SUMMERVILLE TIMES JULY, 2014
The first week of July is a time for flying the flag. One single day is just not sufficient for celebrating the anniversary of our independence as a nation. Our worship service on July 6 will reflect this national holiday through hymns, prayers, and sermon. Our sermon title is “One Nation Under God,” a phrase included in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. We will examine Old and New Testament passages which help us to understand how people of faith function as good citizens in a democratic republic. There will be parades, fireworks, concerts, and family gatherings throughout the nation on this day. I hope the celebration will be meaningful to your family, and that the festive spirit will continue through the following weekend.
The General Assembly of our church met in mid-June. The secular press carries little information about meetings of our governing bodies. I hope you will visit the website at www.pcusa.org to learn more about the actions of this assembly. Please note that changes to the Book of Order and Book of Confessions require the subsequent approval of a certain number of presbyteries. Commissioners to the G.A. are earnestly seeking the will of Christ for the Church, and their decisions may not always reflect prevailing views in our society.
Our mid-summer communion service is scheduled for July 13. There will not be another opportunity to share this experience until World Communion Sunday on October 5. Please make every effort to attend.
Brenda and I appreciate your loving support following the death of her mother, Frances Winstead. Some of you attended the visitation and service on June 18. We celebrated her 96th birthday just prior to her death at Park View Retirement Center. She had been a resident there for eleven and a half years. She had a rich and full life, and we are blessed with many happy memories. We received word of the death of Brenda’s cousin, Sandra Rutledge, of Raleigh, while on our vacation. She was only sixty-nine, and had declined gradually with Alzheimers. I participated in both these services. I had officiated at the wedding for Sandra and her husband, forty-two years ago.
Blessings to all!
Pastor Tom
The first week of July is a time for flying the flag. One single day is just not sufficient for celebrating the anniversary of our independence as a nation. Our worship service on July 6 will reflect this national holiday through hymns, prayers, and sermon. Our sermon title is “One Nation Under God,” a phrase included in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. We will examine Old and New Testament passages which help us to understand how people of faith function as good citizens in a democratic republic. There will be parades, fireworks, concerts, and family gatherings throughout the nation on this day. I hope the celebration will be meaningful to your family, and that the festive spirit will continue through the following weekend.
The General Assembly of our church met in mid-June. The secular press carries little information about meetings of our governing bodies. I hope you will visit the website at www.pcusa.org to learn more about the actions of this assembly. Please note that changes to the Book of Order and Book of Confessions require the subsequent approval of a certain number of presbyteries. Commissioners to the G.A. are earnestly seeking the will of Christ for the Church, and their decisions may not always reflect prevailing views in our society.
Our mid-summer communion service is scheduled for July 13. There will not be another opportunity to share this experience until World Communion Sunday on October 5. Please make every effort to attend.
Brenda and I appreciate your loving support following the death of her mother, Frances Winstead. Some of you attended the visitation and service on June 18. We celebrated her 96th birthday just prior to her death at Park View Retirement Center. She had been a resident there for eleven and a half years. She had a rich and full life, and we are blessed with many happy memories. We received word of the death of Brenda’s cousin, Sandra Rutledge, of Raleigh, while on our vacation. She was only sixty-nine, and had declined gradually with Alzheimers. I participated in both these services. I had officiated at the wedding for Sandra and her husband, forty-two years ago.
Blessings to all!
Pastor Tom
