Rev. Schmitt is no stranger to this church. He preached here a few years ago as a representative of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation.

He has had a wide range of experience in churches of various sizes, and in various capacities including positions in the business sector. The committee charged with proposing the interim pastor, under Gene Hood as chairperson, has worked hard to facilitate this selection. Rev Schmitt and his wife arrived on September 20 and spent the following period talking to the committee, touring the church and town, and meeting with the whole session for some time Saturday.

As interim pastor he will help the church define itself, prepare for change, and consider where it would like to go, as well as help the church select a permanent pastor to lead it toward these goals. In the meantime he will preach, supervise the staff, help with the Salt and Light program, provide pastoral care, moderate the Session, interact with the Session Committees, develop a stewardship program, interact with Presbytery, encourage the Christian education program, and leap tall buildings to repair our roofs.

Rev. Schmidt summarizes his background by saying, “God has blessed me with certain talents, which have enabled me to provide a rich, meaningful and varied ministry. I have served congregations large and small, with staff and without, in metro areas and small towns. I have spent two and one half years in the secular field as sales manager of a Buick Dealership in Memphis, TN and for nine years as Development Officer of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation serving the Synod of the Southwest. I was honorably retired December 31, 1999. In June of 2000 I was called to serve as Parish Associate at Valley Presbyterian Church, filling the vacancy of Associate Pastor. This position ended in July 2001 when the new Associate Pastor was called. I then became Interim Pastor at Christ Presbyterian.

“The gifts and skills I bring include strong preaching; leadership in evangelism, stewardship, and Christian education; strong administrative abilities and a genuine concern for the spiritual development of the people with whom I serve.”

In 1953 Rev. Schmitt graduated from Rhodes College, a well known liberal arts college in Tennessee. He received his Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. He has also attended seminars designed to equip ministers to be Interim Pastors.

He and his family live in Phoenix, AZ, where his wife works and his daughter attends high school. Rev. Schmitt will move to Las Cruces and return to Phoenix for a couple of days twice a month during the week when his presence is not required here. His family is accustomed to frequent absences. While he was working for the Presbyterian Foundation he had to travel frequently in a multi-state region. While he was serving a church in Colorado, his wife had a job which required her to travel the whole state.

There have been a number of actions, particularly on the national level, dealing with the sexuality of church officers. These actions have contributed to the creation of what is called the Confessing Church Movement and to the referral to the Presbyteries of a change, called Amendment A, to the Book of Order, one of the parts of the Constitution of the national church.

This article provides more information on the response of your Session to these actions.

While the Confessing Church Movement and Amendment A have to do with some of the same issues, the relevant Session actions are totally independent of one another.

A letter was sent to each member and friend of First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces on September 13, 2001. This letter explained that the Session voted on September 11 to pass the following resolution.

Resolution

The Confessing Church Movement is not an organization, but it is endorsed by several Presbyterian renewal organizations. At the instruction of the Session, the Clerk of the Session sent a signed copy of the foregoing statement to Presbyterians for Renewal.

The movement began in March of 2001 in the Summit Presbyterian Church of Butler, PA, and, by late September over 900 church Sessions have supported the movement in some fashion.

The Presbyterian Church USA is guided first and foremost by the Bible and then by a firmly established Constitution that is made up of two parts, the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order. The Book of Confessions and the Book of Order have been derived from the inspired word of God, the Holy Bible. These elements of the Constitution were derived with much deliberation, prayer and dedicated human endeavor. They define the basis and the governing directives of The Presbyterian Church USA.

The 213th General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church, USA met in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2001. One of the many actions resulting from this assembly was that a proposed amendment A to the Book of Order, Chapter VI, The Church and its Officers, was sent to the Presbyteries to be voted upon.

To determine whether Amendment A will become a reality, all Presbyteries of the denomination have been directed to vote on the proposed Amendment A to the Book of Order in the coming months. Sierra Blanca Presbytery will vote on Amendment A during the January 2002 meeting., The Session of First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces at its September 11, 2001 meeting approved a plan to encourage Sierra Blanca Presbytery commissioners to vote against Amendment A.

