The Good News of Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 13000 Blue’s Farm Road Laurinburg, North Carolina 28352

Volume 51, Number 12 1964 - 2015 Celebrating 51 Years of Faithful Service DECEMBER 2015

TRINITY’S SESSION 2015

Class of 2015 Jodee Bert

Curtis Hales Matthew Quick

Class of 2016 Ruth Anne Bland Larry Bowman

Denise Cummings

Class of 2017 Eric Hanby

Jennifer Lankford Jean McBryde

COMMITTEE CHAIRS:

Care & Fellowship – Denise Cummings Mission – Jodee Bert Nominations – Larry Bowman Educ. & Nurture – Jodee Bert Personnel – Ruth Anne Bland & Denise Cummings Property – Curtis Hales Schools – Denise Cummings Stewardship, Finance & Endowment – Jennifer Lankford Worship – Ruth Anne Bland Clerk – Jean McBryde Moderator – Rev. Becky Kahnt

CORPORATE OFFICERS Larry Bowman – President Ruth Anne Bland – Vice Pres. Denise Cummings - Secretary

SESSION UPDATE

The following are updates from our November 16th, 2015 Session meeting:

1. A motion was made and approved for Matt Quick to serve as the Elder Commissioner for the December 5, 2015 Called Presbytery Meeting in Clinton, NC, with Jodee Bert and Denise Cummings serving as alternates.

2. A motion was made and approved for Jennifer Lankford to set up and maintain a page on Pinterest.

3. A motion was made and approved to update the Pastor’s role in TPS, Inc. as brought forward by the Personnel committee. The update reads: “The TPC Pastor will be around for any staff spiritual or personal questions. The TPC Pastor will refer any School personnel issues to the TPS Coordinator.”

4. A motion was made and approved to have a Congregational meeting on Sunday, December 20, 2015 for the purpose of electing Dan Hamilton and Jacob Glenn to the School Board of Directors Class of 2018 and Catherine Pinkston to the Class of 2017, completing Paige McInnis’ term, and to approve the Pastor’s Terms of Call.

Jean McBryde, Clerk

The next scheduled Stated Session meeting will be held on Sunday, December 13th, 2015 at 12:15 P.M. Presbyterian Women’s Groups In December we will study Lesson Three “Absence of Water - Thirst and Longing” using Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 42: 1-2, 63:1, and John 19:28. Our focus will be on the dry spells in our lives. When our bodies and souls thirst, how do we survive? Come be a part of sharing, caring and renewal as we pray, study God’s word, and enjoy fellowship. Please bring any book money, Thank Offering, monthly offering and Christmas Cheer ideas. All women are invited to attend the Circle of their choice, or both! Please note the dates and times.

• Scotia Circle meets Monday, Dec. 7th at 10:30 a.m. at Patsy Smith’s Scotia Village home, #4 Skye Court.

• Circle of Seekers meets Monday, Dec. 7th at 6:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall.

Sisterhood Ladies – We’ll meet on Monday, Dec. 21st at 10:30 a.m. at Carmel Donaldson’s house.

Poinsettias will be a part of our Advent and Christmas celebration at Trinity! Green order forms can be found in the

Narthex. This is a wonderful way to remember your friends and loved ones!

Come join the merry fellowship as we decorate our church for Christmas on Sunday, December 6th. Please bring a dish to pass and join us for lunch in the Fellowship Hall immediately following worship. Then we’ll decorate our grounds and Sanctuary and conclude our time together with a

meaningful Hanging of the Greens service at 2:30 p.m. this same afternoon. This will be a time for us to remember the symbols of our Chrismons and place them on the tree. Please come out and celebrate this festive and beautiful time!

~ Calling All Men of Trinity ~ Men’s Breakfast is

Sunday, December 6th at 8:00 A.M.!

WOW! All kinds of good things happened on the first Sunday in November at Men’s Breakfast. The attendance was good; the fellowship was rewarding; the food was excellent as usual (the biscuits were baked to perfection), and the program lived up to its high expectations. Plus, we all got an extra hour of sleep or whatever you do at night. I didn’t realize how much I missed Men’s Breakfast. It was a long time period between the first of September and the first of November. I pray the good Lord allows me to attend many more. The program was both educational and informative. We found out about one of the exciting and unique programs being developed in Scotland and surrounding counties relating to the youth of our area. We also learned a little bit about what Eric Hanby was doing at Pembroke and Wagram over the past year. There is still more room for additional men to attend our monthly breakfasts. So, let’s try to have a large turnout for December. The cost is only $5.00 for the best breakfast in Scotland County. First timers are still free. See you in December. Carl Orndoff

