Published by Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian ChurchApril 2012 Issue 4

Worship 1-2, 14-15Grow: Adult 3-6Grow: Children 6-7Grow: Student 6, 8Serve 10-12Connect, Concerns & Calen-dar 2,13, 15

Sermons for April

Jesus Prays — We Pray

Apr 1 John 12:1-19Palm Sunday

Apr 5 John 19:1-16 The Crucifixion Maundy Thursday

Apr 8 John 20:1-10The Resurrection

Easter

Apr 15 John 21:15-25Jesus and Peter Reunite

Apr 22Wonder

Apr 29Discover

SHPC Staff Guide

Larry Coulter Senior PastorMike Killeen Associate PastorBritta Dukes Associate PastorSherry Smith Adult MinistryChris Gordon Children’s MinistryZack Uzzle Music MinistryBeth Watson Music MinistryPattie Lawrence Director of PreschoolBelva Koerth Office ManagerGreg Merrell Business ManagerKimbol Soques Communications

Subscribe to this news-letter online:tinyurl.com/shpc-nl

A Vital and Faithful Church

If you attended the 9:30 worship ser-vice a couple of weeks ago, you may

remember my friend, Corey Nelson.Corey is a pastor in a large PresbyterianChurch in Lake Forest Michigan. Coinci-dentally (or maybe not, since the PCU-SA is a connectional church), Britta andCorey have been friends for years, bothhaving served the denomination asYoung Adult Volunteers in Mission,while Corey and I, also friends foryears, crossed paths as National YouthConference leaders. The membershipat Corey’s church is about double oursat SHPC, but they run about the sameas SHPC in worship attendance. Coreycame to visit us, to see what he couldglean from worshipping with us, visitingwith our staff, and immersing himselfin SHPC culture. He was interested instudying our “best practices,” and indetermining what was “different”about us.

I hope, by now, you have realized thatwe are unusual at SHPC. In a denomi-

nation that is in steady decline — as aremost main-line denominations — SHPChas a growth trajectory that is remark-able. While we all know that we have alot to thank Larry for, both in his vi-sionary leadership and wonderfulpreaching, there is more to the story ofSHPC.

continued, next page

Join us this Easter Sea-son for the celebrationof Christ's Resurrection.Palm SundayApril 1st, 9:30 & 11 a.m.

Maundy ThursdayApril 5th, 7:30 p.m.We will celebrate commu-nion together as we remem-ber the events of the lastnight of Jesus' life. Childcarewill be available for children0-3 years old.

Easter SundayApril 8th, 8:00, 9:00, 10:15and 11:30 a.m.

We celebrate Christ's resur-rection with music and song.

We look forward to see-ing you there!

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As you may know, I haveworked in some form or

fashion for Mission Presbyterysince 1988; first in camp andconference ministry, and thenin campus ministry before join-ing the SHPC family in 2009. Assuch, I have “been in” manycongregations — leading wor-ship, speaking, training, etc. Ihave always found congrega-tions to be places that resistedchange. Even changing the for-mat of the bulletin seemed totake an act of God, and peoplewould talk about it for years.Really, years! I can think ofvery few churches that didn’tstruggle with tensions over onething or another… existing in aconstant state of push-and-pull.Now, I do not mean to say thatwe at SHPC don’t have ourstruggles and tensions, but theydo not drive the bus, as itwere.

As Corey and I talked aboutchurch in general and wor-

ship in particular, I realizedthat while he must deal with along list of must-haves, have-tos, no-ways, and not-on-your-lifes, I don’t. We have a con-gregation that is open: open toworshipping in a variety ofways, open to the winds of theHoly Spirit moving among us,open to where God might becalling us as a church.

Some years ago Tom Long, aPresbyterian minister and

Professor of Preaching, wrote a

book* in which he lists the char-acteristics of “vital and faith-ful” congregations; “vital”because they were growing andactive, “faithful” because theymanaged to remain grounded inthe great worship heritage ofthe church while they did so. Ihave summarized the list ofnine characteristics as follows:overall atmosphere of hospitali-ty and belonging; creative andintentional worship that in-cludes mystery, relevance, ex-cellent music of a variety ofstyles, ritual, and opportunitiesto learn; attention to the wor-ship space and environment;strong, charismatic pastors andworship leaders; and a clearconnection between worshipand mission.

As I read this list, I thoughtimmediately of SHPC’s five

core practices: worship, con-nect, grow, serve, and invite.They are explicitly woventhroughout Long’s list. Manychurches have core practices,often using similar words. But Ithink our congregation is unusu-al in its ability, as a whole, toarticulate our core practices,and use them as a lens for per-sonal and corporate spiritualdevelopment. The way our corepractices manifest in our wor-ship life, as well as the manyother ministries of the church,certainly points to our own “vi-tality and faithfulness.”

Recently a pastor friendasked me how long I had

been at SHPC, and “if I had ev-eryone trained yet.” I startedto make a flip reply... but as Ithought, I realized that I am notthe “trainer” in this scenario. Ihave learned 10 times morethan what I have offered, andam constantly reminded — bybeing in your midst — what itmeans to be “church.” I amgrateful that you are not afraidto sing (really SING!) praises toGod; that you let your hearts bebroken by the brokenness in theworld; and that you offer allthat you are in Christ’s service.I marvel that you do not losesight of the fact that our wor-ship is to God and for God, call-ing forth our activeparticipation — and acknowl-edging that what we receive isa byproduct of what we offer. Iappreciate that personal pref-erence is not the order of theday, but that we are willing toventure out of our comfortzones, open to the new andcreative. Mostly, I am thankfulto be in the midst of this partic-ular part of the body of Christ,among a church family whotakes faith seriously!

