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On Christian Education
On Christian Education Sunday, I ended my reflection on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with a few questions and a final appeal.
How shall we live in this broken world given the difficulties and challenges posed by the realities of human craving, anger, dishonesty, and self-centeredness that Jesus addresses in the Sermon, and given the many ways these realities impact the web of relationships in which we live?
What is the path of healing that leads to reconciliation? How shall we follow Jesus Christ into a way of life that can help save this world?
How do we, right here and right now, create a healing and reconciling environment through our own relationships? How do we build the metaphorical house Jesus talks about at the end of the Sermon—the community that can weather the strongest of storms, the community that can withstand the mounting social, political, economic, and environmental crisis we human beings face.
Finally, how do we prepare our children to live in this world in which there is so much division, conflict, and suffering, this world in which they will undoubtedly face monumental challenges in the years ahead? How do we go about enlightening them to the human predicament in a way that does not overwhelm them, yet prepares them to respond with healing and reconciliation?
Think of the children in our church and the world they are inheriting. What does the future hold for them? Are we truly preparing them to enter this world as disciples of Jesus Christ, as people who can not only withstand the storms but can help save the world?
It seems to me this question regarding our children is the single most important question we can ask ourselves as a church. And it seems the most important thing we can do is integrate our children as strongly as we possibly can into a community of righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peace-making, forgiveness, reconciliation, prayer, and love. If Christian discipleship is about saving the world by cultivating healing and reconciling relationships, then it behooves us to integrate our children as strongly and deeply as we possibly can into a web of such relationships.
Christian Education is not just about giving our children intellectual information about Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian tradition, telling them stories about the liturgical calendar, or having them memorize the Ten Commandments and the Apostle’s Creed. It may include that, but it is far more than that.
Christian Education is ultimately about creating a community that is so strong, a community into which our children are so deeply connected, they will, as they get older, have the ability to look honestly at their own lives, the strength to withstand the difficult and challenging storms that loom ahead for them, and the capacity to respond in a way that brings about healing and reconciliation.
This, I believe, is the only hope for this world. Healing and reconciling the relationships that constitute this world is our only hope. God is not going to swoop down and save us from the precipice. The responsibility is ours to help save the world by following the path that Jesus Christ has shown us.
Each and every one of us is responsible for integrating the lives of our children into the life of our community. Each and every one of us has a role to play. Each and every one of us has the capacity to forge a bond with our children, a bond that will help prepare them to withstand the storms and save this world.
I’d like to thank all of you who responded to my reflection and the Christian Education Board’s presentation by stepping forward to teach our Sunday School class, realizing that you are not just imparting information to our children, but creating a bond with them that will help shape their future and the future of our world.
Thank you, and peace be with you.
A letter from Will Heimbach church member and seminary in-care student
Dear Church Friends,
I have been absent from active membership for so long that I wanted to update all of you on my whereabouts and progress.
As some of may know, I completed a 10 month internship this past December at United Christian Church with Rev. Tim Tutt. The first of January, I began chemotherapy for hepatitis C. My doctor and I decided that it was a good time to seek the treatment as I have been HIV+ for 23 years and for the last 10 years my HIV viral load has been undetectable and my immune system was high normal.
I thought I would be able to take a full class load at seminary, work part-time and remain active at church. As we all see, that did not happen. The medicine was much more challenging than I was prepared for, even after extensive reading and taking with my doctor. I apologize to all of you for not telling you this sooner. Fear, embarrassment, and anger with myself led me into denial that I did not need to reveal my health issues or seek support.
I have responded well to the drugs and the hepatitis virus was undetectable in my blood after three months. I believe that is God's hand at work! The side effects have been a challenge for me. The fatigue, depression, anxiety, infections, and just feeling crummy have pretty much wiped me out. I just don't know how I will feel any given day. Most days I never leave my apartment.
I am taking extensions to finish two of my five courses this summer. I will begin a full semester in the fall and will graduate in May 2009. Tom and the Board of Deacons have been very warm, understanding, caring and patient with me. I am learning that being open about myself does not limit or close doors but, in fact, opens new relationships and opportunities.
I just completed the chemo on June 14. I am going to get some rest, get out of my apartment, complete my two classes and, most importantly, become reconnected with my church family--all of you. I look forward with a new appreciation of how much love and support abounds at our church and, instead of feeling like an outsider, I plan to give and receive as an insider.
