Wednesday, February 13^th marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The term refers to the forty days of fasting and spiritual preparation which precedes Easter. In the Early Church, the fast lasted only 40 hours; from Good Friday until Easter morning; and signified mourning during the imprisonment of Christ in the tomb.

As the period lengthened, its strictness increased; and a modern wit defined it as "those 40 days Christian think it is wrong to sin." But the season has long served, and can continue to serve, as a useful time of self-discipline and prayer.

Lent is a valuable aid to spiritual strengthening. Solid meditation and faithful prayer can serve as a means of transforming life. Honest self-examination should be a vital part of Lenten observance.

To assist you in your observance of Lent this year, the following "Journey Of Love" is offered.

Individually, we invite you to join with other members of our church and begin your own "JOURNEY OF LOVE" during the Lenten Season. Instead of asking you to "give up" something, we suggest you add meaning to this season by following these suggestions in the weeks ahead.

Write a letter (or send an E-Mail) a day to a friend (not a relative) and tell that person how much you appreciate him or her.

Telephone two or three people each day for a short chat just to say what they mean to you or to say "thank you" or "I’m sorry". Call people you’ve intended to call but somehow never have.

Take something you made or bought to two or three friends who mean a lot to you, but for whom you rarely express your love.

Make a list of 10 people for whom you will pray daily. Include your friends, enemies, those you don’t like. Forgive them, if they have wronged you, and ask forgiveness if you have wronged them.

Use this week to pray for yourself and look inward. Read the book of John. Plan to go to church early Easter Sunday to meditate in the Sanctuary.

This is the week of celebration. God’s love for us in revealed in many ways. Get out of doors and breathe in the air of spring. Have friends in for dinner and games. Let your joy be full with life abundant in your faith, and your love, and your home.

May god bless you and others as you pursue this "Journey Of Love" this Lenten season.

Among the many characteristics we would like to be known for in our community, a most desired one would be to be known as "A Welcoming Church". Might I make a few suggestions to help us all be more intentional with our welcome of our guests each Sunday?

First, be sure to welcome visitors as they enter our campus and before the service begins and immediately following worship. Be sure to invite them to join you for refreshments in Jones Hall (or patio).

Be on the lookout for people who are standing alone. Introduce yourself; and introduce them to other members. Offer assistance in any way appropriate.

Make a contact (phone, card, visit) to someone you haven’t seen in church in a while. Let them know they are missed. If you know someone who is having some struggles or difficulties, please contact me.

When you bring a guest to church, be sure to personally introduce them to me at some point before or after worship.

It’s easy to be "A Welcoming Church!"

Our Interim Pastor’s sermons during the month of February will be as follows:

How do you recapture it? The excitement, the thrill of the "first time"? As familiarity breeds contempt, so repetition breeds boredom. Can we keep it from happening in our lives, in our worship? Read I Corinthians 11:23-26. Communion Sunday

The sermon title says it all. Read Mark 9:2-8. Transfiguration Sunday

John’s Gospel tells us the ministry of Jesus began with a marriage feast in Cana. Matthew records His temptation in the wilderness following His baptism. Can these two events go together? Read Matthew 4:1-11. First Sunday in Lent

All human value essentially calls for a "wilderness experience" within oneself, where things are decided about the meaning of life and death. Until we have traveled deeply into ourselves, and tested all our values, we probably are not ready for the ministry of Christ to which we have all been called. Read again Matthew 4:1-11. Second Sunday in Lent

Bring someone to worship with you this month, and throughout the Lenten Season.

A special Ash Wednesday Service will be held in our Sanctuary on Ash Wednesday, February 13^th at 7:00 PM.

Jesus of Nazareth was in the wilderness for 40 days. Forty days, of being hungry, and lonely, and afraid and bone tired; making Him easily tempted by seductive solutions.

On Ash Wednesday we stand at the threshold of our own symbolic wilderness, the 40 days of Lent. Gus will bring a meditation entitled Appointment In The Desert. Let us begin this journey together in worship.

