1

October 2020 Volume 7 Issue 1

continued on page 3

Dear Church Family,

I made my way down the narrow aisle and found my seat on the last row of the plane. I sat down beside an older gentleman

wearing a pinstriped suit and tie, the travel attire of a past generation. Once the plane reached altitude, I took out my laptop and

began applying the final coats of lacquer to my sermon notes for the next morning. After a few minutes of listening to me pecking

away at the keyboard, the gentleman leaned over and asked, “What are you working on?” “Oh,” I stammered, “this is my sermon

for tomorrow. I’m a pastor.” His brow furrowed, “Really! What’s your church like?” What’s your church like? It’s an interesting question that I found deceptively

difficult to succinctly answer. How would you answer that question? Perhaps the

more pressing question is: What should the church be like? In Acts, Luke paints a

portrait of the church in its infancy. Though she’s far from perfect, we see that the

church was devoted to the bold preaching and teaching of the Word of God (Acts 6:1-4).

It was a church marked by vibrant fellowship and selfless community (Acts 2:42-47).

But I think one of the most superlative qualities of the infant church is also one of

the most overlooked. From its earliest days, Christ’s church has been devoted to

prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42, 6:4). But why should the church be devoted to prayer? Three answers come to mind:

Prayer Is Powerful. In the eyes of the world, we are not a mighty people. We are

not impressive or in vogue. We are a needy people; spiritually sick souls in need of a

physician; sinners in need of a Savior; bona fide members of the “losers club,” but

made more than conquerors through the empty cross and tomb of Jesus Christ.

Finite, frail, and fallible, we are utterly dependent upon the Lord our God for all

things. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:8). Well did the

hymn writer say, “I need Thee, O, I need Thee; ev’ry hour I need Thee.”

The Lord has sweetly and sovereignly appointed prayer as the instrument of divine

invitation and intervention. Prayer is our celestial SOS beacon! Jesus promised his

disciples, “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for

them by my Father in heaven” (Mat 18:19). James, the Lord’s brother, explained,

Inside Letter from Jim

Page 1 Our Children’s Joy in Christ

Women’s Ministry News

Page 2 Salute to Rodney Gillentine

October Birthday List

Page 3 Prayer Needs

Stewardship at FPC

Music Ministry Notes

Page 4

Worship at FPC

• Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Wednesday service of Bible study, prayer,

and singing at 6:30 p.m.

• All services are available online via

livestream.com/fpc-tv

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 ESV

2

Women’s Ministry News by Sara Robertson, President of Women’s Ministry

Are you a female member of this church and at least 21 years

old? Well, congratulations!! That means you’re a part of

the Women’s Ministry of this Church!! As such, you are

invited to attend the monthly council meetings on the first

Tuesday of each month and weekly Bible studies and to get

plugged into the committees that match your spiritual

gifts!!

We have a Facebook page called ‘Women’s Ministry, The

First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, MS’. It is a closed

group just for our women. If you aren’t already on, please

join us, and one of our admins will get you in on the

fun! We are currently printing the 2020-2021 yearbook…

they are free!! They should be available soon…grab one at

the church entrance when we meet.

This is an odd time to participate in Women’s Ministry, but

it is our prayer that God will unfold beautiful ways for us to

minister to one another and to our community. He has no

barriers, friends, and we can trust His plans and ways.

With that being said, what are your spiritual gifts? What has

God made you uniquely good at? We will be sharing some

exciting information on our Facebook page on ways to be

involved in our current committees. But we want to hear

from you! What ideas for this ministry do you have? After

all, this is for YOU! Maybe God made us for such a time as

this, sisters!! (More on this to come).

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out

to me or another active member. Your 2020-21 officers

are: Vice President - Julie Durfield; Secretary - Frances

Alston; Treasurer - Allison Rester; Historian - Claudia

Powell; and Parliamentarian - Virginia Morris. We also

have these past presidents in our midst providing wise

counsel…Caroline Grubbs and Mary Abraham.

