October 2023 Cross Currents

CROSS CURRENTS

ISSUE 09 | VOLUME 2023

From Pastor Pete

October Greetings, St. Andrew’s! “He seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye. Creation seems to be delegation through and through. I suppose this is because He is a giver.” -

C.S. Lewis

In October we continue our series: Be a Blessing, Make a Difference. Following Jesus means being called to an active lifestyle! From the perspective of C.S. Lewis, Christian faith is a delegated faith. God delegates to the church all the tasks of sharing God’s love through the stewardship of resources. God is the source of the resources, the empowerment of the gifts required, and the One Who receives all the glory for good things that are done! All of this produces joy in us! The Westminster Catechism reminds us that the chief purpose of humankind is to glorify God and enjoy a relationship with God though Christ forever! Are you aware of what part of God’s mission has been delegated to you?

Counting It All Joy, Pastor Pete Seiferth Interim Pastor / Head of Staff

Congregational Meeting

On October 22, immediately following the 9:00 am Worship Service, join us in the Sanctuary for the purpose of electing the 2026 Class of Church Officers. Church members are urged to attend. Stay after the 9:00 am Worship Service, come early for the 10:45 am Worship Service.

Nominations for Church Officers

SAPC’s Congregational Nominating Committee is seeking nominations of church members to serve as Elders, Deacons, or Trustees, or as members of the Nominating Committee. Please submit nominations to Elders Lee Ann Hamilton or Mike Thompson, via the form at sapctucson.org or directly via email to nominatingcommittee@sapctucson.org.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Make a Difference!

Our sermon series this fall has been challenging us to examine the gifts we have received from God, and how God calls us to use them in service of the Kingdom of Heaven. While we all don’t have the same gifts, all gifts are essential, and each one has the opportunity to share for the common good, to the glory of God! How are you being called to be a blessing and make a difference in this season?

Check out some of this month’s highlighted opportunities below or visit sapctucson.org/volunteer to learn how you can make a difference!

Hanging of the Greens

Hanging of the Greens will be on Sunday, November 26, in the Chapel at 8:30 am and the Sanctuary at 12:00 pm. Come join us as we decorate for Advent! We need many hands to decorate Christmas trees and “deck the halls” as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior! All decorations are provided. A light lunch will be available at 12:00 pm. Contact Debi Kromer with questions: dskromer@comcast.net.

Security Team

The St. Andrew’s Security Team is looking for a additional volunteers to join our team. A few more members will be a big help. No experience is needed, men and women are invited and you can choose your own times to serve based on your schedule. Having a good sense of situational awareness and mobility are needed. You will enjoy the camaraderie of being on the team. We thank everyone on the SAPC Security Team for the security they provide for our Preschool & Kindergarten and worship services. To inquire about the Security Team, please contact Don Spiece at dspiece@gmail.com.

MISSION & LOCAL OUTREACH

Serve Our City

On November 5, in lieu of the typical 9:00 am and 10:45 am worship services, our SAPC family is invited to participate in “Service Worship.” This is a chance to engage with community projects, with a choice for opportunities both on the church campuses and onsite with community partners. Through this outreach, we acknowledge that God is doing something in the community by using Christ’s church as an instrument of God’s Kingdom. We come together to join in what God is doing in the neighborhood – this is worship through service!

This year is the fourth year where our fourth quarter project is in conjunction with “Serve Our City” – linking arms with other churches in Tucson to make a huge difference together over one weekend. This year, we will again have the opportunity to put together bicycles for our community as part of the Tucson El Tour partnership. We also have some church/school synergy in the Marana District as well as a special project with Amphi Middle School and Ward 3 - handball courts! Look for projects that involve painting classrooms and cafeteria walls,

planting trees, bulletin board designing, landscaping at some Interfaith Community Services elderly homes in need, and school beautification projects taking place at Laguna Elementary School and Utterback Midde School, both involving their communities as well. Please join us as we build relationships, trust, and collaboration in serving our city!

We will have:

• Service projects on both Saturday and Sunday

• 9:00 am start time unless otherwise noted on each project

• Online sign-ups available by October 22

• Serve Our City t-shirts available for those participating on October 29 after each worship service

• 7:30 am service only on November 5

We serve a Missional God Who sent Jesus into the world, and He sends us so that we can share His great love. Please plan on joining us! Questions? Please contact RuthAnn at rsmithrud@sapctucson.org Thank you!

Jerry & Liz Koleski

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church has faithfully supported Jerry and Liz Koleski since 2002. We are so grateful for St. Andrew’s prayers, love and support for 21 years.

Jerry is a family physician and Liz is a community health nurse. They have discerned a call by God to serve Him in Kapsowar, Kenya, at Kapsowar Mission Hospital in northwestern Kenya. Jerry cares for newborns, children, and adult patients, while teaching Kenyan family medicine residents and University of Arizona medical students.

Liz organizes a program to screen for rheumatic heart disease, a disease which is endemic in the poverty of rural Kenya and kills many young people.

Jerry and Liz will be going to Kapsowar two months each year. God willing, they will be going to Kapsowar next in May 2024.

PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN Book Fair

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair will be held on October 2325 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm in Alpha on the NE Campus for our Preschool and Kindergarten families. This is a great time to purchase Christmas gifts or plan ahead for birthdays for the children in your life while supporting the Preschool and Kindergarten! In addition to amazing books, some of our most popular items you can find are science experiment kits, arts and craft sets, and much more! Proceeds for the school Book Fair will go toward purchasing books for our classrooms as well as school materials and resources for our ministry.