At the first stated session meeting of 2002, the session organized itself for more effective service. There are six committees directly related to the session to accomplish its work. Three elders will serve on each committee with the long-range goal of the 3^rd year elder being the chair of each committee; 2^nd year elder being vice-chair and 1^st year elder starting the progression to chair; thus providing continuity and training.

The session members of the six committees are:

• Bobby Rankin, Ch. (3)
• Bryce Brisban (2)
• Stephen Hardin (1)

1. Bruce White, Ch. (3)
2. Gene Hood (2)
3. Randy Farmer (1)

• Ralph Miller, Ch. (3)
• Barbara Aikin (2)
• Fred Yanker (1)

• Marianne Day Watson, Ch. (3)
• Ruth Ford (2)
• Steve Loman (1)

• Judith Ames, Ch. (3)
• Ray Carter (3)
• Nancy French (1)

• Tommy Matkin, Ch. (2)
• La Verne Guice (2)
• John Tomlin (1)

Members of the Board of Deacons interested in serving on any of these committees are encouraged to do so. Members of the congregation at large will also be added to these committees

Session committees meet as follows:

Ad. Min 1^st Monday at 7:00 PM

C Ed 2^nd Tuesday at 7:15 PM

B & G 1^st Thursday at 7:00PM

Cong. Life 4^th Tuesday at 1:30 PM

Missions 2^nd Monday at 7:30 PM

Worship 2^nd Thursday at 7:00PM

We express our most sincere appreciation to the elders and deacons who have so faithfully served us the past three years. Elders rotating off are:

• Arden Baltensperger Missions
• Alex Burr Missions
• Gary Gemoets Worship
• Fred Lemon C. Life
• Jim Parks Adm.
• Charlie Yaryan B & G

Deacons rotating off are:

• Phil Faircloth Special Events
• Brian McPherson Transient
• Doris Silva Hospital Visits
• Rusty Smith Transportation
• Kathlene Walker Tapes
• Fred Yanker Transient

It was with a great deal of regret that the Session accepted the resignation of Ruth Ford as Clerk. Ruth has not enjoyed good health for some time now and with reluctance made this decision. Ruth will continue serving on the Session and will be on the Worship Committee.

The Session expressed its sincere appreciation to her, not only for the excellent job she did as Clerk, but for all the others ways she has served this congregation in the past.

It is indeed with deep regret that we announce the resignation of Bill McMillan as our Director of Music in order that he may accept a similar position with the First Presbyterian Church of El Paso. Bill will continue with us until February 10^th.

Bill has served us faithfully and well for three and a half years and we will certainly miss him as we wish him the best in his new position.

There will be a farewell reception for Bill and his family immediately following worship on February 10^th.

At a duly called Congregational Meeting held on January 6^th, the congregation elected its Pastor Nominating Committee.

Those elected to serve are:

Howard Daniels Margie Rankin

Randy Farmer Hank Stephenson

Aaron Gemoete Patricia Tomlin

Gene Hood Marsha Topley

Robert Paul

Immediately following their election they met briefly with Susan Raby, who will be Presbytery’s liaison to the Committee, to set the date for the first meeting.

The Committee met on January 8^th for organization and training. Robert Paul was chosen to serve as chairperson of the committee, and Hank Stevenson and Marsha Topley as co-secretaries.

The committee is off to a good start. Let us remember them in our daily prayers as they begin this journey.

This is a very exciting time in the life of this congregation. The church is going to be assessing what this congregation is all about, and what our needs and wants are as we look for a new pastor to lead us in that direction. This article is about the facilities and the work of the church facility renewal committee. The committee is Art Garcia, Charlie Yaryan, Barry Prahl, Tommy Matkin, Yvonne Rawson, Marsha Topley, and Randy Farmer, chairperson.

