PCJH Quarterly Newsletter, Fall 2022 VOL 17

PINNACLE

Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole

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Quarterly Newsletter I VolUME no 17 FALL 2022

does my job matter to god? pg.4

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Q&A Florin ion pg.6

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WORK REDEeMED pg.12

LIVING OU R FAITH

to be a c o m m u n i ty, Rooted in Christ, reaching out in love

Table of Contents Volume NO 17 I Fall 2022

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l i v i n g o u r fa i t h

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PINNACLE

In this fall Pinnacle edition we are reflecting on the theme of living out our faith in our vocational work. We spend most of our waking hours at our jobs. How do we faithfully serve Christ and others in our everyday work? Do our jobs even matter to God? We hope you are inspired and challenged by the stories of PCJH members and friends who share their own experience of living out their faith through their vocational work.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." u Ephesians 2:10

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DOES MY JOB matter to god?

~ Re v. Ben Pascal

Q & A

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Interview with Florin Ion Rev. Tamara Mitchell

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over a decade ago

~ Annie Mertaugh

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peace love and understanding

~ Mary Williams

our god of all nations

~ Sarah Romorini

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god had a better plan

~ Marcia Taylor

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work, redeemed

~ John Hamon

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hard work rewarded by smliles

~ Merrill Ritter

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get to know us

COVER: Rev Ben Pascal leading Little Lambs Preschool graduates in a Chapel song. PHOTO: Coreylackpictures.com

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September 5~ 6~ 10 ~ 11 ~~

Labor Day (PCJH office closed) TH Little Lambs Preschool begins TH

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Old Bill’s Fun Run

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Children’s Sunday School New 9am Adult Class on book of Ephesians 10:15am service: Middle School Sunday School (2nd & 4th Sundays of the month)

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Discipleship Path Groups begin Children & Youth Ministry Kick-Off BBQ — after 10:15am Worship

calendar @pcjh.org/events

OCTOBER 2~ ND

PCJH Belong Class!

After 10:15am Worship OCT.

23 ~ 4

ANNUAL MEETING

6~ TH

RD

NOV.

Annual Congregational Meeting @ 11:30am to elect new elders, deacons, and nominating team.

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holy land pilgrimage PCJH calendar updates. Simply use your smart phone to scan below!

12 ~ 19 TH TH

23 ~ 25~ 27~ rd

Music Academy Fall Semester begins

WEDNESDAY COMMUNITY DINNERS BEGIN!

NOVEMBER

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Scan  QR CODE above for ongoing UPDATES

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Agros Vision Trip in Guatemala

Thanksgiving Break (office closed and break from all activities) First Sunday of Advent

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5:30pm in Hayden Hall

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SOUP & SWING Learn Swing Dancing, hosted by Patty McDonald 6:30PM at PCJH

Old Bill’s Giving Season ends 5pm

18th

! ALL CHURCH POTLUCK !

11:30AM pcjh.org

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L I V I NG O U R FA I TH

DOES MY JOB

matter

to god? ~ Re v. Ben Pascal

Rev. Ben Pascal baptized 10 PCJH Holy Land Pilgrims on a stormy afternoon in 2018, on the Sea of Galilee.

"Our jobs matter to God. We are called to be faithful to Christ in our vocational work."

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h e f i rs t ti m e a g r ou p of p eopl e called me “Pastor Ben” was before I had ever finished seminary and it was years before I was ever ordained in the Presbyterian Church. In fact, the first time a group of people called me “Pastor Ben” was while I was working as a project manager at The Dwelling Company, a real estate development firm in Seattle, WA. One Christmas, after a few years working at the company, the staff gave me a Bible with “Pastor Ben” inscribed on the front cover. I was speechless. They saw me as their pastor.

You see, the owner of The Dwelling Company was a Christian man who hired me to learn how to do real estate development and also to help him minister to his employees. After a few months at the company getting to know my co-workers, I started inviting them to a coffee shop across the street on Wednesday mornings before work. We called it “Inspirational Wednesdays” and we had conversations about God, the meaning of life, purpose, grace, forgiveness, and love. We encouraged one another in life and in faith. Almost the entire office staff came to these coffee meetings, even

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though many were not Christians. We created deeper relationships with one another and people came away feeling inspired.

In addition to Inspirational Wednesdays, our company got involved with housing related service projects locally and internationally. It was at The Dwelling Company that I first learned about Agros International. For every house we sold through the real estate firm, we would donate a certain amount to Agros, which helps people build homes in Central America and even more so, it helps the rural poor break the cycle of poverty in a very wholistic way. We started taking employees down to Guatemala on service trips to help them see the vision of what we were involved in. It was life changing for me and others.

Locally our company partnered with Union Gospel Mission in Seattle and every month our staff team would make meals for the homeless and also participate in their “Search and Rescue” mission where we would go out on the city streets late on a Friday night and deliver food and supplies to people who chose not to stay the night at the

mission. We went to some pretty dark corners of Seattle that I never knew existed, met some wonderful yet broken people, and had some interesting conversations. It made a huge impact on all involved.

There are many ways of living out our faith through our work. This was one way. It wasn’t perfect but it impacted people and it showed me the numerous opportunities we have to live out our faith in Christ no matter our vocation.

Our jobs matter to God. We are called to be faithful to Christ in our vocational work.

