Thursday, September 30, 2004

Israel Divestiture Spurs Clash (washingtonpost.com)

[You can read the entire Washington Post article that is the basis for this blog entry by clicking on the title above. The Post requires free registration.]

Last July, the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly voted 431 to 62 to "initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel."

According to Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk, the church doesn't plan a blanket divestment of its $7 billion dollar holdings, but it does plan to "target businesses that it believes bear particular responsibility for the suffering of Palestinians and will give them a chance to change their behavior before selling their shares." An example would be Caterpillar, Inc., which manufactures the bulldozers Israel buys to raze Palestinian homes.

Yesterday (28Sep04) in New York, Presbyterian officials met with leaders of the Reform and Conservative branches of Judaism to discuss the issue. Reportedly, it was a polite but strained meeting, in which neither side gave any ground.

You can read more about the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its peacemaking efforts in the Middle East by going to The Presbyterian Washington Office home page on the Middle East.

Update: The Presbyterian Church (USA) has messages from both the Moderator and the Stated Clerk on this troubling issue. See Israel & Jewish Relations.

Sunday, September 26, 2004

2004 Peacemaking Offering—03Oct04

2004 Peacemaking Image

On 3 October 2004 we celebrate both Peacemaking Sunday and World Communion Sunday.

Peacemaking Sunday is the day when churches throughout the Presbyterian Church (USA) take up a special offering that is used to promote peace around the world. Our Peacemaking offering will be used in the following ways:

  • (25%) Park County's Crisis Intervention Service in Powell
  • (25%) Synod of the Rocky Mountains for peacemaking activities
  • (50%) General Assembly for global peacemaking efforts.
Missions Committee Chair Wes Learned points out the importance of allocating 25% of our offering to our local peacemaking effort——The Crisis Intervention Service, which urgently needs financial support:

The Crisis Intervention Service (CIS) is located at 335 N. Gilbert in Powell, Although the main office is in Cody, there is a full-time person at the Powell facility along with three other staff members and a number of volunteers.

The Safehouse is located in this building. There are four bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen and a laundry. The Safehouse is for any person or family who needs to leave their home due to domestic violence. They are provided a place to say, food and necessities for ten days. They also receive counseling and are assisted in making plans for when they leave the shelter.

Last June there were seventeen people that stayed at the Safehouse. Some stayed between 7 to 10 days.

You might enjoy learning more about peacemaking by exploring the following links:

The Apostles' Creed: Real Humanity

". . . born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried."



On Sunday, 26 September 2004, Mr. Hunter continued his series of sermons on The Apostles' Creed by focusing upon the humanity of Jesus Christ. As Pastor Hunter explained, some early thought in the Christian church denied Christ's divinity, in particular the Gnostics, who believed Christ was fully human, and Docetism, which claimed Christ was fully spirit that only seemed to appear in human form. It was in reaction to this kind of thought that the Apostles' Creed insists Jesus Christ is fully divine and fully human. The Creed emphasizes human experience with the verbs born, suffered, and died.

Mr. Hunter focused upon three reasons why Christ's human nature is important to our theology. Data from StarTrek.comFirst, the Incarnation——thanks to Christ's Incarnation, God knows what it is to be human. Christ experienced the full range of human experience, and so God understands His human creation completely. In comparison, Mr. Hunter referred to Data (pictured at right), the beloved android character from the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although superior to humans and computers in innumerable ways, Data was keenly aware of his lack of humanity. He never, for instance, could have a spontaneous, unstudied reaction to situational humor. Because he was not human, Data never fully understood human begins. Thanks to the Incarnation, God understands the nature of humanity completely.

Secondly, Christ's willingness to assume human flesh reveals the depths of God's love for commitment to us, His creation. Christ became our link to God, the one whose human life helps lead us to God. To illustrate this concept, Mr. Hunter retold the Parable of the Birds, in which a farmer wishes he could become a bird in order to lead some pitiful, freezing birds to safety. So God became human to lead us to Him.

Finally, a fully human Christ functions as the best possible example for us fellow humans in our troubles. When Christ experienced hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and depression during His 40 days in the wilderness, his temptation represents genuine human suffering which he overcame using his human resources. Christ's example shows us that we, too, can overcome temptation, with God's help.


Monday, September 20, 2004

The Newest Member of God's Family

On Sunday, 19 September 2004, Union Presbyterian Church had the joy of witnessing the baptism of Payten Lynn Feller, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Feller. Payten's big brother and sister—Tyler and Kortny—assisted in the ceremony, which was attended by many members of Payten's immediate family . . . and all of God's family.


