FPC News - June 17, 2014 Issue

500190 • Volume 11 • Number 12 June 17, 2014

1A heart for the city.

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Coming up in

Worship

SUNDAY, JUNE 29Joe Clifford preachingText: Genesis 22:1-14

SUNDAY, JUNE 22Guest preacher John HolbertText: Genesis 21:8-21

Pastor’s DeskGod’s call in our lives can sometimes be a small whisper heard in the middle of the night or a loud rush of wind in the middle of a crowd.

Friends it is with mixed emotion that I am writ-ing to let you know that I have accepted a call to be the solo pas-tor at First Presbyterian Church Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Illi-nois.

Like First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, First

Presbyterian Church of Mount Vernon is looking to see where God is calling them in their community. They started an ecumenical homeless shelter called Lifeboat and continue to value their role in this ministry. They are looking to see how they can reach out to people of various backgrounds and demographics. And most im-portantly they are seeking to be Christ’s light in their community.

It has been through my Lilly Pastoral residency here at FPC Dallas that I have been able to discern my gifts and passions for ministry. I enjoy preaching and teaching especially wrangling what God is saying in scripture in community with you in class and in the pulpit. I have learned what it means to deeply care for your neighbor in pastoral care and mission regardless of one’s background because each of us is a child of God. I have learned what it means to be the body of Christ in leadership positions, committee meetings, and in ecumenical gatherings. I have seen that the Holy Spirit can stir in unexpected and exciting ways through individual people and a faith community that listens to where God is calling next.

Friends it is my hope that I can take these gifts of ministry into my next call.

Pastors on CallThis week all of our Pastoral Staff is out of town. Joe will be preaching at the Mo Ranch Worship and Music Conference. Wendy will be serving as a General Assembly Commissioner in Detroit. And Bruce will be in New York receiving an award from his alma mater, Wagner College. In their absence, our Associ-ate Pastor Emerita, Dr. Cynthia Logan, and Rev. Rachel Helgeson will be available in the event of pastoral emergencies. Thank you Cynthia and Rachel for meeting this need.

As I write this I am reminded of the hymn “God be with you till we meet again.” As the body of Christ we are not saying good bye but instead,

“God be with you till we meet again;by God’s counsels guide, uphold you,With God’s sheep in love enfold you;God be with you till we meet again.”

I will miss First Presbyterian Church of Dallas and thank God that I had the opportunity to be with you for the time the residency per-mitted. Know that you are all invited to visit Mount Vernon if you are in the area. Until that time, God be with you till meet again for we are all the body of Christ.

Christ’s Blessings,

Rev. Rachel Helgeson

Upcoming Church TripsPlease keep the following groups in your prayers this month:June 14-21: General Assembly in Detroit with Wendy Fenn as a delegateJune 15 - 19: Mo/PAM Worship and Music Conference - over 50 adults and children attending from FPC with 2014 Confer-ence Director Josh Taylor and preacher Joe CliffordJune 22-27: Sr. High Celebration at Mo-RanchJune 26-29: Family Mission Trip to Shreveport, LA with nine familiesJune 28 - July 5: Juarez Mission Trip to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to work with Arrow Outreach

2 A heart for the city.

Keenagers/SAGEANNUAL FOURTH OF JULY PARTY

As tradition has it, the Buchanans are once again our gracious hosts. This is an invitation for all church members, their family, friends and neighbors to come and share in food and fellow-ship. Bruce & Carol will provide the main course and as the custom, all who attend please bring a side dish of salads, fruit, vegetables, desserts, or breads to accompany our meal (no meat dishes please). The fun begins at 5:00 p.m. and goes to 7:00 p.m. Reservations would be appreciated by Tuesday, July 1 but nobody will be turned away at the door! As always, there will be the “shooting of the cannon” by Rev. Bruce! Directions to the Buchanan home follow: Take Central Expressway/75 north to Richardson, and exit at Spring Valley Road. Go right on Spring Valley and continue east. There happens to be a split where you can either turn to stay on Spring Valley or stay straight, so stay straight. This road is now called Centennial Blvd. Stay on Cen-tennial Blvd., and when you get to Grove Road, get into the left lane. The next light will be Bowser Road, and you will take a left on Bowser Road. Go down to the second street, which will be Grinnell Drive and turn right. The party is at 812 Grinnell Drive. Their phone number is 972-680-3042.

