S A M P S O N ’ S M I L L S

P R E S B Y T E R I A N

C H U R C H

J U L Y 2 0 1 8

T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E

Trying New Things…. The Saturday before Father’s Day Cami finally did it. She tried Sushi! Sure, she ventured here before, but with much less gusto and determination. The first time she tried Sushi she perhaps got one bite of the rice and declared that it was not for her. We are at an Asian restaurant off 30 and on the Children’s Menu was California Rolls, so she thought, why not try it once more. This time I told her that she needed to take a real bite, dip it into the soy sauce and add a little of pickled ginger on top. She did it all, hesitantly at first, but then gained her confidence as she allowed her bite to ruminate in our mouth so to elicit her taste buds. This time the result was much different. She declared, I like Sushi! She was also proud that she gave it another go, too, trusting that adventure, even of the culinary variety, is always worth a bit or perhaps a bite of risk. You know in a lot of ways that’s how we all grow, by taking risks. We must take a bit of an adventure and try new things. Think about those first days along the way on of life’s journey - like the first day of school, the new job, of being a new parent. To get to the other side, take some willingness to be risky, to venture out of our comfort zones because we know that when we do so that great reward lies ahead, and we’ll grow in the process. That same is true about faith. We don’t move on this walk of faith without taking risk. In fact the whole premise of faith is taking a leap, trusting holy mystery. If we stop making those leaps, our faith stops growing, too. Last week’s sermon I talked a bit about a book the Session is reading called We Refused to Lead a Dying Church. Each month we discuss one of the chapters, one of the churches featured, who took risks and came through transformation in new and vital ways. Each one of the churches were in a time of fading, until the leadership and the community took steps toward life again. Really, they started taking risks so to grow and become the people God was inviting them to be. In the book, the author says that these churches have made the six choices that go hand in hand with a healthy and vital congregation.

Choosing life over death Choosing community over isolation Choosing fun over drudgery (Probably my favorite one!) Choosing bold over mild Choosing frontier over fortress Choosing now rather than later

All of these can be summed up with Choosing Risk OVER Anything Else! At our session meetings, with our Food Truck Friday ministry, on Sunday mornings with our diversity of music, we are taking risks to grow, to be changed and to move ahead in our next chapter of ministry as Sampson’s Mills. In the coming weeks, I hope that we may share these stories of risk and transformation in worship, by utilizing the time we reserve for our Affirmation of Faith for moments of testimony from members of our congregation. It is my hope that as we do so, we all might gain courage and trust that try-ing new things will lead to health, vitality and growth, personally and corporately! Your partner in the adventure! Pastor Jessica

Summer Worship Sermon Series

David: The Rise, The Fall and the

July 1st – Communion with Taize Music 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27, 5:1-5,9-10 “Rising from the Ashes” July 8th - Mission Trip Testimony Sunday Our Mission Trip Youth will lead the service and share their mission stories. VBS Volunteers will be commissioned for their week of service.

July 15th – Worship in the Park Join us at White Oak Park for Worship at 10 am, where we will celebrate the fruits of VBS week. The church picnic will immediately follow.

July 22nd 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19, 7:1-14a “Not So Easy Being King” July 29th 2 Samuel 11:1-15 “The Turning Point” Guest Musicians – Bari and Vanessa Veltre August 5th – Communion with Taize Corn Roast Sunday 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a “The Role of Prophecy” August 12th 2 Samuel 18:5-9,15,31-33 “The Family Tragedy”

Summer Worship is at 10 am!

S E S S I O N N O T E S F R O M J U N E

another opportunity to

further this

conversation.

Child Protection Policy

At this 2nd reading we

accepted the Child

Protection Policy.

In July we will have the

1st reading of the

Mandatory Reporting

Procedure of the Child

Protection Policy.

At our September

meeting we will have

the 1st reading of the

Implementation of the

Child Protective

Policy.

On Thursday, July 26

at 7pm we will have a

night of joyous praise

and worship.

