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TOUCHpointpointsermons, prayers & more from

Knox Presbyterian Church

Week of July 19, 2020

Teachable?Am I

2 3knox Presbyterian Church knox Presbyterian Church

Welcome to this week’s

How teachable are we? That’s the question Adam Fronczek says Jesus poses in the Parable of the Sower. Over the next three weeks or so, Adam will continue the “teachable” theme as told in stories from the Old and New Testaments.

One of the first steps in being teachable is the ability—and willingness—to listen to the viewpoints of others. That’s exactly what the Knox Session is doing through a series of “listening meetings” on the subject of structural racism. The goal of the meetings is to understand the overall viewpoints of the Knox congregation on this important subject. You’re invited to participate, of course! You can find more information later in this issue of TouchPoint.

School is almost back in session, and there’s a need for school supplies for the children in the neighborhood around our mission partner, Third Presbyterian Church. Be sure to read the article on how you can help in a safe, “socially distanced” way.

Pray for those on this week’s prayer list, as we will pray for you.

Glenn Williams, Editor

Editor: Glenn Williams; Art Direction & Photo Editing: Christina Miller Cover Photo: Camylla Battani

being the church

Stay up-to-date with Knox news. Visit us online at knox.org, or

subscribe to our weekly enounce-ments by contacting GlennWilliams,

Director of Communications at [email protected]

Letter from the Editor

we need:• spiral notebooks• loose-leaf paper• washable markers, &• a bookbag, of course!

HELP US WITH SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR THIRD CHURCH

DROP OFF DATES & TIMES*July 25 & August 1

10:30 til noon

*Volunteers will be available to unload donations.

Purchase items on Amazon by using the link be-low and they will be delivered to the home of a Knox volunteer who will deliver them to Third.https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6OPCTDSCGXG7?ref_=wl_share

Make a monetary donation by using the link below. Please use the “Other Please Specify”section on the form, and then in the adjacent block type in “Back to School.” You also may send a check to Knox; write “Back to School” in the memo line of the check.https://www.eservicepayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=Fi1giPL8kwX_Oe1AO-50jRhaYim7fRI-5OunnTE5yK2LHO3iVYxvvxhH-jRfLOeq662EvVVAEjqawDomKT1pbouZbBWD-jAnH3RwhbF2IePzlI=

Thank you for the difference you are making in the lives of these children!

TOUCHpoint!point!

BEING THE CHURCH2 School Supplies for Third SCRIPTURE5 Matthew 13:1-9 New Standard Revised Version BEING THE CHURCH6 IHN from Betsy Warwick BIO7 Meet the Williams by Jack & Elizabeth Williams SERMON8 The Parable of the Sower by Pastor Adam Fronczek BEING THE CHURCH10 Structural Racism Conversation an Invitation from Session14 PRAYER LIST

TOUCHpoint!point!Week of July 19, 2020


these individuals Eiler, Artie Elkin, Laurie Elleman, Barbara Enzweiler, Carol Erwin, John Evans, Kelly Evans, Teresa Fallon, Louise Farrar, Lynn Farrell, Bill Ferguson, Tim Ferris, Becky Finlay-Beckham, Libby Flerlage, Meredith

these families The Ebel Family:

Greg, Reed, Alex, and Cate The Ehrsam Family:

Bob, Beth, Ellen, Anne and Brian The Elkin Family:

Jim, Melanie, Dan and Jacob The Ely Family:

Joe, Jenny, Katie, Laura and Lucas The Erwin Family:

Ann, Cara and Kristen The Eschenbacher-Mickelson Family:

Bill, Judy, William and Timothy The Esler-Skibo Family: Susan, Steve and Ben

The Eslinger-Owens Family: David, Whitney, Nate and June

The Esterly Family: Yara, William, Joseph and Meghan

The Fadicicco-Higginbotham Family: Stephen and Brad The Fager Family:

Dylan, Elise, Bennett and Elizabeth The Farrell Family:

Beth, Andy and Emma The Fenimore Family: Jo, Dave and Bryan

The Fiorelli-Haradon Family: Paul, Liz, Joe and Stephanie

The Fiorelli-McLaughlin Family: Katie, Brian, Willem, Caleb and Vivan

The Fischer Family: Mark, Annemarie, Adam and Claire

“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings

be made for everyone." —1 Timothy 2:1

Isaiah 64:8 reads, “We are the clay, and you are our potter. All of us are the work of your

hand.” This month, we bring this image into our prayer, asking that the Designing Potter, be at work in

each life, gently shaping them in and for love, and that each one knows that they are useful – but

also a beautiful work of art! This month, we pray shalom for:

For these we name, we pray for a respite from any noise and confusion; that they be brought into the open place, the place

of possibility.

for everyonerayersPMATTHEW 13:1-9

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and satthere, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them manythings in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as hesowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, andthey sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sunrose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold,some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”

This Week's Scripture

In March, the CARES Act allocated Emergency Solutions Grant funding to local municipalities primarily for funding the operation of shelters, and generally providing assistance to people experiencing homelessness. To date, the City of Cincinnati has been unwilling to say how these funds will be distributed.

Homeless families were moved into hotels in mid-March, to assure their safety during COVID-19. This unantici-pated expense has stretched the budgets of all agencies providing services to the homeless. As we approach the end of July, IHN and other shelters are facing the difficult decision of continuing to incur the hotel expense, or trying to find safe alternatives.

While the City of Cincinnati has not yet received the CARES Act funding, we would like to encourage them to collaborate with the Greater Cincin-nati Homeless Coalition to develop a plan to distribute the funds so service organizations can properly budget their COVID-19 related expenses. A plan would also allow prompt distribution once the funds are received.

City leaders respond well to requests from City residents. If you are willing, please send an email to those listed re-questing that the City address this issue.

Interim City ManagerPaula Boggs Muething- Paula.BoggsMuething@cincinnati-oh-govAssistant City Manager John Juech- John.Juech@cincinnati-oh-gov Assistant City ManagerChris Bigham- chris.bigham@cincinnati-oh-govAssistant City Manager Sheryl Long- Sheryl.Long@cincinnati-oh-gov Community & Economic Development DirectorMarkiea Carter- Markiea.Carter@cincinnati-oh-gov

The Mission and Social Concerns Committee thanks you for your your consideration of this request!


Jack and ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, both Easterners, met in Boston while attending college. They were married seventy-one years ago. Shortly after their wedding in New Jersey,

they moved to Detroit where Jack began a job at the JL Hudson Company department store. After raising their four children, Elizabeth completed her graduate education and became a professor of Psychology and Gerontology at University of Detroit Mercy.

Upon retirement, Jack fullfilled a long-held dream by designing and building, with his own hands, a summer home in the family compound in Northern Wisconsin. After that was complet-ed he became deeply involved in building homes for Habitat for Humanity. An active member of Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, he helped establish a group of twelve local churches which worked together to build homes for needy people in a devastated area of the City.

Ten years ago, with the four children and their families living in different cities around the country, Jack and Elizabeth decided it was time to move closer to one of them. They were already familiar with Cincinnati, their daughter Anne's home,so they chose to move to our city and live at the attractive Deupree House.

After they got settled in their new home, they decided to look around for a church. To their surprise, after only one Sunday at Knox, they felt so comfortable and connected that they decided to join.

Deupree House has been a very satisfactory home for the last ten years—many compatible friends and an abundance of activities. The "lockdown" since the coming of the pandemic has meant no congregate dining, no guests, no leaving the campus. Yet there has been good care and careful monitoring of health and, to date, no virus. They have been sustained by a thoughtful and concerned staff and have learned to make use of the opportunities. One of which, and a very im-portant one, has been the weekly Knox service.

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Will you send an email to help Cincinnati's homeless families?

being the church


Message by Pastor Adam Fronczek of Knox Presbyterian Church. The full video message delivered on Sunday, July 12, 2020 can be found at knox.org/sundayjuly 12.

was on a Zoom call with a number of you earlier this week. It was toward the end of the day and as we checked in at the start of the call it was clear that to a person we were tired—the day had been a long one. We’d been juggling work and family obli-gations and these good people had also found time to give of them-selves to the work of their church. We joked a bit about Zoom

fatigue; two of the people on the call had been on another Zoom call together just hours before. We were tired.