The Adventures of Flat Jesus

Join the children this sum-mer in “The Adventures of Flat Jesus”. The Flat Jesus project was cre-ated as a way to keep our church connected during the summer travel sea-son. He is based on the Flat Stanley children’s book. Flat Jesus is a vis-ible expression of our faith and reminds us that Jesus is with us wherever we go and that Jesus does not stay in the church be-tween Sundays but is with us every day as we part-ner with God to do God’s

work in the world. Just think of the interesting conversations that can take place as pictures are taken with Flat Jesus.

You can download complete directions and a template to cut out at http://www.fpcdallas.org/images/images_A6073/FPCflatje-sus.2014.pdf. Email photos to [email protected] or post them on the FPC facebook page. Look for a display in Anderson Common showing all the places Flat Jesus has visited and who he has met. You can also pick up information and templates at the display.

Children’s CornerA complete Children’s calendar is available to download from the FPC website. Questions or to RSVP please contact Bethany Shretha at [email protected] UPCOMING EVENTSJune 26-29 – Family Mission Trip to Shreveport

Youth MattersJUNE 228:30 a.m. Senior high youth gather to depart for Mo Ranch in Byrd Hall9:30 a.m. Church School for 7th-9th graders, 4th Floor Church School for 10th-12th graders in Courson 310:50 a.m. Worship, SanctuaryJUNE 276:30 p.m. Senior Highs return from Mo-RanchJUNE 299:30 a.m. Church School for 7th-9th graders, 4th Floor Church School for 10th-12th graders, Courson 310:50 a.m. Worship, SanctuaryJULY 6 Teacher Sabbath—no church school8:30 a.m. Middle Schoolers gather to depart for Mo-Ranch in Byrd Hall10:50 a.m. Worship, Sanctuary5:30 p.m. Youth and leaders gather for CMW, Courson 3

An Invitation from Jim and Nell CarvellPlease join us in celebrating

our 50th Wedding Anniversary

as our guests for lunch

Sunday, July 13, 2014

12:00 p.m. | Byrd Hall

Absolutely no gifts!

We have been members of FPC for 46 of our 50 years of marriage - it is certainly our church family - and has been our Dallas family for these many years. We want to celebrate this special occasion with you, our “family.” Please join us!

3A heart for the city.

Summer Visiting Youth and Summer Day CampEach year, First Presbyterian Church, opens their doors to about 160 Children and Youth that participate in The Stewpot’s Chil-dren and Youth Programs. If you are down at the church dur-ing the week this summer, you will see a lot of activity. Many of these children attend programs year round. During the summer we go from having children one day a week to five days a week.

Elementary children participate in a program called Summer Kids’ Club (known for many years as Summer Day Camp). They rotate through classes such as drama, art, recreation, math/computers, reading, music, science, writing, and healthy eating. These classes are educational but also fun for the students so it does not feel too much like school. They then attend a field trip each Friday. Middle and high school, called Summer Crew, also have various activities such as art, engineering, cooking, and this year they will also be doing SAT/ACT preparation. Both groups receive lunch and a snack each day.

The church also welcomes youth groups from around the coun-try for The Stewpot’s Summer Visiting Youth program. In this program youth groups come for an urban ministry mission trip. They help with our day camp each afternoon, visit other area non-profits in the morning, serve dinner at The Bridge, and lead a Bible study at The Stewpot.

Did You Know?The Foundation helps support the Music Ministry.

Every year we are fortunate to have wonderful music aided by the FPC Foundation’s special music funds.

These funds have been established by First Pres members who loved the church, loved music and wanted to honor a loved one.

The Campbell fund, honored Ray Campbell and was founded by Ruth Campbell Hobrecht in l982, one of the early music funds. It is for special music during Holy Week and Easter.

