Newsletter 
The wave

 

Publication of The Presbytery of Tres Rios 

December  2015

 

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In This Issue
Just a Thought
By Rev. Jose Luis Casal
           General Missioner            
                  
"When God is born fear is defeated"  
"The angel said, 'Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master'."
Luke 2: 10-11a - The Message (MSG)
"There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear."
1 John 4: 17-18 - The Message (MSG)

Jim Wallis, the director of Sojourners speaking about the meaning of Christmas says, "what Christmas means to me is this: In Christ, God hit the streets. Immanuel means God with us. It's not just that God came, but how God came. It was not accidental that the savior of the world was born to a poor peasant woman in an occupied country in an animal stall because they were literally homeless at the time of his birth. And soon Jesus and his family were made refugees and had to flee their country because the most powerful political ruler around the Christ child felt very threatened by his coming." This story is repeated year after year not only in words but also in the real life. The powerful kings of this world are still threatened by the Christ child. Today the mandate is not to eliminate all the newborn child, today's mandate is more sophisticated. The global market drowned the birth of Jesus in the sea of Christmas' consumerism.
In addition to this, the war against terrorism adds more fear to our situation. The FBI and Homeland Security Department have alerted state and local law enforcements to be wary of suspicious behavior and to regularly change security measures to interfere with any terrorist plans. We are urged to not trust anyone. Fear surrounds us and is the new "king" that rules the world.
Today more than ever before we need to hear again the words of the angels, "Don't be afraid." That message was not just for the few shepherds watching their flock during the night. The message was not geographically limited to the area of Bethlehem, and was not connected with the supernatural appearance of the angels in the midst of the night to a few frightened shepherds. The angels announced a worldwide event that would affect every single individual around the world. "God hit the street," not a special street, not Wall Street or the streets of Beverly Hills or Manhattan.
God born on the streets where fear is the king, to challenge the power of fear and to defeat its kingdom. God became flesh and "moved to the neighborhood" as Eugene Peterson says in The Message (John1) to challenge the power that has ruled the "hoods" for years. God hit the street and moved to the neighborhood of San Bernardino, California where the recent shooting took place, creating terror and fear all over the place. God hit the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Bethlehem and Jerusalem to challenge the power of fear with the antidote of love.
In our modern world, we live under the impression that our security depends on our military power or our strong economy but the reality indicates that even with all those powers we're still defenseless. Walter Brueggemann, the famous Reformed scholar said, "our public life is largely premised on an exploitation of our common anxiety. The advertising of consumerism and the drives of the acquisitive society, like the serpent, seduce into believing there are securities apart from the reality of God."
It's time to install the power of love. The birth of Jesus Christ is the reinstallation of the kingdom of love. God hit the street, God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood, to demonstrate that when God is born, fear is defeated.
The Wave of Prayer
      
Intercession Prayers for:      
 
Rev. Robert Bennet (HR) - He is still recovering from the hip surgery  
 
Rev. Dan Sneider (HR) and his daughter Wendy .
 
Bert Bronaugh (HR) former pastor in Tres Rios continues on dialisis, Also pray for the health of Joyce his wife.
 
 Lawson Allen (First Fort Davis) who is recovering from his last leg surgery 
   
Cameron Maedgen, son of Karen Bartholomeo (St. Paul San Angelo)
 
 
Pray for racial justice and reconciliation in our country

 
Pray for a just immigration legislation and for the families affected by our actual policies   
 
 Pray for Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt, especially for the thousands of refugees 

Pray for peace & justice for Jews and Palestines in the Middle East

Pray for the new diplomatic era of relations between Cuba and USA.

Pray for our Presbyterian Church (USA). For our Tres Rios Presbytery's pastors, elders and congregations, especially those struggling with decisions about their future. 
Upcoming Activities  
January - February 2016
 
  December 31, 2015 (Thursday) New Year's Eve
 
January 1st 2016 - New Year's Day
 
Presbytery Office will be closed from December 24, 2015 to January 3, 2016
 
January 8 - 9 , 2016 - Friday noon through Saturday 3pm - Retreat of the Missional Networking Team - Westminster Presbyterian Church in Odessa - Facilitator Dr. Mike Murray
 
January 10, 2016  (Sunday) - Baptism of the Lord
 
January 15 - 17, 2016 (Friday- Sunday) Tres Rios Youth Connection (TRYC) at Prude Ranch 
 
January 18 - 24, 2016 - Week of Prayer of Christian Unity.
 
