Published by Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian ChurchFebruary 2012 Issue 2

Praise for the Past, Faithfor the Future 1-3

Worship 4Valentine’s Dinner 4Serve 4-5Grow: Adult 6-8, 11-12Grow: Children 9-10Grow: Student 12Connect, Concerns & Calen-dar 4, 12-15

Sermons for February

Feb 5 John 3:16-17 John 13:3-5

Moving TowardTransformation

Feb 12Moving Toward Freedom

Feb 19Moving Toward Trust

Feb 26Moving Toward Life

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

Names Are Important

Names are important, a reflec-tion of who you are. This is why

Abram became Abraham, Simonbecame Peter, and Saul becamePaul: they each took on a new out-ward name to reflect an inwardchange of character. So what doyou name a truly strategic capitalcampaign? One that not only buildsbrick and mortar, but also furthersthe church's mission by replicatingitself at multiple sites? We consid-ered this question at the first capi-tal campaign meeting, and weunanimously selected Praise for thePast, Faith for the Future.

First and foremost, this name re-flects the prayerful approach we

want to guide this campaign season.Each day for the next five weeksSHPC will offer devotions to theLord. We will start this process bygiving Praise for the Past, becausewe recognize that God is doinggreat things in, around, and throughSHPC. We will then turn our atten-tion to praying for our future as atransformative, life-giving church,praying that we will faithfully re-spond to the vision God has given usto become one church at three lo-cations in five years. It is my hopethat each of you will personally join

in this process by reflecting uponand praising God for what He is do-ing in your life, prayerfully consid-ering what God is calling you to doin his Kingdom and, finally, givingas you feel called to this campaign.

This name also acknowledges thatthis campaign plays a unique

role as a hinge in the story of SHPC.We offer praise for the generosityof this congregation in past cam-paigns that built the church on Wil-liam Cannon and paid for the landon 290 (which we now own free andclear). We have faith that God willbuild upon this successful campaignwith another to build out our thirdsite within five years. The HolySpirit is indeed at work here, doinggreat things in, around, and throughSHPC. Praise God!

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February Leadership MeetingsOur Praise for the Past, Faith for the FutureCampaign is launching on February 5th and run-ning through the weekend of March 4th. In thenext couple of weeks, there will be opportuni-ties for families in our church who would like tomake their financial commitment to the Cam-paign in advance of the rest of the congregation.The meetings will be held in the Family MinistryCenter at the following times.

� Monday, February 6 from 7 – 8:30pm

� Tuesday, February 7 from 6:30 – 8:00pm

� Thursday, February 9 from noon – 1:30pm

� Thursday February 9 from 7 – 8:30pm

Childcare will be provided at each meeting.

If you would like to participate in this opportuni-ty, please email us at multisite@shpc.org orcall Belva at the church office 892-3580. If youwill be utilizing childcare, let us know how manychildren and their ages.

A Season of PrayerAnd then they had entered, they went up to the upperroom, where they were staying, that is Peter and Johnand James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomewand Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon theZealot and Judas the son of James. These all with onemind were continually devoting themselves to prayer,along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, andwith his brothers. -Acts 1: 13-14.

This month, as we begin our Praise for thePast, Faith for the Future campaign, we knowthat prayer is the key to being the church Godwants us to be; it is only if we are in relation-ship with Him, that will we know how He wantsus to proceed. The session and other leaders inthe church have been praying about the futureof our church for the past year. Now, we inviteevery member and friend of SHPC to enter intoa season of prayer during the five weeks of ourcampaign. Beginning February 5th, a daily prayerguide will be distributed to all members. Thiswill be an opportunity for each one of us tospend a brief time each day, meditating onscripture and praying for the future of ourchurch, as we embark on a new and excitingphase of our life together.

Prayer WalkBecause we believe that prayer is the key to astrong and vibrant church, the SHPC PrayerMinistry invites all members and friends to joinin a prayer walk around our William Cannoncampus on Sunday, Februrary 26th, between6 p.m. and 8 p.m. as part of our Praise forthe Past, Faith for the Future campaign.

Prayer walking is a type of intercessory prayer.It is simply praying in the very places that weexpect to see God bring the answers to ourprayers. Prayer walkers are encouraged towalk the William Cannon campus and pray foreach area of our campus — thanking God forwhat He has done in this place in the past,thanking God for what He is doing in this placeright now and for what He has called us to do

in the future. At each prayer station, prayerwalkers will be guided in prayers for the peo-ple that will use the facilities on Sundays andthroughout the week, for the lives that will bechanged through the ministries that go onthroughout this campus, for the Brodie Lanecampus that will open this fall, and for theoutdoor ministries on the 290 campus that willbegin in the near future.

Prayer walkers may come and go as they wish.Childcare will be provided.Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thank-ful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door forour message, so that we may proclaim the mystery ofChrist . . . -Colossians 4: 2-3

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Save the Date:Celebration Sunday!Celebration Sunday is right around the corner!On March 4th, from 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., our en-tire congregation will gather together at theHighway 290 property for a worship service, ca-tered lunch, fun and fellowship. We will cele-brate our church's vibrant past while lookingforward to what lies ahead in our future: onechurch at three locations in five years. Youwon't want to miss it! Childcare will be providedat the church (see Camp Acorn information).

