Beginning March 7, our worship services will be livestreamed at 10:00 a.m. (still ONLINE ONLY at this point). You may access the live stream via Facebook and YouTube directly. We will also send the link via email each Sunday morning. If you miss the livestream at 10:00, the service will be available via Facebook and YouTube anytime after.
Welcome to Lent! Our options for a Lenten Bible Study this year are limited due to Covid and now Snowpocalyse 2021; however, here at the last minute, we have decided to offer a daily/weekly resource put out by Presbyterian Outlook called Praying with Scripture: 2021 Lenten Devotions. Attached, please find the materials for Ash Wednesday (that’s today!) through Week 1 ending Saturday, February 27th. You will see that there is a hymn for the week, a scriptural prayer focus, and an action each week and then a scripture and prayer focus for each day. In the opening pages, you will see reference to a resource called hymnary.org that you may choose to use to look up hymns if you don’t have a hymnal at home. Google will also be a good resource for looking up the hymns.
These materials will come to you each week for the coming week. Additionally, I will be hosting a Zoom session for anyone who has found the week’s materials to be meaningful and would like the ability to discuss them in a small group. You may attend the Zoom session each week or you may decide to only attend particular ones, as the materials speak to your spirit. All who are interested in the Zoom call for each week will need to RSVP so we can send the link to you. Our first Zoom session will be this Sunday, 2/21, at 6:30 PM. Please call or text me (Brenda) at (325) 669-9904 by 5:00 pm Saturday to reserve your spot on this week’s Zoom call!
Please let me know if you have questions. I am so excited to be able to do this study with you!
God’s peace and blessings,
Brenda
To All Our First Presbyterian Members and Friends
Here’s the update as we know it for 2/2/2021 regarding COVID-19 vaccination options in and around Hood County:
Hood County Vaccine Information
https://co.hood.tx.us/934/COVID-19-Vaccine-Information
Hood County Registration Form (not a guaranteed appointment)
https://form.jotform.com/210264230639146
Parker County Hospital District | Scheduling and Booking Website
(New appointments are released at 8 am on Tuesday and Thursday, but go quickly)
https://pchdtx.simplybook.plus/v2/
Tarrant County Sign Up
https://tcph.quickbase.com/db/bq3q4uet8?linklocation=Button%20List&linkname=Register%20for%20the%20COVID%20Vaccine
If you need assistance with any of the online signup options, Nancy Bennett has graciously volunteered to help. You can call her at 817-578-1827
Get vaccinated and stay safe!
As you will recall, we suspended in-person worship in mid-November due to the spike in the number of cases of COVID-19. We set January 17 as a possible date to resume in-person worship, thinking that three weeks past the Christmas holiday the numbers of infections might be in decline. Unfortunately, our COVID numbers locally remain quite high and show no decline in recent weeks. Hood County remains at “substantial” risk for COVID transmission. Additionally, several of our church members have had or currently have the virus. The ad hoc committee charged with evaluating the pandemic numbers and reporting to the Session has continued to meet regularly to review weekly statistics.
We feel the safety of our congregants is of the utmost concern and that with no decrease in the number of infections it is unwise to resume in-person worship at this time. We also think it prudent to suspend small group gatherings – PW, Men’s Study and Sacred Space, etc. – until we can more safely be together. We will continue to review the situation weekly and will return to in-person gatherings when a decline in case numbers and an increase in vaccinations indicates that we may do so safely. Please know the decision to suspend in-person gatherings is not one we take lightly and it’s disappointing to have to do so. We simply feel it is the safest way to proceed to ensure the safety of each member of First Presbyterian.
We will continue to monitor the situation and we will keep you posted on decisions going forward. Your support in these past many months has been tremendously gratifying. Thank you. Please continue to join us for worship Sunday mornings via YouTube and Facebook.
Epiphany is the celebration of God’s manifestation or self-revelation to the world in Jesus Christ. The word “epiphany” (from the Greek epiphaneia or theophaneia) means “appearance” or “manifestation” of God, and has roots in the word for sunrise or dawn. In ancient times, an epiphany meant either a visible manifestation of a god or the solemn visit of a ruler venerated as a god.
For Christians, Christmas marks the coming of God to us; Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Lord in the midst of humanity. The Christmas stories of the birth of Immanuel declare the divine entry; Epiphany extols the revelation of God to the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
In our celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany we rejoice in the dawning and the arising of Light in darkness. … Epiphany not only discloses the Savior to the world but also calls the world to show forth Christ, to be witnesses to God’s true Light. The timeless mystery of the incarnation, God in flesh, leads us forth to show and tell of Christ as God’s gift of grace and salvation for all persons. Some call this ongoing epiphany the work of Christmas.
An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 94-95)
A Prayer for Epiphany
January 6, 2021
God of endless light, you sent a star—
rising from darkness,
guiding seekers and sages,
overwhelming us with joy.
Let the splendor of your dawning light
grow in us and in all the world
until the whole creation shines with your glory;
through Jesus Christ our light.
God of light, shining in darkness,
through a little child, born in Bethlehem,
you open to us the treasure of your grace.
Help us to search diligently for him,
so that we may offer our lives to you
with thanksgiving, joy, and praise;
through Jesus Christ, the rising star.
Shepherd of Israel,
you sent a star to enlighten the wise
and a child to topple the tyrant.
Make us wise enough to seek you
among the least of your children,
wise enough to trade our treasure
for the gift of overwhelming joy. Amen.
Our January 2021 newsletter is attached below. Read more from our newly elected elders about the many wonderful things happening in our congregation.
Join us for an encore presentation of last year’s Christmas Eve worship service with all the traditions and carols we’re accustomed to. The video premiere on both Facebook and Youtube on Christmas Eve. The video will premiere at 3:00 on December 24th and will be available for replay at any time. We can’t share our traditional service this year but hope you’ll gather in your homes and join us online!
The Christmas Joy Offering reflects that God is with us, through the generous gifts that support church leaders among us, retired, present and future, who have pointed us to God. Even as we support our current and former church leaders through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, God is calling new leaders for our Church and world, through the ministry of Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color — offering students the means for a brighter future and enhanced opportunities to use their talents and skills to serve God, the Church and the world for years to come.
The Christmas Joy Offering has been a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s. The Offering distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color.
If you would like more information, or you would like to give you can go to https://specialofferings.pcusa.org/offering/christmas-joy/
OR you can text JOY to 56512
OR you can write a check to the church with a note designating it Christmas Joy Offering.
The Christmas Joy Offering is one of four annual special offerings. The church-wide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) play an important role in defining what it means to be a connectional church in the 21st century, bringing together the diversity of the PC (USA) to focus and take faith-based action on shared concerns. The Special Offerings offer opportunities for partnership, learning, and witness and they profoundly affect the life of the church as a collective witness to Jesus Christ’s love for the whole church.
