pinnacle vistas | november 2014

the newsletter for pinnacle presbyterian church, scottsdale, az | November 2014

VistasP I N N A C L E

INSIDE...

PINNACLE MISSION FAIR is November 2 SEE PAGE 3

THANK YOU DEBBIE! Debbie Lisk goes on long-term disability SEE PAGE 4

PINNACLE EXPLORES Middle East Concerns SEE PAGE 6

Pinnacle Stewardship Ministry Group presents a closer look at how your pledges are serving God, the community and each other. Pinnacle uses your contributions to make a difference in people’s lives in the local community and beyond. While much of our mission funds comes from special donations and volunteers, your pledge dollars do help support regular programing for our mission partners. These include:

Harmony Ministries, in Haiti, is supported both financially and with volunteers from Pinnacle. Several churches, including Pinnacle, work to facilitate and support Harmony's Ministries' 2,000 members with churches, schools, medical care and development programs. In 2013, eleven congregation members traveled to Haiti with its focus on children and music, but also as in the past, provided medical care to several hundred people. Construction of the new church is nearing completion thanks to a consortium of churches and organizations, of which Pinnacle is a member.

Habitat for Humanity has been supported by Pinnacle since 1996. Pinnacle provides both financial support and volunteers in order to

Please see UNITING on page 8

2015 STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN

2 Pinnacle Vistas • November 2014

TracingsA Letter from Dr. Wesley Avram

Dr. Wes Avram,Senior Pastor

Dear friends,I love my friend Bill Smith's daily email postings.

On October 10, he quoted from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitch-Hiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.

First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.

Being slightly cheaper can be a good thing. But what prompted my chuckle was the "DON'T PANIC" in all caps. As a summary of a guide to the supposed wisdom of the universe, "DON'T PANIC" might come out about right. Reminds one of Jesus' constant word to his followers, "Don't be afraid."

Of course that doesn't mean "Don't bother," or "Don't work," or "Don't think it matters." It simply means, "Don't panic." And how often we do panic. How often we look at circumstances, or challenges, or things that rightfully upset us and wonder, "Why?!" or "How?!" or "Oh, my God! What do I do now?" Or, worse, "I can't face this. I've failed. I've been failed by others. I've been failed by God. All I've left is rage, blame, and panic!"

But panic is a product of feeling isolated in the face of unexpected challenge.

Faith, by contrast, is a gift of accepting the idea (and awareness, if you're lucky) that you're NOT alone. God's Spirit is there. Faithful others are there. Knowledge is there. Possibilities are there, even when

Please see TRACINGS on page 8

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Pinnacle Vistas • November 2014 3

MISSION AT PINNACLE

Pinnacle Promise

Your Steps Make a Big Difference!Mission Fair | November 2 | 11:15 am | Sanctuary Patio

Did you know that the average number of steps taken by an American woman is 5,210 steps per day? An American man takes an average of 7,192 steps per day according to the pedometer researcher Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke. That is a lot of steps!

We do a lot of things with those steps: walk the dog, make meals, clean our home, grocery shop, walk at our job, through our home and while playing sports. Each step seems to matter because it gets us from one point to another and helps us get things done. Each step makes a difference.

Only a few steps in our day can make a world of difference to the people around us. It only takes an hour to read to a child at UMOM to touch a child’s heart, a few steps in serving a meal to the folks at Andre House who are hungry, a few days to walk with the people in Haiti to hear their stories, or an afternoon to support a senior who needs help getting to the doctor.

How do you use your steps? Join us at the Mission Fair to discover how your small steps can make a big difference to someone else’s life.

SMALL STEPS THAT

MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2 | MISSION FAIR

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzeiS5ZNa7o


Pinnacle Presbyterian ChurchWednesday, November 26 | 7 pmMessage by Pastor Mark Rossman

Thanksgiving Eve Service

Thank you, Debbie!If you're on Pinnacle's mailing list you received

a letter recently letting you know that our Director of Children's Ministries, Debbie Lisk, has gone on long-term disability to address an ongoing medical condition related to diabetes. Her decision came after a 90-day short-term leave was completed on October 9. We celebrated Debbie's work at Pinnacle on Sunday, October 19. We all continue to pray for her continuing recovery and healing. We're also glad that she and her family will remain a part of our lives here at Pinnacle as members.

