IN THIS ISSUE
Presbyterians Do Things “Decently and in Order”No doubt you have heard this phrase bandied about in Presbyterian circles. It always seems to get a laugh when used to explain (or disclaim) the way we Presbyterians do the work of the church. Sometimes we can indeed become overly zealous about the way we organize the work of the church. Yet there is a very good reason why try to do everything in an orderly fashion and do it well. That reason has to do with unity of mission. Without unified mission and ministry it is easy to loose sight of who we are and what we proclaim as Christians within the Reformed Tradition (i.e., Presbyterian Christians). To that end – unity of mission – we organize ourselves under a system of governance from which we derive our name. Rather than a congregational system (i.e. Baptist) or an episcopal system (i.e. Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist) each of which respectively places the governance of the church in the hands of the congregation or bishops, Presbyterian congregations elect elders (presbyters) to seek the mind of Christ leading and governing the congregation as the Session. This fall, as the Session prepares to develop program budgets for 2012 and to seek your commitments in underwriting them to serve the mission of being Christ’s body in this place and time, you will also be asked to help us to select a new class of five elders to become part of the Session after the turn of the year. These men and women, suggested by you and placed on a slate of nominees by the Congregational Nominating Committee, and elected by you will join the Session as ruling elders of the church. The fifteen elders & myself are charged with overseeing every aspect of our ministry in order to coordinate and unify our mission … so that EPC speaks, lives and acts as one body. Every facet of our shared life as a congregation, from educational opportunities & curriculum, youth ministry, fellowship worship & music, mission & outreach falls under the guiding hands of the session of elders as they organize in ministry teams and seek your participating membership in that work. It is a system of church governance that has served the church well for generations and has evoked leadership skills and calls to ministry. We can laugh about our fixation on order, but it has generated powerful mission in the name of Christ for generations of Christians. Just wanted you to know who you are - and why you are – Presbyterians! Pastor Steve
STEPPING IT UPPlease remember to do whatever you can to help EPC close our budget shortfall this year. If you can offer any additional financial support, over and above your pledged offering, it will help EPC meet it's operating budget, and preserve some of our savings for the future. Later in October you will receive a more detailed update along with a request for you to pledge your support for EPC in 2012. We hope that you'll be able to join us in increasing our pledge levels for next year. Please contact Mike Ferney with any questions or to get involved with stewardship and/or fundraising for EPC. CONFIRMATION CLASS 2011Confirmation class for students in grades 6th - 8th begins Sunday, October 2nd at 9:15 am. The class will be held in the Resource Room in office area. Class Lessons include: History of the Bible and its make up; The Reformation, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox; Being Presbyterian; Reformed Theology; Eastminster Presbyterian, and Creating a Statement of Faith. This class offers 6th – 8th graders who haven’t been confirmed an opportunity to do so and to learn the who, what, and why of their chosen faith and then become members of EPC! Please call Steven at 864-284-0190 or email him at steven@eastminster.com to sign-up for this class. PNC UpdateIt’s difficult to give a PNC update when we’re in so many different stages of the process with so many different people! For a handful of folks, we’re in the first steps of reviewing their PIF’s. We’re listening to sermons from another group and scheduling Skype and phone interviews with yet another. We’ve even started face-to-face interviews with a few select candidates. Sometime soon, we’ll start making our first visits to see candidates lead a worship service- either in their own churches or in a neutral pulpit. As always, we stay open to the Holy Spirit and keep praying for discernment. We may find the right person next week… or next year! As we mentioned last month, we would be so appreciative if anyone would like to help provide a meal for one of our meetings. The days and times are changing every week now, so please contact Brian or Susan for more details. We’re also still interested in any travel assistance (hotel points, frequent flyer miles, etc…) you’d like to provide for the PNC or the candidates we bring in. Thank you for the continued support, prayers and feedback. Please contact us with any questions or concerns! PNC Stats (as of 9/18/11) Number of PIF’s received: 71 Number of candidates from South Carolina: 7 Number of male candidates: 49 Number of female candidates: 22 Number of sermons reviewed: 24 Longest PNC meeting: 5.5 hours Number of PNC emails exchanged: 1.7 gazillion (rough estimate) Grace and Peace, The PNC LADIES CIRCLE
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Older we may be gettin', But there's more to life than settin'. So for dinner you're invited to come for some "over fifty" fun! An itty bitty disguise you must wear, cause Halloween is drawing near.Nothing fancy, scary or bold, an eye patch, funny hat, even a witch’s mole. Don’t like to shop, not creative, you say? Not to worry, we'll have something for you anyway. |
Members and friends who are over 50 are invited to dinner at the home of Libby and Skip Cheek on October 29th at 6 pm. Please RSVP to Jane Couch randjcouch@gmail.com or call her at 244-0528 by October 17th if you plan to attend. |
EPC Readers
The next meeting of the EPC readers group will be November 14th at 7 pm at church. They will be reading the "Immortal Life of Herietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot.
