Dear Friends:

For the past three weeks, I have intended to write this letter to say what a delight it was to see so many of you and other members of Graham Memorial while I was there for the worship service portion of the meeting of Arkansas Presbytery on November 16. It brought back such warm memories I had of the experience of service as interim pastor in 2002-2003. That pleasure was increased considerably by being able to introduce my new bride, Mary Allie, and having her see what a very special congregation you really are!

I have thought of you often since Shauna's departure back in the summer knowing the challenges you face without a full time pastor on site. If I had any doubt about your ability to face that challenge, It was more than resolved as I observed how graciously and efficiently you hosted the presbytery. You more than rose to the occasion! You handled the arrangements and details superbly without a hitch so far as I could tell and the church never looked better. More than that, the worship service that evening was exceptional, especially the stirring anthem and music leadership of the choir that inspired us all. You demonstrated to the presbytery and everyone present something of the quality and strength of who you are and not least, how blessed I was to have had the opportunity of being a art of your corporate life for a year and a half.

Please know that you will be in my thoughts and prayers during the months ahead as you continue to carry on the ministry of the church in Forrest City and as a committee searches for your next pastor and leader. And whoever that person may be, he or she will have the privilege and blessing of discovering what a remarkable band of believers you really are!

God bless you all with His grace and peace during this wonderful season and his wisdom and guidance in the year that lies before us.

Sincerely,

Epiphany of the Lord
Isa. 60:1-6; Ps.72:1-7,10-14; Eph. 3:1-12; Matt: 2:1-12

Baptism of the Lord
Isa. 42:1-9; Ps.29;Acts 10:34-43;
Matt 3:13-17

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isa. 49:1-7; PS. 40:1-11;
Cor. 1:1-9; John 1:29-42

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isa. 9:1-4; Ps. 27:1,4-9;
Cor. 1:10-18; Matt. 4: 12-23

January 6
First, McGehee
Church Administrators

January 13
First, Lincoln
First, Heber Springs

January 20
First, Ozark
Faith, Horseshoe Bend

January 27
First, Jacksonville
Belair, Pine Bluff

 

PW will be collecting items for Health Kits during the month of January.  The Health Kits are stored at Ferncliff and ready to use when a disaster strikes.

The list for the Health Kits:

One hand towel
One washcloth
One comb
One metal nail file or clipper
One bar of soap (bath size)
One toothbrush
One tube of toothpaste(4-7 Ozs)
Six band-aids

Boxes will be available if you would like to bring items.

Rose Ann Scheiderer

 

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year!

We took the month of December off as far as the Men of the Church Dinner, but are looking forward very much to our January meeting, when Mike Easley and his group will get a good post holiday meal together for us.

Everyone please mark your calendar for January 9th rather than the 2nd. We’ll have our dinner on the second Wednesday of the month for January to avoid some of the unavoidable holiday hang-over situations. We’ll see everyone at 6:00 pm on January the 9th this time.

See you there,

John Burks

Sunday, January 6
1:30 pm Session Meeting
7:00 pm DBS

Tuesday, January 8
7:00 pm WOC

Wednesday, January 9
6:00 pm MOC
7:00 pm Choir

Sunday, January 13
Installation of Session Members

Wednesday, January 16
7:00 pm Choir

Saturday, January 19
Session Member Training
9:00-12:00

Sunday, January 20
7:00 pm DBS

Monday, January 21
Holiday-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday

Wednesday, January 23
7:00 pm Choir

Sunday, January 27
Pot Luck
Congregational Care Meeting

Wednesday, January 30
7:00 pm Choir

 

 4  - Turner White Menefee
11 - Robert Kensinger
12 - Frances Holamon
13 - Amon Easley, Sam Harris, Brian Long
14 - John Foster Houseal
16 - Will Ash, Rhea Boyce
17 - Claire Cranford, Ruth Ann Vowan
20 - Wilson Parker
22 - Libby Casbeer
23 - Charles White
25 - Erin Patterson, John Charles Jarratt
29 - John Casbeer

5 – Jim & Joye Hughes

21 – Ron & Kathy Cockman

 

The Session of Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church met on December 2, 2007 to conduct the business of the Church. After opening with prayer, preliminary business was conducted and then the committees made their reports.

The Stewardship/Finance Committee reported that the process of investigating CPA firms to keep the books of GMPC was in full swing, and Preston hoped to have some solid results by January. The Congregational Care Committee submitted its recommendations for changes to the rolls. The list was approved by the Session. This is always a difficult job. Many thanks to the committee members for completing that task.

The Worship Committee has met with a possible Interim candidate who will meet with the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry soon. If the candidate is approved we may have an interim by March. Please continue to give the members of the Worship Committee your thanks for the great job they are doing. John Burks has made arrangements for pulpit supplies through the month of January.

The Session approved two donations from the Almighty’s Dollar: one to Rausch Hodges for the bicycles he collects and distributes for Christmas and another to the St. Francis County Elves, Inc. (Toys for Tots). Give thanks for people like Rausch and those who run the Elves program and remember the number of GMPC members who are out in the community doing good.

The GMPC Nominating Committee, chaired by Kim Danehower, met and completed the difficult job of recommending a Pastor Nominating Committee. A congregational meeting was held on Christmas Eve to elect Dodie Danehower, Frank Schwartz, Sandy Hodges, Christy White, and William Burks to pursue a new pastor for GMPC. Please pray for this committee as it begins its work.

