I have been a member of PHPC since 1984, but I didn't get involved beyond attending services and pledging financially until about four years ago. I used many internal excuses to explain my lack of involvement: a demanding civilian job, plus Navy Reserve duty that occupied one or two weekends a month; three children, including one who is autistic and intellectually challenged; and a commitment when I married a Catholic to raise my children in the Catholic faith.

The first excuse went away when I retired from the Navy Reserve (I had previously resigned from my civilian job). About that time, I heard that the church was looking for someone to fill in for the   

It turned out that this service is one of those where you get back more than you give. It opened my eyes to all that our church does - not only day-to-day functioning but the wide range of missioning and ministries in which our members are involved. In many ways, PHPC operates like a well run corporation or a fine tuned watch, composed of dedicated people with specialized skills working together to ensure all the things we take for granted function as they should.

While the "functional" part of my comparison to a corporation is accurate (and, in fact, the root of corporation "corpus," or "body" makes the comparison even more apt to Christ's church), two ingredients at PHPC make it different: !1) member volunteers who are vital to the life of our church, and 2) the infusion of the Holy Spirit among those volunteers and the staff that I witness every week from the Receptionist's desk.

The staff includes people like Lavoy Hooker, one of the busiest facilities managers I have ever seen but who always has a positive attitude and a friendly word for everyone, and Paula Kirby, whose kindness and caring makes her the ideal person for the position of Administrative Assistant for Congregational Care and Outreach. With volunteers such as Joan McFarlane, who spends many hours each week in the extensive music library and ensuring all choir members have the right music sheets, the love for their work and for the Church (with a capital "C") shines through. The amazing thing is that all of the staff and volunteers I've come to know are just as dedicated, kind, and caring. 

So, after more than 20 years of sitting in the pew, I am grateful that the Spirit moved me to break out of my shell. It's not much compared to the hours and hours and multiple jobs some members do, but it's a beginning. This small bit of service has introduced me to many loving people and to the work of God in our church and beyond. 

Now, after 30 years of living in Dallas, in his mysterious way, God is leading my family to move to Charlotte, North Carolina (that's right - Elizabeth McLean's hometown). I am leaving with mixed feelings, but with the confidence that I will find a way to serve in a Presbyterian church there and bring with me a little bit of PHPC love. Thanks, Betty, for opening the door to the first opportunity here at Preston Hollow.

Now, as you leave this place,

May the living Lord go with you.

May he go behind you, to encourage you;

Beside you, to befriend you in obedient ministry;

Above you, to watch over you;

Beneath you, to lift you from your sorrows;

Within you, to give you the gifts of faith and hope and love;

And always before you, to show you the way. Amen. 

Dr. Blair R. Monie’s Traditional
Sunday Morning Benediction

Many PHPC worshippers have shared that Dr. Monie’s benediction is a highlight of their worship experience. While its root is in a Celtic blessing and has been slightly changed over the years, Blair has consistently used it throughout his entire ministry (about 39 years!). 

After he had been at PHPC for a few years, he got an email from a PHPC youth named Emily Thurman. Blair recalls the email, “She said ‘I really like your benediction, but something is missing… you’ve got behind, beside, above, within, and before, but you’re missing beneath. What about beneath you to lift you from your sorrows?’ So I added it in the next Sunday and have included it ever since – and that was about 12 years ago.”

Blair likes to share this story of how a youth shaped this weekly PHPC tradition and helped to make his benediction so beloved.  “I like to refer to it as the ‘wrap around benediction’ – God wrapping us in his blessing from all directions. The word ‘benediction’ actually means ‘good word’ in Latin, so we always end our service with a good word.”

If you are a new member of PHPC, you probably received a lovely crocheted cross/bookmark in your new member packet.  Your third grade child most likely received one with his or her new Bible. Maybe you mentioned in Sunday school that your grandson was being baptized in another church, and you were given a cross for him. Stephen ministers, PHPC staff members, missionaries, seminarians, and even occasionally visitors—all have been gifted with crocheted crosses.

These beautiful crosses are all the handiwork of one woman—PHPC member Lee Clark. Crocheting (as well as knitting and sewing) comes naturally to Lee. 

