July 2013 Newsletter

Pastora

Dear All,

The Lord created the sabbath, or day of rest, as a time to rejuvenate and recover from hard work... but the Lord also consecrated it as a sign to remember that we are free. The Israelites were once slaves in Egypt and the sabbath was a sign of their freedom granted by the Lord. It made them different.

Sabbath is not just about not doing work. It is about doing things that feed our soul and restore us. Some of my seminary professors taught us that sabbath is about playing and praying. Praying centers us on God, and playing allows us to enjoy God’s creation while remembering that we don’t always have to be in charge of things. When we sabbath, we learn to regularly put things into God’s hands for God to handle. The world does not have to rest upon our shoulders.

So as we take vacations this month, sabbath. Take time not just to rest and play, but take time to consciously put into God’s hands your anxieties, stresses, fears, and concerns. As we learn this discipline better, we become more obedient and trusting disciples, able to move through the world knowing how Great our God truly is.

Blessings,

Rev. Lindsay

Queridos todos,

El Señor estableció el día del descanso como tiempo para recubrir de trabajo duro... pero el Señor también lo consagró como señal que somos libres. Los Israelitas fueron esclavos en Egipto y el sábado (el día de descanso) era señal de la libertado recibido por el Señor. Así ellos eran un pueblo diferente.

El día de descanso no es sólo el evitar de trabajar. Es hacer cosas que alimentan nuestras almas y nos restauran. Algunos de mis profesores en el seminario nos enseñaron que el día de descanso es un día de jugar y orar. El orar nos centra en Dios, y el jugar nos deja gozarnos de la creación de Dios mientras recordamos que no tenemos que estar encargados todo el tiempo. Cuando guardamos el día de descanso, aprendemos a poner cosas en las manos de Dios regularmente, confiando en su soberanía. El mundo no tiene que estar en nuestros hombros.

Entonces, mientras tomamos vacaciones este mes, que guardemos el día de reposo. Tomen tiempo no sólo para descansar y jugar, sino también que pongamos con intención nuestras ansiedades, estreses, miedos, y preocupaciones en las manos de Dios. Y mientras aprendemos esta disciplina mejor, vamos a hacernos más obedientes, dispuestos a vivir en el mundo sabiendo la grandeza de Dios.

Bendiciones,

Revda. Lindsay

Next Steps Retreat - Retiro de Próximos Pasos

The Next Steps Retreat is an all day event on Saturday, July 27th, from 10 am to 5 pm at Lockheed Martin Recreation Center - LMRA - 3400 Bryant Irvin Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76109. We will begin promptly at 10 am with worship, and we look forward to a day led by Josephine Lopez Paul our community organizer with Allied Communities of Tarrant. We will spend time getting to know one another better, praying, singing, eating, discerning, sharing our hopes, and making commitments about what next steps we might take as a congregation. We are working to intentionally invite not only active members and attendees, but also inactive members, and those in the community who have a heart for Gethsemane even if they do not worship with us. We will be providing childcare at the retreat. The kids will have access to playgrounds and other fun activities. Please plan on attending. We will be signing up the Sunday before, and will be looking for eager volunteers to help us with cooking, set up and clean up. Let’s take our next steps together out onto the water!

El Retiro de Próximos pasos será un evento de todo el día el sábado, el 27 de julio, de las 10 am a las 5 pm en Lockheed Martin Recreation Center - LMRA - 3400 Bryant Irvin Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76109. Empezaremos a las 10 en punto con adoración, y Josefina Lopez Paul nuestra organizadora de comunidades con Comunidades Aliadas de Tarrant va a guiar unos talleres. Vamos a pasar tiempo en visitas relacionales, oración, canción, comer, discernir, compartir nuestras esperanzas y hacer compromisos acerca de próximos pasos individualmente y como una congregación. Trabajamos con intención a invitar a miembros activos y los que asisten nuestros cultos, más miembros inactivos, y los en la comunidad que tienen un corazón para Getsemaní pero no asisten los cultos. Habrá cuidado para los niños. Los niños tendrán diferentes actividades. Favor de planificar a asistir. Habrá una lista para firmar su asistencia el domingo antes y buscamos voluntarios para cocinar, preparar, y limpiar. ¡Que tengamos nuestros próximos pasos sobre el agua juntos!

Report from The Bridge - Reporte del Puente

We've had 2 neighborhood soccer games now with about 20 kids each and I'm very excited about the relationships were making.  Some of the parents are starting to trust us which is an important, if not the most important first step in building a relationship.  It's difficult to anticipate how these activities will lead to opportunities to go deeper about faith, prayer, or spirituality, but I know that we have to be patient and we have to trust God.  We cannot love people because we have an ulterior motive of faith sharing.  We must love people as a goal in and of itself and trust that a part of that love will be the sharing of faith, but only a part.