If you’re not tired in these days due to competing demands in your life, you’re probably tired of other things. Tired of staying at home, tired of not being close to friends or family, tired of the conten-tious nature of the culture we live in, tired of it being so darn hot, when one of the few good diversions we’ve got is a nice walk outside. There are lots of frustrations these days.

Being tired is one of many things that may cause us to not be at our best—we are not in a frame of mind to think deeply or be challenged or grow and learn. So I’m grate-ful that in these times that are not easy, you’ve joined us again for worship this week. Being open to the Word of God is not always easy. You may not want to do it if you’re not feeling at your very best. Well, this morning Jesus tells a story about that.

It’s called the "Parable of the Sower," it’s a story that

Parable Sowerof the

I

"Am I teachable?"


Parable of the Sower (cont'd)

away by a bird. Maybe we’re too tired or frus-trated to notice the seed at all, and then it’s gone. Other times, Jesus says, seeds fall among thorns that choke them. Maybe we want to be teachable, we want to hear God’s voice, but the noise of the world, the bad or distracting messages that surround us, the overloading of our schedules—these kinds of things crowd out the wisdom of God. These are examples of not being teachable. Sometimes we are so tired or closed off that any new wisdom we might have received just isn’t going to have a chance.

My friend Shawn cited a trip he once made to the Freedom Center as an example of this. The history and well done presentations at the museum were incredible, he said, but they were challenging, and he acknowledged that on the day that he went he wasn’t feeling as teachable as he might have been. This was an honest, if not flattering, thing to admit, and it is true of all kinds of situations: a a lecture or podcast on the plight of immigrants and refugees, a chal-lenging conversation with a family member, or a chance to engage in service or learning with people who are different from yourself. These are important times for us to be teachable, and we need to enter into these situations ready to

learn and grow. If we don’t, the teaching falls on deaf ears, or is choked out by voices that diminish its importance for us.

In at least one of the upcoming sermons I’m going to talk about this problem of not being teachable. Often it comes down to what an author named Graham Standish talks about as the problem of “too much” and “not enough.” Many of us have a problem of too much in our lives: too much work, too many activities and commitments to others and to ourselves, we

spend too much money on too many things. In these days of pandemic some of those dynamics have changed, but still we find ourselves with too many zoom calls, and too much to juggle between the demands of work and family. Too much. The irony, Standish says, is that often the “too much” in our lives arises out of

there not being enough. We don’t have enough time for our marriages and our children and our spiritual lives, and our culture usually tells us that the way to fix this is to add even more to our schedules: more structured family activities, more meditation, more self-help books we ought to read. (Standish, Discovering the Narrow Path, 1-2) The problem of too much and not enough. One of the sermons in this series will look deeper at this.

Jesus tells in order to make a point.

3(b)“Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears[a] listen!”

Jesus goes on to explain that the story is about our ability to hear the voice of God. A friend of mine, Shawn Barkley, the pastor over at Crestview Presbyterian says that when we hear this story, the question we should be asking ourselves is, “Am I teachable?” Am I teachable? Am I in a place to learn and grow and be challenged, or am I not—am I closed off, or argumentative, or too frustrated or tired? Am I in a place where I can hear some-thing of value and receive it—learn and grow from it? Am I teachable? (Barkley, “The Sower and the Seed,” June 14, 2020).

The "Parable of the Sower" is perfect for this question. Sometimes seeds grow and thrive but other times they don’t, and it can be the same seed from the very same place.

Sometimes we are not teachable. Sometimes the seed lands on the path and gets snatched

Session is asking for your input. Be part of the conversation on structural racism in the church, communities and the nation.

