Highlights of the October 23, 2024, Session Meeting

Among other actions, the Session:



• Received a report from treasurer Jack Marcum on his training of Aaron Baer and Administrative Assistant Megan Cahill to take over treasurer duties by the end of the year.
• Heard a report from the treasurer that $1,943 was received for the Peace & Global Witness Offering. CHPC’s 25% of the offering ($485.75) will go toward an art piece by local blacksmith Craig Kaviar for the front plaza. Called “Healing the Earth,” the art piece will be made of metal from guns collected at Guns to Gardens events. Church members will be invited to contribute more toward this project at a later date.
• Finalized dates and process for training and examining new elders and deacons. Set January 12 as the date for ordination and installation of officers during worship.
• Agreed to include liturgist training and use of inclusive/expansive language on the agenda of the Church Officers Retreat, January 24–26, at Loretto.
• Set dates/times for special holiday-season services and events:

- November 24—In-gathering of canned foods, diapers, etc., for

United Crescent Hill Ministries

- December 1, 1st Sunday of Advent—Hanging of the Greens

- December 8, 2nd Sunday of Advent—Build-a-Bed

- December 18—Taize/Blue Christmas Service, 7 p.m.

- December 24—Christmas Eve worship, 5:30 p.m.

- December 29—Informal worship with music and stories

• Elected Soni Castleberry and Polly Cushman as commissioners to the November 16 meeting of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery at La Grange Presbyterian Church.

Friendsgiving, November 9

Everyone is invited to drop by the church for “Friendsgiving,” Saturday, November 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is an opportunity to connect with folks in the neighborhood, celebrate earth’s abundance, and learn more about the partnerships between the Master Gardeners, Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville, and Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church.

There will be a bake sale and other items for sale, apple cider, giveaways (seeds, bulbs, fall harvest recipes), interactive table displays, and crafts for kids. CHPC will have a display inviting church members and visitors to tell us how our church can support the needs of the community.

Interested in helping with this fun event or contributing an item for the bake sale? Please contact Claudia Foulkes at 502-939-4129.

Guns to Gardens, November 10

The prophet Isaiah offers a vision of a peaceful world in which weapons of destruction are transformed into gardening tools. Guns to Gardens Louisville, an organization birthed at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, is taking another small step toward bringing Isaiah’s vision to reality by offering our fifth gun safe-surrender event.

The next Guns to Gardens event will be on Sunday, November 10, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Grace Hope Presbyterian Church, 702 E. Breckinridge St., in the Smoketown neighborhood. This is an opportunity for anyone with unwanted guns to dispose of them safely and anonymously, with the assurance that the weapons will not be resold or used in acts of violence. Our first four events brought in a total of 74 guns to be cut into pieces with chop saws. The pieces are being forged into tools, art, and jewelry by local blacksmith Craig Kaviar.

If you have guns that you no longer want or need, or if you know someone who does, please bring them and help us “turn swords into plowshares” on November 10. Help us spread the word about this opportunity! For more information about Guns to Gardens, contact Eva Stimson at Eva.stimson@gmail.com or Soni Castleberry at Soni.castleberry@gmail.com.

Invitation to Support Spirit of Sophia

Spirit of Sophia has the opportunity to receive a $30,000 matching grant from the PC(USA)’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities. Mid-Kentucky Presbytery has already pledged $15,000 toward this match. It is up to Spirit of Sophia to raise the remaining $15,000 by the end of 2024.



Recognizing Spirit of Sophia’s valuable partnership with Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church in offering Taize services and opportunities for spiritual growth, our Session has voted to donate $1,000 to help the group qualify for this matching grant. CHPC members are invited to donate toward the church’s $1,000 gift so that it does not all have to come out of general treasury funds. If you feel led to invest in the future of Spirit of Sophia, please write a check payable to CHPC, with Spirit of Sophia on the memo line, and place it in the offering plate or mail it to the church. Thank you for supporting this valuable ministry!

Prayer and Action for Middle East

Please join us for prayer each Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Zoom. Email Soni at Soni.castleberry@gmail.com to get the link and to be added to our group email list for regular communication.

Ordination of Tim McNinch

Tim McNinch, a former seminary intern at CHPC whose family was a much-loved part of our congregation for several years, will be ordained to the ministry on Sunday, November 3. The service will be at 4 p.m. at First Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church, 4701 Central Avenue, Indianapolis.

After earning his doctorate at Emory University in Atlanta, Tim is now assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

DID YOU KNOW?

What Presbyterians Believe About the Bible

Our [Presbyterian] Constitution tells us that isolating certain statements of Scripture and using them to prove a particular viewpoint is not kosher. While my right to private judgment is inalienable, so that I must listen to my conscience when it comes to determining the revealed will of God, conscience also requires me to listen to “the whole counsel of God.” In other words, if I am really to hear the Word of God for me today (I am not asked to hear it for someone else), I cannot be individualistic in my reading of Scripture. I need to remain in dialogue with the whole church.

We Presbyterians therefore believe in the importance of listening to each other when it comes to interpreting the Bible. No matter how alien a viewpoint may be to us on first exposure to it, we have a responsibility to hear it fully and not reject it out-of-hand. This entails adopting the role of a student toward my sisters and brothers in the church. It means I must exhibit a willingness to try to see an issue through their eyes, rather than treating them with hostility because what they are saying contradicts my present understanding. As the Constitution expresses it, being Presbyterian means we exercise forbearance toward each other.

Excerpt from https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/the-bible-ii/

November 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.

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

November 5 - George Lindauer, Dana Walker

November 8 - Chris Bischoff, Seth Pendleton

November 11 - Diana Stephen

November 12 - Sebastian Duverge

November 15 - Carol Roderick

November 21 - Rick Roderick

November 28 - Lucy Craig Steilberg