Nancy Swanson

Clerk of Session

Session notes:

Continuing our

discussion of “We

Refuse to Lead a

Dying Church,” we

went into our

community to engage

in conversation with

our neighbors. Places

visited - Giant Eagle,

White Oak Athletic

Association, Rita’s Ice

and White Oak Pool.

We are looking into

the needs of the

community. Food

Truck Friday is

Page 3 T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E

Deacon News

On May 20th our new

deacons,

Butch Andrews,

Andy Archer,

Liz Jones, Kathy Peters

and Max VanMeter

were ordained and

began their three-year

terms of service to our

church. They are

already busy with our

summertime activities.

We have already

hosted a reception for

our three high school

graduates on June 10.

They were

Megan Williamson

from Norwin and

Madolyn Boynton and

Julie Sharbaugh from

McKeesport. Those

who came to

congratulate the

graduates saw

displays of their many

achievements.

Congratulations to you

all!

We are now working

toward feeding the

crowd at Worship in

the Park on July 15.

Magnolia Grove will

be the site of our

picnic this year. We will

co-host the event with

the worship committee.

The deacons will set up

for lunch in the pavilion,

supply an abundance of

chicken and prepare fun

and games for all. Come

with your favorite

casserole and enjoy

worship in the beautiful

outdoors. There will be a

sign-up sheet in the

Narthex. In case of

inclement weather, the

picnic will be held in the

Fellowship Hall.

A M U S I C N O T E F R O M O U R D I R E C T O R O F M U S I C M I N I S T R I E S

worship music. There

will be old favorites,

new favorites, kids

songs, and even cookies

afterwards! Please plan

to attend this fun

evening!

Bell Bootcamp is also in

full swing and we are

having a GREAT time

learning music and

handbell techniques.

The bootcamp will

continue to meet in the

sanctuary every

Thursday from 6pm-

8pm through July 19.

It's never too late to join

- stop by and see what

all the buzz is about!

A Music Note

~ from

Jolena VanMeter,

Director of Music

Ministries

Summer is in full

swing and the music

programs have been

very busy!

During our worship

services, we have been

learning so many new

songs! May the

combination of these

new songs and more

familiar songs speak to

us in new ways this

summer as we

continue to celebrate

God's love.

Another way we are

going to celebrate

God's love through

song is a new event

coming in a few weeks

… Summer Music

Praise Celebration at

Sampson's Mills

Presbyterian Church!

The "SMPC at SMPC"

will be on Thursday,

July 26, at 7:00pm in

our meditation garden.

We are inviting the

whole community to

bring their lawn chairs

and join us for a

fantastic evening of

Page 4 T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E

Page 5

T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E

2018

Page 6

T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E

A Word from Our Foodbank

A note of special thanks from the White Oak Food Bank -

Over the last 2 months we have been blessed to give away an

enormous amount of food to our neighbors in need, thanks to

food drives initiated by The Boy Scouts troop 916, and the letter

carriers. We could not have distributed it (close to 5,000 cans)

without help from tireless volunteers who inspected cans for

expiration dates, separated food by categories, and placed them

on our tables, ready for selections by our food recipients. A very

special thanks goes to the choir members who stayed after the

strawberry social to help set up for the food bank the next day.

There are no food drives during the summer. Please don't forget

to bring an extra can or even a case to church on Sunday!

Yours in Christ,

Jolene and Kathy

2018 …… FLEA MARKET

The final figures are now available and we can happily report another very successful year for the Annual Flea

Market. It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun. Thank you to all who participated. Some have been donating their

time for many years and some we welcomed as new participants. All the proceeds are earmarked for the

General Fund to further the ministry of Sampson’s Mills Presbyterian Church.

Many of you have asked for sales figures on each department and while this is certainly not a competition, your

curiosity is understandable.

Pies and Baked Goods 840.65 Linens 187.00

Clothes 485.44 Lunchroom 621.57

Electronics 383.15 Outside 467.06

Collectibles 591.70 Toys 408.60

Furniture 557.25 Pictures 79.30

House wares 362.30 Jewelry 185.65

You are all to be commended for a splendid job.

