On April 7th, our pastor, the Rev. Ruskin Falls, was arrested by the Muscular Distrophy Association (MDA). Fortunately, our church members, family members and friends were able to raise enough money to bail him out! Of course, this was a fund raising stunt for the MDA. It was a great success.
Al Henager, Parish Associate, to supply at Trinity Presbyterian
Our Parish Associate, Al Henager, will be filling the pulpit at Trinity Presbyterian Church over the next few weeks. He is substituting for Jeff Price who is on sabbatical. Al will preach every Sunday in May, June, and July, except for the last Sunday of each month. Al will be back home with us next on May 30, when he will address our new Shepherd's Staff program of pastoral visitors.
THE SHEPHERD’S STAFF
Part of the mission of the church is to care for our members and families. This care has historically been referred to as “pastoral care,” a phrase based on the metaphor of the Shepherd as one who provides “pasture” or nurture.
To help meet this mission, we are beginning a new volunteer pastoral visitors program called the Shepherd’s Staff. The Shepherd’s Staff will contribute to providing comprehensive pastoral presence, direct basic pastoral care, pastoral screening and supportive ministry to the member, families, and friends of Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church.
Al Henager, our Parish Associate and Staff Chaplain at UAMS, will direct the program. “I know there are people of our congregation who have gifts for and are called by God to the ministry of pastoral care,” Al said. “We are inviting them to an opportunity to exercise those gifts and callings while providing training and guidance.”
Al will give a broader overview of the program following the Fellowship Meal on Sunday, May 30.
Here is the latest copy of the Pulaski Heights Herald, our NEWSLETTER:
PULASKI HEIGHTS HERALD
May/June 2010 EDITION
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11: 9-10
E-mail Addresses
If you received this newsletter by “snail mail” and you have an e-mail address that means that the church office does not have your e-mail address. We are trying to be “cost-efficient” and send as much correspondence as we can by e-mail. If you have an e-mail address and can receive attachments, please let the church office know. As you well know, this will help us cut costs on our postage, copier expenses, copy paper, etc. Also you will not receive the monthly calendar by
e-mail. The calendar will be available in the narthex, outside of the Adult Sunday School classroom, and outside the church office. Please pick one up.
Church Wide Garage/Yard Sale
Well, when we did a garage sale two years ago, several of us said we would never do that again. As the old saying goes “never say never”. The Congregational Life committee has decided to do another garage sale. So clean out your closets, garages, storage sheds, etc. We will take anything! Please bring your “tired of”, “not sure what this is”, “this is just in my way” stuff and we will sell it. We have already started collecting “stuff” in the fellowship hall. Please bring your clean and in good condition stuff to fellowship hall. Before bringing your “stuff”, please contact Jane Anne or Mark in the church office. The sale will be on Saturday, June 5th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in fellowship hall. If you are unable to get your items to the church, we will have a day where you can schedule a pick up. Watch the weekly announcements for further information.
If you have not checked out our web page recently, you are missing a lot. Our new Parish Associate, Al Henager, has been putting in double and triple overtime to get us up to date. Check out our web page as soon as possible. You will be amazed.
Mission/Outreach Committee
“Just One Can” is a new campaign of the Mission/Outreach Committee. What is “Just One Can”? This campaign is to stock our food pantry. If every member would bring one can of food to the Food Manger in the Narthex every Sunday, we could add a couple of hundred cans of food to the food pantry every month. Let’s, everyone, make an effort to bring “Just One Can” to church every Sunday.
We need help in keeping the food pantry, Fresh Start Fashions, and the men’s clothing room organized. If you feel that you can spare a couple of hours a week to help, please contact Karen Osborne at 228-4457.
Our committee already is planning fund-raising dinners this year for ecumenical projects to be named at a later date. We’re also always open to fresh ideas from others regarding mission projects. If you have ideas to share-or if you would be interested in serving on our committee this year-please contact Karen Osborne at 228-4457 or call the church office.
Session Meetings
Our Session regularly meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month after worship in room 303. In May they will meet on the 16th and in June, they will meet on the 20th.
