November 2011
The Beacon A PUBLICATION OF ERIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 200 Lockett Rd. — Knoxville, TN 37919 — (865) 588‐5350 — www.ErinPresbyterian.org
PASTOR Rev. John Stuart
pastor@erinpresbyterian.org
SESSION Mr. Charles Snodgrass
Clerk of Session session@erinpresbyterian.org
CONVENERS
Joy Bornhoeft, Fellowship fellowship@erinpresbyterian.org
Kelli Canan, Discipleship discipleship@erinpresbyterian.org
David Eggers, Stewardship
stewardship@erinpresbyterian.org
Outreach Team
outreach@erinpresbyterian.org
LouL Tate, Creative Expressions cex@erinpresbyterian.org
Dale Webb, Property
property@erinpresbyterian.org
STAFF
Nancy Berry, Organist oliveberry@aol.com
Joe Jaynes, Choir Director jtj@abacusarts.com
Administrator
admin@erinpresbyterian.org
Christian Education Coord. cec@erinpresbyterian.org
Youth Director
youth@erinpresbyterian.org
Nursery Coordinator
info@erinpresbyterian.org
A Message From The Pastor “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." – Ma hew 11:28‐30 Rev. John Stuart
Dear Friends, We are living in tough mes, and I suspect that many of us, including me, are carrying burdens that are hard to endure. Life has its share of celebra ons and sadness, but some mes we find ourselves in an emo onal and spiritual wilderness that wearies and worries us. This year has seen many changes at our church with regard to our people and staff. In all of my years in ministry, I’ve never known of so many deaths of ac ve members in such a short me. It has taken its toll upon us, and the wind seems to have gone from our sails. And because I dearly love the people at Erin, I’m experiencing grief, loss, and pain, too. In mes like these, we all need God to carry and lead us. I am truly thankful that in Jesus we have Someone who can hold and embrace us through the most troubling events. I o en go back to the words of Ma hew’s Gospel that are printed above and rely upon Christ’s promise. He really speaks to me and, I am glad to say, He also speaks just as comfor ngly to all our people at Erin. As we head into the last part of the year, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. Things have changed for all of us, but God never changes, and Christ is s ll here to love and lead us. He is not only the Savior of the World who died for our sins, He’s also the Light of our Lives. When we are vulnerable, isolated, and weak, He reaches down to each one of us, like a shepherd looking a er his lambs, to li us up out of our gloom and to lead us to a new light, a new day, and even a new beginning. We are Erin. God has called us to be here to reach out to our community, our families, and our friends. They need Christ too, for they are also burdened by setbacks and issues, worries and problems. Life is never easy on our own, but with Christ beside us, life can be be er. Con nued on pg. 5... 1