus had said.

When they got to Capernaum for the night, Jesus

asked the twelve what they were arguing about on their way. They had been arguing about who was the

greatest. How does it happen that Jesus tells thedisciples that he would be killed and would rise threedays later, and they start arguing about which of them isthe greatest? Jesus tells them what God will accomplishfor all creation, and they are busy building personal,competing temples to human greatness.

Jesus knew what they had been arguing aboutbecause he said to them whoever wants to be first mustbe last of all and the servant of all. I like this moment inthe gospel of Mark. It makes me think about the weeksahead for all of us. Not that I think we will spend thenext several weeks arguing about who is the greatest.

Instead this moment in Mark makes me think abouthow we travel together toward Jerusalem, like discipleson the road with Jesus.

Mark 9 makes me think how we walk a commonroad that leads to a cross and an empty tomb, how we

all follow the Rabbi whosat down and taught thedisciples that whoever

wants to be first must belast of all and servant ofall. Service to others isnow the measure of

greatness. It makes methink that on this path to

Jerusalem, we will pass bymany temples dedicatedto human achievement

and all of those temples show that we can only get sofar on our own. Indeed some of them are right fragile.

The world needs the good news we share. It alsoneeds to see that when the disciples of Jesus gather in acommunity, it doesnt always result in arguments aboutgreatness. It results in worship and sharing a mealtogether and an offering for the sake of others.

In this season of Lent, we travel together towardEaster. Get ready to announce the unstoppable news ofthe cross, the empty tomb, for this is the good news of

Jesus Christ for all people.Grace and peace, Jon

D

The Pisgah PostPisgah Presbyterian Church March 2006 Versailles, Kentucky

Our Mission: to worship God, study the Scripture, practice the teachings of Jesus


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Mission and Evangelism CommitteeProject Linus March 12:00pm

A soup and sandwich lunch will be provided aswell as instructions. BRING with you one yard of fleeceand a good pair of scissors. No sewing required! Ourgoal this year is to make 30 blankets.

Special Offerings in April

Easter Sunday falls on April 16th and theStewardship Committee will be collecting the OneGreat Hour of Sharing Offering. April 30th is one ofPisgahs special fifth Sundayofferings and we willbe taking up a collection of canned goods andother non-perishable foods for the WoodfordCounty Food Pantry. The Mission Committee wouldalso encourage you to volunteer you time this season tohelp the agencies that help others. (Clothing Bank-TessaDole, Food Pantry-Ann & Art Ortenburger, Meals on

Wheels-Linda Scott, The Spouse Abuse Center-AnnDavis or The Nile-Janet Lake) Choose a person, a

group or a cause and give it some special time thisEaster season.

New Meeting DateMission Committee has changed their meeting date tothe second Monday of each month. Our next meting

will be March 13th at 7:00p.m. Everyone is welcomed toparticipate in this committee.

Special Shepherd for Special SheepPisgah Elder, Lisa Johnson has volunteered to

shepherd and contact all our college and boardingschool youth during the school year. If you have a

family member in this category please contact her withtheir mailing and especially their email address. Lisawould love to check in with them. (873-4388 and heremail is: [email protected]).

Also let the office know if they would like toreceive the newsletter or other information from Pisgah

while they are away.

Pisgah Postings!

Seasoned Citizens LunchFriday, March 9 at Noon

Pot luck lunch! ThinkGreen, too.

Do you have a five-daysurvival kit at your house? Do

you know what should beincluded in a survival kit? Doyou know someone who would benefit from having afive-day survival kit at their house?

This month the Seasoned Citizens will assemble asurvival kit and put it on display in the AcademyBuilding. Call Willa if you plan to attend. (873-8904)

March 12, 2006Pisgah Church will recognize

everyone involved with the Girl Scoutsof America will be recognized duringboth worship services on Sunday, March

12. (This Sunday falls on the annual GirlScout birthday celebration.) All Girl Scouts areencouraged to wear their uniform to church

Mary Shepherd CircleThe Circle continues to meet the first Tuesday of

the month at 10:00 am. Please join us, even if it is thefirst time! Our March 7th lesson will be lead by WandaRodgers with Joyce Simpson offering the devotionaland Susanna Creek supplying refreshments. Recentactivity of the circle has been primarily in our caresand concerns ministry, headed by Emma Mitchell.

