Vacation Bible School begins this Sunday at 6 pm in Fellowship
Hall, which will be converted into a camp site theme for Camp
E.D.G.E.: Experience and Discover God Everywhere. There are classes
for all ages 3 years old through adults. The adult classes will share
similar themes as the children's classes but on an adult level. Here
are the adult classes that you will not want to miss.
Sunday - Leadership in the Lurch: Kathleen Captain will lead a
discussion on how we share our faith.
Monday - Wise Worship: George Dobbin will challenge the
participants to consider the differences between the birth narratives
in Matthew and Luke.
Tuesday - Hospitality for the Helpless: Phyllis Freeman will
share about the tough issue of Human Trafficking.
Wednesday - The Suffering Servant - Jon Burnham will lead a
discussion that will argue that WE have been the suffering servants as
we have lived through the 00's - possibly the worst decade ever.
These adult classes begin at 6:30 pm in the Session Room after a
light dinner served at 6 pm in Fellowship Hall. Come one and all and
bring a friend to the Camp EDGE Vacation Bible School next week from
Sunday through Thursday evening beginning with a light dinner in
Fellowship Hall.
This Sunday we will honor Steven Leach who recently graduated
from Princeton Theological Seminary. Steven is the third member of St.
John's to have graduated from a Presbyterian seminary. He follows
David McPhail who graduated from Princeton Seminary in the 1970s and
Linda Herron who graduated from Austin Seminary several years ago and
now serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Palestine, Texas.
We are sponsoring a Blood Drive this Sunday in Room 209 in
Building 2 which is the Office Building. As Paul said about money so
we say about the Blood Drive: "Give as you have made up your mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Last Saturday a dozen of our youth enjoyed an afternoon at
Phyllis and John Freeman's house at Lake Conroe including tubing
behind John's ski boat and jumping off a giant trampoline into Lake
Conroe at the beach and grilled hamburgers for dinner. These adults
enjoyed the day: Mary Sterner, Dave Nelson, Aaron Jacobsen, and Jon
Burnham. And these are the youth who attended: Jackson Burnham,
Jennifer Burnham, Collette Johnson, Christiana Johnson, Brittany
Modlin, Wayne Patterson, Avery Krieger, Brendan Ehrenstrom, Jacob
Ehrenstrom, and Ava Jacobsen. The Freeman's daugther and three
grandchildren also enjoyed the day with our group. Thank you,
Freemans, for your hospitality.
Last Sunday Diane and James Ragan received the Maynard D. Smith
Award for Community Service. They both have spent many volunteer hours
in service to their children's schools and to Girl Scouts and Boy
Scouts including leading the God and Me series for the past five
years. Congratulations to James and Diane and keep up the good work!
We had a lively discussion in the Pastor's Class last Sunday at 9
am in the library and I expect another good one this Sunday . We will
talk this Sunday about a topic that has been on our hearts and minds
and in the headlines for some time now. I invite you to join us this
Sunday at 9 am in the library as we discuss the oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico.
Sadly, the gush of oil from the ruptured pipe under the waters of
the Gulf of Mexico is a life-taking flow, and new estimates this week
put the output at an even higher volume than had been previously
stated. There are, of course, lessons to be learned from this
catastrophe, but because we are people of the Bible, we want to also
use this tragic event as a kind of reverse metaphor to highlight a
primary biblical theme -- that of the life-giving flow of the river of
God -- and to consider what that means for our lives. So that will be
the topic for the Pastor's Class in the library at 9 am this Sunday.
In the meantime, remember in prayer Max Kattner and his colleagues who
are working to stop the leak in the Gulf.
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
