St Andrews Presbyterian Church

Information may not be reliable

Worship is Held at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday. Youth Sunday School begins at 10:00 a.m. Child Care is provided during worship. Adult seminars at 9:00 a.m.

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend theorphan, plead for the widow.” (Is. 1:16-17)
The beginning of Advent is a dream time for the list-makers among us. Between shopping and cooking and letter writing, there is much to do as we prepare ourselves and our families for the impending celebration of Christ’s birth.
Even as we go to all this trouble preparing ourselves for the coming of the Christ child, Isaiah’s warning strikes an uncomfortably close chord. The people of God seem to be systematically marking things off their well-intentioned to-do list. Burnt offerings? Check. Incense? Done. Sabbath? Taken! Festivals? Planned. How is it that everything can be checked off the list and yet God be displeased?
The words of the prophet ring in oru ears: God “has told you, O mortal, what is good.” (Micah 6:8)/ While all the particulars may be covered, we have somehow forgotten what is really important–to do what is good, seek justice, and defend those without power.
As you go about your Advent tasks this year, don’t let your list of preparations get in the way of truly preparing yourselves for the coming of the Prince of Peace among us.
God of all our days, journey with us as we preparefor your coming among us. Help us to not get so distracted by our duties that we forget your call to care for others. Amen.
-Jeff Roper, financial aid officer, Lyon College, & Rev. Leslie Bethel Roper, associate pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Batesville, Arkansas

When through the 1990’s my service in Presbyterian World Mission gave me the privilege of covering our church’s relations with the Christian churches in Pakistan, I often found myself in Lahore on Christ the King Sunday. There, on the main streets of the second largest city of that Islamic republic, with the riding of the sun, throngs of Christians of all denominations would hail the reign of Christ through colorful processions. Ministers, priests, bishops, and archbishops in their vestments would raise high the cross and lead the singing multitudes. Banners in Urdu strung across the broad boulevards would proclaim Christ ”King of kings and Lord of lords, for He shall reign forever and ever.”
Last week, Christ the King Sunday marked the climax of the Christian year. Today, the first Sunday of Advent, we start a new liturgical year, a new cycle that takes the church on a journey through the seasons of Christ’s life. And we begin by waiting, by preparing, by readying. ”Keep awake therefore” Jesus says to his followers: “Therefore you also must be ready” (Matt 24:42,44).
Yet we have the advantage of knowing the outcome, the anticipated fulfillment of our waiting! As Paul writes to the Romans, “the night is far gone, he day is near” (Rom. 13:12). It is time to “wake from sleep” and “put on the armor of Christ.” This means going to work and doing the work of Christ, who is building a reign of love, justice, freedom, salvation and peace.
Lord, today we again begin marching with you in the light of your reign. Sustain us by your grace and power. Amen.
-Rev. Victor E. Makari, Ph.D., former area coordinator for the Middle East, World Mission, General Assembly Mission Council, PC(USA), Louisville KY

Sunday begins a new season in the life of the Church. We will be celebrating the First Sunday of Advent, the season in which we wait for the coming of the Christ Child. Our congregation and session have recently been asking some questions about the role of Peacemaking in the life of Christ’s ministry and Christ’s church. During Advent, we will share daily devotions from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. These will be available as daily posts on this website, but there are paper copies available in the Gathering Space as well. These devotions have been printed in a small booklet, entitled “Proclaiming the Good News of God’s Peace: Advent Devotions 2010.” The first page reminds us that “This year the church celebrates the 30th anniversary of ‘Peacemaking: The Believers Calling,‘ the statement that led to the creation of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. The authors of these Advent devotions are individuals who have played a key role in the life of the program- including members of the writing team for Peacemaking: A Believers Calling, current and former staff members, individuals who served on the Peacemaking Advisory Committee, and International Peacemakers. We give thanks to God for all who have made peace and sought justice in the past and upon whose shoulders we stand, for all peacemakers and justice seekers who accompany us in the present, and for all who will continue to live out the believers’ calling into the future” (PDS 24358-10-006, p. 1).
If you have some time this Advent season, I invite you to download (print if you wish) and read Peacemaking: A Believers Calling. Completed 3 decades ago, I find it is still a powerful and compelling case for the work of Christian Peacemaking in the Church universal. Join us as we consider the peace of Christ this Advent season! –Shelaine

I hope everyone had a peaceful Thanksgiving yesterday, surrounded by family and friends. The Buildings and Grounds committee and I want to share the good news: The Water is Back on! The St. Andrews well has been repaired and we have water flowing through the pipes now. As a precaution only, we will be using bottled water this Sunday for drinking, but there is full access to restrooms now. Worship will be held at St. Andrews this Sunday, at the regular time. Thanks for your patience and support this week as explored and fixed the well problem. God is so good! See you Sunday- Shelaine

Many of you remember Ed Havitz, husband to our previous interim pastor, Rev. Pam Fulton. Ed’s family has kept the church updated on Ed’s changing condition over the last few years. In their latest update, we learned that Ed’s Alzheimers continues to progress, and he is now in the late stages of the disease. He is often unaware of his surroundings and losing some communication skills, but is still active with daily outings. The family writes, “We appreciate the continued prayers, thoughts, cards, calls, emails, and photos from all of you. It takes a village to support an aging loved one!”
Indeed, it does take a village. We want to encourage all of you to keep sending the cards of love and support. Here is Ed’s new address.