We continue to cast a vision based on the 5 steps of the fresh expressions movement in the UK:

Listen

Serve

Community

Discipleship

Church

The thing we need most is prayer, but if you happen to know anyone who likes playing soccer with kids, we could always use more help.

Blessings in Christ,

Andy

Tuvimos 2 partidos de fútbol con más o menos 20 niños cada vez en el vecindario y estoy muy animado acerca de las relaciones que establecemos. Algunos de los padres empiezan a confiar en nosotros, que es importante como primer paso de establecer una relación. Es duro de anticipar cómo estas actividades van a seguir para ser oportunidades de pláticas de fe, oración, o espiritualidad, pero sé que tenemos que estar pacientes y tenemos que confiar en Dios. No podemos amar a otros sólo con el motivo ulterior de compartir la fe. Tenemos que amar a otros primero como meta en sí misma, y confiar que a través de este amor, habrá oportunidades de compartir fe.

Continuamos a establecer nuestra visión basado en los 5 pasos del movimiento de expresiones frescas en Inglaterra:

Escuchar

Servir

Comunidad

Discipular

Iglesia

Necesitamos más de todo ahora oración, pero si conocen alguien que le gusta jugar fútbol con niños, invitamos esa ayuda también.

Bendiciones en Cristo,

Andrés

VBS and Summer Splash event - Escuela Bíblica y Evento de Verano

We are aiming for several VBS one day events throughout the school year. Our VBS 1st event will be 10/26, tentatively

Biblical Splash Event will be 8/10 4-6 pm maybe 4-8 pm. Details will follow next month -- Astrid Atkinson

Tendremos algunos eventos de escuelita bíblica durante el año escolar. Nuestro primer evento de escuelita bíblica pensamos será el 26 de octubre.

Nuestro Evento Bíblico de Natación será el 10 de agosto de las 4 a las 6 pm o de las 4 a las 8 pm. Habrá más detalles el próximo mes. -- Astrid Atkinson

Caring for and Inspiring our congregation - Cuidar e Inspirar a nuestra congregación

- The Next Fellowship & Care mtg is Wed July 10th at 6pm

-Please pray for youth going to MoRanch

-We need to know how many are planning to attend Women's conference at MoRanch so that we can start planning transportation (registration deadline is 8/23)

-Please continue visiting with one another. Let committee know if someone is ill, needs prayer, or if we need to put a card in the mail.

-Thanks to everyone who helped with recent events (graduation party, memorial service, etc) -- Patty Martinez

- La próxima reunión del comité de compañerismo y cuidado será el miércoles el 10 de julio a las 6 pm.

- Favor de orar por nuestros jóvenes en MoRanch

- Necesitamos saber cuántas mujeres van a asistir la conferencia de mujeres hispanas en Moranch para planificar transporte (la fecha límite de registro es el 23 de agosto)

- Favor de continuar a visitar a otros. Hable con el comité si alguien está enfermo, necesita oración, o si debemos mandar una tarjeta.

- Gracias a todos que ayudaron con eventos recientes (fiesta de graduación, culto memorial, etc.) -- Patty Martinez

Changes to Church Finances - Cambios en las Finanzas de la Iglesia

We are automating our bank account and are in the process of doing all electronic checks and money transfers. Starting in July, Sam Frias will be responsible for managing deposits while Doug Williamson will handle all bill payments and requests for reimbursements.

Our new system allows for instant transfers to any email address. We also now have credit and debit cards that can be used. All requests for reimbursements will have to be sent to the payment treasurer's email box at gpcfw.treasurer@gmail.com or you can text Doug Williamson @ 817-683-9455.  

Contact Doug if you have any questions. Please be patient with Sam Frias and Doug Williamson as we make this important transition to a fully electronic and automated banking environment that provides additional levels of security and accountability for the churches finances. -- Doug Williamson

Estamos en el proceso de establecer un proceso automático y electrónico para nuestros cheques y pagos. Empezando en julio, Sam Frias es responsable para los depósitos y Doug Williamson pagará los cuentos y los reembolsos.

Nuestro sistema nueva nos permite hacer pagos instantes a cualquier correo electrónico. También hemos distribuido tarjetas de credito y debito. Todas peticiones para reembolsos se pueden ser mandados al correo electrónico del tesorero: gpfw.treasurer@gmail.com.

Contacte a Doug si tiene preguntas. Favor de estar pacientes con Sam Frias y Doug Williamson mientras hacemos esa transición importante para tener nuestros cuentos electrónicos para guardar más responsabilidad y seguridad en las finanzas de la iglesia. -- Doug Williamson

New Keys, Toilets, and Floor repairs!

The buildings and grounds has had the lock on the doors to the church  changed and new keys will be replaced. If you have an old key, you will need to see George to get a replacement key asap.

