Joel VanderZee will officially become Hebron’s new organist on August 18. Hebron’s Personnel Committee met with Joel and worked out details to hire him as our regular organist, and the Session hired him under those terms at the Stated Session Meeting Thursday, July 25.

Joel had been a frequent guest accompanist since joining Taylor & Boody Organbuilders recently, and we are delighted to have him become our regular or-ganist for worship services.

Three young people from Hebron will receive this year’s Scott Hickey Memorial Scholarship, to be pre-sented during worship on Sunday, Aug. 11. This year’s recipients will be Anna Cahill, Taylor McNeal and Brock Moore.

The scholarship is in memory of Scott Hickey, the late son of Linda and David Hickey. The scholarship began with contributions from Hebron members, as well as other family and friends of the Hickeys, and several years ago was funded by an endowment estab-lished by Hebron through a generous gift from the es-tate of the late Dr. John Riley, Linda’s brother and Scott’s uncle. College students who are active members of Hebron are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The Christian Education Committee reviews applicants and recommends recipients, who are approved by Session.

HEBRON HERALD Volume 28, Issue 8 August 2019

August: New Organist and Hickey Scholarships

Sunday, August 4 – Lemonade on the Lawn fol-lowing Worship

Tuesday, August 6 – First Day of School for both Staunton City and Augusta County Schools

Sunday August 11 – Lemonade on the Lawn fol-

lowing Worship Sunday, August 18 – Lemonade on the Lawn fol-

lowing Worship

Thursday, August 22 – Session meets, 7:00 p.m. Sunday, August 25 – Last Sunday for Lemonade

on the Lawn and Summer Hours

Wednesday, August 28 – PEP Club meets, 1:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall

Sunday, September 1 – Regular Sunday Schedule

resumes: Sunday School at 9:55 a.m.; Choir Practice at 10:00 a.m.; Worship at 11:00 a.m.

Monday, September 2 – Labor Day, Church Office

closed

Pray for students during 2019-20 school year By Rhonda Welfare, Hebron Secretary

On Tuesday, August 6, thousands of students will head back to school as both Augusta County and Staunton City begin classes.

You know to buy supplies for your children, feed them a nutritious breakfast, and make sure they get enough sleep, but do you remember to pray for them and the many people involved in their educations?

As the 2019-2020 school year begins, take this op-portunity to pray by name for your children and grand-children, as well as for children and young people you know and those you don’t know in our community. Pray for their health and safety throughout the year. Pray that they take advantage of opportunities and do their best. Pray for students who are hungry, physically at risk, and who feel unloved or unlovable. Pray for

help all these students be successful. Pray for principals and other building-level staff, and for the district- and state-level administrators who make decisions daily that impact students’ education. Pray for others who work in the system – for custodians, bus driv-ers, cafeteria workers, and other support staff.

Pray for college students, who face a new world of temptations and academic challenges as they go out into the world on their own. Pray that they make good choices that will prepare them to become productive citizens in our community, or wherever they end up.

And pray that you will have the wisdom, skills and patience needed to support students in all their endeav-ors – school, community and church.

Best wishes for everyone this school year!

The Session of Hebron Presbyterian Church held its stated monthly meeting on Thursday, June 27. Minutes of the meeting were approved at the July 25 Session meeting and are printed here:

Present: Elders Hannah Bush, Lorr ie Dean, Doug Trimble, Mike Fallin, Gail Mayer, Joyce Obenschain, Clerk of Session Tracy Mayer, and Moderator Rev. Frank Wyche. Excused: Allen Martin, Charles Buchan-an, Theresa Moore and Robin Ruleman. Guest: Treas-urer Mike Ruleman.

A quorum being present, the Moderator opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. with prayer and devotions from Matthew 14:22-36.

Clerk’s Report: The Session passed a motion by Hannah Bush to approve the minutes of the May 23, 2019, Stated Session Meeting. The Session passed a motion by Tracy Mayer to transfer the membership of Charles and Vicki Drumheller to Springhill Presbyteri-an Church per their request. The Session passed a mo-tion by Hannah Bush to approve use of the Sanctuary on Saturday, November 9, for Kamela Malcolm’s wed-ding. Communion was served during worship on June 16, Trinity Sunday. The annual Pentecost offering was collected on June 9.

Treasurer’s Report: A handout was provided by Treasurer Mike Ruleman with a detailed report of fund balances as of June 26, 2019. For the period of May 24-June 27, the church spent $904.81 more than it took in.

Presbytery Report: Summary and minutes of the May 21 meeting of Shenandoah Presbytery at Massan-etta Springs Camp & Conference Center are online at: http://shenpres.org/meeting-documents.

Committee Reports Congregational Ministries (Lorrie Dean, Mike Fal-

lin): The next committee meeting will be September 1. The committee continues to send out cards for birth-days and other special occasions.