Love to you, sisters! May we be a ‘City on a Hill’ for the

Lord!

Children’s Ministry by Kathy Young, Director of Children’s Ministry

Our Children’s Joy in Christ

One thing that always makes me smile is hearing children

sing about joy. From my office, I can hear Mrs. Whitney

Middleton leading her preschool music class in “I’ve got

joy down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.” I

love it! A favorite VBS song has always been, “I’ve got the

joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart.” And, now you’re

saying, “Where?” Joy is a precious gift. Joy doesn’t

depend on our circumstances and is not an emotion like

happiness. Joy goes much deeper and is rooted deep in

our souls—thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I’ve been thinking about joy a great deal lately, about how

I want our children to experience joy, especially now,

when all that we know is different. They may have

questions, or get discouraged, or just get tired of the

many adjustments that have to be made in our lives. It

can be easy to dwell on the hard things. We’re human. If

we want our children to emerge from this challenge with

their joy intact, let’s work together to continually point

them to Jesus, the source of all joy.

We can first pray for our children to abide in the Lord,

and we can pray this for ourselves. Without this deep

abiding, our efforts fall flat. As we pray and trust God in

all things, we can share with our children about the good

things God is doing. We can talk about the big things

(salvation) and the seemingly small (nice weather) in

light of God’s work in the world and his presence with

his people. We can help our children look for ways to be

delighted in His goodness. We can sing joyful, truthful

songs over our children. Even when we are sad, we can

remember the promises of God and that he always keeps

them.

Promoting hearts of joy in our kiddos is the Lord’s work

and he has given us the privilege of growing them up in

Him. My prayer is that while we focus on helping our

children be joy-filled, we will become changed in this as

well. We will focus on the goodness in the midst of bad

things, the delights in the midst of challenges, and the

light of the Lord in the midst of the dark.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. PSALM 5:11

3

We salute

Rodney Gillentine

on his dedicated service

to First Pres. during

the past ten years!

Letter from Jim continued from page 1

“the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

Do you pine for spiritual victory? Do you long for help and healing? Do you hope to see the church filled and the lost saved? Does your heart ache for the state of our nation and culture? Then let us be devoted to prayer because prayer

is powerful!

Prayer is unifying. Prayer mysteriously tunes the blessed tie that binds. It welds

our hearts together as a people. The 19th century Presbyterian, J.W. Alexander,

wrote, “There is no way in which we can more surely increase mutual love than

by praying for one another… Dissension or coldness cannot abide between those

who bear each other to God’s throne in supplication… Often has the tenderness

of a half-dying attachment been renewed and made young again, when the

parties have found themselves kneeling before the mercy seat.” Do we desire to be a church of singular passion; namely, the glory of Jesus Christ and the salvation of sinners? Do we wish for love and friendship to reign over our fellowship? Do we intend to be inoculated against division and stand against schism? Then let us be devoted to prayer because prayer is unifying!

Prayer is pleasing. B.M. Palmer called prayer the “language of worship,” and

“the prostration of the soul in humility before God.” Few things are more

pleasing to Christ than a church of ransomed sinners, His own blood-bought

bride, the choir of the redeemed lifting their voices to Him in prayer. In

Revelation, John saw the prayers of the saints rising before the throne in heaven

as sweet incense (Revelation 5:8). Paul encouraged the church in Rome saying,

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such

harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may

with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans

15:5-6). So, take up your instrument of prayer and join the symphony. Let us

be devoted to prayer because prayer is pleasing to the Lord. At First Presbyterian Church we are devoted to prayer. That’s why so much of

our Sunday morning and evening worship services are dedicated to calling upon

the Lord. That’s why each and every Sunday school opens and closes in prayer.

That’s why so many of you receive regular prayer requests from Pastor Knox and

other members of our staff.