Payten Lynn Feller and her parents, Rob and Elizabeth Payten

Meet Jodi Emigh

Here's a little of our new Administrative Assistant's history, in her own words:

I was born in Thermopolis and raised on a cattle ranch in Colorado, but I have roots here in Powell from 1929. My mother, JoAnn Brown, graduated from Powell High. My grandmother, Leota Brown, and grandfather, Joe Brown (he was the drilling superintendent for Dyer Drilling and drilled most of the oil wells in the Basin), lived in Powell for many years. Some of you may have known the rest of my family. My Uncle Buck, Aunt Nita, Joyce and Pat Burke lived in Powell all of my life. Uncle Flynn, Aunt Dana, Sue, Denny, Judy and Linda Brown lived in Frannie then moved to Powell. My three children, Sheli, Matthew and Staci Shallenberger, and I lived in Riverton. I worked for the police department there then was offered a position here in Powell for the police department. I have lived in Powell since 1988.

I am so honored to be here serving you in the Union Presbyterian Church. Please come by and talk with me anytime.
—Jodi Emigh

I Believe . . . In Jesus Christ (Part I :: Christ's Divinity)

Window from Church of the Good Shepherd, Arlington, TX


On Sunday, 19 September 2004, Mr. Hunter continued his series on The Apostles' Creed by considering the divinity of Christ: ". . . And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord . . .." (The sermon for 26 September 2004 will focus upon Christ's humanity.)

Pastor Hunter's goal in the sermon was to affirm Christ's fully divine nature. Providing some historical background, he explained how The Apostles' Creed contains the early Christians' understanding of Christ's divine nature.

Quoting several passages of scripture, Mr. Hunter showed how the earliest confessions of the disciples acknowledge Christ's divinity. The first of these confessions is Peter's:

[13] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" [14] And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" [16] Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mat 16:13-16)


One of the earliest symbols for the Christian church was the fish, which represented Christ. In later centuries, the Greek word for the fish (Ichthys) was used as an acronym that affirms Christ's divinity:

ΙΧΘΥΣ = Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior

The divine nature of Christ, concluded Mr. Hunter, sets him apart from other great men, prophets, moral leaders, and teachers through the ages, such as Buddha. When one believes in the divinity of Christ, then Christ's miracles in the Gospels present no logical impediments: what cannot God accomplish?

When Christ says to us--as he said to Thomas--". . . do not be faithless, but believing," may we answer as Thomas did, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27-28).


Sunday, September 12, 2004

I Believe . . .

Genesis 1 (Creation story)
Luke 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son)


On Sunday, September 12, Pastor Dave Hunter began a new fall sermon series on The Apostles' Creed by focusing upon the need for creeds and confessions in contemporary society. According to the findings of the Barna Group's "Third Millennium Teen" survey,

"63 percent of churched youth don't believe that Jesus is the Son of the one true God, 58 percent believe all faiths teach equally valid truths, and 51 percent don't believe Jesus rose from the dead." (My emphasis, McDowell and Luce; for more teen statistics, see the Barna Group topic "Teenagers.")

Consequently, says Mr. Hunter, the beginning of The Apostles' Creed with "I believe" is significant. The Apostles' Creed began as an oral document, deliberately not written down in order to protect the infant faith and its adherents from persecution. Over the years, the confession developed further as a statement of our faith's tenets.

Many of the statements in the early confession helped distinguish the nascent Christian faith from the older, more established Eastern religions which surrounded it. The words "in God the Father"--although the product of a patriarchal society--were not meant to establish the superiority of males but to help illustrate and emphasize a close, personal relationship with God and God's creation. The image of God as a parent helps establish our position in the universe as God's children and as brothers and sisters of each other.

The adjective "Almighty" points to our belief that God is in charge and expresses our assurance that--despite our limited understanding of God's will--God's love and power will prevail in the universe.

The phrase "Maker of Heaven and Earth" expresses two fundamental beliefs:

  1. As the Genesis story concludes, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Creation is good. We need not transcend and deny the material world. It is God's creation. It is good.
  2. The earth still belongs to the Lord. While we humans may have dominion of the world, it is God's and we must keep the world in good shape through good stewardship.

Church Celebrates 95th Birthday

On Sunday, 12 September 2004, Union Presbyterian Church celebrated its 95th anniversary. While the actual founding of the church dates 14 February 1909, the church delayed the celebration to augment Rally Day and the start of a new year of Christian Education and worship activities.

The anniversary service followed an earlier order of worship, and planners encouraged members to dress in the spirit of the day. The choir pulled out old black choir robes, Mr. Hunter wore a robe that "dated back to Moses," and many in the congregation put together costumes from an earlier era.