See you at worship—

Beth Watson9:30am Praise & Worship leader

* Beyond the Worship Wars;Building Vital and Faithful Wor-ship

Jessica & Ryan Stathos614 W OdellAustin TX 78752

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Disciple Bible Study“Graduation”Sunday April 29th

~~~~~~~

All Disciple studentspast and present,wear your Disciplelapel pins proudly aswe celebrate thisyear’s “graduates.”

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Those interested innext fall’s classes cansign up in the narthexat that time.

The Amazing William Tyndale

On a recent business trip toLondon with my husband, I

was strolling around the largegarden area by our hotel when Iwas pleasantly surprised to seethat a main feature of the gar-den was a large commemora-tive statue of William Tyndale.Now, he's not someone talkedabout much these days but hereally is someone whose nameshould be remembered by everyEnglish-speaking Christian.

William Tyndale (1494-1536)was a theologian and

scholar who translated the Bi-ble into an early form of Mod-ern English. He was the first totranslate the entire New Testa-ment into English from the orig-inal Greek. (The first actualBible in English appeared in

1382. It was atranslation by JohnWycliffe but wasfrom the Latin Vul-gate rather thanthe original Greek.This Bible wasbanned and burnedand in 1408 it be-came officiallyagainst the law totranslate the Bibleinto English withoutpermission of aBishop.) Then,realizing the possi-bilities created by Gutenberg'smovable-type press, in 1525,Tyndale became the first manto print the New Testament inEnglish. Because it was illegalat this time to translate orprint the Bible into anythingother than Latin, he had toflee England and stay in hidingin various places across Europewhile completing this work.This was at the same time thatMartin Luther was first trans-lating the Bible into Germanand it is believed that for atime they worked together andencouraged each other. (Tyn-dale was a talented linguistwho spoke eight languages flu-ently.)

Tyndale has been referred toas the "Architect of the

English Language," (even moreso than William Shakespeare) asso many of the phrases Tyndalecoined during his translationare still in our language today.If you have ever said, "The spir-it is indeed willing, but theflesh is weak," "He fell flat onhis face," "Am I my brother's

keeper?" or "In him welive, and move, andhave our being," thenyou have spokenphrases first spoken inEnglish by WilliamTyndale.

His Bible translationalso included notes

and commentary pro-moting views support-ing the ProtestantReformation. Tyndale'stranslation was bannedby the authorities,and Tyndale himself

was burned at the stake in1536, at the instigation ofagents of Henry VIII and theAnglican Church. His last wordswere, "Lord, open the king ofEngland's eyes." He wanted theking to realize that a Bible inEnglish would allow people toread and learn for themselvesinstead of only hearing fromothers what the Bible said. Hisprayer came true in about ayear when Henry VIII ordered anEnglish translation eventuallyknown as the "Great Bible"(based largely on Tyndale'swork) and then had one placedin every church in England.About sixty years later, Tyn-dale's work also became notonly the basis of the AuthorizedKing James Version of 1611, butactually constitutes about nine-tenths of that translation.

So, now you know who Wil-liam Tyndale is and the great

gift he died to give us. I hopethe next time you open yourBible you will stop and say aprayer of gratitude for all such

statue of William Tyndale

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men and women that came be-fore us and sacrificed much sothat we might have the free-dom and capability to read theBible for ourselves."All scripture is given by inspirationof God, and is profitable for doctrine,for reproof, for correction, for in-struction in righteousness: That theman of God may be perfect, thor-oughly furnished unto all goodworks." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV

~~~

On May 2, I will be leading agroup trip to see The King

James Bible: Its History & Influ-ence, presented at the HarryRansom Center. Look for otherdetails in this newsletter and infuture Sunday bulletins.

Easter Egg Hunt andPotluck LunchPlease join Foundations forour annual Easter Egg Huntand Potluck lunch followingthe 11 o'clock service onPalm Sunday, April 1st. Wewill be getting together forgreat food, fellowship andlots of fun at the Kuper'shouse at 12:30 p.m. All fami-lies with children are wel-come, we wouldlove to meetmore families.Please emailTracy Kuper atkupers@austin.rr.com for a linkto the Evitewith directionsand more info!

It’s That Time Again!It’s time to start consideringwhether or not this is the yearyou start your first Disciple Bible Studyor maybe go back for another upper level class. We hope to offerall 4 levels this year. Levels 1 and 2 will probably be Monday eve-nings and level 3 will be Monday mornings.

If you are ready to get on the “interested” list for any class,please contact me at sherry@shpc.org or Bob Beardslee atbobcarol1955@att.net. Also, let us know of requests for otherclass times or days. We may add a Disciple 1 morning class ifthere is enough interest. We begin sign-up now so we can trainleaders, reserve class space, and order materials over the sum-mer.

So, start praying about this now and decide if you’re ready tocommit to nine months of transformative scriptural study withabout a dozen old and new friends. There will be more detailedinformation available on Disciple Sunday, April 29th, and in theMay newsletter.

FILO study group datechange!Due to EasterSunday fallingon the secondSunday ofApril, we'll behaving ourstudy groupa week early. We'll be meetingin our usual place, the churchlibrary 5:30 – 7 p.m. on SundayApril 1st. We'll be viewing anddiscussing a video from RayVander Laan's series The Path tothe Cross. We'll be returning tothe Rob Bell Nooma series thenext month.

Our social event for April istenatively scheduled forSaturday April 21st. We'recurrently planning on anoutdoor gathering, watch fordetails on Facebook and in youre-mail. Questions? Contact us atyoungadults@shpc.org

Save the Date!Wednesday, May 2The King James Bible:Its History & Influence

presented at theHarry Ransom Center

~

Contact: Laurel Calhoun892-5530

salcalhoun@sbcglobal.net

~

Leaving at 10 a.m. from SHPCFREE admission

Let Laurel know if you need aride.

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Join PrimeTime Ministries for a day at the...

LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, TexasApril 21, 2012

ON SATURDAY, APRIL 21, we will caravan fromSHPC to the famous “Texas White House.”