Also we replaced the tank to the toilet in the women's handicap stall and it is working well. The flooring in the hallway has been repaired under warranty and looks great. -- George Rodrigues

El comité de edificios y propiedades cambió las llaves de la iglesia y nuevas llaves tienen que ser reemplazadas. Si tiene una llave vieja, favor de hablar con George para reemplazarla inmediatamente. También reemplazamos el tanque de la toilette en el baño de las mujeres y funciona bien. El piso en la entrada fue reparada bajo warranty y todo está bien. -- George Rodrigues

Chaos, Baptism, Grace.

Yesterday we celebrated the baptism of Cipriano Almanza IV, a.k.a. Tato. It seemed for all intents and purposes that the baptism service was overcome by chaos, mishaps, and anxiety. But, upon reflection on this very special day I wanted to reframe our memories so that Tato remembers less our own incompetence and more the grace of God.

1 - The inflatable pool had an air leak. This we knew when we had planned the immersion baptism in our little Presbyterian Church, which is more accustomed to sprinkling or pouring baptisms. But we figured we would blow it up right before the service without any trouble.

Not so much.

We inflated the pool one "last" time about an hour before the service with a compressor. Thirty minutes later, Estela (Tato's mom) called me over to point out that the side of the pool was collapsing under the weight of the water and we almost had gallons and gallons of water pouring out onto our carpeted sanctuary. Thus began the ongoing ritual of filling and refilling the pool with the compressor until the service started.

The challenge then was that our service is not even the typical Presbyterian 1 hour... after all we are a bilingual church, and we are incredibly community focused... so our service are at least 90 minutes. At least. So, to avoid turning on the really loud compressor during the service, my husband Andy Wong would calmly walk to the front and blow up the pool. This created a great echo and you could hear the woosh of his breath every time he blew up the pool... He did this several times during the service so we had the rushing winds every once in a while.

Reframing: Another word for Spirit is wind or breath... And the Spirit is hard to contain, just like the air didn't want to stay in that pool. Baptism is about receiving and submitting one's life to the Spirit. We do not know where the Spirit will go or will lead us. The Spirit can also be heard in the love and actions of those around us, just like Andy's breath filling up that pool. God blows life back into us again and again and again.

2 - The pool also leaked water. So, basically we had an inflatable pool that neither held air nor water. Great. We only realized this 30 minutes before the service when the pool was already full. So, we needed to get this service done as quickly as possible to minimize the damage to the floor. Oh, and did I mention there was a live outlet under the pool? So, our last 30 minutes before the service we were also desperately trying to figure out how to kill that circuit on the circuit breaker to make sure the baptism wasn't electrifying for either Tato or myself. We did so, but only after having to sacrifice the "Jesus light" which is the lit stained glass window behind the pulpit of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. When folks complained, I explained that preventing electrocution of Tato and myself was slightly more important... besides the focus today was on the Spirit and baptism. Right?

As the service lingered on, the wet patch around the pool got bigger and bigger and more people started to realize our anxiety.

We did make it to the end of the service though and emptied the pool as quickly as possible with hoses, buckets, and eventually carrying the whole thing outside. Some of my work today is returning to the church to dry out that carpet. Sigh.

Reframing: Moving water is always important in the scriptures. It represents life and hope and movement of God. It reminds us of the Spirit hovering over the waters in creation. It prevents death. Baptism, likewise is about movement. The movement of the Spirit, and our movement in response. The water in that pool wanted to be moving, not contained... Our prayer is that Tato's faith in time will do likewise. It will not be contained and it will always be moving.

3 - Children love water. During the children's sermon I walked all the kids up to the pool and we had a long talk about baptism... The whole time my youngest son was desperately trying to get into the pool. He was throwing his toys into the water. All of the kids were touching it. There was a lot of high anxiety because the walls of the pool were pretty deflated at this point and we didn't want any of those kids to pull to hard on the sides of the pool. I ended the sermon quickly and the kids returned to their seats...

Still, during the rest of the service my little son Micah was returning to the pool and other kids would wander up... more anxiety.

Even after the service, as we sang the last hymn Micah and Susie Marie broke free from their parental supervision and made a sprint to the front (both are younger than 2). And as Andy chased them down, singing the second verse of Jesus loves me... he stopped. "Jesus loves me this I know, like he loved so long ago... taking children on his knee, saying let them come to me."

Reframing: Grace is irresistible. That's why we baptize infants and toddlers and little kids before they know what faith is... because they will grow up hearing and receiving and knowing grace and we are drawn to God's grace just like those kids were to the pool. We are drawn again and again to return to the waters of our baptism. We never lose our love for them. And that is a blessed thing.

4 - Tato freaked out when he got in the water. He helped me bless the water. He let me pick him up and put him in the pool. It was great. And then, as he looked out to the congregation in his swim trunks... he grabbed his shorts and said, "Oh no. I've got to pee." We ALL froze. What to do? And then, without missing a beat, one of our elders said, "Eh, it's a pool." And his aunt said, "Just baptize him quickly!" So, I put my arms around him, and Tato started to protest, "It's too cold. No! It's cold! I don't want to do it!!!"

