From the Pastor's Pen 6/7/22

6/7/2022

Dear Friends,

I just want to start by saying how much Mike and I enjoy our Presbyterian Pint Sundays! It is just wonderful to gather with all y’all, have a drink, eat some food, and mostly, just chat and get to know you better! It is a highlight of our month and we look forward to it every time. It is also a great opportunity for you to invite friends to join us, and let them get to know all you wonderful people of First Presbyterian Church of Gulf Shores.

Additionally, I want to give a BIG shout-out and thank you to Billy Adcock, who is working tirelessly around this building to get things up to snuff. From tracing electrical lines so that our exterior lighting is functional to cleaning and painting our church signs and everything in between, we are immensely grateful for all the work that he is doing on our facility,. When you see Billy, express your appreciation for his time and talents given for God’s church.

This past week we celebrated the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and we talked a bit about how the Holy Spirit often gets shortchanged because it is much harder to relate to and understand the Spirit. But, inherent within the Spirit is the power of God, which is not only necessary in the life of a Christian, but of critical importance if we truly want to live transformed lives that show God to a world in need.

For too long there has been a kind of fear that if we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit, it could get out of control and weird things might start happening that we don’t fully understand. But is that such a bad thing? When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, they suddenly could speak in languages that they had never spoken in before – languages that just happened to correspond with the native languages of those gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks. That was kind of weird, but once Peter started preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit, about 3,000 people believed and were added to their number – IN ONE DAY.

Maybe we need a little more of  the Holy Spirit working in new (and even strange) ways in order for more people to hear and be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to work within us, powerfully leading and guiding us to live transformed lives that share the good news with the world.

For those unable to join us in-person, Sunday morning worship is livestreamed on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/GulfShoresFirstPresbyterianChurch. The service airs each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and will be available to watch after that as well.

A couple of updates:

• If you haven’t yet had a chance, be sure to check out our NEW website: gsfpc.org.
• We are now officially providing additional parking for Condo renters and others visiting the area through Gulf Cost Rental Company. As such, you may begin noticing additional use of our parking lot in the coming weeks. When you come on Sunday morning, please use the spaces that are adjacent to the church building or the section of parking in the East lot between the two driveway entrances. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. Also, if you know of those who need a place to park during their visit, here is the link to share: https://www.premiumparking.com/P2658.
• Keep collecting that loose change and bring it every week to add to the collection! All of the loose change will go toward the ongoing ministry of the church, as we continue to spread the life-changing good news of God’s love.
• Want to help the church just by doing your normal Amazon shopping? Now you can! Just go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/63-0859397 and make all your purchases through this link! Each quarter the church will receive a donation equal to 0.5% of your total purchases. You can also set it up so the Amazon app on your phone automatically purchases through Amazon Smile. For help setting that up, see this link: https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=15576745011.
• The church can now receive donations through Facebook, either by clicking on the “Donate” button on our Facebook Page, or through Fundraisers you can host on your own Facebook page.
• If you have more ideas about how we can creatively fund the ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Gulf Shores, reach out and let me know!

Thank you for your continued support of the Blessing Box! Keep bringing those items to church on Sunday, or dropping them at the box during the week. With rising costs of everything from gas to food, the box is being used very regularly, and your donations are key to helping us bless those who are in need of what our box can offer.

This summer is the bi-annual meeting of the General Assembly of the PC(USA). I am honored to be attending this year’s assembly as a Commissioner for the Presbytery of South Alabama. This is the time and space in which decisions are made concerning the workings and future of the PC(USA) and an opportunity for us to witness the progress and decisions made. You may be interested in receiving email updates regarding what is happening in the time leading up to and the time of the General Assembly. You can do that by registering here: https://pcusa.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1721a6b9451a1567ee53b00fc&id=6dc39f777c. I always think it is a good idea to be aware not only of what is happening at the local level, but also what is going on at the denominational level, and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to do just that.

Upcoming Events:

• Sunday, July 3 – The Church Has Left the Building service opportunity. Details to come.

Weekly Events:

• Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. Hybrid Bible Study (in person and via Zoom)
  • This week’s Lectionary Scriptures: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15
  • To join via Zoom, click this link. If prompted, use the passcode that follows.
  • https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81951398375?pwd=S0FBSEFxRmhhUWt2QnN3WERUY1dOUT09
  • Meeting ID: 819 5139 8375; Passcode: 846358
  • To call in on your phone, dial (312) 626-6799 and enter the meeting ID and password when prompted.

As always, you are welcome to reach out to me via email, text or phone with any needs or just to chat!

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
 
Rev. Chrisy Ennen
gsfpcpastor@outlook.com, (618) 980-9899
"Let all that you do be done in love.”
I Corinthians 16:14