2011.10.31 Monday Morning

 

Special warm greetings to all of you from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in Vinita, Oklahoma, where we celebrate the 129th anniversary of Pilgrim Church.  

For six years at Pilgrim Church, I always sensed a feeling of thrill and humility to preach, and to serve Communion, as the congregation celebrated its birth on the Sunday nearest All Saints Day (Nov. 1, 2011).

 

To be in the company of an unseen cloud of Christians (Hebrews 12:1) who risked everything by leaving the comforts of their homes in the east to cross a hostile terrain to Oklahoma, with the good news of Jesus Christ, makes me feel very humble.

 

Humbling, yes, but it is also challenging to have entered into their labors.  Each generation is a link in a chain of Christian discipleship.  We must see to it that ours is not a weak link!

 

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  In that way we will be true to them, and to our Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)

 

God is with you!

 

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

 

2011.10.24 Monday Morning

Best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma!

Golden memories are the gratitude of the heart. How grateful I am for the five years (1986-1991) Helen and I lived in her old family home in Wales, that small, beautiful land of song.

I remember one morning sitting along the expansive estuary at Bangor, in North Wales. I saw boats - large boats, small boats, pleasure boats, fishing boats. And, all of them were anchored in mud. Every boat tilted, some to the right, others to the left. It was most definitely not a picture post card. The tide was out. The estuary was a mess, grim and unattractive. But, when the tide came in - and it always does - the mud lost its grip on the boats. They stood straight again. Awake, ready to go to sea! Those boats were free to come and go once more.

Bangor Photo...  Probably not the view referred to by Richard, however...

Our lives are often like the tides; some are tempestuous, while others come and go with the smoothness of silk. I like the words of the poet, Dylan Thomas (1914-1954) as the tides of life envelope me.

"Every morning when I wake,

Dear Lord, a little prayer I make.

O please to keep Thy loving eye

On all poor creatures born to die.

And every evening at sundown

I ask a blessing on the town.

For whether we last the night or no

I'm sure is always touch-and-go.

We are not wholly bad or good

Who live our lives under Milk Wood.

And Thou, I know, will be the first

To see our best side, not our worst."

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

2011.10.17 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. 

If you are in the area any Sunday morning at 10:00, come worship with us. If that's not possible, please say a prayer for us wherever you are. Thank you.

I want to tell you today about a good friend who was a professor of New Testament studies. He had escaped from his beloved Hungary during the uprising in the mid-1950's. More than a quarter million Hungarians left their homes at a time when Communists were oppressing dissidents, including Christians.

My friend, and a group of anti-Communists, captured the Communist headquarters in his home town. They held it for only a short time before being crushed. In that brief time he and his friends discovered a list of 'informers'. On the list was the name of my friend's best buddy.

When my friend confronted him, the man broke down and through his sobs asked, "What would you have done when the Communists threatened your wife and children?" The next day the informant committed suicide.

Life is complex. Evil is powerful. It is not easy to be a Christian in all circumstances.

When we become too smug in our faith and are tempted to find fault in how others respond to horrific situations, we will do well to hear the haunting question of that Hungarian informer: "What would you have done in my situation?"

With blessings and fond regards,

Richard

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com

Taken from the archives - Monday, September 6, 2010

Top of the morning and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

Thanks for visiting our blog! We at Pilgrim Church hope that this "off-site/online" outreach is helpful to you. If it is, please pass our messages to others, and let us know if you enjoy them.

I may be naive, but I still believe that the overwhelming majority of Americans want to do what is right and decent. I know there are countless numbers of men and women who are breaking away from moral and ethical standards of the past with good reason. It is not easy to find answers to a question as to what is right.

Can we always be certain of what is right? Probably not, yet here is a suggestion which may help you to walk the right path:

Are you willing to make known your conduct to others?

A desire to keep ones actions secret, whether personal or public, is to be avoided. If one is doing what one instinctively wants to hide, it is probably wrong. On the other hand, if one can tell loved ones what one is doing, it is probably right.

Doing the wrong thing is usually hidden in the dark, while doing the right thing is usually seen in the light. That's a test as you seek answers to any question as to what is right.

Who said life is easy?