Being part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has a lot of wonderful and amazing aspects to it. One of those wonderful aspects is that we are a connectional church. This means we are joined together with Presbyterians everywhere, walking this journey together, drawing on each other for resources, strength and encouragement. We also embark on different adventures together as well. One of these adventures we will be embarking on this Advent is with the Peace Committee of our Coastal Carolina Presbytery. The Committee has called for churches in our Presbytery to participate in “The Advent of Peace,” where we will be preaching on passages about peace in different contexts all throughout the Presbytery. As we join in this connectional activity with our Presbytery, here are our passages for each week:

November 29, 2015: Advent 1 – A Whole Self – Psalm 34:1-14

December 6, 2015: Advent 2 – A Whole Church – Colossians 3:12-17

December 13, 2015: Advent 3 – A Whole Community – Romans 12:9-21

December 20, 2015: Advent 4 – A Whole World – Isaiah 9:1-7

As we live in our lives, church, community and world, it is very clear of how much we are all in need of peace. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace in this advent season of holy, anticipatory waiting, I encourage you to mediate on these passages and see what God is revealing to you for your life and our life together as the body of Christ here in this place. And as we contemplate peace and the way God will work in us, through us and through these passages this Advent Season, may we ponder these words of Frederick Buechner from his book Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC as well: “Peace has come to mean the time when there aren’t any wars or even when there aren’t any major wars. Beggars can’t be choosers; we’d most of us settle for that. But in Hebrew peace, shalom, means fullness, means having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself. One of the titles by which Jesus is known is Prince of Peace, and he used the word himself in what seem at first glance to be two radically contradictory utterances. On one occasion he said to the disciples, ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ (Matthew 10:34). And later on, the last time they ate together, he said to them, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’ (John 14:27). The contradiction is resolved when you realize that for Jesus peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle, but the presence of love.” (83) Peace be with you! Blessings, Pastor Becky

Wednesday Prayer Meetings

continue at 6:45AM and

5:00PM in the Sanctuary.

We are collecting it all . . . Canned meat, fruit or vegetables

for Church Community Services in the month of December. Our goal is 300 items!

The holidays are particularly hard. Please remember to bring YOUR CHOICE of canned

food to share each Sunday in December. Thank you!

Devotional

With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season upon us, it seems like there is always something calling for our attention, time and energy. And yet, Advent is the season of holy

waiting. If we take the time to follow Mary’s example, it is the time to ponder in our hearts all the things that God has blessed us with, and all that it means to be a child of God. This Advent season, we invite you to ponder in your devotional time along with your brothers and sisters in Christ here at Trinity. In Trinity’s Advent devotional, members and friends of the congregation have taken the lectionary passage for each day, prayed over it and offered their thoughts and insights as a devotional along the way. We hope that this is a source of joy, hope, peace and love for you this Advent season as we turn to the One who brings us the greatest gift of all on Christmas in His only Son. May God bless you on your Advent journey! Devotionals are available in the Narthex and church office.

Come celebrate with great anticipation the birth of Christ Jesus as we worship together Christmas Eve night at 7 p.m. We’ll gather for our family friendly service in the soft night lights of our sanctuary and the even softer glow of candles bright. Bring family; bring friends. Come just as you are to worship the newborn child.

Adult Christmas Party

Friday, December 11th 6 P.M. Join us for an evening of fun, laughter and fellowship on Friday, December 11th at 6:00 p.m. Sign up in the church office to reserve your seat at the table at our annual Adult Christmas Party. Bring a dish to share. We will also have a Chinese gift exchange. Each adult can participate by bringing a wrapped present. Our dollar limit is $15.

Roadside Trash Pick-up Saturday, December 19th at 9:00 A.M.

We will meet in the parking lot behind Taki at 9 A.M. All are welcome to join in this community mission project. Gloves, bags and grabbers are available. **Remember, if you need to expend some energy over the holidays, just grab your rake and head on down to our playgrounds. Please stack your rakings outside the fence for later removal. Or pick up a grabber and collect pine cones from anywhere on the grounds. These are great activities for any number of folks - one to a gazillion, so consider yourself, your friends and your family invited! Thanks for your support in the upkeep of our grounds.

Soup and Caroling Sunday, December 20th 4 P.M.

Come out and join the fun on Sunday, December 20th at 4 p.m. as we enjoy soup and Mr. Bill’s famous grilled cheese sandwiches. Bring your vocal chords; after our meal in the fellowship hall we will caravan throughout the community to share our joyful noise with neighbors and friends. All members and friends are invited. We need 4 soup makers and 4 dessert makers. Please let Shannon know what you can do to help make this a festive day.

