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September 2, 2007 "God Created
the Heavens and the Earth" |
We have a new Rector at St. Martin's and its a fresh new season for the Prime Timers. A Great Time for You to Join Us!
We meet in the Payne Education Center, rooms 207-209, Sunday from 10:10 to 10:50am. That's upstairs on the second floor. The class is geared towards people aged fifty to sixty-four, and we are beginning a new reading plan from the Council of Churches that we invite you to explore with us.
Our new Rector, The Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr. That's him on the right! From the left its his daughter Evie, his wife Laura and his son Luke. Rev. Levenson's other son Jones began school this week and was unable to attend.
This is the centerpiece at the Levenson's reception. And my Mom in blue!
Rev. Levenson and wife Laura chat with Prime Timers George and Elizabeth Laigle.
The 2007-2008 Sunday school year fittingly begins at the Bible's beginning with a study of Genesis. During this quarter we will trace the story of God's creative power from the creation of the universe through human creation to the creation of a covenant people. Although different circumstances, including barrenness, threatened the covenant family's existence more than once, God was always at hand to protect, preserve, and bless them.
Prime Timers Good News
At the beginning of our class we devote time to hear our members Good News. Presenting your news requires a $1 donation to our chicken, Henny Penny.
Call for Repentance
This Sunday is the day our new Rector, the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson Jr. began his ministry at St. Martin's and it was a very special day indeed. There were no Adult Bible Fellowship classes today and this weeks web page consists of photos of this event and the retirement of Rev. Larry Gipson last week. The bible passages at the bottom right are the foundation of next weeks class! Hope to see you there.
Prime Timers Contact names and numbers
Mentor
Rev. B. Massey Gentry
mgentry@stmartinsepiscopal.org
Leaders
Anne Berry
832/251-8868 H
anne.berry@comcast.net
Max Kech
713/802-0690 H
maxkech2003@yahoo.com
Marty Smith
713/464-6737 H
martys47@comcast.net
Teachers
Richard Cruse
Chris Hershberger
Pete Seale
Ben Welmaker
bhwjr@flash.net
Outreach (inviting and welcoming new members)
Anne Berry
832/251-8868 H
anne.berry@comcast.net
Elizabeth Sleeper
jsleeperjr@houston.rr.com
Caring (prayers, follow-up w/class members who have been ill or have other needs)
Max Kech
713/802-0690 H
maxkech2003@yahoo.com
The following photos are "clickable" to see the in greater detail.
There was a short program at the reception. Rev. Levenson and his wife Laura are on the left, in the middle is Jeff Parsons and speaking is Search Committee leader Scott McLean.
Former Texas Bishop and St. Martin's Rector Claude Payne and Current Bishop Don Wimberly.
This is the moment when Rev. Gipson realized that Bishop Wimberly, Bishop Payne and Bishop Benitez would all attend and assist at Larry's last sermon as Rector.
Surrounded by Choir members, the Rev. Larry Gipson prepares for the procession at the nine o'clock service.
The Lesson for Sunday, September 2nd is titled "God Created the Heavens and the Earth"
Key Verses: Genesis 1:1-2
Focus of the Lesson: Without the earth and its ecosystems, human life would not be possible. How did creation come into being? In the Genesis 1 account, we learn that God chose to create life where none had existed and God provided means of support for that life.
The reading is Genesis 1:1-25. This text is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
NRSV
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