Telling the Story of the Ministry and Mission

First Presbyterian Church of Sun City, Arizona
Volume 45, August 2013
Telling the Story of the Ministry and Mission
The next in the series of articles celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our church
The saga of the First Presbyterian Church of Sun City
continued with bustling activity. In 1987 new roofs were
installed on the Sanctuary and Swain Hall. Early in 1988
a new “state-of-the-art” sound system was installed in
the Sanctuary and also in Swain Hall. The landscaping of
the Church grounds was completely changed from grass
to desert xeriscape. New carpet was installed and other
improvements were made in anticipation of the Church’s
pending 25th Anniversary celebration.
The festivities of the 25th Anniversary began on Saturday,
April 9, 1988, with tours and an open house throughout
the church campus. Swain Hall was the center of activities at 2PM with a program led by Rev. Richard Zabriskie
introducing the honored guests who included seven
remaining charter members of the church and retired
Pastors and their wives. Special music was provided by
the choir and handbell choir and refreshments were
served. Sunday, April 10th, brought only two church
services as the honored guests were introduced at both.
SPECIAL MUSIC, SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES
On Sunday, August 11, handbell virtuosos Sherrill
Tyacke and her daughter Staci Downing will play handbell duets for our special music and offertory. Don’t
miss this exciting event!
For more about Sherrill, an introduction to our new
choir director, and some of the ways you can take part
in the musical life of our church, see page 4!
A social hour was held in Swain Hall between services.
A gala brunch was served to honored guests and church
members at the Sun City Country Club following the
10AM service.
A prayer was left for us from the Anniversary Committee
of 1988 as we prepare for the 50th anniversary of our
beautiful church. “May God be gracious to those who
follow us and continue to lead them in His way. With His
help may the report be even better and brighter when
this church celebrates its 50th Anniversary.”
Dr. Wright retired in June of 1988 and in May of 1989
Rev. Robert V Martz was installed as Senior Pastor. Rev.
Beanland and the Session decided it was time to move
forward and the Session voted ten thousand dollars for
the installation of computers for the church office. The
first computer was named Theodore from the Greek,
meaning “God’s Gift.”
(continued on page 3)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
A Message from Our Pastor ................................. 2
Fellowship Gatherings ......................................... 3
Musical Interlude ................................................ 4
In Short ............................................................... 5
Accentuating the Positive .................................... 6
Celebrations and Updates .................................... 7
This Month’s Calendar .................................. insert
12225 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ 85351  Phone 623.974.3605  Fax 623.974.4893  Dial-A-Prayer 623.977.9211
Email [email protected]  Blog firstpressuncity.blogspot.com  YouTube www.youtube.com/user/FirstPresSunCity
The SPIRE
A Message from Our Pastor
Proof of Heaven
Summertime and the livin’ is easy…according to the song of the same name.
Summertime is also the time for reading. A couple of years ago the most
popular read in religious circles was the book by Pastor Rob Bell, Love Wins.
This summer, the New York Times bestseller is a book entitled Proof of
Heaven.
The author is a neurosurgeon and by his own admission, a C&E Christian.
C&E Christians are folks most likely seen in church on Christmas and Easter—
C&E. Dr. Eben Alexander says that his real passion was medicine and
science. “I devoted myself to science. Using the tools of modern medicine to
help and to heal people, and to learn more about the workings of the human
body and brain, was my life’s calling.” Dr. Alexander goes on to report that
while religion had always been part of his life, it was never the arena where he turned to find answers to “ultimate
questions.”
In the field of neuroscience, Dr. Alexander became a leading researcher and expert on the subject of consciousness.
Human consciousness is of course a process of brain function. “This is because the brain is the machine that produces
consciousness in the first place. When the machine breaks down, consciousness stops. As vastly complicated and
mysterious as the actual mechanics of brain processes are, in essence the matter is as simple as that. Pull the plug and
the TV goes dead…Or so I would have told you before my own brain crashed.”
Dr. Alexander suffered a rare viral infection that put him into a coma for seven days. During that time his brain
function ceased. He was essentially dead while machines kept his body alive. “My experience showed me that the
death of the body and the brain are not the end of consciousness, that human experience continues beyond the grave.
More important, it continues under the gaze of a God who loves and cares about each one of us and about where the
universe itself and all the beings within it are ultimately going.”