Once a Month Lunch Bunch
The Once a Month Lunch Bunch meets the first Thursday of every month. We will meet May 6th at The Olive Garden at 10715 Rodney Parham Rd., K-Mart Shopping Center. Rosalind Fredeman is our hostess. Please call Rosalind at 663-7735 for your reservation. We meet at the restaurant at 11:15a.m. For the month of June, Inez Farish is our hostess. Please watch weekly announcements for further information.
Bill May’s Famous Fish Fry Potluck
The
last Sunday in every month, except November & December, is potluck
Sunday. Our next potluck will be on May 30th. This will be our “Bill
May’s Famous Fish Fry”. Normally we ask members to bring a covered dish
to the fellowship hall to share with the multitudes, but in the month of
May, we will be asking for foods that will complement a fish fry. This
is right after the worship service in fellowship hall. Watch the weekly
announcements for fun activities that are associated with the monthly
potlucks.
Al Henager, Parish Associate
The
Book of Order (G-14.0570) provides for the establishment of a parish
associate relationship between a particular church and ministers who are
members-at-large of presbytery or who are serving in a validated
ministry other than the local parish. At the February session meeting,
Ruskin nominated the Reverend Al Henager to serve as Parish Associate
here at PHPC. The session voted its approval of the relationship. In
March, Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry also voted to approve, and
terms of agreement were signed on March 21st. Please welcome Al as our
new Parish Associate. At our May 30th potluck lunch, Al will explain all
of his hopes and dreams of this position at PHPC.
The
Shepherd’s Staff
Part of the mission of the church is to
care for our members and families. This care has historically been
referred to as “pastoral care,” a phrase based on the metaphor of the
Shepherd as one who provides “pasture” or nurture.
To help meet
this mission, we are beginning a new volunteer pastoral visitors program
called the Shepherd’s Staff. The Shepherd’s Staff will contribute to
providing comprehensive pastoral presence, direct basic pastoral care,
pastoral screening and supportive ministry to the member, families, and
friends of Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church.
Al Henager, our
Parish Associate and Staff Chaplain at UAMS, will direct the program. “I
know there are people of our congregation who have gifts for and are
called by God to the ministry of pastoral care,” Al said. “We are
inviting them to an opportunity to exercise those gifts and callings
while providing training and guidance.” More information to follow.
Friday
Bible Study
There will be a summer session of Friday
Bible Study. This will be the whole month of June.
On June 4th,
11th, 18th, & 25th, Dr. David Dyer will be teaching a class on the
Twelve Disciples of Jesus. It is always a delight to have Dr. Dyer
teach. Come at 9:30am for refreshments and fellowship, with lesson from
10:00am-11:00am. This is held on the Fridays in June in fellowship
hall. Bring a friend and join us for Friday Bible Study.
Children’s
Sunday School Class
Their Sunday school class begins at
9:30 a.m. and goes until 10:30 a.m. in room 203. We have 5 wonderful
teachers that want our children to grow spiritually and physically. Here
are these dedicated teachers: Sammy Williams, Preston Aughenbaugh, Pam
Medrez, Jamie Bosanko, and Mark Sullivan. Sammy, Jamie, Preston, and Pam
are residents here at the church. This is a wonderful way for them to
share their talents and skills with our children. Stop by the children’s
area sometime, and see all of the changes that have begun.
Church
Office Closings of 2010
The church office will be
closed the following dates: Memorial Day (May 31st), Fourth of July
(July 2nd), Labor Day (September 6th), Thanksgiving Day and the day
after (November 25th and November 26th), and Christmas (December 27th).
If you know that you will need to get into the church on any of these
days, please contact the church office ahead of time to make
arrangements.
Stewpot Volunteers
The
3rd Tuesday of every month is PHPC day at Stewpot. This means we need
to have folks there to serve food and drink to the homeless. If you want
to help, please contact Barbara Amsler ahead of time at 663-3060 to see
how many volunteers are needed that month. You need to report at 1st
Presbyterian Church, 800 Scott St. at 11 a.m. and be able to stay until 1
p.m. This is a wonderful mission that needs to keep going.
