Pinnacle Vistas - Spring 2023

PINNACLE VISTAS

SEVEN LAST WORDS

PASTORS & FRIENDS | p4

HAITI

DAVID BOWEN, ANNE FOLEY & JAMES LIPSCOMB | p16

GOOD PARENTING?

REV. LEAH QUARLES | p22

GIVING THAT ENDURES

BOB ARMSTRONG & RUTH O'BRIEN | p24

PINNACLE VISTAS

Come and See 2023 women's retreat

UPCOMING EVENTS

New Connections Class

Glimmers of Hope in Haiti

April 2

Holy Week Prayer Walk

April 6, 7 & 8

Good Friday - Requiem

April 7

Haiti Sunday

April 16

Family Camp Out

April 28

Women's Fellowship

Retreat

May 5-6

Preschool Art Walk

May 14 - 19

May 5-6 | Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center

Cost: $85 pp/double | $120 pp/single

Friday evening - Saturday late afternoon | check-in begins 3 pm

“Come and see” exclaims the woman. After meeting Jesus at the well one day she runs back to her city with this invitation: Come and See. Are you in need of rest? Is your soul thirsty for living water? The same invitation is extended to you. Come and see what God’s Spirit will say and do during our Women’s Retreat. Space is limited so register today! Email womensfellowship@ pinnaclepres.org.

Holy Land

PILGRIMAGE 2023

Friday, October 27 – Wednesday, November 8

11 days in the Holy Land + 2 travel days

Optional 3-night extension to Jordan

Deposit due: May 1 (space is limited)

Balance due: August 19

Visit our website for more details and to sign-up: franparkcenter.org/holy-land-pilgrimage

COVER PHOTO Spring in Arizona along the Bush Highway, by Ambika Balasubramaniyan.

TRACINGS

A LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR, WES AVRAM

Dear friends in Christ, This edition of Vistas is seasonal, delightful, and eclectic. You’ll find reflections on the season in worship, with an article on the Good Friday Requiem by our Director of Ministries in Music and Arts, Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler. On theme, each of the traditional “Seven Last Words of Christ” receive a brief meditation by one of Pinnacle’s pastors and by three pastors or pastorally-trained members of our congregation— Bob Claus, Ben McConaughy, and Margo Walter. How blessed we are to have Margo, Ben, and Bob give voice to one of these words.

You’ll find a group of articles inviting you to think about Haiti, but differently than just about what the news is telling us. Those articles include a review and update on Pinnacle's mission connection in Haiti with Harmony Ministries. Also included is the story and update about the ongoing support Pinnacle members have provided the Cadet family, for more than a decade. Now members of our church family, the Cadets survived the Haitian earthquake, their son Michael's leukemia (which brought them to Phoenix for treatment, when post-earthquake Haiti had no medical resources for him), the integration of three and then four children into American culture, the

cancer and subsequent death of the family’s father, Gustave, and their life since his death. The Cadets have been our friends, our inspiration, and part of our family. Member Anne Foley tells the story. And rounding out these articles, Pinnacle member James Lipscomb tells us about a very personal mission he's been called to in support of an extraordinary school in the village of Henche. James was most recently in Haiti and can help us unpack the complexity of what’s happening there.

And that’s not all! You'll read thoughts on parenting from our Associate Pastor for Family Ministries and Congregational Life, Rev. Leah Quarles. You’ll read member Mike Conklin’s account of member Mark Steel’s work with the Red Cross and how disaster assistance has become an expression of Mark’s faith. And you'll read a testimony about why they have included Pinnacle in their estate planning from Terry and Katherine Coult.

And if that wasn’t enough, we couldn't let pass the delightful event of three generations of one family being ordained into ministry at Pinnacle— as elder and deacons: Mary Kuenstler, Michelle Rogers, and Lily Rogers. The church at work!

But what's the through line of all of this, you ask. Well that’s the through line—everything. There are so many ways to think faithfully, act faithfully, and remember faithfully—all making us church together. We’re bound to each other, and to sisters and brothers across the generations and all over the world. And so from the fire of worship, the flame of mission, and the warmth of community, we experience Christ.

May what remains of Lent for you be rich and deep with those very things— worship, mission, and community. May you tell your stories well. And may Christ be with you and yours, on this way to Easter.

See you in church!

Wes

DR. WESLEY AVRAM has served as Pastor at Pinnacle since 2009.

Christ the seven last words of

Resurrection is integral to our Christian faith. But you cannot have resurrection without death. There’s something quite powerful, though, about the fact that we spend a whole season of the church year (Lent) reflecting on Christ’s life and death, even while we know the Good News of Resurrection awaits us on Easter morning.

During Holy Week, we slow down even more. We leave Palm Sunday ushered into the Passion of Jesus as we take the journey, again and anew, to the cross. Our stories – yours, mine, each of ours – are entwined in that journey of Christ as Christ journeys with us today.

