M o n t h l y N e w s f r o m F P C Ty l e r • Vo l u m e 1 1 , I s s u e 2 : F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9
Stories From Our Past by The Rev. Dr. Stuart Baskin Beginning next month and continuing through next spring, I plan to use this column to recall stories from our church’s history. Some stories are from our earliest days, while others will be from our more recent past. All are meant to entertain and to inform. I hope these stories will make you laugh, think, and reflect. Why tell stories? In the first place, we are a storytelling species. We respond to stories in a way that we do not respond to bare facts. Second, stories of our past help us to learn who we are. Our past is not always our destiny, but as Shakespeare said, past is prologue. We can interact with our history, sometimes correcting past mistakes, other times learning from our forebears’ wisdom. Methodist theologian and all-around curmudgeon Stanley Hauerwas, a native Texan, once wrote an insightful article, A Tale of Two Stories: On Being a Christian and a Texan. His central claim is not that Texans are more Christian than anyone else, but that like Texans, Christians have a distinctive history that separates them from others. As he puts it, anyone from Texas who ventures to live outside the state realizes quickly that Texans are set apart. There are Texas societies in places like Washington, DC, and New York. People identify
Texans by their mannerisms and speech, and often categorize Texans as braggarts and boobs. Hauerwas’s point is that we are formed in part by our history, and Texans have a history that is different from any other state in the nation. For one thing, we are the only state to have been an independent nation in its own right prior to become a state. (There I go bragging!) But it’s not just that we have a unique history; it’s that our history tends to shape us. Former General Assembly moderator and Texan Marj Carpenter used to live in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was a writer for the Presbyterian News Service. She used to host an annual party on San Jacinto Day in her home. But on the invitations, she wouldn’t put the date of the party, figuring that if you didn’t know when San Jacinto Day is, you didn’t belong at the party. (For non-native Texans, San Jacinto Day celebrates the Texan army’s defeat of the Mexican army in April 21, 1836.) We have a history at FPC that is probably similar to hundreds of other churches’ histories. But there are distinctive elements of our history that we should remember. Young adults and parents of a certain age will remember the sage advice of the lion king Mufasa to his young and confused son Simba: “Remember who you are.” Good advice even for us.
i n t h i s i s s u e | H I GH LI GHT S & F E ATU RE S Host Families Needed | pg 2 Fine Arts @ FPC is seeking homestay for the evening of Monday, March 18 for boys and men.
January Mini Mission | pg 5 FPC’s youth went on a “Mini-Mission” in January, helping the East Texas Food Bank.
4-Week Sermon Series| pg 7 Join us for four Sundays before Lent as Dr. Baskin explores the dimensions of anger. First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas 230 West Rusk Street, Tyler, Texas 75701-1696 (903) 597-6317 | www.fpctyler.com