September 2019 Newsletter

GOVERNMENT STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

IN THIS ISSUE 

Fall Kick-off Sunday



From the Pastor



Christian Education



Presbyterian Women



Urban Ministries



Congregational Life



Bible Studies



Session Highlights



Notes of Gratitude



Worship Volunteers

 Christian Education Dear GSPC Family, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help lead our children’s ministry. I am so grateful for all of you who have volunteered to guide our children in Bible study, worship, and fellowship. We have a fantastic group of teachers to kick off the 2019-20 Sunday School year, and a wonderful Christian Education committee to cover all of the bases.

When I set out the fall schedule, my goal was to have at least two Wee Worship leaders and one “Wee Worship Shepherd” each week, along with at least one Nursery Volunteer.

We have quite a few little ones to watch over, which is so great to see. If you’ve never been a Wee Worship leader, don’t hesitate to join us – we’d love to have you. The "Shepherd" will simply be a backup person who will assist with drinks, snacks, crafts, and cleanup.

We also want to plan activities for our middle schoolers and high schoolers, and we’ll need volunteers there, too.

If you feel the call to assist with our youth ministry, please let me know.

I know that we’re all busy, and I will do my best to keep everyone informed of schedules and events. If you need me, don’t hesitate to call me or text me at 251-689-5444.

Yours in Christ, Sally Pearsall Ericson | sally@gspcmobile.org Interim Children’s Ministry Coordinator

PRESBYTERY OF SOUTH ALABAMA PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN’S 2019 FALL GATHERING

LOVE CARVED IN STONE Rev. Eugenia Gamble, Keynote Speaker

Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar, Worship Leader Saturday, September 14, 2019 | 9:30a.m.—2p.m.

For more information, visit gspcmobile.org/presbyterian-women

From the Pastor How do I begin to say thank you? What a wonderful few weeks it has been since I joined you in ministry here. You have welcomed me and my family with such warmth and grace, confirming what we already knew: God has been preparing a place for us here and has been preparing us for you.

It has been such a joy to get to know many of you through the gatherings. Thanks to all who have hosted and all who have attended. I have loved making connections, hearing your stories and hopes and concerns. If we haven't had a chance to meet, please reach out so we can find a time to do so.

As the fall starts, we have much to look forward to. Choir and handbells begin rehearsals and will soon grace our worship with their beautiful music. Sunday School classes which have been on hiatus for the summer will begin soon. Bible studies are gathering again. Presbyterian Women circles will soon begin to meet. And all the while, we continue to support one another through prayer, visits, meals, and calls. I hope that you will take the time to read through all the exciting events and activities planned.

I hope that you will all try to attend the Sunday School Kick-off Breakfast on September 8 at 9:30 in the fellowship hall and worship afterward. Whether you have been here all summer or haven't been to Sunday School in years, please come and invite a friend. It will be a great day to visit, and we want lots of people here to welcome those who do!

In Isaiah 43:19 God says, "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" Those words were written long ago, but I think they may have been written for GSPC in 2019. I can feel God doing a new thing here, and I am excited to be a part of it with you.

Grace and peace, Rebekah rebekah@gspcmobile.org

ď Ą Urban Ministries

ANNA GRACE CLAUNCH I vividly remember the dream I had the night before my first group of Urban Mission Campers were to arrive at Baytreat. I dreamt that I had taken the youth to Walmart to buy snacks for the week and I somehow managed to lose all of them. Dan Dealy called to tell me that he found my campers running loose on Scenic 98 and I needed to come collect them immediately.

Thankfully, that was all just a dream and not a foreshadow of what the summer had in store for me.

My time as the Director of Urban Mission Camps has been the most meaningful experience that I have had as a seminary student. My primary hope for the campers was that they would be put in situations that forced them to step out of their comfort zones, but the truth is that I had to step out of my comfort zone just as much as they did. Prior to this summer, I had spent very little time directly working with youth, I (ashamedly) knew next to nothing about the organizations with whom we were volunteering, and I was clueless about how many pounds of ground beef to buy when feeding a large group of hungry teenagers. It did

not take me long to realize that I do not have to have a loud presence and a high-energy personality to reach middle and high schoolers.