I grabbed his nose and flipped him backward, and dunked him. He came out of the water screaming. I pronounced the Trinitarian baptismal words. Done.

Reframing: We don't always go willingly into the arms of God. Sometimes we get scared. Sometimes a bunch of folks are staring at us. Sometimes we don't think we can handle what God has in store. But there are always arms around us, whether we can see them or not. And thankfully, God's grace overcomes our fear and gets us where we need to be.

5 - After the proclamation, I realized I needed to act quickly and get this screaming kid out of the pool, so I started to pick him up and transfer him to the towel. And instead, Tato latched onto me. Dripping wet, he wrapped himself around me and my handmade stole and my lace pastor's robe. Dripping wet he embraced me, hiding his face from the world, resting his dripping hair on my shoulder. He refused to go to his mom. He wanted to stay in my arms.

Reframing the wet robe: Looking at all the worried faces in the church, I told them that in seminary I had been taught to never ever ever dust off your hands after communion or dry your hands after a baptism. "We don't need to wipe the Holy Spirit off." Tato didn't need that towel anyway.

Reframing Tato's complete collapse: When we are baptized we join Christ's family, and we become a part of the church. Suddenly, there is more than one mom or dad in our life... there are many arms to hold us. And when we are scared and cold and wet, we find the embrace of God in the Body of Christ. When we find that, we never want to let go. And we shouldn't. ever.

That hug was the most sacred moment of the service to me... as the air leaked out of the pool and the water poured onto our floor and ruined the carpet, as I laughed at the potential that I just baptized a kid by force in a pool that had some of his own pee, all I could see was that Tato knew the love and embrace of God in the arms of the one who had baptized him when he was scared to do it. Wow.

I pray that Tato is told the story of his baptism again and again and again... but not as a mockery of what went wrong, but as a testament to how God used a church that was willing to go all out to make sure he had the most spectacular welcome into God's household.

See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. 

February Newsletter

Pastora
Dear All,
In studying the book of Revelation, I was intrigued that one of the lessons lifted up to us was that God is the great actor... not us. And so this month I have been trying to sit back (even in the midst of my business) and reflect on what God is doing that I could not have planned for or done on my own.

God has miraculously healed people. God has provided chaplains to those who have been in pain and alone. God has had students at the coffee ministry suddenly open up to us. God has opened the right doors for our new worshiping community to start on its path towards action.

God is at work... but I only get to really see what God is doing, I only get to notice what the Lord is doing when I am serving. So, I serve. I volunteer. I do ministry. I do it, because by getting myself out there I am constantly awed by how much God is doing in our world. And it is really worth celebrating.

I encourage you to get out there. This year the newsletter is going to be organized by events and celebrations instead of by committees... after all, our focus should be on what God is doing, not on which of us is organizing it.

Blessings,
Rev. Lindsay

Ash Wednesday Service
Ash Wednesday is February 13 and marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a season of spiritual preparation committing ourselves and recommitting ourselves to the promises of the resurrection in Easter. We begin this season with a service of repentance, which is Ash Wednesday. As the Lord told Adam in Eden after he had sinned, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We remember that we are merely creatures and rely on our Lord for mercy and forgiveness. Come to worship at 6:30 pm to recommit yourself to the Lord as we journey towards Easter together.

New Elder Ordination/Installation
We will celebrate the ordination/installation of Patty Martinez and the installation of Doug Abernathy on Sunday, February 17th, at the 11 am service. The service may include some very special elements to celebrate our session’s studies on spiritual leadership, we hope you will be able to attend the service and fiesta/reception afterwards. This will be a potluck. Please plan on bringing a dish to share.

Building our church stronger
Last September we committed to be part of the Allied Communities of Tarrant, an organization of institutions in Tarrant county that seeks to help strengthen our community intentionally through churches and other institutions that are important to all of us. We also committed to go back and “rebuild the walls” closes to us... i.e. strengthen our church and our ties to the local community so that by September 2013 we might (with other churches) be able to really impact Tarrant County.

After some reflection, some testimonies given at the New Year’s Eve service, and conversations with many of you, we realize that the first thing we need to build is a stronger Gethsemane. To do that, we need to hone our skills on how to really visit with one another and know one another.

February 17th, after the ordination and installation service of our elders, Josephine Lopez Paul of ACT will come and during our luncheon will train us in the basics of one on one relational meetings and will talk about these meetings as a tool to strengthen our congregation and our ties to the community. We will then talk as a whole about what goals we would like to set as a church in response to this teaching. Please plan on joining us.

Conferences -
One of Rev. Lindsay’s goals this year is equipping members with better training and education. I hope to include opportunities in each of the newsletters this year. If you attend a conference, please share your reactions and what you learned so that the church can benefit from your education. My goal is to get at least 10 folks to attend different events this year.