Confirmation has been together for two months now! We have 8 wonderful young people on this journey together (Tori Tyner, Ariel Bethea, Sophie Pinkston, Madison McCormick, Faith McCormick, Cole Hamilton, Drew Hamilton and Connor Bert) with their mentors and Pastor Becky. In our third class we talked about God’s Providence and how God is able to take the evil that this world brings and use it for His purpose, good and glory. We looked at the story of Joseph and the ups and downs of his life but how God was always with him and God was able to overcome the unjust acts of his brothers. We also talked about how God has a plan and a purpose for each of us and will make us into what He has called us to be. Please feel free to reach out to any one of our Confirmands to ask about the process or encourage them along the way.

Give Your Children

"Quantity" And "Quality" Time

The old debate about which is best for your children, “quantity time” or “quality time,” shouldn’t be a debate at all. Your children need both. After all, when you look forward all week to an evening at your town’s finest and most expensive restaurant, you won’t be satisfied with a huge serving of steak that tastes awful. Nor will you settle for a tiny bite of the best steak ever. No, at those prices, you deserve quantity and quality! And that’s just what your kids deserve from you. Of course, some of us deceive ourselves. We think we’re giving our children the undivided attention they need. But you’re missing the target if you have a football game on television while you play Monopoly with the kids, or read the paper while “helping” them with homework, or drive them to the office to color while you work, or take them to one movie at the multiplex while you watch another. Sure, your kids may enjoy some of these activities, but they also know the difference between an involved parent and one who’s merely pretending.

Source: “Five Essential Parenting Principles”, by Dr. James Dobson

Trinity’s Lively Crowd This Month’s Event Calendar

Sunday, Dec. 6: Join in the fun of a dish to pass lunch followed by decorating our Sanctuary and grounds, and then our Hanging of the Greens service at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12: All Day Mission Day – 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Cookie baking, caroling, visiting, lunch and other activities. Please bring $5 to help offset cost of lunch and activities.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS BOXES Thank you for making our worldwide mission project a success. Trinity assembled 30 shoeboxes this year, which went to New Hope Baptist Church in Laurinburg to join other shoeboxes assembled in our area. Those shoeboxes then joined others made in the Carolinas, which then joined others made across the USA. Worldwide, Operation Christmas Child collected 10.4 million shoeboxes in 2014. The numbers for this year still aren’t in. Each and every box touches a child and lets them know that God loves them. Thank you for being good and generous stewards and helping to spread the Good News around the world.

CHRISTMAS

CHEER

It’s Christmastime again – let’s spread a little extra cheer!! We have adopted two families to sponsor for Christmas Cheer: 1) a family of 5 and 2) a single

older lady. Please take a moment to find an item or two from our Christmas Cheer tree to help give these families a Merrier Christmas! Wrapped gifts can be dropped off back under the tree. We are planning to deliver the items the week of Christmas, so please try to have items returned by December 20th. Thank you for your help – our adopted families appreciate it!

Your gift makes a difference! No need to wrap that gift this year. Look at one of the Presbyterian Giving catalogs located in the Narthex. There are over 40 life changing gifts – and none of them require a gift bag or box. Give someone the gift of hope this holiday season:

$10 buys farming tools

$25 buys a family of chickens $30 buys a bag of seeds

Jesus Calling Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity. That is why I have instructed you to give thanks for everything. There is an element of mystery in this transaction: You give Me thanks (regardless of your feelings), and I give you Joy (regardless of your circumstances). This is a spiritual act of obedience – at times, blind obedience. To people who don’t know Me intimately, it can seem irrational and even impossible to thank Me for heartrending hardships. Nonetheless, those who obey Me in this way are invariably blessed, even though difficulties may remain. Thankfulness opens your heart to My Presence and your mind to My thoughts. You may still be in the same place, with the same set of circumstances, but it is as if a light has been switched on, enabling you to see from My perspective. It is this Light of My Presence that removes the sting from adversity.