The seven last words (or phrases) of Christ have been used as a tool for meditation by Christians since around the 17th century. These phrases are drawn from the gospels and capture much of who Jesus was and is. Christians have used these phrases as a way to pray for others, to reflect on their own lives, and, ultimately, to approach the cross of Christ and the empty tomb in a new way. This year we invited our four Pinnacle pastors along with three pastors who worship with Pinnacle who are engaged in ministries of hospice and hospital chaplaincy and spiritual direction to share written meditations on the seven last words.

continued on page 6

Rev. Erik Khoobyarian

For they know not what they do. What a strange wonder it is that Jesus offers forgiveness from the cross. Not anger. Not even sorrow at this point. He offers forgiveness. It should come as no wonder, of course, as we look at the life that Jesus lived, but it still shakes me.

Even in the final days of his life, Jesus lived out the commitment to love that went beyond the failures of those around him. Even Judas shared the cup at the Last Supper. Even Judas had his feet washed. Jesus knew that he would be betrayed by Judas, he knew that he would be denied by Peter, he knew that those with power would kill him. They didn’t know what was happening and what would happen, but Jesus did know. And in his knowledge – knowing all that he knew about them and about what was happening and would happen, Jesus forgave.

I struggle with forgiveness. I struggle with receiving forgiveness and with forgiving others or even myself. When I turn and face the cross, though, I am challenged by Christ’s forgiveness of those who know not what they do. Those, like me, who know not how what we do impacts

the body of Christ and how our thoughts, actions, failures to act, and even our thoughts seem to distance us from Jesus. Father, forgive them, Jesus prays.

The forgiveness we experience in Jesus is a forgiveness that goes beyond a list of our actions, though. The forgiveness of God is a radical reconciliation of humanity to the one who created us in the divine image. Even when we do not realize how we try to distance ourselves from Jesus, or even deny, betray, or crucify Jesus, Jesus still loves, cares for, and forgives us.

Imagine today that Jesus is praying these words for you. Father, forgive them. Allow yourself to experience the forgiving love of Jesus and consider how you might live your life in a way that is transformed by God’s reconciling, radical, act of love.

father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

~ John 19:26-27

Ben McConaughy

John teaches that “whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16-17. While Jesus does not condemn the world, the condemnation of the world is vividly on display in Calvary. Jesus, condemned for claiming to be the Messiah; the two criminals, condemned for their crimes. The condemnation continues even after they are nailed up when the first criminal mocks Jesus, asking why he does not “Save yourself and us.”

The second criminal changes the focus from condemnation to salvation. “Stop,” he tells his partner in crime. We are getting what we deserve, but Jesus is innocent. He boldly requests that Jesus:

“remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus responds, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The first criminal’s suggestion that Jesus cannot save them is ironic. For that is exactly what Jesus is doing. In His sacrificial death, we are saved from sin. No matter where we are or what we have done, we are saved from the sting of death and granted eternal life.

Jesus’ words to the second criminal in the last moments of his life, seem to be about being with Jesus in Heaven. But what do these words mean to us? Taken literally, when we accept Jesus into our hearts, will we

be with him in paradise – “today”? Jesus often spoke of ushering the Kingdom of God into the world. Are we changed by our belief in Jesus, living life differently than before, loving others as we love ourselves, ministering to those whom the world condemns? That sounds like being with Jesus today, laying one brick in the process of bringing about the Kingdom of God. Yes, Paradise.

continued on page 8

truly, i say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

woman, behold your son ... and to john: behold your mother.

Rev. Margo Walter

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

This year the Ignatian tradition, encountering scripture through imagination, has given Jesus’ last words new life for me. Imagining myself in this story, I watched Jesus, gasping out his last, barely audible, words to order Mary and the Beloved Disciple into a radical new relationship as family. I watched myself cry, “Why?” As a mom, I wanted Mary’s other sons to care

for her. Dale Bruner, in his John commentary, argues that Jesus forms Mary and John into “the nucleus of his New Family, the Church” (p.1108).

Maybe Mary visited her family later, since Jesus doesn’t obliterate our relationships with our family of origin or the family we create. (We actually specialize in that.) But her new Family is bound by faith in Jesus as God’s son, not DNA.

Imagine your own family. Has death, division or despair torn it apart? Or is it a source of life and joy? Either way it’s not enough to sustain us cradle to grave. Bruner offers a new way to imagine the church: as Family. This Family shares an origin story of a Crucified Jesus who dies and returns on Easter to breathe out Spirit on his fearful and confused Family

members. Church is not a building or campus, not a denomination, maybe not inhabited by only Christians. It’s a Family like the un-torn robe raffled off as Jesus died, where I’m woven together, with others, by indestructible love- threads by Holy Spirit.

Imagine with me this Easter Sunday’s grand scene: One Big Family, gathering at Table across the globe over 24 hours, to remember Jesus and to eat and drink, then heading out to sit at millions of earthly tables, bringing Christ’s Living Spirit into the midst, hoping to be a blessing. Maybe even to our own family. Imagine that!