1. Helping Helpers Seminar at 1st Presbyterian Church, FW - February 16 - (not time yet) FREE  led by Susan Cockrell, LMSW, MDiv re: resources for helpers.  Topics include: housing, food, income, health, mental health.  Susan works in the FW Housing Authority and knows everything, including the importance of going beyond the “we’ll pray for you” response to those who need help.  
2. Minister’s Week at Brite Divinity School - February 18-21 - www.brite.edu/mw/ This is an awesome educational event that talks about recovery from war and disabilities and our faith. There are many well-known scholars who will be there. Childcare is available if you register immediately online. Childcare is $20-$30, but all of the classes and seminars are FREE.
3. Free online webinars Thursdays from 1-2:30pm - http://nextchurch.net/online-webinars-conversations/

These webinars are with next church and the ecclesia project, both organizations working to help churches think about what is next for the church. Their ideas are often edgy and different, but they really get you to think about what we consider the church to be, and how the church needs to engage the world in new ways. Register online.

4. Allied Communities of Tarrant 2 day training - March 8 and 9 - St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Arlington, TX - (all day) - FREE This is the official training to learn the basics of one on one relational meetings, how to lead and organize house meetings/small groups, how to identify issues we can work on with our community, etc. Lydia Frias, Robert Castillo, Raquel Hinojos, Rev. Andy, and Rev. Lindsay have all attended before. This is an opportunity that could transform how we look at: VBS, Academia, evangelism, New worshiping community, coffee ministry, etc. Childcare is available and it is fully bilingual.

Youth Conferences
We would like to send our youth (middle school and high school aged youth) to a camp/conference this summer. The two that we are most promoting are:

1. MoRanch multicultral youth conference - July 4-7 - This is open to youth who have completed 6th grade through those who have completed 12th grade. Ashley, Rebecca, and Marlen have been before and agree that it was awesome.
2. Presbyterian Youth Triennium - http://presbyterianyouthtriennium.org/ - July 16-20 - This is a conference held every three years at Purdue University and is open to youth who are entering 9th grade through those who have just completed 12th grade. Our youth would go with the Grace Presbytery team. Christina Rodrigues attended in the past as well as Rev. Lindsay (waaaaay back when she was a youth), and Rev. Andy has attended as a small group leader. Words can not describe the experience.

Youth who are interested need to talk with Rev. Lindsay or a Ruling elder ASAP so we can start planning, fundraising, etc. Triennium MAY have a limit on how many youth may attend from a single church, but we do not know yet.

Adults who are available and would be willing to go to either event (particularly MoRanch, but Triennium as well) are encouraged to speak up too.

Next Race
For those of you interested in joining us in getting healthier with walking/running 5ks, our next race will be Saturday, February 23, at 9:30 am. We will be participating in the 5k to support Cook Children’s hospital. Registration is $25 per person. If you are unable to run and would like to help with the cost of registration, feel free to give a special offering in this area.

Projector in the Fellowship Hall
The projector is now installed in the fellowship hall. Computers and laptops can be connected to the outlet on the wall and the screen can be lowered for use in Sunday School and other educational opportunities. Thanks to Cliff, from First Presbyterian, who helped us with the install and ALL the church folk who helped make this possible.
We will still need to upgrade the computer and the connections to the other projectors in order to have the worship service projected simultaneously out to the fellowship hall, and our sound system is still in the “discernment process.”

Garden
We will start planting our next beds the second Saturday this month. Please help us with watering when you are at the church to make sure our produce grows. We will be keeping track of our harvests by weight with a goal of donating at least 500 lbs. of vegetables this year. We currently donate to the community kitchen of Tarrant Area Food Bank. If, however, you have a neighbor who is in need and you would like to share the church’s bounty, please speak with Estela Almanza or a ruling elder to work out how you may take some of our harvest regularly to share with folks in need.

December Newsletter Articles

Session
The session met this month and did a lot of hard discernment. We talked about the responsible ways to save for the future while still encouraging ministry in our present. We talked about how to improve our music ministry in a way that challenges the many members we have who do have musical talents to use them... This may mean reorganizing how we do music ministry or how we think about it. And finally, we talked about how to train better leaders. Ruling Elder Lydia Frias provided the session with what is now our approved method for training Ruling Elders-Elect prior to their examination and ordination/installation.

1. Teach the beliefs of the church and how these affect our service and lives
1. Sovereignty Of God
2. Centrality of Scripture
3. Centrality of Grace
4. Centrality of Faith
5. Discipline - personal and corporate
2. How to do a one on one visit
1. Visit at least 5 members
3. Investigate and understand the needs of the congregation
1. Do this through individual visits and through at least 2 committee meetings.
4. Prayer - how to do it, especially publicly
5. Identify what God wants for my life and share that with the session
6. Basics of the Book of Order
7. Basics of the Book of Confessions
8. The committee structure
9. The budget

But we will need your help. The first steps in training are visiting... so we need folks that are willing to be visited. We recognize that there is no responsible method to discern God’s will for our congregation if we do not know our congregation... so be patient with us as we improve our visiting talents.