~ Ephesians 5:20, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 89:15~

Love forgives

Jesus painted a vivid image of forgiveness in His parable of the ungrateful servant. A man who owed a sizable sum of money was surprised when his master heard his appeals for mercy and totally canceled his debt. But upon being released from this enormous load, the servant did a most unexpected thing: he went to another man who owed him a much smaller amount and demanded immediate payment. When the master heard of it, things changed dramatically in his arrangement with the slave. “His lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him” (Matthew 18:34). A day that begun with joy and relief ended in grief and hopelessness. When you think of unforgiveness, this is what should come to your mind, for Jesus said, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

Imagine yourself in a prison-like setting. You look around and see a number of cells. You see a number of people from your past; people you once called friends. You see your spouse. Maybe your parents, perhaps a sibling or some other family member. They are all locked in; trapped. This prison is a room in your heart. These people have hurt you badly. They even knew what they were doing and did it anyway. You’re unwilling to stay here. You turn away – seeing Jesus, seeing a key in His hand, knowing what He’s asking you to do. It’s just too much. You try to escape but realize that you’re trapped inside with all the other captives. Your unforgiveness, anger and bitterness have made a prisoner of you as well. Like the servant in Jesus’ story, who was forgiven an impossible debt, you have chosen not to forgive and have been handed over to the jailers and torturers. Your freedom is now dependent on your forgiveness. Coming to this conclusion usually takes us a while. We see all kinds of dangers and risks involved in forgiving others. For instance, what they did was really wrong, whether they admit it or not. They may not even be sorry about it. They may feel perfectly justified in their actions, even going so far as to blame you for it. But forgiveness doesn’t absolve anyone of blame. It doesn’t clear their record with God. It just clears you of having to worry about how to punish them. When you forgive another person, you’re not turning them loose. You’re just turning them over to God, who can be counted on to deal with them His way. It’s not about winning and losing anymore. It’s about freedom. It’s about letting go. That’s why you often hear people who have genuinely forgiven say, “It felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.” It’s like a breath of fresh air rushing into your heart. The stale dankness of the prison house is flooded with light and coolness. For the first time in a long time, you feel at peace. You feel free. But how do you do it? You release your anger and the responsibility for judging this person to the Lord. “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19) How do you know you’ve done it? You know it when the thought of their name or the sight of their face – rather than causing your blood to boil – causes you to feel sorry for them instead, to pity them, to genuinely hope they get this turned around. Great marriages, and relationships in general, are not created by people who never hurt each other, only by people who choose to keep “no record of wrongs” )1 Corinthians 13:5).

Source: The Love Dare by Stephen & Alex Kendrick

FLOWERS

Poinsettias

USHERS *Danny English Jacob Glenn Curtis Hales Preston Swiney JR. USHER 06 Caycee Bert 13 Drew Hamilton 20 Cole Hamilton 27 Connor Bert GREETER(S) & AFTER WORSHIP HOST(S) 06 Lillian Mayo & Julia Robinson 13 Orndoff family 20 Carmel Donaldson 27 Hamilton family

BIRTHDAYS 03 Connor Bert 05 Bill Alexander 07 Joann Orndoff 07 Jennifer Lankford 08 Chris Malloy 10 Josh Glenn 10 Amelia Hopkins 14 Pat Gates 16 Katie McRacken 17 Dennis Sharpe 17 Catherine Pinkston 23 Shannon Hamilton 28 Sam Hales ANNIVERSARIES None

ACOLYTE 06 Sam Kahnt 13 Zoey Bowman 20 Abby Kahnt 27 Kinsey Hamilton

LITURGISTS 06 Eric Hanby 13 Sarah Stout 20 Barbara Barnas 27 Shannon Hamilton TIME WITH YOUNG

DISCIPLES 06 Josh Collins 13 Carmel Donaldson 20 Bill Robertson 27 Pastor Becky

NURSERY & CHILDREN’S CHURCH 06 Paige

McInnis, Jodee Bert, Sarah Stout 13 Denise Cummings, Stacey Bowman, Shannon Hamilton 20 Sandra Barber, Hannah Capps, Barbara Barnas 27 Catherine Pinkston, Judy Stebbins, Dan Hamilton

TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.)

Church Phone: (910) 276-7616 FAX: (910) 276-9440

On the WEB: trinity4u.org

E-Mail: trinity@trinity4u.org

School Phones: (910) 276-7689 (910) 276-7680

Join US @ Trinity!

Sunday Schedule: (Bring the family!)

Sunday School 9:45 AM Worship 11:00 AM

*Infant and preschool nursery

provided during worship service.

We are collecting 300 cans of meat, fruit or vegetables for Church Community Services during the month of December.

Please bring canned food to share each Sunday this month!

Trinity Presbyterian Church(USA) 13000 Blue's Farm Road Laurinburg, NC 28352

1964 - 2015 www.Trinity4U.org

Trinity Church is Barrier-Free and

Wheelchair Accessible! Large Print Hymnals and

Listening Devices are Available!