1 Presbyterian ‘Connection’ November 2013 Volume 20 Issue 11 HUMILITY How are you doing with your review of Colossians 3:12-17? The third trait the Apostle Paul said we should clothe ourselves, as God’s chosen people, with is “Humility”. Paul is reminding us that we are to be different in our actions and not allow ourselves to be swamped by human actions that are outside the norm of being clothed in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I recently read a gem spoken by George Washington: “Without humble imitation of the divine Author of our blessed religion, we can never hope to be a happy nation.” We, as well as our nation, need to awaken to these wise words along with the ones Paul challenged us to in his letter to the Christians at Colosse. Humility characterizes itself in such actions as modesty, meekness, and being unpretentious. Jesus told us in the Beatitudes “Blessed are the meek.” We are not to be overbearing to others. The humble are mild, gentle, and tolerant of those who don’t do or see things our way. We are challenged to be tenderhearted. Let’s not soil our “spiritual clothing” by getting caught up in the “angry spirit” of American politics today. Whatever we are faced with, remember the challenges Paul gave to us. Let us walk hand in hand with the Lord. One of my favorite passages from the Old Testament is Micah 6:8. He has shown you, O man, what is good, And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God. God Bless! Fred
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Presbyterian ‘Connection’ November 2013 Volume 20 Issue 11
HUMILITY
How are you doing with your review of Colossians 3:12-17? The third trait the Apostle
Paul said we should clothe ourselves, as God’s chosen people, with is “Humility”. Paul
is reminding us that we are to be different in our actions and not allow ourselves to be
swamped by human actions that are outside the norm of being clothed in the Spirit of
Jesus Christ. I recently read a gem spoken by George Washington: “Without humble
imitation of the divine Author of our blessed religion, we can never hope to be a happy
nation.” We, as well as our nation, need to awaken to these wise words along with the
ones Paul challenged us to in his letter to the Christians at Colosse.
Humility characterizes itself in such actions as modesty, meekness, and being
unpretentious. Jesus told us in the Beatitudes “Blessed are the meek.” We are not to be
overbearing to others. The humble are mild, gentle, and tolerant of those who don’t do
or see things our way. We are challenged to be tenderhearted. Let’s not soil our
“spiritual clothing” by getting caught up in the “angry spirit” of American politics today.
Whatever we are faced with, remember the challenges Paul gave to us. Let us walk hand
in hand with the Lord. One of my favorite passages from the Old Testament is Micah 6:8.
November 24 - First, Marianna Westminster, Hot Springs
PLEASE NOTIFY PAT ERLEWINE IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO SHOULD BE ON OUR PRAYER LIST.
BIRTHDAYS November December November 11 - Sandy Erickson December 5 - Lee Powell November 13 - Charlie Lowe December 6 - Shirley Lowe November 18 - Mary Lou Bryant December 11 - Jewel Riley November 27 - Frieda Danderson December 20 - Bruce Powell
ANNIVERSARIES
November 13 - Charlie & Shirley Lowe December 30 - Bob & Gloria Wiles
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LIBRARY LINES NOVEMBER 2013
The featured book this month is GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson.
This is the story “…about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage in America’s heart. In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and manages to convey the miracle of existence itself.”
In the children’s library on the cart are books free for the taking.
The Christmas books, videos, and music will be put out the end of November, so watch for those items. We have some really nice Christmas books. While you are browsing remember to check out the non-fiction section of the library. We have some wonderful books to feed the soul and lift up our spirits. We have two new books that have been donated to the library:
MONTANA SKIES by Ann Bell (fiction) and STORIES OF FAITH by Ruth Tucker (non-fiction).
Thank you to all those who so generously donate to the library.
Thank you all for your support.
Faye Brackett, Librarian
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MISSION MINUTE
NOVEMBER-2013
“What can you do?” muttered the grief-stricken teenage son of a heart attack victim during the dark morning hours at a community hospital. Having only been a hospital chaplain for a few weeks, I had no answer for him. Instead, I offered what I could: “I could pray with you or call your spiritual leader?” He shook his head and turned back into the dim room where his mother and siblings were.
I sat down at the nurse’s station, feeling completely helpless. I was only a student chaplain, there to fulfill a requirement for ordination. Yet somehow here I was: the chaplain to a grieving family; helpless.
It is easy to keep those who sit in darkness at arm’s length, whether they are grieving the loss of a loved one, drowning in debt, or dealing with abusive relationships. We can sit next to them and have no idea how dark their shadows are. That night I could no longer keep those sitting in darkness at arm’s length, and I saw with new clarity how that person was me. I and this family sat in death’s shadow that night--the death of a loved one and the death of the self-reliant me.
The reign of Christ is no longer an abstract concept for me. In Luke 1:78-79, we are reminded that even in the midst of the deepest darkness God will bring the dawn and somehow guide our lives and world into the way of peace. Christ’s reign can be embodied in us each time we act on the prayer “Thy will be done.” It is not our helplessness that makes us weak but our unwillingness to be the body of Christ for the world.
I was not helpless that night, but I had made a mistake. My mistake was thinking that what the family needed was me.”
- Emily Hope Morgan, student at Princeton Theological Seminary
Submitted by the Mission Committee
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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN
On Monday, October 7, 2013, the Presbyterian Women met at 9:30 a.m. at the Village Wheel for their monthly meeting. Breakfast was their own choice.
We had a great speaker to inform us of the Backpack program. Mrs. Rainbolt from Flippin School sure opened our eyes & ears to the much needed help to make sure the young children have food to eat over the weekends.
With a vote from our ladies, we have agreed to send $300.00 to the Backpack program. Also our Mission program sent $100.00 to the ‘Mountain Home Christian Clinic’, $100.00 to the ‘Flippin Children Lunch Program’, and $100.00 to the ‘Vera Lloyd Home’. We have paid out $2,200.00 this year for Missions.
Our new officers for the year of 2014 will remain the same as last year. Mary Kerr will be your Moderator & Treasurer. Amy Johnson will be Vice-Moderator and Vicky Bair has agreed to take charge of publicity.
I hope everyone will attend the Potato Bash on October 26th, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Have a blessed month and remember to change your clocks back 1 hour on November 3rd to ‘fall back’ off Daylights Saving Time.
Mary Kerr
Moderator
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Thanksgiving History
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized
a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag
chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not
have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s
exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on
a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer.
Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices
and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the
fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of
contemporary celebrations.
Did You Know?
What we probably did not know about Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Becomes an Official Holiday
Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had
threatened the year’s harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of fasting and
thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis became common practice in other New England settlements as
well. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a
year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of
the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the
country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John
Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.
In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each
celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition.
In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale—author, among countless other
things, of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”—launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a
national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors,
senators, presidents and other politicians. Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of
the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who
have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the
nation.” He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every
year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during
the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition,
and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
Lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu
