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Presbyterian ‘Connection’ July 2018 Volume 25 Issue 57

Summer is a time of open road - a time for exploration - for winding down some small road

you've never visited before. You want to go there just because you're curious and it seems to call.

God is down the road. God is to be found in exploration. God is met by the curious. "Our hearts

are restless until they find their rest in God." - St. Augustine.

PRAISE GOD FOR SUMMER ROADS WHICH PEAK OUR CURIOSITY. PRAISE GOD

FOR OPEN SPACES.

Summer is a time for God through our free time. Summer is a time to leave our busy winter

schedules, a time when the momentum of our life is interrupted. God is to be found in relaxation.

We have the privilege of being in school where we spend time reading the great literature, and

science. We find ourselves writing papers, studying for test, passing examinations.

This is so ironic because the very word, "SCHOLA" from which we get the modern words,

scholar and school, means FREE TIME. Schools and scholarship were originally meant to

interrupt the busy times and to create some space, some free time to contemplate the mysteries of

life. Now school is a time of pressure. So Summer lets the schools out and it presents free time to

us. Time for a rarest of activities - time to think.

PRAISE THE GOD OF THE SUMMER WHO GRANTS US TIME TO THINK.

Summer is a time for the experience of God through rest. GOD IS THE God of the Sabbath. God

Himself rests. In one of the lovely Genesis creation stories, God works and then rests.

"Thus the heaven and earth were completed with all their mighty throng. On the sixth day God

completed all the work he had been doing and on the seventh day he ceased from all his work.

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on that day he ceased from all the work he

had set himself to do."

In summer's rest we meet the God of the seventh day - the God of rest. In rest - "in returning and

rest you shall be saved. "Be still and know that I am God," saith the Lord, ... Be still.

PRAISE GOD FOR SUMMER'S REST WHEN WE MAY BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE

IS GOD.

-online credit to Rev. Fred Warnecke

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Our Church Face Book page

https://www.facebook.com/presbyterian.shoals

Church phone # - 870-445-4622

Our church email address

presch@suddenlinkmail.com

Connection Online

If you would like to read the “Connection” newsletter

online, go to our website;

http://www.presbyterianchurchofbullshoals.com

Click on the ‘Info Center’ tab at the top, then on the

drop-down menu, click on “Presbyterian Connection”,

then choose the month of the newsletter you would

like to read. The most recent newsletter will be at the

top.

Coffee & Fellowship

Be sure to drop in for coffee, maybe a

Danish or cookies and wonderful fellowship

on Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in

Memorial Hall! (will resume in September)

May Income - $3,468.00

May Expenses - $8,790.81

THURSDAYS, FROM 11:00 A.M. TO NOON IN

MEMORIAL HALL. MEN & WOMEN WELCOME.

(Finished for the year. Will resume in Sept.)

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WORSHIP IN JULY

It is our pleasure to welcome Reverend Cindy Saul as our new Pastor.

She begins her service with our Church on July 1st.

JULY 1st

COMMUNION

JULY 8th

POT LUCK

JULY 15th

BLESSING OF THE FOOD PANTRY

JULY 22nd

JULY 29th

MINUTE FOR MISSION

5TH SUNDAY SING - BAPTIST CHURCH - 6:00 P.M.

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CHURCH USHERS/GREETERS COMMUNION SERVERS

July 1 - Irene Bere & Dr. Simons Ken Hobart

July 8 - Celia & Roger Millard

July 15 - Irene Bere & Sandy Erickson

July 22 - Bob & Gloria Wiles

July 29 - Faye Brackett & Linda Allensworth

PRAYER LIST FOR CONGREGATIONS, PRESBYTERY OF AR.- 2018 July 1 - Graham Memorial, Forrest City Elkins Church, Elkins

July 8 - Grace, Little Rock First, Malvern

July 15 - Barr Memorial, Norman Hopewell Church, Morrilton

July 22 - First, Mountain Home First, Newport

July 29 - First, Little Rock Presbytery Staff

PLEASE NOTIFY PAT ERLEWINE IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO SHOULD BE ON OUR PRAYER LIST.

BIRTHDAYS

July August July 1 - Faye Brackett August 3 - Peni Lloyd July 4 - Amy Johnson August 7 - Ed Chapman July 16 - Ray Erlewine August 20 - Bob Wiles July 18 - Ciera Haefer August 21 - Ken Hobart July 23 - Dr. Roger Simons August 23 - Irene Bere July 30 - Vicky Bair August 29 - Celia Millard

ANNIVERSARIES July 9 - Bill & Mary Kerr No August Anniversaries

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LIBRARY LINES - JULY 2018

We have two new fiction books: Book 3 The Baxter Family Series by Karen Kingsbury -

TO THE MOON AND BACK; and A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS by Ruth Logan Herne.

The following is an excerpt from TO THE MOON AND BACK:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a brand-new love story in the Baxter Family collection about two people who lost their parents in the same national tragedy—two people desperate to find each other and the connection they shared

for a single day…a day that changed everything.

Brady Bradshaw was a child when the Oklahoma City bombing killed his mother. Every year, Brady visits the memorial site on the anniversary to remember her. A decade ago on that day, he met Jenna Phillips, who was also a child when her parents were killed in the attack. Brady and Jenna shared a deep heart connection and a single beautiful day together at the memorial. But after that, Brady never saw Jenna again. Every year when he

returns, he leaves a note for her in hopes that he might find her again.

This year, Ashley Baxter Blake and her sister Kari Baxter Taylor and their families take a spring break trip that includes a visit to the site to see the memorial’s famous Survivor Tree. While there, Ashley spots a young man, alone and troubled. That man is Brady Bradshaw. A chance moment leads Ashley to help Brady find Jenna, the girl he can’t

forget.

Ashley’s family is skeptical, but she pushes them to support her efforts to find the girl and bring them together. But will it work? Will her husband, Landon, understand her

intentions? And is a shared heartache enough reason to fall in love?

Deeply emotional and beautifully romantic, To the Moon and Back is an unlikely love story about healing, redemption, hope and the belief that sometimes a new tomorrow can grow

from the ashes of a shattered yesterday.

The following is an excerpt from A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Recently widowed Priscilla moves from Kansas back to an island just off the coast of Massachusetts. She is living in a lighthouse that she inherited. She doesn't find the peace

she wants because of treasure hunters looking for lost gold coins.

Faye Brackett, Librarian

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MISSION MINUTE

JULY - 2018

Christy Foster, executive director of Mound Ridge Retreat and Mission Center Inc., knew the end was coming. She says God placed it on her heart soon after she arrived at the Presbyterian camp and conference center in the Missouri Ozark countryside.

Mound Ridge, like many of the churches it served, was going through a transformation.

“You could see we were dying,” Foster said, “and there was no going back to the way it used to be.”

In 2016, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, owner of the 375-acre property that overlooks the Meramec River, suggested that Mound Ridge become an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. They wanted to be a partner in Mound Ridge’s ministry, but they were facing financial difficulties.

“It was scary. Kind of a leap of faith,” recalled Foster. “If we hadn’t said ‘yes,’ they would’ve closed the camp.”

In one sense, Mound Ridge was prepared for an end to the presbytery’s financial support because they’d been slowly moving toward being self-sustaining. But learning to trust God in moving from death to life is long and difficult.

“Sometimes I think ‘wow, I have to say a prayer,’” said Foster. “Just when I think things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be — doors open.”

Last year, Mound Ridge closed its traditional overnight summer camp due to a lack of registrations from Presbyterian youth. Unsure of what to do, Foster decided to visit the three primary communities Mound Ridge serves. Seeing a need in Cuba, St. James and Steelville, Missouri, she invited students from the schools to come to Mound Ridge’s first-ever “Children Off-the-Grid and in Nature Camp.”

“We went from nothing to 85 kids in a short amount of time,” she said. “The six-week day camp brought together diverse socio-economic groups — from kids who had everything to those growing up with food scarcity.”

Seeing the power of children from different towns, schools and churches building relationships gave Mound Ridge a new idea. In addition to its “Children Off-the-Grid Camp,” they will host a “Together Camp” for the small Presbyterian churches they serve.

Mound Ridge will also host a “Discover Christ through Fine Art Camp,” an idea that came from Mound Ridge counselors.