FROM THE DEACONS
As noted last month, we have been reflecting on ways our church has celebrated Easter in recent times and thinking about how we might approach the Easter season next year. It has been very important to us to develop a means of gathering ideas churchwide and determining the wishes and preferences of the congregation. In the last month we have developed a process that we believe will enable us to do so and arrive, in turn, at good decisions about Easter 2009.
At the heart of the process is a survey that we hope every member of our church will complete. The survey, consisting of ten or so yes/no questions designed to surface everyone’s opinions and priorities, will be distributed at a congregational meeting in mid-September (and later mailed to everyone unable to attend). Surveys will be collected by the end of September, and the results will be presented at a congregational meeting in mid-October. We expect that those results will clarify our collective preferences for celebrating Easter, and that we will emerge from the October congregational meeting with decisions about Easter 2009 that reflect the majority opinion of our members.
There will be lots of announcements and notices about these meetings and the survey, beginning in early August. Keep your eye on the Sunday bulletin insert and each month’s Visitor for more details. Our goal for this important decision-making process is 100% participation – help us make that happen!
Chairs of our Boards
Trustees: Reuel Nash
Deacons: Betty Bodman
Christian Education:
Christian Outreach: Dan Jeffery
Moderator John Goff
JULY BIRTHDAYS
1 John R. Gage
2 Enid Ross
4 Kay Lewis
5 Ellen Ryan
7 David Pinkard
8 Julia Adams
Sarah Murphy Sennour
9 Betty Phillips
11 Katelyn Lemley
15 Jonathan Ashton
17 Andy Ross
19 Joseph P. McMillan, Jr.
21 Chester Rosson
23 Gary Barrett
Chester Rosson
24 Brenda Tingle
26 Eric Deisler
28 Doyal Pinkard
Andrea Putz
31 Lillie Kate Webb
AUGUST BIRTHDAYS
5 Sharon Brown
6 Steven Hawes Domingue
10 Debbie Catherine Sennour
11 David Ross
Marty Gooding
13 Sarah Ashton
21 Loretta A. Lewis
John Goff
22 Cecile L. Ervin
24 Mike Ross
James Ross
26 Travis Moore
27 Becky Nash
The night of May 15th our church building sustained damage during a sudden, violent hail storm. The top of the chimney over Fellowship Hall blew off and took a good part of the roof over Fellowship Hall with it. The roof over the Towery wing also sustained damage, as did the roof over the sanctuary in a few places. Tiles on both sides of the roof were damaged, and roofing tile fragments were blown all over the parking lot, the courtyard/garden, and the street in front of the church. Some tile fragments were stuck 6" deep in the ground on the south side of the building. A few windows were broken and a bit of water came into Fellowship Hall and the Library through the northern wall. Luckily, the Trustees responded very quickly, especially Reuel Nash and Jaime Hadley (please be sure to thank them). Our custodian Victor Cardenas and Will Hancock from Lifeworks also spent about two hours helping clean up. Fortunately, the protective windows we had installed several years ago to protect the stained glass windows did the job and those much loved windows are safe. Our contractor for the Centennial renovations, Robert Sullivan, came out to offer help (putting the Trustees in touch with a roofer who came right out to put a tarp on the roof), and Evan Taniguchi, the architect for our renovations, came by to offer any help we may need. Tom and the Trustees have been in touch with our insurers and repairs are underway.