Peace,
Richard

2011.10.10 Monday Morning!

Greetings and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

Do you remember the film " Bridge On the River Kwai?" The film was based on a book by Ernest Gordon, a Scot and an officer in the British Army during World War II. He was captured early in the war and spent the remainder of the war in a prison camp in Southeast Asia. After the war, he immigrated to the United States and became a chaplain at Princeton University.

In his book, Gordon wrote that he had no religious faith at all when he was captured, but he came away from that prison camp convinced he had been touched by God and he was called to spend the rest of his life serving others. He wrote: "In the muck and misery of that dreadful prison camp, I learned to care for others and that God cared for me. I discovered I was important to others. God found me in the most unexpected place."

Life is filled with strange interruptions - unexpected moments that change our lives forever. At the time such interruptions are often unwelcome and resented. At other times, they are signs of hope. In retrospect, they often seem as if they were destined.

When you may have unexpected interruptions, evaluate them for they may change the whole landscape of your life.

With blessings and best wishes,
Richard

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

2011.10.03 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

We have a choice. We can choose to build up one another, or we can choose to tear down one another. Let me share two encounters to illustrate what I mean.

I stopped at a gas station in Vian, a small town in Oklahoma, near Dwight Mission, our Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center. A gas attendant came out in the rain to pump gas. He smiled, and said hello, and seemed to be genuinely happy to serve his customers. After filling my tank, he did an extraordinary thing: he shook my hand, said "Thank you" and wished me well. He made my day.

Later, in Tulsa, I bought gas at a self-service station. The attendant was in a glassed-in-booth. Her eyes never met mine. Sullen lines marked her face. I felt like an intruder as she cracked her gum, took my money, all the while looking down. She seemed completely disinterested in her job. That young woman made me sad.

Every time we meet another person, each of us is given an opportunity to create or destroy by the way we dignify or deny that person.

Jesus was on target when he taught us to do to others as we want others to do to us.

With blessings and all good wishes,

Richard

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

Pilgrims Progress Newsletter October 2011

PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

Voice of the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church
Vinita, Oklahoma October, 2011

A Pastoral Letter

Dear friends,

Death in the midst of life hits us all sooner or later. Most of us have met it in the loss of someone close to us. In bereavement, faith can soften the feeling of desolation, but can do little to make less natural human grief.

Blessed are those with a family circle to which they can turn in bereavement. But often children may have moved and are not readily accessible. And, there are many who have no children.

One source of healing in bereavement is the use of memory. There is a justifiable form 'of living in the past'. To remember incidents that provoke laughter or evoke a quiet smile of happiness are part of the gift of loving and being loved.

Memory, of course, causes us to recall the bad with the good, missed opportunities, hurtful words, silly mistakes. Thankfully, God's mercy does forgive our blindness and wrong doing.

There is one other helpful source of strength in bereavement. That is the Christian hope of life beyond death. Read Romans 8:35, 37-39. This throws grieving back upon the vitality of a person's faith in God.

To know God in Jesus Christ is to possess the power to meet bereavement victoriously.

With affectionate regards to a wonderful congregation, and in friendship,

Richard



"The Church is essentially a fellowship"

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

Church email:pilgrimpresby@sbcglobal.net


THE PRAYER LIST

Please remember the following individuals in your daily prayers: 
Richard Evans, John Burckhalter, Mary Draper, Vera Tresler, Louise Gullett, John Gullett, Patricia Hemphill. Pat Robinson, Dee Ann George, Joan Dirmyer, Dee Ann George, Adele Davis, Clell Goodpaster Brett Forbes family serving in the military. Please also remember all service men and women.

We light the Peace Candle each Sunday and pray for all men and women currently serving in the military and their families, as well as for all who are suffering from war, persecution and terrorism.

*********************

Church birthdays are celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of the Month 
– October 9th – Linda Burger will supply the birthday cake.

4 – Sue Ratcliff
7 – Ryder Vazquez
12 – Carter Given
15 – Cynthia Boatright
16 – John Turner
16 – AnnaBelle Mitchell
17 – Melba Shelton
19 – Chris Conine
28 – Jim Dishman


You may pick up your copy of
"These Days" in the Narthex.


WORLD WIDE COMMUNION
Will be observed Sunday, October 2 at 10:00 a.m.
The Reverend Judy Henderson will serve Communion.