The Retreat and Mission Center recently hosted a group of campers for 12 weeks. Turns out these “campers” are young adults from AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). Foster had worked for two years writing grants for them to help the camp get its grounds up to speed for upcoming summer programs.

The first group had seven young adults who worked 40 hours a week for seven weeks. The group of 11 NCCC members that just arrived will work the same number of hours. Their arrival came as Foster was telling her board she needed $18,000 to run Mound Ridge’s planned summer programs, but she’d only been able to raise $13,300. The NCCC presence will reduce the anticipated labor costs associated with getting the camp ready and will offset some of the funding gap.

“It’s been so great to have them,” Foster said. “They are our hands and feet on the ground for us. They are working mission ally.”

As a bonus, the AmeriCorps workers often have dinner with Foster and her staff of three. Around the table, they have conversations and tell their stories, hearing from a generation of young people who have finished high school and/or college wondering what they should do next.

In this place that is self-described as a “hidden gem,” rich, deep relationships among and beyond Presbyterians are being formed.

“I often wonder about our tendency to live in fear,” said Foster. “We’re told the triune God is about abundance. … Why do we prefer fear over living into and trusting abundance?

“I think we’re called to listen. But as soon as we make anything ours — or as soon as it becomes what I or anyone else think it should become — then we’re not fulfilling the mission of what God calls us to,” she said.

“If we could just trust in God’s mission for us — the rest will come.”

Paul Seebeck, Mission Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency Mound Ridge Retreat and Mission Center.

Submitted by the Mission Committee

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PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN & MEN

General Meeting Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 9:30 a.m.

Eight members were in attendance as we opened our June meeting at 9:30 AM by Acting Moderator, Ada Jeffrey with Pastor Fred Taylor giving the blessing for a light snack for us to share, provided by Mary Kerr, Ada, and Celia Millard. Thank you ladies! Amy Johnson gave a devotional reading from her In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley from Galatians 2:20.

REPORTS:

Secretary, Amy Johnson noted that 2 corrections had been made to the May minutes and had been redistributed to the members as corrected. There were no other corrections or additions today so the minutes will be placed on file and on our PWM bulletin board. No correspondence. Amy volunteered to give the devotional at the next meeting in September.

Treasurer, Mary Kerr presented her May report with a beginning balance of $1301.26, receipts totaling $335.20, and total disbursements of $250 to leave a balance of $1386.46 on May 31. Mary reported that to date she has collected $325 in donations to our No-Bake Bake Sale fundraiser that ran from first of May through the first Sunday in June. Part of that total will show on the June treasurer's report. Our Moderator suggested that Mary look into sending our donation dollars out to more of the ministries we agreed to support. All were in favor to leave up to Mary which ones would go out this summer.

Publicity: Vicky Bair is absent and no report given.

Bar Codes: Linda Allensworth has collected almost 1000 bar codes, but will not make a mailing until she reaches 2000.

Announcements: Pastor Fred's retirement dinner is scheduled for Sunday, June 24 after worship service. He is supplying our pulpit until Reverend Cindy Saul takes over in July. He gave an update on the early schedule for Reverend Saul. She is be expected to attend our PWM meetings. Pastor Fred also welcomed Ada as our new Acting Moderator beginning this meeting and reminded us that it was Ada who first began our church's Connection monthly newsletter, then called the Presbyterian Connection, and she handled that for 15 years. She still has all those past copies !

Irene Bere reminded us that the community-wide Vacation Bible School will be July 16 - 20 this summer and urges volunteers from our church to sign up. It will be held at Christ By the Lake Lutheran Church this year. Also Irene reminds us the Methodist Women's Salad Luncheon is this Thursday, June 14 for those who signed up for a reservation. They will have a speaker from Kindness, Inc during the luncheon.

OLD BUSINESS:

Ice Cream Social fundraiser will be August 4 from 2 to 4 PM. Co-chairs are Celia and Mary with everyone pitching in as assigned and volunteered. Celia reports today on progress: She has new fliers made up and the new style tickets are printed up. Mary will be selling these and then collecting them at the door the day of the fundraiser. We will have our new Pastor greeting guests along with other members. Celia wants to buy individual punch servings for the children and serve tea and coffee to the adults. To keep the gallons of ice cream from melting during serving she is planning to use dishpans and ice and rock salt. Also for ice cream, we will serve vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. We'll drop the last-year's idea of neopolitan. We have an abundance of napkins already and will use glass bowls and flatware. She will enlist the men of the church to aid in running the dishwasher, making coffee, and general service through the serving time. We will have a sign-up sheet for all the church members to donate their time and talents as well as cakes, toppings, etc. Among needs will be tea makers, table servants and a clean-up crew. Irene was asked and agreed to be in charge of supplying cakes and serving them. She will decide how many cakes will need to be supplied.

