first pres magazine may 2012

Dear Saints at First Pres,May—this is the month that I finally feel like the warm weather is around the corner. There really is nothing like summer in the Rockies and I will truly miss this as I head to the more humid climate in the Boston area.

This month, we celebrate graduations. In this issue you will find a list of our seniors who are graduating from high school and college. What a

great time in life, so much promise and hope. We congratulate each and every one of our grads for a job well done and we are in prayer for you as you head off to the next chapter.

This issue of the First Pres Magazine begins a three-part series on what it is that we believe. Parish Associate Junior McGarrahan

will take different scriptural topics and explain to us why we interpret Scripture in a particular way. This

month Junior takes on why Scripture alone is our authority.

We also celebrate Compassion Sunday and Get Set Sunday in May. As a congregation we

support almost 800 Compassion kids, including a number at the child development center at

Limpong, India, where our Compassion partner church is located. Let’s see if together we can add

another 100 kids this year! Get Set, one of our ministries to children, supports 34

preschool-aged children each year on full scholarship. In its 42nd year, Get Set is supported weekly throughout the year by over 80 of you who volunteer in some capacity: preparing lunches, teaching ballet, reading with the chil-dren, as teacher’s aide, in transportation—all sorts of things. On Get Set Sunday (May 6) we ask each of you

to bring a canned food item (see pantry needs on page 15) to support this ministry.

This congregation is a blessing to so many. I continue to be amazed by the fruits of your labors.

In Christ,

Jim Singleton, Senior PastorFirst Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs

contentsMothers and Others 4 Dale McClure

Turning Tassels! 6

Thoughts on the Reformed Understanding of Scripture 8 Junior McGarrahan

Inquiring Minds Want to Know! 10

You Will Not Walk Alone 11 Jean Bodman

Meet Your Elders 12

Impacting the Kingdom of God 14 David Phillips

Get Involved with Get Set 15 Ray Perry

may 2012

Contributing Writers: Jean Bodman, Dale McClure, JuniorMcGarrahan, Ray Perry, David Phillips

Contributing Editors: Becky Armstrong, Christine Dellacroce, Alison Murray

Graphic Design: Beryl Glass

Photographers: Becky Armstrong, Helen Hazelton

Proofreading Team: Mary Bauman, Christine Dellacroce, Betty Haney, Daisy Jackson, Marty Kelley, Karen Kunstle, Gretchen Murphy-Bowman, Linda Pung

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, © 1984 International Bible Society Used by permission of Zondervan All rights reserved

First Pres Magazine May 2012, Volume Four, © First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs, CO Published by First Presbyterian Church, a non-profit organization

To contact First Pres Magazine: 719-884-6231 or 219 E Bijou Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-1392 or magazine@first-pres org Printed in the U S A

We welcome volunteer writers, photographers, editors and proofreaders to the magazine team! Contact Becky Armstrong at 719-599-0777 if you are interested.

F I R S T P R E SM A G A Z I N E

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rom our archives, I found that mothers have historically received quite a bit of attention during the month of May.

Mothers Day was begun in 1908 by Anna Jarvis. The concept didn’t take off at first,

but she kept promoting it until President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914. However, it soon became so highly commercialized that Jarvis eventually ended up opposing the day!

In 1929 the men of our church planned a special service honoring their mothers. A most cordial invitation was extended not only to all mothers but to every man who wished

to honor motherhood. “Mother”, the Sunday morning bulletin read, “next to Jesus Christ, deserves our best thought, our sincerest prayers and our most loyal attention.” Those attending were requested to wear a white carnation if their mother was living and a red carnation if their mother was deceased.

In the early 1900’s it was the fashion for women to wear enormous hats. They were beautiful affairs festooned with ostrich plumes, flowers, fruit and ribbons. There was only one problem with them. In church, you couldn’t see around them! Session was called upon to address the issue. The elders, wise

By Dale McClure

Big hats!Women's S.S. class

Margaret Humphreywith 2 year old

1973

Jane Smith in white dressThe hats got smaller, but just as pretty

c. 1900

5/12 | www.first-pres.org | 5

men that they were, considered the problem too volatile for them to handle, so they passed the matter on to the Women’s Society. After a few weeks this notice started appearing in the bulletins: “During the organ prelude, the ladies will please remove their hats for the service.” Problem solved!