Lee’s hobby has become a passion. She keeps a log of her crosses, recording each as it is given away. To date, she has completed 3,777 crosses and has given away 3,211. When she began making the crosses, she used primarily soft, light colors. But when she offered to make a cross for a former pastoral intern, he asked if she would do it in red and green, commenting that red is the color not of the devil but of love. Today she uses a wide variety of colors, although she does have a favorite type of thread. While Lee distributes most of her crosses through PHPC (1,558 to date), she does not limit them to our church. Her three children are all encouraged to give them away. One son, a church administrator, takes them on mission trips and has left them as far away as Afghanistan and Peru.  Another son has traveled to the Far East, taking crosses with him. Her daughter Jan has given several away at Presbyterian Village. One day a department store sales woman was especially helpful to Lee; Lee asked her if she would like a cross. She gives them to people she meets in the grocery store and to those “who go out of their way to be nice.”

A PHPC member since about 2001, Lee rarely misses Sunday services, attends the First Friday luncheons, was a greeter, and has been a member of the Prayer Cordon for nearly 7 years. Mother of three, grandmother of four, and great-grandmother of two with a third due in February, Lee often makes keepsakes for her family, keeping an old trunk filled with gifts to distribute. But she claims her primary mission is her crosses. It is something she can do, something that gives her pleasure, and something inspired by God. She has refused any assistance but has plans to pass on the patterns when she can no longer make them. In the meantime, over 3,000 individuals have been blessed with Lee’s gift.         

Whenever I told people that I was going to Honduras during the summer, the usual response was, “Oh, in Roatan?” No, I was not going to Honduras to vacation. I went with a class from the College of Charleston to work with the Latin American Missionary and Bible Institute (LAMB) based in a neighborhood called Flor del Campo to learn about community development, strategic planning, and grant writing. It turns out that that was only a minor lesson in those three weeks.

I knew that LAMB was a Christian organization, but since I was going with my school, I didn’t think that the religious aspect would play such a large role in my experience. Boy was I wrong.

One of the programs we worked with was LAMB’s children’s home, Casa Hogar. It’s up on a hill about an hour outside the city; some of the staff calls it “the bubble.” The kids range from all ages, from babies to 18-year-olds. On the can ride over the first day, our guide, Amanda, told us some of their stories. Many had been taken from their parents by social services. Two sisters were found on the side of the road; a girl had been burned by her parents; another girl had to watch her father hack her other sister with a machete. Casa Hogar has yet to return any kids back to their parents.

You wouldn’t know that any of these children had lived in these horrible conditions once you saw them. Their bright smiles and open arms were just looking for love and attention. When we catalogued and organized their library, many children came in to play and show us that they could read. I started to read to one girl, but she immediately took the book and read to me. The teacher said that kids are not usually in the library, much less reading. They would do anything for us to pay attention to them. They loved to play with jump ropes, solve puzzles, and play Twister and Uno. The simplicity in which they saw the world astounded me. Even though they had grown up in abusive homes, they learned to accept God’s love and the power of prayer. When attending their Pentecost service, all of the children lined up to receive the Holy Spirit into their lives.

For me, accepting God was easy. He gave me a wonderful life with loving parents and a warm home. These children lived in the worst places possible, and yet they believe in Him. That takes strength, courage, and faith; things these children have redefined.

 I have been on a spiritual journey, and it started about two years ago when I attended a HeartPaths’ Retreat. Through spiritual direction and retreats, HeartPaths helps individuals develop an awareness of God through the contemplative practices of prayer, reflection, and simple noticing. Little did I know that that day, the way I look at God would change forever. 

During a visual prayer, I was drawn to a picture of a sleeping baby draped over his father’s shoulder, completely relaxed and utterly comfortable.  

During my prayer, the picture took on a whole new meaning when I read the scripture verse, “Be Still!  And know that I am God.” After this experience, I realized that I was great at thinking about God and even doing for God; but I did not know how to just “Be” with God. I realized that God wanted me to be just like this baby, resting with his father. 

By participating in HeartPaths for the past two years, I have committed to daily intentional prayer with God. The best advice I received from one of my small group leaders it that prayer is about “Just showing up because God is already there waiting for you.” …that is how much he loves us.  The gifts of this prayer time, which have transformed my relationship with God, have been endless; realizing that God is constantly present to me and loving me every moment; seeing God’s creativity in nature; hearing God speak to me in the yoga room and seeing Christ’s face in another person. 