Camp AcornSunday, March 4th

9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.In conjunction with our Celebra-tion Service on Sunday,March 4th, we are offeringCamp Acorn for our young-est members, nursery through Grade 4!

While the adults (and grades 5-12) “branch out”for worship and lunch on the Hwy 290 land, thechildren will be “nesting in” at the church for afun-filled morning of activities and entertain-ment, and a lunch of their own. Care will be pro-

vided by our familiar and loving Sunday morningstaff.

Camp Acorn drop-off starts at 9 a.m., and pick-up is from 1:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch is provided, oryour child can bring his or her own.

Please register at acorncamp.event.shpc.org

SHPC Valentine’s DinnerOur Valentine’s Dinner is right around the corner! Reserve the evening of

Sunday February 12th, starting at 6 p.m., for a wonderful dinner with yourwonderful friends at SHPC.

For $20 per person, you will be entertained, amused, and exceptionally well-fed as you chat with friends old and new. Reservations must be paid for in ad-

vance as seating is limited.

Our menu? Catered again by the lovely Beth Watson and the Our Lady of theLunch team, we will be serving:

pecan crusted chicken with champagne cream reduction sauce orroasted sirloin :: buttered new potatoes :: fresh vegetable medley:: salad of mixed baby greens with grape tomatoes, shredded Par-mesan, and pesto vinaigrette :: homemade bread :: assorted des-

serts

Free childcare will be available for children through 5th grade, with prior reser-vation.

Register in the narthex today —or—check members.shpc.org to see when online signups become available.

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1. We would love to have peo-ple run for Manos in the Lives-trong 26 Miles for 26 Charitieshalf-marathon and marathon races. You canfind more info here:www.manosdecristo.org/marathon.html

2. We are looking for someone that has experi-ence with plumbing or carpentry, and wouldprovide volunteer or donated work to renovatethe Manos food pantry and clothes closet in thefuture.

Interested? Contact: Lily Lombardi/Manosllombardi@manosdecristo.org (phone:512.477.7454 x106) or Lisa Teeple/SHPCleccentric@juno.com (phone: 512.288.5591).

To all who purchased and enjoyed Tamales fromManos de Cristo this Christmas, thank you somuch! We were 1 of 13 churches participating,and 1154 dozen were sold across all the churchesduring the fundraiser.

news

COME IN OUT OF THECOLD!SHPC is once again partici-pating in the Cold WeatherShelter which is the organization of a fewarea churches that provide shelter at CentralPresbyterian to give the homeless women ofAustin a warm place to spend the night.Since freezing nights occur only a few timesduring the season this is one ministry thatwill not take a huge chunk out of your busyschedule. On Tuesdays in January and Tues-days and Thursdays in February, SHPC is re-sponsible for feeding dinner to the womenand providing overnight supervision. We needtwo or more volunteers to provide the meal,and one or two to spend the night. Pleaseconsider giving of your time to help someone“come in out of the cold!” Please contactLinda Wheeler at 292-0116 orsweetangel0012003@yahoo.com to volunteer!

This year I washonored to have

been given a sabbati-cal! This is something Inever ever dreamed ofreceiving. Who wouldever care for me that much? "I'm just the youthguy/mission guy.” Well y'all did, and I am sothankful for the chance to rest and reconnect.

During the time away I attended:

preaching conferences — leadership confer-ences — classes in the art of video special ef-fects for use in worship —

and of course I also simply rested and enjoyedmy family. I now know why people love and livefor weekends. It’s the time when people areavailable to get together and relax. I feel as thetime away gave me fresh eyes for what I do andwhat we do at SHPC.

The sabbatical time also gave me time tothink about big stuff like the state of the

church and my role as a pastor, father and manwho is need of a savior. The sabbatical gave metime to be fully engaged with my family. I lovethem a lot (even more after this summer in Cali-fornia). As my sabbatical time drew to a close inDecember, I whisked my family off to DisneyWorld to celebrate the both the new year and21 years of marriage to an amazing woman. Wehad an awesome week of rides, fun, dining andrelaxation. All this happened because SHPCcared enough to make me stretch and grow...and for that I am so thankful.

Humblyin your service

February 22nd, 7:30 p.m.Join us!Child care will be avail-able for ages 0 to pre-K.

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SHPC Chooses to Serve!Angel Tree had another successful holiday sea-son when nearly 400 angels were taken fromthe church Christmas tree meaning almost 200people received gifts for Christmas from SHPC.Those receiving gifts were boys from Presbyte-rian Children's Home & Services group home inAustin, economically disadvantaged childrenfrom Trinity Child Development Center, prison-ers' families through Prison Fellow-ship, and newly-arrived refugeesthrough Refugee Services of Tex-as.

It was a monu-mental task to assem-ble wish lists, toprepare and hang angels, to sign-out angels, tocollect and sort gifts and to deliver gifts.Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyonewho helped.