Friday the 13th of June was a lucky day for the church members who were able to attend and/or participate in the “Whenever-We-Get-Around-To-It Talent Show" brilliantly organized by Nodie Murphy with Don Miles as the charming master of ceremonies. Everyone enjoyed delicious soups (made by Nodie) and bread and cheese and other treats before the evening's entertainment. You would not believe the wonderful talents we have in our midst! The main requirement was that each act had to be three minutes or under. Nodie called the group to order and Florence Castle (who accompanied the choir during several acts)--played for a lively kickoff number by the Blue Grass Gospel Choir ("Turn your radio on, get in touch with God"). Don Miles, by virtue of being the emcee, started off the show with excellent slides of his trip to Puebla and Mexico City during Cinco de Mayo. Sara Ross struck a yoga pose and showed some of her beautiful flower slides she has taken over the years. Barbara Burnham wrote and performed a dramatic recitation followed by Chester and Robin Rosson in a delightful comic skit complete with Robin using an English accent . Chester, accompanied by Barbara, then sang a beautiful old song. Dave Ross, attired in Boy Scout gear, dedicated his performance to the Scouts in Iowa who had recently suffered such losses and behaved so bravely. Dave played a variety of calls (swimming, mess, colors, etc.) used in scouting--not on a trumpet but on his recorder. Bill Beardall played a rockin' guitar in a rendition of "Uranium Rock." Jesse and Lolita Binford (a chemist and a microbiologist respectively) did a funny skit/experiment on the hazards of wine-making. Pat Oakes spelled "camarad-E-rie" correctly followed by the choir singing the alphabet song in the style of Mozart--and then Pat played a short waltz on the piano., Cecile Adam read a wonderful poem that she wrote. Nodie and her Round Rock Choir friends Pat King and Becky Ellis sang the song from "The Singing Nun" while an offering was taken to help buy a new condenser for the air-conditioning unit in the library at Huston-Tillotson. Dennis Murphy read some "found" poetry that he had written. Cathy Hubbs (the retired librarian!) read "Huevos Verdes y Jamon in impeccable Spanish. Hannah Norton and Sarah Gourlie, accompanied by Sarah's boyfriend, Michael Gale, performed a delightful duet complete with choreography. Don and Sharon Brown showed off their new dance expertise, performing three different styles of dances. Beth Placek danced the story of Puck to the music from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," ably assisted by Marilyn Vaché. The choir sang a great Gilbert and Sullivan number. Jaime Hadley recited a beautiful poem by Lorca (supplying written translations for everyone). Tommie Pinkard talked about Ogden Nash and shared some of his rarely heard poems. Continuing with the poetry theme, Greg Futch read several of his poems. Nodie, Becky Ellis and Pat King closed the gala evening with another lively number. All participants received wonderful fans designed by Linda Berard and Diane Borrero. Start planning what you will do the next time the talent show comes around.
Savanna and Harrison Tucker enjoyed swimming lessons in June and soccer camp in July. Robin Chapman has asked Pam Tucker to do a triathlon with her in July. Queries Pam, "Does she know that I am getting OLD?! Guess I'll give it a shot." Good luck to you both!! Results in September.
Former pastor Yoshi and his wife Setsuko Kaneda just came home from their vacation in Alaska. The large cruise ship, Infinity, visited Sitka, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada, on the way home to Seattle. They enjoyed the whole trip that included several educational shore excursions such as a visit to the Raptor Center where sick and injured wild birds are rehabilitated and another visit to an old cannery where Chinese and Japanese laborers used to work to can the abundant catches of salmon until the cannery closed in 1957. After getting off the ship they felt the ground was swaying for a few days. Of course, Yoshi indulged himself for consuming a lot of good food on the ship and gained 8 pounds to his regret. He tried hard and reduced 5 pounds within a week. They spent two relaxing days in Seattle visiting some tourist attractions there, but visiting two places a day was more than enough for this aging couple. On June 12, their grandson Eric graduated from East Lake High with honors. Oh, how time flies! He visited Austin as a baby boy, a little monkey and a well-behaved youngster for his grand-parents to spoil him rotten. He is enrolled as a freshman at U.C. Irvine where his Uncle Joe graduated from. No wonder, Yoshi and Setsuko really FEEL OLD!
Liz Nash and Marilyn Vaché got to spend Mother's Day afternoon with their families at the new Long Center where Ballet Austin performed "Don Quixote." They were privileged to watch church member Michelle Thompson dance the lead role beautifully and joyously. Proud husband Rhys Ulerich looked on, commenting that after seeing Michelle come home from rehearsals and soaking her feet in ice he never, ever complains about minor aches and pains. Rhys has passed all his qualifying exams and is moving into the mixed research/course work phase of his program. This summer he's working towards validating an existing hypersonic fluid code and then quantifying the uncertainty associated with using different turbulence models within the simulation (Wow!). His next major milestone will be presenting a dissertation proposal sometime 12 to 18 months from now.
The congregation was pleased to see Jeri Winter at church on Sunday, May 25. She was visiting from Illinois with her fiancé of one week, Ray Gradecki. They met on-line some time ago and their relationship grew from there. Ray teaches gymnastics at a gym club. They are planning their wedding in October of 2009. We send you both our best wishes! Jeri was astonished at how grown-up Alex VandeStadt has become in the two years since Jeri went back to Illinois.
