Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church Newsletter
May, 2010
Letter from the Pastor
I’m very excited that we are starting MY first Confirmation program here at the church. According to the Book of
Order, the purpose of Confirmation is to “nurture those baptized as children in the faith,” “calls them to make
public their profession of faith,” and, lastly, to “accept responsibility in the life of the church.” WHEW!! The
Book of Order lays out a tall order for us to follow. First, we are to nurture their faith. At this point, it is time for
them to become more fully acquainted with the faith, understanding WHY we do some of the things that we do.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I
put childish ways behind me.” Confirmation is a time that helps these very intelligent young men to learn what
this verse means. Second, Confirmation helps these young people put into words their faith. They will write a
profession of faith that speaks of their beliefs of God. This is a great exercise that pushes us to questions what we
wrote down, and to check to see what the Bible has to say about it. Third, Confirmation helps them to start to take
some adult responsibility in the life of the church. “And in the Church God has appointed first of all apostles,
second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help
others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” Developing the gifts
of these young people is very important to the life of the church as we continue into the future. Please encourage
the teacher, the mentors, and the Confirmands as they pursue all of these goals through the Confirmation process!!
Wednesday Night Family Nights
A Study on Islam
With all the news of Muslims and terrorists on TV, we are doing a series that compares the beliefs and
practices of Christianity and Islam. We will begin on Wednesday night, May 5th. We will be comparing
some of the same stories in the Bible and in the Koran. We will be studying the “Five Pillars of Islam”
and discussing some of the faith differences, in practice and belief. We will also be studying the life of
Muhammad. Come and join us for this informative discussion!!
As always, we share a potluck dinner at 6pm, and begin our study at 6:30. Please come and join the
fellowship!!
Lupus Support Group
The Lupus Support Group will resume their regular schedule this month. They will meet on Sunday,
May 2 at 3pm. If you know anyone who suffers with Lupus, or any other autoimmune disease, please
invite them to the meetings.
Please visit: RSPCLupusSupportGroup.info.
Sunshine Group
The Sunshine Group will be meeting on Tuesday, May 18th at noon. We will be meeting at The Village
Cup for lunch. This will be our last meeting until the fall!!
Men of the Church
A great BIG THANK YOU to all of our men who made our Sunrise Breakfast very special. A lot of
dedication and hard work goes into that each year, and we couldn’t do it without you!! Thanks for all you
do to support RSPC!!
Sunday School
In June, the Adult Sunday School classes will combine for a summer-long study of the book of Genesis.
We will be meeting in the Sanctuary. This Sunday, there will be a sign-up sheet in your regular SS class if
you would like a participant’s book.
Confirmation
For our youth, Confirmation will begin on Tuesday, May 4th. We have 4 young men participating:
Joseph Bell, Mason Moates, Austin Clayton and Jerry Lyons. Please encourage these youth when you see
them, and be in prayer for them, and for their mentors through this process.
The Committees
The committees will meet again on Sunday, May 2nd at 4pm. ALL committees will be meeting during
this time to continue to important business of the church. All members of the church are encouraged to
attend.
Youth
To celebrate the end of another successful school year, we have a Lock-In planned for the younger youth
of the church on Friday, June 4th and 5th. We will meet here at the church at 7pm on Friday night, and
have pick up on Saturday. All of the younger youth of the church are invited to attend.
As a part of Confirmation, the older youth will be going to the Montreat Youth Conference June 6-12.
This will be a week of worship, Bible study and lots of recreational activities. If you would like to sponsor
one of our youth, and help pay for their trip, please see Elena or Deidra.
Mother’s Day Offering
On Sunday, May 9th, during the Worship service, we will be giving you the opportunity to give to the
Mother’s Day Offering. This money goes to Presbyterian Homes, and helps to offset costs that they incur.
Many of their residents cannot pay for their own care, and this offering helps support those who cannot
support themselves.
Graduates
On Sunday, May 16th, we will be taking some time during the worship service to honor our recent
graduates. We will honor Cody Coates and Mason Moates, who will be graduating from high school. We
will be recognizing Curry Coates, Elena Crowe and Matt McCall, who have graduated from college. We
will also be recognizing the hard work of the students in Tina’s class, as they have all memorized “The
Lord’s Prayer.” Great job to all!!!
♭ ♬ ♮ New Music Director ♩ ♪ ♫
As some of you may know, Matt has turned in his resignation as our Choir Director. He will be moving to
Columbia to be closer to Micah, and has taken a job in West Columbia at Mount Hermon Lutheran
Church. His last day with us will be on Sunday, May 30th. In order to celebrate his time with us, we will
be having a luncheon after church on May 30th. The whole church is invited to come. Amy and Susan,
(the Worship Committee co-chairs) are forming a search committee for a new musician. If you, or anyone
you know, would like to apply, please see Amy or Susan!!
VBS
Vacation Bible School is June 13-17, from 6-8:30 each night. Our theme this year is “Living Waters for
the World.” Tina Hurley is our VBS Director this year. She is still in need of some volunteers to make
this a successful week for the children. Please volunteer your time. It will be a great week for everyone!!
Study Leave
Deidra will be on Study Leave from May 31-June 6. Rev. Carey Whitman will be preaching on Sunday,
June 6th. Deidra will be in Montreat for a conference called “Proclaiming the Text.” “This conference
offers the Biblical scholarship, theological insights, and contemporary tools for preaching that helps
preachers proclaim a confident, exuberant, and expansive faith.” If I accomplish all that, it will be worth
the money spent!!
Presbyterian Women
Presbyterian Women will be having their last meeting until fall on Sunday, May 2 at 5pm. We will have
dinner at 5pm, and this is a combined meeting of all 3 of the Circles. Rev. Dvera Hadden will be here to
lead us in our last study from Joshua, “The Challenge of God’s Covenant”. Rev. Dvera Hadden grew up
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She wanted to see more of the world, so she attended college in Middlebury,
Vermont where she majored in Soviet Studies (the last class before the Soviet Union broke up.) While
studying in a semester abroad program in Moscow, she met Curt Ford and later married him during
Thanksgiving break from her first semester at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Curt and
Dvera live in Columbia where Curt teaches Russian and Linguistics at USC. They have three children,
Ellie, 12, Lily, 6, and Brendon, soon to be 4. Dvera is currently a stay-at-home mom and minister
member-at-large of Trinity Presbytery. She enjoys supply preaching and teaching around Trinity
Presbytery and elsewhere.