January 18, 2016 - Birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
 
January 19, 2016 (Tuesday) - Meeting of the Missional Nurturing Team - Presbytery Office - noon
 
January 21 - 22, 2016 (Thursday-Friday) Meeting of the Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns of the General Assembly.
 
January 25, 2016 (Monday) Meeting of the Missional Nominating & Representation Team - Presbytery Office - 9 am
 
January 25, 2016 (Monday) Meeting of the Missional Outreach Team - Presbytery Office - 11 am
 
January 26, 2016 (Tuesday) - Meeting of the Missional Resource Team - Presbytery Office - 9:30 am
 
January 26, 2016 (Tuesday) - Meeting of the Missional Networking Team - Presbytery Office - noon
 
January 27 - 30, 2016 (Wednesday-Saturday) General Assembly of the Association of Presbyterians Christian Educators (APCE) - Chicago
 
January 28, 2016 (Thursday) - Meeting of the Administrative Commission for Divine Savior & St. Andrew Presbyterian churches - Divine Savior church El Paso - 6 pm
 
February  1 - 8 (Monday to Monday) - Exploratory Mission Trip to Cuba - Grace Midland and First Coahoma churches.
 
February 10 - ASH WEDNSDAY
 
February 12-13 (Friday noon through Saturday noon) - Retreat of the Missional Ministries Team - in Alpine - Dr. Mike Murray, facilitator
 
February 18-20 (Thursday - Saturday) - Synod Training for Personnel Committees - Irving TX.
 
February 26 (Friday) - PRESBYTERY MEETING - University Presbyterian Church in El Paso
Quick Links...

Presbytery

Synod
Mo-Ranch - www.moranch.com 

Texas Presbyterian Foundation - www.tpf.org   
Presbyterian Children Homes - www.pchas.org  

National
PC(USA) - www.pcusa.org
Assoc. of Presbyterian Administrators www.pcusa-apa.org  
Ecumenical

 Dpt. of Ecumenical Relations of PCUSA -

http://www.eif-pcusa.org/Contact/index.html  

World Council of Reformed Churches - www.wcrc.ch   
National Council of Churches - www.ncccusa.org  

Christmas HymnBox

Click on the arrow to hear

the song

Cascabel, Lindo Cascabel (Spanish)
O Holy Night - Celtic Version
O Come, O come Emmanuel 

Resources Available

just click the links... 

HERE IS THE NEW BOOK OF ORDER 2015-2017. YOU MAY ORDER YOURS IN THE PC(USA) WEBSITE OR DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION HERE -    NEW BOOK OF ORDER 2015-2017 - PDF download
 
NEW Resources:
 
Other Resources:
Bethlehemian Rhapsody 1
 with captions
Short video 04:53
You will enjoy this representation of the Christmas Story
 
A Mom for Christmas!
Full Movie - 1:31:56 
 Directed by George Miller
with:
Olivia Newton-John
Juliet Sorcey, Doug Sheehan
Carmen Argenziano and
Doris Roberts


Here is the new electronic newsletter of Tres Rios Presbytery for DECEMBER 2015.  Please, let us know your opinions, comments and suggestions, and forward the newsletter to all who may be interested in the work of our Presbytery.
GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHAPEL IN SAN ANGELO CONTINUES GROWING AND WORKING FOR THE KINGDOM IN CHRISTMAS TIME
La Capilla Presbiteriana de La Gracia en San Angelo continúa creciendo y trabajando por el Reino en el tiempo de Navidad. 
By Bitsy Stone    
Grace Presbyterian Chapel in San Angelo has been very busy lately. In addition to our regular mission projects (House of Faith, Presbyterian Children's Home, and Presbytery) we also recently helped St. Paul with their Christmas Box mission project. The Christmas Box project is an amazing project for St. Paul and the other churches who support it. Some of our members helped sack vegetables and others helped box food. St. Paul delivered 300+ boxes of food to families in need.
Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful service of lessons and carols with Randy Branson as our minister. What a great service! God continues to bless Grace Presbyterian Chapel in so many ways. We are truly blessed and thankful for God's blessings as he leads us through this journey.
Blessings to each of you this Christmas season from Grace Presbyterian Chapel.

