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In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom,

I give you this charge:

O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2theSt. Peter’s By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church

B E A C O N

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Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you,

keep your head in all situations,

2 Timothy 4:1-5

endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 7

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Fall is a wonderful season, especially if you’re a sports fan like I am. There is the drama of the baseball playoffs and World Series (as of this writing the Angels still have an outside chance). Both

college football and the NFL are off and running. The basketball season is just around the corner. I like fall; except every fourth year when it’s also election season.

Soon we will all be bombarded with the incessant and annoying campaign commercials. There seems to be no getting away from them unless you totally turn off all media connections. We will be subjected to vicious negative attacks from all sides drawing upon half-truths, lies and distortions. There will be all sorts of ranting and raving. It’s enough to raise your blood pressure. What ever happened to civility? Thank God for mute buttons.

There is no doubt that our nation is facing some major problems and challenges. Respective parties and candidates will accuse each other of contributing to those problems, and each will claim to have the proper solution.

I would suggest that the ultimate solution to the ills of our nation, and actually all nations of the world, will only be found in prayer. God tells us in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “…if my people, who are called by my name (that’s us, the church) will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The core issue assailing our nation is not really political, economical or social in nature. It is spiritual. As a nation we have drifted from our spiritual moorings. God has been pushed out of the public arena. Our deepest need as a nation is for a spiritual renewal; and as the verse above indicates, any spiritual renewal must begin with the people of God, those “who are called by my name.”

If you really want your voice to be heard this election, let it be your voice crying out to God, with a humble and broken heart, in prayer for our nation. If we are to truly experience a healing in our nation, it must begin with the people of God calling out to God in prayer, praying for a spiritual renewal. And if there is to be a spiritual renewal in our land, it must begin with the people of God. It must begin with us.

Vote? Yes. But more importantly, pray.

[ October 2012 ] www.stpetershb.org[ ]

By Chris Grange

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Inside this Issue:

[ Bridge ] Experience St. Peter’s Page 3

Women’s Ministries Page 3

Children MInistries Page 4

Finance Committee Page 4

Calendar Page 5

Worship & Music Page 6

Health Ministries Page 6

Denominational Affairs Page 7

Meet Your Fellow Page 8Churchmember

Birthdays Page 9

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[ Experience St. Peter’s ]Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth. Psalm 86:11

Portions of the book of Isaiah are quoted 67 times in the New Testament by Jesus and the apostles. Indeed, the great theme of Isaiah is the glory of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit had opened Isaiah’s eyes to the worthless glory and shameful corruption of the human condition. Isaiah challenges the Church and the world of his day (and every age) to turn away from the shame of the world, the flesh, and the devil and turn to the revolutionary glory of Jesus, the Suffering Servant, Immanuel, the Mighty God, and the Divine King. The nations and the “glory” of this passing age are decaying away, but the glory of Jesus grows on into that new creation future when even the lion and lamb will live peacefully together.

We will study Isaiah using the Book by Book DVD series featuring Richard Bewes and Paul Blackham. This five-week class starts Wednesday, October 17 and repeated Sunday, October 21. See Matt Allan for more information and a copy of the handout. There is no cost for the material.

New

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lass I s a i a h Adult Spiritual Growth Opportunities

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[ September 2012 ] www.stpetershb.org [ ]

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[ Women’s Ministries]Charm is deceptive, and beauty fleeting; but a woman show fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Christian Education BuildingFriday, October 26 (7-9pm)Crafters’ Nite Out

Bring a project and join us for a time of crafting and fellowship. It’s a great way to get some of your unfinished projects moving along, and also to get new ideas! All are welcome! For more info: Jan Harvey ([email protected]) or Shirlee Wallingford.

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Don’t miss out on an evening of fun, food, and fellowship. Pretty your nails at the Nail Bar, pick up some tasty treats and popcorn at the snack counter, and then sit back and relax as we enjoy a movie together. If you like, you can even wear your pajamas or bring a blanket or favorite chair to lounge in!

Invite a friend, daughter, mother, sister, aunt, granddaughter, or niece to a night where girls get to be girls. Admission is free. Call Shirlee @ for more info.

Friday, October 5th (6:30-9:00 p.m.)Young Ladies, ages 5 to 105, are invited to

the first ever Pink Friday event!

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QuickTime™ and aPhoto - JPEG decompressor

are needed to see this picture.[ Children Ministries ]He Said to them,“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

Sunday School LeadersHoorays and kudos to Shelley Cunningham, Ron Harris, Jean Mangone and Judy Martin for stepping up to lead our kids in Sunday school! This is a small, but mighty group and they need FOUR more of YOU to join them.