When one of the volunteers called to set updelivery for a prisoner's five children, theguardian began to cry. She had been called inearly November when wish lists were beingcompiled, but, apparently, she didn't expect usto follow through with gifts.

If you want to put more joy into your adventseason, volunteer to help this year. We're al-ready planning for 2012 Angel Tree.

DRIVERS NEEDED!Faith in Action Caregivers is afaith-based local ministrySHPC has been involved infor over three years.When a person does notdrive a car, he or she has few affordable trans-portation options in the Austin, TX vicinity.Family members may not always be availableand taxi services may cost too much for peopleon fixed incomes. If you have time once ortwice a month to drive an elderly person to amedical appointment or have a couple ofhours in a morning to do a simple task suchas changing a light bulb, please contact BillGoodman, SHPC's co-ordinator, to volunteer!Bill can be reached at 512-858-7350 orgoodman475@gmail.com .

Our guests are coming!IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network) guests are families with children who, because of a crisis situationin their lives, have lost their homes. The program provides for them to live at Austin area churcheswhile they find housing and get back on their feet.

During the week of February 19th — 26th, four IHN families will live at our church and will befed and sheltered by volunteers at our church. This is your opportunity to help these familiesthrough this time of crisis. Tasks performed by hosts (SHPC folk and members of Faith Presby-terian Church and Abiding Love Lutheran Church) include:

Young children make excellent hosts, because the guests are mostly young children. Sign up inthe narthex for this volunteer opportunity or contact Stuart McIntire stuart78704 @ yahoo.com/ 788-4455 or Lara Manire 922-3615.

Move-in: Sunday 12:30 – move guests’ belongingsand bedding into rooms and set-up

Breakfast Servers: 5:45 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.Dinner Preparers: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Overnight Host: 8:00 p.m. to 7:15 a.m.Evening Host: 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Saturday Hosts and lunch: several shiftsSupply Donors: all weekTransportation Volunteers and Linen Washers.Move-out: Sunday 6:30 am – load guests’ belongings

on trailer, clean and straighten up church, trans-port guests to Day Center, and take trailer tonext church

Volunteers are needed at both thePresbyterian Boys and the Girls Hometo provide extra services. (Examples:

homework assistance, supervision,transportation, occasional meals, etc.)

Please contact the Rev. NancyMossman at 512-476-1234 or

Nancy.Mossman@pchas.org

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Recently, on the sign in frontof a country church, I saw

this bit of wisdom: "God IS God- He's not applying for the job."I think this is something we allmay need to be reminded offrom time to time. And it fits inwell with Pastor Larry's sermonsin the "I Am" series.

In recent sermons we haveheard about Moses and how,

when he asked for God's name,he was told, "I am." Scholarshave disagreed somewhat overthe exact form of the verbtense used. Some think he actu-ally said, "I am who I am" or "Iam being." But in any case thebasic meaning is "God IS God."There are no descriptions ornames which can fully describehim. There are no words thatcan put him neatly in a clearlydefined box tied up with a neatbow. In the Genesis story, man-kind is given dominion over theanimals and this is illustratedby his power to give themnames. Mankind is given nosuch power over God.

In the New Testament stories,the Jews are shocked by Je-

sus' "I am" statements becausethey realize what he is claimingin such statements. In the be-ginning of the Gospel of John itis explained like this, "In thebeginning was the Word, andthe Word was with God. He wasin the beginning with God. Allthings came into being throughhim, and without him not onething came into being." Christ is

God and is at the center andcause of all being.

However, we live in a "cafe-teria" world full of designer

choices. Even when choosing asoft drink we can have diet orwith sugar, or with real canesugar. We can have it with orwithout caffeine or with extracaffeine. And we can have theadded flavor of cherry, lime, orvanilla. In fact, it is the currentfashion at some eating estab-

lishments to have special drinkmachines which provide literal-ly thousands of possible combi-nations of drink choices. And sowe begin to feel that we are incontrol and filled with powerand that we can have whateverwe desire.

So, we sometimes forget that"God IS God - He's not apply-

ing for the job." We delude our-selves into thinking that God iswhatever we want him to be ata given time. We get puffed upwith pride and think that weget to decide what God is like.We think we don't need to study

the Bible to learn about God.Or even if we do study, wethink we have the power to pickand choose the parts we likeand ignore the parts we don't.We think if perhaps we get to-gether with a group of like-minded people and take a vote,that settles it — God is what wechoose. Oh, and by the way, weare so very magnanimous thatwe also decide that other peo-ple can choose for God to bewhatever they want him to bealso. That way, we can all con-veniently have whatever wewant, just like choosing our softdrinks.

BUT - "God IS God - He's notapplying for the job." What-

ever God is in his eternal "be-ingness," he just IS what he is.It is not our place to choose. Itis our calling to simply be inrelationship with him as bestwe can. Pastor Larry likes toput it like this: "We give all weknow of ourselves to all weknow of God." We should leaveourselves open to God as hechooses to reveal himself to us.