Especially lift in prayer Patty Martinez and Doug Abernathy as they enter into this training process.

Please note: anyone else is also welcome to join in this training process, especially those already ordained as Ruling Elders.

Buildings and Grounds
We are excited that the electrical lines are installed for the third projector to be placed in the fellowship hall. The lights and fans have been installed and are working in the women’s shower. We are doing research on the handicapped entrance and how much it may cost to replace this older unit. We are also getting bids on putting jasmine ground cover on the hills that are hard to mow. Finally, we are happy to report that we got all of our fire extinguishers inspected and they are good for the next 6 years. Go Church!

Christian Ed
We had a great fall festival and are doing well incorporating an increased attendance in Sunday School. We will be working to organize our items in the blue room soon. If you are interested in helping Astrid in the classroom, please speak up. We are a Godly community when we work together.

Evangelism and Mission
We had 7 folks walk in the Jingle Bell Run the first Saturday in December: Rev. Lindsay, Rev. Andy, Berna, Estela, Robert C and his two grandkids. Great job! More than $150 was given in support of the Arthritis Foundation through their registrations and other donations.

Garden Weeding Day will be December 8th, Saturday, at 8 am. We will be covering each bed with newspaper and mulch. Tacos for any volunteers.

C3 - Coffee to Community College - is doing great in its ministry. George and Vickie R., Robert C., Robin O., Rev. Lindsay, Susie Sanchez (and Susie Marie), as well as some others all chip in and help make this possible. We have contact with about 20 students or community folk every week, and many are “regulars” who are getting to know us and we are getting to know them. Look for their prayer requests in our weekly prayer list.

Fellowship and Care
Advent Decorating Day is the first Sunday in December and is a potluck. Please stay and fellowship as we decorate the church!

Trine House is coordinating a team to go out caroling this year. Please speak with her about your availability, interest, and where you would like to go.

SAP
We continue to work on the transition from one to two treasurers. We welcome Alonso Rodriguez as our second treasurer. Eventually, our goal is to have an income treasurer (Sam Frias) who will handle all offerings, and an expense treasurer (Alonso Rodriguez) who will handle all expenses. Since Sam F has been a one man show for so long, please be patient as we work out the transition together.

Worship
It’s that time of year again... at least this year our pastor is not on maternity leave!

Special Advent Services: December 2, 9, 16, 23. Each will have interactive sermons that help us meditate on how the coming of Christ personally affects us. The 23rd, being the closest to the Longest night of the year, will include a special moment of prayer for healing and hope (and perhaps communion) for all who have experienced different kinds of loss. Thanks to Lana B., Vickie R., and Susie S. for their help!

Christmas Eve Service: December 24th, 6:30 pm. If you have any special music or a special presentation to include, please let Rev. Lindsay know before December 9th as the service order will be finalized before the 16th.

New Year’s Eve Party and Service: December 31st, starting at 8 pm, Worship at 11 pm. Board Games, pot luck, and more! Worship service to include our year end slide show. Please submit your pictures to Rev. Lindsay electronically prior to December 16th as these slide shows take a while to put together.

Hide Lock Take
As much as Gethsemane’s neighborhood is lower crime than it once was, we still live and worship and serve in a city where many are desperate and make poor choices. Some have had things taken from their unlocked cars recently. So, please do the basic safety reminder: Hide your belongings. Lock your doors. Take your keys. And we should add, pray for those who are so lost as to commit these crimes.

The Christmas Waiting Room

Advent is a time to wait for the coming of Christ, and I find it ironic that because we love the festivities of Christmas so much, we end up doing almost no waiting. We are busy, busy with events and shopping and visits and cooking.

But as Christians, which is ultimately our most important identity, we are called to be waiting first, and doing later.

I’ve been thinking of this since Gethsemane is incredibly good at waiting room ministry. Having grown up in churches too big to do such a thing, I found it odd and amazing to be part of a church that insists on having folks sit in waiting rooms when someone is in the hospital. These folks are not invited or asked... they come. They wait. They pray. They wait some more. It is one of the most heartfelt, genuine, loving ministries I have ever seen done. My congregation has done more crossword puzzles, drunk more coffee, slept in more uncomfortable chairs than any I could imagine. They do it for members, for family of members, and for folks they meet through our ESL ministry. We sit and wait...

The reason I feel it is our greatest ministry is because it shows the constant, vigilant love of God... a God who makes time for us. A God who waits for us. It also shows hope. We are not afraid of pain or bad news... we will be there, because we trust that God is going to be there.

And so this Christmas, I wonder who is sitting in God’s waiting room? Which of us is taking the time to sit and wait for the birth of Jesus? Which of us is willing to set aside our busy schedules to sit in uncomfortable chairs, drink bad coffee, and do crossword puzzles, praying and waiting so that we can be the first to hear the hope that God has for us?