So many choices … so little of your time needed! (You probably stand in line at Costco more than 15 hours per year!)

• Small Group Leader - 1 service hour, 2 Sundays per month = 26 hours/year • Large Group Leader - 1 service hour, 2 Sundays per month = 26 hours/year• Greeter - 20 minutes before one service on Sundays, 1-2 per month = 15 hrs./year• Substitute Leader - on call as needed = 2 to 4 hours/year

Please prayerfully consider serving the young families of St. Peter’s by leading a Sunday school class for their children. Got an hour?

Our next KNO is scheduled for October 14,

6-9PMThe evening is structured to give kids a fun, safe place to

hang out with other kids, while their parents enjoy a little

time alone. The cost is $10 per child with a $25 family

maximum and includes dinner, games, crafts and

a movie. For kids 4 years old – 5th

grade.

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[ Finance Committee]Continuing the Journey...

INCOME AND EXPENSE Total operating income for January through August 2012 was $400,821. Total operating expense for January through August 2012 was $434,649, a difference of ($33,828). However, a significant portion of the expense total was designated for Mission, and was not spent. On Sept 9th a letter to the congregation from session was placed in the bulletin. The letter outlined the continued budget shortfall that the church is facing and the hard choices that session is facing as a result. The letter encouraged all members to continue to pray and consider how they may be lead to help. A copy of the letter can be found on our website at www.stpetershb.org under the media tab. Thank you for your continued support.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 3:38

Introducing ... A New Sunday School Curriculum:

DISCOVER: Each Holy Moly lesson starts with an animated Bible story retelling and an activity to jump start kids’ imaginations about what they’ll see and do!

RELATE: Next, kids talk about the story they just watched. Kids relate to the Bible story and each other. They discuss what surprised them & what made them wonder.

CONNECT: Then, through the pages of the Holy Moly Bible Storybooks & Connect Bible, kids read or listen to the story again as a way to ground the lesson in scripture.

CREATE: Finally, creativity flows as kids complete activities that reinforce the lessons they watch in the Bible story retelling.

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[ October 2012 ]at a glance...

Sunday Services

Traditional WorshipService 9:00am

Contemporary Worship Service

10:45am

Youth Sunday School 9:00am

Children’s Sunday School 9:00/10:45

Arabic Speaking Fellowship 6pm

AA Meeting6:30pm

Alanon Meeting7:30pm

Women’s Bible Study 9:30am

Praying Hands 8:15am

Adult Study 9:30am

Youth Group Jr. High/HS 6:30pm

Dave RamseyClass 6:30pm

Bible Study 6:30pm

Choir 7pm

College Fellowship7pm

Pink Friday6:30-9pm

Holy Communion

Blood Pressure Screening 10am

AA Meeting6:30pm



Deacons’ Mtg.7pm


Adult Study 9:30am

Property/Fin. 5:30pm



Bible Study 6:30pm

Choir 7pm


Kids’ Night Out6-9pm

AA Meeting6:30pm


Session 7pm Praying Hands

8:15am

Adult Study 9:30am

Family Dinner6-7pm


Dave RamseyClass6:30pm

Bible Study 6:30pm

Choir 7pm


OC Food Bank8:30-10:30pm

Town Hall Mtg.4-6:30pm

(10/21)

Exploring Church

Membership Noon-3pm

(10/28)

AA Meeting6:30pm



Health Ministries

7:30pm(10/23)


Adult Study 9:30am


Bible Study 6:30pm


Potluck/Choir Rehearsal 6pm

(10/24)


Crafter’s Night Out 7-9pm

Men’s Coffee8-9am

21/28

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Sign-up slips are available between services on the patio or by phone: Linda K., Fran P., Brenda S., or Marvin H. Email: [email protected]

[ October 2012] www.stpetershb.org

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[ Health Ministries ]

6 November 13 Red Cross Blood Drive Tuesday, 1-7pm (at the church)

Mark Your CalendarsYou are not your own; you were bought at a price. There-fore honor God with your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20

the body is a temple...

[ Worship & Music ]

For more information about the Music Ministries at St. Peter’s by the Sea please contact the church office at 714-846-6641 or e-mail us at [email protected].

I will s ing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God as long as I live.

Psalm 104:33

Choir Reunion Sunday…don’t worry; this is not your High School reunion!

This will be a coming together of voices that just want to praise the Lord. If you have ever sung in a choir (or thought you’d like to) come join the Chancel Choir on October 21st at 8:00 AM in the Family Worship Center for Choir Reunion Sunday. Practice will be that Sunday morning before service. During the service the Reunion Choir will be singing old favorites like Standing on the Promises and Lord, I Want to Be a Christian. If you have wanted to join the choir or would just like to try it out for a Sunday here is your opportunity…and there will be no robes required!