Adult
Sunday School Class
Ruskin ordinarily teaches on all but
the first Sunday of the month, when one of our other teachers leads the
class in consideration of a variety of subjects. On May 2nd, the
teacher will be Charles Gray, May 9th, the teacher will be Ray
Alexander, on June 6th the teacher will be Jamie Bosanko, and on June
27th, Ray Alexander will teach again. The dates not listed, our own
Ruskin Falls will be teaching those Sundays.
Since January,
Ruskin has been focusing on “Gospel Portraits of Jesus.” The aim is to
take each of the four New Testament gospels and ask: What is this
gospel’s picture of Jesus? What do we find being emphasized here
regarding Jesus’ life and mission? What does this gospel seem most
concerned to get us to see, consider, and embrace concerning the person
and work of Jesus? We’re not doing a close reading of the gospels, so
much as identifying the broader strokes of the story each one tells, as
its way of letting readers know what is of first importance to observe
about the life and mission of Jesus.
In January, we began with an
examination of significant differences among the gospels in what is
said regarding Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. We then
looked at the portrait of Jesus given us in Mark. In April, we moved on
to take up Matthew’s portrait of Jesus. From there we’ll move on to
Luke and to John.
Also, Brad Pickard has been invited during
one of Ruskin’s upcoming Sundays to speak to the class regarding his
experience this year with AmeriCorps. Watch for the date to be
announced soon in the Sunday bulletin announcements!
We have good
fun and fellowship. See you in room 303 at 9:30 a.m.
Presbyterian
Village Luncheon
Monday, June 21st, is our
next Presbyterian Village Luncheon and Communion Service with members
of our church who reside there. Please mark your calendar. From
11:00-11:20 a.m. will be meet & greet, with Communion being served
at 11:20 a.m., followed by lunch at 11:45 a.m. We gather for these
luncheons every other month. The next luncheon will be on August 16th.
You must contact either Karen Osborne at 228-4457 or the church
office for reservations by the Sunday before the luncheon. The Village
must know how many extra lunches to prepare. There’s a $6.00 charge for
lunch.
Fellowship/Circle Group
The next
meeting of Fellowship/Circle is Wednesday, May 5th. This group is
studying Horizons Bible Study, Joshua: A Journey of Faith.
Meetings are the 1st Wednesday of every month at 12:00p.m. in room 303.
Bring a sack lunch. Drinks and desserts are provided. This year, Bill
May and Mark Sullivan are sharing the responsibility of teaching. All
are invited to come join in the fellowship, fun, and learning. Their
next meeting is on June 2nd which will be the group’s annual cookout.
Pentecost
Offering
May 23rd is Pentecost Sunday, which also is the
day designated for receiving the Pentecost Offering. Its focus is to
assist children and youth whose present living conditions do more to
hinder than to promote good growth and development, and to train young
adults for special work with youth. Of the donations we receive, 60%
will go to General Assembly for use at the national level, and 40% will
be retained and put to local use by our Session. Donations also can be
made any Sunday before May 23rd, or by mail.
May/June
Birthdays
MayJune
5th Erika Osborne 4th Bill
May 6th Todd Gates 6th Jamie
Bosanko 8th Knighten Starnes 10th
Ray Ella Fleming 18th Eli Falls
Congregational Life
Happenings
Mark your calendars. Here are a few activities
that will be coming up in 2010:
May 5th – Fellowship/Circle
Group May 6th – Lunch Bunch-Rosalind Fredeman, hostess May 30th –
Bill May’s Famous Fish Fry Potluck June 2nd -Fellowship/Circle Group
Cookout June 3rd – Lunch Bunch-Inez Farish, hostess June 4th –
Friday Bible Study starts June 5th – Garage/Yard Sale June 21st –
Presbyterian Village Luncheon June 27th - Potluck
Watch weekly
announcements for further activities.
Our Newest
Members
Well, it has been a while since we have given an
update on our newest members. We last reported in the September/October
Herald of our newest members to that point. Since, we have added 6 new
members to our list. They are: Ray and Charlotte Alexander, Tom and
Bettye Johnson, Katy Bates-Henager, and Matt Worrell. Please introduce
yourself to these fine folks.
