From the Pastor's Pen 6/16/22

6/16/2022

Dear Friends,

Early tomorrow morning I head to Louisville, KY and the PC(USA) headquarters for a week of pre-General Assembly committee work with the Mid-Councils committee. GA responsibilities will continue through July 9, so when I do return, after a quick trip to Mississippi State for Ty’s college orientation, I will have some very full days of Zoom meetings that will occupy much of my time.

BUT, I want to make it clear that you are all of great importance to me, and if something comes up and you need me for any reason, feel free to reach out and if I can’t answer immediately, I will at the first opportunity. The work of the larger church is of great value, but not more value than caring for people.

Sunday we talked in general about the power of three, and specifically about the power of three in one – the Trinity. The trinity is not a doctrine that is spelled out explicitly in scripture, but rather what the early church saw represented in scripture and then attempted to put into a form that would help us understand how God remains one God, and yet has three persons.

We live in a three-dimensional world and we understand that one dimension is a line on a piece of paper, two dimensions allow us to draw a square, but three dimensions takes a number of squares and puts them together to form a cube. Any dimension beyond that is beyond the power of our rational brain to understand because we can’t physically demonstrate it.

This is akin to the Trinity – God exists in a wholly other dimension that we are unable to grasp, and as such, none of our ways of explaining the Trinity can get at the true nature of how God is three-in-one.

But fully understanding how the Trinity works isn’t the point. The point is that the Trinity offers us an example of how we are to live with one another in harmony and in collaboration that results in God’s purposes being furthered here on the earth, and in God’s kingdom. We are called to be a people united together, laboring together, and loving together for the glory of God. That is really what we need to both understand and live out in our daily lives.

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! With the current inflation, we are struggling to keep it filled. Your donations are desperately needed. Keep bringing those non-perishable 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. This will take the place of Presbyterian Pints for the month of July. Bring a snack and hang out after church, assisting the Christian Service Center with Feeding the Gulf Coast. This drive-through event will be from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. and our job will be to help handing out food to those who drive through. We will munch on snacks and fellowship as we work.

Weekly Events:

• On hiatus until Wednesday, July 13, 1:00 p.m. Hybrid Bible Study (in person and via Zoom)

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