06/07/2020
The Logos June, 2020 (without photos)
A Word from Dr Knott
Most of you are asking when worship will begin. Originally, your Session had planned to begin on May 31. After meeting by Zoom on June 1 the Session decided that Worship will resume in the Sanctuary on June 21st. Services will be held at 9:00 a.m. for the Summer. This is subject to change if there is an uptick in COVID-19 in the city. The criterion for determining the start of worship was the number of hospitalizations reported, and not the number of reported cases.
Your Session is comprised of a number of people who have dedicated their lives to science. The physicians on the Session were helpful in establishing the criterion.
Since the cases of hospitalizations due to COVID 19 have continued to climb, the Session thought it best to delay the reopening.
This brings me to another point. Until this crisis passes, worship will be quite different. The content of worship will be shortened. Using the guidelines set by the General Assembly of the PCUSA, I will order worship so that the time length will be around 40-45 minutes. There will be no hymn singing. The air that is expelled when singing goes farther into the atmosphere of an enclosed space. Special music will be provided by our brave choir director and paid soloists. Yes, there will be organ music. Scripture will be read, silent prayers will be offered, I will offer a reflection on the texts, but there will be no communion or anointing of the sick. After the service, you may, if you choose to do so, light a candle or place a prayer request on the prayer cross. Remember to keep your distancing.
The following are guidelines for maintaining the safety of the worshiping community:
1) All attendees must wear masks.
2) All must sit in pews marked with a tape X. This assures proper distancing. Families may sit together.
3) It is recommended that persons over the age of 65 not attend.
4) If anyone has any symptom of any kind of illness, we request that you do not attend.
5) If anyone has long term illness or an auto-immune condition, we recommend that you do not attend.
6) It is probably best if you wear disposable gloves. I am working on getting hand sanitizers placed in the narthex.
7) Only the Sanctuary will be available to the worshiper. All other spaces are not to be entered by the worshiper.
I feel like I am rewriting the book of Leviticus. But these are the guidelines set forth by those who know more about contagions than I do.
Remember, for those of you who not wish to attend, we will still offer the reflections on You Tube. Until you hear from me again, stay safe, stay strong in the faith, and don’t take any unnecessary chances.
In Christ,
Richard
Chaplain's Corner
Greetings to our AHPC family!
My original intention for this month's column was to write about our experiences during this pandemic and suggest that you write about them so that we could share your individual experience through this column. I would still like to do that, and if you are interested in contributing your thoughts you can e-mail them to me at [email protected].
However, as I write this on Sunday, May 31st, 2020, I feel that I must instead focus my thoughts on the current state of social unrest in our country. Why is this happening? What can we, individually and collectively, do about it?
When Susan and I married in January 1968 we encountered in our first year of marriage the murders of Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the TET offensive in the Vietnam War, antiwar protests all over the USA, and riots in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention that summer. There were violent groups on both sides of the political spectrum who seemed intent on creating social unrest throughout our country. It was a very unsettling year. Now, 52 years later, 2020 feels similar. We are all dealing with a worldwide pandemic and the great anxiety and tension caused by it. In our country those tensions have evolved into different camps of citizens regarding just how we as a society should behave. The pandemic has exposed great tensions between the haves and the have-nots. The pandemic has exposed what leadership looks like at different governmental levels. It is a very uncomfortable time.
I didn't begin my university studies until after my military service. I was older and more mature than most other students. I was married and a combat veteran. Consequently, I perhaps looked at choosing a major through a different lens. I chose to do a double-major in psychology and sociology because I felt that there was no more difficult study than that of human behavior, from the individual to collectively in societies. I still feel that way.
So, having said that, do I have the answer to our current societal problems? No, I don't. We could debate issues such as income inequality, lack of resources for different groups in our country, unequal medical access, etc., etc., but that would bring us no closer to any simple answer.