What the youth of today need is someone who will listen. All summer I had the privilege to witness the hearts and minds of young people who taught me more than thought possible. I sat on a curb outside of The Neighbor Center embracing a youth who could not step out of her comfort zone when touring the Mobile Metro County Jail because it hit too close to home. She had visited her parent in prison just the week before. I struggled to find the right words to say, but I realized that all I had to do was be present and listen. I asked the youth who felt right at home at L’Arche to educate me on the appropriate language to use when referring to people with disabilities. He said to me: “My

brother is not different because he has nonverbal autism. He is different because he is abled in ways that are different from the ways I am abled...so I just describe him as ‘abled in a different way!’” I prayed with two youth who had flashbacks of the day they sat eight feet away from their classmate who opened fire in the school cafeteria, wounding several of their friends. I stood in the presence of a youth who had the courage to confess that he had sometimes bullied the kid on his bus who wore the same smelly sweatshirt everyday, but now he wants to have the kid over to his house because, “maybe he just needs a friend since his family is going through a hard time.”

These are the kinds of conversations I had all summer as I served alongside youth from various parts of the country. There was once a time in my life when youth ministry was not even close to being on my radar after I graduate from seminary, but I am leaving my time at Government Street Presbyterian Church with a different calling.

In today’s society and culture, we send a message to the youth that the church exists to serve them, but what if it’s the other way around? What if we take the chance to listen to the wisdom that stems from the experiences faced by our youth today? What if we allowed them to teach us the gospel through their eyes instead of assuming they are the

only ones who need to be taught?

I went into the summer expecting to silence a bunch of complaining teenagers, but the truth is that they silenced me.

Too often the voices of youth are tokenized, too often their feelings are ignored, too often adults believe they know best, but we have to stop this cycle. Their young eyes have seen things our adult eyes cannot even begin to fathom. Our youth are speaking and we need to listen and follow their lead. They are not only the future of the church, but God’s gift to the church and society of today.

-Anna Grace

GSPC Urban Ministries Update—A Successful Summer for GSPC Mission Camps This summer GSPC's two mission camp programs provided outstanding spiritual learning experiences for participants from Illinois to Georgia, and right here in Mobile. These programs are the Richard Mighell Day Camp and the GSPC Urban Mission Camp. Both operate out of Baytreat.

Richard Mighell Day Camp 2019 – This is a legacy mission of GSPC, created in 1962 by Alice Mighell Glover, in memory of her son, Richard Mighell, after he was killed in a climbing accident at Montreat. An endowment created by Alica Glover allows the Richard Mighell camp to annually serve the Boys & Girls Club of Mobile.

Each summer, 24 children, aged 7 – 13, come to Baytreat from 9am to 2pm for one week to enjoy Christian lessons of life in the world with themed stories, crafts, and songs; outdoor play; snacks coordinated by Julia Simmons and donated by Grace Presbyterian Church, lunch prepared by our volunteers, and time to play in Mobile Bay under Life Guard supervision. THANK YOU to all who provided extra swimwear, towels and gear. Thank you also for all the great help from Gail Hedrick, Missy Jones, Shawn Walker, and Dorothy Morrison.

This year’s Richard Mighell camp was directed by Olivia McNorton. With her leadership, we returned the Richard Mighell management model to one that integrates more GSPC volunteers with Urban Mission Camp involvement – and it proved to be a huge success. The Urban Mission campers said that participating with the kids in Richard Mighell Camp was one of their greatest experiences of the week.

Here are some observations about Richard Mighell Camp this year: From Missy Jones: “Hi All, (Richard Mighell Day) Camp was great. I think the kids had a wonderful experience….It really tugged at our hearts when they told us that the food we served was the best they’d ever had and we were serving frozen corn dogs, chicken tenders and hotdogs… drowned with much lemonade and Capri suns. Not gourmet fare by any means. The Boys and Girls Club supervisors were most appreciative and indicated they would like to come again next year.}” In her wrap-up report, Camp Director Olivia McNorton offered these words: “Coordinating Richard Mighell taught me this: that children, above playing games, eating hot dogs, and earning treats from the “Treasure Chest”, crave love. What these children wanted was confirmation - confirmation that they mattered. Confirmation that they were worth investing time and money in. Confirmation that they had our approval - that the craft they did was the best, that they looked cute in their bananas, that they played the game well. I was astounded at how little these children asked for material possessions, and how much they asked for love and affection.The staff and Urban Mission Campers were always willing to hug a child and answer all their questions, showing the love of God through their actions.”

Urban Mission Camp 2019 – This summer saw five church organizations bring 40 youth to be immersed in a program exposing them to the effort and lessons in following God’s Will to serve those in need.

