| Christmas Shoe Boxes for the Homeless |
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In a church-wide Christmas outreach responding to needs in the downtown Greenville area, First Presbyterian Church collected boxes of needed items for homeless men, setting a goal of 100 boxes in this first year of the project. Members filled shoe boxes following a specific guideline for needed itmes and brought them to the church. A Bible was added to each box before delivery to Miracle Hill for homeless men in various shelters. The congregation actually donated 200 filled boxes, and next year they hope to include shoe boxes for women and children. Their prayer is that God will use the boxes and His living word to minister to those in need in the Greenville area.
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| Greetings from Camp Staff |
Merry Christmas from Buc & Fellowship!
May your holidays be Holy-days, filled with family and friends, and blessed by God's loving presence!
We wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Peace,
Kevin, Tim, Ray, Yuri & Lisa
Your Camp Staff
(To read the entire Christmas message from the camp staff, click here. To view a special holiday greeting video filled with summertime memories, click here.) |
| Women's Retreat |
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"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Perhaps you would be interested in participating in the First Spartanburg Church Women's Retreat focusing on finding rest in God. This is the sixth year the church has sponsored the retreat, and it is a favorite event every year. The church is accepting registrations from women in churches throughout the presbytery, and right now they have accommodations for 30 more women. The dates are January 9-11, and the location is The Cove (Billy Graham's Training Center near Asheville). The speaker is Nancy McGuirk, nationally know speaker, deacon at Peachtree Presbyterian in Atlanta, and author of Rest Assured. Her topic for the retreat is "Finding God's Rest in a Restless World." First Spartanburg women cordially invite all interested women to be a part of this special event. The cost per person is $250 and includes all meals. Email Muffet Chapman or call her at 583-4217 if you have questions. To get your registration form, go online to www.fpcspartanburg.org and complete the form, and mail it with your check to: Muffet Chapman, c/o Jane Mullins, First Presbyterian Church, 393 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29302. The registration deadline is December 27.
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| Call Fair for PNCs |
Columbia Theological Seminary will host its fourth annual Call Fair for Pastor Nominating Committees on Friday, February 27, 2009, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. The event is designed to help connect graduating seniors with congregations and organizations that have openings for leadership positions. "The best way to interest students in open positions is to come to campus and share your needs with graduating seniors," says Dean of Students John White. To register for the Call Fair, go to the Call Fair website and click on the link for the registration form. You can email the completed form by pressing the "Submit by Email" button on the form.
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| Merry Christmas! |
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Christmas 2008
I was saddened to learn of the recent death of theologian William C. Placher, who taught at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. I remember his visit with us at the statewide Minister/Educator retreat a few years back. He was not only an able and thoughtful theologian; he was also a delightful and engaging person. His death is a loss to the church.
But Placher's books and articles are a lasting gift to the church. Today, on the day before Christmas Eve, 2008, I am reading his reflection on "Christmas" in his book Jesus the Savior - The Meaning of Jesus Christ for Christian Faith.
Here is what he writes:
When most Christians reflect on God becoming human in Jesus Christ, they think not about theories about the incarnation but about the Christmas stories. We may not understand the relation of natures and person, but we remember Mary and Joseph and the baby, the shepherds and the wise men. St. Francis showed his characteristic genius when, at Christmas in 1223, he set up for the first time we know of in history, an image of the baby in the manger, and invited the people in the neighborhood to come see this representation of the Christmas story. Here as much as anywhere, stories and images may convey meaning better than theological concepts. "Look upon the Baby Jesus," Martin Luther once wrote. "Divinity may terrify us. Inexpressible majesty will crush us. That is why Christ took on our humanity, except for sin, that he should not terrify us but rather that with love and favor he should console and confirm."
A theologian reminds us that the stories and images of Christmas may convey its meaning better than theological concepts. Let us read and hear the stories again. Let us gaze upon the Child in the manger, whether the lit plastic one along the road, or the one in the crèche at church, or in the manger scene at home. And let us give thanks to God for this precious gift...for God so loved the world.
Grace and Peace be with you all.
Merry Christmas!
George Wilkes
(Foothills Presbytery office will be closed December 24-January 2 for the Christmas holiday.) |
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