7/3/2024
Dear Friends,
God at Work. We have been talking a lot about how God is at work in us and in our world over the last five weeks as we journey through the books of First and Second Samuel.
We learned that God Calls us like God called young Samuel. We learned that God Responds to us, even if it isn’t exactly what God had in mind. We learned that God Sees us from the inside, unlike how we see one another. We learned that God Leads, and considered how God led David to stand up to and slay the giant Goliath. And most recently, we learned that God saves.
Sometimes the way God saves us doesn’t look exactly like we think it should. In Sunday’s sermon, I gave these examples:
I don’t know about you, but when I look back over my life, I have seen some pretty significant ways in which God has been at work to save me – in ways that I didn’t recognize as they were happening. What are your stories of God about the work of saving you? Share those with someone this week.
If you missed worship, you can always watch on Facebook and YouTube:
Please take note of these happenings in the church:
Coming Events:
Address Change: Please note, especially if you have checks sent through your bank, that the church no longer has a post office box. Our mailing address is now the same as our physical address: 309 E 21st Ave, Gulf Shores, AL 36542.
You may have noticed some new signage around the Hand-in-Hand Business Center. We have done this in an effort to both make the Business Center visible for the businesses located there, and to help direct people to the proper entries for the Business Center and the church. If you are coming to the church during the week, please enter using the doors on 21st Ave, rather than the Business Center doors. This will help maintain a business-like atmosphere for those businesses. The business owners thank you for your cooperation!
Don’t forget:
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
On Sunday, June 30, Jean Adcock shared the following information with the congregation about our new COMPOSTING initiative:
For too long we have abused the soil here on our planet. We expect both food crops and ornamental lawns and gardens to grow abundantly, exploiting our soil and threatening it with biological death. Soil that loses its organic content eventually turns into barren dust. Did you know that a carrot or tomato grown today in Gulf Shores is not as nutritious as one grown 100 or even 50 years ago because some nutrients have been stripped from the soil?
Composting is a way of using overlooked and underappreciated things – kitchen scraps, weeds, shredded paper, and cardboard, fallen leaves – to repay our seriously overdue debt to the earth. Compost is transformation of waste into valuable resource. And it builds healthy soil. Compost introduces beneficial microbes into the soil, slowly delivering a living source of nutrition. It also improves the structure of the soil, improving its water and nutrient holding capacity. It can turn a patch of predominantly clay or sand into healthy soil over time.
Why not just chuck your food scraps into the trash bag? Surely they will break down? In the smelly, oxygen-free landfill, decomposition happens very slowly and releases enormous amounts of dangerous methane gas. Methane is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere. United States food waste produces the equivalent of 32.6 million cars’ greenhouse gas emissions. And landfills are designed to contain their compacted trash in clay filled, plastic lined pits. Your food scraps will never provide needed nourishment to the earth.
What do I want from you? Used coffee grounds, filter and all, orange and carrot peels, moldy produce, leftover rice or pasta, strawberry and tomato tops, banana skins, weeds (before they have gone to seed), wilted bouquets, stale bread, dried leaves, shredded newspaper, even the hair you pull out of your brush can all go into our bin. For our first batch, we are working on slow, cold composting, to produce compost that can be utilized to grow anything, including food crops. Therefore, we do not want to introduce any pathogens that will not be killed in the process. So please, no pet waste. And we are trying to be good neighbors and not attract certain critters, so please, no bones or meat. But we want your eggshells, just microwave them for 20 seconds to kill any salmonella.
You can start a countertop container or a bag in your freezer which has the added benefit of starting the cellular breakdown. When you come to church, head to the fenced alcove on the north side of the building where you will find a bin fitted with an old PVC pipe turned into a compost lung, ready to deliver oxygen to our rotting waste. Our resident chemist, Billy Adcock, has done his homework and knows the optimal nitrogen (most food waste) to carbon (dry leaves or shredded newspaper) ration to keep us from creating a slimy, smelly mess. And time will do the rest (with Billy’s help of course). Once this barrel is full, we will start a second one so the first one can cure. Hopefully we will have some compost ready for next spring’s gardens.
As Presbyterians we declare that we care about the earth. We have sign in Fellowship Hall proclaiming this fact and recycling bins in the hallway to reduce our landfill impact. I am very pleased that we now have another way to recycle some of the waste we all generate. I need to give a shoutout to Sara Bogdanovich, founder of Fairhope Compost Project, who I read about in the Baldwin Times. She generously shared her immense knowledge of all types of composting with Chrisy, Billy, and me, encouraging us with her “You can do this” attitude. Her goal is to find locations and volunteers to start community composting locations, teaching schools, businesses, and churches how to divert garbage from the Magnolia Landfill, becoming more accountable for the waste we produce. I hope I have shared a bit of her knowledge and fervor and we can make compost together.
Dear Friends,
God at Work. We have been talking a lot about how God is at work in us and in our world over the last five weeks as we journey through the books of First and Second Samuel.
We learned that God Calls us like God called young Samuel. We learned that God Responds to us, even if it isn’t exactly what God had in mind. We learned that God Sees us from the inside, unlike how we see one another. We learned that God Leads, and considered how God led David to stand up to and slay the giant Goliath. And most recently, we learned that God saves.
Sometimes the way God saves us doesn’t look exactly like we think it should. In Sunday’s sermon, I gave these examples:
“I am sure that David didn’t want to lose his king and his friend in order to take the throne that God had given him. And yet, through that difficult time came the monarchy through which the savior of the world would come.
Israel looked for a king from the line of David to be the Messiah, one born into a royal household. But God sent one born to a young family far from home and in a lowly stable.
They looked for a king who would bring salvation from a place of power. But Jesus came bringing salvation through serving.
They looked for a king who would bring salvation from Roman rule. But Jesus came to bring salvation from the human-made oppressive laws found in their own temple and synagogues.
The looked for a king who would ride in on a war horse. But Jesus rode in on a donkey.
They looked for a king who would rule in the way of the world. But Jesus came instead to give up his own life.”
I don’t know about you, but when I look back over my life, I have seen some pretty significant ways in which God has been at work to save me – in ways that I didn’t recognize as they were happening. What are your stories of God about the work of saving you? Share those with someone this week.
If you missed worship, you can always watch on Facebook and YouTube:
- https://www.facebook.com/GulfShoresFirstPresbyterianChurch
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyEBQcAb3quFG16z_vy-4lQ
Please take note of these happenings in the church:
- We will be celebrating Pam Winstead’s 37 years of service as Minister of Music in January when our snowbird family is here and can join in on the celebration.
- We are so excited to have Kayla Dowling stepping into additional responsibilities as Music Coordinator and Pianist.
- Beginning August 1, Lil Elms Christian Care will be up and running in our nursery and parlor. It will be great to have little ones sharing our space!
- As the Session continues to talk about how we use our space – both indoors and out – we have decided to begin COMPOSTING! We hope that this will lead us into some future gardening endeavors. At this point, we will accept fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds, as well as egg shells that have been microwaved 20 seconds to kill salmonella. We are making compost suitable for either food or flower gardens. If you have questions, please reach out to Jean Adcock at (251) 504-4105 or jeanadcock@aol.com, and check out the attached information.
- Love on the Little Ones: We have a few little ones joining us for worship, and while they are always welcome to be in the service with us, sometimes it is helpful to the parents to have a little help. That being said, would you be willing to hang out with kiddos in the nursery on an occasional Sunday? Contact Jean Adcock to get on the Nursery Attendant schedule: (251) 504-4105.
Coming Events:
- Bible Study – Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m.
- Bring a Friend to Church – Every Sunday we want to invite people to join us, but especially on the first Sunday of the month
- Presbyterian Pints – Sunday, July 7, following worship at Big Beach Brewing
Address Change: Please note, especially if you have checks sent through your bank, that the church no longer has a post office box. Our mailing address is now the same as our physical address: 309 E 21st Ave, Gulf Shores, AL 36542.