Work was created good! In the very beginning God gave humanity the responsibility to care for the earth and everything in it. To work the Garden together. In Genesis 1:27-28 it says, “So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” We are called to be co-laborers with God as we seek to care for the earth and provide goods and services to meet the needs of our world. We can find meaning in our work through a sense of purpose in making our community and world a better place; treating our co-workers, customers, and creation with dignity and respect; and practicing Sabbath rest for the sake of others and ourselves.

Work also suffers from the Fall and our sinfulness.

God said to Adam in Genesis 3:17b-19 after they had eaten the forbidden fruit, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” The Fall made work toilsome and a burden.

In Ecclesiastes 2:17, King Solomon said, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

While there is a fallen nature to our work and labor today, as Christians, we don’t have to be stuck there nor should we knowingly keep others stuck in the fallen nature of work. Work that is fallen is separated from God. It has no Kingdom purpose, it does no good, it consists of broken and oppressive relationships, it knows no rest.

The good news is that work is redeemed in Christ and we can find joy in our jobs! Jesus said, “Behold I am making all things new!” ~ Revelation 21:5 Through his finished

work on the cross and the miracle of the resurrection, all of creation is redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice and we have hope for new life through the power of Christ conquering death and rising again! When we start living for Christ and seeing the greater purpose in our work, there is meaning and joy. Work is redeemed. We never have to moan about going to work or resent our jobs when our work is connected to Christ’s greater work in the world.

I love the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:1430. This is the story of a master and three servants. The master gives each servant a certain number of talents (or bags of gold). The first two servants invest what the master originally gave them and they return double the amount.

The third servant buries the gift and does not multiply it because he has a negative view of the master and is scared to do anything with what was given to him. The first two servants are faithful in what was given to them. You could say they were faithful in the time, talent and treasure entrusted to them. You could say they were faithful in how they used their resources. You could say they were faithful in their life’s work. In the NRSV the master tells the servants who were faithful in using and multiplying the gifts the master had given them to “enter into the joy of your master.” When we faithfully work for Christ within our vocations, using our time, talent and treasure for the Kingdom, we will inevitably “enter into the joy of our Master.” We will find joy at work. We will find greater purpose, deeper relationships, and purer rest in our work. We won’t be dreaming of retirement because what we are doing now brings us, and others, meaning and joy!

This is all easier said than done. Perhaps you don’t think it is possible. I am here to say it is possible. I found joy at work at The Dwelling Company despite the fact it was not my ultimate calling. I have found joy working at PCJH,which is my calling. This Pinnacle edition is full of stories of other PCJH members finding joy and meaning through their work in various vocational fields. I hope their stories bring you hope, encouragement and inspiration to consider how you can find meaning and joy in your work, through Christ our Lord.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” ~ Ephesians 2:10 ✝

REV. Ben Pascal is the Senior Pastor of PCJH married to Addie and blessed to have three amazing kids.

p cpjchj .ho. o rg rg

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Q & A

Interview with Florin Ion

Living Out

Your Faith at Work

~ Re v. Tamara Mitchell

Tammy: Thank you for talking with me. Would you share a little about yourself?

Florin: Thank you so much for thinking of me. I came to Jackson in 2006 from Romania. In Romania, it was very difficult to make ends meet and to provide for a family.

Over the years I worked many jobs; Kmart, Hole Grocer, etc. The Lord has blessed me with wonderful people. I was soon able to purchase a car after three months. When I told my mother I had bought a car, she thought I was joking. You never know how the Lord will move in your life. I am privileged to call Jackson home for 16 years.

I did spend two years in Texas. In 1993, two missionaries came from the US to Romania right after the fall of Communism. They invested their love and support in me. When I came to the States, I discovered they were here. They asked me to come to Texas to be their worship leader at a Hispanic church. I learned to speak Spanish - all by ear - by reading my bible in Spanish. People later mistook me as someone from a Hispanic origin.

TM: Tell me about being a Christian at work?

FI: Work is a beautiful ministry opportunity to share the love of God. Every time I go through the doors I pray, “Lord use me today. May I have my eyes open to see to whom I can talk today and give me a chance to spread the good news about you. Help me to be kind to someone and in this way, they know that you are in me, you live in me.”

I grew up identified as Roma (pejorative - gypsy). My mom was not proud of this. She never allowed us to use

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the word, “gypsy.” (Roma people are often discriminated against). However, when the missionaries came to my town, and they learned that I was a “gypsy”, it did not matter.

They never saw me as Roma or poor. They loved me for who I was. That made a huge impact on my life. When I'm at work, I believe I'm a missionary. Therefore I treat people out of love and respect. It doesn't matter their color or nationality or language - to me they are precious souls loved by God. I am privileged to tell them the good news about God, as long as they allow me to. That's what I do. I would say 30% of work is work and 70% is ministry. There's no way I can be different. As long as God will allow me to live on this beautiful planet I will always treat people with love because I've experienced that goodness from the Almighty God and from the missionaries who came to Romania.

TM: How has your attitude toward work influenced your co-workers?

FI: I love my co-workers. I'm thankful I can say they love me too. They know I'm a Christian. I always mention I have struggles like everybody else, but having God in my life makes a difference in my heart and mind. My famous motto is “one day at a time.” They all laughed at that. It’s beautiful when they can come to me and ask for prayer. They know I will pray for them. It doesn't matter the church we go to or the religion we belong to. It's all about treating people with talkjob, at locals love and respect even when it's hard. As Coffee with any being Picnic Cafe. with people all day long, requires energy.hangout You have to literally pray all the time to go through the day, knowing Christ is Photo: Beth Ricciardi

“ It's easier to find joy and thankfulness in God first and the material stuff second. " with us and empowering us to do what we do.