Rogier Van der Weyden ca 1445

~ John 19:26-27

my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?

~ Matthew 27:46

Rev. Leah Quarles

Charlie Brown once said, “Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night.” What keeps you up at night? For children it’s a head cold, the monster under the bed, or a nightmare. For adults, it might be a mysterious illness, worrying about robbers or an argument robs you of sleep. Perhaps a nightmare jolts you awake. Maybe life in the daylight is worse than any nightmare.

The content changes, but the fears remain the same. Underneath it all is the fear of being alone or abandoned. Unlike Charlie Brown, when there is

no answer to your cry, do you wonder where God is?

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God hears this prayer. God answers this prayer. And God says this prayer.

Out of the darkness of a Friday afternoon, this cry went up from the wood of the cross. Why did Jesus cry out? That cry reveals the heart of God. God is not distant. God drank the cup of suffering and death. Where is our God? Wherever there is pain and affliction. But God does more than just feel your pain.

When Jesus cried out in the dark to God, all the sin and suffering of this dark world was no longer between God and humanity. For that one, horrific moment, it filled the Son so that the Creator had to turn away. But there, between God and Jesus, in the very heart of God, the power of sin and death was destroyed forever.

If God let Jesus endure that for you and me, you can trust God will be at your side when you cry in the dark.

continued on page 10

i thirst.

Being an On Call Chaplain, I am frequently paged or called to rooms where family members and friends do not want to believe that their loved one is about to die. But if their loved one is still conscious and can speak and listen, this time becomes precious, sometimes life altering for those present in the privacy of the room.

Jesus is deeply aware of who is there with him: his mother Mary, two other women, and John. Jesus is experiencing what any person experiences when they are still conscious while dying: agony in bodily, mental, and spiritual separation from the ones they love.

Jesus’ “cry” is mistaken as bodily thirst. Jesus is offered false comfort by his executioners. His loved ones are helpless and powerless.

That’s why modern medicine offers “comfort or hospice care” for those who are dying. It is also why spiritual/emotional support is so essential for those still living but are experiencing deep grief.

Rev. Dr. Bob Claus

Peter Paul Rubens, Seventeenth-Century Flemish Baroque painter

~ John 19:28

Jesus’ cry, “I thirst” is his spiritual longing to impart a legacy that will satisfy those he loves. Jesus’ legacy was expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, as I interpret it, “Blessed are those who thirst for God’s good character and seek just relationships, for they will be filled/satisfied.”

Legacy is more than an estate plan for our family. Legacy is the most important expression of our character and good relationships that demonstrates our love for God and our neighbor.

For what do you thirst? What do you want your legacy to be?

In my view, the “Seven Last Words of Christ” are the sum of Jesus’ spiritual legacy to those who love him and for any who seeks wisdom for their living.

Rev. Dr. Michael Hegeman

We have all most likely seen images or footage of a person striving to finish a marathon, only to collapse from exhaustion within yards of the finish line. The best stories include someone else, set to race to the end to beat their own time, suddenly changing course, noticing the fallen runner, stopping to help them up, and sacrificing their own time, to help that person to cross the finish line, with crowds cheering this magnanimous display of the best of the human spirit.

When we look at the scene of Jesus on the cross, believe it or not, we see something similar, though at first it might not be clear. Seeing the “marathon” all depends on Jesus’ last words, “It is finished.” We could translate this as, “I have reached the finish line” without too much of a stretch. We see Jesus exhausted beyond exhaustion, depleted beyond depletion, struggling to take his final breaths…to endure to the end. A few hours earlier, someone had helped Jesus walk the desolate road to Golgotha: Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to carry Jesus’ cross. And now, alone in his agony, except

for two thieves alongside him, and the jeering crowds condemning him, Jesus says something that is utterly personal and yet cosmic in scope, “It’s over.” Or did he say, “It has all been fulfilled”? It’s hard to know what Jesus really meant. He didn’t have time to explain. Moments later he “handed over” his spirit, expelling his last breath. And he died.

When Jesus crossed this finish line, it’s nearly impossible to catch any refrain of victory. When he dies, he truly dies. It feels like everything that God was seeking to do in Jesus’ life and ministry had just been obliterated. But we who know the rest of the story, know that this isn’t the end. Those of us who follow this Jesus are called to join the race, and by God’s grace to endure to the end, so we can join the Apostle Paul in saying, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”

continued on page 12

it is finished.

~ John 19:30

Paolo Veneziano, -approx. 1362 National Museum, Kraków

father, into your hand i commend my spirit.

Rev. Dr. Wes Avram

As in others of Jesus’ words from the cross, our Lord quotes scripture. Here his words are from Psalm 31. Jews hearing might find the flow of the psalm come back to them–as if completing the sentence in their hearts. Like the words of a song, one line that evokes the whole thing. Like the “tok” you say when I say “tik.”