Each Urban Mission Camp provides a week-long program of diverse service activities 6 hours a day. This summer we created a special set of spiritual morning and evening reflections coordinated to the day’s activities. And of course, there must be fun – so there’s daily bay time and a half day to visit our gulf beaches.

Campers are on the go from 6am to 10:30pm. A program with this many moving parts doesn’t happen without effort: Thanks to the huge effort by Marylin Moses, 6 different agencies were ready to receive a challenging schedule of different youth groups across 8 weeks. We later added two more organizations because of schedule and capacity changes. Campers worked with L’Arche of Mobile, Dumas-Wesley Community Center, Catholic Social Services, The Neighbor Center and Mobile County Jail, Feeding The Gulf Coast, Light of The Village, Wings of Life, and Mobile Baykeeper.

Many thanks to Dorothy Morrison for helping coordinate delivery of Sunday dinners by various GSPC groups.

A special thanks to Cary Speaker, through whom we were able to find and hire Anna Grace Claunch as our 2019 Camp Director. ANNA made a HUGE impact on the success of this year’s program, taking all of the elements we had set in place and putting them into action. Anna made it all look easy.

“Measuring Success” Budgetarily, Urban Mission Camp met its modest expectations for this year. Given the changes in leadership and staff the church has experienced in the past two years, this summer should be considered a resounding success !

But these camp programs ARE Missions – not financial investment programs. The Return On Investment is realized in meeting their purpose – to bring a greater awareness of God’s directive to serve those in need.

Where can we go with these camp programs?

Both of these intense summer programs offer great impacts for campers. This summer has also taught us that GSPC can use them as an equally great opportunity for our own youth and families to participate alongside the campers and the camp leaders. Through these camps, GSPC is making an impact across America, and right here at home.

So, what does it mean to be involved with GSPC’s Urban Ministries?

Let’s reframe a statement by Olivia McNorton:

“It’s well worth the chance to love those who need so much and have so little, to impact their lives in a positive way, and show them the love of God.”

The August meeting of the Presbytery of South Alabama Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar received as pastor of GSPC Rev. Dr. Cary Speaker received as Interim General Presbyter

Pictured Rev. Dr. Cary Speaker Rev. Rebekah Abel Lamar Rev. Dr. Al Thompson, Stated Clerk

Rebekah signing the record of all installed pastors received into the presbytery after being examined by the presbytery commissioners.

 Congregational Life

CONGRATULATIONS! SEPTEMBER Bligh Jones Dewey Parsons Harley Jones John Thomas Mostellar Susan Ashbee Jackson Boone Vivian Ash Barbara Haas Mac Mostellar Brenda Ogburn Brad Hassell Susan Miller Guy Etherton Carolla Hider Margaret Schottgen Paul Craven Rudy Nordmann Holly Carrigan Ben Dukes Henri Schoenvogel Lelia Otts LeAnne Tamblyn Jarrett Callaway Henry Morrissette Douglas Sims Brown Fred Bodie James Lamar Dru Oswalt Georgia Schwarzauer Lindsay Otts Joel Andrews Perrin Tamblyn Bickert Elizabeth Weaver Eleanor Oswalt

To Jordan and Perrin Tamblyn Bickert on the birth of twins: a boy, Wilder, and a girl, Penelope. Proud grandparents are James and LeAnne Tamblyn.

CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY is extended to the families of: George Franklin

 Prayer Chain If you have a prayer need, please contact Charlotte Crockett at 251.478.1003 or 251.591.7902 spjr7@comcast.net