TM: Are there days you don’t want to go to work?

FI: At times I want to stay home and watch a soccer game.

TM: You just exude joy. Share what it means about bringing joy into the workplace.

FI: Especially after Covid, people were sad and depressed and were not able to talk freely without a mask. I notice here in the United States (I hope I am respectful in what I'm saying) we depend on our ability to do things - we depend on our work. On the one hand, that’s great because we live in a beautiful country where we are able to provide for our families. On the other hand, we tend to depend on our own strength. When we depend on our own strength, it’s hard to find joy. I know what it means to not have food on the table, etc. It's easier to find joy and thankfulness in God first and the material stuff second. They are a blessing not an expectation. We tend to depend on our work to fulfill us, instead of our spiritual lives.

TM: The pursuit of wealth and influence is of high value here. How do you see that value being a part of the Christian life?

FI: It reminds me of Paul's words in Philippians 3. He said the things that used to be important now he considers them rubbish compared to knowing Christ. We can find purpose in God first. Without faith it's impossible to approach this and world, money, and position as a second level. Faith gives us hope - not only for this life here but in the life to come. We will be happy and thankful with what we have when the material things come second in our lives. I always tell my co-workers to try and read the Bible, to try to find the time to go for a walk and pray and have a conversation.

It doesn't matter what church you go to. It’s all about faith in God alone. He will show you how to be thankful and joyful. Even if you have to work three jobs, you can still find joy and happiness as long as you maintain a good relationship with your Almighty God. Without knowing Christ, there will always be an emptiness inside of our lives. That emptiness can be filled with Christ. When we do find ourselves blessed with material things, then we can use them to bless others. That’s a great thing!

TM: How do you prepare yourself spiritually for work?

FI: My sweet wife and children pray for me every day. I

can't do what I do without staying in connection with the Almighty God through the Holy Spirit. I ask for Divine appointment in everything I do. It is extremely important to be part of the church each week. I am strengthened and encouraged every Sunday to serve God in our community.

TM: The Lord is leading you in a new direction recently.

Can you share about your calling to serve in Romania?

FI: I’ve worked with missionaries all my life in all areas of ministry. In Romania, I used to play my guitar and pass out tracks to share the Gospel. A while ago, I had the thought to go back to Romania to be a missionary.

But I put that aside. Yet, the desire did not go away which was crazy because I always wanted to come to the US. Finally, I spoke to Pastor Ray, he was so encouraging and helped us talk to the mission board at First Baptist.

They have since voted and accepted us to be long term missionaries and so by God's grace, we're going to go to Romania. Our purpose is to spread the good news and the gospel of Christ. We will begin working with the existing churches. We hope to move next April or May (2023). If the Lord provides and things happen faster, we are ready.

TM: If people wanted to partner and support you with prayers or their resources, how can they do that?

FI: You just have to send your support to “Eye On Roma nia” to First Baptist Church of Jackson Hole.

TM: Any final words?

FI: I'm blessed to be in this community. Everyone is so nice. I feel loved and that gives me strength to love others too. When you receive love and respect from others, it empowers you to do better in everyday life.

Let's take Jesus as our example. He loved everybody.

He had mercy and compassion. When someone needed help, he would be there. When someone needed to be healed, he was available. There is a hymn that says, “Lord make me a blessing today”. May I have my eyes open to see what I can do today to bless others. With that in mind, seeing people as valuable and having the eyes of Jesus, we can love our community as Jesus would.

REV. Tamara Mitchell Serves as PCJH Associate Pastor. She has two married daughters, and a dog named Charlie.

pcjh.org

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work,

redeEmed ~ John Hamon

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bad boss, underperforming co-workers, mindless tasks, a lack of autonomy, inadequate pay—these might be some reasons why thinking about Monday morning on Sunday night can get our stomachs churning. We spend a lot of time daydreaming about how, and when we’ll stop working, and start doing the things that we really care about. Yet how often do we see people retire, only to find themselves hopelessly bored and restless? “Retirement” is never mentioned in the Bible. That’s because our God is a ceaseless worker; he’s a builder, “sustaining all things by the word of his power.” Genesis describes God’s creation of the cosmos after which he puts the man in the garden “to work it and to care for it.” God gives work not as a punishment, but as a blessing, as an opportunity for us to emulate him in creative, life-giving activity. It was only after their disobedience work was cursed, because that vital connection to our Creator was lost. Scripture teaches that Christ’s work (that word again) on the cross has restored us to God. If that’s true, if our vital link to God has been reconnected, then shouldn’t that change how we view work? Paul writes to the Colossians: What’s changed, Paul explains, is how we think about our work. Work has been enlarged. It isn’t that we don’t need to please our bosses (we do), nor is it that we don’t need a paycheck (we most certainly do!)— it’s that we have a larger purpose in view. Work’s dignity has been restored as a creative activity in which we work alongside God. Before starting my company a decade ago, I wrestled with my calling at work. Having become a Christian in middle age, I had already spent my adulthood serving myself. When Christ broke into my life, and radically re-centered me, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of work. I’d pursued financial success single-mindedly. So I associated work with my own selfishness and greed. I struggled to understand how I could redeem work.

Maybe the only valuable work was service in the church?