The Women’s Society was accustomed to making twelve new quilts each year for use in a mission for Native Americans. In the bulle-tin they pleaded for more remnants of fabric to help them meet their quota. After the quilts were sewn, they once again appealed through the bulletin for anyone going to New Mexico to deliver them.

In May of 1931, the bulletin announced that there was a nursery available for young children during the Sunday morning service. It was staffed by the women from the “Moth-ers and Others” Sunday school class.

That class had its origin in 1914. Mothers would bring their children to Sunday school but had nothing to do until the worship service which followed. Consequently, the women huddled in the back of the children’s classroom and discussed what was being taught to their youngsters. When the women

became too noisy, they were moved out into the hallway at the top of the stairs but still close enough to apprehend their offspring as soon as they were dismissed. In 1915 they formalized their class and gathered in a corner of the 1888 sanctuary. It was then named the Young Mothers Class. Time marched on and some of the young mothers were no longer young. They became grand-mothers. While there were young mothers constantly inducted into the class, the name was changed to “Mothers and Others” to include all who wanted to attend.

In May of 1982, there was a Saturday Seminar called “Patterns for Womanhood.” The brochure announced, “We have planned a number of exciting workshops to encourage you as a woman in today’s society.” In addi-tion to the Bible studies, there were work-shops for crafts, cooking and sewing, and of course, the women just enjoyed being together.

Dale McClure has been a member since 1988 and First Pres’ Archi-vist since 2010. He is doing tremendous work to organize and categorize our history, as we prepare to celebrate our 140th Anni-versary later this year.

The hats got smaller, but just as pretty

Honoring "MOtherhood"

Mothers and Others - late '50s

c. 1950's

Photos from First Pres archives


Left to Right:Back Row: Cole Heggem, Matt Goodale, Chris Sapp, Dakota Biggs, Ian Hood (slightly forward), Ryan Russell Middle Row: Darren Sakamoto, Matt Kinsel, Taylor Badeau, Jarrod Fuller, Josh Setzer Front Row: Katie Hortik, JordanEdwards, Jennifer Cage, Laurel Abrahamsson, Karina Simon, Leanna Wolf

Doherty High School


Created by: Katie Dayton Kathy FreyschlagIna MeyerSpencer Norman

Recognizing Our Graduates


FROM The INSTANTANeOuS TO The long considered, we make many deci-sions every day. What will I wear? What course of treatment shall I prescribe to this patient? With which set of parents will we spend Christmas this year? Is this course of action ethical? What’s the next step in my troubled relationship? To make those decisions, we have authori-ties that guide us. We may have our pref-erences in fashion, some skilled knowledge, opinions of others whom we trust or even a judgment about how the results of our decision will be for our benefit. We make our decisions on the basis of some authority.

It is no different in the Christian life. We need to make decisions about who God is and how we relate and respond to him. We need to make decisions about who Jesus is. We need to decide if God has a claim on our lives, and if so, what the nature of that claim might be. What should our lives look like if we are followers of Jesus? And those decisions are not just individual ones. The church must decide what it will proclaim and what it will do as it lives as the Body of Christ sent into the world. Not one of these decisions is easy. So, the question is, “What authority will guide us?”

This was the very same question that faced the Reformers in the 16th century. how they answered that question helps guide us. Martin Luther, John Calvin and others challenged the medieval church. They had determined that the teachings and practices of the church were contrary to Scripture. In contradicting Scripture, the church was leading people astray about the source and nature of their salva-tion. This was a life and death matter and the Reformers called the church back to Scripture with the watchword sola scrip-tura—Scripture alone!

Now, this didn’t mean that the only thing they paid attention to was the Bible. The Reformers had a high regard for the traditions of the church that they found in the writings of the Church Fathers like St. Augustine. But they measured the truth of the tradition against what they called the “plain sense of Scripture.” They declared that the medieval church had departed from Scripture and Scripture-based tradi-tion. They found the church in need of reform.