And how are we to relate tothis God who IS God? The

Shorter Westminster Catechismexplains it like this: "Man's chiefend is to glorify God, and toenjoy him forever." Amen.

God said to Moses,'I AM WHO I AM.' Hesaid further, 'Thusyou shall tell themI AM has sent you.'

— Exodus 3:14 NRSV

God IS God

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Senior Christmas Boxes Recap

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE who participated inthe third annual Senior Christmas Boxes

project. Thanks to SHPC, we provided 102 boxeswhich Meals on Wheels distributed to seniorswho needed something at Christmas. These peo-ple, our neighbors, know that someone caredabout them at Christmas time.

SPECIAL THANKS TO CHILDREN’S Ministry, whichgave us 84 child-made Christmas cards to dis-

tribute with the Senior Christmas Boxes. Thesepieces of original art were a wonderful reminderof Christian love.

Welcome to February: Soup to NutsFebruary 21, 2012 at 11 a.m. in the FamilyMinistry Center (FMC).CELEBRATE MARDI GRAS AT SHPC! Join us for a per-formance by magician John Maverick and a "FatTuesday" Cajun luncheon ofchicken and sausage gumboand Kings Cake prepared byOur Lady of the Lunch, BethWatson. Cost is $7.00 perperson. Reserve your placeby phoning Pat Haag (512)288-3479 or Norma Burchard(512) 394-0131 by February17th.

JOHN MAVER-ICK IS A ma-

gician,storyteller,actor, alche-mist, biblio-phile,inventor, collector of deadly things, fire-eater,theologian, rain forest explorer, scientist, fortu-neteller, dreamer and snappy dresser. Maverickcomes from a long line of storytellers, some pro-fessional; others reserved their gift for the din-ner table. He was first introduced to the art of

magic by "The Great Scott" at his fifth birthdayparty and Maverick has been in love with the artform ever since. Through the years he has foundthat he views the world around him very differ-ently than anyone else. Maverick uses his magicto tell the story of this parallel world.

Mark Your Calendar for March

JOIN US FOR ANOTHER Classic Movie in the FMCafter the second service on Sunday, March

11th. We will have a light lunch "drafthouse-style" and another classic movie.San Antonio Mission Trail Bus Trip, March 21st

THIS YEAR, WE WILL take a chartered bus trip toSan Antonio to explore centuries of the histo-

ry and culture of four missions on the MissionTrail in San Antonio. Visit Mission Concepción,Mission San José, Mission San Juan Capistranoand Mission San Francisco de la Espada with aprofessional tour guide.Learn about mission lifein the 18th century andits place in Texas heri-tage.

LEAVE FROM SHPC ONWednesday, March

21st at 8 a.m. via char-tered bus (handicap accessible). Visit 4 missionsand enjoy a picnic lunch on one of the missionsgrounds. Return to SHPC at about 5 p.m.

THIS TRIP IS OPEN to all SHPC adults. The $35price includes the bus, professional guide,

box lunch, gratuities and entrance fees. Pay-ment of by check or cash in the narthex on Feb-ruary 26th and March 11th will hold your seat.

Springing Ahead and into the Summer

APRIL - SATURDAY, APRIL 21st, join PrimeTime aswe carpool to the LBJ Ranch National Park.

We will tour the Texas White House includingsome newly opened parts of the LBJ home. Wewill join a small group led by Harry Middleton,staff assistant to LBJ and former Director of theLBJ Library and Museum for a discussion of the

"Doing His Part To 'Keep Austin Weird!'"-Austin American-Statesman

".. much more than just a great magi-cian. - a great entertainer!"

-Cy Albertson,Magic Store Owner and Performer

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LBJ years. A box lunch on the grounds isplanned. Watch for more details on our e-mail-ing list, or in other SHPC publications.More dates to save -

MAY 24 – TRAILER Food Crawl - a trip to Austin'sfood trailers for lunchJUNE 6 – KAYAKING on Lady Bird LakeJUNE 26 – ROAD Trip to Opie's Barbeque inSpicewood

Fellowship Lunch Bunch – February 18th

JOIN WITH THE FEBRUARY 18th Fellowship LunchBunch at Red Lobster Restaurant, located at

3815 South Lamar Blvd. Please make your reser-vation by contacting Ron or Trinka Miller no lat-er than February 16th, phone 512-892-1862 orronald.miller1333@sbcglobal.net . The lun-cheon begins at 11:30 a.m., and the restaurantmanagement has agreed to provide separatechecks for your order. The biscuits are still ter-rific.

More groups through February:ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED CHRISTIAN MEN gath-

ers (almost) every Thursday at 10 a.m. inportable B. We won’t meet the 5th, due toMary-Martha Circle, but we’re here the restof the time! Come one, come all! ContactRon Miller, 512-892-1862 orronald.miller1333@sbcglobal.net .

GROAN-UPS GAME DAY: Tuesday, February 14th

at 10 a.m. in Room 7. Join us for SpinnerDominoes or a game of your choice. Formore information, contact Stefan Haag at288-3479.

