Pathfinder

  In a recent sermon I mentioned that you all are a generous group. I wasn’t just saying that. I have quite a few examples just from the recent month. We took up an offering in May for those affected by the tornados in Missouri and for the team going to Western North Carolina in the fall. That offering total was $1787.22 and was evenly divided between those causes. The deacons hosted the Hawaiian shirt day in mid-June for VBS Bibles and we raised $851.57. A woman’s Bible study had already donated $151.25 for Bibles; that’s a total of $1002.82 for Bibles. That would buy far more Bibles than we can use. So, after conferring, we decided to give half of the money to Young Life because bus expenses are high. The shirt sales with the Argyle logo raised $1068.91for Young Life, but more won’t hurt. And like I said, this is just the last month or so. I didn’t even mention the money raised at the CROP walk. Thank you again for your generosity. I am proud of you for these kindnesses.  ...

  The trustees have a couple of projects ahead that we want you to be aware of. The downstairs bathroom has been giving us trouble for a while. It had chronic clogging and overflows. It seems it’s worn out and we think we know why? When we would break it down to clean it out, we found baby wipes and chlorox wipes in the grinder assembly. We consulted with a master plumber and other resources to find that: Clorox wipes/baby wipes should not be flushed down the toilet. Even if they are marketed as "flushable," they can cause significant problems for your plumbing and the sewer system. These wipes don't break down like toilet paper and can lead to clogs and backups in your pipes, as well as larger issues in the sewer lines and wastewater treatment facilities. We are going to eliminate commercial cleaning wipes from the inventory and ask that everyone throw baby wipes and the like in the garbage. The steeple at the weather vane requires work. Scott Lufkin flew his drone u...

  July is a magical month in the minds of many, especially to us as Americans. It is the end of the school year for our youngsters and the beginning of the mixed emotions of graduation excitement and angst over facing life choices for our seniors. Families are readying for vacations. Our farmers are busy planting, the hay fields already sheared for first cut and, that magical, patriotic, picnic, barbecue, parade and fireworks day is upon us once again. In June's edition we told you that APC was entering a float into Argyle's annual fourth of July parade to promote VBS. Mary Ellen Bain took the lead on this project and in her words… “ Our VBS 4th of July float will be a preview of, and an invitation to, a week of learning to trust Jesus. The scene will be a ranger camp at the base of a mountain range in the Northern Arctic… complete with fish, log cabin, eagles and perhaps a caribou or two. Coordinating with the parade's theme of everyday heroes ‘True North’ leads us to se...

  The APC Session held its regular monthly meeting on June 19, 2025. We began with a time of study, reflecting together on Emotionally Healthy Discipleship . A key takeaway from our discussion was this important truth: for the Church to grow in maturity, each of us must pursue our own spiritual growth. It's a reminder to us all that healthy discipleship begins with personal transformation. Our prayer time focused on lifting up the many physical needs within our congregation. We continue to pray for healing and strength for those facing health challenges, trusting in God's sustaining grace. We’re grateful for APC's generous participation in the outreach offering collected during the month of May. Your faithful giving is helping extend Christ’s love beyond our walls. Session also approved the purchase of a Blackstone Grill, which we look forward to enjoying together during upcoming fellowship events—including church picnics and Vacation Bible School. Good food and joyf...

  I have made a point in recent weeks of drawing attention to the fact that, in the liturgical calendar, Lent is the season that leads to the season of Easter (or Eastertide). Easter Sunday begins the Easter season and is 49 days long; 7 weeks and 7 Sundays- it is a week of weeks. Laurence Stookey writes, “Christ is fullness heaped upon fullness, and so can be symbolized by seven times seven.” If 7 is the number of perfection, Jesus is wholly perfect. He is the image of the invisible God.           And the 50th day, Pentecost (Pentecost literally means fiftieth day) Sunday, is the beginning of a new creation or a re-creation. On June 8 this year we will celebrate Pentecost (feel free to wear red if you remember). It is on this day that the church was born. It is on this day that we celebrate the Lord bringing together a people for himself.           We will be spending our Sunday mornings ...

  Thank you to all who participated in our spring workday. We had a great turnout, and we were able to complete our list of projects quickly. The church is now ready for spring and summer. We will be scheduling another workday for early September in preparation for hosting Presbytery, on September 26-27.

  The APC session meeting for May 2025 began with a joint meeting with the deacons and trustees, where we reflected on the Great Commission from Matthew 28 and its connection to our Church Purpose of "Making Disciples who Make a Difference" and the mission of the EPC. We discussed updates from the recent Presbytery meeting and our plans to host the September Presbytery at APC. We want to encourage the congregation to pray for, support and participate in a couple of activities that we are excited to see added to our work as a church in 2025. The first initiative is a Saturday learning opportunity for our Church and our community on estate and funeral planning. The second opportunity is to engage in disaster relief efforts through financial support.   We plan to provide help to some families impacted by tornados that impacted St. Louis and support the APC team that is planning a trip to work on the hurricane recovery in North Carolina.   We also reviewed the plans for our s...

  “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Song of Solomon 2:12 In spite of Mother Nature's best efforts to fool us, we really have transitioned from Winter to Spring and, finally, into Summer! Since each season seems to have its identifying “signature day” it is fitting that, as a society, we celebrate parents with the coming of the warmer and more fruitful times of the year. In May, as Spring awakens the earth with the blossoming of flowers and crops and the renewal of life to both our landscapes and the animals that inhabit them, we acknowledge and celebrate our mothers...the greatest creators and nurturers of life within our culture. And this month, amid the warmth and strength of the summer sun, we will celebrate the protectors and providers of that culture by honoring our fathers on June 15 th . We Deacons have chosen to capitalize on Fathers' Day by marking it Hawaiian Shirt Day...a fun way to recogniz...