The church in every generation needs to measure its teachings and practices against the norm of Scripture. There are many voices that compete for the role of

Says Who?


authority in our lives. Many of those voices have good and true things to say to us, but “we must test any word that comes to us from church, world, or inner experience by the Word of God in Scripture.”1

As we think about Scripture as the final authority in our lives, we need to ask, “For what is Scripture the authority?” Our Book of Confessions helps us understand this. In summary, the confessions tell us that the purposes of Scripture are: (1) to tell us everything that is necessary for our salva-tion; (2) to show us how to shape our lives in a way that is pleasing to God; (3) to make clear to us who God is, especially as he is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. For in truth, the Lord, the authority of our lives, is none other than Jesus Christ. The voice of Jesus is the only voice we are to hear. But, the only Jesus we can know is the Jesus revealed in Scripture.

It is all well and good to stake out this doctrinal truth about Scripture, but it is insufficient to say Scripture is our authority in matters of faith and life and then let our Bibles gather dust. John Calvin believed that Christ is in the Scriptures and that to know Jesus, we must be in the Scriptures as well. Thus, the challenge for us is to not only claim that Scripture is the authority in

our lives but also to make it so. For exam-ple, we know that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righ-teousness.” We believe that. Now, what are you hungry for?

After thirty-plus years in youth ministry, Junior was called into ordained ministry. She served for seven years in the Office of Theology and Worship for the PCUSA and for almost nine years as associate pastor at The National Presbyterian Church.

Helpful Resources:“Eat This Book,” Eugene Peterson, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

“How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth,” Gordon Fee, Zondervan

“The Jesus Storybook Bible,” Sally Lloyd-Jones, ZonderKidz

Thoughts on the Reformed Understanding of Scripture By Junior McGarrahan

1 Declaration of Faith, Chapter 6 (3), produced by the Presby-terian Church, U.S. in 1977. While not having confessional status, it is recommended for study.


Q.Why weren’t Adam and Eve children when God created them? (Ruth- 2nd Grade)A. (Jim Singleton) If Adam and Eve had started as children they might have needed a parent to help with lots of things, so I think God started with full grown adults and then went with children after there were parents. Q.Why is it important to bring my Bible to church? (Finn- 1st grade)A. (Danny Shaw) What a great question! As you dig into your own Bible, you’ll start to get familiar with where different books are, and start to be able to find your favorite stories from the Bible. Bringing your own Bible also is a good habit! The more you have your Bible with you the better your chance is to read it and see what God might want you to learn.

Q.Why & how did people make the Bible? (Riley-1st Grade, Jack- 2nd Grade)A. (Jennifer Holz) God had people make the Bible so that you and I and everyone could read God’s story and see how much God loves us. The Bible is one big book made up of a lot of little books that include the stories of Jesus, letters from pastors to churches, poems about God and lots of conversations between God and Israel (God’s special people). Q.Why is it named the Bible? (Cameron- 1st Grade)A. (Jennifer Holz) In a very old language called Latin, the word for “book” is biblia. The Bible means “the book.” And it is the most important book ever written because it is God’s book. Q.Did God get made or did he make himself? (Rhett-Kindergarten)A. (Jennifer Holz) Great question! I guess you could say that God did not get made because He has always been around. And God didn’t make Himself because God has always existed. The term we use for God is “eternal.” That means God has no beginning and no end and will live forever. Imagine that! Q.Why don’t we have church every day? (J.B.- 1st Grade)A. (Jim Singleton) Some churches do meet every day and we could, but in the Bible, worship was set for once a week.

Q. Why did God name his son Jesus? (Nicole- 1st Grade) A. (Jennifer Holz) Every name has a meaning. My son’s name, Henry, means “ruler of

the house.” My name, Jennifer, means “white wave.” Do you know what your name means? The name Jesus means “God rescues.” Jesus was going to grow up and rescue all of us from our sins, so that is the name God gave Him.

If your child has a question they would like answered in First Pres Magazine, please email Becky Armstrong [email protected]

Inquiring Minds Want to Know! T H E K I D S o F F I R S T P R E S



Stephen Ministry is an international ministry that extends the ability to provide pastoral care within a congregation. The ministry is named after Stephen, one of the first deacons, who was charged with the responsibility of caring for the church’s widows and orphans. We are not professional counselors, but we have extensive training in Christian care giving and desire to live out Galations 2:6 by carrying one another’s burdens. We provide confidential, compassionate, skilled and faith-driven care to those experiencing life’s difficulties.

