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.