The Chancel Choir would also like to extend an invitation to our Christmas in October Pot Luck to be held on Wednesday evening October 24th at 6:00 PM in the Worship Center. This would be a wonderful time to join the choir through our Christmas season as we kick off our Christmas musical. It will be an evening of fun and fellowship. At St. Peter’s by the Sea there are many opportunities to sing to the Lord. Join us as we praise Him through song.

Notes From the Choir Loft

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of a Wellness Fact dispensed by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health on our age-old nemesis, sinus infection. If sinusitis comes knocking on your door, don’t ask your doctor for antibiotics--and if your are prescribed one, ask if it is really necessary. Though most cases of sinusitis are viral (colds and flu) an estimated 90% of people with symptoms are given antibiotics, which work only against bacterial infections. Thus the drug won’t help in most cases of acute sinusitis. Moreover, misuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of antibacterial resistance. Antibiotics are usually only appropriate when sinus symptoms don’t improve within a couple weeks.

R e m i n d e r . . .

Just

a

We have always offered the CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) certification class to members and friends at St. Peter’s every two years, funded by Hoag Hospital Presbyterian. Of course, all our students receive “gold stars” for preparing themselves to help save lives in emergencies. However, this Fall’s class had some rather unique features not experienced previously. For example, the course content included a thorough training segment on the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) which we received ealier this past year. (Just in case you may not know the location of our AED, it is in a glass wall mount across the corridor from the kitchen entry. ) A select group of our members had received this training initially, but now it is available routinely to those enrolling for CPR training and certification. Secondly, we had an unusual number of our youth group members, who ranged in age from 11 to 12 years to late teens. Talk about intelligent questions and answers!! And thirdly, we had our first canine student, Michaela, a well-trained, affectionate “Companian Dog” who really knew how to work the room for hugs and pats. In actuality, she is assigned to a young person confined to a wheelchair and came to St. Peter’s on a “busman’s holiday” with our fantastic and loyal instructor, Rob Pryce.

An exciting day of “Firsts “for our CPR class . . .

[ ]

[ ] [ October 2012 ] www.stpetershb.org

[ Denominational Affairs ]Townhall Meeting...

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A Town Hall meeting was held on September 23 with the purpose of beginning to engage the congregation in some dialog concerning the Team’s observations to date. The focus of the meeting was on the actions of the 2012 General Assembly held earlier this summer. Presentations from the Team focused on issues concerning biblical authority, social advocacy, and several other key actions of the General Assembly. This year’s Assembly decisions underscored the trend that has been evident for some time.

Biblical AuthorityPerhaps the most questionable decision of this year’s Assembly was to declare that there are multiple interpretations of Scripture that can be held by different members of the Body of Christ. Considering that we believe that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God and that the Holy Spirit is the one who provides that interpretation for us, it is difficult to understand this position. As one theologian has said in the past, there is only one interpretation, but there may be many applications of that Scripture.

Ordination requirements for church officers were again an area of strong contention and in conflict with our reading of the Scriptures. This was further underscored when violations of those requirements were confessed on the floor of the Assembly and were not followed up on for any disciplinary action.

Social Advocacy This year the Assembly affirmed abortion but disavowed corporal punishment by parents. The Assembly narrowly voted against defining marriage as between two people, but did endorse a two-year Church-wide study of the Scriptures to “help” us understand the meaning of Christian marriage. The Assembly backed off its previous stand against investing in companies that are “profiting from non-peaceful business pursuits” in Israel and Palestine and in a razor-thin vote (333-331) called upon the church to pursue a positive and creative plan of active investment in projects that will “support collaboration among Christians, Jews and Muslims and help in the development of a viable infrastructure for a future Palestinian state.” The Assembly called on all Presbyterians to take actions concerning “the place and plight” of immigrant people, regardless of legal status and reaffirmed its stand against the state of Arizona.

Other MattersThe 2012 Assembly rejected a proposal to declare that local congregations own their property and chose to affirm that church properties are held in trust for the denomination. The Assembly also voted against providing relief to presbyteries that are beginning to operate in the red because they are responsible for the payment of all per capita taxes even if their local congregations do not submit their assessed portion. For a more comprehensive discussion of these and other matters, a couple of papers are available through the church office or can be found at www.pcusa.org and www.layman.org.

Next MeetingA follow-up meeting is scheduled for October 21 in which we will begin to look at the implications of these trends for St. Peter’s and what potential responses are open to us as a congregation.

