Update on Pastor Search

An offer to be our part-time stated supply pastor has been made and accepted by a candidate. At a called meeting last Sunday, January 14, the Session approved a revised salary and benefits package to present to the candidate. The candidate is willing to begin serving our congregation February 15. Please continue to pray that the way be successful for Mid-Kentucky Presbytery's Committee on Ministry to approve the one-year contract when it meets on February 5. Once COM approves, the new pastor will be introduced to the congregation.

From the Pastor

Sunday we’ll be looking at a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, Jonah 3:1-10. In particular, we’ll look at verse 4. Jonah, after trying to get out of going to Nineveh with a message from God for the city to repent (only to be thrown in the belly of a whale for three days and nights), is finally obedient to God. However, he might be even worse in his obedience than he was when he was disobedient.

Jonah brings God’s message of repentance—which ultimately was a message meant to show God’s deep compassion—in eight (eight!) words: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah had no desire to share God’s message of repentance, which ultimately leads to grace, with a city that at the time was one of the most wicked cities in the world.

Jonah wanted God to punish them! And yet, in spite of Jonah’s half-hearted effort, God’s compassion is revealed. God listens to the King of Nineveh—who according to an old Jewish midrash was a Pharoah of Egypt who 500 years later ends up as King of Nineveh and leads his people in repentance.

Find out more about this Jewish teaching and fable. In the meantime, try writing your story of grace—of God’s compassion towards you—as a testimony to the gospel in eight (eight!) words!

Paul

January Youth Group, Sun Jan 21 at 4 p.m.

All high school youth are invited to join youth and leaders in the CHPC youth room (ground level of main building) for food, fun and fellowship on Sunday Jan 21 at 4 p.m. We'll gather for a taco bar, check-ins, and watch a fun movie together (since our holiday movie got postponed from illness). Youth can be picked up from the youth room by 6:30 p.m. For questions, contact youth leaders Rebecca Barnes, Luiz Kemmerle or Chris Bischoff.

Artwork Gratefully Accepted by Session

During December you may have noticed the beautiful depiction of Jesus hanging in the sanctuary near the piano. A church member purchased the artwork and Session approved hanging it to celebrate Advent. At the Officers Retreat January 5-7, Session members shared positive reactions to the artwork that they had heard and experienced and agreed to wholeheartedly accept this anonymous donation. Session will have the option to continue to display or store the artwork appropriately during each liturgical season.

This gift is a wonderful opportunity for our church to have art by another internationally known artist who is a strong advocate for social justice and peace. The generous donor shared:

“Penny Sisto has always been a favorite artist of mine. I visited her recent show at the monastery of Mt. St. Francis, and the room was filled with her incredible textile art. While all the pieces were amazing, and selling fast, I could not take my eyes off the piece she had named ‘Await the Light.’ Within minutes, I had a strong desire to buy the piece for my church, and before I left I indicated my interest, fearing that it would be sold. Many of the pieces had been sold, and I was amazed that this one had not. It was as if it was waiting for me.”

If you are not familiar with Penny Sisto and her work, you can read about her and the recent show here.

A CHPC Response to the Conflict in Palestine and Israel

Many of us are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which is threatening to escalate across Israel, Palestine, and the whole Middle East. Would you like to participate with others at CHPC in exploring that conflict and ways we can respond to it? 

At its January 24 meeting, the Session will consider endorsing the following overtures to the PC(USA) General Assembly:

1.     Confessing Our Complicity in Christian Zionism Today

2.     Promoting 2 Educational Resources (from the PCUSA Israel-Palestine Mission Network and the World Communion of Reformed Churches) for Seeking Ways to End Israeli Apartheid

3.     Directing the PC(USA)’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to begin focused engagement (possibly leading to divestment recommendations) with General Electric and Palintir Technologies, Inc., because of their contributions to violence and human rights violations in the Middle East and elsewhere.

If Session votes to endorse one or more of these overtures, they would then be sent to Mid-Kentucky Presbytery to consider at its February 24 meeting. A favorable vote by presbytery would move the overtures on to consideration by the General Assembly at its June 25–July 4 meeting. It is likely that we would be joining other presbyteries in submitting these overtures to General Assembly.

Session encourages all members of the congregation to prayerfully consider how we can respond to the conflict in Israel and Gaza. What does it mean in this context for us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God? Please share your thoughts on these overtures, or other ideas you might have for responding to the situation in Israel-Palestine, with Tricia Lloyd-Sidle, or Session member Don Mead, or any other member of Session before the January 24 Session meeting.

Community Book Read and Panel Discussion

What does the Second Amendment really mean? Did framers of the amendment intend to give everyone in the U.S. a constitutional right to own guns, without restrictions? Guns to Gardens Louisville is sponsoring a Community Book Read and Panel Discussion to explore these questions on Tuesday, January 30, at 7:00 p.m. at Crescent Hill Baptist Church. Discussion will center on the book The Second Amendment: A Biography, by Michael Waldman.

Panelists for the event will be:

Charles Boteler, a retired district, circuit, and senior judge, and previous board chair of the Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee

Elizabeth Jones Brown, a felony prosecutor with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, in Louisville, Kentucky

Hollan Holm, an attorney, survivor of the December 1997 shooting at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, and frequent speaker and writer on gun violence prevention

Dr. Steven M. Kelsey, a licensed clinical mental-health provider and former police officer, who has served as faith-based liaison in Louisville’s Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods and currently serves in the city’s MetroSafe office.

Shelley Santry, a Jefferson County Circuit/Family Judge and former prosecutor in domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse cases

All are invited to join what promises to be a thought-provoking discussion. If you purchase the book at Carmichaels, you will receive a 20% discount. But please come even if you are not able to read the book. Get more information and a free ticket to the event here.

Guns to Gardens Louisville is the new name of the Gun Violence Prevention Team, an interfaith group that got its start in a youth/adult Sunday school class at CHPC. The group has sponsored three gun safe-surrender events and is taking steps to incorporate as a nonprofit organization.

Spirit of Sophia

Spirit of Sophia invites you "Into a Sanctuary of Women with Jan Richardson" for a virtual retreat on Saturday, February 10, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  Join us for a conversational retreat exploring themes such as prayer, thresholds, thin places, and longings – among others. In the presence of women past and present, we will be asked to enter into the mysteries that lie at the heart of who we are. 

To learn more and register: https://spiritofsophia.org/a-conversation-with-jan-richardson/

Community Chair Yoga

Each Monday, the Rev. Ginny Brown will be leading a Chair Yoga class at Crescent Hill Presbyterian church from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Yoga is a beautiful journey of one’s body, emotion, mind, and spirit. 



Invite your friends and neighbors. Each person is required to fill out a waiver, and there is a suggested $10 donation to support the ministries of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. Upcoming Mondays we will meet in the Gathering room.



Please arrive early. For more information, contact the Rev. Ginny Brown at DHWVLB@Aol.com.