Think about that the next time you look at your packed to do list this month. After all, God has been waiting in the waiting room of your heart a long, long time.

Blessings,
Rev. Lindsay

Lord, Help us to Discern, not just make Decisions

That was one of the prayers of one of Ruling Elders-Elect at our session meeting last night, and I thought it was incredibly insightful.

The session met last night. For those of you that don't know, in Presbyterian Churches, we do not make decisions with the entire congregation, and we certainly don't let the pastor make decisions on her own. Calvin believed discernment and leadership should always happen in groups, because the Spirit moves more faithfully and we are held to a higher accountability that way. Our session is made up of Ordained Ruling Elders. Other churches may call them lay leaders, because they are not pastors and most do not have seminary educations. But we believe they are called by God and we put our trust in them to discern the will of God and thus lead the congregation and make the leadership calls for the congregation.

Our session at Gethsemane met last night. We could have made decisions about finances and buildings, but instead, we did a lot of discernment, which takes longer.

For instance. We talked about Gethsemane's music ministry. We talked about hiring a musician... that is a decision. It could have been pushed through, we probably could have had a unanimous vote. We could have identified the problem and fixed it and figured out budgets and amounts. Instead we did discernment, or at least started it. Discernment demands that we consider, proactively where we are called, not reactively how to fix a problem. So, we began to talk about what musical talents we have at Gethsemane. We have folks that like to sing, but we don't always organize well, and we don't always sing with passion. We have a praise band, but it doesn't always practice. We have a guitarist, a violinist, several drummers, several pianists, youth that play a variety of different instruments, younger youth interested in learning instruments. We talked about what we would dream for us... special music, solos, individuals sharing gifts once in a while, special programs... what would it take to make those things happen? What are we missing? How do we keep on missing it?

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the session members got frustrated with myself because I wasn't able to explain clearly what discernment was or how we could be sure that what we came up with in the end was from God.

Discernment is a struggle. It is analyzing what God has given us in particular, both gifts and passions, and based on those figuring out where we want to go. It doesn't just solve a problem, it identifies a destination that grows people closer to God, not just passively, but actively.

So, this is what we did overall:

1 - we determined to gather folks in the church who had music talent or passion and talk to them to figure out what our gifts are and what our dreams are and come up with a plan that develops those gifts and works towards those dreams... then we can figure out how much it may cost, and THEN we figure out how to support that financially.

2 - Financially, we determined that we should have 3 bank accounts for the church.

A general fund where we do our regular expenses. This is where ALL offerings, registrations, fundraisers, and other income goes in, and all expenses, bills, salaries, ministry expenses, reimbursements, donations to other organizations, and gifts on behalf of the church come out.

A short term savings fund where we save for somewhat bigger expenses. Maybe in the budget we determine to transfer an amount every month or every year into this account to save for future expenditures that we know will be happening. At the end of the year, we can determine how to take part of surpluses and set them aside here to plan for those expenses that might take more than one year to save for.

An endowment fund. This is for the big future. It is to take care of large needs and big dreams. We talked about how to encourage good stewardship and ways to make sure that an endowment doesn't end up discouraging offering. We talked about how to use this fund to encourage innovation and experimentation, because a congregation that doesn't try new things is going to get stuck in the mud. We also talked about how in some churches endowments have ended up being morphine drips that keep doors open at churches long after they have stopped being creative, missional, or effective in sharing the Gospel with their community.

3 - We talked about elder training being first and foremost a plan for helping new elders to learn how to identify what they believe and how it changes how we lead and how we serve... but most of all, elder training is going to be learning how to visit and spend time with congregation members, because discernment doesn't happen if we don't have relationships that speak to us about what the fears, needs, dreams, and gifts of our church really are. If we don't know our congregation, we only make decisions. So, our new elder plan is largely a plan on getting our elders out to visit the church, to listen, and to pray for others. I thought THAT was awesome.

4 - We talked about how to intentionally reach out to those who are isolated in different ways: taking them on errands with us, calling, visiting, building new relationships, bringing meals to those who might want them. We talked about the different folk we may have forgotten about, but who need love and care more than anything right now.

5 - We closed in prayer. We prayed for folks that we knew were hurting. We prayed for their caretakers. We prayed for ourselves. We prayed for marriages. We prayed for children. We prayed for our fears and anxieties. We prayed for our hopes and new worshiping community. We prayed for our parish associate and our dreams for him. We prayed for the families who are grieving this holiday season... because a meeting that is decision making only seeks to close a meeting as fast as possible when the business is over, and a meeting that is discernment closes with prayer that upholds one another and ourselves in the Lord's hands, opening ourselves to more opportunities to serve.

So, as much as my ruling elders may be frustrated that our agenda seemed more like a paper drawing of a path instead of a roadmap, as much as they may have been disappointed in their pastor's ability to guide them, as much as they may have been sincerely disappointed in the fact that we took an hour longer than we had planned to take... I think we had a faithful meeting, which is a lot better than a good one.