JOHN HAMON is the Founder and CEO of Fortimize, a financial services technology consulting firm. He and his wife Kristi live in South Park, and are grandparents to two, soon to be three, grandsons.

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As I spent more time with scripture, I arrived at a more nuanced understanding: because Christ has restored all things to himself, there is no divide between the “worldly” and the “sacred.” All of the world—all of human activity, belongs to him.

Everything is sacred. And besides, if everyone were a minister, how would we eat? Where would we sleep? What would we wear?

That insight inspired me to take the skills I had honed before Christ—software development and financial services—and to redeem them by building a business that would glorify him by how we do business. I didn’t want to build a Christian-branded company. I had seen many examples of people who “painted the fish” on their business, but who under delivered to their people and their customers. “Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words,” it is a powerful sentiment. People don’t listen to what we say nearly as much as they watch what we do, and how we do it.​ At Fortimize, our company vision is “to be wildly successful so that we can be radically generous.” We define success in terms beyond just revenue and profits, because, as a services business, all we have is people. We’re successful when our people are flourishing—and when they’re thriving, our clients are winning. And when our clients are winning, our business is growing. It’s a circle of success that begins and ends with people. How do we live out “radically generous?” Again, it starts with our people. Our Stake in the Outcome program ensures that everybody, from an executive assistant to our president, owns a true stake in the financial success of our business. And, as a team we’re seeking ways to be difference-makers locally and globally. The educational and financial gap between the “haves” and “have nots", never been greater than today. We’re seeking to close it by providing on-ramps to the digital economy. For example, we’re establishing a new team in Costa Rica. As we launch, we will have workers in Costa Rica leading teammates in North America, and the converse. We’ll be equal teammates who just happen to work in different latitudes.The other day we had our quarterly stakeholder meeting. One of our leaders talked about a development program she’s created to bring new people into our industry.

She was encouraging her teammates to become mentors in this new initiative. She choked up as she shared this quote: “a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” My heart swelled with gratitude for how God has redeemed our work. ✝

Over A

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decade

hen I got my first teaching job over a decade ago, I had a very clear vision of the kind of teacher I would be: strict and snappy with a sarcastic sense of humor that students may or may not pick up on. My drill sergeant nature and nothing-but-the-best work acceptance policy would ensure my students met the mark.

Needless to say, this vision never came to fruition. In fact, some might say I have the opposite demeanor in the classroom.

This is my 13th year teaching Spanish at Jackson Hole Middle School. I feel blessed to be surrounded by dynamic, creative and energetic young people every day, and participate in an exchange in which I learn as much from them as they do from me. At school, I see my preteen students experience the highest of highs, living a care-free life of fun, learning, and endless outdoor recreational opportunities. I also see them at their lowest of lows, battling poverty, depression, anxiety, family unrest, fear, and a stress to fit in like perhaps no other age group feels to this degree. Kids want to be accepted by their peers, to feel safe with those who surround them, and to be loved by the adults they spend their days with at school. Kids want love in all of its various middle school forms.

Love is such a complex word. Teachers sprinkle the phrase, “I love my students” all over the place--from newsletters to Instagram posts to conversations at the grocery store.

How is it possible for a teacher to love all of their students, each and every year?! Can I honestly say that I have loved each of the 2,000+ students that have passed through the doors of my classroom? Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes in a middle school classroom can understand that this is a long shot considering the “special energy” that this age group is prone to display.

The thing that made me realize my faith as a young person has to do with love. As a teen, I remember feeling overwhelmed with emotion every time a YoungLife leader spoke about God’s unconditional love for me. I’d get choked up and teary singing songs about this love. This involuntary response my body produced shined a spotlight on the power of God’s love, and sparked my faith as a teen going through the highs and lows of growing up.

To this day, I have the same involuntary response when I think about God’s love for us--goosebumps, tears, allll the emotions. It seems like a huge thing in my life. So I suppose I try to emulate this love in my vocation, as I feel there’s nothing my eleven and twelve-year-old students could use more.

I show my students love whether they have perfect manners or are just getting the hang of saying “thank you.”

I show my students love during a hallway conversation

ago

~ Annie Mertaugh

about wandering eyes during a test. I try to use loving body language when redirecting behaviors or delivering a consequence. I strive to let empathy, kindness and respect drive my practices. I teach forgiveness and acceptance. My hope is that students feel safe and cared for, and that perhaps my modeling of these traits might rub off a little, too.

I pray for students--the hard cases that keep me up at night as well as the child who seems happy-go-lucky on the outside but skillfully hides a crippling struggle. I pray for all young people, seeing on a daily basis the atrocities they are up against in this social media-fueled world. I pray that I can help young people learn the skills they need to lead happy and healthy lives and contribute to bettering our world. It’s not uncommon for teachers to doubt whether they are having any impact at all, and I am no stranger to these thoughts, so I pray this prayer a lot.

While I didn’t end up being the firecracker of a teacher I envisioned as a 21 year old, I am grateful for all that I have learned about the profession and myself. I hope that as my faith continues to grow, my skills as a teacher and an advocate for young people also expand and transform my classroom practices. How wonderful it is that each of us, in our unique vocations, has the ability to share our faith in varied and authentic ways! Through our 9 to 5s or remote gigs, whether we are strict or softies, we can all be messengers of God’s hope and love. ✝ Annie Mertaugh is a middle school teacher and mom, always on the hunt for a good art project or mountain adventure.

pcjh.org

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peace, love and understanding ~ Mary Williams

h e n I wa s 4 3 y e a r s o l d , I h a d t h e opportunity to go back to school to pursue a new profession and set my long-term goals for my future. I chose massage therapy because I loved how I felt after receiving a massage. I wanted a career that would make people feel like that. I wanted to be a channel for God to bless people through my work. I enrolled in a career counseling program to ascertain that massage therapy was something I could reasonably do as a single person. It was confirmed.