National park rangers will take us on a tour ofthe restored ranch house where LBJ spent overone-quarter of his presidency. The Johnsons of-ten stated that “all the world is welcome here”and they entertained heads-of-state in theirhome and around the Hill Country as often aspossible. This is the place than many historicevents and decisions of the 1960's happened.After the tour, we will join former LBJ Libraryand Museum Director Harry Middleton as heshares personal memories of his years workingwith the President and Mrs. Johnson. Joining Mr.

Middleton will be Mrs. John-son's Social Secretary, BessAble, and the President's pilot,Brig. General James Cross(ret.) who will also share sto-

ries of their time with the LBJ and Mrs. Johnson.WE WILL BRING BOX lunches for all. Leave fromSHPC at 8:35 am and return about 3:30 pm. Costis $9.00 to cover box lunches and admission.RSVP and pay your $9.00 to Barbara Whitlock at512-366-5373 or bwhitlocktx@aol.com . If youneed a ride, let Barbara know when you call.Make your reservation by April 15th.

Make sure your calendar lists these up-coming events:

April 10-12 Spring Retreat at Camp Buck-ner

April 21 LBJ Ranch Tour

May 2 King James Bible Exhibit

May 15 Soup To Nuts Luncheon

May 26 Food Trailer Crawl

June 6 Kayak on Lady Bird Lake

June 26 Roadtrip to Opie's Barbeque inSpicewood

More groups through April:ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED CHRISTIAN MEN

meets at 10 a.m. in Portable B, except dur-ing Mary-Martha Circle’s time, when we’re inthe library. Contact Ron Miller, 512-892-1862or ronald.miller1333@sbcglobal.net for addi-tional details.

FELLOWSHIP LUNCH BUNCH is going to the LBJRanch! See details in the article on this page.

GROAN-UPS GAME DAY: Tuesday, April 17th at10 a.m. in Room 7. Join us for Spinner Domi-noes or a game of your choice. For more in-formation, contact Stefan Haag at 288-3479.

MARY-MARTHA CIRCLE will meet Thursday,April 5th at 10 a.m. in Portable B. We arediscussing “Living in the Sunlight,” Lesson 6from our study God’s Promises That Keep Us.Also — in May we will be having a “picnic”luncheon following our meeting. Beth Watsonwill be catering for us right here in PortableB! Call Diane O’Leary, 263-5592, if you haveany questions.

On Friday, April 6, 2012... as we prepare for Resurrection Sunday... a show-ing and discussion of the movie The Passion of the Christ will take place atSHPC at 6 p.m. Hosted by Carl Floto and Ruth Ann, the discussion will be led

by Larry Coulter.All are invited— friends, co-workers and neighbors, seekers and believers.

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Living Proof Live is comingto Cedar Park CenterJuly 13-14, 2012Beth Moore’s life-transforming BibleStudy challenges and inspires womenof every age, everywhere. Joining

Beth at this weekend event is acclaimedworship leader Travis Cottrell and the

Praise Team. Beth’s focus will be on the Scripturethat God lays on her heart for each individual Living Proof Liveevent – no two messages are the same. As she explores theBible and how it applies to real life, you’ll be amazed by herown experiences as a believer. You’ll also be inspired to mag-nify and strengthen your own relationship with God.

The cost of this fun-filled Bible study, teaching, and worshipexperience is $65. If you would like to attend this event withother SHPC friends, please contact Pastor Britta atbritta@shpc.org or 892-3580, ext. 107 to register.

Daddy-DaughterDance(for ALL daughtersand their dads!)Research has shown thatstrong father-daughterrelationships are criticalto girls’ healthy develop-ment! Give her somequality time with dad by

joining SHPC’s first daddy-daughter dance on Saturday, April 14th

from 6-8 p.m. for a special night with your young lady (or ladies).There will be light snacks served, a craft, professional photo, andlots of sweet dance moves. Dress is semi-formal (suits and dress-es). All ages are welcome. Please register with forms at thenarthex hospitality tables on Sunday, or in Britta’s mailbox in thechurch office. The registration fee of $5 per family should besubmitted with your form by Easter Sunday, April 8th.

Family Mission Tripto Corpus ChristiJune 21st-24th

You and your family are in-vited to join Pastor Mike ona family-friendly mission tripto the Corpus Christi area.We believe it is when ourkids see our faith in actionthat they will catch ourfaith. This is a great time foryou and your child to bondand work side-by-side in ser-vice. This trip is designed forfamilies with all age stu-dents (10-18 years old). Signup online atwww.iamtrue.org.

REGISTRATION OPENSAPRIL 1st!SIGN UP ONLINE ATfamfun.event.shpc.org

JOIN THE FAMILY FUN DAY PLANNING TEAM!If you’d like to be part of the planning for our upcoming Family Fun Day at

John Knox Ranch, please send Pastor Britta an email at britta@shpc.org. This is not a huge time commit-ment—we’ll only need to huddle up once or twice to get everything raring to go for the big day, so drop aline if you’re interested, and we’ll get the ball rolling!

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Children’s Ministry News

Sign up! Sign up! Sign up April 1st!Online registration for our May 19th Family Fun Dayopens April 1st at funday.event.shpc.org

Club H2O registration for graduating 4th and 5th

graders opens April 1st at clubh2o.event.shpc.org.Beginning May 6th, we will open registration for any graduating 3rd graders. ClubH2O is limited to50 campers.

HOPEBelieving that something good can come out of something bad

Vacation Bible School!SHPC invites all children to getready to dive into fun at OPER-ATION OVERBOARD: DARETO GO DEEP WITH GODVacation Bible School.Explore and experi-ence God's underwa-ter universe at VBS!

The adventure in-cludes regular DeepSea Voyages into Bi-ble fun, creativecrafts, outdoor play,water science, andgreat music. Childrenand volunteers will havea wet and wild, fun-filled, Bible-based week atOperation Overboard!