Debbie has served our children and their families ably and faithfully for seven years, and we've all benefited from her ministry. Please wish her well when you see her and pray for those who are charting the future course of this important ministry at Pinnacle.

We can also use your volunteer help in our children's programming in the meantime! Please contact Pastor Frank Harmon at [email protected] or 480.585.9448 ext 230 if you can offer some time and energy.

Thank you, Debbie. We send prayers for continuing recovery.

OUR COMMON LIFE

with our friends at Living Water Lutheran Church


PINNACLE FINANCE REPORT

9/30/14YTD Actual

9/30/13YTD Actual

2014 vs 2013 %

Total Income $363,724 $317,016 $46,708 15%

Total Expenditures $480,315 $475,504 ($4,811) -1%

(Over)/Under ($116,592) ($158,488) $41,896

Cash Balance - Operating $286,182

Cash Balance - Restricted $150,972

Total Cash Balance $437,154

For the three months ending September 2014, total income was higher than last year's September YTD by 15%, which was mainly due to a generous one-time gift. We managed our total expenditures to be approximately the same as last year, above by 1%. This is a good result as compared to last year since we are now fully staffed this year and our personnel expense is higher than last year and our other expenses were lower than this time last year to compensate. Overall the shortfall was $116,000, but $42,000 better than last year at this time. Our cash balance ended the month at $286,182.


ADULT EDUCATION

Join us as we continue a series of opportunities to explore, discuss and learn more about the complex issues of concern within the Middle East.

Sunday, November 9 | 11:30 am | Teen Center Hope for the Holy LandSpecial Presentation by World Vision

Sunday, November 16 | 11:15 am | Music Rehearsal HallTracking the Rise, Threat and Response to ISISSpecial Presentation by Cap Dean

Sunday, November 23 | 11:15 am | Music Rehearsal HallHow Far Apart? Whose Narrative, Which Truth?Dr. Wesley Avram

Pastor's Forum

Adult Education ClassesThursday Evenings | Nov. 6, 13, 20; Dec. 4, 117 pm | Fellowship Hall, Room 4Considering Zionism Unsettled and MoreLed by David Schaller

For more information please visit www.pinnaclepres.org/middle-east/

http://www.pinnaclepres.org/middle-east/


ADULT EDUCATION

For detailed information about these and other Adult Education classes, please visit www.pinnaclepres.org/adult-education.

Adult Education Offerings This Month

Rev. Kelsy BrownWednesdays | 6 pm | Fellowship Hall, Room 2

A meaningful time of fellowship, conversational prayer, and meditation on God’s word. Our time will be guided by a meditative worship liturgy in a small group setting.

Faith Formations: Adult Study

Ladies’ Bible Study: I AM - Discovering Who Jesus IsMarti KingTuesdays, November 4 & 11 | 10:00 am | Chapel Library - or -Thursdays, November 6 & 13 | 6:30 pm | Various Homes

A look at the powerful claims in the book of John. We’ll discover how Jesus’ words help us see Him more clearly as these truths take hold of our spirits.

Illuminating Words of Faith in Music and Dance Video Lecture Series by Stephen CrosbyMondays, November 10 and 17 | 7:00 pm | Chapel

Experience a different musical interpretation of words of faith each week in addition to a choreographer’s further interpretation in dance.

November 10 - Contemporary Christian songs as interpreted by Ballet Magnificat and choreographers Tara Thibodeaux Drew and Jiri Voborsky.

November 17 - The Trials, Faith and Hopes of Black Slaves in the Spirituals Tradition as interpreted by choreographer Alvin Ailey.

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http://www.pinnaclepres.org/adult-education


annually build homes for families in our community that are selected by Habitat.

UMOM, celebrating its 50th year, is Arizona's largest homeless shelter for families, assisting over 6,000 people annually. UMOM provides emergency shelter for families in immediate need and those seeking shelter from domestic violence. Their services also include: transitional and permanent housing, employment services, medical care, educational opportunities, childcare, legal aid and transportation. In addition, UMOM has specific services for very low income veteran families. Pinnacle provides financial support and member Ambassadors to work with Pinnacle volunteers.