~~Notes from Session~~

The stated Session meeting opened at 11:15 a.m. on September 18, 2011 with prayer by Moderator Ann Wasson. Present were: Irene Conine, Keith Cresap, Joyce Dishman, Wally Olson, Sue Ratcliff, and Jim Shelton. Kitty Brown, Sarah Bruce, and Fred York were excused. Minutes of the August 21st minutes were approved.

Keith Cresap gave the Treasurer’s Report for the month of August 2011. Beginning Balance was $7,309.95, Receipts were $2,243.77, Expenditures were $3,731.20, and the Closing Balance was $5,822.52. The Treasurer’s Report was approved by common consent.

Also under the Treasurer’s Report was receipt of the EOP Report for Pilgrim Church , the 2012 Mission Pledge Form, and a letter to all Stewardship/Mission Committees, Sessions, and Pastors in EOP dated July 21, 2011.   Joyce Dishman will compile the figures for Mission giving during 2011.

Under the Pastor’s Report, Session received Richard’s resignation letter dated September 7, 2011. After further consultation with Session members, Richard withdrew his resignation on September 13, 2011. Wally Olson moved that Session approve Richard’s decision, there was a 2nd, and the motion carried.

Under the Clerk’s Report was a letter from EOP dated July 20, 2011, regarding the change in ordination standards in the Book of Order. EOP also included a copy of the Policies and Procedures Guide for the Work of the Session.

Under the Trustees’ Report, after some discussion, Wally Olson moved that the church manse be offered for sale to member Walter Rapp for $55,000.00, Irene Conine 2nd, and the motion carried.

Under Committee Reports, Irene is planning for special music during the Holiday Season. Under Mission and Outreach, Joyce reported that she had delivered the donations for Bundles for Babies and Blue Star Mothers. Joyce also noted that the Salvation Army food panty is very low and could use food and money donations. Wally Olson will be donating two beefs to the pantry in the near future.

Under New Business, Session approved the use of the church by member Jim Shelton on Friday, November 11th, and Saturday, November 12th, for the rehearsal dinner and wedding of Mary Kate Shelton and James Craven.

Session conducted the annual review of the composition of Session, Deacons, and Trustees regarding ethnicity, age, sex, and disabilities with regard to the make-up of the congregation. This information is useful for the Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee includes Sarah Bruce, Irene Conine, Jewell Morgan, Todd Mariner, and Walter Rapp. The committee will report to Session at the October 16th meeting.

Under Other Business, the Worship Assistant for October is Sue Ratcliff, and Communion will be prepared on Sunday, October 2nd, by Toni Moore.

The next Session meeting will be held on Sunday, October 16, 2011.

Ann Wasson, Moderator Sue Ratcliff, Clerk of Session

Thank you to:

• Irene, Dianne, Shirley, Sarah, and Jewell for taking food to "Bridges Out of Poverty" student and leader participants.
• Pam for her donations of "Blankets for Babies"
• Irene for making sure we have a minister each Sunday.

~~Notes from Deacons~~

Bingo at Burroughs
We resumed our monthly bingo games at Burroughs Manor on Sat. Sept. 17th. A good crowd was on hand and a good time had by all. Jean Cowley and Diane Rapp shared calling the numbers. Walter Rapp, Jewell Morgan, Toni Moore were also in attendance. Cookies were served and everyone looking forward to next month when bingo will be on Sat. Oct 15th.

Next Deacons meeting will be October 16

CHURCH     OFFICERS
Session Members                    Deacons

(Class of ’11)                       (Class of ’11)
Sarah Bruce                         Jewell Morgan
Irene Conine                      Shirley Spaulding
Kitty Brown

(Class of ’12)                       (Class of ’12)
Joyce Dishman                      Jim Dishman
 Wally Olson                         Dianne Rapp
  Jim Shelton

(Class of '13)                        (Class of '13)
Keith Cresap                        Jeanne Cowley
Sue Ratcliff                             Jan Haney
 Fred York                             Toni Moore

              2011                                 2011
WORSHIP ASSISTANTS           COMM. PREPARERS
October – Sue Racliff           Oct – Toni Moore
November- Jim Shelton        Nov – Wally Olson
December – Elders Share     Dec – Keith Cresap


The PPC mouse observed ----------
•Someone putting up a new curtain in the Pastor's restroom.  Could it have been Toni?
•Beautiful fall decorations appearing.   Was it Sarah?
•Cookies at the last minute.  Thanks Dianne.