Dates: Monday, June 4 - Friday, June 8

Times: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Early Registration Pricing(Sunday, April 1 - Sunday, May 6):$40/1st child; $80/2nd child; $100/3+ children

5-day volunteers receive FREE registration!

Registration will be web-based this year, andcan be done here:

vbs.event.shpc.org

If you have any questions, please contact Direc-tor of Children's Ministries, Chris Gordon:chris@shpc.org.

Wednesday Night Live Kids’ Choice:Session II

Our first five-week sessionof the spring semester isalmost over, but don’tworry! Children can signup for the final five-week session of theschool year on Wednes-day, April 4th. Please joinus for our OPEN HOUSE in

the Family Ministry Center from 6:30 – 7:30p.m. to find out more about how your elementa-ry-aged children can express themselves throughone of the following:

:: Music (Hand Chimes & Choral) :::: Art (Crafts) :: Theatre ::

Our “specialists” in these areas will work withgroups of children through fun exercises, gamesand activities. This is a great mid-week activityto keep kiddos engaged in the life of the churchwhile providing fun learning opportunities.

Dates: April 4 – Open House; April 18, 25, May2, 16, 23

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High School Graduation EventMay 6th 6-8pm.All true students and their families who are ris-ing to the next grade are invited to join the cel-ebration. Students moving from elementary tomiddle school, frommiddle to high schooland from high school tocollege/career will be rec-ognized and honored. Grad-uating high school seniors willtake part in a very special video montage andprayer time. SAVE THE DATE!

ATTENTION FAMILIES OF HIGHSCHOOL SENIORS.Time to start gathering about 50 of the best pic-tures of your student from baby to graduation sothey can be part of their moment at our gradua-tion event. Please get the pictures to PastorMike in hi-res digital format on or before Sun-day April 15th.

We are also scheduling times for video inter-views with the seniors starting April 1st till April15th. Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights7:30-9 p.m. are our best times. Contact PastorMike to schedule: mike@shpc.org

Great Wolf Lodge Family Retreat.Looking for a chance to reconnect with yourtween or middle school student? We still have afew spots left at our Great Wolf Lodge retreat.

You will join the true team at Great Wolf Lodgein Grapevine Texas as we play and study at ourvery own overnight event at the funnest resortin Texas! Water slides, lazy rivers and wavepools will highlight our day; our evening will befilled with some silly games and presentationsguaranteed to get you and your student talking.All for just $75 per person — dinner and break-fast buffet included! Sign up! www.iamtrue.org

July 8th-13th High School Summer Con-ference.Where’s the party? So — Padre Island is where700 students from all over the USA will gatherto play, worship, hit the beach, rock out andget their faith recharged by the best speakersand skits teams from all over the planet! Thebeach is a huge gift from God, so we go therea lot! We tan and we play.

But it is not all sand and surf. There is plentyof time to start taking your faith to next levelwith morning prayer/worship times, smallgroup discussions and an evening program thatyou will never forget. Sign up now ‘cause onall our traveling trips space is limited! To haveeven more fun bring a close friend with you.www.iamtrue.org

The Great Escape July 22nd-28th

The Great Escape middle-school summer adventure confer-ence. We travel to Twin Lakes, Mississippi via charter bus andwhile we are there we take over one of the most amazing recre-

ation camps ever! We live in the dorm style bunk houses and we will havethe best week of our young lives! The days are full with new friends, family groups, fantasticspeakers and worship time that will rock your socks off! Crazy fun filled days by the waterfront,exciting afternoons on the HUGE ropes course and an evening program that is simply EPIC! We wantevery one of our middle-school students to have this faith-building experience. As our group grows

larger, these trips make sure they are growingcloser together too! www.iamtrue.orgGod’s love is always true.

ministrynews

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A beautiful spring day greet-ed us on the 290 land for

worship on Sunday, March 4.David Evans, our founding pas-tor, joined us as we gave praisefor the past and the graciousway in which God has blessedour church. But it was evidentfrom the energy in thetent that God has notjust given us a past;God is giving us faithfor the future. We arethankful that we eachget to be a part ofwhat God is doing atShepherd of the Hills,and we are excitedabout the vision He hasgiven us to becomeone church in threelocations. What a greatday!

As we reported onSunday February

26th, a group of ourmembers responded early toour Praise for the Past, Faithfor the Future campaign withapproximately $750,000 in com-mitments. Others responded atthe Celebration Service, andwith 40% of households pledg-ing, we have now reached 2/3of our target! Our goal is toraise sufficient funds to launchour new South site, renew our

William Cannon cam-pus, build access tothe 290 land and giveto mission both athome and abroad. Ifyou have not alreadypledged, we hope youwill consider joining us

in this exciting op-portunity by makinga two-year pledge tothe Praise for thePast, Faith for theFuture campaign.

At this point,there are four

ways you can turnin your commit-

mentcard:

� You may place itin the offeringplate.

� You may mail it tothe church.

� You may drop itoff at the churchoffice during theweek.

� You may pledge online atfuture.shpc.org/commitment/

Choose the manner most con-venient for you. It is our

hope that every member ofSHPC will demonstrate theirfaith in our future by makingsome form of commitment.Know that every responsecounts — regardless of amount— and every person makes adifference!

Thank you for your enthusias-tic participation in the

Praise for the Past, Faith forthe Future Campaign. It is anhonor and a privilege to serveas Campaign Executive Direc-tor. I have been blessed be-yond anything I could haveimagined.

See you in worship! Glenn Dukes

Praise for the Past, Faith for the Future

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Caring Forever Endowment Fund

The Work Must Go On, So The Search Is On!submitted by Deb Erlanson, Endowment Committee

Spring is on us, with all the family and churchactivities that this season of renewal brings. Weare excited that it is time to seek nominationsfor The Caring Forever 2012 Endowment FundAward.

We are delighted to be able to give a monetaryaward of $1,500 this year thanks to contribu-tions and earnings. The award is especially im-portant as it represents how many organizationsand individuals continue their good works de-spite tight budgets.