The Strickland Fund, established in l998 by Gene Strickland in memory of his wife Judy Strickland. This fund was to help defray expenses of outside musicians. Gene Strickland played trom-bone in the church orchestras for many years.

The Echols fund, established by Jim Echols in l998, to honor Jane’s 40 years of service as organist and pianist. It was dedicated but not limited to the purchase of equipment and for soloists or other musicians.

The Hodges Fund, established by Dr. Robert and Maxine Hodges in memory of their son Jonathan. This fund supports solo and instrumental music for the Christmas season.

In 2013 the balance in these funds was over$ 120,000. Distri-butions from the funds are made quarterly to the church music program.

With the help from the Foundation our music program can have full orchestras from time to time, special instruments such as harp, brass and flute players. They also support the Concert se-ries providing outstanding concerts to our church and the wider community through the year allowing the music ministry to be increased by some $4,000.

Josh Taylor says: “ Psalms 98 invites us to ‘Sing a new song to the Lord for He has done marvelous things’ Thanks to the vision and insight of individuals who continue to give, the music fund is a marvelous gift that repeatedly allows us to sing, play and experi-ence new things as we offer praise and glory to God through the gift of music. I am grateful for the opportunities these monies provide for our shared ministry . And he adds, “ these gifts enable the music ministry of our church to embody a Heart for the City”.

This is just one of the many ways the Foundation supports the church and our ministries. If you would like more information on donating to music funds or making any other contributions to the Foundation, please contact Kim Warner at the church.

Supplies Needed for VBSCAN YOU HELP?

(Leave in 3rd Floor Resource Room marked VBS)• Legos (standard bricks)• Magazine pictures• Empty Paper towel rolls• Scrapbook pages or wrapping paper (not birthday or

Christmas)• Smooth river rocks (1-2 Inch)

2014 Summer Camp and Visiting Youth (SVY) Schedule:JUNE 16- Summer Kids’ Club, Summer Crew start22- SVY Group- Webster Presbyterian Church, Webster, TX29- SVY Group- Young Nak Presbyterian Church- Houston, TXJULY6- SVY Group- FPC Dallas6-12- Students at Gilmont13- SVY Group- Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church- Lilburn, Georgia20- SVY Group- FPC Waco27- SVY Group- FPC Kerrville, St. Stephens Presbyterian Church, IrvingAUGUST3- SVY Group- FPC Sugarland, TX, FPC Missouri City, TX7- Last Day of Camp, Talent show and camp performances

4 A heart for the city.

Celebration of Authors FPC is blessed to have a large number of published authors in the congregation. Thirteen authors displayed their work on Sunday, June 8, at a reception in their honor. A number of them shared their talent by read-ing from their work. A vari-ety of genres were repre-sented: memoirs, how-tos, history, scholarly works on theology and science, cookbooks, books for children, and fiction thrillers. There will be a display of FPC authors books in the adult library in the weeks to come. Thanks to Susi Grissom for the photos!

These are the authors who were represented:

Vacation Bible School WORKSHOP OF WONDERS

Register and pay now online at www.fpcdallas.org/vbs for a week of wonders, July 28 – August 1. We will imagine with God, build with God, grow with God, work with God and walk with God each day. VBS is for ages four through children in 6th grade and meets from 9:00 am – 12:15pm. Cost is $15. Make plans now for your children or grandchildren or invite a neighbor. You must register by July 1st to be sure to receive a T-shirt.

Check out page 3 for a list of items needed for VBS crafts and where to drop them off!

• Carol Adams• Sandi Chapman• Joyce Damerau• Jennifer Dickerson• John Holbert• Liz Lawless• Jerry Middents

• David Moessner • Will Pryor • Laura Starks• Jeanne Stevenson-

Moessner • Merrie Spaeth• Joy Strickland

Thanks from Gary MintonThank you to all of you who came to my “Senior” Recital for Camp Gilmont on June 1. I was honored to have about 400 friends in the audience. It was a really fun night for me. I love to sing, but especially soved singing with and for family and

good friends, and particu-larly FOR Camp Gilmont. Con-tributions to the camp can still be made online at camp-gilmont.org.