A Word
From Ruskin
This past March 21, our session signed terms
of agreement with the Reverend Al Henager to serve as Parish Associate
for our church. A parish associate is a minister member of presbytery
who is engaged in ministerial work other than in a local parish, but who
desires also to maintain a working relationship with a local church. A
parish associate serves at the invitation of the pastor and with the
approval of session and presbytery, and a parish associate is assigned
specific responsibilities in the life and work of the church being
served. The position is sometimes a paid one and sometimes an unpaid
one. Al is taking up this work without pay! He comes to us out
of love for this congregation and delight in the congregational spirit
that has greeted him here. He also comes believing that ours is a
church that would be open to applying the notion of the priesthood of
all believers more strongly to the church’s practice of pastoral care.
Al hopes to explore with us ways in which lay persons can become the
kind of pastoral care-givers that we all too often have presumed only
trained clergy persons are in position to become.
Al serves as
Staff Chaplain and coordinator of Palliative Care at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where he also is a supervisor of
Clinical Pastoral Education. Previously, in addition to serving other
institutions as chaplain, counselor, and director of pastoral care, he
has served also in parish ministry.
Below are our terms of call
with Al, as Parish Associate for Pulaski Heights Presbyterian:
Upon
his nomination by the Reverend Ruskin Falls, the Session of Pulaski
Heights Presbyterian Church has voted to enter into relationship with
the Reverend Al Henager, Chaplain, U.A.M.S. Medical Center, for him to
serve here as Parish Associate.
In his work with
this congregation, the Reverend Henager shall be responsible to the
pastor on an “as needed, as available” basis, without regular
remuneration.
This is a relationship that the church,
its Pastor, and its Parish Associate will be growing into and allowing
to evolve over time. Initial expectations of the Parish Associate
include the following:
– assisting the church in the
creation and maintenance of an effective web site;
–
providing group training in the work of congregational care
and visitation;
– being available for pastoral
emergencies when the Pastor is absent;
– filling in
for the Pastor in other pastoral situations as needed and
when appropriate;
– and, when given sufficient notice,
filling the pulpit on Sunday mornings as needed when
the Pastor is away.
When the Parish Associate fills the
pulpit in the Pastor’s absence, this will be done with remuneration in
keeping with usual pulpit supply honorariums provided by this
church.
If you haven’t checked out our church’s
website lately, I encourage you to do so—Al already is doing wonders for
us in terms of internet accessibility! Due to commitments made before
becoming our Parish Associate, Al won’t be filling the pulpit a whole
lot in 2010, but that will change in 2011. And probably by this coming
September, he will begin offering members here the opportunity to take
advantage of his own training as a supervisor of CPE (Clinical Pastoral
Education).
I’m excited, too, that Al’s wife, Katy, who is
Church Relations Coordinator for Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Home and Family
Services, has decided to become a member of our church. Of course,
many a Sunday morning will find her not here but visiting other churches
on behalf of Vera Lloyd. But certainly she can do that with our
special blessings, even as we delight in the Sundays when she can stay
home and worship with us here—and sing in our choir!
Over the
past two years, many new and good and exciting things have been
happening in and through Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church. It seems
to me that, slowly but surely, we are growing with what the letter to
the Colossians calls, “growth that is from God.” I myself am thrilled
to be a part of what is happening here. Also, I’m deeply grateful to
you, the members of this church, for the spirit of encouragement,
support, and understanding that you have surrounded my work with—and,
too, for the wonderfully delightful gifts my family and I received at
the close of worship March 14th, as signs of your appreciation in light
of the new step we have taken together now, through my installation as
pastor for this church.
Let’s keep a good thing going! And
keep always in mind that one of the main ways of doing that is this:
Invite a friend to church! And, for that matter: Invite a
stranger! (Who, by Sunday morning’s end—indeed, by the time we’ve
passed the peace—will be our friend in Christ!)
This
is a publication of Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church 4401
Woodlawn Dr. Little Rock, AR 72205 Telephone:
501-663-8361 E-Mail: phpres@comcast.net Web Site: www.phpreslr.com Editor: Jane Anne Spikes Sunday
mornings begin with Sunday School at 9:30 a.m., followed by worship at
10:45 a.m.