Professional massage creates a safe place for peace, love and understanding. It is a place where judgement is put aside. It is a place where honesty is spoken. It is also a place to quietly invite God in to help people when people don’t exactly know what they need to be healed from. I guess you could say I pray over them, although not audibly. Sometimes I just ask God to lead my hands to where healing is needed.

A professional massage room is a holy space. For me, it is the next best thing to being in a Chapel.

Five years into my career I was invited to join a women’s medical mission to Guatemala. Our mission was at a village high in the western mountains of Guatemala at 7,000 foot of elevation. I was the massage therapist of our team. This village of approximately 1,500 people had just been devastated by a mudslide from Hurricane Stan in 2005. Only 500 people survived. We were there 6 months after the catastrophe. As we travelled along the high mountainous dirt road through the jungle, we were occasionally flanked by militia holding automatic rifles and questioning us and our driver. Many people had been buried in the mudslide. As we approached the village, I could see vultures circling overhead. The villagers didn’t know what to do with the deceased so they stacked them on the edge of a cliff. If the bodies were not claimed by family before decomposition, they were pushed over the edge into the abyss. There was much sorrow and fear. PTSD was very real in the community.

The village consisted of many tents provided by US Rescue. My massage room was an empty room in a 4-room concrete block building with a dirt floor. I had to step over the concrete threshold to get from one room to the next. There were no windows and smelled of damp dirt. I was alone with my massage chair in the empty room waiting for my first patients. When I first placed my hands on a villager, I silently asked God to use me as a vessel to provide healing. We had MARY WILLIAMS resides in Livingston MT and is owner of Williams Therapeutic Massage located in Livingston MT. She is also Pastor Ben's aunt.

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two interpreters…one for English to Spanish and the other for Spanish to their own dialect. God was able to understand and speak to all of us. When each session ended, the individual stood up smiled and bowed to me (their custom for “thank you”) and departed. I felt honored to play a part in their healing process, even if I will never know what fruit came from their experience with me.

My mission statement as a massage therapist is to help people heal from their pain and to inspire them to sense the world is a better place as a result of my massage. Helping people feel better physically helps them feel better spiritually. I am present with them to assist in connecting the two.

I see myself as a mediator who can help people heal themselves through massage with God’s help.

I’ve been a massage therapist for 22 years now. I have spent the last half of my career in a small town in Montana. God has blessed me with a home of my own, a small cabin perfect for me.

God knows I love nature and beautiful landscapes. He put me right in the middle of His Great Creation, and every morning I am reminded of his Grace and Love for me.

I believe it is God's will to join him on the Great Adventure he calls us to. If we ask and listen, he will show us the way. I believe I am exactly where He wants me to be. I am using my gifts to give back to my community in Livingston. I feel content and blessed and closer to the Lord because I am doing what I consider His Work. I am helping my community, even if it is one person at a time.

I hope to provide chair massage at the next PCJH Women’s Retreat. I look forward to meeting all of you and rejoicing in God’s love. ✝

hard work rewarded by smiles

~ Merrill Ritter

O

rt h o p edic s ur g e r y wa s my l if e for well over 50 years. I was fortunate to help over 10,000 people with a total hip or total knee replacement. These operations offer a wonderful quality of life for so many that are suffering. I asked every patient the night before if I could pray for them. I am sure this helped me and I do believe the patient as well. We in the United States take so much for granted in that these operations are accessible for all who choose to investigate their possibility. This is not, however, possible for many in less fortunate countries. I was part of a group of surgeons who began a mission, Operation Walk, to help many of those that were less fortunate in Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The group that I was involved with was Operation Walk Mooresville. There were 75 people, 10 surgeons, 15 operating room nurses, five Recovery room nurses, 10-15 floor nurses, 10 Physical Therapist, a large group of ancillary personnel and translators and two men of God, preachers. We would perform over 120 hip or knee replacements in 3 1/2 days and take care of all the acute needs for the remainder of the week. During this time we educated the orthopedic surgeons in the various communities as to the continued care for these individuals.

We were in continuous contact, post operative, with their surgeons as to various needs of the individuals. The deformities that we encountered were sometimes so severe that for the routine Orthopaedic Surgeon these were not treatable. However, this group of 10 surgeons were able to handle everything that was presented to them. Five or so years after the beginning of Operation Walk, we added a Foot and Ankle surgeon who was able to correct a club foot deformity in which the young patient’s foot was literally pointing backwards. Follow-up showed the young man to be ecstatic about his life with a normal appearing foot. God was definitely with Operation Walk and the patients

who came from miles away for treatment. Many of the problems were quite severe, such as congenital problems, traumatic disruption of the joints, both one or two joints or even a hip and knee at the same time. Not only did the medical contingency of the group work to extremes but so did the pastors, who were there for the patients that needed help as well as the staff that were working so hard. We would perform 20 to 30 operations a day, which was not a difficult problem with the staff of people that had joined Operation Walk Morrisville.