Living in tension with the Body of Christ

I am a Christian, which means that I am intimately connected to other believers. We are children of God. We struggle to be faithful together. We disagree, but just because I disagree with the foot doesn't make that foot any less part of the body.

I am also a Presbyterian. My parents are Presbyterians. My grandparents are Presbyterians... largely by choice. Particularly because we believe that as the priesthood of believers we can seek out the will of God together, vote, and struggle on together. We have no bishops or any individuals (including pastors) that can make unilateral decisions on almost anything. This, however, means that at times each of us must struggle in the minority... worry about our conscience... wonder how God will overcome our failures.

In the second part of our Consitution, the Book of Order, it states

G-2.0105 Freedom of Conscience
It is necessary to the integrity and health of the church that the persons who serve it
in ordered ministries shall adhere to the essentials of the Reformed faith and polity as
expressed in this Constitution. So far as may be possible without serious departure from
these standards, without infringing on the rights and views of others, and without obstructing
the constitutional governance of the church, freedom of conscience with respect
to the interpretation of Scripture is to be maintained. It is to be recognized, however, that
in entering the ordered ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one chooses to
exercise freedom of conscience within certain bounds. His or her conscience is captive to
the Word of God as interpreted in the standards of the church so long as he or she continues
to seek, or serve in, ordered ministry. The decision as to whether a person has departed
from essentials of Reformed faith and polity is made initially by the individual
concerned but ultimately becomes the responsibility of the council in which he or she is a
member.

We have to respect that our brothers and sisters, although differing from us, are still struggling to serve the same Lord.

And although many struggle nationally in our church regarding ordination standards, marriage definitions, and sexuality. Yesterday I struggled with something much more intimate, personal, and painful: discrimination.

We, as a presbytery, yesterday elected a very well qualified man, who seems to be an excellent candidate and a fervent servant of Jesus Christ, to the office of stated clerk.

The problem? The search process had not been an open one. Only 3 candidates were considered, no position was advertised. Also, the effective salary of the past stated clerk, a woman, was $36,000 in 2012. The proposed for her was $38,000 in 2013. The effective salary given to this new stated clerk is $55,000. This was either a 52.8% increase or a 45% increase respectively compared to the original salaries noted above.

Both had additional benefits. The explanation was because her benefits had cost more, the cash equivalent of her entire benefits were thus given to the new stated clerk, plus he received "post-retirement benefits" which are much less expensive. Even with that, the overall package increase was still 12%, in a year when our presbytery moments before eliminated a different staff position and cut $130,000 from our overall budget to balance it.

I voted in the minority, but as a member of presbytery, I must state that we made this decision together.  Below is the protest I have submitted to our stated clerk to be contained in our minutes as a small effort to clear my conscience. I believe we are the church and we do not walk out ever on those who love the Lord Jesus Christ... period. But just as our choices at times pain our parents, the choices of our brothers and sisters sometimes pain us. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

I, Lindsay Woods, voted in the minority. I am protesting this vote for the following reasons. 

As one of the foundations of presbyterian polity, F-1.0403, we declare 

"The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s

membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism

regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction.

There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall guarantee full participation and representation in

its worship, governance, and emerging life to all persons or groups within its membership.

No member shall be denied participation or representation for any reason other than

those stated in this Constitution."

I believe that this election stands against this foundation of Presbyterian polity. The search process was closed for this position. The job description was not made public and no one was invited to apply for this position, unless privately. We did thus not even make a concerted effort to guarantee full participation or representation in the process of this election. This is even more troubling in light of the fact that in the last 3 years, 6 staff have been eliminated or have left the staff of the presbytery. All 6 are women, 2 of which are women of color. Since that time, two, now three, staff have been brought on to either replace those women or to newly created positions. All 3 are white men over the age of 50. There were options to delay this election, bring on said candidate as an interim while a full search was made, or request that the current stated clerk remain on for a few months so that a fair search process could be completed. The candidate himself proposed options such as these, and the Presbytery council was comfortable proposing a candidate that they had interviewed, having only reviewed 3 potential candidates, and only interviewing one. 

I also believe that the compensation package reflects a break from the above foundation of Presbyterian polity. The Presbytery Council, which updated the job description, stated that the changes were minor, adding only some new responsibilities for digitization and preaching. The Presbytery Council confirmed that the job description was still for a 3/4 time position. There was not a 50+% increase in responsibility or the position would have been full time. In no way does this justify a 52.7% increase from the 2012 effective salary of the stated clerk. The only explanation is that because we do not have to pay full pension dues (instead post-retirement dues) we increased the effective salary. This, to me, reflects discrimination based on retirement or non-retirement status, and has no place in the Church of Jesus Christ. 

I am saddened that the body of which I am a part felt this was a just and faithful decision, and I regretfully submit this protest. 

Thank you.