The amazing thing about God is that He will meet you wherever you are! I have had to learn to abide in God by learning how to just “Be” with God. For me, learning how to have an intimate relationship with God has entailed learning how to “Be Still” with God every day, realizing God’s joy and delight is to be with me. In Yoga, the hardest posture is savasana, the resting pose, and I have found this to be true with my relationship with God. It has taken daily intentional prayer for me to learn how to abide with my God and walk with my Lord in intimate companionship. And, as my second year at HeartPaths is coming to a close, I realize it is not an ending, but merely the beginning of my new friendship with the Risen Lord.

My parents lived in a dusty little town in the high country of Eastern Arizona. They were strong, proud people who were quick to help others but never asked for help. In his prime, my father was a large man, a hard working rancher. But now, near the end of his life, his body was weakened by cancer and little physical activity was possible. Especially his favorite chore, cutting firewood. That was significant because in this valley the primary means of heating homes is with fireplaces and wood burning stoves. Late one afternoon my parents returned home from a short outing and were astonished to find several cords of firewood, cut, split and neatly stacked in their driveway, left there by an anonymous group of friends.

My mother shared this story with me later, amazed and humbled by such an act of kindness. When she asked, “How could we ever deserve this?” I gave the stock answer, “You can’t.”  But it was the look of awe and gratitude on her face; the idea that they could be “worth it” that had a profound impact on me. I saw, perhaps for the first time, the sheer power of even a small act of kindness and friendship. Among this group of friends were Baptists, Mormons, Methodists and agnostics, yet made manifest through this simple gift, so freely given, was the love and friendship of the risen, living Christ. My Mother helped me learn another important lesson that day as I came to believe that Christ can work through anyone, anytime, often unexpectedly.

Amen!

Look for the segment of "Stories that Connect Us" on Friday, August 3.

God has been working in my life for all of my 16 years, but I started to truly feel God's presence in my life when I attended summer camps. I went to Mo-Ranch and another camp, Camp WOW (Walk on Water). At Mo-Ranch, I remember specifically every night when we would all gather together and have Vespers. You can feel God working through all the campers when everybody is singing and worshiping. What made me realize I wanted to share my faith and encourage others to do so as well was when I was at Camp WOW. It was towards the end of camp and after we sang, read scripture, and played games, the keynote leader asked us all to put our heads down. He said "raise your hand if you know you've accepted God into your life, but you feel like you've been pushing him away." I raised my hand. Then he told the ones with their hands raised to open our eyes and look around, and when we did, we realized a wealthy amount of the campers had put their hands up too. I'll never forget that feeling when I discovered I was not the only one, and that feeling when I decided I wanted to help others experience this same emotional awaking.

That was only the beginning. When I was confirmed into this incredible church, I learned so much more. When I was officially a member, I noticed how many other people care about me, can relate to me, and are on this faith journey with me. I've always been an involved youth here, and I wanted every other youth to be, too. And to feel like they're in God's arms while they're here.

In Scotland and Ireland on the youth pilgrimage two years ago, we spent the night on the small island of Iona. Steve gave us two or three hours to wander wherever we wanted. He encouraged us to be silent, and to take the time to read God's word. When I sat up on the hill, watching sheep graze, it was as if God opened my ears and my heart to his word. I read and read from my Bible. I felt as if God was speaking to me, and as he did, I wrote in my journal. I wrote my favorite passages, and I wrote special prayers. I knew someday I was going to help others hear and be transformed by God's word.

This past summer I went somewhere some of you have probably been: Montreat.  Montreat is also known as a "thin place:" a place where God's hand is within reach. When you're in the mountains of North Carolina you're reminded how beautiful God's creation is. The people that you meet, you'll never forget. It's amazing to be with so many youth who feel the same way you do, and who are seeing their faith in a whole new perspective. We learned about listening for God’s call and that’s where I learned to answer when he called me. Thursday night we had communion. The youth elder and deacon from PHPC got to serve it to numerous youth and us. I watched as Caroline and Valirie did so. It gave me one of those weird feelings in my heart. One that made me tell myself, "one day, I am going to serve communion at Montreat, and I am going to make a difference in others' spiritual journeys." Montreat changed me for the better, forever.