The hard work that all of the members of operation did was delightfully rewarded by the smiles and the tears, not from pain but from the excitement of being without pain. At that time I did not believe that I could experience such success again. However, these wonderful attributes are nothing compared to taking care of my wife of 60 years Nanette during the last months of her life.

I was able to clean, dress and feed as necessary. We discussed death and the formalities of life after death. We talked with the pastors, the funeral home and the cemetery as well as our children and grandchildren prior to her death. I can’t even begin to tell anyone how rewarding this was at that time and now.

My biggest concern is that I was not home enough when I was working; however, my wife was there at all times for me, my children and the grandchildren. It was she that brought me back to Christ. Today I cannot fathom the thought of not being with Nanette. Her faith and mine carried us through her illness and to this day keeps me strong and blessed. ✝ MerriLl Ritter I’m a long time retired, over the hill, Orthopaedic surgeon who misses his wife, however Jackson, PCJH and the wonderful people associated with the church have been a wonderful help.

pcjh.org

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Pinnacle

11

G

our God the Nations

D

of ALL

~ Sarah Romorini

ushanbe, Tajikistan, 4 weeks ago—At 3:30 a.m., only the stars were out. After two days of travel, I was grateful to be on our final approach. I wished it were dawn because we were flying over beautiful mountains: 50% of the country is above 10,000 feet and its highest peak, Ismoil Somoni tops nearly 25,000 feet.

But I wasn’t in Tajikistan for the mountains. Pastor Ben asked me to ref lect how I’ve seen God at work through my vocation in international public health. Perhaps it’s ultimately how, despite the distance, religious differences, cultural and language differences, we're all part of one beautifully diverse team and family. We each bring our strengths and gifts to help make this world a better place– no matter what we do, no matter how humble.

Before moving back to the US a few years ago, I lived in Malawi, Argentina, and El Salvador for most of my career, working with Maternal and Child Health and Women’s Health projects.

When working with women, their partners, young moms, babies, tireless nurses and doctors who have seen it all, a lot of real stuff happens. Beautiful joys, fears, uncertainties, heartbreaks, celebrations. The two bookmarks of this earthly life, birth and death, are always present. They’re often surrounded by memories of personal or political trauma, memories of war, economic poverty, lack of resources that are often taken for granted in the United States.

The team I work with in Tajikistan exemplifies the doctors who have seen it all, yet they relentlessly work to improve their country’s health. After 2 years of collaborating remotely, I was finally working in-person with our Tajik team. The US government funded project works with Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in Khatlon Province, which borders Afghanistan. The country is over 90% Muslim and Sarah lives in Jackson with her husband Matt and dog Goose. She loves all the outdoorsy things: hiking, getting better at skiing, as well as baking savory and sweet pies and being a member of PCJH.

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living our faith

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fa l l 2 0 2 2

my colleagues heeded adhan, the beautiful calls to prayer that echo five times a day reminding the faithful it’s time to stop and pray. The team improves service quality at hospitals and Primary Health Centers, empowering pregnant women and new moms to have healthier pregnancies, make healthier decisions.

After driving south to the mountainous town of Vaksh with my team members Tahmina, Muslim, and Yuliya, we were greeted by community health workers to learn about their work. No matter the country, an amazing spirit of servitude shines through community health workers who improve the health of their communities, often with minimal pay or as volunteers. Their daily job is to put “love thy neighbor as thyself” into practice, Rain or shine, often in temperatures soaring above 100F, they visit households, encouraging them to adopt healthier behaviors and avoid the most deadly yet preventable childhood diseases in the country: diarrhea, malnutrition, and pneumonia.

In Vaksh, this group of women (above) shared how the project made their job easier, as we had equipped them with training, smartphones and an app to register basic household health information and prioritize visits to those most in need.

We heard how tough it was to deliver the right message, so a woman would adopt healthier behaviors during her pregnancy, or convince husbands or mothers-in-law to allow their pregnant family member to seek prenatal care at a clinic. This behavior change for health requires incredible empathy, and I’ve appreciated the impact of this work in Tajikistan, and around the world, including the United States.

As we were leaving, I felt an urgent tug on my sleeve. One of the older women shyly gave me a beautiful, fresh round of bread.

This was like a giant pizza crust that was folded in half, packed lovingly in a plastic shoe bag. She handed it to me, held my arm for a second, and I could feel the kindness and generosity that was also shared with this daily bread.

The way God’s love transcends man-made boundaries and unites us in this beautiful world reminds me of the hymn “Song of Peace”, set to Sibelius’s Finlandia: “This is my song, O God of all the nations / A song of peace for lands afar and mine.” ✝

God had a better plan

I

w a s v e r y b l e s s e d t o g r o w u p in southern Illinois on a small family farm. My parents were Christians who made sure we attended a small Southern Baptist church each week.

I lost my father at the age of 14, so my heavenly father became my earthly father as well. I married early and started a family. My marriage ended badly and in 1971, my three children and I moved to Georgia to go to work for a small startup trucking company. I had never been away from home and was very young with a small family. It was never part of my plan to move to Georgia but thankfully God had a better plan for my life than I had for myself.

I remarried and in 1974 my husband J.D. Garrison and I purchased a small trucking company that had 15 trucks, 30 trailers and two small contracts, one with Sunshine Biscuit company and the other with Ford Tractor Co. We had $500 in capital to start and a lot of faith in God that we were doing the right thing. It was tough, but we worked long hours and slowly began to build our business.