The Amendment would do three things. It would add the following sentence to section G-6.0106a that discusses the suitability of members to hold ordained offices in the church. That sentence is, "Their suitability to hold office is determined by the governing body where the examination for ordination or installation takes place, guided by scripture and constitutional standards, under the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ."

The Amendment would also strike section G-0.0106b which reads "Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001) or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

Thirdly, the amendment would, if approved, provide that “interpretive statements concerning ordained service of homosexual persons … shall be given no further force or effort.”

Donna Evans, a Wycliffe Bible translator supported by this church, will visit October 6 and 7. She has recently finished the translation of the New Testament into Ledo, a minority Indonesian language.

Donna writes, “Since finishing the New Testament (and, by the way, we have also translated Genesis and Exodus), I have been working in three main areas:

Donna started learning Ledo in 1987, and, with two committees, began translating in 1989. She says, “Although my visa contract ended in 1992, forcing me to leave the country, I was able to continue working from the Philippines, making 2-3 trips to Indonesia each year, and bringing language assistants to the Philippines to work with me there. In May of 1999, the Ledo New Testament was dedicated in a ceremony with the Indonesian Bible Society and the leader of the Salvation Army church of Indonesia.”

Donna will give a short presentation at the morning service on October 7, and a longer presentation, including a short video, at a meeting that evening.

All women who attend our church are members of Presbyterian Women! You are invited to attend the Gatherings and to join a monthly Circle or Guild for Bible study and fellowship.

9:30 AM - PWP Fall Gathering, Northmin-

ster Church, Las Cruces.

Theme: "Out of the Box for Presbyterian Women".

Speaker: Rev. Kimberlee McInnes-Green,

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

9:00 AM - Coordinating Team - Library in Jones Hall

10:30 AM - "Bake It or Box It", in the kitchen in Watkins Hall. We will bake cookies and breads to be frozen for use in memorial service receptions, and/or we'll box "college kids care packages".

Reminder: Annual Holiday Auction is November 18 at 3:00 PM. The funds raised will go to several local and overseas projects. This event is fun to prepare for and fun to attend.

Whenever a new editor takes over, it is traditional to say that the publication will become bigger, better, and more relevant. That, however, is not the case here. Jackie Poling put a lot of effort into making this publication informative and interesting to look at. The temporary editors filling in when she left, Ann Miller and Betsy Holt, did a good job of carrying on in the tradition established. I have been given a mandate to try to streamline and improve the efficiency of Lantern production.

The first steps had already been taken before I agreed to become editor. The last issue was printed by our secretary on the office copy machine. The administrative committee of the Session determined that even with factoring in the secretary’s time and the cost of the increased use of the machine, substantial cost savings would result. This practice will continue.

I will be exploring ways to make better use of our computer equipment to ease any production problems. There will be a slightly altered and more uniform general appearance.

Particularly because I do not know much of what goes on in this congregation, I will be dependant upon members of the congregation and its organizations to provide detailed coverage of any event or of any information which they would like to appear in the Lantern.

During this time of transition, any suggestions for changes or improvements will be particularly welcome.

The deadline for the submission of material as it should be published will be the afternoon of the Monday before the 25^th of the month. It would help if submissions were made in the form of a computer file on a disk. Word files are preferred, but any word processor file will do. Files can also be attached to e-mails and sent to fpc1@zianet.com.

Beth Carter-Borchert just joined our staff as the Children & Youth Music Director and is really looking forward to working with the First Presbyterian Church kids (and happily, rumor has it, the kids are looking forward to it as well). Although she was barely hired in time for Salt & Light, she is already planning and discussing programs that will take our kids, musically, through spring of 2002. Initially, she will be starting with the children, then later in the fall she will be getting the older youth started. She envisions not just a children's choir and a youth choir, but a music program that will incorporate, from time-to-time, orf instruments, handbells, percussion, guitars and other musical instruments into a well-rounded opportunity to joyfully worship God.

