From Faith to Faith
March 2005 VOL. XXI No. 3
PASTOR: Dr. Carl W. Bogue
Policy reminder: Occasionally it is good to remind the congregation of church policies that impact us all and need to be followed for good order. One such concerns any action, publication, promotion which is officially sponsored by FPC or might appear to be. Meetings of church groups, study materials for Sunday School, youth groups, women’s groups, etc. must all receive session approval. Gifts to the church, while well-intended, need to be received by session to be sure that they are consistent with our beliefs, goals, etc. Also included in this would be individuals who may want to post something about a non-church activity, pass out brochures promoting something, or petitions to be signed which might be placed on tables or circulated in person. No matter how innocent it is, or may seem, we urge you to run these things by session. Remember, please request permission first. Your help in this is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
A new adult Sunday School class will begin March 6th entitled Christian Life and Identity. This class will be led by Mr. Jim Kadlecek based on the book by Jerry Bridges, Pursuit of Holiness. Books will be provided, however, if you already own your own copy please bring it along to class.
The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated during morning worship service on March 6th. Please prepare your hearts and minds to approach the Lord’s table.
A sign up sheet has been placed on the bulletin board in the vestibule. Anyone wishing to provide flowers or plants for the sanctuary may sign up and do so. If the flowers are for a special occasion or in memory of someone please tell the secretary personally so a note may be enclosed in the bulletin.
Update on Assistant Pastor Search : At the congregational meeting in December, it was announced that session was considering calling a half-time assistant pastor if one could be found, in order to permit Dr. Bogue to reduce his load and be able to attend to a variety of personal matters while at the same time elevating the level of pastoral service to the congregation.
Session is able to announce that a call has been made to Bruce G. Buchanan, who is licensed by the Presbytery of Northern California of the OPC. Mr. Buchanan is favorable to the call, and plans are now underway to bring him before the Presbytery of the Ascension to meet the requirements for ordination and acceptance of the call. The likely time for this to be completed is at the presbytery meeting the last weekend in April, and depending on the timing of the birth of their fourth child, the Buchanans could move onto the field as soon as early May or shortly thereafter. Please be in prayer that all these matters might be handled expeditiously and according to God’s will in the matter.
Attention Ladies of Faith Church: You are invited to join the WIC Quilting Class when they take a road trip to Amish Country! On Saturday, March 19th the WIC Quilting Class is going to Amish Country to an Amish Quilt Show. All ladies and teenage girls are welcome and invited to come along. Please meet in the Belden Village Mall parking lot directly behind the Eat-n-Park Restaurant at the Everhard Road exit off Highway 77 south of Akron at 9:00 a.m. It will take approximately 45 minutes to car pool down to Berlin where the show is divided between two locations. Our group will tour both locations, shop at two quilt shops, eat lunch, and return home after lunch at approximately 2-3:00 p.m. Admission to both locations of the show is $5 per person. Come prepared to see some outstanding quilts and workmanship, to shop and have a great day together. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Myrna Best at (330)499-6434 or email her at kkbest@access4less.com. There will be a sign up sheet on the bulletin board so Myrna can get an idea on how many lunch reservations to make.
Morning Nursery:
This is the Sunday for which you have been assigned responsibility for the nursery during morning worship. If you are unable to provide care on your day please find a replacement.
March 6: Stacey Woolbert
March 13: Dawn Duff
March 20: Kristi Kadlecek
March 27: To Be Announced (Back up plan...Woolberts)
The nursery could use your help... The nursery is in urgent need of volunteers. Anyone who would like to volunteer their services to work in the nursery during morning worship should contact Stacey Woolbert.
March Preaching Schedule
March 6: AM: #108 “Yet Evermore I Am With Thee?”; Ps 73:23-28
PM: #110 “Consider the Covenant”; Psalm 74:20
March 13: AM: #111 “In Whom Is Your Boast?”; Psalm 75
PM: “Boasting in the Cross”; Galatians 6:14
March 20: AM and PM: Rev. James Kobb
March 27: AM: “Arise, O Lord!”; Psalm 7
PM: #112 “God Revealed in Wrath”; Psalm 76
Missions Around the World
Sam Mateer – Chile: The Mateers are asking for prayer for their mission work in Chile. Sam would like to start churches in homes, schools or any suitable building that might be available. Church growth has been held back because of the currently accepted norm that land and then a building must be acquired before a church can be started.