That's where you, the congregation, can help.We need YOU to tell us who it should go to.Past awards have been made for work with thehomeless, mission work in Cuba, disaster reliefwork, education and campus ministry work, andother efforts to glorify God and help those inneed. Perhaps you know someone who could usethe award for a special mission or educationproject?

There's a nomination form at the bottom of thispage. When you've completed it, look for theCaring Forever Endowment Fund tree in thenarthex. There's a box there for you to put yourcompleted nomination in, or you can put it inthe Endowment Fund mail box in the church of-fice. Just be sure to get your nomination in bySunday, April 22nd. All nominations will be re-viewed by a Task Force appointed by the Ses-sion, and the Caring Forever 2012 Award will bepresented in church on Mother's Day, Sunday May13th.

Caring Forever awards come only from the earn-ings of the Endowment Fund or from special "an-gel gifts" when the earnings need a little lift.The principal of the Fund - your contributions —are never spent. They stay in the Fund, continu-ing to earn even more to be used for awards inyears to come.

Have questions? Just ask an Endowment Com-mittee member (Gaston Broyles, Beaman Floyd,Marilyn Wade, Deb Erlanson or Doug Wilkins).

CARING FOREVER 2012 AWARD NOMINATION FORM

I nominate the following for the Caring Forever 2012 award:

I believe the award is deserved for the following reasons:

Submitted by: _____________________________ Telephone Number _________________Nominees cannot be a member of SHPC and must use the award for mission, for education for a near-term project orfor an on-going project that needs additional funding. The award is not to be used as a reward for past projects oractions. A Task Force appointed by the Session will review nominations and make a recommendation to the Sessionwhich will then make the final decision.

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HOLY SMOKES ALL-CHURCH PENTECOST BBQ

SAVE THE DATE AND WARM UP YOUR GRILLS

AFTER CHURCH MAY 29TH.

IT’S GONNA BE A PARTY

Journey to AfricaPlease sayhello toourguestsfromManya-mula,Malawi, Africa —the ReverendKeneth Muyila andHeadmistress Ron-ica Ngulube —while they spend afew weeks with us. You willhave several opportunities tohear about the powerful worksof God going on Malawi. Ourbig “connect” event withthem is on April 29th 6- 8pmso mark your calendar.

Did you know that back in 2005,SHPC entered into a covenantof partnership with ManyamulaPresbyterian Church in Malawi,Africa? Included in the 5 pointsof the covenant are agreementsto: establish relationships withone another through writingand visiting, pray for one an-other, learn about each otherand the needs of the respectivecommunities, develop plans toshare resources and work to-gether to proclaim in all of theworld the good news of JesusChrist.

With that in mind, we invitedthe current pastor of the Man-yamula Presbyterian Church,Rev. Keneth Muyila, and theHeadmistress of the ManyamulaFree Primary School, Ms. RonicaNgulube, to come to AustinApril 25th through May 9th.

We are in need of members ofthe congregation to serve as

‘day hosts’ for specific datesand times during their visit.As a day host, you would beresponsible for providing trans-portation to specific events ontheir itinerary, sharing a mealwith them (either at your homeor out at a restaurant) and thenproviding transportation to thenext event, or back to theirhost family.

We are also planning an infor-mal educational forum at SHPCon Saturday morning, April 28th

with Ms. Ronica Ngulube. AllSHPC members would be wel-come to attend, particularlythose that are working in thefield of education.

If you are interested in servingas a day host, helping with theeducational forum, or assistingin any other aspect of planningtheir visit, please contact DianeRamirez atmdramirez6805@sbcglobal.net

Habitat for HumanitySpring Faith Build!Volunteers Needed.Volunteers will be needed on

the following days:April 7 — May 12 — May 19

June 2

Habitat for Humanity is buildinga brand-new home for RosaAviles and her four children.Currently, the family is living ina mobile home with her sisterand her family. Rosa has had a

stable job for thelast 12 years, but herdivorce 5 years agoended with her hus-band leaving and tak-ing everything. To beselected by Habitat for a new,stable home is truly a blessingfor Rosa and her family.

We need a few volunteers tohelp make the Aviles family'sdream of living in their ownhome a reality. Construction/building experience is not re-

quired to participate; allthat is needed is a will-ingness to get yourhands dirty. The buildsusually last from around8 a.m. until 3 or 4 in the

afternoon. All tools and safetyequipment will be provided. Allwork will be done under thesupervision of qualified profes-sionals. Anyone wishing to vol-unteer can contact Mark Bridgesat markbrdgs@gmail.com or905-1484.

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Presbyterian Pan AmericanSchool News (PPAS)submitted by Junie Ledbetter

On April 15th, we will be blessedby a visit from the PresbyterianPan American School Choir — de-tails are still being finalized, butit is sure to be wonderful.

Friends, one of the students thatSHPC has helped through schoolat PPAS has written a happythank you letter to the congrega-tion. I wanted to share it withyou and thought that this mightbe the easiest place to do so!Luis Daniel Victoria writes:

Dear Shepherd of the Hills:

I've never really met you and Istill wonder if I'll ever do that.You know, this is the first time inmy whole life that I'm writing aletter to someone I don't know.It feels strange, but at the sametime it feels good. So, before Istart writing more, let me intro-duce myself. I'm Luis Daniel Vic-toria (Greason). I'm 18 years oldand I'm from the crowded butstill beautiful Mexico City. Rightnow, I'm a senior at PPAS. Fouryears have already passed since Istarted this adventure. I still re-

member the very first day I ar-rived. I was 14 years old and yes,I was more than scared. I justwanted to go home. I didn't likethe fact at having to share aroom and a restroom with 3 otherstrangers. Doing the laundry washorrible. Making new friends washard but I stood still. I trustedthat God was right by my side.