Psalm 31 is a song of deliverance. The singer laments their position, feeling put upon by life, hemmed in by circumstance, threatened by enemies (natural or human) who seek to undo them. The singer is in distress.

contributors

Pinnacle Pastoral Staff

Rev. Dr. Wesley Avram

Senior Pastor/Head of Staff

Rev. Erik Khoobyarian

Executive Associate Pastor

Rev. Dr. Michael Hegeman

Associate Pastor in Education

Rev. Leah Quarles

Associate Pastor for Family Ministries & Congregational Life

We don’t need to be directly attacked to feel this way. There are times when we feel vulnerable for many reasons, or out of control, or on the edge of something that will happen whether we like it or not–even death.

In those moments our salvation might not be in changing things we can’t change, but in seizing the one act of freedom that can never be taken from us, the one word our spirit can speak even when our mouths make no sound or our minds shape no thoughts. We can give our spirit to the One who made it. We can give ourselves to God.

To commend our spirits to God is to stake a claim against destruction, and against despair, and against the demonic. It’s to remember who we are, and whose we are, and be the freest person we’ll ever be—even when we feel the opposite. It’s to be delivered back to ourselves and over to God. It’s to refuse the power of death, even when death itself (or other things we can’t control) might still come. It is to lay the groundwork for Resurrection.

Ben McConaughy Spiritual Director

Rev. Margo Walter Ordained Minister & Spiritual Director

Rev. Dr. Bob Claus Board Certified Chaplain who has served at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Barrow Neurological Institute since 2018.

BY DR. ILONA KUBIACZYK-ADLER

The main portion of our Good Friday service this year will be Requiem by John Rutter. In the Western Church tradition, Requiem Mass, also known as Missa pro defunctis (Mass for the dead), is offered for the repose of the souls of deceased, and typically celebrated in the context of a funeral. The name Requiem is derived from the first words of the liturgy Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine (Eternal rest grant them, O Lord).

On Good Friday we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death on Calvary. It is in our Presbyterian tradition to observe this day with worship services, and in many protestant traditions to use special solemn music to enhance the experience for the congregants. On Good Friday we reflect and meditate on the Love of God revealed in the suffering and death of Jesus. This is also a good opportunity to self-reflect and understand God’s eternal Love for all of us. John Rutter’s setting of Requiem Mass is particularly appropriate for this meditation, and it will hopefully serve as our prayer for Christ and all with whom he suffers.

John Rutter composed his Requiem in 1985 and dedicated it to his father who died the previous year. The version we are going to perform on April 7, 2023, is scored for a soprano soloist, mixed choir, and a chamber ensemble consisting of flute, oboe,

cello, timpani, glockenspiel, harp and organ. The score was published in 1986 by the Oxford University Press in Latin and English.

Four movements of Rutter’s Requiem were first performed in March 1985 at Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, CA. The first complete performance happened in October 1985 at Lovers’ Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX. Both performances were conducted by John Rutter. Movement number 6 “The Lord Is My Shepherd” was added to the Requiem after it was written as a separate anthem in 1976.

The whole piece lasts about 40 minutes and consists of 7 movements:

1. Requiem aeternam (combines Introit and Kyrie in the original mass setting)

2. Out of the Deep (a version of Psalm 130)

3. Pie Jesu (text concluding the Dies Irae sequence from the Requiem Mass)

4. Sanctus (with Benedictus)

5. Agnus Dei (Lamb of God; with quotes from Book of Job and Book of John)

6. The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

7. Lux aeterna (quotes words from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and communion chant from Requiem)

Come and be moved. With soaring vocal lines of the famous Pie Jesu, the gentleness and ethereal beauty of this masterpiece will help you navigate the emotions of the Holy Week. Rutter’s Requiem is one of those pieces that are best experienced in the perfectly suited acoustics of a church, ideal for choral singing, organ, instrumentalists, and deep meditation. You will not regret the experience and transformation that in person and undistracted listening to sacred live music offers.

Requiem

by John Rutter

Good Friday, April 7 | 7 pm Pinnacle Sanctuary

Live-streamed at pinnaclepres.org/watch

HAITI Glimmers of Hope in

by: Rev. Leah Quarles

“Surge in gun trafficking fuels spike in gang violence.” “UN calls for foreign intervention in Haiti as violence surges.” “Haiti’s Rule of Lawlessness.” These are some of the recent headlines that appear when you run a simple search on Haiti. Whenever I hear talk of Haiti, usually words like poor, starving, violent and desperate are thrown around. In May 2022, The New York Times released a 36-page special report on the history of Haiti detailing its rich, yet long history of turmoil and challenges.

If you only read the articles or listen to news, you could be led to believe there is no hope for Haiti. However, talk to Haitians and those working

in ministries in Haiti, you might be surprised. You’ll hear stories of the first modern nation born of a slave revolt. Stories of the rich soil found in the mountains and the even richer culture of hospitality. One of the most beautiful things you’ll discover is the Haitian people’s resilience–that no matter how many difficulties they face, they will not give up.

