This Week: October 24, 2020

EVERYONE SUNDAY WORSHIP

We are continuing to assess the safety of our worshippers on a week to week basis. We are still REQUIRING all attendees to wear masks or cloth face coverings over the nose and mouth while in the church building. If you are uncomfortable with this, we understand and ask that you attend worship online.

To help ensure we hold our worship services safely, we ask that you reserve a seat for you and childcare online at pcpc.org/reserve-seat.

If you or anyone in your party have had COVID-like symptoms in the past 7 days, we ask that you please worship online with us at pcpc.org/live.

EXTEND CAPITAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Construction is going well and is due to be done in early December. Back in May of 2017, the EXTEND vision was launched, and the campaign came to an end in August of 2020. Our goal was to raise $52 million, which was stretched to include a gym and columbarium, and we currently have $3.6 million left in unfulfilled pledges. So many have given generously and sacrificially, and we understand many families have been impacted due to COVID-19 or have had personal matters that have not allowed them to fulfill their commitment. Before our project concludes, we're looking to close the gap as we desire to finish the project with no debt. As always, our deep desire is to see God continue to use our body to EXTEND His Kingdom! Watch a video from Mark Davis and give at extend.pcpc.org/updates.

Each year, we extend the opportunity to purchase a poinsettia ($11.00 each) in memory of or in honor of a friend or loved one. They will be in the Sanctuary Sunday, December 6. Our chancel area will be wreathed in these beautiful plants for our worship services from December 8 through Christmas Eve. Reservations online will close on Wednesday, November 25 at 10:00 p.m. pcpc.org/events

VOL. XXXI, NO .21 | OCTOBER 24, 2020 PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TRICIA COTHRAN, EDITOR 4124 OAK LAWN AVENUE DALLAS, TX 75219-3152

PROVIDE & PROTECT ESTATE PLANNING SEMINAR

Learn how to make important life decisions for your family at this FREE seminar, which follows the popular book Provide & Protect by A. Charles Schultz, J.D., a well-known estate planning expert, presented by PCPC's Tom Neuhoff & Diann Addison. Register online and join us Sunday, November 1, 4:00–5:30 p.m., PCPC Oak Lawn West. pcpc.org/events

WORLD MISSIONS FRONT PORCH MISSIONARY MAILINGS

214-224-2500 pcpc.org facebook.com/parkcitiespca twitter.com/parkcitiespca

THISWEEK@PCPC

POINSETTIAS IN THE SANCTUARY

During this season of COVID-19 and construction, we want to care for our missionaries around the world. Thanks to the hospitality of members, we are planning Front Porch Missionary Mailings! Mark your calendar for the weekend of November 6, 7, and 8, when you and your family can visit a front porch near you to write notes and cards to our PCPC missionaries. All supplies will be provided for adults and children, and we will mail them for you! Masks will be REQUIRED for ages 10+ (recommended for 2+) and social distancing will be practiced. Check online on November 1 for front porch locations in Far North Dallas, Northwest Dallas, Lake Highlands, White Rock, and Park Cities. pcpc.org/events

WOMEN

THISWEEK@PCPC

VOL. XXXI, NO. 21 | OCTOBER 24, 2020

THE BRIDGE: WHAT'S HER STORY?

Join us for an evening with women of all ages to gather for fellowship and a story of God's powerful grace in the life of one of our PCPC women, Tracey Frattaroli, on Tuesday, November 10, 7:00–8:00 p.m. pcpc.org/events

OUR FAMILY

marriages

A parish makes the big church smaller as we seek to live as Christ’s people in the places where He has called us.

• Christine Sanchez and Paul Curtis Cornell on October 3, 2020.

deaths • Daniel A. Riddlesperger (CC#17), son of Jane Riddlesperger (CC#13); brother of John G. Riddlesperger (CC#17) on September 26, 2020.

sympathies “We’ve never seen anything like this.” That’s what many are saying as people around the world grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This season has brought significant challenges to churches, too, where the rhythms of gathering together have been widely disrupted. How should a local church respond in a moment like this? As men called to shepherd the flock entrusted to their care (1 Peter 5:1-3), the elders of Park Cities Presbyterian Church have been asking that question since March. The Lord has used this strange season to clarify our vision for shepherding our people. The parish ministry that has been rolling out in different neighborhoods is an expression of a renewed desire to love our people well.

What is a parish?