5A heart for the city.

Calendar: June 18 - July 13WEDNESDAY, JUNE 187:00 AM Men’s Bible Study - Courson 18:00 AM Encore Park Construction - Room 40411:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC Pastor Bible Study - NOT MEETING 7:00 PM Chancel Choir - Choir RoomTHURSDAY, JUNE 1911:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC6:30 PM Celtic Band Rehearsal - Choir RoomFRIDAY, JUNE 2012:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PACSATURDAY, JUNE 219:00 AM ESL Classes - Community Ministries BldgSUNDAY, JUNE 228:30 AM Sr. High Youth Celebration Departs for Mo- Ranch - Byrd Hall8:45 AM Chapel Service 9:30 AM Church School Classes for all ages Modern Family Elective Class - Courson 310:50 AM Sanctuary Service MONDAY, JUNE 2311:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Crew Cooking Matters - Koinonia Rm Encore Park Committee - Conf. Room 318TUESDAY, JUNE 248:30 AM Little Stewpot Steward Assembly - Room 3099:30 AM Presbyterian Women Projects - Blakley Hall11:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club Cooking Matters Course - Koinonia RoomWEDNESDAY, JUNE 257:00 AM Men’s Bible Study - Courson 18:00 AM Encore Park Construction - Room 40411:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC Pastor’s Bible Study - Blakley Hall7:00 PM Chancel Choir - Choir RoomTHURSDAY, JUNE 267:00 AM Family Mission Trip Departs for Shreveport 11:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC6:30 PM Celtic Band Rehearsal - Choir RoomFRIDAY, JUNE 2712:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PACSATURDAY, JUNE 286:00 AM Juarez Mission Trip Departs 9:00 AM ESL Classes - Community Ministries BldgSUNDAY, JUNE 298:45 AM Chapel Service 9:15 AM Haiti 2015 Mission Trip Info Meeting - Parlor9:30 AM Church School Classes for all ages Modern Family Elective Class - Courson 310:50 AM Sanctuary Service 5:00 PM Family Mission Trip Returns from ShreveportMONDAY, JUNE 3011:30 AM Summer Crew - Byrd Hall, 4th Floor, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Crew Cooking Matters Course - Koinonia Room Encore Park Committee - Conf. Room 3185:30 PM Day School Board Meeting - Room 404TUESDAY, JULY 18:30 AM Little Stewpot Steward Assembly - Room 30911:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC

12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club Cooking Matters Course - Koinonia RoomWEDNESDAY, JULY 27:00 AM Men’s Bible Study - Courson 18:00 AM Encore Park Construction - Room 40411:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC Pastor’s Bible Study - Blakley Hall7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal - Choir RoomTHURSDAY, JULY 311:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PACFRIDAY, JULY 4 Holiday - Church and Day School Closed 5:00 PM Keenager/SAGE Annual Fourth of July Party - Home of the BuchanansSUNDAY, JULY 68:30 AM Jr. High Jubilee Departs for Mo-Ranch - Byrd Hall8:45 AM Chapel Service with Communion 9:30 AM Church School Classes for all ages Modern Family Elective Class - Courson 310:50 AM Sanctuary Service with Communion 12:00 PM Home Communion5:30 PM Community Minstries Week Begins MONDAY, JULY 711:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Crew Cooking Matters Course - Koinonia Room Encore Park Committee - Conf. Room 318TUESDAY, JULY 88:30 AM Little Stewpot Steward Assembly - Room 30911:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC2:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club Cooking Matters Course - Koinonia RoomWEDNESDAY, JULY 97:00 AM Men’s Bible Study - Courson 18:00 AM Encore Park Construction - Room 40411:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC Pastor’s Bible Study - Blakley Hall1:00 PM Keenager/SAGE Game Day - Parlor7:00 PM Chancel Choir Rehearsal - Choir RoomTHURSDAY, JULY 1011:30 AM Summer Crew - 4th Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC12:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC6:30 PM Stephen Ministry Supervision - 4th Floor Celtic Band Rehearsal - Choir RoomFRIDAY, JULY 1112:00 PM Summer Kids’ Club - 3rd Floor, Byrd Hall, PAC5:30 PM Thompson-Archer Wedding Rehearsal - Chapel8:00 PM Single Adults Uncle Calvin’s Coffee House - NorthPark Presbyterian ChurchSATURDAY, JULY 125:15 PM Young Adults Serve at the Bridge 6:00 PM Thompson-Archer Wedding - ChapelSUNDAY, JULY 138:45 AM Chapel Service 9:30 AM Church School Classes for all ages Modern Family Elective Class - Courson 310:50 AM Sanctuary Service 12:00 PM Congregational Lunch for Carvell’s 50th Anniversary - Byrd Hall12:15 PM Encore Park Community Garden Meeting - Room 403