Your Pinnacle pledge works in conjunction with our considerable volunteer efforts to provide the elderly in the community with the support they need to live their daily lives. DUET and Foothills Caring Corp promotes health and well-being through a broad range of services. Volunteers provide transportation, computer assistance, friendly visits and respite for caregivers. Pinnacle supports both organizations with financial support and a dedicated volunteer effort. Each dollar you give is a small step that makes a big difference. Thank you!

UNITING from page 1

TRACINGS from page 2

you don't think so. And an eternity of love and welcome waits beyond. In faith, rage becomes recognition and maybe even peace. In faith,

blame is redirected into new questions: "What am I hearing? What am I to do? From where comes help?" In faith, panic becomes resolve to accept the challenge, accept help if it's there, let go of having to control the future, and tend to the moment without regret.

First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.Blessings,


Afrizo is a group of Daystar University students who sing in a variety of African traditions. The African gospel-style music presented by Afrizo is sung in English, Swahili and African tribal languages, resulting in a concert of joyful praise.

*FREE. A special offering will be received to support scholarships for Daystar University students.

AfrizoTuesday, November 4 | 7:00 pm | Free*

Pinnacle Concert Series

Classical Revolution PHXFriday, November 14 | 7:30 pmPremium Seating: $35 | General Admission: $20 | Student: Free

Classical Revolution PHX presents a mix of artists and ensembles programming original works and arrangements in a variety of styles. They seek to emphasize the fun and power of classical compositions performed in a casual manner.

Afrizo

For detailed information about these and other concerts, please visitwww.pinnacleconcerts.com.

http://www.pinnacleconcerts.com.


CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES AT PINNACLE

Club 45 Movie DaySunday, November 16 | 3:00 - 5:00 pm | Teen Center

Club 45 is off to a great start this year: consuming a 45-foot sundae and heading to AZ Airtime! Whether you made it to our first two events or not, we want you to join us for our next Club 45 event.

This month, we will enjoy all the comforts of a movie theatre right here at Pinnacle. Join us for freshly made popcorn - not out of a bag, 120+ inch projection screen and comfy couches, while we enjoy time together watching the movie Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

We would love to have all of our 4th and 5th graders and their friends join us for this fun time together.

You Can, Too...Sunday, November 30 | 10:20 am | Fellowship Hall

Come join us as we get into the holiday spirit making Christmas gifts for some of our homebound members. Our You Can, Too... children will be making advent wreaths, Christmas ornaments and Christmas cards for our homebound members during their normal church school time.

We would love to have your children join us and be a part of this amazing ministry.

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Banner Carriers for Advent Sundays10 am Worship Service Every Sunday from November 30 until Christmas

Advent is the time of year when we wait expectantly for the birth of Jesus. During the four Sundays of Advent and Christmas Eve, part of our celebration is to have children carry Advent banners into worship during our 10 am service and at the 5:00 pm service on Christmas Eve. If your child is interested in carrying one of these banners, please let Pastor Frank know at [email protected].

YOUTH MINISTRIES AT PINNACLE

Jr. and Sr. High Youth GroupEvery Sunday | 5:30 pm for Jr. High6:30 pm for Sr. High | Teen Center

If you are in Jr. or Sr. High, we hope that you would join us on Sunday nights in November as we eat together and talk about life, faith and how they go together. Jr. High starts at 5:30 followed by dinner. Sr. high starts at 6:30 with dinner, followed by a time of sharing our lives together as we unfold how God is at work in us.

Jr. High Youth

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mailto:fharmon%40pinnaclepres.org?subject=

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YOUTH MINISTRIES AT PINNACLE

Join Us at the Confirmation Mentor CeremonySunday, November 9 | 11:15 am | Chapel

Confirmation is an important moment in one’s faith journey. It is the time when students examine their faith, and for many, affirm the commitment that was made for them when they were baptized.

We would like to invite you to join ten students and their mentors for the Confirmation Mentor Ceremony. At the ceremony, we will pray for the confirmands and commission their mentors as they begin this journey together. We hope you will join us.

BAPTISMS:Rose Elizabeth Kilbridge, child of Christine and John Kilbridge and granddaughter of Margaret and Richard Ebert.