You're invited to call any of these Knox elders for further information:

being the church

Liz McGann - 513-713-5380Maggie Gieseke – 513-309-0939

Heidi Knellinger - 513-687-9599Jill Moormann - 513-490-2802

Susan Silver - 513-265-2201Anna Lennon - 513-375-1117


I hope I’ve given you some things to think about, and as I close today, there’s something I’ve already been suggesting throughout this sermon, and now I’m just going to name it. I’ve often heard this parable interpreted as though some of us are fertile ground for God’s voice and others are not; some folks are teach-able and others are not. I don’t think that’s true. If I’m honest about myself, I admit that there are some times at which I’m teachable and other times when I’m not. Sometimes I’m tired, or my life is too crowded, or I pay attention to the wrong sources of authority. And although I’m not a good student 100% of the time, I hope others will not give up on me. This knowledge about myself is a warning for me not to assume too quickly that anyone else is unteachable, that they are seed that falls on the path or among the thorns, or on the rocky ground. Any of us can be teachable. And in these weeks ahead I hope you’ll go deeper with me as we think about how that happens. Amen.

the well-established trees and plants in your yard, the ones that you rarely have to water or fertilize anymore, and yet every springtime they burst into life, they survive strong storms and thrive in the midst of drought. They yield much more than we put into them. What’s going on here?

This is what it looks like to really be teach-able—to have your life deeply rooted in good soil such that your life can grow strong and thrive and withstand stormy weather when it comes. How do we get that? My hunch is that if we really want to understand what makes us teachable, one of the things we need to ask is who has the authority to teach us. I got to thinking about this question recently on a phone call with Adam Clark, a theology professor at Xavier who I hold in high regard. He was talking about what constitutes real authority in our lives and our faith commu-nities, and I found that to be a very valuable question to think about. What do I mean by authority? This isn’t a perfect example, but I think it’ll do: I imagine most of you know someone who, if they see something on Fox News or on CNN, man, it’s gotta be true. No question about it. Now, I don’t want to get into the particular mess of that example, but I raise it to ask a different question. What would it look like for more of us to have that kind of connection, devotion, and trust in our rela-tionship with God? To have authority in your life that comes from confidence in your divine Creator, so that when a voice comes from that Sower it falls into the soil of your rich and fertile life, and grows. In a third sermon, I’ll look more deeply into this matter of authority.

"who has the authority to teach me?"

Other times, Jesus says, we are teachable, but even some of those circumstances are not as fruitful as they might be. Jesus comments on this in the same parable about the seeds. Sometimes seed falls into rocky ground and springs up fast, only to be scorched by the heat because of shallow roots. Think back about those examples about a museum exhibit or a lecture or podcast that shows us something new or different. Sometimes we learn or experi-ence something new and get immediately fired up about some problem or injustice we knew little about before. “I’m going to do something!” we tell ourselves, and we dive headlong into it. Often those immediate, powerful enthusiasms don’t lead to long term change. Why is that? Many of us church people have been on, say, a mission trip that got you really fired up about helping a population that has been suffering unfairly. But sometimes we come home from those experiences and just a short time later we’ve mostly forgotten. Or perhaps we make a commitment to volunteer in a community different than ours, but then we’re turned off by a bad experience or two before we really have a chance to get to know people and grow in our understanding…and our commitment fades. How do we help these early enthusiasms to be transformed into genuine commitments—commitments that lead to real change and add meaning and purpose to our lives? Another one of the sermons will go deeper on this subject.

The teachable nature we really seek, Jesus says, is like the seed that falls on good soil. Most of us know what this looks like. These are

Parable of the Sower (cont'd)

15knox Presbyterian Church

New Prayer RequestsMoormann, Nathan, son of Steve and Maureen, nephew of Jill MoormannWaugh, Carol

Knox Members and FriendsAllgood, ShereeAshton, Jim and Micaela, son and daughter-in-law of Cathie and Bill AshtonBob and his sister Mary, friends of Sarah AldrichBruno, Adele, friend of Deland BasoraBunge, Janet Bunn, Nancy, friend of Foster and Kathleen WinterCarli, Patricia, mother/mother-in-law of Lou and Christi CarliColeCopella, John, friend of Karl Power and Gana Taggart Crossen, Ann, friend of Jan and Blair BattistiniDeJah and Karen, cousin and aunt of Julie MorganDonoho, Gideon, husband of Jill Morrison Donoho Dorosch, Brian, relative of Sarah AldrichDrummond, TaraDryer, SethEiler, Artie Fallon, Louise Fiorelli, Linda, sister-in-law of Liz HaradonFleish, Kara Kruger, friend of Beverly MaisenhalterGriffey, Keishna, friend of Mary Lou KrohnGriffin, NancyHall, ReginaHelms, MaryHigh, RachelJohnson, KathleenKautz, WalterKersey, Katlyn, and family, niece of Jeff and Pam KerseyKersey, Lynne, sister-in-law of Jeff Kersey