Pg. 1. of 2. Con’t….

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Till We Speak Again JULY 2018

Boy oh boy is it hot outside!!

So, Bernice, Emma and I went on a road trip. We went to where it’s always cool and dark….We went to Tunica, MS!! We didn't stay at one of the casinos, we stayed cheap. We ate at the casinos and spent a lot of time there. We each took a specified amount of money to lose, cause everyone knows the house always wins. I’m really cheap! I play the penny machines and people watch. I’m not much of a drinker, so I could really pay attention to what was going on around me. There were people dressed to the hilt and people who looked homeless gambling along one another. This got my mind to thinking, why take a gamble on your afterlife. Get yourself right with God while you still have the chance. It’s really easy. Wash those sins away with Baptism, let the Holy Ghost live in your heart, and forgive others who have wronged you. It sure didn’t take long for us three old gals to lose

our money to the house, but know who has my soul. Who has yours? Are you sure?

Luv, Millie

Thought For The Day: Always remember those who fought “for the land of the free, and the home of the brave”.

PW&M, cont…

OTHER BUSINESS:

Norma Taylor reports she has already made quite a few baby caps with help of other crocheters and would like to donate these and possibly more to our PWM Christmas project of donating gifts to the Flippin School Backpack program again this winter. Betty Aaron wants to donate 60 crocheted crosses to that project as well. Thank you ladies for your nimble fingers and generous hearts. More ladies are encouraged to participate and Norma has all the yarn you'll need !

Next General Meeting will be after a summer break, September 11, 2018 at 9:30 AM

Amy Johnson will give the devotion.

The meeting today was adjourned by our Moderator at 10:30 AM with Amy giving the closing prayer

Respectfully submitted by Secretary Amy Johnson Pg. 2. of 2.

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PUZZLE FOR JULY

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RECIPE FOR JULY

Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients 1 medium red onion, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup thin, bite-size strips zucchini

3/4 cup trimmed fresh pea pods, tips and strings removed

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (12 ounces total), cut into thin bite-size strips

1 cup fresh pineapple cubes

3 tablespoons bottled stir-fry sauce

Brown rice (optional) Fresh pineapple wedges (optional)

Directions 1. In a wok or large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry red onion in hot oil

for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and pea pods. Stir-fry for 2 minutes more. Remove mixture from wok. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to hot wok. Add chicken. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is

tender and no longer pink. Return onion mixture to wok. Add pineapple and stir-fry sauce. Cook and stir

about 1 minute or until heated through. If desired, serve over brown rice with fresh pineapple wedges.

Variation For an easy substitute, switch the chicken for thinly sliced boneless pork or peeled, deveined medium shrimp.

Note Bottled stir-fry sauce is a handy time-saver. We especially like Kikkoman's preservative-free version flavored

with ginger and sesame oil, but any brand will work well in this dish.

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THIS WE BELIEVE FOR JULY

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

“2 Corinthians 3 : 17 ”

“We will be scripture-based to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ

and spiritually led to guide all people to be active doers of the Word”

Approved by Session on November 16, 2007

CHURCH STAFF

Pastor: Fred Taylor, Clerk of Session: Vicky Bair, Church Treasurer: Ken Hobart,

Asst. Treasurer: Meg Simons, Church Secretary & Financial Secretary: Christi Partee

DEACONS

Class of 2018 Class of 2019 Class of 2020

Pam Hobart Sandy Erickson

Vacancy Pat Erlewine

ELDERS

Class of 2018 Class of 2019 Class of 2020

Ken Hobart Vicky Bair Meg Simons

Steve Broskovak Vacancy Peni Lloyd

Presbyterian Church of Bull Shoals

P.O. Box 305

Bull Shoals, AR. 72619