You may have noticed some new signage around the Hand-in-Hand Business Center. We have done this in an effort to both make the Business Center visible for the businesses located there, and to help direct people to the proper entries for the Business Center and the church. If you are coming to the church during the week, please enter using the doors on 21st Ave, rather than the Business Center doors. This will help maintain a business-like atmosphere for those businesses. The business owners thank you for your cooperation!
Don’t forget:
- 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.
- 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!
- Bring your Blessing Box donations (non-perishable items) to church on Sundays or drop them off at the box during the week.
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
On Sunday, June 30, Jean Adcock shared the following information with the congregation about our new COMPOSTING initiative:
For too long we have abused the soil here on our planet. We expect both food crops and ornamental lawns and gardens to grow abundantly, exploiting our soil and threatening it with biological death. Soil that loses its organic content eventually turns into barren dust. Did you know that a carrot or tomato grown today in Gulf Shores is not as nutritious as one grown 100 or even 50 years ago because some nutrients have been stripped from the soil?
Composting is a way of using overlooked and underappreciated things – kitchen scraps, weeds, shredded paper, and cardboard, fallen leaves – to repay our seriously overdue debt to the earth. Compost is transformation of waste into valuable resource. And it builds healthy soil. Compost introduces beneficial microbes into the soil, slowly delivering a living source of nutrition. It also improves the structure of the soil, improving its water and nutrient holding capacity. It can turn a patch of predominantly clay or sand into healthy soil over time.
Why not just chuck your food scraps into the trash bag? Surely they will break down? In the smelly, oxygen-free landfill, decomposition happens very slowly and releases enormous amounts of dangerous methane gas. Methane is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere. United States food waste produces the equivalent of 32.6 million cars’ greenhouse gas emissions. And landfills are designed to contain their compacted trash in clay filled, plastic lined pits. Your food scraps will never provide needed nourishment to the earth.
What do I want from you? Used coffee grounds, filter and all, orange and carrot peels, moldy produce, leftover rice or pasta, strawberry and tomato tops, banana skins, weeds (before they have gone to seed), wilted bouquets, stale bread, dried leaves, shredded newspaper, even the hair you pull out of your brush can all go into our bin. For our first batch, we are working on slow, cold composting, to produce compost that can be utilized to grow anything, including food crops. Therefore, we do not want to introduce any pathogens that will not be killed in the process. So please, no pet waste. And we are trying to be good neighbors and not attract certain critters, so please, no bones or meat. But we want your eggshells, just microwave them for 20 seconds to kill any salmonella.
You can start a countertop container or a bag in your freezer which has the added benefit of starting the cellular breakdown. When you come to church, head to the fenced alcove on the north side of the building where you will find a bin fitted with an old PVC pipe turned into a compost lung, ready to deliver oxygen to our rotting waste. Our resident chemist, Billy Adcock, has done his homework and knows the optimal nitrogen (most food waste) to carbon (dry leaves or shredded newspaper) ration to keep us from creating a slimy, smelly mess. And time will do the rest (with Billy’s help of course). Once this barrel is full, we will start a second one so the first one can cure. Hopefully we will have some compost ready for next spring’s gardens.
As Presbyterians we declare that we care about the earth. We have sign in Fellowship Hall proclaiming this fact and recycling bins in the hallway to reduce our landfill impact. I am very pleased that we now have another way to recycle some of the waste we all generate. I need to give a shoutout to Sara Bogdanovich, founder of Fairhope Compost Project, who I read about in the Baldwin Times. She generously shared her immense knowledge of all types of composting with Chrisy, Billy, and me, encouraging us with her “You can do this” attitude. Her goal is to find locations and volunteers to start community composting locations, teaching schools, businesses, and churches how to divert garbage from the Magnolia Landfill, becoming more accountable for the waste we produce. I hope I have shared a bit of her knowledge and fervor and we can make compost together.
Posted in Pastor\'s Pen
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