OUR SYMPATHY: To Virginia and Bill Belt on the death of Bill’s brother, Robert BeltJane and Greg Barber on the death of Jane’s mother, Pat BultmannTo the family of Nell MyersTo Ginny Lonn on the death of her mother, Agnes SuessTo Susan Forrest and Don Balsley on the death of Don’s brother, Bob

OUR CHURCH FAMILY


PINNACLE PRESBYTERIAN PRESCHOOL

Preschool Celebrates 20 Years!On Thursday, October 16, the preschool held a Family Fun Night

and Silent Auction. This year marked a special celebration – the 20th Anniversary of Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool. There was a special 20th Anniversary Celebration cake and desserts that were shared with both current and alumni families, and the continuation of our annual traditions of the “Singing Cowboy” and pumpkins on the playground.

Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool has been enriching the lives of children in our community for the past 20 years. The preschool started as a mission of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in 1994 with two teachers, seven children, one classroom and lots of prayers. Fast forward 20 years and see how we have grown. In the past 20 years, we have been blessed to enrich the lives of over 2,500 children in our community.

Currently we are a preschool staff of 24 teachers, 175 students in nine classrooms. Our thanks go out to all of our teachers, students, parents, church members and board members, past and present, for making our preschool such a wonderful place to learn and grow.

We are looking forward to enriching the lives of children of our community for many years to come.


PINNACLE ONLINE

CHURCH WEBSITE Please visit Pinnacle’s Website, pinnaclepres.org, for the weekly calendar and activity listings, photos and other important news.

ITUNES PODCAST Subscribe to the free Pinnacle Sermon Podcast through the Apple iTunes Store and have sermons automatically downloaded to your computer or iPod. Open iTunes and search for “Pinnacle Presbyterian Church.”

FOLLOW PINNACLE Join Pinnacle’s Facebook page or follow ‘PinnaclePres’ on Twitter to keep up with church events, news, and more.VISTAS ONLINE Download PDFs of Pinnacle Vistas to read online or email to friends and family.

Find out more about all of this by going to pinnaclepres.org.

PINNACLE PRESBYTERIAN PRESCHOOL

The Empty Bowls Project/UMOMA Grassroots Effort to Help Struggling Families

What does it mean to be “thankful”? What does it mean to be “compassionate”? These are big words and ideas for young children to understand. This fall, Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool has teamed up with Marjon Ceramics in Phoenix to raise money for UMOM New Day Centers in Phoenix. Founded in 1964, UMOM is the largest homeless shelter for families in Arizona.

The PreKindergarten children create their own bowls, and once the bowls are glazed and fired, the classrooms will share a simple 500-calorie meal with their families. This year, Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool’s Empty Bowls Event will take place on November 19.

Children of the Preschool will also learn about the true meaning of hunger with a visit from the Director of Foothills Food Bank, who will share with them the purpose of a food bank. During the month of November, the preschool children will hold a canned food drive to support our neighbors at the Foothills Food Bank. This Thanksgiving, we are mindful of all the blessings in our lives and of our obligation to help our neighbors in need.

http://www.pinnaclepres.org

http://www.pinnaclepres.org


OUR COMMON LIFE

Chillers are the single largest energy-using component in most facilities and can typically consume over 50% of the electrical usage. The US Department of Energy estimates that chillers expend up to 30% in additional energy through inefficiency. At Pinnacle, an efficient system is important, because we cool six buildings with a total of 59,000 square feet.

Therefore, Pinnacle committed this summer to perform significant maintenance on our Sanctuary system to insure continued efficient cooling going forward. When the project is done, Pinnacle, with the generous assistance of the Foundation, will have invested $35,000 in rehabbing our Sanctuary system.

Pinnacle’s Chiller Towers

Pinnacle Continues to Be Cool

Before and after pictures of cooling system parts that were cleaned and repaired.


OUR COMMON LIFE

What the Pastors Read Over the SummerIn the past few years we've given you a glimpse of some of what the

pastors were reading, watching, or learning over the summer. One of our pastors will do this each month. Dr. Terry Swicegood tells about his summer reading this month.

Over the summer I read three monumental books; Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicolas and Alexandra. I read them in anticipation of the Russian River Cruise that Barbara and I embarked upon in early June.