Wanda Rodgers continues to be responsible for ourcard ministry. Anne Davis is the groups liaison with theSpouse Abuse Center. We hope that these contributionsassist in strengthening the Pisgah Community.

Sue Fosson

Thank YouDear Pisgah Family

Thank you all for your prayers, food, cards, andwords of support during Helens illness and followingher death. It is difficult to express how much just a cardor kind word means at a time like this. Helen loved herchurch family very much.

Don & Dottie Schmidt and Family

Ushers for one or more Sunday mornings thisSpring. Contact Maggie Howard, ChuckCraycraft, or sign up on the sheet in thenarthex.

Needed Your news! Tell us whats going on inyour life so we can share it with the churchfamily.

Photos of church events and people for a newPicture directory! Details to follow!

The Pisgah Post is published monthly by the PisgahPresbyterian Church, 710 Pisgah Pike, Versailles,KY 40383. The deadline for the April 2006 issue ofthe newsletter is March 20. Please submit articles tothe church office or email them [email protected].


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Session Notes The Session met in the Academy Building at

7:00pm on February 28, 2005.

Received Beau and Carina Butler into theactive membership of the church byreaffirmation of faith.

Approved a nonmember wedding for October14, 2006.

Spent some time in study and reflection on thePresbyterian slogan, The church reformed andalways being reformed according to the wordof God.

Set the date of April 29 for a Session retreat. The minutes of all Session meetings are available

for anyone in the congregation to read. The SessionCommittee chart and monthly financial report is postedon the Session bulletin board in the Academy Building.

Pisgah Community Club Annual

MeetingMonday, March 13 at 7:00 in the Academy Buildingwill be the annual meeting for the Pisgah CommunityClub. Anyone interested in good fellowship anddelicious food is welcome to come to the meeting andhelp decide dates and happenings for the summer.

What Pisgah values does the Club cover? Tradition,community, fellowship, and the beauty and nature ofour surroundings at Pisgah! What does the Club do? Itputs on nine picnics from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The dues are minimal: $20 for a single person, and $35for a family. Tennis players pay an additional $35. In

return, the Club buys the chairs and tables that theChurch uses frequently. The Club also contributes$1,000 to grounds maintenance annually, and last year itgave $2,500 for the new playground equipment. It alsospent $5,000 in 2005 to resurface the tennis courts.

The 2006 Community Lenten Services aresponsored by the Woodford County Ministerial

Association. Each service falls on a Wednesday andbegins at noon, and is followed by lunch at the hostchurch. The final service during Holy Week falls onGood Friday.

Date Location SpeakerMarch 8 Pinckard Baptist Jeff DouglasMarch 15 Versailles Baptist Doug SimpsonMarch 22 Versailles UMC Melissa SevierMarch 29 Versailles Presbyterian TBA

April 5 St Leo Catholic Church Coleman Howlett April 14 Woodford Christian T

Happy Birthday to You in March2 J.P. Stilz4 Courtland Johnson, Andrew Ryan5 Jon Martin6 Anna Gerrow7 Lantz Kindred11 Hannah Kindred, Don Schmidt16 Peg Wilds

19 Lucy Smith20 Mason Hill, Sue Henry22 Tamara Cassidy24 Richard Holt26 Happy Broadbent27 Tavner James28 Sam Clark29 Jim Cullen31 Taylor Gilbert

and in early April!1 Margaret Karsner

2 Sunny Dunlap, Lucy Lagrew4 Shelia Baker5 Jan Botkin, Lela Mitchell9 Abe Fosson12 Missie Wood

If we have not included your birthday,please accept our apology and let us know sothat we can u date our files.