Vic Appel has had a rocky recovery from his knee replacement in May, but as of this writing it looks like he is on the mend. He spent 3 days in the hospital after the initial surgery, a week at St. David's rehab, 3 weeks in assisted living at The Summit, then several days back at Seton when he developed an infection in his knee. There was a great deal of concern that the infection might be inside his knee rather than on his knee, so he underwent several rounds of intense antibiotic treatment. He went to daughter Debbie and Bob's in North Salem, N.Y., came home on the 20th of June, Cheryl was to arrive on the 22nd, and Vic and Cheryl were to go to Mexico for a family reunion in Mexico City on the 25th with a two day stop in Puebla at the suggestion of Don Miles. He was to be back home after celebrating his birthday in Mexico--safe and sound and healthy, we hope, on the 30th of June.
Take time to say good-bye to Sarah Gourlie as she will be moving at the end of August. Her boyfriend Michael Gale graduated with his master's degree in May, and she will graduate with hers in August, taking the summer to finish up her thesis. They are going to be moving to the Washington, D.C., area and will be making their home in Alexandria, VA, very close to the King Street metro stop and Old Town Alexandria. Her degree is in Mechanical Engineering, concentrating in Acoustics, and she will be working at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She won't even know exactly what she'll be doing until she gets her top secret security clearance. She'll start work as soon as possible after her official graduation date of August 18th. Michael's degree is in Latin American Studies, and he will be working as the Latin America Program Associate for the Global Fund for Children, starting the first week in August. The Global Fund for Children is a non-profit that helps fund organizations abroad that deal with youth rights, health, education, etc. They are both thrilled with their new jobs and very excited to move back to the D.C. area.
Beth Placek had a great time at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle in May--her 16th year attending the event. This year will be remembered by her--not just for great fun dancing, but for the shooting that wounded 3 people near the drum circle.
Bill Phillips was very gratified to learn that one of his youngsters from his first ministry assignment at Colgate Rochester Divinity School went on to do some very impressive things. He received a copy of a wonderful paper-bound book, Giving Our Hearts Away by Thom White Wolf Fassett. It comes with a study guide by Brenda Connelly. The author is on the General Board of Church and Society of the Methodist Church. He has presented a sympathetic and sensitive way for churches to understand the history and culture of Native Americans from the perspective of the main stream local congregation. This is being used as a mission study by the United Methodist church for 2008 and 2009. Thom Fassett was the key advisor to the U.S. government regarding the transfer of Illian Gonzales to the Cuban government, He was also Special Assistant to the United States Senate and House of Representatives conducting investigations into Federal/Indian policy. He is a fascinating person and was a member of Bill's first youth group that he worked with in Rochester, New York, 52 years ago as a student assistant minister. He is very proud of him as he is of all of those who have gone on to serve humanity in some way. Somehow, Thom located Bill after all these years (Hooray for the internet).
John Burlinson recently supervised the health care at the shelter in San Angelo for the children removed from the Yearning for Zion Ranch. Jake went with him as a volunteer and had a lot of interaction with the children. Otherwise, Jake's been busy with National Guard training and duties and recently applied to the Texas Dept. of Public Safety. After an extensive background check (including a 3 hour lie detector test), he was offered a job and will be attending state trooper academy in the fall. In the meantime, he'll be starting an internship with them next week. His National Guard unit tried to send him to flight school this past spring, but didn't have all the red tape in order. So, that's still in the works at some point.
Sunday, May 18, Ben White celebrated his 85th birthday by throwing his own party during coffee hour after church (he brought his own cake, and had asked Trish to send an e-mail invitation to everyone on her church distribution list). Florence Castle had missed the celebration of her 92nd birthday that had been prepared for the previous Sunday, but she was in attendance on the 18th, so folks sang "Happy Birthday" to her after serenading Ben with a wonderful song Nodie Murphy prepared for the occasion, "Ben White, Ben White" to the tune of "Tonight, Tonight."
Linda Berard is pleased to report that Austin Presbyterian Seminary changed its housing policy to include same-sex couples. The board voted unanimously in favor of the new policy which allows same-sex couples to live in campus housing.
The June floods in Iowa affected several former members of our church. Matt and Martha Wilding and their three sons were among the few high and dry folks in Cedar Rapids. In mid-June, they were most concerned, ironically, about running out of water as the city was functioning on only 25% capacity. Beth Oakes and Eugene Buck were also high and dry home-wise, but the University of Iowa took a severe hit as the Iowa River runs right through the campus. Beth spent several days with many other volunteers helping move books and instruments to the second floor of the music building. The second floor Maia Quartet studio was turned into a densely packed storage area until such time as the water goes down and the cleanup is completed.