Dr. Alexander’s story is being called remarkable, inspiring, astounding in part because many feel it provides “proof.”
Proof is something the human mind can comprehend. We are conditioned to accept when veracity can be proven
beyond a “reasonable doubt.”
Dr. Alexander’s book is an important reminder to churches that people still respond to hope and possibility. The power
in the book is not that it “proves” heaven or God’s love. The importance of this book is that it makes the invisible,
visible. It gives even the most skeptical mind the opportunity to believe. The Apostle Paul wrote: “faith, hope and love
abide these three and the greatest of these is love.” Dr. Alexander’s experience taught him three messages: 1. You are
loved. 2. You have nothing to fear. 3. There is nothing you can do wrong, in other words, “there is nothing that can
separate you from the love of God.”
Dr. Alexander’s book is the same Good News proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles and the Church throughout the
centuries. It’s Good News for us and for all generations. It’s why we come to this church and why we invite others
to join us. Proof of heaven? It’s right here, right now.
Thanks be to God.
~Harrell
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Vol. 45, August 2013
Telling the Story (continued)
In 1991 a new organ was purchased for the Sanctuary. Pastor Beanland asked to retire in October and Rev. Alan Sorem
was hired as Interim Associate. A visitation program had been established and a Deacon District System. Rev. Martz
and wife, Shirley, escorted 15 church members on a work tour to Ghost Ranch, home of Georgia O’Keefe, near Abiquiu,
New Mexico.
A new Columbarium was on the church agenda for 1992 and was constructed in the area between the office and Swain
Hall. An Evangelism Committee was created by Session to assist with telephoning for the West Valley New Church
Development. Forty church members visited the San Francisco area on a Mission Tour led by the Zabriskies under the
leadership of the Mission and Fellowship Committee.
The church celebrated its 30th Anniversary in late October of 1992 with Rev. Dr. George Doherty as guest pastor for
both services. Dr. Doherty, from Washington, D.C., had been active in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war
movements. An all-church banquet had been held earlier in the month.
For the next two years many changes took place in the clergy of the First Presbyterian Church. Rick L. Myers was
installed as Associate Pastor in February of 1993. Pastor Martz retired in November of 1993 and Rev. Lawrence R.
Delong was installed as Interim Senior Pastor in January of 1994. Annaline Drake became Pastoral Associate in April
and in November of 1994 was ordained in our Sanctuary. Rev. Richard Zabriskie retired in October of 1994, after eight
years of service, and Rev. Harvey L. Moore was installed as Interim Associate in January of 1995. On February 5 th, 1995,
Rev. Dennis W. Clarke was installed as the Senior Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Sun City, Arizona.
~ Donna Roth
Remember that our big 50th anniversary celebration will be held in November. Please send us any current or historic
photos or church stories that you are willing to let us use and we may share them online or in our printed promotional
materials. We will scan and return physical photographs, or you may email digital photos to the church office.
Fellowship Gatherings
Almost 60 people attended the Fourth of July hamburger-and-hot-dog cookout. The event was organized by Gene and
Anita Downing, whose 15th wedding anniversary it also was. Helen and Dean Woeller and Diane Pena led us in
patriotic songs. (Photo courtesy of Karen Beale.)
Mark your calendars now for these
upcoming Fellowship events!
August Games & Dessert
Wednesday, August 21, at 6:00 pm in Swain Hall—
bring your favorite board game, cards, dominos, etc.
Nancy Childress will be making a delicious chocolate
sheet cake to be served with ice cream!
Labor Day Cookout
We’re putting our grillmasters back to work on Labor
Day! Join us at noon on Monday, September 2, for
food and fun. Sign up in Swain Hall after worship on
August 25 or September 1, or call the church office.
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The SPIRE
Musical Interlude
Introducing Bill Gleason...
First Presbyterian is proud to announce that Dr. William (Bill)
Gleason will be joining us as choir director this fall.
Bill’s Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music is from Arizona
State University and he has had a long and distinguished career as a
teacher and director of choral music. He is familiar to many of us
as the Choral Director of the Arizona Masterworks Chorale, a
position he has held since 2007.
The Rev. Dr. Judson A. Souers, Pastor Emeritus, Church at Litchfield
Park, had this to say about Bill: “[H]e is a genius in bringing all the
nuances of the Sacred Music from Church Choirs. He is a Master
Director.”