This church facility is in much need of repair and renewal if we desire to continue worship here and to bring new people into the life of this congregation. The church facility renewal committee is dedicated to this process with your help and blessing. We need you praying for us as we go through this process. The following 16 people have been confirmed by the session as a committee to assist in this effort:

• Judith Ames
• Phil Faircloth
• Otis Farmer
• Ray Carter
• Quentin Ford
• Gary Gemoets
• Jesse Gerard
• Max Loman
• Janet McPherson
• Jacque Parks
• Mel Paris
• Mell Peterson
• Barney Rawson
• Paul Rohr
• Rusty Smith
• Joel Tomlin

This committee will begin soliciting you on needs and wants for the future of the buildings and grounds. In the preliminary stages, only design and major construction ideas are wanted, not cosmetic items. These need to be submitted by February 10 to this committee.

The following items are already on the needs list: new air-conditioning and heating for all buildings, new roofs for all buildings, bring all buildings up to ADA standards (including but not limited to new bathrooms), and, new insulation for all buildings.

As has been said, these are exciting times and the more congregational participation the better.

In February, Sunday School classes on the following topics will start at 9:00 AM.

• Bible Study in the Reeves Hall Parlor lead by Dick Dale, II Corinthians.
• Video Class in Jones Hall Room 110 lead by Blaine Goss, "Who Switched the Price Tags?" This is a faith building and entertaining series by Tony Campollo.
• Middle School in room 303 of Reeves Hall, "Greatest Bible Lessons"
• High School in Reeves room 301 of Reeves Hall, study of Psalms
• Disciples Avenue (elementary) in Branigan Hall, Life of Jesus
• Preschool Class in Branigan, room 207, "I Learn About God's Son Jesus."

The Presbyterian Women are sponsoring a church-wide prayer chain.

Recognizing the need for prayer and the need for the people of God to pray in one accord, Presbyterian Women have agreed to sponsor a church-wide prayer chain.

Guidelines include:

• Pray immediately for the request.
• Be respectful of the prayer request.
• Call the next person on your prayer chain. If no answer, call the next person.
• The last person shall call the first to complete the chain.

If you would like to participate in this prayer chain please call Jean O'Neill @ 524-1139, Carol Peterson @ 523-2926, or Nora Yaryan @ 527-0528. We will be happy to add you to the list and or answer any question.

The Presbyterian Women will host an all Church celebration honoring George Washington's Birthday at 6:00 PM on Friday, February 22 in Watkins Hall. The evening will begin with a barbequed beef and chicken dinner prepared by the best cooks in the West. A prize will be awarded for the best George Washington hat worn to the dinner. The best ever after dinner program will be a fiddling, picking, strumming, toe tapping musical.

Donations will be accepted for the dinner. Make your reservation by signing up after church at the west door in early February or by calling Nora Yaryan, 527-0528 or Juanita Treat, 522-2586.

Good food, Good music, Good fun. Please come!

We need 100% Cotton sheets in white or pastel colors for Presbyterian Women bandage project. Please put them in the P.W. Box in Jones Hall.

The National Alliance for the Mentally III will sponsor a free, 12-week education course called "Family-to-Family" that will run on Monday evenings, 7:00 - 9:30 PM., from January 28 through April 15. The meeting place is First Presbyterian Church at 200 E. Boutz Road.

Family-to-Family provides protective teaching structure which gives families the relief they need. The course is for families of individuals who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder. There is no charge for the course. Call 373-0199 to register. Class size is limited, so register early.

Every church in the Presbyterian Church (USA) is apportioned a share of the expenses of the presbytery, the synod, and the General Assembly for ecclesiastical purposes. The apportionment is based on church membership. The amount varies with the needs of these entities and is a regular annual expense payable by our church. The amount to be paid in 2002 per communicant members is $20.00. If each member were to pay their apportionment separate from their pledge, it would save $8711.00 from the church expenses.

John Davis died on December 25, 2001. A memorial Service was conducted by our Interim Pastor on January 5th. Our Christian sympathy is extended to Nancy Davis and family.

So we ponder again the idea of death as it occurs to others, especially those in the household of faith. We see their serenity and peace, and in our sympathy, we also give thanks.

Communion will be served on February 3rd and March 3rd.