Beth states, "The most important thing I'm trying to accomplish is to introduce and educated all the kids from first grade to twelfth grade to Christian music.” Her goal is to have our children develop and enjoy worship skills through music and song.

She is more than qualified for the challenge. Reared in a home where her father was a Methodist Minister and her mother was the church Music Director and Organist, you might say Beth was born to the job. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s of Music Education from East Carolina University and her Master’s from Florida State University. Currently, she is the Choir Teacher at Mayfield High School, a post that she has filled for the last 14 years. There she teaches singing to nearly 200 teenagers in three different choirs including: Madrigals, Varsity, and Women Choirs. Nor is Beth a stranger to musical worship at the First Presbyterian Church. She was our Music Director for several years before 1997.

As you have an opportunity to do so, welcome Beth and thank her for undertaking this important task of working with our kids. With her direction, our children will develop another facet of their Christian walk.

The annual Deacons' Hamburger Fry will be held on Sunday, October 14 in the courtyard following Worship.

People in our own community encounter stressful health and family problems as well as difficult economic situations every day. Our board of Deacons is continually ministering to these people with compassion and generosity through local mission projects:

The Deacons' source of income comes from half of the "loose" offering collected on Communion Sundays; any offering designated "Communion;” and the Annual Hamburger Fry.

The needs always increase and funds are needed. Can you help? This is the Deacons' only fundraiser to finance these mission activities. Come join our church family for delicious food and congenial fellowship in our beautiful courtyard! Your attendance and generous donations will be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Presbyterian and Disciples

Campus Ministry at NMSU

2511 Chaparral St. 522-6404

David Sallee, Campus Minister

New Baby

* Wayne and Kathy Walker have a new granddaughter, Mercedez Espinosa was born on September 13, 2001 to Kym Walker and Gabe Espinosa.

* Thelma Mae Thomas died on August 28

Smile: There is a photo album in the church office with pictures taken at the farewell luncheon for the Polings.

September 2001

September 2 198

September 9 256

September 16 276

September 23 277

9:00 AM Sunday

10/02 Lisa Boberg

10/02 Linda Fredrickson

10/03 Lynn Boberg

10/03 Charles Stone

10/06 Margaret Swaim

10/07 Jon Daniels

10/07 Claude Welles

10/09 Katie Grandle

10/10 Laurie Norman

10/11 Sue Liefeld

10/11 Allan Savage

10/15 Robert Taylor

10/16 Erin Watson

10/17 Lauren Mattiace

10/17 Don Dearholt

10/18 Aaron Gemoets

10/19 Donna Farmer

10/19 Bobbi Cash

10/20 Helen McQuiston

10/21 Korrie Brace-Emmert

10/21 Thomas Todsen

10/22 Ann Parker

10/22 Roma Hepburn

10/24 Justin Newby

10/27 Paul Poling

10/28 Amy Poling

10/30 Jennie Garland

Special Note:

We would love to include the birthdays of all the members and friends in our congregation in the Lantern. Please call soon (526-5559) if we don't know your birthday!

Will be served October 7 and

November 4.

Our Wednesday program for first through twelfth graders is well underway! We are especially happy to have Beth Borchert again directing our children's and youth choirs, and her sons Jeremy and Joshua attending Salt and Light.

Though October 10 is designated as a special Wednesday for our students to bring a friend, visitors and new students are always welcome.

Do you have young neighbors or work associates with young un-churched families? Salt and Light is the perfect way to bring them to our church to learn about God and his son, Jesus. It is truly a fun time, with directed recreation, singing together, and sound Bible teaching. Dinner, our Family of God Time, has a different fun theme every week.

The October themes are:

October 3, See You In the Funny Papers

October 10, County Fair (Bring a friend)

October 17, Bunny Hop

October 24, Dinosaur Days

October 31, Pumpkin Party