2010.11.29 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day, and that now you will journey through Advent to Christmas and the glorious celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Nothing is more important than “to keep in touch” with God, with family and with friends.  To “keep in touch” one must be able to share the small and big events of life.  The holidays provide that opportunity, especially when we live far away, in distance and time, from those whom we love and with those who were close to us at different periods in our life.

This story, which I heard tell, is about a minister who loved golf more than almost anything.  He feigned sickness one bright Sunday morning and after his family left for Church, he snuck out the back door and went to his favorite golf course.

There, on the 7^th, he shot his first hole in one.  But who could he tell?  He couldn’t share a big moment in his life and he felt embarrassed and empty.

Let Advent and Christmas lead you in the direction of happiness in our complex world.  “Go, tell… that Jesus Christ is born.”  “The Word has become flesh and dwells among us, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:14)

That’s good news worth sharing!

Richard

2010.11.22 Monday Morning!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.  I suggest that at your Thanksgiving gathering someone read aloud Psalm 100.   To give thanks for specific reasons is reasonable.  In good conscience all of us can be thankful for the good things of life which we have received.   If, however, one of those specific reasons for thanksgiving is lost, can we still be thankful?  Yes we can if we cultivate an attitude of thanks toward all life.  An attitude of thankfulness sustains us and enhances purpose and meaning in all the situations we meet.   Shakespeare captured that truth in Henry VI:        "O Lord that lends us life,          Lend me a heart full of thankfulness."   A heart full of thankfulness is an attitude toward life itself. That is the absolute character of genuine thanksgiving.   Consider thankfulness not for a day, but as a life long attitude.   Cheers and best wishes, Richard

2010.11.15 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. A week ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning (Nov.7), our congregation met for devotions in the Sanctuary and then "car-pooled" to Pheasant Hill Cemetery, about 7 miles out of town.  It was our annual pilgrimage to the area where Presbyterian missionaries founded Pilgrim Church 128 years ago. There, under a bright sky, and framed by a brilliant splash of colorful autumn leaves, we celebrated Holy Communion.,  We gave thanks for a goodly heritage, while acknowledging that life is a journey of limited time for each of us. A genuine faith in God expresses appreciation for the past, and then offers a sensible declaration and demonstration of the story of Jesus today.  Don't let the precious, irretrievable moments of today slip by you.  "This is the day the Lord has made, be glad and rejoice in it." Cheers, Richard A PEARL OF VALUE: "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year."                                 Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Kitchen Photos

Hello to everyone!

While I believe everyone knows about the new kitchen by now...  I have only recently received photos documenting how nice it really is!

I like many others, still remember the old kitchen...  Wow!

Terry, Walter, and Jim holding a discussion in the new kitchen.

As always, I would encourage everyone to share their photographs of Church Life!  I will be more than happy to share them.  If you are not able to get them to me, contact the church for assistance.  

My eMail address should be easy to find in the left column.    

Peace, B. D.

Happy 128th Birthday to Pilgrim Presbyterian Church! (Pictures!!!)

We traveled to Pheasant Hill Cemetery North-West of Vinita

 to have communion at the site where our founders, the Chamberlains are buried.

It is the 128th birthday of our church.

Madison Kroll, Janie York, Fred York, Julie York Osborn

Jeanne Cowley, Sarah Bruce, Joyce Dishman

Richard Evans preparing communion, Shelby Brown, Kitty Brown

Richard blessing Communion, Doris Olson looking on


I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jewel Morgan
 for sending the pictures used above!

A note to all who read this blog, if you have pictures of our Church or of events in conjuction with Church activities or of Richard (to which he would not object) please send them to me or to Jewel Morgan and I will see that they are made available here!

 Thanks Again to Jewel Morgan for sharing!!

- BD

Church Announcement (For "On-Site" Types) ;-)

Sun. Nov 14 Deacons Meeting, 9:00 a.m.

Congregational Meeting following morning worship,

Thanksgiving Dinner in new kitchen.

A-G, dessert, H-O, salad, P-Y vegetable

Burroughs Manor residents are invited!

2010.11.08 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes to each of you, our extended family. 

Thanks for visiting us "off site/on line".


Perhaps another birthday, fast approaching, has caused me to think about aging. Aging is an undefineable thing. Despite the date on your birth certificates, I know some people who were never really young, and others who never seem to be old. Where does the spirit of youth come from?

I think that spirit comes from "interests". People who have little or no interest in things outside their job are likely to become bored. Boredom is a major cause for a feeling of emptiness. What keeps a person really alive is interest.

Interests differ from person to person. We need not grow old in God's world of wonder, and in the world of human relationships.

Learn to be interested and stay young in spirit!

Cheers,
Richard

A PEARL OF VALUE:

To live all the days of our life

is to live fully with our whole being,

with heart and mind and spirit.  It means

"to act justly, to love kindness and to

walk humbly with God."

(Micah 6:8)

Message to all Readers

Hello to Everyone,

It would seem that our old counter has died and/or the homepage company I am using is forcing us to use a new guest counter, so if the number of visits has all of a sudden Jumped to a much smaller number than previously, there is nothing I can do about it.  I guess we shall continue on.  I do know that we were around 1200 - 1300 visits recently.  Anyway, while this may not be very many, it is still not so nice to loose around 800 visits from our counter.

Thanks for your continued visits and your hard work for all of us Richard!

- B. D.

2010.11.01 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.  Thanks for visiiting us.  I hope you find our weekly messages helpful. There is a golf course near our home, and when I saw golfers playing in a light drizzle last week I wondered what it is about the game that makes so many ardent enthusiasts. Then I thought back to my youth when I played golf, rather poorly I confess.  Yes, though a poor golfer I went to the links with hope of getting a birdie on the long four and sink a 20 yard putt at any hole.  Golfers go with the hope of doing NOT what they do at their worst, but what they can do at their best. Isn't that the way we ought to live? It is stifling to be perfectly satisfied the way we are.  The  golfer is driven by the hope that the next 18 will be better than the last. To aim at our best means never to abandon hope that we can do better. A Pearl of Value for this week: "Keep what is greatest of all, keep your hope." Our annual Thanksgiving Dinner will be held November 14 following morning worship at 10:00 a.m. and Congregational Meeting at 11:00 a.m.