Hello! I am Linda Boyles. I have been a member of First Pres since September 1978. I served as a deacon 30 years ago- 1981-1983. My husband, John, died in an accident on August 2, 2003. I attended the Grief workshop and kept coming to church. On the outside I looked like I was doing alright—except on Sunday mornings. Those who sat next to me in worship had to put up with my never-ending tears. It was April of 2004, that I felt a weari-ness that wouldn’t go away. I bumped into JoAnn Brechbill and asked her about a Stephen Minister. I wasn’t even sure what one did. I thought they were for people who were going through really hard stuff, and although my journey was hard, I knew I would make it. Did I really need that kind of help? I asked JoAnn.

Within a day, I talked with a Stephen Leader and received a call from a Stephen Minister. We met regularly for almost two years. For one hour every week, I was the focus. My Stephen Minister listened, cried, laughed and encour-aged. It was the personal, incarnational care that I needed. Because of the amazing experi-ence I had, I took the training and have been a Stephen Minister for five years. I would guess that we all hit times when we could use a little care, when we need God to put skin on. As you visit with members of this church, listen well. Listen beyond the surface, pay attention to what is going on in their lives, and don’t hesi-tate to suggest a Stephen Minister. God didn’t intend for us to go through life alone, and often the presence of another who is willing to just listen is all we need.

If you would like to talk with a Stephen Minis-ter, call Angie at Caring Ministries 884-6145. If you would like to consider taking Stephen Ministry training, look for our informational meetings this summer, or give your name to Angie, and a Stephen Leader will call you to answer your questions and give you more information.

You Will Not Walk AloneBy Jean Bodman



now, and living elsewhere, but First Pres remains their church home. They have enjoyed having a couple of the Greenhouse Ministry interns live at their home over the last couple of summers. The Lenz’s are very excited to serve the Church together as Jajean is a newly elected Deacon. George was a Colorado Springs banker from 1984 until he joined Classic homes as CFO in 1993 and is now part owner. When he isn’t working, he enjoys cycling (mountain and road), woodworking, and classic cars. George’s favorite books are the Bible, and lessons learned from The Carpenter. his favorite movies include Remember the Titans and anything with John Wayne.

Cindy and her husband, Jerry, were married at First Pres in 1984. They chose First Pres because of its foundation in scriptural author-ity and strong evangelical message, as well as its commitment to holy living and spreading the gospel. Cindy is very involved at our church; in addition to being an elder, she is active in her Sunday school class, Dawn-Treaders; she is the Chair of the Trustees and the human Resources Committee. Cindy and Jerry have two children; their son Andrew lives in Amarillo, Texas, and daugh-ter Kelly is a senior at Air Academy high School. Cindy is the Director of human Resources at the Red Noland Auto Group and sits on several community boards. In her free time, Cindy loves to read… her favorite book and movie are the same: Gone With the Wind.

Meet Your 2011-2012 elders

Stuart and his wife, Tonya, were initially drawn to First Pres in 2002 by the trumpets in the worship services and the church’s evan-gelical commitment to the gospel. They have stayed because of the people who have become a part of their lives. On Sunday mornings, Stu can be found in worship at 11:10, in the Lifequest Sunday School class and collecting from various locations in the church his three children: Peter (11), Katie (9) and ellie (7). Stu is an attorney represent-ing nonprofit organizations in their corporate and tax work. Given a couple of hours of free time, Stu enjoys playing tennis or basketball and hiking in the Colorado sunshine. his favorite book is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and his claim to fame is that he has been in all 50 states.