Our devotion to prayer takes front and center stage during our Wednesday night

prayer meetings. Each week, the aim of our prayers locks onto a different, God-

honoring, target: the work of the church, the specific needs of our church

family, the civil magistrate, and our missionaries. I hope that you will consider

making our Wednesday night prayer meeting a regular fixture in your week. A

church truly gripped by the grace of God will be a church on its knees. A people

filled with the Holy Spirit will be a people devoted to prayer. May it be said of

us; may it be true of us: they were a praying people.

Your Grateful Servant,

Jim McCarthy Jim McCarthy

October Birthdays

1 - Steve Everett, Cindy Dawson

2 - Dot Guice, Matthew Wiggins

3 - Charlotte Manning, Bob Satcher,

Julia McCarthy

4 - Barbara Sytsma, Grant Bennett,

Daniel Jussely, Hayden Bailey, Catherine Smith

5 - Catherine Childress

6 - Mary Smith, Katie Walley, Tyler McGraw,

Colter Durfield, Christian Pearson, Briggs Walley

7 - Rob King, Elizabeth Wohleber

8 - Pat Raulston, Carol Walker, Garrett Jones,

Easton Kelley

9 - James Duncan, Stuart Rich, Elizabeth Tullos,

Brandon Chambless, Carey Norris

10 - Olivia Clemons, Kray Johnson,

Margaret Olmsted

11 - Ben Butler

12 - Ashley Roberts

13 - Kendy Kosko, Kerry Camille Helveston

14 - Carlisle Washburne

15 - Frankie Freeman, Richard Poole,

Merrick Jackson, Emmaline Morgan

16 - Rodney Gillentine

17 - John R. Jackson, Eric Dice, Andrew Newman,

Ford Benton

18 - Rob Morris

19 - Wendel Ruff, Arden Payne

20 - Maggie Cox

21 - Myrt Smith

22 - Paulette Lewis

23 - Bettye Duncan, Lisa Gunnufsen,

Cameryn Null

24 - Marcia Gatewood, Laura Pennebaker,

Mary Allston Bennett

25 - Allison Rester

26 - Dorothy Bradford, Kerrin Hightower,

Elizabeth Gregg, Quentin Nichols, Hannah Flynt

27 - Vance McKellar, Eric Burleigh, Keaton Riley

28 - David Conway

29 - Liz Cox, Buddy Lewis, Hatten Jussely

30 - Mary Chancellor, Gene Morris, Nikki Acord

31 - Kevin Love

4901 Hardy Street Hattiesburg, MS 39402

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

HATTIESBURG, MS

PERMIT NO. 47

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

4

Music Ministry Notes by Dr. Jesse Noote, Director of Music Ministries

Empty pews produce soundless sanctuaries. Never has

this reality been more evident than in the last six

months. Because singing is a Scripturally mandated

element of worship, it is the duty of congregants to break

forth in jubilant song whenever we gather. Our faith is a

singing faith. Lifting our voices together not only pleases

the Lord but strengthens and reinforces the strands that

hold the church together. It is as if each voice adds a

thread. The fuller the singing, the stronger the braid.

In other words, you have been missed! After what

seemed like an eternity without our principal instrument

of worship – the human voice – it is so good to hear the

sanctuary slowly filling again with the sound of our

beloved congregation singing His praise. We look

forward to the return of full and unfettered worship

when every corner of our sanctuary is covered with the

sound of Spirit-filled voices.

We long to see your churches full,

that all the chosen race

may, with one voice and heart and soul,

sing your redeeming grace.

Isaac Watts

(601) 268-0303

fpcpca.net

Prayer Needs

If you would like to request prayer

for a particular need,

you may contact any of our ministry staff

or email your request to ajrhett@fpcpca.net.

Stewardship at FPC

Offering plates are available at the doors on Sundays.

If you wish to make a gift to the church, you may also:

• Give online at www.fpcpca.net/giving1

• Mail or drop off at:

4901 Hardy Street

Hattiesburg, MS 39402