Do you ever feel like you need a place to pray, read the scriptures, or simply sit and reflect outdoors, but you are unsure of where to go? Well, thanks to a gift from the Epiphany Class there is now a collection of seven perfect places right on the PHPC campus. Together, these seven locations make up the Epiphany Prayer Walk, providing a unique way to engage with God not often found in the city.       

When Jane McManus, a member of the Epiphany leadership team participated in a prayer walk last summer, she experienced first hand its transformative nature. Soon after, she envisioned a similar walk at PHPC created by the Epiphany class, a ministry for youth (16+) and adults with special needs and their families. By doing so, the class members would be able to give something back to the church.  

Jane and Lee Roth began to survey the campus for appropriate locations. Once identified, benches were purchased and then meditation materials were developed all thanks to generous gifts allocated for the prayer walk. Mail boxes containing a prayer walk brochure are located next to each bench. The brochure includes a scripture and a prayer created by a member of the class for each location. It is suggested that those who experience the walk pick up a brochure and use it as a tool to assist with their own prayer and meditation experience along the way.

A church walk is nothing new to the Epiphany Class. They consistently visit different locations in the church and participate in specific activities at each including reading the prayers they have written. These walks provide them with an opportunity to talk with each other and improve their social skills. With the addition of the scripture and prayer components, adults in the class have further exposure to the love of God and can see God’s grace in action. A burst of applause always follows the reading of each of their prayers! 

This gift from the Epiphany Class also enables the class to take responsibility for the ongoing care of each of the walk locations. According to Jane, class members see this as their job and a way to give back to the church every week. Each Sunday afternoon, class members visit each location checking the mail boxes to ensure adequate brochures are available. It’s a win-win for all. Church members and those in the neighborhood have a place to find solace with God, and class members have an opportunity to experience giving back and taking responsibility. 

The seven locations are:

1)      Epiphany Rock, located near the east entry to the small dining room
2)      The playground
3)      Shepherd’s Gate, outside the northwest entrance
4)      The Columbarium
5)      Sanctuary Courtyard
6)      The Cross Garden
7)      Jubilee Plaza

The location at Epiphany Rock is especially unique. It includes stones painted by students in the Epiphany Sunday afternoon art program. Each time the class visits there they can see the stone they painted and participants can appreciate their artwork.

Now that the beautiful sunny weather is here, it is time to experience the Epiphany Prayer Walk first hand.  Please tell your neighbors and bring a friend. 

Epiphany ministry is for youth (16+) and adults with special needs and their families  --  sharing meals, discovering gifts, enriching lives, and providing respite. 

What do you do?  
I work for the City of Plano as a Senior Budget Analyst; most of my time is spent analyzing the City's sales tax collections and working with Plano's Park & Recreation and Environmental Waste Services Departments.

Where are you from? San Antonio, TX - Go Spurs!

What do you love most about PHPC?
I like the comfort of the people and the place; how you can easily find old and new friends to talk to or find a quiet spot to just be still.

Are you serving anywhere at PHPC, and if so, what do you like about it?  
I drive for the Holy Rollers; I like the brief chats with passengers and the joy a golf cart ride brings to small children.  

Currently reading?
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt

Best advice you ever received?
"Be well, do good work, and stay in touch." My father told me that Garrison Keillor quote while we were saying goodbye after freshman orientation and it has stayed with me.  

What’s something interesting about you that we might not know?
I'm extremely knowledgeable and opinionated about foreign sports like soccer, rugby, cricket, and Aussie rules football.  If you need someone to explain how Chelsea FC are European champions but only the third best team in London, I'm your man.

What difference does your faith make in your life?
 It has provided a sense of calm and clarity whenever I've found myself in difficult or frustrating circumstances. Whenever I've practiced patience, I've felt closer to God.

My journey with God in my life began as a child. I did not have any real "mountain top experience" but instead, my faith has grown from what I learned from the scriptures from my Sunday school teachers, pastors, and others throughout my life as well as my life experiences. There are two events that particularly stand out in my mind when I strongly felt God's presence in my life.