And now that several days havepassed, today I'm about to finishthis journey. There's somethingstrange about this place. To behonest, sometimes I love it, butmany other times I hate it. Andeven though I could say that Idon't like my classes or my crazyteachers, here at Pan Am, I'vegotten things that I know willstay forever in my heart andmind.

It's here where I learned thatbest friends become family. It'shere in this place where I learnedthat God has perfect plans forour lives. I also realized that nomatter how old or how new thelaundry machines might be,washing clothes will always behorrible.

Pan Am taught me to be patient,to wait for the good things to

arrive, to trust, to love, todream. It's here where I achievedall of my biggest goals in life:being accepted at a college inNew York City! Now I see thatwaiting for the things we wanttakes courage and LOTS OF PA-TIENCE. I'm still not sure if I'mgoing there, but I trust thatwherever God sends me, there's areason underneath.

And now, the most importantpart of this letter: THANK YOU!Thank you for your support. To-day you have to know, that mygoals and dreams wouldn't havebeen possible without you. Youalso must know that you're mak-ing a great thing! All of the stu-dents here are thankful for that.And as Mom once told me: "Bigchanges always come from smallideas."

Today I trust that even Pan Am isin a small, boring town, we stillhave a whole life to make a hugeimpact in others' lives — just likeyou did in mine. I could say I'mlucky, but today I prefer to saythat I'm blessed.

THANK YOU AGAIN! Sincerely,Luis Daniel Victoria

Thank you, IHN Volunteers!Thanks to our volunteers during the week of February 19-26, 2012! You have followedGod's command and shown compassion for our brothers and sisters in their time of crisis.

May God's blessings be returned to you.

We can’t do it without our GREAT volunteers! If we've missed your name or misspelled it, pleaselet us know and we do apologize. Stuart McIntire stuart78704@yahoo.com / 788-4455.

Special thanks to Marsha Holt for coordinating meals forus again! Thank you to our: Volunteers-Ben, Tammy,Amaya, and Isaac Boehman; Laura Bost; Todd Calvin;Barbara Christenson; Mike Devlin; Mark & Peggy Fetzer;Carl Floto; Sue Frye; Laura Gore; Don Greathouse; KimGrubb; Greg & Gayle Guernsey; Hilton family; Lee Ann &Adam Hoffman; Linda Icenhauer-Ramirez; Kathleen, Er-ik, Luke, & Owen Manchin; Diane O'Leary; Mo O'Meara;Jodie Ray; Eddie, Stacey, & Casey Reynolds; Laren Schil-ler; Judy, James, & Andrew Schroeder; Anne Streit; Vic-toria & Mark Venditelli; David Wheeler; Tim, Summer,

Josh, & John Whitten; Chester Wuest; Caren Zysk :: Do-nors-Raynell Barry; Allison Boob; Michael Bullock; Harri-et Cavness; Julie Demaree; Lisa Dillard; Mark & PeggyFetzer; Pam Gunter; Jane Hall; Alyssa Hutton; TracyLord; Liz Maxfield; Kristen May; Nancy McDonald; Steph-anie Parker; Muffie Peterson; Kathy Segura; Pat Sey-farth; Jane Staton; Jane Thompson; Karen Thompson;Merijayne Vladyka—working with volunteers from oursupporting churches Faith Presbyterian, Abiding LoveLutheran, & St. Catherine’s

13

ANNIVERSARIES1-Apr Judy & Wolfgang

Behr,Slade & CourtneyCooper

2-Apr Ruben & SuzanneMartinez

3-Apr Mickey & Tamara LandryBell

4-Apr Edward & Angela Bell5-Apr Bob & Raynell Barry,

Charles & Jane Staton6-Apr Lisa & Alfonso Torres7-Apr Jim & Shelley Garrett8-Apr Julie & Richard Bonnin,

Gaston Broyles & JunieLedbetter

10-Apr Glenda & Ron Detling12-Apr Glenn & Jerry Ouzts14-Apr Doug & Debbie Budd,

Gene & Sue Shamburger16-Apr Fred & Sharon Rothert,

Susan & Joe Manzello17-Apr Ryan & Julie Teague21-Apr Tita & Bruce Maxwell24-Apr Nate & Courtney Groves25-Apr Andy & Sheri Albin,

Jimmy & DianaSimmonds

26-Apr Jon-Marc & Kristin Garcia27-Apr Dennis & Pat Low29-Apr Angela & Jeff Peterson30-Apr Greg & Don Anne

Williford

BIRTHDAYS1-Apr Stella Warner, Jody

Barrett, AngelaPeterson, Jessica Landry,Whitney Worthington

2-Apr Pat Haag, JenniferBullock, MarkGreathouse,DanielleSpink,AshleyDeSantis,RileyRuiz,CassandraSegura

4-Apr MarthaDowning, JenniferDeSantis, Addison Macera

5-Apr Laura Kromann, LoganSaari, Payton Lord

6-Apr Melvin Deutsch, KimCline, Jack Nichols

7-Apr Jeff Gerold, Will Bonnin,Greyson Bourgeois,Isabelle Hanna, CarterMcLean

8-Apr Virginia McNutt, KathyProctor, Elyse Manzello,Casey Reynolds, OtisFreytag

9-Apr Margey Harrison, JamesPetty, Woodrow Bush

10-Apr Ann McDaniel, SteveBeard, Julie Teague,Tiffany Cunningham,Drew Cole, Owen French

11-Apr Steven Pearson, AndrewMilam, Taiz Green

12-Apr Sandra Mann, JoyceMcLaughlin

13-Apr David Howard, JamesCognetti, Aaron Dawson,

Michaela Teague,Allison Wade14-Apr Rollin Breed,

Skylar Worthington, JackGillis

15-Apr David Howard,Michael Breed,William Lovelace

16-Apr Liz Valvano, JamesSchroeder

17-Apr Katy Bourgeois, EllenPerkey, Adrian Immitt

18-Apr Larance Coleman, ScottWindham, DavidNgalamulume, GrantRoyer, Kara Kaiser

19-Apr Kathy Coolman, AndreaGerlach, Blair Streit,Lané Reinach

20-Apr Gayle Grance, DarylChalberg, Sam Brinks,Beth Andrade, JasonPerkey, Carmen Johnson,

