KIRK’S LOG

Stardate: July 6, 2008

 

Focus Scripture    Philippians 3:4b-14

 

Even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh,

I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,

a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.

More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes

through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power

of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain

the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;

but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider

that I have made it my own: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

 

            Minister:  The Rev. Francis Rath                              Usher/Greeter Team: 8:30 – Doug, Sage, & Maya Crosby

            Lay Reader:  Bob Rosenak                                             10:30   Renee Crowder, Louise Hinde, Paula Paul

            Music:  Kate Sauer, Director & organist                                        Cindy Hutchinson, Emily Wheelock

                          Don Sauer, Band Director                             Hospitality:  Kay Main

            Adult Ed:  Floyd Coppage                                         Lock Up:  Roger Hailstone

Those for Whom We Pray

 

Our members:  Nancy Eberhardt, Robert Huffman, Dorenda Morse, Jeri Smith, and Michelle Tang;

Our homebound members and friends:  Fran Doty (Amy Homicz’s mother) and Anis Johnson;

Our extended family:  Tammy Diaz (Paula Paul’s friend), Michelle Feng (Patrick Xavier’s cousin), Ted Feng (Patrick Xavier’s uncle), Brian Festa (Lori Festa’s brother), Tommy Fitz Patrick (Kay Main’s brother-in-law), Susan Fivelstad (friend of Judy & Chuck Gilman), Roger Hogeboom (Don & Barbara Mitchell’s nephew), Andy Hurst (Linc Nagle’s cousin, serving in Iraq), Audrey Hutchinson (Cindy Hutchinson’s mother-in-law), Julia Martinez (Mercy Martinez-Nunnally’s mother), Justin Zel Montgomery (Linc Nagle’s son-in-law, serving in the Police Department), Amy Mueller (daughter of Susan Olson-Phillips & Det Phillips), Donald Peterson (Shirley Puariea’s friend), Marjie Prisco (Don and Barbara Mitchell’s daughter), Jane Tutolo (sister of Judy Kneebone, friend of COGS), Charles Wenger (son of Ray Wenger), for others for whom we have been praying, and for those whose names are known by you and God.

Church Meetings for the Week of July 6-13, 2008

 


Sunday:          8:30 a.m.      Worship – Communion

                      9:00 a.m.      Children’s Education Time

                      9:15 a.m.      Adult Ed

                      9:30 a.m.      Coffee on the patio

                    10:30 a.m.      Worship – Communion

                    11:30 a.m.      Listening Post

Wednesday:    6:00 p.m.      ContemPLAYtion Band

                      7:00 p.m.      Strategic Site Assessment

                                         Team meeting – parlor

Sunday:          8:30 a.m.      Worship

                      9:00 a.m.      Children’s Education Time

                      9:15 a.m.      Adult Ed

                      9:30 a.m.      Coffee on the patio

                    10:30 a.m.      Worship


Announcements

 


COGS Adult Ed

 

Adult Ed classes run from 9:15 to 10:00 a.m.

July and August

Contemporary Theology Class

A New Christianity for a New World, by Bishop John Shelby Spong. – with Floyd Coppage in Classroom 1.

Sacred Conversations

The "Sacred Conversations" discussions will resume in the fall.  Check The STAFF newsletter and Kirk's Log for further information.

 

New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence
For help, call 246-9240.  State Hotline: 1-800-773-3645; National Hotline: 1-800-799-7233; Statewide Legal Resources Hotline: 1-877-974-3400.  Services are FREE and confidential.


A Note from Francis

 

I thought about entering the Sanctuary Today on my bicycle, dramatizing a ‘visitor preacher’ was joining Church of the Good Shepherd for a few Sundays.
I decided NOT to do it, for surely I’d run into someone coming down the aisle!  However, I WILL be your preacher through July and the first two Sundays of August.  Then your Interim Minister will be on line.  My preaching theme for our time together will be Hymn No. 417.  Brian Wren is my favorite contemporary hymnist, and his hymn, This is a Day of New Beginnings, gives expression to the direction of all of my sermons with you.  We will repeat that hymn for the first three Sundays, and then again on my last Sunday with you. We’ll pay special attention to it today.

 

I’m told that the Chinese figure for the word  Challenge” is written like a fraction.  The top part suggests HAZARD.  The bottom part suggests OPPORTUNITY.  We are beginning a new chapter in the life of COGS.  It is a great opportunity for reviewing where we have been, and what directions and emphases we want to pursue in the future.  And that, of course, is also hazardous.  There are abundant ‘pot-holes’ into which we can easily step whenever we think about and act on CHANGE!
In my preaching I will try to steer us around some of the pot-holes, and challenge us to look to the future, remembering the past, but only as it is a guide post, not a hitching post! And, in all of it, I will emphasize the basics of our faith in Jesus Christ, our wellspring and guide for all of our living.

 

So, ONWARD!  I can’t wait to hear (and figure out!) what I will preach about in the coming Sundays!

 

Onward Lots More!

Francis Rath

 

P.S.  And don’t forget the TOMATO TORNADO!

 

Listening PostToday, and on the first Sunday of each month, the Listening Post will be in operation after the 10:30 service, in the Preschool Office.  In July 2005, we discussed the “Instrument of Peace” through mailings and during a church service.  This will provide a place where concerns & suggestions of members of our congregation can be discussed and questions posed & answered.

 

Summer Special Music at COGSThose of you with special musical talents are invited to choose a Sunday during the summer when you would love to share them.  Please call Kate Sauer at 286-4532 and offer to share your gifts.


 

Welcome

 

Rev. Francis Rath

(the ABQ “Pope”) to our pulpit for July and part of August.

 

Also, welcome

Cindy Hutchinson,

who will be the worship assistant.

 

 

Tomato TornadoReady, get set, GO!   5,000 cans of tomatoes; 3,000 packages of pasta – Can we do it?  With your help, we can.

 

We encourage you to do your own shopping for cans of tomatoes and packages of pasta.  One of the goals of this project is to encourage each person to MAKE AN EFFORT on behalf of the poor.  It is easy to write a check or kick in cash, but doing the actual work of remembering people in need by shopping and lifting is different.  Besides that, people notice when you buy a whole cartful of cans of tomatoes (or packages of pasta)!  It gives each of us a chance to tell the story.  It is a little like making the effort to go to New Orleans on a mission trip.  We could just send money, but GOING is another level of learning.  If you have trouble getting to the store or would like some extra help getting your cans (of tomatoes) or packages (of pasta) to the church, let us know.  ALL MONEY FOR TOMATOES AND PASTA should go through the church books before it is distributed for shopping.  Thank you for your help and support.