Since we have new picture directories we will not be making new church phone directories this year. If you have a change in address or phone number please contact the church office so that we may be able to update our information.

The Church Office will be closed on President's Day, Monday, February 18

The Christian Education Committee needs sofas for the Mid-School Room and the Gathering Room (our new game room). If you have one to donate, please call the church office.

The church office has need of an working electric typewriter for use on forms.

A fine up-to-date mission program directory has been produced. One has been reserved for every family in the church. They can be picked up after church or in the office.

Our after-worship coffee hour is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship with other members, and we are now in need of hosts for the new year. We encourage you to sign-up on the board in the Jones Hall kitchen.

Presbyterian and Disciples

Campus Ministry at NMSU

2511 Chaparral St. 522-6404

David Sallee, Campus Minister

December 2 263

December 9 249

December 16 320

December 23 303

December 24 333

December 30 220

January 6 264

January 13 268

January 20 226

January 27 260

01/06 Julie Marineau

01/06 Bill Whaley

01/08 Matt Holt

01/08 Louise Whitlock

01/09 Mariann Novack

01/09 Skip Wertz

01/10 Shelby Stuckel

01/11 Bill McNeil

01/12 Dylan Anderson

01/13 Rebecca Smith

01/14 Marie Djang

01/15 Bill Stein

01/16 Josh Borchert

01/17 Toma Garcia

01/17 Jon Gorzeman

01/19 Naomi Gemoets

01/20 Martha Brown

01/20 Steve Silva

01/21 Shelby Burt

01/23 Phillip Faircloth

01/23 Nancy French

01/23 Rembert Alley

01/26 Adele Laverne

01/29 Lon Anderson

01/29 Alice Cooper

01/29 Larry Cooper

02/01 Emroy Shannon

02/03 Megan Magirl

02/05 Kristen Garcia

02/06 Joyce Nolan

02/10 Gary Gemoets

02/14 Nancy Boozer

02/14 Jodi Trout

02/18 Cindy Farmer

02/18 Joan Lemon

02/19 Dutch Matkin

02/20 Kathy Tucker

02/20 Don Rhodes

02/20 Evelyn Scott

02/22 Brian McPherson

02/22 Nancy Jo Swain

02/23 Jenny Topley

02/23 Warren Klein

02/26 Cole Anderson

Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany are officially over, we are told. Worship planners are now looking toward Lent (Ash Wednesday is February 13), Palm Sunday, Easter, and perhaps even Pentecost. For weeks, music catalogs, replete with lily and cross motifs, have featured Lenten and Easter selections.

Christmas is over. Or is it? How many of you wonder, as I sometimes do, at the ease with which even we Christians tend to compartmentalize and shelve the celebration of the Incarnation, one of the greatest events in God’s chain of salvation for mankind?

Let’s consider this from a musical viewpoint for a moment. Nearly everyone is aware of the fact that some of the greatest music of the Christian faith, whether in the form of a hymn, cantata, oratorio, instrumental selection, or vocal solo, centers around the events leading up to or following Christ’s birth. And yet how automatically do we, if only subconsciously, restrict the great music of this season to a few short weeks of the year! It is almost as if we build up a feverish expectation to experience the music of the Christmas season, and are then just as eager to relegate it, like a string of lights or a box of ornaments, to a back closet until the following year.

Of course, as an organist, I’m not affected in this manner to any great extent. I love Christmas music, and I pull it out of the file, play it, purchase new Christmas music, and appreciate it privately all year. Even if I didn’t enjoy Christmas music, it is difficult for a church musician to escape from it. Yet, with the responsibility of selecting four or five "appropriate" instrumental pieces for worship each week, I would feel a bit strange if I were to select and play three or four "Christmas pieces" in, for example, the middle of May.

Do you wonder why we behave this way? We certainly don’t treat Easter or Pentecost hymns, for example, in the same way; we see no incongruity in using them all year. Why? Is there something so special about the season celebrating the birth of Christ that we shelve it for eleven months of the year? Let me venture an explanation in an effort to shed a little light on our behavior in this regard.

