Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, January 17th, 2024.

 

NARTHEX NEWS

WEEKLY EDITION

January 17, 2024


FROM THE NEWS DESK

OF

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

LEBANON, INDIANA

128 E. Main St. ~ Lebanon, IN 46052~ (765)482-5959

https://www.lebanonfpc.org ~ office@lebanonfpc.org

 

In the midweek newsletter this week:

~ Reminders

~ Celebrations

~ Gourmet Seekers

~ Installation of Elder

~ Weekly Devotional

~ Prayer Room

 

Reminders:

Live & Learn: Live & Learn will meet Saturday the 20th, meeting at 11:30 in the church library, lunch included. If weather dictates that the event be cancelled, Pastor Je will send out an email notifying everyone.

Liturgist: for January is Bess Wilkes.

Elder: for January is Amy Morrison.

Important reminder for Session members: The Session meeting scheduled for Jan. 16 was postponed until Jan. 23rd.


Celebrations: Happy celebrations to a really great crew. We love each one of you. We hope your year is exciting and new, and that you remember God loves you!

Happy birthday to Oliver Hutcheson, 1/24!

 

Gourmet Seekers: Gourmet Seekers will go to Klooz Brewz on Friday, January 26th. Please meet at the church at 11:30. Please let Gretel in the office know this week if you will be coming. Thank you.

 

Installation of Elder: Hats off to our soon-to-be-newest elder for Session: Bruce McConnell! Originally, Bruce was scheduled to be installed as elder last Sunday the 13th. However, since the service last Sunday was not an in-person service, the installation was moved to Sunday the 21st.  Thank you, Bruce, for your willingness to serve. Thank you, friends, for your support of this important role in the life of this church body. And thank you to you all for your patience with this delay.


Weekly Devotional:   Ships of Inspiration

            “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for.” Gov. Eric Holcomb began his State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 11th with this quote from Grace Hopper, one of the first female admirals of the U.S. Navy.[1] Gov. Holcomb went on to say, “I do not plan to safely stay anchored in port for the next 12 months.” Holcomb was referring to his plans and goals for this year in office, but what about you and me? Are we ships safely harbored in port when we are otherwise designed for being out on the open waters? Where should we be and what are we for?

    As I thought about the ship in port, it occurred to me that the ship needs a destination in order to leave port. Right? Even if that ship is a small sailboat and the destination is to take a day out on the open water just to be out there, to feel the wind in their sails and take in the beauty of the horizon – that is a destination of sorts. Right? If we are ships, we need a destination too. How do we find one? Is what we are really talking about here the need for “inspiration”?

            What is the ship’s inspiration to leave port? What’s mine? Do I have an example to follow? Someone to guide me? Another ship, perhaps? A course I want to follow?
            As I pondered all of this, I thought of my parents, my grandparents, and many of you. God has blessed me with so many great ships to follow. There have been so many inspiring, encouraging, uplifting, faith-filled and supportive people God has seen fit to bring into my life. I could not begin to count the many ships I’ve known who chose to brave the open sea, and then shared their adventures with me. How about you? Do you too know ships of inspiration?
            “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness.” (Proverbs 16:31) There is so much wisdom to be learned from those who have traversed these waters already. So many of you have had your own amazing adventures – of life, of love, of faith. The value of a ship is not how prettily it sits in the harbor but how well it has withstood the voyages it experienced before it came into port, and how well prepared it is for the voyages yet to come.
            Shall we be blessed with another day, another month, another year? Only God knows. But we have today, don’t we? We have today. And today I choose to thank God for where I’ve traveled, and where I have yet to go. Today I choose to lay before Him my plans, my dreams, my aspirations, as well as my questions, my concerns and my fears. Will you join me?
And so I say, “O Captain, my Captain, steer me to the course of Thine own choosing. Set me aright upon Thy waves, with naught by Thy wind in my sails. Be my Compass and my Guide. The adventure I choose to travel is with You. I would have it no other way.” Amen.

Prayer Room:

Prayer is important to the body of First Presbyterian Church. Are you interested in joining the prayer chain? Would you like to learn more about the role of prayer in our lives? Please contact Phyllis Duff, Prayer Coordinator, at (765)482-1485/ raduff2@att.net.

(The following prayer includes portions from the hymn “My Anchor Holds”, by W.C. Martin and Daniel B. Towner.)

Dear Heavenly Father,

We think today of the importance of a ship leaving port and how relevant that is to our life and our calling. At the same time, we also recognize that there is something to be said for the anchor and the crucial role it plays in the life of a ship. There must be an anchor. The ship must sail, but it also must have an anchor. You are that anchor for us. And so to You we sing:

 

“Tho the angry surges roll

On my tempest driven soul,

I am peaceful for I know, wildly tho the winds may blow,

I’ve an anchor safe and sure that can evermore endure.

 

And it holds, my anchor holds!

Blow your wildest, then, O gale,

On my bark so small and frail:

By His grace I shall not fail,

For my anchor holds,

My anchor holds.

 

Mighty tides about me sweep,

Perils lurk within the deep,

Angry clouds o’er-shade the sky and the tempest rises high;

Still I stand the tempest’s shock, for my anchor grips the Rock.

 

And it holds, my anchor holds!

Blow your wildest, then, O gale,

On my bark so small and frail:

By His grace I shall not fail,

For my anchor holds,

My anchor holds.”

 

Amen.


[1] Mia Frankenfield and Arianna Hunt, “Indiana governor delivers his final State of the State address”, The Lebanon Reporter, January 11, 2024.

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