Here is a copy of the previous edition of Pulaski Heights Herald, our NEWSLETTER:
PULASKI HEIGHTS HERALD March/April 2010 Edition
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am; send me!”” --Isaiah 6:8
Our pastor, Ruskin Falls, was officially installed as
our pastor . . . .
Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 3:00 o’clock
in the afternoon
Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church 4401
Woodlawn Drive, Little Rock, AR
A reception followedin the
Fellowship Hall.
Update from the Pastor Nominating Committee The work of the Pastor Nominating Committee (Ray Alexander, Judy Barfield, Charlie Harper, Bill Shumaker, and Jane Anne Spikes) comes to fruition on February 28th, when their nominee, Ruskin Falls, whose call was confirmed by the congregation on January 24th and by presbytery on February 20th, will be installed as pastor for Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church. The service will be held in our sanctuary at 3:00 p.m. Ruskin has been serving here since January, 2008, but only on a temporary basis (“Temporary Supply Pastor”). He is being installed into a permanent ministerial position in our church.
The installation of a pastor is an act of presbytery. It will be a service of worship led by an administrative commission meeting on behalf of the Presbytery of Arkansas. Members of the commission and their roles in the service wereas follows:
Reverend Debra Freeman, Westover Hills Presbyterian Church, Little Rock – to moderate and to put the constitutional questions to the candidate. Elder Charles Harper, Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church, Little Rock – to extend the call to worship and to put the constitutional questions to the congregation. Reverend Don Campbell, Honorably Retired Member of the Presbytery of Arkansas --to lead us in the confession of sin and to offer the declaration of forgiveness and the prayer of installation. Elder Penny Noel, Grace Presbyterian Church, Little Rock --to call us to a time of offering (the offering will go to support the Theological Education Fund of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)), and to lead us in the affirmation of faith. Reverend Clif Ford, First Presbyterian Church, Alma – to read the Scriptures and preach the word. Elder Peg Falls-Corbitt, First Presbyterian Church, Conway – to issue the charge to the minister. Reverend Karen Akin, Second Presbyterian Church, Little Rock – to issue the charge to the congregation.
The service of worship and installation will be followed by a reception in the fellowship hall. All are invited—and invited to invite friends!—to this wonderful occasion in the life of our church. Session Meetings Our Session regularly meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month after worship in room 303. Note the room change. They will now meet in the new Adult Sunday School room. In March they will meet on the 21st and in April, they will meet on the 18th.
Presbyterian Village Tea On Monday, April 26th, PHPC is host to the Presbyterian Village Tea. We need volunteers to prepare snacks for the residents at Presbyterian Village. We also need some folks to be host/hostess at the Village. Please contact Jane Anne, Mark, or Karen Osborne if you can prepare any “goodies” or be host/hostess.
Once a Month Lunch Bunch The Once a Month Lunch Bunch meets the first Thursday of every month. We will meet March 4th at The Villa Italian Restaurant at 12111 W. Markham, in the Rock Creek Shopping Center. Karen Osborne is our hostess. Please call Karen at 228-4457 for your reservation. We meet at the restaurant at 11:15a.m. For the month of April, Mark Sullivan is our host and we will be going to Loca Luna. Please watch weekly announcements for further information.
Potlucks The last Sunday in every month, except November & December, is potluck Sunday. Our next potluck will be on March 28th. We ask members to bring a covered dish to the fellowship hall to share with the multitudes. This is right after the worship service. Watch the weekly announcements for fun activities that are associated with the monthly potlucks.
Friday Bible Study Friday Bible Study has begun and will go from 10-14 weeks. Dr. David Dyer will be teaching a class on the second half of 1st Kings and all of 2nd Kings. It is always a delight to have Dr. Dyer teach. Come at 9:30am for refreshments and fellowship, with lesson from 10:00am-11:00am. This is held on Fridays in February, March, April and possibly part of May in the fellowship hall. Bring a friend and join us for Friday Bible Study.
Sunday Bulletins If you have ever missed a Sunday worship service and would like a bulletin, please contact the church office. This does not apply to our shut-ins; you are sent a weekly bulletin.