Order an Easter PottedPlant for the Sanctuary(Hyacinths, Tulips, and Lilies)

Order a potted plant in honor or memory orthanksgiving for an individual or family. Theplants will be placed in the Sanctuary for Easter.

The cost is $6.50. Payment may be made by checkto Pisgah Presbyterian Church or cash. If you wishto place an order, fill out this form and place it inthe offering box or mail. Please write on yourcheck in the memo line Easter Flowers. You canalso call Jane Pryor if you have any questions (859-873-8861).

I wish to order ______plant(s)

In Memoryof:____________________________

In Honor

of:_____________________________

In Thanksgiving

for:_______________________

Name:_____________________________

Telephone:_________________________


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Scholarship Applications NowAvailableAttention 2006 Graduating Seniors and 2005Scholarship Recipients

Scholarship applications are now available in thechurch office and should be submitted forconsideration of a 2006 Pisgah Scholarship by April 15,

2006. The Pisgah College Scholarship is available by

application for persons who are presently members ofPisgah Presbyterian Church and who are supporting,nurturing and participating in the fellowship and life ofthe Church. Those seeking financial aid from thisscholarship must have been accepted in, are currentlyattending, or anticipating becoming a full-time student,an accredited college, university, or post-secondary

vocational school.Scholarship aid shall be awarded one year at a time

for a maximum term of four years. Scholarships may be

renewed each succeeding year by submitting a currentcollege transcript along with the scholarship Applicationand the required essay.

Please return your application to the church office,to the attention of the Trustees no later than April 15,2006. Questions, please contact Mary Hinton at 859-268-9024.

Administration Committee NotesVolunteer Opportunities

We have all heard it said that many hands makelight work. The Administration Committee is seeking to

form a group of people who would come together oncea month in order to help send out the Pisgah Post. Wewould like to have a group take the printed newsletterand finish preparing it for the post office. With severalhelpers this task should not take more that an hour toan hour and a half. If you are interested in being a partof this group please call Don Schmidt or WandaRodgers.

Also, the Pisgah office needs volunteers to comeanswer the phone from 9:00-12:00p.m. on Tuesdaysand Thursdays of each month. Please consider making amonthly commitment to a specific day.

Sympathy is extended to Johnny Mac and LucySmith and their family on the death of JohnnyMacs mother Rachel Rebecca Smith on February19, in Luverne, Alabama.

Sympathy is extended to Hank and Todd Graddy onthe death of Todds aunt Sue Trimble Henry, onFebruary 22 in Lexington, KY.

SnippetsoCaleb Martie scored his first goal in basketballduring the Paris Tournament held last weekend.Caleb plays for the Scott County Stallions. Theirteam won the tournament.

oThe Woodford County High School wrestling teamare the 2006 State Champions. They won thestate tournament held over the weekend ofFebruary 17. John Smith and Chad Scott are apart of this championship team. They also wonstate last year as well.

oLinda Scott, in advance of beginning chemotherapy,has cut her hair and offered it to Locks of Love, anorganization that provides hair pieces tofinancially disadvantaged children 18 years andyounger suffering from long-term medical hairloss.

oBarry Stephens, son of Becky and Jim Nelson, istransferring from Kansas City to Louisville in hisposition as a stockbroker with ScottTrade. He hasbecome recently engaged to Barno Nurbaeva, aBerea College grad from Uzbekistan. Becky is soexcited to be adding another female to the family!Son Mark has just graduated from UK cum laude

with honors in history. He hopes to enter theSchool of Nursing this fall.

Additional Snippets are posted on the PisgahFridge in the Academy Building. Please send an email, anote, or call the church with any news regarding yourfamily that we can share with all who receive thenewsletter.

Concert of Prayer this month will be the

Missionary Report and PotluckDinner!!!!!

