We welcome into membership Pat Ragan who joined St. John's
Presbyterian Church on April 18, 2010 by Transfer of Letter from St.
Stephen Presbyterian Church in Houston. We will also welcome some new
members this Sunday so be sure to welcome them after the worship
service.
You are invited to dinner and a program in Fellowship Hall at 5:30 pm.
Dr. Steve Klineburg, Professor, Rice University and Director of the
Annual Houston Survey will consider the question: "Is Your Child More
Than a Statistic." This is the second of three events in our speaker
series on the topic of "Whatever Happened to Childhood." Come and
bring a friend. I have heard Dr. Klineburg speak and seen his
powerpoint presentations on a couple of occasions and he is always
enlightening, interesting, relevant, and funny. We are fortunate to
have him come to St. John's for this program.
Next month, in May, I hope you will come enjoy dessert with me and
other St. Johners in multiple small group meetings of about 10 members
in homes. The primary purpose of these gatherings is receive feedback
from the congregation to the question "What can we do to help St.
John's grow?" We will also discuss St. John's future, our strengths
and weaknesses, our dreams and realistic goals and priorities. Expect
to receive an invitation to a specific group meeting. You will be
contacted by your host. If you have not received an invitation or you
are unable to make the assigned meeting, let the church office know
and you will be reassigned to another group. This will be a fun and
rewarding experience and will help the church leaders define our
future focus for St. John's.
Then, in June, the Pastor's Bible Class begins! I'm really looking
forward to facilitating the discussion in this new Adult Sunday School
Class. Our curriculum will come from The Wired Word and will be
emailed to each participant on Thursdays in preparation for the class
each Sunday at 9 am in the church library. Each week we will take an
issue from the headlines and consider it in light of some relevant
Bible passages.
For example, the topic this week (if we were doing it, which we are
not yet) would be the volcano eruption in Iceland. Last week's ash
cloud from an Icelandic volcano eruption paralyzed air travel in much
of Europe and has affected people around the globe. For many, the
event has been a big interruption. But it does give us an opportunity
to think about the meaning of life's interruptions and to consider how
to respond to them as people of God.
So interruptions and God's will would be the topics of our class this
week and we would ask questions such as this: How are interruptions
related to God's will? Ought we to consider that any interruption
could be God intervening in our plans? Why or why not? The recent
economic downturn in America interrupted the lives of many people and
derailed their plans for future financial security. How should we
think about interruptions that result in significant losses and
disappointments for us? What do we mean when we call a natural event
"an act of God"? We would look at these questions in light of relevant
scripture texts such as Jonah 1:1-17; Psalm 143:7-10; Mark 5:21-43;
Luke 5:17-26; and James 4:13-17. That gives you an idea of how this
class will work and how much fun it will be. The class will begin on
June 6, 2010.
In the meantime, keep our organist, Alina Klimaszewska, in prayer as
she recovers from surgery. Also, remember in prayer her father who has
cancer.
Peace of Christ be with you,
Pastor Jon
--
St. John's Presbyterian Church
5020 West Bellfort / Houston, TX 77035
T. 713.723.6262 / F. 713.723-4015 / Email: office.sjpc@gmail.com
Worship Service: Sunday, 10:30 am / Sunday School: 9:00 am
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