In 1981 my husband J.D. passed away leaving me with a small business and a family to raise. This was a dark time for me, and I really had to draw on my faith to have the courage to try to keep the business going. There were not many women in my industry which was trucking, during that time.

Today our company, The Bennett Family of Companies will be 49 years old, and we are made up of 16 different companies that specializes in Flatbed, Van, International, RV and Government Shipments that support our Men and Women who fight for our Freedom each day. We are a privately held, family company, with my three children, four grandchildren and 2 grandson-in laws working in the company each day.

We have 12 core values that we live by every day and one of those values is that we are faith based. We know that all our blessings truly come from God and we know if it was not for his guiding light and direction, we would not have made it through the last 49 years. We are truly blessed .

Because of our Strong Spiritual Commitment, we brought on a Chaplin that ministers to our drivers. Pastor Dewberry

~ Marcia Taylor

provides counseling, prayer and time with our drivers when they come onto our yard.

Each week he has a time of devotion that our drivers can be on, and each week we have between 400 – 500 drivers that hear the word and are prayed over on each call.

During the Pandemic, we reached out to the “Dave Nemo” show that is on XM Radio, because we wanted to reach not only our drivers but other drivers across this nation, that at the time needed encouragement and the word of God in their lives. Each morning at 7:10am Chaplin Dewberry gives a time of devotion that reaches several thousand drivers.

We have devotions at our main office, that is provided by Jonathan Moses, who worked with us, but was called to minister as a pastor at a local church. But each Wednesday during the lunch hour, our employees can be a part of the devotional as well as share their prayer requests.

We try to live our faith each day and one of the stories I love to share, of how living our faith touched one of our employees.

We had an individual who worked for our company for a long time, he didn’t go to church, he didn’t believe, and his language was not the best.

But because of our company’s strong faith, because we pray before each meeting, because we pray before our meals, because we are not ashamed of the Gospel. This individual gave his heart to God. He now prays before a meeting, he shares what all he is doing in his church, and above all, he shares that he is so much happier, now that he is living a Christian life.

May God continue to be your refuge in times of need. All we need is the faith of a mustard seed, and the rest is in our Heavenly Father's hands. Never give up, I know, I have experienced the struggles of life, but I also know our blessings and strength truly come from God. ✝ MARCIA TAYLOR is the CEO of the Bennett Family of Companies, allowing Faith in God's plans to guide the direction of her company.

p cpjchj .ho. o rg rg

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Pinnacle

13

september

october

november

01 Meg Womack

01 Louisa Sandvig

01 Deb Kopp Beckett Maher Suzanne Young

Mike & Liz Jorgenson (20) Peter & Deb Keenan (14) 02 Jeff Hanson Ken Thomasma

Kraig Kobert & Julie Birrer (26) Tom & Kris Thompson (42) Steve & Cindy Weber (43) 03 Louise Deland Bill Voge 04 Paula Jorgenson Judy Scarborough Ben Blount

Billy & Kathy Robertson (46) 05 Matt Faupel Caroline Taylor

Warren & Sue Myers (24) 08 Ed & Shirley Cheramy (36)

Joe & Julie Whitlock (61)

William & Sharon Schoen (56) 02 Cindy Weber 03 Marian Meyers Erin Rosenberg

Ralph & Jean Hudelson (30) 04 Steve & Sharon Fralin (19) 05

Kent Nichols

07 Dylan Wade David Meyers John Scott 08

Katie Mendenhall

Brad & Barb Andrews (28) 10 Darla Jackson Kae Brockermeyer 11 Catherine Wade 12 Corrine Berg

09 Mary Neal

13 Sierra Fulton

10 Joni Upsher

14 Mike Halpin

13 Shirley Cheramy Laura Soltau

15 Brett & Gaylyn Frantz (28)

14 Brandie Orchard Heather Martin 15 Duane Schneider 16 DeeDee Sorsby 17 Stuart McFarlene

16 Nancy Brumsted Martha VanGenderen 17 Barb Andrews Robert Pascal 18 Bill & Mary Neal (35) 23

Janice Skinner

18 Aaron Nydam

28 Beth Ricciardi Doug & Donna Niemi

19 John Hanlon

29 Barbara Casey

Alan & Irene Lund (41) 20

Larry VanGenderen

Paul & Amy Boillot (18)

02 Sandra Guido Bultema 04

Barbara Carlsberg

07

Alan & Sue Bybee (52)

08 Sue Sullivan 09 David Conine Bob Jones George Scarlett 10

Colter & Alli Lane (10)

Pastoral Staff Rev. Ben Pascal Senior Pastor

bpascal@pcjh.org x 101

Rev. Tammy Mitchell Associate Pastor

tmitchell@pcjh.org x 104

Office Staff Brian Bultema Church Administrator

bbultema@pcjh.org

x109

Cindy Dahlin cdahlin@pcjh.org Church Administrator Assitant x107

11 Ben & Karen Brennan (16)

Ally Kiefer Communications Coordinator

13 Becky Jordan Eileen Blackwell

Program Staff

Michael & Claudia Schrotz (35) 14 Brad Andrews Alan Brumsted

Laura Huckin Worship & Music Coordinator

akiefer@pcjh.org x102

huckin@silverstar.net x123

15 Donna Heinz

Amanda Lack Little Lambs Director

17 Ed Lavino Chris Brown

Preston Gordon pgordon@pcjh.org Interim Children’s Ministry Coordinator x103

19 Eric Johnson 20 Michael Adams Addie Pascal Sandra Pavuk-Zender 21 Eunice Conine 23 John & Barbara Simms (43) 24 Alli Lane 25