Lucas Forsythe, ArionMoore, Roxanna Cloyd

21-Apr Steve Calhoun, DawnHouston, Benjamin May,Emmie Knox, DavidLovelace, Max Loos,Michael Bender, DelilahHuntley

22-Apr Greg Biles23-Apr Paula Kemp, Andy

Rooke, Michelle Craft,Dan Valvano, MackAshbaugh, AustinStalbaum

24-Apr Barbara Challis, AlHeinrich, Julie Demaree,Nina Wasserburger, WesCollins, Marianna Floto

25-Apr Verna Hudson, KatieDickinson, Kaylan Berry

26-Apr Ana Rooke, MichaelKilleen, Susan Sprouse

27-Apr John Kaiser, AndrewFranco

28-Apr Bob Beardslee, BruceWarren, ElizabethBuffler, ErikaBockelman, CandiceValdes, MatthewWheeler

29-Apr Andrea Powers30-Apr Carolyn Beardslee, Carl

Floto

Joys – Rod & Nancy Hines are delighted to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Kate, to theirdaughter Traci and son-in-law JustinSorrows – Kim Harkness' sister Beverly Benefield passed away March 20th of sepsis from a staph infection—

Pat Franzolino passed away March 16th; her memorial service was held March 20th at SHPC—lung-cancer suffererNicole Thibert, friend of the Ponts, passed away—Ruth Davis passed away quite unexpectedly June 28, 2011—ModenaDaily's sister, Betty O’Hair, passed away on February 26th—the father of Cecil Moss passed away very recentlyPlease pray for— Alicia Wade’s classmate, Austin Rodgers, in ICU with pneumonia and sepsis—Kim Harkness and

the family of Beverly Benefield—Pat Franzolino’s long-time caregiver, Bonnie Gomez, Pat’s daughter Jenny Sawyer, and theFranzolino family—Chuck Miller, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Kingsville, heart attack—Kevin Robnett, friend of ThureCannon, deploying to Afghanistan—Josh Budd, 15-year-old son of Doug & Debbie Budd, suffering recurrence of seizure activity—Beth Armitage, very ill with pneumonia—Donna Gruver, the Gilchrists' friend, battling cancer—Julian Dixon, 10-yr-old son ofGloria Drake’s daughter’s best friend, extremely ill with meningitis—Gracie, Gloria Drake’s granddaughter, allergic reaction topenicillin—Father Oliver, brain surgery—Jane Hatfield, mother of Stacey Reynolds, undergoing breast cancer treatment—healthimprovement for Sherry & Robert Rasmus’ friend Elizabeth Eckstein, suffering with MS—Wyatt, the special-needs bus driverBarbara Guerrero works with—Judy—Sherry Smith, recovering from a bad fall—Sally Schilstra, quite a lot of pain in her left hip—Sally Schilstra’s uncle, James Howell, undergoing experimental treatment for a blood disorder—Austin, the city where we’replanted—the leadership of SHPC as they discern a path for our future—Pastor Kenneth Muyira & the congregation of ManyamulaPresbyterian Church—Pastor Chimwemwe Mhango and his family

Please pray for members of the Armed Forces, loved ones, and all world leaders involved in war zone crises including:Kevin Robnett, friend of Thure Cannon... John White, Susan’s husband... Mitch Guile, friend of Eddie & StaceyReynolds... Teddy Sweredoski, friend of Stan & Jessica Wade... Lynda & Robert Wade’s niece’s husband DanIreland... David Lee Stowbridge, son of Oscar Erlanson's co-worker Robert Stowbridge... Rebekah Frost,neighbor of the Lawrence family... Pattie Lawrence's cousin, Mark Hollahan… Tyler Moser, son of a friend ofDee & Greg Merrell... Temple & Janet Ingram’s daughter Kate Ingram... Christopher Lehmann, son of MarkLehmann... Larry Roberman, brother of Lori Whitmire... Derek & Kristi Fisher's nephew, John Fisher...

14

As Christians, we must under-stand that the scriptural

theology of music does not of-fer music as a whimsical artform. Unlike the secular world,which has the unbounded liber-ty to use music without regardfor discipline, the church is lov-ingly constrained by a highermandate. To quote Martin Lu-ther:We have put this music on the livingand holy word of God in order to sing,praise, and honor it. We want thebeautiful art of music to be properlyused to serve her dear Creator andHis Christians. He is thereby praisedand honored and we are made betterand stronger in faith when His holyword is impressed on our hearts bysweet music.

More than at any time, theDivine blueprint for music

used in worship demands skill,knowledge, a watchful eye, anattuned ear, and spiritual dis-cernment to avoid music thatcould cause spiritual harm orconfusion in a congregationpopulated by seekers and newChristians. When the churchtakes theological direction in itshighest, purest, and most cre-ative form from Scripture, ithas a refreshing license for afulfilling and exalting sacredand spiritual music experience.The church must never envy,welcome, or mimic the world'spredisposition to do as it de-sires with music. As Igor Strav-insky, 20th-century pianist,composer, and conductor said:The Church knew what the psalmistknew: Music praises God. Music is wellor better able to praise him than thebuilding of the church and all its dec-oration; it is the Church's greatestornament.

Secular music plays to thepleasure of the culture, but

church music serves the pur-pose of the Almighty. The musicin worship services must servethe will of the Creator becauseworldly and sacred music havedifferent functions and servediametrically opposite purpos-es. Within the worship function,music has to be a vehicle forthe serving of grace. But canmusic serve grace when it as-sumes an undisciplined, even awayward manner? Maybe Jo-hann Walther, composer andMartin Luther's cantor, offers adirection in the introduction tohis poem, "In Praise of the No-ble Art of Music":I have just named two reasons why,God gave us music from on high,Those reasons teach us we must use,the gift from heaven as God would

choose,By it let God be glorified,Then let it be our help and guide.