Peter the Great won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. One reviewer summed it up with the words “Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia unfolds the magnificent story of Peter the Great, one of the most extraordinary rulers in history. Impetuous and stubborn, generous and cruel, tender and unforgiving, a man of enormous energy and complexity, Peter the Great is brought fully to life in this exceptional biography.”

As Barbara and I walked the magnificent boulevards of St. Petersburg, we marveled at the tenacity and ingenuity of this ruler who raised one of the most beautiful cities in the world out of swamps and bogs.

Catherine the Great was the longest reigning female in the history of Russia. Reigning from 1762 to 1796, she brought the first works of art into the Hermitage, which was then the winter palace.

Catherine’s reign was marked by vast territorial expansion, which greatly added to Russia’s coffers but did little to alleviate the suffering of her people. Even her attempts at governmental reforms were often bogged down by Russia’s vast bureaucracy.

However, Catherine considered herself to be one of Europe’s most enlightened rulers, and many historians agree. She wrote numerous books, pamphlets and educational materials aimed at improving Russia’s education system. She was also a champion of the arts, keeping


OUR COMMON LIFE

up a lifelong correspondence with Voltaire and other prominent minds of the era, creating one of the world’s most impressive art collections in St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace (now home to the famed Hermitage Museum) and even trying her hand at composing opera.

One of my personal highlights on our trip was to visit Catherine’s Palace. Terribly damaged by Nazi shelling in World War II, it has now been restored to its original splendor.

In his commanding book, Nicolas and Alexendra, Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs’ lives: Nicholas’s political naïveté, Alexandra’s obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis’s brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history—the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.

One caveat: the books are long–over 800 pages each. It took me four months to read all three. But I can tell you–it’s worth every minute of your time.

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OUR NEWEST MEMBERS

Mary Carey

Kim and Harlan Baerveldt with Cailyn, Blake, Addison

Bonnie Marshall

Susan Forrest and Don Balsley

Alexa Tambellini, with Lucy and Felix

Not Pictured:

Jeffrey DeLongVicki KramlRoger Tambellini


HAPPY NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

November 1 Caroline JonesDawn SheafferNovember 2 Dennis NivenJacqueline OlmertNovember 3 John BoydChristopher EsserJulia LeClaireMel SteeleNovember 4 Dabney BuckleyLindy MurilloGiavanna SmithAlexander SteinNovember 5 Joel BallAnita BryceBetty CopeJohn Mattox, MDNovember 6 Bob AdamsAddie BushLillian KilbridgeSteven SwansonNovember 7 Crissie BlomquistNovember 8 Barbara BuzzelliNovember 9 Lillian BlissJack HartKacie KellerKennedy KellerPat MacAllenConnor UpchurchNovember 10 Tyler GressLauren LeinweberMichael VedderNovember 11 Juan CastilloSerena FechtmeyerNathan Jones

Sam PullenJordan RodriguezDavid SchallerThomas WhiteNovember 12 Alexis MannRichard RogowskiNovember 13 Jodi ChristensenKatherine UelnerSavannah WatsonNovember 14 Troy BallMargaret KurtzNovember 15 Philip HotchkissJessie LampkinDavid McIntyreNovember 16 Alex FeldmanTommie HighwartChuck LeonardSue MenardNovember 17 Benjamin BankoffJake BiglerKaelyn GressGail LuckyLisa LuckyNovember 18 Cathy CokerNovember 19 Susan BeasleyBetty DurhamRobin EspositoNovember 20 Julie FialaJane HeidelNovember 21 Drew KeeganNovember 22 Charles BelluominiDiana EnglundStanley HutchisonHeather Lewis

Ellie SimpsonRay WilliamsNovember 23 Suzanne BeckerRhegan BlankenshipNovember 24 Jim HogshireKen MoffittNovember 25 Brad BeasleyMeredith DowningNancy SchamadanCurt StewartNovember 26 Connor BrightHarold ByersJoyce KasmarStephanie MasonSue ParkChristian ReissNovember 27 Wendy NeideckChuck RowlandJack WilsonNovember 28 Devin SouthworthRobert WalkerNovember 29 William HollowaySandi InnesIan LiskDave MathewsKathie MatneyKen SaltTed WeisNovember 30 Homer HollandAlexandra Loken

DO WE HAVE YOUR BIRTHDAY ON FILE? If not, please call the church office.

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pinnacle vistas | november 2014

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