MARY-MARTHA CIRCLE will meet Thursday,February 2nd at 10 a.m. in Portable B. Ourlesson will be “The World in God’s Embrace,”from our study God’s Promises That Keep Us.Call Diane O’Leary, 263-5592, if you have anyquestions.

FILO in FebruaryWe're going to be having another fun-filledmonth in February with FILO! Join us for thesocial event for the month; a Football GameWatching Party (bet you can guess which one!)at the Uzzles' house. Kickoff for the game thisyear is February 5th at 5:30 p.m.Baked potatoes and all the fixingswill be provided by the Uzzles,guests please bring an appetizer.

February 12th will be our regularlyscheduled study group; we will becontinuing with the Rob Bell Noomaseries. For this session only, wehave a change in location. The study will beat the Perkeys' house, at the usual time(5:30 – 7 p.m.), due to the church Valen-tine's dinner taking place the same evening.

Finally, we will be having the next in theFILO educational series, which is open to allchurch members! Strategic Shopping &Saving Money – February 19th 5:30 p.m. atSHPC Ever wondered how the "extreme cou-

poners" do it? Learn how to apply their methodsand approaches to your family's weekly shop-ping trips, in a very manageable way, to posi-tively affect your budget's bottom line. Learnways to save money on groceries, shopping, eat-ing out, entertainment — all without changingyour lifestyle! If possible, bring a laptop com-

puter. Questions? Wendy Uzzleuzzle08@gmail.com or 919-827-5992 .

FILO young adults showing off their tacky sweaterentries from the FILO-z Navidad Christmas Party

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Children’s Ministry NewsWEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE STARTSFEBRUARY 1st!Please join us for our OPEN HOUSE in theFamily Ministry Center on Wednesday, Feb-ruary 1st from 6:30-7:30 p.m. to meet ourUpStreet leadership teams and find out moreabout how your elementary-agers kiddos canget involved with one of the following:

� Children at the Lord’s Table Workshop:learning more about the sacraments

� Drama

� Choir

� Chimes

Dates for WNL Kids’ Choice Session I will be:February 15, 22, 29 / March 21, 28

Wondering how to squeeze in dinner before-hand? No worries…a catered meal and fellow-ship with other families is available in thenarthex from 5:30-6:15 p.m. Mark your calen-dar now to let Chef Beth cook for you andyour family before Wednesday Night Kids’Choice!

Go ORANGEsubmitted by Pattie Lawrence

My kids are 7th graders now. Not my daughter –Faith is in 3rd grade. The kids I’m talking aboutare my SHPC small group kids, who my friendMary and I have been shepherding since theywere 2nd graders! Each Sunday, we look forwardto getting together with our friends and learningmore about God and our relationship with Jesus.At the end of our time together, we pray withour students and send them on their way. Wecheck in sometimes to see how their week isgoing, and then we look forward to seeing themagain the following Sunday.

I recently had the opportunity to attend an Or-ange conference in Houston with some friendsfrom church. The premise behind ‘Orange’ isthat Yellow represents the Light of the Church,Red represents the Heart of the Home, and theYellow and Red come together to create Or-ange, a program which supports children fromcradle to college. I enjoy seeing this weekly asFaith comes home on Sundays excited aboutwhat her awesome small group leaders and Up-Street team are teaching her, and as my stu-dents who I’ve come to know and love engageweekly on a deeper level when we have discus-sions about their successes, their failures, andtheir relationships withfriends, family, and God.

My hope is that all stu-dents are able to recitescripture (that’s impor-tant!), have relationshipswith their small groupleaders (also important!),and that their love andfaith in Jesus as our savioris supported and devel-oped at church on Sun-days, and also throughout the week. Thesechildren will someday leave elementary / mid-dle / high school and become young adults whowe all pray are as enthusiastic about their rela-tionship with Jesus as when they were in pre-

HONORLetting someone know you see how valuable they really are

school. I pray that whenthey leave SHPC to attendcollege or work, they areable to continue to shareChrist’s love with thosethey encounter in theworld. I am glad I attend-ed the Orange conferencerecently. I am encouragedto see what happens in thelives of all our students atSHPC, including my 7th

graders and my daughter, Faith. May God blessthem all, and may they all feel God’s love andtheir family’s support through the children’sprograms we offer at SHPC.

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more Children’s Ministry News

submitted by Pattie Lawrence

January has been an exciting month at SHPCPreschool! The children returned from CHRIST-mas vacation with boundless energy, whichthey put to good use during our Winter Won-derland. The day was complete with our annu-al Snowball Bonanza, in which 1000 pounds ofice are shaved into ‘snow’. The snow is usedto make snowmen, snowballs, and makes for afrosty fun time!! Inside the church, one of theclassrooms wasset up as an‘ice skatingrink’. The chil-dren slid theirfeet into emp-ty tissue box-es, whichserved as iceskates, andhad the chanceto ‘skate’around thechilly room.The kids also

threw ‘snowballs’ and had fun on ‘sleds’ (emp-ty boxes with felt on the bottom). Afterward,the children enjoyed a hot chocolate andmarshmallow treat.