Warren VanGenderen

Scott & Cindy Zabriskie (33)

30 Chris & Louisa Sandvig (12)

27

Mack Mendenhall

31 Pete Forster

30 Claudia Schrotz Leah Nydam

alack@pcjh.org x111

Megan Walker mwalker@pcjh.org Youth & Young Adult Ministry Coordinator x124 Ruling Elders

Clerk of Session: Ken Blount

Class of 2022

2023

2024

Laura Soltau* Mission

Caryn Haman Adult Ministry

Wes Lucas* Stewardship

Ryan Allen Children’s Ministry

Josh Ziolkowski Young Adult Ministry

Susan Conner Congregational Life

Alan Lund Personnel

Steve Iobst* Buildings, Grounds & Vehicles

John Scott Finance

Patty McDonald Assimilation & Nomination

Marian Meyers Youth Ministry Becky Kimmel Worship

21 Phil & Betsy Stevenson (31) 22 Megan Walker

Teaching Elders: Rev. Ben Pascal & Rev. Tamara Mitchell

23 Lynn Friess Alicia McGaugh

Deacons

Robert & Cathy Wikoff (33)

Class of 2022 Bill Klyn* Dorothy Neckels Catherine Wade Sierra Fulton

26 Mary Williams 28 Lynn Finkel 29 Deb Keenan Aaron Ackley

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living our faith

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Class of 2023 Michael Schrotz* Ponteir Sackery Brian Bultima Sandra Guido Fernandez

*Serving second term

Class of 2024 Lori Dodd* Brad Herman* Joy Steiner* Tom Segerstrom

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get to know US

BARBARA SAYRE CASEY / new member As a recent Wyoming resident, being a member of a Christ-centered, vibrant church is an important bedrock for me. PCJH is a spiritual home for me as was Bel Air Presbyterian in Los Angeles where I served as an Elder and was active for many years. A native West Virginian, I moved to Los Angeles and experienced incredible corporate and entrepreneurial careers in investor relations, public relations, branding and reputation management. I was Vice President of KB Homes (NYSE) before age 30 and, after establishing my own firm, worked with clients such as Korn/Ferry International, AT&T, Caruso Holdings, Broad Museum, LACMA and Conrad Hilton and Annenberg Foundations. I now serve on the Board of Trustees of the National Wildlife Art Museum and am a member of the Malibu and Jackson Hole DAR. My daughter Meredith lives in Los Angeles with her husband Eric Red, a well-known filmmaker and author. They both share my love for Jackson Hole.

Katelyn, Cameron and Izzy / New Members Katelyn, Cameron and Izzy Page here. We moved to Jackson in January 2021 and are happy to have found a church home in PCJH. As we have spent time in a few different places over the last couple of years (mostly chasing snow), we have come to understand the value of church community in getting settled in a new area. As a family we believe that grace is the epicenter of everything that’s important. We believe PCJH is a great place to further our understanding of God’s grace in our lives, environment, family, work, and the many interesting people who have made their way to Jackson. Mountain towns offer unique opportunities to experience God’s goodness as we are surrounded by such incredible nature, activities, and people from all different walks of life, and we are excited about the Jackson chapter in our family’s journey. Cameron opened a coffee shop under Stillwest Brewery called "FRX." Katelyn is a town planner.

catherine & Josh bennett / new members I grew up in Dallas, Texas. My family raised me to know Christ and got me involved in Highland Park Presbyterian Church. In my daily life I was in a homogenous, sheltered and safe community. Through the church, my eyes were opened to the realities of poverty and suffering, both in Dallas and in other places in our world. Wanting to learn more about the roots of poverty, I majored in Economics, with a minor in Poverty and Human Capability at W&L University. Through my studies I gained a desire to work in Early Childhood Education and I have been teaching for 9 years now. I am currently the kindergarten and 1st grade teacher at Kelly Elementary. I feel called to serve young children and to provide them with experiences and support that will help them reach their full potential for their lives. I depend on God to strengthen me to do this and to care for each child as if they are my own, especially when working with challenging behaviors and struggling learners. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my two girls, Hazel (5 months) and Hartley (2 years) and husband, running, baking and playing outdoors. One of the most meaningful moments for our family was the baptism of our two girls this summer. We are grateful to be a part of such a wonderful church community!

My name is Josh Bennett, I am very excited to be a new member of the PCJH family. I grew up in a Baptist church in north Georgia. I’m grateful for my family that made Christian faith such a large part of our lives. I moved to Jackson in 2010 for work.

After living the typical Jackson bachelor life for a few years, I was blessed to meet Catherine and start our lives together here. I feel my faith has always been strong, but never reflected in my work. So 5 years ago I felt the call to serve others and joined Jackson Hole Fire/EMS as a volunteer Firefighter. I’m thankful God has given me the skills to help our community in some of its worst and hardest moments.

pcjh.org

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Pinnacle

15

Address Service Requested Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Permit # 189 Jackson, WY 83002

1251 South Park Loop Road, P.O. Box 7530, Jackson, WY 83002 I pcjh.org I 307 - 734 - 0388

S P iRiT

sightings

PCJH Music Academy Spring Recital in PCJH Dahlquist Chapel.

"Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

u Psalm 100: 2