On March 19, our two missionaries from PisgahChurch will share pictures and stories from their two

week mission trip to Argentina. This promises to be aninspirational opportunity for everyone to learn moreabout the importance of mission and families areencouraged to attend. Child care will be provided.

(Look on page 5 where Marlin and Joe have taken time off to seewarm water penguins.)


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DCE NotesDear Friends,

As we enter into this season of Lent, I thought thatperhaps it would be a good reminder for some andinteresting to others of what this season is all about.

Lent is a season of forty days, not countingSundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends onHoly Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon

word, lencten, which means spring. The season is apreparation for celebrating Easter.

Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting andpreparation for baptism by converts and then became atime for penance by all Christians. The First Sundaydescribes Jesus temptation by Satan; and the SixthSunday (Passion/Palm Sunday), Christs triumphal entryinto Jerusalem and his subsequent passion and death.Because Sundays are always little Easters, thepenitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyfulexpectations of the Resurrection.

The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and

repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christianworship, and the imposition of ashes can be a powerfuland experiential way of participation in the call torepentance and reconciliation. The practice is thehistoric focus of Ash Wednesday observance and gavethe day its name. It is tradition to save the palmbranches that were waved from the previous yearsPalm Sunday service and burn them a year later toproduce the ashes for Ash Wednesday.

In next months Pisgah Post I will write about TheGreat Three Dayssometimes called the Triduum orPasch as being the climax of Lent.

Blessings, SueP.S. Oftentimes, when we think of fasting orsacrificing something for Lent, we only think ofmaterial things. Packed in some of my files, I foundthis little article and thought Id share it. I dontremember where I picked it up or who wrote it socannot give credit to the source. It is food for thoughtfor Youth and Children as well Adults if you want todiscuss it with them or put it on the refrigerator.

What To Give Up For LentGIVE UP grumbling.

Instead, In everything give thanks.

GIVE UP 10 to 15 minutes in bed.Instead, use that time in prayer.

GIVE UP looking at other peoples worst points.Instead, concentrate on their best ones.

GIVE UP speaking unkindly.Instead, let your speech be generous and

understanding.GIVE UP worries.

Instead, trust God with them.GIVE UP hatred or dislike of anyone.

Instead, learn to love.GIVE UP the fear which prevents Christian witness.

Instead, seek courage to speak of your faith toothers.GIVE UP spending so much time with newspapers,magazines or surfing the net.

Instead, use some of that time to study your Bible.GIVE UP buying anything but essentials for yourself.

Instead, give that money to Gods work orsomeone in need.

GIVE UP judging by appearances and by the standardsof the world.Instead, learn to give up yourself to God.

Ladies of Pisgah The Thursday evening Womans Bible Study has

learned of a one day Womans Conference with LizCurtis Higgs in Seymour, Indiana on Saturday, May 13thand would like to extend an invitation for everyone toattend.

As the keynote speaker, Liz Curits Higgs teachesand challenges her audience with a combination ofhumor and reflection. Her topic for the day is GodsLove is Enough. The conference is from 9:00 AM to3:00 p.m. We will have to figure in our travel time onboth ends of that timeframe. Tickets are $20.00, which

will also include lunch. This type of event is somethingthat you will want to invite a friend (s) to attend withus. If we have enough women sign up, it has beensuggested that we look into renting a bus.

If you are somewhat hesitant as to what kind ofspeaker Liz Curtis Higgs is, talk with ANY of the

women in the Thursday evening group to get theiropinion. They are Tamara Cassidy, Rhonda Fister, SueFosson, Maggie Howard, Liz Jacobson, Lisa Johnson,

Lesley Kindred, Beth McDaniel, Lela Mitchell, AnnOrtenburger, Becky Prater, Wanda Rodgers, DottieSchmidt or Jamie Torp.

Sue needs to have your RSVP along with the$20.00 by Sunday March 26th so that tickets may beordered by April 1st. A good time will be had by all.

Marlin and Joe in Argentina


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march 2006 pisgah post newsletter, pisgah presbyterian church

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