Having volunteered in Haitian mission trips for five years, witnessing the incredible challenges Haitians face, I would have expected the 2010 earthquake, which devastated communities in much of Haiti’s capital and surrounding areas, would have been the final straw for

Haitians. Yet, what I witnessed in the field hospitals and tent cities in the days following, was nothing of the sort. Each morning patients broke the silence with songs of praise and trust in God. Within a few weeks, we witnessed communities rallying together to clear the rubble and start anew. There was much work to be done, but they confidently stepped forward.

There is a Haitian proverb, “Bondye pa bay pitit Li penn san sekou.” It means, “God never gives his children a problem without giving them a solution.” There’s no denying it. The problems Haiti is facing currently are severe and complex. Yet, if

we scratch the surface, there are glimmers of hope. There are young Haitians passionate about changing their country’s long history of corrupt politics. There are ministries working hard on the ground offering quality education, building and rebuilding safe places to learn and worship, and addressing public health concerns. And there are also others supporting Haitians who have migrated here to America. Some of this good work is happening because of people in your midst at Pinnacle. In this edition of Vistas, you’ll hear from a few people who are answering God’s call to be one part of God’s solution.

Any Hope for Haiti?

by: David Bowen

“The situation is catastrophic….one of the most severe crises that Haiti has ever confronted”, Robert Fatton, a Haitian-born political scientist at the University of Virginia.

Yet, hope for Haiti can be found in the still ongoing work of Pastor Luc and Harmony Ministries, in partnership with Pinnacle Presbyterian Church (PPC) since 2008. Guided by Pastor Luc’s strong faith, vision, and endless energy, Harmony Ministries, with support from PPC, has led the

building of churches and schools in Haiti; fed multitudes; and provided treatment and medicine in Harmony clinics.

Pinnacle has sent numerous mission teams to Haiti over the years, most recently in 2017 and 2019. We have helped paint new concrete block Harmony buildings, taught lessons in schools both in PAP and in the villages, helped run medical clinics in the villages, distributed personal hygiene kits to female congregants— and been blessed by the peoples’ truly overwhelming displays of gratitude and affection. We have paused, not stopped, sending mission teams there.

(sadly, those numbers have dropped with the gangs, violence, and cholera outbreak). There are 18 teachers and 500 students in the PAP Harmony school; 13 teachers and 300 students in the outlying village schools in Thoman, LaSalle, and Leogone. Now, with other public schools closed due to turmoil, parents are sending their children to the PAP Harmony school which is very highly regarded.

Keeping Hope Alive: There are compelling needs for more food, teachers and teachers’ pay, and meds. “Food Insecurity” is a polite term for the poor people who are always hungry; also, many clinics and hospitals have closed in this intense, catastrophic situation. Pastor Luc can procure meds if he has the funds. Also, completion of the new church in the village of Leogane requires final funding, though construction is presently stalled given conditions.

Benediction: “Dear Lord, we are blessed to have Pastor Luc and Harmony Ministries as our Partner. Help us to help them in caring for the people of Haiti.”

Fruits of the Spirit: Pastor Luc’s own hope is grounded in conviction that the heart of mission is to bring people to Christ and for them to know God’s love and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. His PAP church typically has 900-1,200 on Sunday!

To learn more about Harmony Ministries and how you can help, contact David Bowen at haiti@ pinnaclepres.org.

Cadet Family’s Story

by: Anne Foley

As the Haitian land shook violently in 2010 causing large bricks to fall on four-year-old Mike Cadet and send him to a medical tent, no one could have predicted that such a tragic event would save the young boy's life. Mike had a yet undetected form of leukemia, and social workers from Catholic Charities quickly put plans in place to fly Mike and his father Gustave to the United States for cancer treatment.

When the doctors at Phoenix Children’s Hospital took over treatments, they were able to bring Mike into long-term remission. It was some of those same doctors’ connection to Pinnacle Presbyterian Church that allowed the entire Cadet

family to reunite in Phoenix and begin making a home here allowing our congregation to meet the Cadet family during the Christmas adopt-afamily program.

What a gift it has been to know this family. Life has not been easy for the Cadets, but no one in the family expected it to be. Their unwavering faith taught them that ease is promised to no one, and the storms in life allow God’s light to penetrate through the darkness.

In 2016, 44-year Gustave was named the employee of the year at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, because of his incredible work ethic and positive outlook as a laundry room attendant. He and his wife Michelette were raising their four children in a two-bedroom apartment

and working hard to make sure the kids were safe, nourished, educated, and loved. They regularly attended Pinnacle until things changed in March of 2020.