George and his wife, Jajean, started attending First Pres in 2002 when their youngest son wanted to participate in the youth programs; they became members in 2006. That led to George’s involvement in Men’s Life, Star basket-ball coaching and Jajean’s involvement in Women’s ministry and worship at the 9:45 service. George and Jajean’s two sons are grown

CINdY sPArKs

stuArt lArK

george leNz


Meet Your 2011-2012 elders

Peter teets

MIKe trAPP

Peter was first attracted to First Pres because of Big Blue and Jim Singleton’s sermons. Five years later, he is an elder and also attends First Pres Foundation meetings. he and his wife, Vivian, attend the 8:20 am service and Pathfinders Sunday school class. They are fortunate to have their daughter-in-law and three grandchildren living in Colorado Springs, and attending First Pres. Five other children and two grandchildren reside in various places in Colorado and California. Peter retired from Lockheed Martin Corpora-tion in 2001, having served as President and Chief Operating Officer. he then served as under Secretary of the Air Force and Direc-tor of the National Reconnaissance Office from 2001–2005. Given some free time, Peter enjoys hiking in the mountains. his favorite book is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

A rare Colorado Springs native, Mike was origi-nally introduced to the ministry of First Pres by his future wife, Katie. They were married in 1970 by a recently-transplanted minister from California by the name of Dr. John h. Stevens. Katie and Mike are the proud parents of three daughters –Lana, Lisa, and Lindsay and two granddaughters, halle and Briley. In 1968 Mike

began working at Olson Plumbing and heating and by the early 1980s had purchased the company which he still owns and runs today. Serving as a Trustee for over five years, the Trapps are particularly excited about the burgeoning youth movement at 225. “What God is doing,” says Mike, “is truly miraculous.” In their leisure time, Mike and his wife enjoy boating at Lake Powell and Lake havasu City with their kids as well as riding motorcy-cles. Mike is a passionate advocate for appreciat-ing this nation’s natural beauty and wonder, remarking, “We’ve been all over the uSA on motorcycles and the scenery God made in the country is awesome.”

Mike’s term as an elder finished in April 2012. his leadership will be missed.

Meredith was raised a Presbyterian, so First Pres seemed a natural choice when she moved to Colorado Springs in 1984. She has felt at home ever since. Meredith is married to Dave and they have four grown children, two live in Colorado Springs and two on the east Coast. They are the proud grandparents of seven grandkids, and counting. Prior to retiring in 2005, Meredith worked for many years in the non-profit commu-nity in Colorado Springs, most recently at ecumenical Social Ministries for over ten years. When they are not busy with church, missions, and family, Meredith and Dave love to travel and try to turn every travel experience into an opportunity for service or mission. j

Meredith Yorkston will leave Session as she and her husband Dave are hopping between Delaware and Florida taking care of grandchildren.

MeredetH YorKstoN


Many in the congregation may not know the impact the First Pres Foundation

has on the Kingdom of God. Funds are used for ministry opportunities, both here in Colo-rado Springs and around the world, that are not part of the church’s operating budget.

Peter and Vivian Teets lost their son David in a tragic drowning accident on Christmas eve, 2001. To honor the life and memory of David, they established The David e. Teets Memorial Fund in the First Pres Foundation. David was husband to Jacque and father to three children. he was an electrical engineer at Intel and later at Rothwell International and was respected by his peers. David had a strong, vibrant faith that influenced the lives of those he touched.

The David e. Teets Memorial Fund will be used to support and encourage young adults affiliated with First Pres, to provide them with life experiences and education that prepare them for strong leadership roles in professional ministry and secular vocations. This fund will be very significant in the life of our church as we continue to build a strong young adult ministry.

Prior to Olav Gonsholt’s death in 2010, he established the Olav and elsie Gonsholt Fund in the First Pres Foundation to be used for

youth ministry and missions. In 2011 and 2012, Gonsholt Fund monies are being used to support Gantumur Badrakh, a Mongolian seminary student attending Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. Mongolia is one of our church’s four priority commit-ments in global missions. When Gantumur graduates with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, he will be only the seventh Mongolian in that country to hold a M. Div. degree.

Just think . . . here at First Pres alone, there are a number of members who have a Master of Divinity degree, yet there are only seven with that degree in the entire country of Mongolia. The Gonsholt Fund will greatly impact international missions by preparing Gantumur to be a well-trained Christian leader in his native country.

These are just two stories, of many, about how the investments of members of First Pres, through the First Pres Foundation, are impacting the Kingdom of God, locally and world-wide. Imagine what your investment could do.

Dave Phillips, a member of the First Pres staff, works with members and friends of the church in their legacy plans. You may want to talk with Dave about how you might impact the Kingdom through the First Pres Foundation. He can be reached at 884-6161 or [email protected].

By DaviD PhilliPs


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