The children even enjoyed a visit from Santa.We pray that everyone has a wonderful 2012…Happy New Year!

We will be offering CHILDREN AT THE LORD’S TABLE, a class on the sacraments of Communionand Baptism for children who are currently in second through fifth grades, during ourWednesday Night Live program (which begins February 1st). This 5-week session will take placeon Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on February 15, 22, 29, March 21 and 28.

If your child would like to participate, please attend our Open House onWednesday, February 1st, at 6:30 p.m. in the Family Ministry Center or con-tact Pastor Britta at britta@shpc.org or 892-3580, ext. 107.

We realize how difficult it can be for children to understand church sacra-ments, so the purpose of this 5-week session is to give them a better graspof Baptism and Holy Communion, as well as the meanings of each. Becausewe also realize that teaching the basics of our Christian faith can be fun,

these sessions are designed to be engaging and action-packed, completewith games, hands-on activities and discussions that families can en-joy together.

First Communion and public recognition will take place on PalmSunday, April 1st, at the 11:00 a.m. worship service.children at the Lord’s table

Camp Acorn! March 5th!Read more on page 3

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St. Augustine once wrote,"Qui cantat, bis orat" ("he

who sings, prays twice"): musicby itself can express prayerfulthoughts separate from thewords of the prayer that wasset to music. We are oftencharmed by a particular musicalpassage underlying the poetic,lyrical content of a hymn, for itis a gracious gift indeed to beable to consciously discriminatesuch sensory input at differentlevels of awareness.

However, we need exercisecaution when defining or

characterizing sacred music inlight of any spiritual or religiousfeelings such music may bringforth for individuals or congre-gations. Our fleeting emotionsare subject to external influ-ences, are relative to the mo-ment, and can falsely portrayas sanctified and holy thatwhich we might otherwisedeem as subjective in nature.When the music itself becomesthe object of our joy, we havemisdirected our focus awayfrom the purpose of music asused in worship much the way asmall child is absorbed by thebeautiful wrapping paper thatonce concealed a gift ratherthan the gift itself.

The emotions can be trickedinto a type of Pavlov's Dog

stimulus-response behavior,especially with music for wor-ship that is designed to manipu-late our sentiments andfeelings. People can experiencespiritual or religious emotionswhen subjected to music thatsounds sacred in tone, tempo,and form-even when that music

is from a Hollywood moviesoundtrack.

Several years ago, I had twogroups of 10 people listen to

the same piece of music as partof an experiment. The firstgroup was told the title of themusic was "The Empty Tomb,"and asked to relate their emo-tional responses to the music.All ten experienced various lev-els of religious and spiritualemotions to the piece.

The second group was toldthe actual title of the piece

("Yoda's Theme" from the StarWars movie, The Empire StrikesBack), and asked to relate anyparticular emotional responseto the piece. Only two of themembers of this second groupreported experiencing any reli-gious or spiritual emotions. Theleading and fictitious title forthe first group set up an expec-tation to which the emotionsgladly played along, highlight-ing the problem of attachingtoo much validity to emotion-based experience-especiallywhen music is involved.

However, emotion is the life-blood of music; it is not

only a creative expression ofthe soul; it also serves as anescape route for the innerheartfelt passions of composerand audience alike. Both Mozartand Haydn (and many othercomposers) incorporated por-tions of their secular cantatasand operas into their sacredmusic compositions; many ofBach's sacred music works arevirtually indistinguishable fromhis secular ones. Yes, musiccannot help divorce itself from

the manipulative aspect of itscharacter for it is a major com-ponent of its DNA, yet we canclearly delineate and associatecertain types of music with giv-en emotional responses.

The church has a long historyof commissioning sacred

music works from the genius ofClaudio Monteverdi, GiovanniPalestrina, Josquin des Pres,Franz Joseph Haydn, J.S. Bach,and many others. And with theReformation, hymn writingsoared through the Great Awak-enings and revivals of the 17th,18th, and early 19th centuriesfrom the pens of Isaac Watts,Fanny Crosby, John Wesley andCharles Wesley, to name a few.Contemporary hymn writers arevery active blending theologi-cally sound texts in modern ver-nacular with simple melodiclines that facilitate participa-tion by all age groups in thecongregation. Contemporarysacred music composers such asJohn Tavener, John Rutter, andArvo Pärt are creating incredi-bly rich, profound works forchoirs, painting with new orcomplex tonal textures on thenever-changing canvas of thegospel. There is so much other"contemporary Christian music"being composed and performedtoday that bypasses the cul-ture's attention-and that of themedia as well.

Perhaps more focused criteriafor discriminating music for

worship would include: (1) thepurpose for which the piece ofmusic was written (for perfor-mance in church to celebrate a

Musica Maestoso:Emotion in Music: Points of Reference

continued, next page

12

particular Christian season, to define or separatea specific portion in the order of service); (2)the strength of the theological content and con-text of the lyrics (does it uphold a biblical Chris-tian worldview); and (3) how the piece of musicis used as an offering or sacrifice in Christiancommunal worship (is it a choir introit, a congre-gation-sung hymn or psalm, or an instrumentalpiece or solo piece). When we consider purpose,theological strength of lyrical content, and spe-cific application of music for worship, perhapsthese criteria work in concert to direct our emo-tions to bear on the true object of our worship.