Fellowship/Service (Theresa Moore, Doug Trimble): The Session passed a motion from the committee to hold a firepit event on July 19.

Personnel (Hannah Bush, Joyce Obenschain): The Session passed a motion from the committee to approve hiring Joel VanderZee as organist.

Property (Charles Buchanan, Allen Martin, Gail Mayer, Doug Trimble): The committee met in June and discussed sanctuary ventilation and dehumidification. Tree and stump removal are still in progress.

Stewardship (Allen Martin, Joyce Obenschain): The audit/financial review subcommittee will meet on July 10. The committee has provided an article for the July newsletter.

Worship (Hannah Bush, Mike Fallin, Gail Mayer, Tracy Mayer, Theresa Moore, Robin Ruleman): Melis-

Minutes For Regular Session Meeting Held June 27 2

sa Harmon will be the supply minister on July 14 when Pastor Wyche will be on vacation. Minutes of the June 11 meeting were provided. The next meeting will be July 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Cemetery (Charles Buchanan): Summer mowing is ongoing.

Christian Ed (Tracy Mayer, Robin Ruleman): The Session passed a motion from the committee to award 2019 Scott Hickey Memorial Scholarships to Anna Ca-hill, Taylor McNeal, and Brock Moore.

Commitment/Witness (Lorrie Dean, Mike Fallin): The Pentecost offering totaled $200.

Pastor’s Report: Pastor Wyche is working on the July newsletter to be available on Sunday, June 30. The church office will be closed for Independence Day on Thursday, July 4. Pastor Wyche plans to take a week’s vacation July 9-15, returning to the office July 16. Bi-ble Study has resumed on Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m.; the group will not meet again until July 18 due to the holiday and Pastor Wyche’s vacation.

New Business: The Session discussed the possibil-ity of installing attic fans above the sanctuary to help with cooling in the warmer months. The topic was re-ferred to the Property Committee to investigate further and to gather additional information.

The next Stated Session Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.

The blessings and prayer concerns of the congrega-tion, friends, and relatives were shared by Session for corporate and individual prayer. The meeting was ad-journed with prayer by the moderator at 8:13 p.m.

Celebration of Life Sept. 10 The Presbyterian Women’s Celebration of Life me-

morial service will be held Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hebron Sanctuary, remembering those who have died in the past year.

This year’s service will remember Jean Martin, Marie Shiflet Wood, Shara Shiflet, Steve Carpenter, and Terri Smith.

As summer winds down in August, things will be rel-atively calm at Hebron Presbyterian Church, but many changes and activities will take place in September.

Regular events will continue this month, including summer hours, Lemonade on the Lawn after worship, TOY Meal preparation Aug. 3, and the PEP Club meet-ing at 1:00 p.m. Aug. 30.

Then a flurry of activity will take place in the first week of September.

Hebron will resume our regular Sunday schedule on

The Stewardship/Finance Committee asked Treasurer Mike Ruleman to write some articles about Hebron’s financial situation. Here are his latest thoughts.

By Michael Ruleman, Treasurer This is the second in a series of newsletter articles

concerning the current financial situation at Hebron. Each article will build upon the last and in total, ex-plain where we are, how we got here, where we’re headed, and how we’ll get there. This month we will begin a discussion of possible plans of action and solu-tions to the situation. We encourage and welcome any ideas or comments.

Hebron has been blessed for decades with dedicated and generous contributors to its ministry of worship of God and love of one another. The church and its mem-bers have never failed to provide the funds necessary to accomplish whatever tasks were before them. Exam-ples are the construction of the Sunday School build-ing, the New Century Fund, The Taylor & Boody pipe organ, the Sanctuary remodeling, the manse windows, the kitchen remodeling, various tree projects, repaving the back parking lot, etc. Whenever the need was there and thoroughly explained, Hebron’s givers responded overwhelmingly. All of these things were done, in addi-tion to, operating the church on a day to day basis and fulfilling our mission here in Staunton, Augusta Coun-ty, and the world. Doing all these things was never easy, but planning, working, and executing together, we got them done.

We should be very proud of our accomplishments. Several years ago, a disturbing trend began. Hebron

was not able to fully cover its operating expenses with the number of contributions it received. Every expendi-ture was carefully analyzed, and together, we worked to monitor spending.

Each year, the budget was scrutinized to find places where money could be saved. Everything continued to be paid even though the General Fund was running a negative balance. The other funds in the bank account allowed this to happen as was explained last month. Each year, the deficit seemed to be between $6,000 and

Additional Information About Hebron’s Current Financial Situation

3

Workshop at 11:00 a.m. The Choir will meet for prac-tice at 10:00 a.m.

On Sunday, Sept. 8, the Christian Education and Fel-lowship/Service committees will host a Welcome Back fellowship luncheon following worship to mark the be-ginning of the 2019-2020 program year.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Presbyterian Women will hold their annual Celebration of Life service remem-bering those who have died in the past year.