As usual during the holiday season, the Session voted to give bonuses to our faithful employees. The Session approved doubling the usual bonus for all employees because of the help each one provided during the meeting of the Presbytery of Arkansas. The Lord has truly blessed Graham Memorial with Willie, Judy, Patricia, and Ruth Ann. Thank God for all they give this church, but also remember to thank them.

Average worship attendance during November was forty-eight. It breaks my heart to see our beautiful sanctuary so empty. Barry Anderson is preaching three Sundays this month. If you didn’t hear him in November, you missed some wonderfully inspired messages. Please come when you can. We miss seeing you there.

This will be my last highlight article for a while. Along with Dodie Danehower, Frank Schwartz, and B.J. Griffith, I have rotated off the Session. We are being replaced by the great Class of 2010, pray for them and the rest of the Session. Dodie, Frank, and I will not be resting, however. We will be serving on the PNC. We have jumped out of the pan and into the fire it seems. It has been my distinct privilege to serve as your clerk for the last three years, and I anticipate with joy, as I am sure Frank and Dodie do as well, serving our Lord and this church in our search for the pastor God has chosen for this most deserving congregation.

See you in church.

Love in Christ,

Christy White

 

8 Layer Tex-Mex Dip

1 can refried beans
1-12 oz. sour cream, 1 pkg. of taco seasoning (stir into sour cream)
1 container of quacamole dip
Lettuce chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
1- 12 oz. pkg. of shredded cheese
1 can of black olives, sliced
1/2 bunch of green chopped

On a 12” flat serving plate layer ingredients as listed starting with the beans. Serve with chips and enjoy. Great for Super Bowl Sunday

(Preston Hicky is tagged for February)

We would like to thank Billy Rauscher Hodges for the good job he did as acolyte during the month of December.

Our Acolite for the month of January is Sam Harris.

 

The prophet Isaiah sometimes felt that his fellow Jews had ceased praying and therefore God had hidden his face from them (see Isaiah 64:7, NRSV). Yet Isaiah knew that God was their Father and that the people were the work of God’s hand. Which of the following statements did Isaiah make to God?

A. “We are the paint, and you are an artist who paints pictures of us.”
B. “We are the clay, and you are our potter.”
C. “We are the putty in your hands, and you sculpt us.”

Click & drag below to see the answer.

B: (See Isaiah 64:8, NRSV.)

We had the largest group ever to unload the food shipment on a nippy January 2.  The wonderful people who brought strong arms and willing hearts were David Barry, Berta and Joe Elphingstone, Edith Fisher, Sita Fletcher, David and Tammy Freligh, Mary Loeb, Pat Long, Al Nimocks, and Ruth Ann Vowan.  Thank you all!  

Sita Fletcher is filling sacks in January and Berta Elphingstone is delivering during this cold month.   We still need packers for March and April, and we need deliverers for March, April, and May.  If you would like to volunteer, e-mail Edith Fisher at fishere@earthlink.net or call her at 870-459-2560.

There’s the story of the minister who was making a wooden trellis to support a climbing vine.
As he was pounding away, he noticed that a little boy was watching him. The youngster didn’t say a word, so the preacher kept on working, thinking the lad would leave. But he didn’t.
Pleased at the thought that his work was being admired, the pastor finally said, “Well, son, trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?”

“No,” he replied. “I’m just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer.”

—Homiletics

 

A woman from Uniontown, Ohio, told some fellow Christians that when she was a child learning the Lord’s Prayer, she did not understand that the words were “daily bread.”

She thought the line was “Give us this day our jelly bread.”

When Philip Johnson, renowned architect and designer of the Crystal Cathedral in California, was just 13, his family took him to France. When they entered the cathedral at Chartres, Philip was so moved by the majesty and beauty of the building dedicated to God that he burst into tears.

I have also shed tears in a church. I wept when I felt the nudging presence of God pointing me toward the ministry. I wept when I was ordained. I wept when I retired after serving as a pastor for 38 years.

I have seen people weep at the altar rail. I have seen brides cry during the marriage ceremony. I have observed people weeping at funerals and sometimes at the baptism of a child. I recall a man saying to me, “I cried during the sermon. Do you know that what you preach can sometimes make a person cry?”

To weep before God is to be in good company. Job said, “My eye pours out tears to God” (Job 16:20, NRSV). A psalmist prayed, “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears” (Psalm 39:12, NRSV). Read Jeremiah 9 and you will understand why he is called “the weeping prophet.”

Jesus wept over the wretched status of Jerusalem where he was spurned (Luke 19:41). He also wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:35). St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4, NRSV).

The point is this: When you are moved to cry before God, cry. People with caring hearts do that.

—Charles Ferrell

Whether or not we like it, “the days dwindle down to a precious few,” as an old song puts it. We’re aging daily and hourly. “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, moves on ….”

The question, sooner or later, is: How do we best handle the aging process?

It begins with keeping a healthy spirit. The body ages, but our spirits can remain vibrantly alive. We can keep spiritually alert by carrying on a conversation with God, truly listening more than talking. We can strengthen our spiritual life by attending worship services and reading the works of people who lived close to God, such as Mother Teresa, E. Stanley Jones, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others.

Keeping one’s body in tune through exercise and diet are also keys to aging well. But just as important are fellowship with others, working on interesting projects, engaging in family activities, learning something new and traveling.

Most importantly, remember that you’re never too old to grow in love for others. After all, St. Paul tells us that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends”

(1 Corinthians 13:7-8, NRSV).

The Quacker is a little late this time due to some unforeseeable events. It will be on time next month. Thanks for your patience.

Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church
402 Dillard
Forrest City, AR 72335

Phone: 870-633-4424
FAX: 870-633-1114
Email: gmpc@sbcglobal.net