I wrote It's All About HYMN: Essays on Reclaim-ing Sacred and Traditional Music for Worship

to provide a church musician's perspective onthe issue of music for worship and to addressspecific issues not attended to by other authors.My latest book in progress, Safeguarding theSanctuary: Guarding Against Cultural Trojan

Horses in Christian Worship, is a continuation ofthis perspective. While the emphasis in this workfocuses on music choices for Christian worship,we also must be vigilant for any and all culturalTrojan horses being introduced into our sanctu-aries by a contemporary culture that seeks equi-librium in compromise.

Compromise is the result of parties workingtogether; but compromise often appears as

neutrality in disguise. When it comes to exoner-ating the Christian worldview-whether inthought, word, or action-there is no such thingas neutrality because of our fundamental Chris-tian presuppositions. The Apostle Paul tells us to"make every thought captive," which rules outengaging in compromise on many levels. Whenwe agree to compromise in what we allow in thehallowed halls of sanctuaries, have we not con-ceded the integrity of our Christian worldview tothe influence of more worldly perspectives?

Classical guitarist and church musician Donn LeVie Jr. is the author of It's All About HYMN: Essays on Reclaiming Sa-cred Music and Traditional Hymns, which was the Winner of the 2011 Global eBook Award for Christian Non-Fiction.He is also the author of Instrumental Influences: Reflections on the Classical Guitar from the Instrument's Most Influ-ential Performers and Pedagogues, which was the Runner-Up of the 2011 Global eBook Award for Performing Arts.

continued from page 11

Student Ministry Summer Dates!Our tentative dates for summer camps are be-ing set. Please save the following dates foryour student to be able to join us!

Family Corpus Christi Mission Trip ¡June22nd-25th, cost TBD

SHPC VBS ¡ June4th-8th (we need allour students to help!)

High School MissionTrip to Tennessee ¡ July 1st-7th $400

HIgh School Summer Conference at South Pa-dre Island ¡ July 8th-13th $400

CLUB H20 ¡ July 16th-20th (we need manyhigh school helpers)

Tween & Middle School Great Escape in TwinLakes Mississippi ¡ July 21th-28th

Please mark your calendars. We want EVERYstudent at SHPC to go to camp AND serve theChurch this year!

Tary Snyder, our tireless lead for SHPC’s Disas-ter Response ministry, was recently recognizedby our mission partner, Austin Disaster ReliefNetwork, for his hard work. He comments:

I humbly accept this recognition from ADRN onbehalf of all the people - youth, adults, andthe Silver Stars who have participated in Disas-ter Response activities in Round Rock, Oak Hill,Spicewood, and most recently with ABC’s EX-TREME MAKEOVER in Bastrop! God bless all ofyou!

13

ANNIVERSARIES1-Feb J.W. & Marilyn

Cook,Vada & HollisBoehme

3-Feb Allen & Pam Gunter, Sid& Mary Helen MacAllister

5-Feb Tom & Jan Fiedler6-Feb Doug & Teresa Riffey,

Greg & Gayle Guernsey7-Feb Louis & Brittany Cantu9-Feb Tom & Gena VanOsselaer10-Feb Frances & Ted Miller,

Karmen & Jeff Miller,Tom & Kim Harkness,Gerard & MargeyHarrison

11-Feb Don & Rita Nowakowski12-Feb Arlan & Sharon Conner18-Feb Carl & Mary

Luttenbacher20-Feb Vincent & Andrea

Giovanniello21-Feb Robert & Alice Kouts24-Feb Bill & Madeline Brock,

Mike & Teena Davis28-Feb Gene & Lynn Wright,

James & Jennifer Moore

BIRTHDAYS1-Feb Charles Staton, Jonathan

Kluckhohn, Addy Nichols2-Feb Fran Miller, Ofelia

Tabora, Martyn Buffler,Julie Walker, BenjaminMilam

3-Feb Valerie Aman,StephanieParker,NathanBender

4-Feb MikeHenderson, TracyLord,KelseyStromberg

5-Feb Nancy McDonald, KarlaSnell, Deborah Wagner,Sue Frye

6-Feb Annie Ward, KathySegura, Matt Lopez,Benjamin Spink

7-Feb Jinny Thompson, AlanHanna, Lindsey Morales,Ian Boyce

8-Feb Peggy Platt, Paul Kuper,Madeleine Ngalamulume,Abby Sims

9-Feb Jaco Steynberg, AnnaOlson, Clay Cortez, Jack

Simmons, CharlotteMilam

10-Feb Glen Vorwerk, JackCrump, Linda Icenhauer-Ramirez, Randy Webb,Wendy Saari, JessicaStathos, Kat Zuraitis,Travis Saari, BrooksGonzales, Kaitlin Kaiser