Former members Steven and Jeanine Neuse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, are delighted to report that their two sons and their families are living in San Antonio. What a thrill that is! They are looking forward to a two week visit from grandchildren Bryce and Jayce in July. In August, they plan to visit friends who have a place in the Adirondacks.
Cathy Hubbs was able to travel with daughter Laura to Boston, where they joined daughter Ann to see Laura's daughter Aidan Tait graduate summa cum laude from Harvard. Her grandfather, Charles Tait and uncle, John Tait were also able to attend. The highlight was the keynote address to graduates given by J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. There was some murmuring ahead of time that a statesman would be more appropriate than a children's author, but her inspiring speech was greeted by a standing ovation. Aidan helped Latin American students during her undergraduate work, is hoping to go into a public health career, and is spending the summer with her family in Stillwater, OK . Meantime she's taking calculus this summer. has a research job, and loves Harry Potter. The late Clark Hubbs' bedside reading has also reached a happy destination. He was a devotee of Louis L'Amour and had a complete collection of everything he had ever written. The books were displaced by the volumes of photos Ann, with Laura's help, had put together to celebrate his life, and Cathy phoned Literacy Austin to see if they could use Louis L'Amour books in their annual book fair. But the Literacy Austin representative said that they have become allied with Life Works and are no longer having a book fair. However, when Cathy mentioned Louis L'Amour to the representative, she cried out, "Louis L'Amour! My father loves Louis L'Amour. He had them all, but his home recently burned, and he lost all his books!" She gave Cathy her dad's phone number, but she didn't even have a chance to phone him before he phoned her, and after work he came by for the whole collection, shook her hand, and told her that a half-price destination was no proper end for this collection. Cathy is having a hard time convincing herself that the whole thing is only a coincidence.
Frances Alford is spending some time in her house in Grafton, Vermont, and is really enjoying the change of pace. She says that she feel like she was in a tornado for at least a year and maybe longer. She thanks Tom, Cecile, and countless others who were so helpful when her husband, John, died. A gifted artist, she is having a quilt show exhibit in Jamaica, Vermont, in mid-July. In fact, she is so talented that her work was on the cover of the June issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.
Paul Deisler writes that a painful shoulder that Ellen suffered as the result of a fall has finally healed, after several weeks, allowing her more accustomed ways of living. Paul did well with buttons and shoe-buckles but never mastered putting her barrette in place correctly. He also writes that the May 19 vitrectomy of his left eye went so well that the ophthalmologist was able to see the interior of the eye clearly enough to determine that Paul has dry macular degeneration, in an early stage, in the eye. Paul's sight is somewhat better than before the vitrectomy -- not good vision, extremely near-sighted, but a blessing, in Paul's view, even though it varies annoyingly from morning to evening and from hour to hour. It will be several months, yet, before it settles down so that he can get new glasses and find out what his ultimate level of vision will be. He will then be able to see what needs to be done about his steadily worsening right eye, but there is hope that he will retain some useful level of vision in that eye, too, for some time. Decisions, decisions! Paul has for some time been irritated at the continued pressure from creationists of all stripes to inject their dogma into school curricula as science. As any grumpy old man should, he wrote a letter to the Editor of the Statesman congratulating Dr. Raymund Paredes, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education, for his decision to not permit a degree in "creationist science" to be offered in Texas' state universities. Paul noted that if such were allowed, it would not be possible to refuse entry to the flat earthers and their "science". He ended his letter, which was published on May 20, as follows: 'We need better, not bogus, science in our classrooms.' Paul does not expect anything to come from his writing. It felt good, however, to get it off his chest.
Mel and Pat Oakes had a great time on a 13 night Elderhostel tour across much of Canada by train in May. They met Pat's sister and brother-in-law in Montreal and enjoyed the trip together--from Montreal to Toronto by train, from Toronto to Edmonton (2 nights and 3 days on the train--great food in the dining car and their own compartment--wonderful observation cars), by bus from Edmonton to Jasper in the Rockies, and then another overnight on the train to Vancouver. While in Toronto they celebrated Mel's birthday with good friends from church here who now live in the Toronto area--Heather Cole and Mary Sinclair & Dick Jackson. Heather found a great Indian restaurant and they all enjoyed a delicious meal. All three send their regards to folks here in Austin and church friends elsewhere. Two weeks later they were off to Mel's home, Vicksburg, MS, for a week. While there they attended a reunion of Mel's mother's family and Mel stole the show by creating a great family tree poster and showing a slide show of family history which everyone enjoyed. Mel's genealogical research is attracting fans throughout his family.