We are extremely fortunate to have Bill on our staff. If you have
ever considered joining the choir, do it now; don’t miss the chance
to work with and learn from this extraordinary director!
Videos of recent concerts by the Arizona Masterworks Chorale may be found on their YouTube channel at http://
www.youtube.com/user/arizonamasterworks. The Chorale is also on Facebook and has its own website at http://
arizonamasterworks.com/.
...and Sherrill Tyacke
First Presbyterian has had handbell players almost since its founding; our handbell cases are still labeled “United
Presbyterian Church.” Whether played in small groups or by an entire choir, handbells and chimes are lovely additions
to worship services. We hope to revive handbell playing at our church as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations.
Enter Sherrill Tyacke, who with her daughter Staci Downing will be playing handbell duets at our August 11 services.
Sherrill started ringing handbells in 1983. She has rung consistently since then and started teaching chimes to children
in 1998. She was adult Bell Director at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Washington from 1999 until 2009, when she and
her husband moved to Arizona. She was hired as the Bell Director at Faith Presbyterian a few months after arriving
here and joined the Sun City Community Handbell Choir in 2011. She has been commissioned since then as Assistant
Director for some of their pieces for each of their twice-yearly concerts. Sherrill says, “I strongly believe in the bells as
part of enhancing the worship service and bringing part of a team together in ringing praises to our God through
music!”
We are very excited to have Sherrill with us. If you have handbell or handchime experience or would like to learn to
play handbells or chimes, please call the church office and let us know.
“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~Berthold Auerbach
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Vol. 45, August 2013
In Short
Book Review: What’s So Amazing About Grace?
In June I reviewed Kathleen’s Norris’ book Amazing Grace, A Vocabulary of Faith. Another book on grace is Philip
Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace? Yancey had heard of a prostitute who said going to church would make
her feel worse than she already did. “But the Gospels tell how women like her fled toward Jesus, not away from
him. Has the church lost that gift?” he asks. Yancy, who uses “stories rather than syllogisms,” compares grace with
“ungrace,” and is always thorough. His book Where is God When It Hurts? is also available in the church library.
~
Helen Petersen
Our library is next to the Fireside Room. The system for checking out books from the church library is simple: Just
write your name and date on the card that is in the envelope inside the book and leave it in the box provided.
Deacon’s Corner

Remembering that we are a ministry of compassion and service, I hope that all Deacons are reaching out to
the members on their lists during the summer months in addition to during the rest of the year.

Don’t forget that our Prayer Partners are available to anyone needing prayers. If you wish to have prayers
said for someone you care about you may submit a prayer request on a pew card on Sunday or you can call
or email the church office. The Prayer Partners will resume their regular Tuesday morning meetings in the
fall.
~ Anita Downing
Parish Nurse Notes
The local hospitals are no longer willing to send us their lists of church members who have been admitted, so
please tell the church office if you know of anyone who is in the hospital. We are also looking for volunteers who
are willing to pick up the lists at the hospitals (so we can deliver flowers). This would be one Monday every three
months; if you are interested, please call me at 623-974-3605. Stay well!
~Carol Arseth, R.N.
Welcome, Kelsey!
Kelsey McKee, our summer keyboard
player, is a student at Grand Canyon
University majoring in music. An
experienced performer, she also teaches
piano. If you weren’t able to attend
worship services here during July, you
missed some truly lovely instrumental
pieces.
At First Presbyterian we have always
prided ourselves on the quality of our
music program, and Kelsey is a wonderful
addition to our services. Be sure to
welcome her yourself!
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The SPIRE
Accentuating the Positive
This month you may have noticed that I was missing from the church office for a week. I was attending a four-day
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) training session, where I learned more about the benefits of the AI process and met two
dynamic church leaders who have been using AI to revitalize their congregations.
At first glance, the basis of AI – focusing on positives – sounds a little unrealistic, as if we are trying to deny that any
negatives exist. However, AI is not about ignoring problems; it’s about reframing them as opportunities. This is not
just a matter of semantics. It reflects a psychological reality expressed in AI literature as the Positive Principle: The
more positive the questions used to guide a change process, the more long-lasting and effective that process will be.
Why should this be the case? Because negative energy bogs down people and processes; positive energy enables
them. A negatively expressed question like “Why is everybody so uncooperative?” generates defensiveness and
hostility. “How can we encourage active participation in church activities?” starts an entirely different discussion.