ONE OF THE FIRST CHRISTMAS SONGS OF THE INDIAN NATIONS (NATIVE-AMERICANS)
Uno de los primeros cantos de Navidad de las Naciones Indias (Nativo-americanos)
Thanks to the Facebook Page of Rev. Buddy Monahan, our pastor in Westminster Presbyterian Church we got this funny  Native American Christmas song. Rev. Buddy is Native-American and is a priviledge to have him as member of our Tres Rios Presbytery.
Here is the transcription of the song:
There's a funny fat man in a silly red suit
Stuck in the smokehole of our tipi.
"Ho, Ho, Ho!" - He thinks he's talking Indian
"No, No, No!" - Aint no way we'l ... l let him in
Not no funny fat man in a silly red suit
Stuck in the smokehole of our tipi.
Grandma's skinning his deer
And Grandpa's cooking up the meat
From the funny fat man in the silly red suit
Stuck in the smokehole of our tipi.
( Chorus )
Aunty's taking his boots
And Uncle's stripping down the sled
From the funny fat man in the silly red suit
Stuck in the smokehole of our tipi.
( Chorus )
Ching, Ching Ching
The sound of money comin' in
From the pawning of the toys
Of the funny fat man in the silly red suit
Stuck in the smokehole of our tipi.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN COAHOMA SERVING THE COMMUNITY IN CHRISTMAS  
La Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana de Coahoma sirviendo a la comunidad con el mensaje Navideño
By Sherrie Chevalier, member of Coahoma church 
December is rushing by and Christmas is here. Activities are taking place in the community and First Presbyterian Church of Coahoma has attended several events at local churches. The First Baptist Church hosted the Community Church Cantata last Sunday and we had members attend who proclaimed it beautiful. The PW group had their Christmas party and shared a meal. Our Family Fun Night Event went off without a hitch this past Tuesday night. We had 18 youth show up to join us in a soup supper, go Christmas caroling, cook smores over the fire pit, enjoy hot chocolate with all the toppings, and play games with all the adults in attendance. The toilet paper snowman wrap and the crepe paper Grinch wrap were the favorites. Family Fun Night was deemed a success and the youth are all coming back next Sunday to join us at church. We have been gathering donations to purchase coats for children in the community who need protection from the winter elements. The church is also purchasing Christmas gifts and new clothing for community families who need help at this time. As always, we will be providing Christmas meals for the families in town who are in need. Plans are in action for our youth to host a food drive at the school, as the food closet in the manse is running low. Plans have also been approved to begin the after school tutoring sessions for children who have incarcerated parents. This program will kick off after the first of the year. A snack, prayer, craft activity, homework help, and reading programs will be provided for these children after school. Our retired teachers group and ladies bible study group will be leading the program. Blessings and love from Coahoma.
 