Having overcome the hardships of being furloughed during COVID, Gustave was elated to return to work in 2021 despite increasing back and stomach pains. When the pain became so intense that he collapsed, he went to the doctor. The diagnosis was stage four cancer, and three weeks later, Gustave passed away at the age of 48.

Although the Cadets now attend a church closer to their current home in Tolleson, they remain a grateful part of the Pinnacle family. They continue to march through all storms with faith and gratitude.

Mike is now a healthy, polite high school junior. Education has been so important to the Cadet family and all the kids do well in school, but it is a generational shift that will occur in December of 2023 when twentytwo-year-old Djenika graduates from college with a bachelor’s degree. The family continues to send supplies and aid back to family in Haiti as they are able.

If you are interested in helping the Cadet family, contact Anne Foley at phxfoley@gmail.com.

Center of Hope (Haiti)

by: James Lipscomb

Center of Hope (Haiti), Inc. is a U.S. tax exempt corporation (“COHH”) founded by James and Nancy Lipscomb in 2004 to develop and operate an orphanage and school in Hinche, Haiti for the education of children of extreme poverty who would not otherwise receive an education. The children start in the first grade with an average class size of 15 children. They progress as a class through the 9th grade before completing the high school education at private Catholic schools.

COHH built a campus consisting of classroom buildings, kitchen & cafeteria, volunteer quarters, resident dormitories and administrative offices with contributions from donors from around the US and abroad. COHH maintains a platinum GuideStar rating for financial transparency.

COHH partnered with Building Goodness Foundation of Charlottesville, VA to construct modern classroom buildings.

The third classroom building was dedicated in February 2023 (after COVID 19 delayed the scheduled June 2020 completion) in honor of our first class to graduate 9th grade.

COHH provides free education, inclusive of instruction, uniforms, shoes, text books, writing

instruments and 2 meals each day. The school is located 80 miles northeast of Port Au Prince.

The school is operated with the assistance of 33 committed workers, including teachers, food preparers, maintenance and security. Currently, there are 167 students enrolled.

For more information visit centerofhope-Haiti.org.

DAVID BOWEN has been a member of Pinnacle since 2016. He has served on mission teams for Haiti, Habitat for Humanity, and currently serves on the Local and Global Ministries Group.

PHOTOS - pg. 17 David Bowen with Haitian youngster during Pinnacle mission trip in 2017; pg. 18 the Cadet family; pg. 19 top, newly dedicated classroom building; bottom, James Lipscomb, back row center with students and Antoine Charles, Executive Administrator at the recent building dedication.

ANNE FOLEY and her husband, Mike, have been members of Pinnacle since 2004. She has served as a member of the Haiti team, as a chaperone on youth mission trips and on the Stewardship Committee.

JAMES LIPSCOMB and his wife, Nancy, have been members of Pinnacle since 2013. James has served Pinnacle as elder for finance and currently serves as the treasurer.

DISASTER ONE WHO RESPONDS TO A

BY MIKE CONKLIN

It was Mark Twain who forwarded the idea that everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it. That’s not true of Mark Steel, a member of Pinnacle Presbyterian and the church’s Deacon Board.

As a certified Red Cross volunteer eligible to work a range of disasters big and small, Mark has answered calls to help bring relief to survivors of some of the country’s worst climate-related tragedies. This includes hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and fires.

The international relief organization has a full menu of volunteer opportunities and, when necessary, provides training for certification. This ranges from food preparation and First Aid to managing blood banks and driving relief vehicles.

Mark, a technology consultant, retired in 2017, and transferred his career work skills–along with a longstanding interest in Ham radio–to the Red Cross. His volunteer specialty is on-the-scene communications, setting up Wi-Fi connections and

internet instruction, plus distribution of Red Cross kits.

Keeping everyone in a large disaster scene in touch with each other can be challenging. Assignments often are extremely remote, lasting for a few days to several weeks. Volunteers often stay in tents, dormitories, huts and homes, but communication is vital to everyone’s relief and safety.

“After you qualify, you put yourself up for deployment,” Mark said. “You can go local, regional or national.

Then you wait for a call. You never know what to expect.”

Mark worked Hurricane Fiona last September, an assignment that took him to the Caribbean for two weeks. In this one, Puerto Rico suffered from the worst flooding since 2017’s Hurricane Maria, and an islandwide blackout occurred. A third of the territory’s population was left without water, and at least 25 people died.

The hurricane also hit the Dominican Republic and Bermuda, eventually making it to parts of Canada. “The

power got knocked out on this one in Puerto Rico,” he said. “I worked at setting up Wi-Fi.”

Every year the Red Cross answers thousands of calls in the U.S. alone. In 2018, the first major disaster he faced was devastation left by Hurricane Michael, which ripped up Florida’s panhandle and adjacent states.

This Category 5 storm still ranks as one of the worst to reach the U.S. mainland, causing 50 deaths in Florida alone, as well as $18.4 billion in damage. Approximately

2.8 million acres of forest were destroyed.