6A heart for the city.

First Presbyterian Church News (USPS 022-481) is published semi-monthly by First Presbyterian Church, 1835 Young Street, Dallas, TX 75201-5611. Individual subscriptions $12 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to First Presbyterian Church News, c/o Beth Hernandez, 1835 Young Street, Dallas, TX 75201-5611.

Editor: Rebecca GinglesDeadline is 9 a.m. on Monday, eight days prior to publication date. Articles may be submitted by: Phone 214-748-8051 ext. 229 • Fax 214-749-0221 • Email: [email protected]

The FPC newspaper reserves the right to edit submitted materials. Please contact Beth Hernandez at 214-748-8051 or [email protected] with any requests to subscribe or discontinue the paper.

2015 Haiti Mission TripIn January 2015, FPC will sponsor its 5th mission trip to Fort Lib-erte, Haiti. Beginning with a relationship between the Friends of Fort Liberte and Dr. David Markham, we send a group of 25 – 28 people to Fort Liberte for a week-long staffing of a medical clinic. Typically, our group consists of 6 doctors, 2 – 3 nurses, 2 pharma-cists and 15 – 17 lay people.

On a typical morning, the clinic is surrounded by prospective patients as we arrive. With the help of Haitian translators, each patient is checked in, and then seen by one of the doctors. As needed, lab tests are administered and analyzed, prescriptions are dispensed, scabies baths are given out back, procedures are done, advice is given…all in a clinic with a generator for electric-ity and no running water. In January 2014, we saw nearly 1,000 patients during our week in Haiti.

Trip members are asked to contribute $1,500 which pays for a member’s travel expenses. The church underwrites the cost of the prescription drugs and the other supplies that we bring with us.

Planning for the January 2015 trip has begun. We will leave Dal-las after work on Friday, January 9 and return on Saturday, Janu-ary 17. Informational meetings will be held on June 29 and Sep-tember 7 at 9:30 am. Please join us to see pictures from past trips and to hear more about the plans for the 2015 trip. Trip organiz-ers include Jeffrey Zsohar, John Thompson, Matt Soucek, Cathe-rine Bywaters, Alayne Sprague and Marty Coleman. If you would like to add your name to the list of possible 2015 trip members, please contact Marty Coleman ([email protected]; 214.675.0718). Due to the accommodations available in Fort Liberte, please note that the trip is limited to 28 people.

2014 Grace Day Camp

PCUSA Multi-Cultural ConferenceFT. WORTH, TX | July 31 - August 3

The National Multicultural Church Conference (NMCC) will be held at the Historic Hilton Fort-Worth, TX, starting on Thursday, July 31 and ending on Sunday, August 3. This year’s conference will be held under the theme “Journeying and Awakening into God’s Diverse World.” Visit the brochure online at http://

www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/multicultural/pdf/2014-mcc-quickview.pdf.. Our own Joe Clifford will be the opening preacher at the conference.

Our 4th - 7th graders had a fantastic time last week with the residents of Grace Presbyterian Village for our annual Grace Day Camp. Look for a full account and more photos in the next issue. Until then, check out the FPC Facebook page for last week’s daily updates. Thanks to our volunteers who helped make the week a success!