Laura Worsham

Sally Morrissette Anne Layfield Lydia Rowell

ď Ą Worship Volunteers SEPTEMBER 1

USHER CAPTAIN

SANCTUARY PREPARER

SEPTEMBER 8

Ashford Kettler

Harriett Boster

Dot White

SUNDAY ASSISTANTS

Lisa deShazo

Linda Reynolds

John Otts

Charlotte Crockett

NURSERY

Nancy Boone

Lisa deShazo

Babs Jacobelli Sally Ericson

WEE WORSHIP

SEPTEMBER 15

SEPTEMBER 22

SEPTEMBER 29

Brent Ericson

Bligh Jones Trisha Hawkins

Margaret Vidmer Hutchison

Harriett Boster

George Oswalt

Linda Dealy

Sara Bryan

Jarrett Callaway

Bligh Jones

Sally Ericson

Mary Herndon Nordmann

Lisa Goodloe

Kasee Heisterhagen

Sarah Otts

Margaret Sue Browning

Shawn Walker

Ashley Oswalt

Amanda Roberds

Nicole Riis

Dorothy Morrison

 Session SUMMER SESSION HIGHLIGHTS At the June Session Meeting, Staff Chair Rudy Nordmann moved that the Nominating Committee choose an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee. The result was that the Congregation elected the following members in July: Elizabeth Boone, Abbie Bowron, Jarrett Callaway, Gail Headrick, Margaret Vidmer Hutchison, Chandler Ogburn, Julie Otts, Sally Pearsall, Frank Trice, Shawn Walker and Anita Winn. The Associate Pastor will direct the Children’s and Youth Programs. Stated Clerk of the Presbytery Rev. Al Thompson and Rev. Anna Grace Fulmer Duke, chair of the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, met with the APNC on Monday, August 5.

At the close of the June meeting, Susan Miller led the Elders in a prayer of thanks for Reverend Cary Speaker’s service to GSPC, his enthusiasm, his leadership abilities and his insightful sermons.

Paula and Scott Weldon have become members of GSPC and their daughter Sadie has become an affiliate member by their request and actions of the Session and Congregation. Anna Grace Claunch, a long-time family friend, presented their request and welcomed them.

On July 16, the Session welcomed Reverend Rebekah Abel Lamar with a dinner in Guesnard House. After sharing details about her background and family, Rebekah told the Elders that her approach to ministry is a collaborative approach, with many members participating.

Rebekah shared a book which she recommends, Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice, by Joan Gray. Rebekah said that we will try to answer these questions: What is God calling us to do? and Who does God want us to be?

At the August 20,2019 Meeting, the Session approved new job descriptions for an Interim Children’s Director, Interim Youth Director, Children’s Choir Director, and Office and Property Manager. Sally Ericson will be assisting with the children until we are able to find an Interim Director. Many thanks are due to the Staff Committee, especially Rudy Nordmann and Marcia Wyatt, for all their good work this year!

Rebekah’s installation as GSPC’s Senior Pastor will be on September 29.

Susan Miller | Clerk of Session | srm2059@aol.com

With thanksgiving, GSPC acknowledges receipt of the following contributions: ❖ Eichold Family Foundation | $6,000 through the Community Foundation at the recommendation of Beth Eichold Walmsley

❖ Anonymous | $10,000 Designated for the salary of the children’s/youth director

❖ Norquist Foundation | $15,000 Blair Danley Schoenvogel and Franklin Danley, Trustees

❖ The Estate/Trust of Mary Agnes Barrett March | $46,000 Mary Pharr McGowin, Trustee

Notes of gratitude were received from: Sam, Ann Thomas, & James Lamar The Board of Directors of Ministry of Hope: Lesotho are excited to announce Mamonyane’s United States visit. It has been quite some time since Mamonyane visited GSPC. She will begin her trip to the states in Mobile and travel up the east coast visiting churches to share her story and updates. The children at Ministry of Hope: Lesotho are thriving and ready for school to begin.

On Sunday, September 15, we hope you will join us during the Sunday school hour (9:30a.m.) in the Fellowship Hall to hear about what has been going on at MoHL since her last visit!

Government Street Presbyterian Church US POSTAGE PAID USPC 736150

300 Government Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 251.432.1749 info@gspcmobile.org

 Staff REV. REBEKAH ABEL LAMAR Pastor & Head of Staff rebekah@gspcmobile.org

TOMMY WATTS Director of Music & Organist tommy@gspcmobile.org

BARBARA WILLIAMS Office & Property Manager barbara@gspcmobile.org

SALLY ERICSON Interim Children’s Ministry Coordinator sally@gspcmobile.org

DAWN HEARN

THE NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

Bookkeeper

bookkeeper@gspcmobile.org SHELIA SMITH Director of Food Services MARILYN MILLS Sexton 

For the latest calendar and announcements, please visit us online at www.gspcmobile.org @gspcmobile

is requesting nominations for elders and deacons for the class of 2022. Please prayerfully consider who God is calling to lead our church in the coming years.

To submit a nomination, please use the form found at: gspcmobile.org/nominations

For questions or comments, please contact Susan Miller, chair of the Nominations Committee at 251.473.0325.

WE

ARE CALLED BY THE SPIRIT TO GLORIFY GOD, SO THAT ALL MAY BECOME JOYFUL DISCIPLES OF JESUS

CHRIST.