11-Feb David Howard,Hilda Harnden, LindseyWheeler, KeivaunWaugh

12-Feb JenniferMcDaniel, StanleyCrawford, Reis Parsons,

Jordan Biles13-Feb Alice

Moore, Sam Countess,Derek Fisher, JenniferCranfill, Reed Cozart

14-Feb Debbie Breed, PhillipCallahan, Katie Floyd

15-Feb Dustin DeVries, JoeyBarrett

16-Feb Mark Thompson, ShaeWilkins, Adam Pellerin,Lily Harris

17-Feb Pamela Walsh, MasonMorgan

18-Feb Allen David, CharlotteHanna

19-Feb Greg Heidel, John Gillis,Brianna Baschnagel,Rylan Gillis

20-Feb Grady Morris, BrandonLikes, Luke Ayers

21-Feb Ron Ward, Linda Brooke,Calvin Albin, SimoneOwensby

22-Feb Mary Luttenbacher, RileyEskelin, Ashley Ashbaugh

23-Feb Karen Ashorn, MelissaLutke, Sarah Gross

24-Feb Jim Ayers, Gerry Merits,Vin Giovanniello

25-Feb Mike Davis, Mike Darden,Eddie Reynolds, KathleenManchin, AndreaGiovanniello, HaleyHyde, Samuel Williams

26-Feb John White, CamilleGerlach, Olivia Williams

27-Feb David Breed, FrancisReilly

28-Feb Brice Darden, Erika Davis29-Feb Wally Pryor, Lynette

Gillis

Joys – Susan Fields’ daughter Catherine has delivered Daniel, a healthy baby boy; Catherine’s previouscomplications cleared before delivery and are now all gone—all test results show that Fran Webb, mother ofCarlen Floyd, is cancer-free

Sorrows – Nancy Bowman, mother of Clerk of Session Clift Bowman, passed away January 18th— Donn LeVie,Jr.’s mother died on December 29th after a lengthy illnessPlease pray for— Kim Arthur’s father, massive heart attack—Josh Budd, surgery for brain issues—Modena

Dailey, recovering from sinus surgery—Stacey Reynolds' mother, Jane Hatfield, invasive breast cancer—Susan Parker, sister of DonNowakowski & Rita, chemotherapy—the mom of Cinnamon Barton, the preschool's music & movement teacher; mom hascongestive heart failure and fluid build-up in her lungs —Steve, massive heart attack; he is 38, a member of office manager BelvaKoerth's congregation and recently married to Mandy—Sandy Gable’s father, Bob Gable, approaching the end of his life—WayneCrawley, home now but continuing to recuperate from heart and lung issues—family and friends of Brad Kieschnick, who waskilled January 11th; Brad is the nephew of Cindy Baschnagel’s friend Kay Stubbs—Pat Franzolino, back home but continued healthissues—Sally Schilstra, recovering from outpatient surgery—Melvin & Carolyn Deutsch’s friend, Neil Turner, stage 3 cancer—Melvin& Carolyn Deutsch’s brother-in-law, Jim Ransey, lingering illness—AB Craig, father of Sarah Peters—the Rotherts’ adult nieceJan, who has major health problems and needs employment—John White, training for scheduled March deployment toAfghanistan—David Pussman’s mother, Beatrice Pussman, suffered a stroke—the family of Clift Bowman’s good friend andchiropractor, Dr. Don Jackson, who recently passed away—Paul Koerth, back at home and regaining strength quickly after severaldays in ICU followed by surgery to implant a defibrillator—the family of Robert Tissing, Sr., who passed away early on December29th—Jack Crump, recovering from heart surgery—the Rev. Linda Bourianoff, pastor of Hyde Park PC, her husband George, andher family upon the death of her adult daughter, Jennifer Bourianoff, who died January 3rd of complications from viral pneumonia—Arthur Mahoney, friend of Linda & David Wheeler, whose spouse Ann passed away from cancer on December 6th—Elaine Harbour,sister of Ken Seiler, on the death of her husband Bill December 18th—Derek Fisher’s sister Sarah Fisher, broken leg and stroke—Austin, the city where we’re planted—the leadership of SHPC as they discern a path for our future—Pastor Kenneth Muyira &the congregation of Manyamula Presbyterian 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:John White, Susan’s husband... Mitch Guile, friend of Eddie & Stacey Reynolds... Teddy Sweredoski, friend ofStan & Jessica Wade... Lynda & Robert Wade’s niece’s husband Dan Ireland... E.J. Session, son of Deb Erlanson'sco-worker Roberta Floyd... 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, sonof a friend of Dee & Greg Merrell... Temple & Janet Ingram’s daughter Kate Ingram... Christopher Lehmann, sonof Mark Lehmann... Larry Roberman, brother of Lori Whitmire... Derek & Kristi Fisher's nephew, John Fisher...

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Chris & Brenda Parsons19093 Beacham CtAustin TX 78739-1609

Roger & Marilyn Wade903 Old Alleyton RdAlleyton TX 78935-2144