Watch the newsletter and Sunday announcements for more information about upcoming activities. $10,000. Not an ideal situation but workable with some changes. The prevailing thought was that contributions would pick up and reverse this trend. The thinking was that if every contributor to the church could increase their gift by just 10%, all would be well. In the last year, it has become glaringly apparent that increased income will not entirely correct the issue. It will take more.

Even with vigilant oversight and firm control of ex-penditures, our expense budget has grown yearly, pri-marily because of inflation and salary increases. Ten years ago, our weekly attendance averaged over 100 per week with a corresponding number of contributors. Because of various factors affecting every denomina-tional church, our number of attendees and givers has dropped each year where now we are averaging around 60 per week with the same amount of contributors. In other words, we seem to be expected to fully fund a growing expense budget with approximately 60 percent or less participating than before. Based on numbers alone, if everyone increased their contribution by 15 to 20 percent, we still would spend more than we take in. Increased giving by itself will not correct the situation. It would provide much-needed assistance, but we need to do more.

Every single expense of the church needs to be on the table and discussed. Nothing is above scrutiny. The dis-cussion needs to begin with the membership, be carried to the appropriate committees, (Stewardship/Finance, Property, Personnel, etc.) and finally to the Session. The budget process for 2020 is possibly the most im-portant in the history of the church. Your input is cru-cial to this process. You must be heard. Talk among yourselves and bring ideas to the Elders. Together, with God’s help, we can accomplish anything.

Please remember that we are currently discussing on-ly the General Fund, which is the day to day operation of the church. Next month, we will discuss Hebron’s Benevolence Fund, Endowments and other special funds and why their use is sometimes restricted. Also, we’ll look at what Scripture says about giving.

August Means End of Summer Activities

HEBRON HERALD

Hebron Presbyterian Church

423 Hebron Road, Staunton, VA 24401

Church Office: (540) 885-1648

Church FAX: (540) 885-9512

E-mail: myhebronpc@gmail.com

Website: www.hebronpc.com

Rev. Frank H. Wyche, Pastor

Ministries available to all ages

Sunday Services:

Sunday School, 9:00 A.M.

Morning Worship, 10:00 A.M.

Bible Study: Thursday, 10:00 A.M.

Hebron Presbyterian Church

August birthdays are:

August Birthdays And Anniversaries

Virginia Smiley 17 Braden Moyer 18 Lori Malcolm 18 Nancy Knight 18 Jay Mader 21 Susan E. Croft 21 Kimberly Rathburn 27 Denise Lyle 31

Jesse Hunter Bratton 1 Ed Stone 4 Theresa Moore 4 Jonathan Riley 5 Edna Stone 11 Herman Knight 11 Fay Moran 12 Nan Brown 13

Summer Hours End Aug. 25 Hebron’s summer worship schedule will end on Aug.

25, with regular hours resuming on Sunday, Sept. 1.

Beginning Sept. 1, adult Sunday School will return to

9:55 a.m., and morning worship will return to 11:00

a.m.

Aug. 25 will also be the last day for Lemonade on the

Lawn, the fellowship time following morning worship.

Thanks to all who provided refreshments this year!

Very special birthday wishes

to Nan Brown, who will be 89

on August 13.

Congratulations to Clay and

Nancy Hewitt, who will be

married 66 years on August 22.

If you know of someone who

should be included, please call

the church at 885-1648, so we

won’t leave anyone out.

PEP Club Meets August 28 The PEP Club (People Enjoying People) will meet

Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 1:00 p.m. in the Fellowship

Hall. Please prepare a dish or two and join us!

Church Brunch September 8 A Welcome Back Brunch will be held following wor-

ship on Sunday, Sept. 8, to mark the beginning of the

2019-2020 program year. Please plan to join us!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Bible Study

10:00 a.m.

2 3

TOY Meal Preparation and Delivery, Hebron Kitchen

4

Lemonade

on the Lawn

Following

Worship

5 6 First Day

of School for Augusta

County and Staunton

City Schools Students

7 Property

Committee,

6:30 p.m.

8

Bible Study

10:00 a.m.

9 10

11 The

Lord’s Sup- per Worship

Scott Hickey Scholarships Awarded

12 13 14 15

Bible Study

10:00 a.m.

16 17

18

Lemonade

on the Lawn

Following

Worship

19 20 21

Stewardship/

Finance

Committee,

6:30 p.m.

22

Bible Study

10:00 a.m.

Session

Meets, 7 pm

23 24

25 Last

Sunday of

Summer

Hours and

Lemonade

on the

Lawn

26 27 28

PEP Club

1:00 p.m. in

Fellowship

Hall

29

No Bible

Study Today

30 31

August 2019 Hebron Presbyterian Church

Sunday School 9 A.M./Worship 10 A.M.