JOYS AND CONCERNS
Carol Harris’ father (93yrs) died September 22 in Hudson, FL.
EPC’s Pastor Nominating Committee as they follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in discerning this congregation’s next installed pastor
Ann Coleman as she deals with physical issues related to her pancreas & stomach
Luke Browder as he deals with the death of a family friend of long standing
Steve James continues to struggle with severe back pain – but with smile! Medication seems to be helping at the present time, but surgery may be in the offing.
Sandy Ingram’s sister, Karen is home from the hospital but has a long recovery ahead.Lisa Jordan's, 89 yr old mom Vera Stevens and Melinda Finney's grandmother in Hamlet, NC.
Claire George is mending from corrective surgery of the jaw. Claire is a senior at Union Seminary.
Bonnie McCourtie’s Aunt Dorothy is recovering from surgery on August 30th for a recurrence of cancer.
Scott Carlson’s father was recently diagnosed with a recurrence of melanoma and treatment options are being explored.
Susan Carlson’s mother courageously continues to wage her battle with cancer. She was recently told that her round of chemo is not working and they will try a new course. She has a tumor on her spine that is making it increasingly difficult to walk.
Sherry Hirt’s daughter Ashley O’Mara in (Union NJ) is struggling with identifying and treating severe headaches and no small amount of stress.
Former member Sherri Stilwell’s mother died in North Carolina.
HOMEBOUND MEMBERS/FRIENDS
Emily Phillips is home and is very much herself … the effects of the stroke are minimal and she loves visits. She has 24 hour home care.
NURSING HOMES/CARE FACILITIES
Betty Brantley Rolling Green Health Care, Room #25
Sylvia Meyer Rolling Green “Evergreen”
Doris McLellan Carol Irick’s mother Emeritus Senior Living Center
Mary Grace Fleitz Jim Fleitz’s mother Palmetto Assisted Living Center
October Birthdays
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3 Ann Coleman 5 Dana Landers 10 Emily Taylor 12 Ann Broom 12 Scott Carlson 12 Mike Ferney |
15 Sharon Daugherty 15 Lindy Landers 18 Betty Brantley 19 Katie Winebarger 20 Carol Stewart 21 Amanda Ullmann |
23 Hans Meyer 25 Elizabeth Owens 27 Abbie Finney 30 Peg Lawhorn 31 Sam Talwar |
Eastminster Staff
Interim Pastor - Steve Vance
Director of Christian Education - Steven Putnam
Choir Director - Luke Browder
Accompanist - Kelly Herd
Administrative Assistant - Sherry Hirt
Treasurer - Wanda Grant
Eastminster Session
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Class of 2011 Sharon Daugherty Robb Ellis Ed Irick Chuck Landers Craig Winebarger |
Class of 2012 Mike Armor Ann Coleman Mike Ferney Katie Keller Carol Stewart |
Class of 2013 Mark Sucher Melinda Finney Rick Owens Bonnie McCourtie Anitha Samuel |