Children’s Sunday School Class In January 2010, we started a new year and a new venue for the Children’s Sunday School. Their Sunday school class begins at 9:30 a.m. and goes until 10:30 a.m. in room 203. We have 5 wonderful teachers that want our children to grow spiritually and physically. Here are these dedicated teachers: Sammy Williams, Preston Aughenbaugh, Pam Medrez, Jamie Bosanko, and Mark Sullivan. Sammy, Jamie, Preston, and Pam are residents here at the church. This is a wonderful way for them to share their talents and skills with our children. Stop by the children’s area sometime, and see all of the changes that have begun.
Adult Sunday School Class The adult Sunday School class has moved upstairs! Coffee is served in the parlor, and the class meets in the next room past the parlor. This is the same floor level as the sanctuary, and making this change will allow people to participate without having to go down and then up so many stairs to attend Sunday School and then worship. Sexton Mark Sullivan has turned the room into a wonderful classroom, and we think all will approve of the change.
Ruskin ordinarily teaches on all but the first Sunday of the month, when one of our other teachers leads the class in consideration of a variety of subjects. On March 7th, the teacher will be Jamie Bosanko, and on April 4th, the teacher will be Jane Moore. Also, as Ruskin needs to be away from the class on March 28th, Charles Gray will be the teacher that day.
Ruskin’s classes right now are focused on “Gospel Portraits of Jesus.” The aim is to identify the broad strokes of Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s, and John’s respective portrayals of the life and mission of Jesus, and, when that is done, to evaluate the significance of the similarities and the differences we find, and the meaning of these portrayals of Jesus back then, for us and for the church today.
We have good fun and fellowship. See you in room 303 at 9:30 a.m.
Presbyterian Village Luncheon Monday, April 19th, is our next Presbyterian Village Luncheon and Communion Service with members of our church who reside there. Please mark your calendar. From 11:00-11:20 a.m. will be meet & greet, with Communion being served at 11:20 a.m., followed by lunch at 11:45 a.m. We gather for these luncheons every other month. The next luncheon will be on June 21st. You must contact either Karen Osborne at 228-4457 or the church office for reservations by the Sunday before the luncheon. The Village must know how many extra lunches to prepare. There’s a $6.00 charge for lunch.
Fellowship/Circle Group The next meeting of Fellowship/Circle is Wednesday, March 3rd. This group is studying Horizons Bible Study, Joshua: A Journey of Faith. Meetings are the 1st Wednesday of every month at 12:00p.m. in room 215. Bring a sack lunch. Drinks and desserts are provided. This year, Bill May and Mark Sullivan are sharing the responsibility of teaching. All are invited to come join in the fellowship, fun, and learning. Their next two meetings are April 7th and May 5th.
Church Office Closings of 2010 The church office will be closed the following dates: Good Friday (April 2nd), Memorial Day (May 31st), Fourth of July (July 2nd), Labor Day (September 6th), Thanksgiving Day and the day after (November 25th and November 26th), and Christmas (December 27th). If you know that you will need to get into the church on any of these days, please contact the church office ahead of time to make arrangements.
Stewpot Volunteers The 3rd Tuesday of every month is PHPC day at Stewpot. This means we need to have folks there to serve food and drink to the homeless. If you want to help, please contact Barbara Amsler ahead of time at 663-3060 to see how many volunteers are needed that month. You need to report at 1st Presbyterian Church, 800 Scott St. at 11 a.m. and be able to stay until 1 p.m. This is a wonderful mission that needs to keep going.
Prayers for Our Shut-Ins In our weekly announcements, there is a prayer list of our members that need our special prayers. On this list, is also listed “All our Shut-ins”. Our shut-ins are: Libby Ballard, Olen Churchill, Judy Clark, Dorothy Dinwiddie, Millie Hogg, Helen Hoke, Caroline Holmes, Nan Jones, Winifred Nowlin, Frank Plummer, Anne Ryals, Knighten Starnes, and Louise Walthall. Please include these precious members in your daily prayers.
