Highlights of the April 30, 2025, Session Meeting

• Elected Polly Cushman to serve as clerk pro tempore as Andrea Trautwein was on vacation.
• Happily voted to welcome Katherine Futrell back into active membership at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church after her return last year from living in Florida for several years.
• Approved the minutes from the March 26 Stated Session meeting.
• Elected Soni Castleberry and another person (to be asked by Pastor Tami) to serve as commissioners to the Monday, May 12, Mid-Kentucky Presbytery meeting at Cedar Ridge Camp.
• Continued a discussion on ways the church can help immigrants facing possible deportation. A first draft of our own policy for private and public spaces in the church was reviewed and amended, but a vote was postponed until an edited copy is sent out via email to be voted on before the next meeting.

OPS/NOW Meeting with Dinner

Salad Night

Everyone is invited to gather in the Henry Young Fellowship Hall for dinner at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, and stay for continued discussion of our church community and mission.

We will be having a "salad night." If you would like to bring a favorite salad, please feel free, but not obligated.

Our discussions will take place in two committees:

• OPS (Operations) Committee—Guides the work of stewardship and giving, finances, budget, personnel, upkeep of building and grounds.
• NOW Committee—Guides programmatic work of the congregation, including music and worship, Christian formation, earth care, gun violence prevention, garden ministry, outreach to the community, Guatemala partnership and overseas mission.

Even if you are not sure about serving on a “committee,” please join us for the food and a chance to get to know others in our church community.

Celebrating Our Graduates

We are proud of our graduates! We will celebrate their accomplishments at a reception following worship (around noon) on Sunday, May 18, in Henry Young Fellowship Hall. Everyone is invited.

Here is the list of 2025 graduates we know about so far. If you have more information on any of these or know of others with ties to CHPC, please contact the church office.

• Lake Claire Baird (from Atherton High School, working at the Louisville Zoo)
• Elise Duerr (GED)
• Erick Gunterman (from Walden School, plans to attend the University of Louisville)
• Nick Kissell (from Walden School, will work at Cedar Ridge Camp this summer, and plans to pursue a career as a firefighter)
• Kingston Lloyd-Sidle (from Ballard High School, plans to attend the University of Kentucky)

Choir Practice Resumes

Choir Practice has resumed on Thursday evenings at 6:45 p.m. in the sanctuary. All are welcome to participate.

Community Dance!

We all could use some joyful time in awesome community right now. Mark your calendars and plan to come on out for an easy, fun, informal night of community dancing at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church (back building) on Saturday, May 31, from 7 to 9 p.m.

No dance experience necessary! All ages and abilities welcome! (We have enjoyed dancing with babies in arms, toddlers, teens, young adults, middle-aged and folks in their 80s and even 90s). You do not need to come with a partner--we dance in community, grab new partners for each dance, and use non-gender-specific terminology. The dance is free, although there will be an opportunity to give to a free-will offering to support an organization helping immigrants in our community.

We will do some old-time dancing (contra and squares) with the well-known and well-loved Chris "Maddog" Bischoff as our caller! Dancing will be set to some of our favorite recorded old-time dance bands.

Folks are welcome to come try out a few dances, or to just enjoy hanging out in community and having a few snacks and watching. We suspect you'll get swept into at least trying one or two of these fun, easy, and feels-good-to-your-body dances.

Prayer and Action for Middle East

Feel free to join us on Zoom, in-person, or both. This group has enabled such support for one another as we all struggle to cope with the tragedies in the Middle East and the on and off cease fires and prisoner releases. We would be grateful to have others join us. Email Soni at soni.castleberry@gmail.com to get the Zoom link and be added to the group email list for regular communication.

Healing the Earth

Members of the CHPC community are invited to donate to an exciting art project that will be a visible witness to our commitment to earth care and ending gun violence. The Session has agreed to contract with local blacksmith Craig Kaviar to create a six-foot iron sculpture for the front plaza. The art piece, called “Healing the Earth,” will be made of pieces of guns chopped up at Guns to Gardens Louisville safe-surrender events.

The cost of this project is $28,514, plus stand, lighting, and installation. Session has set aside $10,000, plus $548 from the Peace and Global Witness Offering, toward the art piece. The remainder of the cost will be covered by grants and donations. If you would like to donate, please make your check out to CHPC and specify in the memo line that the donation is for the sculpture. Or you can use the QR code below.

If you have a tool or other item that you would like to donate for possible use in the sculpture, please contact the church office. Please make sure the object is iron (attracts a magnet). There is now a container in the narthex to put any iron tools in.

Guns to Gardens Louisville, which grew out of a Sunday school class in our congregation, has so far received 88 unwanted guns to transform into garden tools, art, and jewelry. Craig Kaviar is a valued partner in this effort. His art piece—along with the gardens flourishing on church grounds—will symbolize to the community our commitment to healing and caring for God's creation.

DID YOU KNOW?

What Presbyterians Believe

Through the congregation, God’s people carry out the ministries of proclamation, sharing the sacraments, and living in covenant life with God and each other. In the life of the congregation, individual believers are equipped for the ministry of witness to the love and grace of God in and for the world.

The congregation reaches out to people, communities, and the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to gather for worship, to offer care and nurture to God’s children, to speak for social justice and righteousness, and to bear witness to the truth and to the reign of God that is coming into the world.

https://pcusa.org/about-pcusa/church-structure/congregations-new-worshiping-communities-overview

May Birthdays

Please remember these wonderful folks in prayer and, if possible, reach out to them with a card, phone call, text, email or however you choose to honor them.

May 8 - Joanne Cybulski

May 19 - Marsha Berry

To double-check your listing, contact Soni Castleberry at soni.castleberry@gmail.com or phone or text at 502-417-6481