Knox Presbyterian Church

This Sunday, August 8th, we have a special treat for our worship service. Alyssa Saxton will be sharing with us about her recent experience on her mission trip to Mozambique. We hope you will come hear her stories about God’s work halfway around the world.

As part of our worship service, we’ll also be singing songs from this year’s VBS program. It promises to be a great Sunday that you won’t want to miss.

Hey Mates,

It’s been a great week here at Knox on our High Seas Adventure Vacation Bible School. The kids have been having a great time singing, doing crafts, playing games, and most importantly hearing about God’s Word and God’s Love!

We will be holding a VBS program for all parents and church members at 7:30pm on Friday July 23rd. We’d love to have as many people who can attend to come and see all the great things the kids have been learning and doing this week. Or come for nothing else than to see how decorated the church is for the VBS Program!

It has been a High Seas Adventure!!

As many of you know, I lived in New Orleans for nine years prior to moving to Iowa to attend seminary in Dubuque. To be sure, Louisiana was a difficult and trying place to live, but it’s the first place that truly became ‘home’ to me beyond where I grew up in Wisconsin.

As a former resident of one our country’s most unique cities, my heart and spirit were saddened in the fall of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast, broke through the levees, and submerged 80% of that city with dark, murky flood waters.

By all accounts, New Orleans and the Louisiana Gulf coast were just beginning to get their groove back. Things were beginning to take a turn even before this winter when many of us celebrated an unlikely and incredible victory by the New Orleans Saints in their first ever Super Bowl.

But now the Gulf Coast has suffered another severe blow, and many wonder if things can ever be the same again. The Rev. Carol Howard Merritt, a friend of mine, who also lived for some time in Louisiana, wrote these words about recent events on the Huffington Post website:

Looking at those white graceful egrets covered in slick, black oil reminds me of what we have done. There is something majestic hidden in that marshland, something that we have destroyed. In many ways, our soul lives there, and it is irreparably damaged.

As we struggle to stop the oil from spewing into the Gulf, it will be a task on which every brilliant mind in our country needs to concentrate. As soon as that fatal flow stops and we begin to collect the bodies of the dead wildlife and fish, when we attempt to clean up this disaster, we will have to reflect on our own spirits and our addiction to oil.

Why, when we know how much damage our dependence on petroleum causes our earth, do we not concentrate more creativity on developing other means of energy? Why, when we realize that the rapid urbanization of China and India will be an increased strain on our global resources, are we not figuring out ways to drastically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?

Crying out “Drill, baby, drill” in this phase of our history feels to me like begging “More cigarettes, please!” while dying of lung cancer. And like every addiction, it is a reminder that we will need to find physical, as well as spiritual, solutions to our problems. We can no longer neglect our soul.

Friends, these are complicated and trying days. The solutions to the problems we face are not easy nor are they readily apparent. If I am honest, I’m not even sure that our government & political leaders have what it takes to lead us through them.

For the time being, though, we can pray for the communities all along the Gulf Coast struggling for their very life and well being as a result of this disaster. We can pray for efforts to stop the spill and to clean up after it.

I might suggest, also, that we can evaluate and begin to change our own consumption of oil and oil-based products (think about how much plastic we use in any given day!) And, we can pray for and push our leaders to begin to make the changes we need to make to ensure our world will be a better place for our children and our grandchildren.

It’s hard work, but as Carol suggests, it’s important work. We can no longer neglect our soul.

Alyssa in Mozambique:
On Wednesday June 23rd, Alyssa Saxton, a recent graduate of UNI, headed to Mozambique for two and half weeks with a mission team from Orchard Hill Church of Cedar Falls and Food for the Hungry. Please pray for safe travels as well as for a blessed time as she ministers with the love of Christ to the children and families she meets there. You can follow her thoughts as she writes about her trip on her blog at Mission Mozambique.

Local Presbyterians are “Building on Faith”
First Presbyterian Church and a number of other local churches are leading the way in building a house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The big kick-off for the building is June 25, when they will raise the walls (the foundation is already in) along with Kurt and Brenda Warner.

Work days will start on Saturday June 26th and will continue most Saturdays thereafter (excluding July 3rd) until the house is completed; this size house can be built in about ten full working days. Work days typically go from 8:00am to 4:00pm; however, people may volunteer for a half-day shift. Additional workdays during the week maybe added if there are enough volunteers.

First Presbyterian is inviting people from our congregation to join in helping build this house. If you are interested in being part of this project, offering up your time and sweat labor, please let Pastor Jim know by e-mailing him at pastor@knoxcr.org.

Here is the video used in today’s worship, which served as reinforcement of the message of the sermon:

This morning we encouraged the congregation to pray in these ways:

• That God would lead and guide this church.
• That God would give us clear vision and provide us with abundant resources to meet that vision.
• That God would grow each one of us into greater and increased discipleship.
• That God would bring new people into our midst and help us to love them.
• That God would knock down the walls of our congregation and move us out into the world.

In regards to our upcoming VBS program the congregation was encouraged to pray in these specific ways:

• Pray daily for each child and family who will part of the program.
• Pray for people to commit to be VBS teachers and volunteers.
• Pray that God’s will would be done through us.
• Pray that God’s love would be shown to the children and their families
• Pray that’s God’s spirit would move in power in the lives of us as Jesus follower.

So will you pray? And let’s wait and see what happens as the Holy Spirit works in our midst.

Check out our plans for Vacation Bible School this July 19 – 23,  just click on the VBS link from our homepage!

We hope you will consider joining us for the following Holy Week Events:

Maundy Thursday – April 1st
6:30 PM – Light Sandwich Supper
7:00 PM – Maundy Thursday Service with Communion
This service will feature scripture readings and prayer reflections on the “Seven Last Words of Christ” along with gathering around the table to share communion.

Saturday – April 3rd
10:00 AM – Children’s Easter Party
All children are welcome to come enjoy crafts, stories, snacks, and egg decoration in celebration of the Easter season.

Easter Sunday – April 4th
9:30 AM – Continental Breakfast
10:00 AM – Children’s Egg Hunt
10:30 AM – Worship with service of Communion
This service will feature the flowering of the cross as the congregation prepares to worship as well as the sharing of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

During the season of Lent we are focusing on the Lord’s Prayer, both in our Sunday worship service and in our Wednesday Lenten class. If you would like to join us, classes are scheduled for 12-1pm and 7:30-8:30pm. If you would like a copy of the brief reading material prior to class, please contact Pastor Jim.

On Ash Wednesday, February 17th, Knox will be offering a unique way for you to reflect on and enter into the season of Lent.

A number of prayer stations will be available in the worship space, all designed to help you reflect on different aspects of your relationship with God and others and to lead you into different ways to pray.

The prayer stations will be available between 11am-1pm and again at 4:30 – 6:00pm. Come when you can and take as much time as you need.

In response to the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, the deacons of Knox Presbyterian Church collected $424 in gifts from the congregation. The deacon board decided to use the funds to support the ministry of Partners in Health for Haiti.

PIH has been on the ground in Haiti for twenty years and will use these funds to provide healthcare for those in desperate need. Thank you to everyone who gave a gift!