March/April Birthdays March April 7th Winifred Nowlin 1st Allen McMillan 16th Liz May 8th Bob Oberle 10th Nancy Bateman 16th Phil Campbell 8th Rosalind Fredeman 10th Jana Barfield 17th Clay Spikes 10th Nan Jones 12th Suzanne Moss 19th Jane Anne Spikes 20th Neil Falls 14th Barbara Amsler 29th Karen Osborne 26th Layne Carson
Congregational Life Happenings Mark your calendars. Here are a few activities that will be coming up in 2010:
March 3rd – Fellowship/Circle Group March 4th – Lunch Bunch-Karen Osborne, hostess March 28th – Potluck April 1st – Lunch Bunch-Mark Sullivan, host April 4th –Easter Pancake Breakfast April 7th – Fellowship/Circle Group April 19th – Presbyterian Village Luncheon April 25th – Potluck April 26th – Presbyterian Village Tea
Watch weekly announcements for further activities.
St. Thomas’ Church On January 1, 2007, our session began leasing two buildings on our property, the McLean building and the chapel, to St. Thomas’ Church, a Reformed Episcopal congregation. This past January 21, that congregation’s minister, Father John Lohmann, informed the session that the decision had been made to close St. Thomas’ Church, and that February 21 would be their final Sunday to remain open. The session now is engaged in establishing fair market values for those of our church facilities that we are not presently using ourselves. Over the next few months, the session will be considering whether we have present uses for these facilities, or whether they should be offered again to other tenants.
Spring Forward Sunday March 14th at 2:00 a.m., daylight savings time begins. You will want to set your clocks forward 1 hour. This means if you go to bed at 10:00 p.m., set you clock for 11:00 p.m. If you do not do this, you will be late for Sunday school and church.
Easter Pancake Breakfast Sunday April 4th is Easter Sunday. Come one, come all to the Annual Easter Pancake Breakfast at PHPC in the fellowship hall. Pancakes will be served from 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., this is so you will have plenty of time to get to Sunday school. Bring a friend and join us for breakfast, then a wonderful Sunday school class and then worship service.
HILLCREST LENTEN SERVICES 2010
SERIES THEME: WALKING IN FAITH
February 19, 2010 March 12, 2010 Pulaski Heights Baptist Church Our Lady of The Holy Souls Catholic Church 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. 1003 N Tyler Monsignor J. Gaston Hebert Reverend Ruskin Falls
February 26, 2010 March 19th, 2010 Pulaski Heights Methodist Church Pulaski Height Presbyterian Church 4823 Woodlawn 4401 Woodlawn Dr. Reverend Holly Patton Reverend Carolyn Staley
March 5, 2010 March 26, 2010 Pulaski Heights Christian Church Our Lady of The Holy Souls Catholic Church 4724 Hillcrest St. 1003 N. Tyler Reverend Randy Hyde Reverend Vic Nixon
All services begin at noon. At each location, a light lunch will be served after the service. A free-will offering to cover the cost of the lunch will be collected.
PHPC To Host Lenten Lunch Please note that we will be the host for the Lenten Lunch on March 19th. This means we provide the light lunch. We will need lots of sandwiches and desserts. Please contact Jane Anne, Mark, or Karen if you can make either 2-3 dozen sandwiches or desserts.
Order Your Lilies On Sunday March 14th, we will have the memorial/honor forms in the bulletins for you to order lilies that will decorate our sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 4th. Our sanctuary will be decorated the week of March 28th. All orders must be in the church office by Sunday, March 28th. The memorial/honors will be listed in the Easter Sunday bulletin.
E-mail Addresses If you would like to start receiving any church information by e-mail, please let Jane Anne in the church office know. For the May/June Herald, we would like to send it out electronically to as many folks as we can. This will help us cut down on our postage cost.
Mission/Outreach Committee “Just One Can” is a new campaign of the Mission/Outreach Committee. What is “Just One Can”? This campaign is to stock our food pantry. If every member would bring one can of food to the Food Manger in the Narthex every Sunday, we could add a couple of hundred cans of food to the food pantry every month. Let’s, everyone, make an effort to bring “Just One Can” to church every Sunday.
We need help in keeping the food pantry, Fresh Start Fashions, and the men’s clothing room organized. If you feel that you can spare a couple of hours a week to help, please contact Karen Osborne at 228-4457.