Mark says he’ll never forget the drive to his base camp near Tallahassee. “It was 15 miles of what had been a forest. Now it was nothing but tree stumps.”

PHOTOS - pg. 20 Hurricane Michael destruction in Panama City. Pg. 21, top-left American Red Cross headquarters at Chico Fairgrounds for Paradise Fire in California; bottom left, Mark Steel; bottom right, FEMA tent at Tallahassee Airport for Hurricane Michael.

MIKE CONKLIN, a member of Pinnacle since 2013 with his wife, Diane, was a long-time Chicago Tribune journalist. He left the Tribune to join the DePaul University faculty, where he taught and helped found its journalism department. Now he teaches part-time, writes, volunteers and hikes a lot.

What Makes a

GOOD PARENT?

BY REV. LEAH QUARLES

I’m far from being a mom like mine. June raised five children, one with a physical handicap, while working full-time as an air traffic controller. My dad, a pilot, was often away weeks at a time. So parenting fell almost entirely on her plate. Back home in Pennsylvania, when my mom babysat Christine, I’d return home to a fed, bathed, and ready-forbed child. What’s more–the house was cleaner than I’d left it. Now that is a real mom.

It’s certainly a temptation to feel like a rookie when there are thousands of parenting books. (Don’t get me started on social media posts.)

Everyone has something to say related to raising children. But the truth of the matter is, there is no rule book. No “one size fits all” method. Trust me–I’ve tried them–all of them. Yet there is one method I do rely on. Presence. And the thing is, I firmly believe it’s a blessing for children and adults as well.

When I’m tempted to do it all or I’m simply distracted by the demands of life (or let’s be real–my phone and social media), I recall a Gospel story (Luke 10:41-42). Martha and Mary host Jesus and his disciples for dinner. (No pressure, ladies.) Martha is distracted by all the

preparations while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha grows frustrated with Mary’s complete neglect of hostess responsibilities (who wouldn’t?) and it bubbles out of her in the form of a complaint to Jesus.

Now, if you’re a Martha type, you might not want to hear Jesus’ response to her complaint. Jesus points out that Martha is concerned about many things but only one thing is truly needed–food. Sure, if Martha hadn’t made such wonderful plans, the meal may have been less special, less fancy, etc. Yet, because Martha busied herself with these plans, she missed the better thing

that was happening in her midst–sitting in Jesus’ presence.

The same can be said for us. The temptation is certainly there to keep the picture perfect house, prepare a wonderful meal and provide every amazing opportunity possible for our children. In other words; we try to do it all. But is it all necessary? These are good things, however, should we be asking ourselves, “Is this the better thing right now?”

In the book, The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired, authors Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. explain, “...kids are most likely to become resilient, caring, and strong when parents show up. We don’t have to be perfect, but the ways in which we show up (or fail to show up) influence who our kids become and how their brains get wired.”

In our attempts for greatness (however you define it), we run the risk of missing the better thing right in front of us–simply being present with our children. If we want them to do well in life (emotionally, educationally, socially, and relationally) we have to parent with presence. This is actually hopeful news for us. It’s not about perfection or how many amazing things money can buy, it’s about us. It’s about love. You, dear parent, are enough.

This does take some thought. Siegel and Bryson ask, “How do you think your early family life impacted the ways your brain developed in response to those experiences, either directly or by how you had to learn to adapt, or perhaps even survive, in the face of challenging events?”

They go on to explain, “Parents who show up are the ones who have made sense of their own life experiences… Inside we come to understand how the past has shaped who we are in the present in a way that frees us to be what we want to be now and in the future. And outside, we learn how to have an open, receptive awareness–to have parental presence–so that our child feels felt, understood, and connected to us. Making sense and being present: That’s what showing up is all about.”

Learn how to practice presence–not just with your children, but with yourself and Jesus too. So put the phone away. Leave work at work. Log off in time for a family meal. Disconnect in order to connect with God. Think about the past and how it informs your present. Get outside in your bare feet and connect with yourself and creation–how are you doing? What are you feeling? From “where” are you parenting? For out of that time of presence will flow life giving relationships.

REV.

LEAH QUARLES,

Associate Pastor

serves Pinnacle as

for Family

Ministries

and Congregational Life. She and her husband, Justin, have one daughter, Christine.

BY BOB ARMSTRONG & RUTH O'BRIEN

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; the Lord’s loving kindness endures forever. ~ Psalm 107:1

The Pinnacle Foundation was established to support the ongoing work of Pinnacle’s ministries, ensuring Pinnacle’s faith community and works to the glory of God continue for future generations. The Legacy Circle of the Foundation provides a way for members and friends of Pinnacle to include Pinnacle and our ministries in their estate and other long-term planning. The Legacy Circle is made up of Pinnacle members who have committed to this long-term giving. Legacy Circle members Katherine & Terry Coult have included Pinnacle in their estate planning and had this to say when asked why: “Pinnacle Presbyterian Church is our tranquility base. We find joy and peace in worship as well as opportunities to serve the PPC Community today. Legacy Giving provides the window to share our tranquility base with future generations.”