“Parish” is a word with a long, rich history. In classical Greek, the word paroikos referred to someone who dwelled near, or a neighbor. For early Christian writers, the same word came to mean “sojourner”, which we are in this world (1 Peter 2:11). Over the centuries, the word came to refer to a certain area with its own church, or to the members of such a church. For us, a parish represents the members of our church in a particular neighborhood. As the church scattered around the city throughout the week, we want to come together with our neighbors to connect, abide, and extend. A parish makes the big church smaller as we seek to live as Christ’s people in the places where He has called us.

Why parish ministry?

Here’s an image that helps express the heart behind this initiative. Imagine a shepherd in the fields with his sheep. If we asked him to boil it all down and tell us what he’s trying to do, he would probably express two simple goals. “First, I don’t want to lose any sheep. Second, I want all of the sheep to thrive.” There’s a negative goal (not losing any sheep), and there’s a positive goal (wanting all the sheep to thrive).

Both are important, because the sheep can’t thrive if they’re drifting off or getting picked off by wolves.

As the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), Jesus has the same priorities. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28). Jesus will not lose any of His sheep. Earlier in

the same passage He says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus wants all of His people to thrive. We want to reflect the Good Shepherd’s heart for our people.

Every church—whether it has dozens, hundreds, or thousands of members—must answer the question, “How are we going to shepherd this flock?” Every church needs a plan or structure to do that. We know there are many ways to connect at PCPC, but we also know that it’s easy to get lost at a large church. We want to reflect the Lord’s shepherding heart by being proactive in knowing and loving our people and helping them take their next step in Christ. We believe that parish ministry helps us love our neighbors well and makes our church feel more like a family.

In the parishes that have launched, elders have gathered a parish team of deacons and laypeople, men and women, who feel called to connect and keep up with their PCPC neighbors in the area.

The structure means that every member in a parish has a connection to a parish team member and an elder. We hope that parish teams will help us love one another and come together as the Lord’s people in a particular place.

This starts with knowing one another, but once there’s a relationship, we want to help one another grow in connecting, abiding, and extending in Christ. The parish structure is like a trellis supporting a beautiful rose bush. We know we need the structure, but we’re praying that the Lord will bring the growth.

Where are we in the process?

At the beginning of October, we had launched thirteen parishes, with the rest hopefully launching by the end of 2020. The first thirteen parishes include around 1,200 member households and around 3,000 people in our church family (people who are members, married to members, and covenant children). During this season of isolation, we’re encouraged to know that more and more of our members have the opportunity to connect with a neighbor.

It’s true, we’ve never seen anything like this. But that means we’ve never had such an opportunity to extend the transforming presence of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in our neighborhoods and to the world. Please join us in praying that the Lord would use the parish ministry to transform our church and our city for His glory!

To learn more about parish ministry, visit pcpc.org/parish.

• John & Dianne Hawkins (CC#09) on the loss of his mother; Virginia Hawkins (CC#09) on the loss of her grandmother, Frances Alexander Hawkins, on September 27, 2020.

• Paul & Emily Ponder (CC#15) on the loss of his father; Hayden & Claire Ponder (CC#15) on the loss of their grandfather, Homer G. Ponder, on September 28, 2020.

• Hollis & Dawn Jones (CC#11) on the loss of her mother, Donna L. Cobb, on September 28, 2020.

• Pat & Linda Moore (CC#10) on the loss of her father, John D. Fleming, on October 3, 2020.

• Sandra Glasscock (CC#13) on the loss of her son, Brian Douglass Glasscock, on October 3, 2020.

• Terry & Neatice Warner (CC#15) on the loss of his mother, Shirley Warner, on October 4, 2020.

• Paul & Jenni Goebel (CC#18) on the loss of her brother; Ann Elise, Georgia, & Margaret Goebel (CC#18) on the loss of their uncle, Jake Berryhill, on October 9, 2020.

• Bill & Susan Banowsky (CC#10) on the loss of his father; Benton Banowsky (CC#10) on the loss of his grandfather; Robert Banowsky (CC#09) on the loss of his grandfather; William & Callie Banowsky (CC#06) on the loss of his grandfather; William & Blair Banowsky (CC#06) on the loss of their great-grandfather, Richard L. Banowsky, on October 14, 2020.

Care Clusters – pcpc.org/care/care-clusters/

GENERAL FUND

budget

2020/2021 operating budget July 1—October 11, 2020 budget July 1—October 11, 2020 giving Budget Variance

$13,500,000 $2,727,322 $2,335,296 –$392,026