Community and Mission Ministry Team: Bill Rhodes, Billie Kissel,

Rich & Kathy Peters, Nancy Swanson, Gary Hillmar, Beverly Ekaitis

The Holy Spirit

When I was first asked if I would participate in our service for Trinity

Sunday some weeks ago, I volunteered to speak about the Holy Spirit.

As I pondered this further I felt a certain amount of unease, and so I

approached Pastor Jessica for some guidance and she said to speak

about how the Holy Spirit has played a part in your life; some time

when you believed the Holy Spirit impacted you or guided you.

When I got home and tried to identify such times, I found that I was uncertain and struggled to identify those

instances in which I believed the Holy Spirit was guiding me. I was at no such loss, however, when it came to

identifying those instances of the Holy Spirit being alive and thriving at Sampson’s Mills Church.

I saw the impactful way the Holy Spirit guided our pastoral search committee to recruit Pastor Jessica, and

how she enthusiastically responded to their calling.

I saw the Holy Spirit tugging at the heart of one of our members, who would come to so wonderfully lead our

Music Ministry.

I saw how a retired Music Teacher would be led by the Holy Spirit to champion our Bell Choir.

I saw the Holy Spirit swelling in the hearts of those who work so tirelessly to lead and serve our Food Pantry,

which meets the needs of so many of those within our community.

I saw the Holy Spirit leading many of our church members to work with the Blessing Board, helping count-

less families, who otherwise would have so little.

I saw the Holy Spirit embracing those who participate in the healing prayer chain, when a call goes out to

pray for someone who is suffering, or in need.

I saw the Holy Spirit inhabiting all who serve as elders and deacons, and on each of the church ministries and

committees.

I saw the Holy Spirit alive in our members who are dedicated to growing Sampson’s Mills through fellow-

ship, Christian education, mission trips, stewardship, and through the many activities that bring us together

as Christians “as we seek to cause God joy by connecting people to Christ and to each other”. Suffice it to say,

I saw the Holy Spirit living in the hearts of all those who see Sampson’s Mills as their place of worship; of

those seeking a closer relationship with God the Father; God the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

Finally, when I saw how the Holy Spirit was alive and thriving at Sampson’s Mills, I could then reflect and

identify how the Holy Spirit has guided me, in so many ways, far too many to describe here.

The Holy Spirit comes to all of us and calls us to be God’s servants. Just as God called out to Isaiah and asked,

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us”, we are called by the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord through his

ministry in the world. Hopefully, we have heard that call, and just as Isaiah, and so many here at Sampson’s

Mills, we will respond. “Here I am Lord, send me.”

Many thanks to John Williamson for sharing this with us.

Join your neighbors this summer for food, fun and fellowship. Come and enjoy a variety of food truck cuisines and children’s entertainment. Begins at 5:00 pm. Participating Food Trucks: Ash & Kris K’Dogs-n-Nat Dad’s Mobile Grub Healthalicious Rita's Ice, Friday, July 6 Curly's Tin Rizzi Ice Cream - Friday, August 3 Fun Entertainment: face painting by Marla Kalning, juggling with John Williamson, magical tricks with Dan’s Variety Entertainment Also movie at 7:00 pm in Fellowship Hall: July 6, The Star; August 3, Ferdinand. Come and have a fantastic time!!

1665 Lincoln Way

White Oak, PA 15131

Phone: 412-678-5355

E-mail: sampsonsmillspc@verizon.net

www.sampsonsmills.org

Facebook.com/sampsons.mills

S A M P S O N ’ S M I L L S

P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U R C H

Worship 11:00 am

Rev. Jessica McClure Archer

Lisa Addington 2 Dave Manns 5 Bev Barna 9 Gary Hillmar 12 Nadine Carroll 14 Jolene Keefer 16 Brooke Dawson 18 Priscilla Watson 23 Bekah Little 23 Jenna Macey 25 Jim Hillmar 27 If you have a birthday this month and it’s not listed, please call the office and let me know.