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7Earlier this year the Session of St. Peter’s determined the need to establish a subcommittee to help it monitor trends observed over the years concerning actions by our PC(USA) denomination at its General Assembly meetings. These actions often seem to be at odds with who we are and what we believe as a branch of the Body of Christ. Matt Allan, Leroy Bell, Dennis Maron and Rheta Morse were appointed by the Session to initially serve on this Denominational Affairs Team. Their role is to provide the research and analysis to help the Session assess the impacts upon the mission and ministry of St. Peter’s. A secondary purpose is to help communicate with the congregation on those issues it deems to be of particular concern.

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[ October 2012 ] www.stpetershb.org [ ]

[Meet Your Fellow Churchmember]Come Read Her Story...

Ruth Siegrist is the daughter of Lorenz and Ruth Graham, who met as young adults in Liberia, W. Africa where they were serving separately as missionaries. Lorenz served 4 years and Ruth (Graham) 2 years in Liberia. On returning to the United States they married and settled in Richmond, VA, where Ruth S. was born, the fourth of five children, during the era of Jim Crow where education was “separate but equal.” Realizing that education in Virginia was indeed separate, but not equal, Lorenz moved his family to New York for a better life for his family. Lorenz and Ruth Graham worked in social services and Lorenz later became a college professor in the humanities, while Ruth G. devoted herself to the care

of her five children and Christian ministry. Both Lorenz and Ruth Graham continued their literary interests and wrote children’s books and stories. Many of these were published and Ruth Siegrist preserves her father’s literary contribution by keeping his books in print (see www.grahambooks.com) and lecturing widely discussing his works which were among the first realistic depictions of African American life, also a child’s life in West Africa.

Ruth comes from a deep and rich family tradition of educational and Christian service. She is the niece of W.E.B. DuBois, a leading early American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor, who wrote, The Souls of Black Folk, a seminal work in African-American literature. In addition, her maternal grandfather as a young man served as apprentice in the law office of Frederick Douglass, an important American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman, who escaped from slavery and became a leader in the abolitionist movement. The young law clerk married Frederick Douglass’s granddaughter; however, she died tragically in the first year of their marriage. Her grandfather then attended seminary and later served as a missionary in Africa, as would his daughter, Ruth’s mother. Ruth’s paternal grandfather also served as a missionary in Liberia. Ruth S. grew up with the expectation that she would follow her parents’ missionary path as a third generation missionary. She attended Flushing High School in Queens, NY and went to Vassar College in New York earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1953. There she also studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian, intending to move into Foreign Service. God had different plans for Ruth. She married and moved to California in 1955, raised four children, and went on to earn a master’s and doctorate degree in education. Her educational path led her to a professorship at Cal State Fullerton in education. Nevertheless she has participated in mission projects in Mexico, Haiti and Liberia. After retirement Ruth and her late husband traveled the world where Ruth made good use of her language skills, visiting every continent with the exception of Antarctica. Like her parents Ruth has also written children’s stories, which she has privately shared. In retirement she continues with her interest in children’s education as a long time board member of the Huntington Beach Children’s Library and the board of God’s Kids, a Christian charity dedicated to service to children’s orphanages in the third world (see www.godskids.org). Ruth enjoys her 7 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Ruth, a former member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, came to St. Peter’s because she found her first experiences with the church welcoming and she received support and comfort from Pastor Chris during her late husband Bill’s illness. This is another example of how the friendship and caring of St. Peter’s members can and do make a difference in people’s lives. Look up Ruth on Sundays and ask her for more information about her passions and missions.

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Submitted by Jeane Raine and Dan Dawes

NON-PROFIT ORG.

US POSTAGE

PAID

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA

PERMIT NO. 130

S t . P e t e r ’ s B y - t h e - S e a1 6 9 1 1 B o l s a C h i c a S t .

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9:00 amTraditional/Blended ServiceNursery/Childcare available

10:45 amContemporary Service

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S t. Peter’s By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church

16911 Bolsa Chica St.Huntington Beach, CA 92649

Phone 714.846.6641FAX 714.846.5901

www.stpetershb.org

Happy Birthday to the Following Members:

10/1 Eunice Nicholson10/2 Sandy Hyder10/3 Patricia Howard Archer Judy Martin10/6 Gerry Galleher10/7 Leroy Bell10/8 Patty Sipes

10/9 Daryl Ewing Pat Naulty10/11 Kathleen Close10/15 Richard Le Duc10/16 Bruce McPheeters10/16 Diane Topor10/17 Janelle Killingsworth10/19 Rheta Morse

10/21 Penny Barragan10/22 Lynda Morgan10/23 Yiwen Weisman10/25 Ross Kuster10/27 Jennifer McCallister10/28 Lou Stewart10/30 Louri Groves

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