Paul and Ellen Deisler report that they had a grand time watching their granddaughter, Ava Deisler, graduate from McCallum High School on June 7. Ava is the first of their five grandchildren to achieve the status of high school graduate. Paul and Ellen's step-granddaughter. Megan Patterson, graduated at the same time and so there were many on hand from all the involved families to see this joint event. Afterwards, the whole gang repaired to the Tien Hong restaurant for a great dim sum feast. Most went on to other festivities. Paul and Ellen went home for nap time, mission accomplished.
Sarah Bentley went to Washington, D.C., and Portland, Maine, to be with her women's group from seminary. They had our first reunion after 25 years out and have continued to meet every two years since. It's a real treat for them to get together with long-time friends and share joys and concerns (plus lots of laughs) as the years go on. Husband Bob and Sarah went to Flagstaff in early June to see their #2 grandson, Ben Lang, graduate from high school. He is one of 40 Arizona high school seniors to be named as a Flinn scholar, complete with scholarship and individual mentoring for 4 years. He will enroll in Arizona State in a program that focuses on all aspects of "sustainability." The whole family is all proud! Bob had hernia repair surgery mid-June so he and Sarah are inside a lot (to keep him from overdoing during the recovery) and enjoying newly painted interior colors and catching up on movies.
MEMBERS ON THE MOVE
Carol and Gary Barrett recently drove a truckload of household furnishings to California to help decorate Carol's new house. Whitney flew down from San Mateo to help with the heavy lifting. The temperatures were 104 degrees in Austin the day they packed; and 101 degrees in San Gabriel the day they unloaded. Gary was miffed that Carol's promise of temperate weather did not hold true. New address for Carol in California -- 616 Padilla Street, San Gabriel, CA 91776.
GRATITUDE AND EXPECTATION
The series on our sanctuary windows got a tremendous start with Whit Bodman's reflection on the role of colored windows in our church life. After the service, he lead the first session on a particular window, a meeting that touched the participants very deeply. The next meeting will be after church on July 13th, led by Marilyn Vache. That window has a dedication to Matt Blackstock's grandmother and he will be telling us about her as a Worship Gift that Sunday. Come and See!
Bill Phillips read some of his poems to us as a Worship Gift on June 15th. (If you would like copies of them, ask Nodie Murphy (nodie@austin.rr.com) and she can send them to you.) The choir women sang a piece found by Norma Hawes on June 22nd. On the last Sunday in June, we sang a hymn written by Bob Gillogly when he was a boy. We are grateful for these creative people who have shared their talents with us and look forward to other treasures we have in store in the coming weeks. If you have a gift you would like to share, please see Nodie.
Speaking of sharing talents, the Whenever-We-Get-Around-to-It Talent Show was a tremendous success; we raised close to $500 for the air conditioner at the Huston Tillotson Library while greatly entertaining ourselves! Many hidden gifts were revealed and we delighted in the discoveries.
We already knew that our piano trio consists of three very talented musicians. They displayed their virtuosity in their chamber concert, "A Congregation of Strings and Things," on June 22nd to the delight of all who attended. Aaron Carter-Cohn, Andy Strietelmeier and Robin Rosson were joined by our own Sarah Gourlie, clarinetist (soon to be leaving us), Hannah Shook, flutist, and Adam Booker, a double bass player and composer. Aaron and Adam composed seven of the eleven pieces on the program, so not only were the pieces performed well, they were performed by their composers. How fortunate we are to have such gifted and dedicated musicians enlivening our worship every Sunday.
The Fine Arts Committee thanks all who have contributed to such an exciting month of creative activity and encourages everyone to explore their talents with us.
COFFEE HOUR
Please sign up in the Fellowship Room to be coffee hour hosts on an upcoming Sunday. The coffee hour time is such a good opportunity to visit old friends and meet visitors. We keep coffee and ginger ale and some punch fixings in the pantry in the kitchen. There are usually paper napkins, and we use coffee mugs and punch cups to avoid wasting natural resources. Your menu can be as simple or complicated as you want. Cookies and/or chips and salsa are just fine! If you have questions, talk to Pat Oakes, Tommie Pinkard, or Lynne Lemley.
Deadline for September VISITOR — August 15
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