In the spirit of the day, Nancianna Nott (left) models garb from an earlier era. She holds a needle-point muff she made for her mother-in-law years ago, from a pattern published in Ladies' Home Journal. "My mother-in-law didn't need it much in Tulsa," she said, "but she always carried it to church and lay it in the pew."

After the service, Congregational Life treated everyone to a traditional chicken dinner, with members of the congregation carrying in salads and desserts.

A member of the Congregational Life Committee, Mickey Ferren (right) donned a poke bonnet to serve up the anniversary chicken dinner.

Everyone--including the youth members pictured below--enjoyed the traditional Sunday dinner and each other's company in Ferren Hall.



New Computer Projection System

Union Presbyterian Church has installed a computer projection system to augment Sunday worship and other church gatherings. A new large screen hangs behind the left-hand pulpit in a catty-corner position. Using a laptop and projector from the front pews, multimedia shines up on the screen--enlarged for the congregation's viewing pleasure.

During Sunday's service, the system projected early images of Union Presbyterian's buildings and congregations, hymn lyrics, images for the sermon, and The Apostles' Creed.


Pastor David Hunter uses the new computer projection screen to illustrate his sermon on the first phrase of The Apostles' Creed: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth."


Tim Hunter provides his dad with PowerPoint support from the pews as the church inaugurates the new computer projection system.


Hymn leader Claudia Fisher uses the new computer projection screen to project the lyrics of hymns, during the pre-service hymn sing.

Monday, September 06, 2004

We Believe :: New Sermon Series

Confessional Banner of the Presbyterian Church for the Apostles' Creed

Starting Sunday, September 12, Mr. Hunter will preach a series of sermons on the Apostles' Creed. His first sermon will cover the clause, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."

The confessional banner pictured here (and which you sometimes see hanging in our sanctuary) was created by Richard K. Avery, pastor, and Donald S. Marsh, choir director, of the Port Jarvis, New York, Presbyterian Church when the Book of Confessions was adopted by the church as part of our Constitution.

One of our most ancient creeds, the Apostles' Creed (ca. AD 180-750) was developed as a baptismal creed for new Christians, and it is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Although it was not written by the Apostles, it represents the theological underpinnings of the first century church.

According to The Book of Confessions (PDF) , the Apostles' Creed developed over several centuries in response to challenges the early church faced. After its initial formulation around 180 AD,

The Apostles’ Creed underwent further development. In response to the question of readmitting those who had denied the faith during the persecutions of the second and third centuries, the church added, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” In the fourth and fifth centuries, North African Christians debated the question of whether the church was an exclusive sect composed of the heroic few or an inclusive church of all who confessed Jesus Christ, leading to the addition of “holy” (belonging to God) and “catholic” (universal). In Gaul, in the fifth century, the phrase “he descended into hell” came into the creed. By the eighth century, the creed had attained its present form.
For a nice discussion of why the Presbyterian Church uses creeds, see "Why Do We 'Confess' Our Faith?" , a 1996 article written by Perky Daniel from Presbyterians Today Online.

Sunday, September 05, 2004

Hello Goodbye :: Changing Faces in Church Office

Goodbye and Godspeed to Elizabeth Hinton who has been our Administrative Assistant. In addition to working in the office, Liz has been active on the Congregational Life Committee and the Chancel Choir. Unfortunately, she leaves us on September 11th to return to Colorado. Thank you, Liz, and God bless you.

The Personnel Committee is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Administrative Assistant, Jodi Emigh (pronounced like amy). Jodi starts Tuesday, September 7, so stop by to say hello.


"Greet your neighbors"

How Many, Lord?

Genesis 18:20-33 (click for RSV scripture)
Luke 15:1-10 (click for RSV scripture)

Mr. Hunter's sermon on Sunday was engendered by the question "How many people does it take to make it worth doing?", with it being replaced by the church activity of your choice.

The scripture lessons for today combined two familiar Bible stories:
  1. Abraham bargaining with God to save Sodom if only ten righteous people could be found in the city (Genesis), and
  2. Jesus's parables of the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to find one lost lamb and of the woman who searches her house for one lost silver coin of ten (Luke).
By examining these two stories, Mr. Hunter concludes that God's answer to the question "How many?" is "Only a few are needed to make mercy and compassion worthwhile." As Jesus's parables illustrate, every individual is worthwhile.

Mr. Hunter concluded with two lessons from pondering the question "How many"?

  • Every person is important to God, and
  • We shouldn't measure our church programs by numbers but by the impact our programs may have on one life.