Since this high art most certainly,Was given by God, as all can see,It outshines other arts in name,Nobility, and lasting fame.

For music and theology were given byGod concurrently,

No other arts with it compare,For it breathes purest Gospel air,Exalting Holy Writ on high,And earning highest praise thereby.

Richard C. Resch, associateprofessor of pastoral minis-

try and missions, and cantor ofConcordia Theological Seminaryoffers ten points for a scripturaltheology of music that can pro-vide a foundation upon which tobuild:1. Music is a divine gift.2. Music is a gift in which all angels

and heavenly hosts join mortalswithout ceasing.

3. Music is ordained for use by thechurch.

4. Music teaches doctrine to thechurch.

5. Music carries the confession ofthe faithful.

6. Music is to be a full-throated re-sponse of praise and thanksgivingto God.

7. Music heals, soothes, and drivesaway the devil.

8. Music is powerful.9. Music in the church requires un-

derstanding and a proper spirit.10. Music in the church is led by

those who are skilled.

Dr. Resch also suggests thatcertain elements be re-

moved from church music prac-tice to more closely align with ascripturally based theology ofmusic:� All music that serves other gods� All music that has the goal of pleas-

ing men rather than God� All manipulative uses of music� All that regards the church as a

business and thus exalts the meth-ods and ingenuity of man� All that brings the world's influence

into the gathering of saints aroundthe means of grace� All inconsistency in doctrine and

practice� All that refuses to point heavenward

Truths about appropriate mu-sic for use in worship service

result from discovery of scrip-tural tenets and from what tra-dition bequeaths to us; it is notan invention to be used as ameans to an end. Truths aboutappropriate music for worshipservices remain static andfixed; however, our beliefsabout those truths can be dy-namic and can change becauseof external (temporal, cultural)

Musica Maestoso:Artistic Constraints on the Use of Music for Worship

continued, next page

15

Feel free to tear off and save this page to help you keep on top of everything that’s happening at Shepherd of the Hills!

For updates to rooms and times, visit calendar.shpc.org

1 Sunday PALM SUNDAY11 a.m. First Communion for

Children at the Lord’s Tableparticipants

5:30 p.m. FILO, library5 Thursday MAUNDY THURSDAY

10 a.m. Mary-Martha Circle, B ::ARCM, library

7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday worship8 Sunday EASTER

8, 9, 10:15, 11:30 a.m. Worship10 Tuesday

PrimeTime Retreat begins7 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry, 7

11 Wednesday6:30 p.m. KidStuf!, FMC

12 Thursday PrimeTime Retreat ends7 p.m. Book Group, B

13 Friday true Tween & Mid-high retreat to

Great Wolf Lodge begins14 Saturday

6 p.m. Daddy-Daughter Dance,FMC

15 Sunday true Tween & Mid-high retreat to

Great Wolf Lodge endsMAY NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

17 Tuesday10 a.m. “Groan”-Ups Game Day, 7

19 Thursday10 a.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry, A12 Book Group, 7

20 FridayMAY childcare request deadline

21 Saturday8:35 a.m. LBJ Ranch Tour & Picnic

Lunch (replaces FellowshipLunch Bunch)

22 Sunday9:30 & 11 a.m. Confirmands

received by congregation23 Monday

Guests from Manyamulaarrive

29 Sunday6 p.m. Africa Event, FMC

EACH WEEKSunday

9:30 & 11 a.m. UpStreet, the Ark11 .a.m. Confirmation Class,

Student Activity Center6 p.m. true: high school /

true: deep, Student Ac-tivity Center

Monday9:30 a.m. Disciple 2, FMC7 p.m. Disciple 1, library

Tuesday10 a.m. Icing on the Cake, A

Wednesday5:30 p.m. Dinner @ Wednesday

Night Live6 p.m. true: tween / middle ,

Student Activity Center6:15 p.m. Wednesday Night Live

(except on KidStuf!weeks)

6:30 p.m. Foundations, 77:30 p.m. Praise & Worship Team

rehearsal, sanctuaryThursday

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers) / MYC(Mothers of YoungChildren) Devotional,FMC

10 a.m. Association of RetiredChristian Men, B (not1st Thursdays)

7 p.m. Worship Choir re-hearsal, sanctuary

Classical guitarist and church musician Donn LeVie Jr. is the author of It's AllAbout HYMN: Essays on Reclaiming Sacred Music and Traditional Hymns,which was the Winner of the 2011 Global eBook Award for Christian Non-Fic-tion. He is also the author of Instrumental Influences: Reflections on theClassical Guitar from the Instrument's Most Influential Performers and Peda-gogues, which was the Runner-Up of the 2011 Global eBook Award for Per-

influences and pressures. Truthis unchangeable when assailedby beliefs, no matter how sin-cere. The roar of scriptural pre-scription for music in worshipservices is louder than any at-tempted worldly justification tothe contrary.

There is room for both theold and the new in congre-

gations, whether we offer cen-turies-old church music orworks created by contemporarychurch music

composers/musicians. Howev-er, we must continue to rely onspiritual discernment to ascer-tain that which is appropriatefor God's glory and not use it tojustify the veneration of man(that is, our "personal prefer-ences").

Charlotte Kroeker, directorof the Church Music Initia-

tive for the University of NotreDame, writes that:

Perhaps for the first time in histo-ry, the amount of religious music

available has never been greater,requiring a level of discernmentnot always demanded by prior gen-erations.

The church musician —whether serving as choir

director, choirmember/vocalist, accompanist,instrumentalist — is an impor-tant filter through which thebyproducts of that discernmentare manifested to the congre-gation.

continued from page 14