As I relocated with my job over the years, we looked forward to the one constant wherever we lived, and that was the opportunity to worship God in church and meet new friends in Christ. We worshiped in many different churches, and we always took for granted that we could find a church and attend worship services. But we found that when we moved to Saudi Arabia attending Protestant worship services was illegal. We were not going to be denied. We learned that other Protestants were secretly meeting weekly at various places to worship.

I felt the presence of God more there than almost anywhere, especially worshiping with a very diverse group of Christians from all over the world. There was something about worshipping in this environment that made me feel the strong spirit of God.

The other event that made me know for sure that God is working in my life was when I wrote my book. I documented my family's journey fleeing Hungary at the end of World War II, and how they used their faith to survive the hardship while living as refugees in Austria for five years before immigrating to America. I was not an author and had never been accused of being a good writer by anyone. I am convinced that I was only able to write the book with the help of God. Once I learned about my parent's journey and the way that their faith helped them survive some very difficult times, I was compelled to document the story.

I took early retirement in 2000 and spent the better part of two years writing the book. This was at a time right after my father passed away and when my mother was deeply grieving. I was able to spend a great deal of time with my mother to get additional information I needed to complete documenting their story. I felt God's presence as I wrote the words. I believed that this was part of God's plan that I could spend more time with my mother and talking about the story. I think this helped her through her grieving process. I was amazed that as soon I completed the book and sent the manuscript to the printers, I got an unsolicited call from my previous employer to go back to work as a consultant.

Over the past ten years I have been able to share this wonderful story of faith and God's work in our lives with thousands of people. This has brought me closer to God and has prepared me to explore new opportunities to serve Him.

Every morning, Betty Muse, longtime member of PHPC, gets up early and checks into McShan Elementary School by 8:15 a.m. where she spends at least an hour tutoring 3^rd and 4^th graders with dyslexia (or “retraining” them  in her words).

McShan, the DISD school that serves the Vickery Meadows area (where PHPC is committed to assist) is a virtual United Nations of languages. This area of Dallas is home to a population of largely immigrant and refugee families from a wide variety of national backgrounds. Virtually all of the children who attend McShan speak English as a second language. If they are handicapped by learning difficulties such as dyslexia, their disadvantages are compounded.

In the summer of 2011, Betty was tutoring children at Vickery Meadow Learning Center (she still tutors adults every Thursday afternoon), when she realized that McShan had no formal program for dyslexics. A gifted tutor in that area, Betty began tutoring at McShan when school opened that fall. She credits part of her assignment to a former student who came to her as an 8 year-old unable to read; he is now the coordinator for dyslexia programs for DISD.

Betty is passionate about her work. In the late 1970’s, she was a bored, stay-at-home mother with only her youngest son at home (she has four children, one a Presbyterian minister). A journalist by education, she heard about a program to train dyslexia therapists at Scottish Rite Hospital and quickly signed up for it. She completed the program and interned at the hospital’s laboratory program. Her four days a week became full-time when she eventually assumed the role of assistant supervisor. She has worked with both public and private students in the intervening years. She states that “teaching a kid to read is the most gratifying thing in the world.” She loves to see them blossom with their success.

Betty’s dedication to her church and to others does not stop with her tutoring activities. A member of PHPC since at least 1977, she contributes in many ways. She has been trained as a Stephen Minister and tells a story about one leader who was formerly a care receiver. Involved in the Presbyterian Women’s circles, Betty enthusiastically advocates their activities. Betty is one of the teachers for the Epiphany Sunday School Class and is on the communion set-up committee. As if her PHPC activities were not enough, every Monday afternoon, Betty sorts clothing at North Dallas Shared Ministries. 

As the school year approaches summer, Betty is preparing to tutor at the VMLC‘s summer reading tutoring program founded by PHPC member Dalene Buhl. Dalene is asking for 75 volunteers whose only qualifications are to have “big hearts.” She states that they will supply the experts in education but need people who care. For more details about the reading academy, visit our service opportunities page. 

"For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us..." Romans 12
 

Stories That Connect Us

This new addition to PHPC Communications captures just a few of the many wonderful things going on at PHPC! These stories will feature members and ministries that make our Church so unique.

New stories will be added every other week, so look for the updated link in your Friday eblast. Not receiving the Friday email news? Subscribe here.

Do you have an idea for a story? Share it with us at communications@phpc.org.