Koenig, Joe, friend of Heidi PerryKuhlman, Art, father-in-law of Elisabeth KuhlmanLyon, MaryMartin, Gina, friend of Sheree AllgoodMcDonough, Marj, aunt to Mary NurreMcGill, EJ, grandson of Susan and TerryMelson, Leslie and Jim, niece and nephew ofBarry CorsMcCullough, NancyMeyer, Esther, mother of Roger MeyerMorgan Family

Mccoy, Randy, friend of Deland BasoraMooney, CeceNielsen, Sue Nurre, Bob and Doris, brother and sister-in-law of Jim NurreOoten, Janice, mother of Julie MorganPack, Amelia, daughter of Woody PackPfeiffer, LisaPierce, Lynda and RonPerkins, Talon, nephew of Jim Elkin Jr. and Brooke ElkinPeters, MarilynQualley, Steve, cousin of Karen GroutPreston, Dennis husband of Fay PrestonRaju, Sue, Family of, friend of Cathy RectorRutherford, Marvin, friend of KnoxSinger, Andrea, friend of Karen WirthlinSmith, MyrnaStallsworth, Abby, daughter of Becky StallsworthStearns, Sally Stefanik, Mim Steiner, Alice, mother of Katharine Korn and Joyce SteinerSteiner, Rick, the family ofStewart, MaryStith, BetteStith, JackTripp, KilaTrunick, Jim, brother of Mary Lou KrohnTurner, Lorie, friend of Maria AndersonVickie, friend of Karen GroutWagner, Ila, aunt of Mary NurreWiesjahn, Mitch, great nephew of Karl Power and Gana Taggart Wilson, Andrew, son of Anne Wilson

prayer list Our Global Outreach PartnersBoyd, Jeff and Christi and family, PC(USA) Mission Co-workers in Congo Seitz, Jonathan and Emily and family, PC(USA) Mission Co-workers in Taiwan

Men and Women in Military Active DutyMatt Anderson, Matt Buchert, Joseph Elkin, Will Farrar, Cody Ison, Martin Davis (nephew of Craig and Susan Davis), Jack Graham, Blake Lyon, Nick Robinson, Adam Smith, Timothy Sowder, Joe Sheedy (great nephew of Jim Nurre)

United in MarriageJack Graham and Madeline Ebert, 7/3/20

With Thanksgiving for Prayers Offered,Removed from the ListFrey, Jim, friend of Todd and Carolyn Graham Wilkinson, George

DeathsHarsh, Clara, 6/24/20Massie, Linda, friend of Jan and Blair Battistini, 7/10/20Wharton, Julie, friend of Amy Tansey, 7/5/20Wilson, William, nephew of Anne Wilson

Something to think and pray about this weekA Breath Prayer to repeat throughout your days:God, I receive your joy....and release my unhappiness.

~ Sheridan Voysey

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ~ Colos-sians 4:2

Adam Fronczek Senior Pastor

Jana Reister Associate Pastor

David Annett Dir. of Youth Ministries

Pete Tuff Dir. of Operations

Tina Hubert Dir. of Faith Formation

Rènché leRoux Finance Manager

Glenn Williams Dir. of Communications

Pam Ward Faith Community Nurse

Even though our offices are closed, Knox staff members are still working from remote locations and are ready to serve you. We are mon-itoring the Knox telephone voicemail throughout nor-mal business hours and will respond to you quickly.

(513) 321-2573

Contact Us

teachable - knox.org · farrar, lynn farrell, bill ferguson, tim ferris, becky finlay-beckham,...

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