Briefly, I am convinced that we believers tend to compartmentalize Christmas and its celebrations because we follow the world’s practices rather than Scriptural norms. The culture around us has appropriated the season of Christmas. This is more than self-evident. It is a time for songs and visuals centering about Santa Claus, reindeer, snow, beautiful lights and ornaments, a warm fire, and perhaps the surfacing of a type of goodness and social concern that is idealized but which is, in reality, somewhat foreign to a fallen humanity.

The world has captured Christmas to a degree that it has not appropriated any other Christian holiday. The Easter bunny, for instance, cannot remotely compare with Santa (the latter brings more and bigger gifts, for one thing!) Furthermore, the cultural trappings of Christmas have subtly forced their way into our Christian institutions. Esther and I were surprised, a few years ago, to hear numerous secular selections (about reindeer, Santa, chestnuts, sleighs, etc.) on our local "Christian" radio stations around Christmas time. This was something totally foreign to our extensive previous experience with quality Christian radio on the east coast.

Please don’t misunderstand. Few reflective Christians today (except, notably, members of one or two cults or those with ultra-fundamentalist leanings) would tend to dissociate from the celebration of Christmas. Most of us enjoy hearing and singing secular as well as more sacred songs of the season. It is, and probably should be, part of our enjoyment. However, perhaps we should pause and thoughtfully reflect on what is really central in the season, and why we celebrate it as believers. In fact, the rampant secularization and commercialization of the season mandates that we do this.

As masterful theologians have pointed out, the culture around us adopts the trappings of the Christmas season because they are comfortable and pleasant. There is something that appeals to the better instincts of humanity in thinking about a humble birth, a clear cold night (which might not really be Scriptural), expensive gifts brought from afar, angels (so popular in today’s culture!), and a spirit of "goodwill to men". Humankind in its fallen state is not afraid of a small, helpless infant. A tiny baby, born some two millennia ago, poses little threat to any status quo. In fact, it is a boon for Madison Avenue. I recall hearing the tongue-in-cheek comment of one advertising executive who recalled the hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus" each November. Clearly, his perception of that phrase was quite different from ours.

Have you ever noticed that, while at Christmas time the secular world blares out even the beloved sacred carols about the coming of Christ, we find no such phenomenon manifest at Easter? Do you hear popular radio stations that broadcast the strains of "Glory to the newborn King" in December sound forth the more introspective "O sacred Head, now wounded" in the spring? Redemption implies repentance, as our hymnody teaches us. Hints of sacrifice for sin, or a cruel death on a cross, are concepts that make an unbelieving world uncomfortable.

As Christians, should we not endeavor to proclaim the "whole counsel of God", including Christ’s wondrous birth, all year? Our lectionary helps us to do this in a timely way, but that shouldn’t prevent our celebrating any part of the Christian message during any season of the year. When I came to First Presbyterian as organist, I was pleased to hear the always-relevant text "Joy to the world, the Lord is come" sung during different seasons of the year. I wish that we could all re-learn the practice of appreciating Christmas hymns throughout the entire year.

I love Christmas music! So if you chance to hear a "Christmassy" piece from the organ on some warm summer Sunday, I hope that I will be pardoned for that indiscretion.

The Salt and Light Company celebrated its 10th birthday with balloons, favors, and honored guests at dinner on January 9th. This continuing program is possible only because we have so many dedicated volunteers and supporters. See the party photos in Reeves Hall.

February Family of God (FOG) dinner time themes will be

• Feb. 6 Mardi Gras
• Feb. 13 Ash Wednesday
• Feb. 20 Wear a Hat / Bring a friend
• Feb. 27 Bible Drama (skits)

Please join us for a simple Ash Wednesday meal on February 13th and stay for the special worship service at 7:00 PM. (Call the office to say you'll be at dinner.)

Bible Study topics planned for February are

• Disciples' Avenue (elementary), the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the calling of the disciples
• Middle School, "Why Be a Christian?" led by Lon Anderson
• High School, study of Ephesians, led by Dan Yetter