The only answer I am totally comfortable proposing is an old one. That is that, as best we can with all our human limitations, we as individuals try to actually live our lives according to the faith we profess. The answers to discord, whether between two individuals or a whole society, are contained in God's messages to us through Jesus Christ. We must love each other and behave accordingly. We must focus on the other, not on ourselves.
Is that too simple? I don't think so. The difficulty is in the doing of it. Let us pray for God's help in achieving it.
Yours in Christ,
Chaplain Phil
Fellowship
2020 Graduation
Congratulations to Alec Toland who graduated from the International School of the Americas. He will attend the University of New Mexico in the fall.
Outreach
CAM Back to School Back Program
Last year Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church and Day School participated in CAM’s Back to School Back Pack program by adopting 20 children. CAM needs our support again and is asking us to be a part of this great opportunity to help children be ready to go back to school in the fall. We know that this year it will be even harder for some families to get ready for school, and we will undertake this outreach in the safest way possible.
The first step is for you to sign up at this link.
Adopters will provide a backpack and supplies for a child. In early July, you will be given the child’s name, grade, school, and gender. You look up the supply list online and shop. Backpacks are due to CAM between July 22 and 25.
Kara Van de Kieft will be available to assist adopters through the entire process. If you have questions or need assistance, she can be contacted at [email protected].
So please sign up! It would be great if we could double our numbers!
God's House
Operation Deep Clean Continues
In a visit to our church to see how he could help, Robert Nelson came up with an immediate match of talent to need. Robert is a veteran with a water blaster and has put in some significant hours revealing our church buildings’ true colors. Hint: the lighter color is the clean part. Thanks Robert!
Campus Cleanup
After a number of weeks without some regular attention, the Columbarium Garden was alive with Spring, and weeds. Thanks to Mike and Issay Shields, helping out right before the Day School opened up again. They also are proud representatives of Boy Scout Troop 809.
Worship
Living on Coronavirus Time
So we have adopted a fairly disciplined regimen during the past three months. Without fail, we split a cheeseburger and tater tots for Saturday lunch. As the days of the week start to mush together, I find myself wondering what day it is. Well, that’s easy: it’s been four days since I’ve had a burger, must be Wednesday!
Other pandemic ponderings:
Remember when -
Wearing a mask into a convenience store was frowned upon
Trees in some front yards would be filled toilet paper..
People would ring your doorbell to share some of their literature…
So this means -
I now have more masks than pairs of reading glasses (which is saying something)
Last week I felt sad when I had actually lost “my favorite mask” (didn’t make my ears stand out, and my nose too pointy)
And I’m still praying more
Christian Education
The Sunday School Zoom
The Discipleship Class now has a few Zoom classes under their belts. We meet at 9 am on Sundays (so we can call it Sunday School), and are led by our fearless leader, Jim Nelson. Our topic is the prior week’s lectionary text and the Library Reflection that it inspired. If others are interested in joining the call and the class for a bit, please contact [email protected] and you will receive an invitation.
(This Zoom doesn't look quite as somber as the Session Zoom.)
Upcoming Birthdays
Presbyterian Update
Click here to learn about the Presbytery's resources for addressing the country's ongoing problems with race relations and racism. Other community new is available in their weekly newsletter.
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Operations Ruling Elders
Pastor Rev. Dr. Richard Knott
Chaplain Phillip A. Lewis
Pastoral Care Fran Parsons
Session Assist. Karen Wright
Choir Director Ann McAllister
Organist Donald Sebesta
Worship Assist. Jennifer Hoskins
Paul Gowen
Youth Director Avery Lilley
Day School Dir. Sharon Cruz
Session Clerk Marilyn Ahrens
Treasurer Jim Nelson
Worship Bob Ahrens & Mary Lambert
Education Doug Christie & Mary Lambert
Service Julie Hensler & Kara Van de Kieft
Fellowship Elizabeth Mendenhall
Day School Laura Lindner
Scott Breen
Property Doug Christie, Frank Ford, & Julie Hensler
Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church
Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Richard O. Knott, Jr
6201 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
(210) 824-0271
[email protected]