CHURCHWIDE CONVERSATION ON RACE, RACISM, ETHNICITY AND ETHNOCENTRICITY   
Conversación de toda la Iglesia sobre Raza, Racismo, Etnicidad y Etnocentrismo.      
By Rev. Buddy Monahan pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church and one of the participants in this conference
As mandated by the National Racial Ethnic Ministries Task Force's referral at the 221st General Assembly (2014), 40 participants selected from throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gathered at Stony Point Conference Center in New York, November 5-7, 2015 for a Churchwide conversation on the themes of race and etnics. The people gathered composed of mid-council leaders, parish pastors, community organizers, professors, ruling elders, church members, and national staff, representing Middle Easterners, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Anglos, and Hispanics/Latinos/Latinas.
Based on the recommendation of the referral, the planning team structured the following goals and objectives for the Churchwide Conversation, which are as follows:
*Gain an awareness of the historic actions that support systemic racism and white privilege within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
*Foster a courageous environment among participants to talk about race and racism in the denomination and making the conversation and the results of the conversation different from previous conversations about race.
*Create a community working as a catalyst for change within the denomination.
*Provide recommendations to the 222nd General Assembly to encourage conversation about race and racism across the Church and create tangible action steps to address the broken systems in place.
I was truly blessed to have been invited to participate in such an important gathering. The time was painful, anxious, fruitful, and nourishing all at the same time. I learned so much as we heard many stories of historical events involving the PCUSA centering on racial justice and racism. The part to encourage me the most was the response and willingness to begin an encompassing effort to educate and work with the church in a positive manner. The short time we spent together has led to the working of a report with recommendations to the 222nd General Assembly. With continued racial tension in our communities including churches, I look forward to the challenge God will give us as a denomination to work toward a more inclusive, respectful, grace filled community. May God continue to provide us with opportunities for future Churchwide conversations, and may we respond with the willingness to hear one another and do what God calls us to do as a beloved community.
PARADES ARE MAGICAL!
¡Los desfiles son algo mágico!
By Suzi Welch, member of St. Paul San Angelo 
Parades are magical.   I love attending and participating in a parade.   The sense of community it builds and what parades represent make me tear up every single time.
The Christmas Parade in San Angelo was no exception.   There was a large group from St. Paul Presbyterian Church that road together.    
The float was a perfect representation of our church.   Nothing flashy and commercial.   A beautiful world globe was mounted to the front of the float and images of children surrounded the large flatbed trailer.   Misty Clark and Alyssa Dena get credit for the great decorations.
With shouts of "Merry Christmas" and lots of waves to the crowd we represented our church.  
Our preacher, Timothy Davenport-Herbst, who had to pause to turn on his fitness tracker in order to get credit for his workout...Go Tim!, Bryan Burrell and Dennis Vargas ran alongside the float handing out candy canes to the children.
No pushy message.   Just a group of Christians sharing a joyful moment together.  
Can't wait to do it again next year.  

Maggie Salgado (right), Executive Director of St. Andrews Mission with Cheryl Truszkovsky Moderator of the Board of Directors
 KNOW THE DIRECTOR OF ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN MISSION IN MIDLAND    
Conozca la Directora de la Misión Presbiteriana San Andrés en Midland   
By Margarita "Maggie" Salgado. Executive Director of St. Andrews Presbyterian Mission
My name is Margarita "Maggie" Salgado. I am the Executive Director at St. Andrews Presbyterian Mission. First of all, I want to say a BIG thank you to all our wonderful donors, foundations, volunteers, board members, and staff for giving so whole-heartedly to our mission and its cause; because without them, we would not exist. It is a privilege and an honor to be part of such a great organization. I am very grateful to God for placing me in a position that allows me to help so many families and children in need. I can truly say that for the first time in my professional career, I love my job and all that it entails. It is so rewarding to be able to help alleviate someone else's burden and to help them feel whole again without them feeling shame and embarrassment for reaching out for help. It is a very humbling experience and it helps remind me of how fortunate and blessed I am compared to the struggles and hardships others go through. I, like many of you, never knew that agencies like St. Andrews existed and all the wonderful ministries it provides to those in need.
Assistance for the entire community is available if they meet the appropriate qualifications. We have a Pre-K 3 and 4 year old program; a Senior and Veterans assistance program that allows us to assist with utility bills; and a small emergency food pantry that allows us to provide a family with food for 1 meal to help hold them over until they get to a bigger food pantry. I welcome you to please stop by and visit our mission to take a tour and witness firsthand what we are all about. May God bless each and every one of you. May you have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

If you need more information about the newsletter or the activities of The Presbytery of Tres Rios, please contact

Rev. Jose Luis Casal - General Missioner

jlcasal@tresrios.org  -  Ph. 432-682-5297 - office

cell - 432-638-3564