St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
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St. Andrew's Shield “...above all taking the Shield of Faith ...” Ephesians 6:16 Volume 52, Number 3 February 14, 2007
From the Pastor’s Heart My heart is excited about the possibilities we are encountering for growth in St. Andrew’s. The Session voted to commit the next two years to The Acts 16:5 Initiative (“So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in numbers daily.” Acts 16:5). The eight people who attended the Seminar on February 2 and 3 want to lead our congregation in this growth! One of the strengths of this Initiative is the prayer covenant we made with one other person, agreeing to pray a specific prayer for each other for the next 30 days. What perfect timing! Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday, February 21. The Church long ago set this date as the beginning of the faith journey we call Lent -- the 40 days before Easter when we wrestle with our own faith, just as Jesus did those 40 days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13). Let’s all use the prayer covenant during Lent! Only, instead of (or in addition to) praying this prayer with another person, how ‘bout praying it for yourself during Lent? Here it is, somewhat amended: Lord, grant me the grace today to commit my life to following Jesus Christ without reservation, and grant me further the grace to know your strength and your guidance this day. Amen. Praying together! Pastor Ann
LOOKING AHEAD… March 3rd – 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Carbs or no carbs $3.00. Come to Fellowship Hall for your choice of breakfast items.
Thank You Hi all, I just wanted to say thanks for the finals package I received a while back. To know that people from home are thinking about you, even when you are over a thousand miles away – it just means a lot. New York City has a lot to offer, but it can never stack up against the family and friends I missed during the holidays. Best, Leo Rodriguez +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A note of thanks from Richard Wilson….. We wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the prayers offered over the past months and years and your expressions of condolence following Barbara’s death. Although MS ravaged Barbara’s mind and body leaving her as though a small child, those who came to know her and her beautiful smile and who heard Ann’s sermon this week know that she did not suffer. We never heard Barbara ask “Why me, God?” in response to her affliction. She was so filled with love, faith and hope that she only gave thanks and praise to God for as long as her mind and body allowed. We appreciate your expressions of love and concern for Barbara and for us.
THE REVELATION TO JOHN COMING IN FEBRUARY! The Lent portion of our Bible Study will be the Sundays of February 25, March 4,11,18, and 25, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m in the Fellowship Hall. We will finish The Book of the Revelation to John, using “Interpretation Bible Studies” Series Revelation by William C. Pender. If you did not purchase a book last Fall, we will need to order one for you. They cost is $10 each, and we will need to order them soon. Please call the church office (627-9600) to register or fill out this form and put it in the offering plate.
NAME: __________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS: _______________________________________ PHONE: ______________________
o YES! Please order ________ book(s) for me/us! o NO, I/We don’t need a book.
2007 Church Directory If you did not pick up your copy of the new 2007 Church Directory, please do so this Sunday. The directories are available in the Narthex.
Session Highlights The Session met in Fellowship Hall on Thursday, February 8, at 7:00 pm. After reading Psalm 121 responsively, Moderator Ann LaMar opened with prayer and played a video of Dr. Stan Ott’s first two questions for a Transformational Ministry: “What are you asking God to do?” and “What vision defines your ministry.” The Session then memorized the three visions for this congregation: Celebrate God’s love, seek God’s truth, and share God’s gifts. The Session transferred Elder Barbara Wilson to the Church Triumphant after her death on January 16, approved the 2006 Annual Statistical Report, and approved Pastor Ann’s Study Leave at Austin Seminary March 12-18. The Treasurer reported that we are about $4,000 behind because of the icy weather in January. The Session reviewed the 2007 budget, and referred it back to the Support Team for finalization. The Session approved requests to baptize the grandchildren of Jane Probey during worship on Sunday, February 18 (note: this Baptism has been postponed until after Easter), and the granddaughter of Lee and Joyce Pauli during worship on Sunday, March 25 (Lee even brought a picture of her in case they needed persuading). The appraisal on our property is not yet completed, so there was no need to call a meeting of the congregation to consider the question of selling. If it is ready by the Annual Meeting on March 11, it could be considered at that time. The Session heard from four (out of a total of eight) who attended the Acts 16:5 Initiative Seminar on February 2 and 3. (Acts 16:5 reads, “And the churches grew in faith and increased in numbers daily.”) The Session voted to become an Acts 16:5 Congregation, and asked the Support Team to consider how much of the needed $1,200 each year for two years St. Andrew’s could give to this transformation effort. The remainder will be requested from the Presbytery’s Committee on Developing Congregations and Evangelism. The Session approved the Worship Team’s schedule for serving Communion: March 4 and 24, April 1 and 5, May 6, June 3, July 1, August 5, September 2, October 7, November 4, December 2 and 24 of 2007, and January 6 and February 3 of 2008. After considering the needs of members of our congregation, the Session read Psalm 103:1-5, made a list of the blessings God has blessed them with the past 10 days, noted how they would respond to these blessings, and closed with specific prayer requests.
LENT BEGINS… Lent is a time of reflection and preparation before the celebration of Easter. Beginning with Ash Wednesday, February 21, let us prayerfully begin our journey.
If you have to miss worship on any given Sunday, you can find both the bulletin and the sermon on the web. Webmaster, Emerson Parker, adds them to our website each week, and adds The Shield on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Our address is www.standrewstulsa.org.
St. Andrew’s Special Prayers and Concerns…
Please call the Church office if
you know of someone who needs to be added to or removed from
our
Prayers and Concerns list. Presbytery Prayer List Please remember these friends in your daily and weekly prayers…
Feb 18 - 24, 2007 The Kulli Chito Church in Bethel and First Church in Muskogee along with Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Caribbean Islands, and Costa Rica.
Feb 25 – March 3, 2007 Mountain Fork Church in Eagletown and Yale Avenue Church in Tulsa as well as Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
Please make a note of these future events… Feb 18 9:00a.m. Sunday School 9:15a.m. Parents Group 10:00a.m. Worship Service 11:00a.m. Fellowship Time 11:30a.m. New Members Class 4:00p.m. St. Andrew’s Singer 5:00p.m. Youth Group Feb 21 ASH WEDNESDAY 7:00p.m. Sanctuary Choir Feb 25 9:00a.m. Sunday School 9:15a.m. Parents Group 10:00a.m. Worship Service 11:00a.m. Fellowship Time 4:00p.m. Bible Study 4:00p.m. St. Andrew’s Singer 5:00p.m. Volleyball is Back! Feb 26 5:30p.m. Homeless Feeding Feb 27 7:00p.m. Bunko Feb 28 Shield Published 7:00p.m. Sanctuary Choir Mar 3 7:30a.m. Carbs or no carbs Breakfast Mar 11 Annual Meeting of the Congregation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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