To quote the second verse of Johnny Mercer’s famous song, “Accentuate the Positive”:
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium's
Liable to walk upon the scene.
In the coming weeks the church will be planning the formal celebration of our 50th anniversary, emphasizing the core
values of Ministry, Mission and Fellowship identified at our AI summit. Let’s use this opportunity to spread our joy and
faith up to the maximum – and to the entire Sun City community.
As a start, you’ll find inside this edition of The SPIRE our new promotional brochure and a flyer explaining our
Foundation Fund. Please consider passing along the brochure to someone you know who is in need of a new church
home. We want everyone to know that First Presbyterian Church of Sun City is positively amazing!
~Beth
Mabee
PW DIRECTORY REMINDER
The 2013 PW directories are almost ready for printing. Be sure to let the church office know if you have changed circle
affiliation since the last directory was issued.
INVENTORY ASSISTANCE
If you have borrowed one of the red, large-print Bibles from the Sanctuary, please let Norma know for the inventory
she is compiling.
HELP YARNELL FUNDRAISER
The Recreation Centers of Sun City are hosting a golf event on August 2 to support the families of the 19 firefighters
lost in the Yarnell fire. Half of the entry fees will go to charity. For more information, visit any of the RCSC golf shops
or call 623-561-4660. In addition, in conjunction with the Southwest Section PGA, each golf shop is participating in a
“Fill the Boot” fundraiser to assist in the recovery of the Yarnell community. Each pro shop has a boot available to
accept donations. All these funds will benefit the Prescott Fire Fighter Charity and the Yarnell Community Charity.
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Vol. 45, August 2013
Celebrations and Updates
CHANGES FOR YOUR CHURCH DIRECTORY
Email Changes:
Gitta Opatz
[email protected]
Wayne & Claribel Parker
[email protected]
Charlotte Pooley
[email protected]
Entering the Church Triumphant:
Marjorie Hinkle—July 26, 2013
BIRTHDAYS IN AUGUST
1
Ida Borhauer
14
Francis Kittredge
30
Robert Marshall
3
Lois Rotenberger
15
Arla Harvey
31
George Hall
4
Leland Devers
16
Laura Rogel
4
Carolyn Bruno
18
Karen Zabriskie
6
Dorothy McLeod
19
Peggy Mitchell
6
Evelyn Thompson
20
Mary Lou McCoy
6
Forest Bartenhagen
24
Eileen Clarke
10
Lorelei Macrow
26
Donald Meek
11
Earl Kittredge
28
Duane Roberts
13
Richard Zabriskie
28
Viola Patterson
We are celebrating you! Join the August Birthday Celebration on Sunday, August 11, in Swain Hall following worship.
OUR STAFF
Pastor
Rev. Harrell D. Davis
[email protected]
Parish Nurse
Carol Arseth, R.N.
Associate for Congregational Life
Beth Mabee
[email protected]
Admin. Assistant, Treasurer
Norma Mack
[email protected]
Admin. Assistant, Publications
Marjorie Hagerman
[email protected]
Custodian
Lyle Tollefson
The SPIRE is published monthly by First Presbyterian Church of Sun City, Arizona. Please call the church office at
623-974-3605 to be added to our mailing list, or see our website at http://firstpressuncity.org to access current and
back issues in PDF format.
Items to be included in the September edition of The SPIRE should be submitted to Beth Mabee at the church office or
by email at [email protected] by Monday, August 26. (We go to press the first thing Tuesday morning.)
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First Presbyterian Church
12225 N 103rd Ave
Sun City AZ 85351-3501
OR CURRENT RESIDENT
Sunday Schedule:
9:00 am Worship Services in the Chapel, Rev. Harrell D. Davis preaching
10:00 am Coffee and Fellowship in Swain Hall
Sundays in August:
August 4, “Rich Toward God” - Psalm 107: 1-9; Luke 12: 13-21
August 11, “God’s Economy” - Psalm 50: 1-6; Luke 12: 32-40
August 18, “Penny Wise, Pound Foolish” - Psalm 81: 1-10; Luke 12: 49-59
August 25, “Unbound” - Psalm 71:1-6; Luke 13: 10-17
Summer Office Hours:
Monday-Wednesday: 8:00 am-3:00 pm
Thursday: 8:00 am-1:00 pm
Friday: Closed