Emad Mikhail – Middle East: Pray for good health for their daughters Joanna and Amira who are in college in the U.S. Also, pray for their son David who is in the 11th grade in an American High School there in the Middle East. Pray for God to send David a Christian friend. Pray for a new seminary which will be opening in the fall.
Andrew Quigley – Scotland: Andrew will be speaking at an Elders Conference in Indiana March 18-20 and he covets your prayers for his preparation.
From the Pastor’s Study
Some months ago session decided not to do anything special by way of programming for our 30th Anniversary as a congregation of the PCA. It did seem, however, that it would not be inappropriate for me to note this important milestone and revisit the beginnings of our history together in which March 1975 was a turning point. In 1985 we put together a History of FPC during those first ten years. What follows is a slightly edited version of some of the early pages of that publication.
On March 9, 1975, the Continuing Presbyterian Church of Akron held its first worship service, meeting in Erwine Middle School in Coventry Township. The Rev. Larry Mills, Coordinator of the PCA Committee on Mission to the U. S., was the preacher of God’s Word on that historic occasion. One month later, April 6, 1975, the late William E. Hill, Jr., Evangelist for New River Presbytery, following the preaching of the Word, officially constituted FPC — “established in faith and by order of the Presbyterian Church in America, New River Presbytery.” The first session was elected and installed by Evangelist Hill on May 4, and on May 18 the Rev. Richard E. Knodel, Jr., preached and moderated a call to the Rev. Dr. Carl W. Bogue. On Sunday morning May 25, 1975, Dr. Bogue preached his first sermon as pastor of FPC. The text was Acts 15:1-35, and the sermon was entitled, “Still a Presbyterian.”
Why this new church, this “continuing Presbyterian” church, in a new denomination? Why a new church with a vision for the future that clings so tenaciously to its historic roots? On this, our 30th Anniversary we should look at some of the roots and fruits, and having seen them, let us praise the glorious grace of God, from whom all blessings flow.
Historic roots are rarely simple; ours were not. Yet two factors common to many new movements were present in our history. For one thing, we did not plan or determine that one event from which a flood of events would follow. For another, the providence of God was wonderfully evident in bringing together a multitude of factors which resulted in FPC. In fact the event which profoundly affected our history might have had very different results had not God providentially intertwined the lives of the principals of that event with our own pastor.
The details are too complicated and space consuming to handle here, but the summary issues are not. Two key names in that conflict were Walter Wynn Kenyon and Dr. John H. Gerstner. The judicial case at the heart of the matter was known as the “Kenyon Case,” and in essence said anyone who believed Scripture forbid women elders in the Church of Jesus Christ was not acceptable in the United Presbyterian Church. To make a long story short, in essence, the leadership of Allenside United Presbyterian Church basically was told, “Do this or else.”
While it was the issue of women’s ordination and rule in the church which forced the separation from the UPC, there was concurrently a growing awareness on the part of officers and members in general of grave doctrinal and moral deficiencies, both at the presbytery and the G.A. level, deficiencies which have only greatly magnified over the past 30 years. Liberal theological doctrines, denial of Scriptural authority, abortion on demand, condoning homosexuality – all have been well documented.
The convergence of these issues, and the pressures being applied to bar some of our best Christian leaders from office because of their Scriptural views, raised a question that would not have been asked one year earlier: Was God leading us into a separated, new community of believers, where we could freely follow Christ and His Word. The conclusion which was joyously accepted was, “Yes.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Fruits as well as roots were mentioned earlier. The fruits are still going on in our life together. God blessed with a unified and hard working congregation. For 20 years FPC sponsored Westminster Academy, a Christian day school for grades K-12 which had an outstanding reputation in the community. Three sons of the congregation and an “adopted son” are currently actively involved in PCA and OPC ministries. A few others went into various ministries upon departing from our local congregation. Former members serve in many churches in the U.S. and abroad. The Kobbs served three terms in Korea and the pastor’s daughter has served as a missionary in Scotland for several years. Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church in Twinsburg is a daughter church of this congregation. And we are currently blessed with many new members and very many covenant children. May God permit the best years to be ahead of us. “Surely God is good to Israel” (Psalm 73:1).