Parsonally Speaking…
You may be interested to know that CPC practices an
extensive ministry of hospitality through opening our building and facilities
for use by many community groups and organizations. Come by the church on most any day during the week, and you’ll
see what I’m talking about!
Specifically, There’s a list of
those for whom CPC has opened its doors and provided complimentary meeting
space over the past twelve months:
Alcoholics Anonymous (weekly), Boy Scouts (weekly), Safe Haven (twice a
week), MOMS Club (twice a month), Home School Group (twice a month), NRV
Prevention Services (monthly), NRV Community Action CHIP (monthly), NRV Head
Start Safety Fair, Cub Scouts/Cub Pack (weekly/monthly), Cub Pack Pinewood
Derby, Christiansburg Book Club (8 times a year), Peaks Presbytery Committee on
Ministry (twice), Montgomery County Retired Teachers (twice), Montgomery County
Christmas Store (parking lot is used by volunteers during the week the store is
open), Montgomery Museum (a three-day art workshop), Peaks Presbytery
Peacemaking Work Group (one meeting), Brownie Troop (twice a month), Girl
Scouts (twice a month), a violin recitaland a piano recital, Girl Scout Leader
Training (twice),CHS Baccalaureate Service, CASA (twice), Chamber of Commerce functions
(twice), American Red Cross Bloodmobile, NRV Christian Home Educators’
Curriculum Meeting, Montgomery County Public Schools Peer Training Workshops
(two days), DePaul Community Resources (twice). When the weather is nice, the playground is in constant use by
parents/grandparents with young children.
We regularly host one or two traveling mission trip groups overnight
during the summer, we allow bicycle travelers to camp overnight on the
property, and our parking lot is always packed during the Wilderness Trail
Festival and for parades (Christmas and others). I am pleased that we are able to share what we have in all these
ways. Let’s give thanks that God has
entrusted to us this important ministry of hospitality!
• We are in the process of preparing for our 2013
Confirmation Program. It will begin in
January and will last until May. This
wellreceived program gives youth and adult mentors the opportunity to explore their
faith together in anticipation of the youth joining the church next spring on
the Day of Pentecost. All youth in
seventh grade and older who have not previously joined the church are invited
to take part. Young people who wish to
participate are asked to contact me (382-2802) by Sunday, November 11. Adults who wish to be considered as
potential mentors in the program are also asked to contact me by that
date. If you need more information
about any aspect of the confirmation program, please let me know.
• “The Preacher’s Bookshelf” is the name of an occasional
elective Sunday School class I am offering, in which participants read and
discuss what I consider to be the best of what I have come across lately in my
personal study and reading (articles, book chapters, some entire books,
etc.). There are reading “homework”
assignments for the class, but they
aren’t lengthy. The next series of “The
Preacher’s Bookshelf” will take place over ten Sundays: November 11, 18; December 2, 9, 16; January
13, 20, 27; February 3, 10. The class
will meet during the Sunday School hour (9:30 to 10:30 a.m.), in the downstairs
multi-purpose room. For this series,
we’ll be using the book, If the Church Were Christian :Rediscovering the Values
of Jesus, by Philip Gulley. You
may recognize Gulley as the author of
the acclaimed “Harmony” series. In If
the Church Were Christian, Gulley speaks to people who have been involved in
the church and respect Jesus, but question what Christianity has become. He offers a profound picture of what the
church could look like if it refocused on the priorities of Jesus.
Class participants are asked to purchase their own copy of the book
(available on-line). To help me in
planning and preparation, please let me know ahead of time if you wish to
attend the class (382-2802). 
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