Our committee already is planning fund-raising dinners this year for ecumenical projects such as Stewpot and Interfaith Hospitality Network. We’re also always open to fresh ideas from others regarding mission projects. If you have ideas to share-or if you would be interested in serving on our committee this year-please contact Karen Osborne at 228-4457 or call the church office.
A Word From Ruskin In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), congregational meetings are called as needed for specific purposes, such as electing church officers, calling a new pastor, changing the pastor’s terms of call, or buying, mortgaging, or selling real property. There also is an annual meeting, which is held as an occasion for hearing session committee reports on the year gone by, reflections from the clerk of session and from the pastor, and open discussion of any concerns, hopes, observations, and suggestions that others want to contribute. This church traditionally schedules its annual meeting to follow worship and potluck fellowship on the final Sunday in January. The weekend of January 31, 2010, however, was a time of icy streets in Little Rock. Many churches did not even hold worship services that Sunday. We chose to cancel the potluck but to go ahead and hold worship and even the annual congregational meeting. Far more people showed up for worship than we expected, and more than enough for a quorum for a congregational meeting. Still, because so many members were unable to be there, we left copies of the committee reports in the narthex for you to take and read. My “Pastor’s Report,” however, was not in the packet. Therefore, I share it with you here:
Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church
Pastor’s Report to the Annual Congregational Meeting, January 31, 2010 Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry (COM) has given its approval to this congregation’s request – and to my glad embrace of this congregation’s request – that, after two years of getting to know each other on a temporary basis, I be called and installed as minister for this church on a permanent basis. Presbytery still must approve this request and will consider it at its stated meeting on February 20. We have every reason to expect to receive Presbytery’s approval. In fact, we’ve been given the green light by COM to go ahead and plan an installation service for Sunday, February 28, at 3:00 p.m.
This call from the congregation, together with my embrace of this call, is a step into a new level of commitment to each other as followers of Jesus and workers in his church. The fact that we are entering this new commitment says a lot about the year gone by. It says there is significant mutual appreciation for how we’ve worked together thus far; it says there is good reason to trust that the way we’ve begun growing together is growth that is from God; it says that what we’ve been up to together this year has the sound and feel of gospel truth and of the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Different churches have differing notions of what a minister’s strengths and areas of concentration ideally should be. Different churches have differing notions of which ministerial tasks a minister ideally should emphasize the most. One thing (among many!) that has struck me as providential this past year, is that the two areas that I feel most strongly called to focus on, are precisely the areas that the session has asked me to make my ministerial priorities. As it’s stated in my job description: “The principal commitment of ministerial time shall be to providing church guidance through the preparation of faithfully reflective sermons and theologically instructive courses of study.” This past year I have sought to live up to that expectation largely through the interpretations of Scripture that I’ve offered in my sermons, and through teaching weekly Sunday School classes, an officer training class, and a confirmation class.
As a teacher I have sought to lead probing and responsible examinations of matters crucial to the church. I’ve sought to nurture a sense of theology as a joyfully serious task and critically faith-filled way of looking at things. I’ve sought to keep us properly skeptical of oversimplified answers to complexly difficult questions. I’ve sought to help us give unflinching attention to how historically conditioned Christian life and faith always are. I’ve sought to encourage others not to think simply what I think, but, instead, to think soundly and responsibly for themselves. And I have learned a lot from those I’ve sought to teach.
As a preacher, I still am very much a beginner with a lot to learn. I believe however, that, here in this church, I’m working with a congregation that can and will be good for me in that respect. This past year I have sought – and in the year ahead I will continue seeking – to work with sensitivity, insight, and perseverance at learning to proclaim God’s word in human words that will invite understanding and renewal in the church, and that will encourage among worshipers here an honest, attentive, responsible, and forthright witness of faith and hope and love.
This is a publication of Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church 4401 Woodlawn Dr. Little Rock, AR 72205 Telephone: 501-663-8361 E-Mail: phpres@comcast.net Web Site: www.phpreslr.com Editor: Jane Anne Spikes
THE SHEPHERD’S STAFF
Bill May’s Famous Fish Fry Potluck
Al Henager, Parish Associate
A Word
From Ruskin