The Coults have been involved in various ministries and committees at Pinnacle, and their hope is that through the Legacy Circle their involvement will continue through their giving – long into the future. Terry had this to add: “I cannot express enough how important it is to educate members of the opportunity or existence of legacy giving. Currently members have

several legacy options to select from; several of which will provide revenue streams to help offset operating expenses and mission giving. The Foundation currently offers scholarships to students. Yea!”

There are many ways to make a legacy gift to the Pinnacle foundation and ways to direct giving to various areas of Pinnacle’s ministry, including local and global ministries, music, scholarships, property maintenance and improvement, and senior adult ministry. Watch for future opportunities to learn more about the foundation and especially the Legacy Circle.

To learn more please contact a Pinnacle Foundation Trustee, the church office, or visit us online at pinnaclepres.org/pinnaclefoundation.

BOB ARMSTRONG has been a member of Pinnacle since 2003. He has served as a deacon, elder, head usher, greeter, and currently as president of the Foundation.

RUTH O'BRIEN has been a member of Pinnacle since 2003, serving as an elder twice including work on the Personnel, Adult Education committees and co-chair of the Visioning Committee. She currently serves as a Stephen Minister and vice president of the Foundation.

PHOTO - above Terry & Katherine Coult working as volunteer coordinators for our recent Youth Rummage Sale.

PINNACLE PEEPS MINISTRY

Jean Nemer

Q. How long have you attended Pinnacle?

A. 5 years

Q. Where did you grow up?

A. Chicago

Q. Are you a dog or cat person?

A. Dog - granddog is a gentle giant Great Dane

Q. What is your best-loved book or movie?

A. Love the old classic movies... one favorite is The Song of Bernadette, starring Jennifer Jones. It tells the story of Bernadette Soubirous.

Q. What would others be surprised to learn about you?

A. I ran for public office (Clerk of Circuit Court in Illinois).

Ordaining Three Generations

Early each year at our annual meeting of the congregation, Pinnacle recognizes leadership of the church who are completing their term as elder, deacon, foundation trustee and members of the nominating committee. At the same time, we elect new leadership in each of those areas and a few weeks later they are officially ordained and installed during a Sunday service.

This year, on Sunday, March 4, three generations of women were ordained at Pinnacle! Michelle Rogers was ordained as a Ruling Elder alongside her mother Mary Kuenstler and her daughter Lily Rogers who were both ordained as Deacons! What a joy to see the Holy Spirit at work in our church and in the Rogers/Kuenstler family!

Meet Our Newest Members

Being a member of Pinnacle is an invitation to be part of a family that together strives to live out our Biblical responsibilities to love, serve and encourage. The following individuals joined Pinnacle since November 2022.

Sunday, April 2 11:15 am | Sanctuary Classroom 2

Carol Hoy Mary Kuenstler

Aedriel Moxley

Matt Moxley

Marti Wade & Ben Ullem

Kent Marcek

Marianne Marcek

Janet Geidel

Bryan Geidel

Holy Week at Pinnacle

Invite your family, friends and neighbors to join us for this season of Lent and Easter.

LENTEN SERIES - HOLY HUMANS

Wednesday, Mar. 29 | 5 pm | Chapel Library

Have you ever wondered whether holiness is attainable in our complicated modern world? A few blessed men and women have shown us the way to our common sainthood. Join us for our final session with Dr. Avram.

LENTEN VESPERS

Wednesdays, Mar. 29 & Apr. 5 | 6 pm | Chapel

Join us in meditation and contemplation throughout this season of Lent as we prepare our hearts, minds and souls for Holy Week.

PALM SUNDAY April 2

8 am | Chapel 10 am† | Sanctuary*

EASTER EGG HUNT

EASTER SUNDAY

APRIL 9 | 11 am | on the Green Infant 5th grades

MAUNDY THURSDAY April 6

Prayer Stations | 3 - 6:45 pm | Fellowship Hall

Communion Service and Foot Washing | 7 pm | Chapel

GOOD FRIDAY April 7

Prayer Stations | 3 - 6:45 pm | Fellowship Hall

Requiem by John Rutter | 7 pm† | Sanctuary

HOLY SATURDAY April 8

Prayer Stations | 9 - 11 am | Fellowship Hall

EASTER SUNDAY April 9

Sunrise Service | 6 am | Chapel Garden breakfast following

Traditional Services | 8 am & 10 am† | Sanctuary*

Egg Hunt | 11 am | on the Green

Communion Service | 11:30 am | Chapel

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

June 12 - 16 | 9 am - Noon

Pre-K - 5th grade participants | Cost $60

Youth 6th - 12th grades serve as student leaders

Adult volunteers needed

Limited space available

Registration now open at: pinnaclepres.org/children/vbs