If you would like to shop at the Book Fair, it will be open to our church on Sunday, October 22 in Alpha! Stop by anytime between 8:00 am - 12:00 pm for some shopping for the children in your life! Thank you to our church family for helping support the important work of our Preschool and Kindergarten Ministry!

We will joyfully accept any volunteer help to set up, take down, or serve as cashier for the Book Fair. Coming dressed up as a Storybook Character would be an added bonus! Please visit sapcschool.org or come sign up in the Preschool/ Kindergarten Office!

Topgolf Fundraiser

Join us Saturday, October 21, for our 5th Annual Topgolf Fundraiser from 10:00 am12:00 pm. Not only is this a chance to raise some funds for the Youth Ministry but this is also an easy way to meet some new folks and enjoy a morning in community with no agenda other than fun!

This intergenerational event is great for the whole family! A brunch buffet is included. All proceeds go to support the Youth Ministry and the Youth Scholarship Fund. No experience is required! Anyone can play Topgolf, from aspiring pros to those who’ve never walked 18 holes. Sign up at sapctucson.org.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Trunk or Treat

Our 2023 Trunk or Treat will be Sunday, October 29, from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, in our SW Campus Parking Lot. Trunk or Treat is a safe way for kids to trick or treat. Volunteers decorate the trunks of their cars and hand out candy to the kids who come. It is a way for us to get to know each other and connect with families from the church, Preschool, and neighborhood.

Want to get involved? Trunks are always needed! Come decorate your trunk and pass out candy. We are also collecting candy to give out this year. Last year we had such an overwhelming response from the community that we ran out of candy! Candy donations can be dropped off in the main church office during the week or in the box outside the Sunday school office on the lower level of the SW Campus on Sundays. Contact Heather Brannock at hbrannock@sapctucson.org with questions or to sign up to be a part of this event.

Volunteer Children’s Choir Director

Super Friends

Our special needs ministry, called Super Friends, returns on October 1. We offer a parent support group for parents of children of any age with special needs. While parents are meeting, we have a fun Sunday school class for our Super Friends. Our theme this year is God Loves Me. Both groups will meet on the first Sunday of the month from 10:30 am- 11:15 am. The parent group will meet in Room I and the Super Friends class will meet in Room G. For questions, please contact Heather at hbrannock@sapctucson.org

Holy Molies Update

This month Holy Molies (4th and 5th graders) will be on October 18 in Room F from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Our theme for the night will be Jesus Taught Us How to Pray! Please bring $5 to offset the cost of dinner. I will need some parents to help out with Holy Molies this year. Thank you to those who have already signed up to volunteer. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up at sapctucson.org/kids or contact Heather, Children’s Director, at hbrannock@sapctucson.org.

We are looking for a volunteer to lead our children’s choir. The commitment is an hour a week plus preparation time, with 5-6 performances during worship services and concerts for the 2023-2024 school year. Rehearsal times are flexible. The minimum age requirement for this volunteer position is sixteen years with music experience preferred. All materials will be provided as well as support from the Director of Children’s Ministry. This is a non-paid position. Contact Heather Brannock at hbrannock@sapctucson.org to learn more.

Childcare Providers Needed

We are looking for nurturing individuals to help with weekday morning childcare. The position is part time, on an as needed basis, and pays $13.85 an hour. Applications can be submitted to Anita Degnan at adegnan@sapctucson.org.

ADULT

Finding Your People

We are people always in need of community. Sometimes, unfortunately, we wait for that group to come to us. If you are looking for a way to connect or grow deeper, take the step and lets do it together! Email Pastor Mat at mgrover@sapctucson.org

FAITH UNCORKED WOMEN’S MONTHLY FELLOWSHIP

Women of all ages are invited to come together at one of our homes on October 20, from 6:00 pm8:00 pm for fellowship, food, fun, and prayer for each other. This month our host will be Merri Kae Vanderploeg (2811 West Puccini Pl. Tucson, AZ 85741). It will be a “Boo-fet” of appetizers, salads, and desserts. Ladies who want to join are welcome to bring a spooky dish to share. Please RSVP to merrikvp@gmail.com.

MUSIC & WORSHIP

Cornerstone Chorale & Brass

CORNERSTONE CHORALE & BRASS CONCERT

The Worship and Music Committee is pleased to welcome the Cornerstone Chorale and Brass in concert on Saturday, October 28, at 2:00 pm. The Cornerstone Chorale and Brass presents a powerful message of reconciliation, healing and social justice through narration and a wide variety of traditional music – all woven together with newly composed musical interludes to focus on faith and God’s call to reach out in service to those in need. Cornerstone’s 20 paid professional singers, brass quintet, pianist, and narrator are recruited from all over the United States – and have performed 481 concerts since 1988 across North America. The 2023 Tour will culminate in Cornerstone’s 500th performance!

CALL FOR HOST FAMILIES!

The Cornerstone Chorale and Brass will be hosted by the Worship and Music Ministry for a concert on Saturday, October 28. These Christian men and women need housing for a night and transportation back to the church the next day. We need up to 30 host families to be gracious hosts for a night and provide a breakfast the following morning. If you have space in your home to accommodate one or more musicians, please contact Mark Gary at (520)382-2115 or markg@sapctucson.org

CHURCH LIFE

Holy Land Tour

FROM YOUR FAITH COMMUNITY NURSES

Medical Equipment “Boutique” Moved

Faith Community Nurse (FCN) Mary Bauer has retired and all the equipment is now located in the garage of FCN Lisa Best located in the Orange Grove / La Canada area. Please call the Church Office at 520-297-2701 for information regarding donating, borrowing or returning equipment.

Nine years ago the FCN Ministry identified the need of borrowing medical equipment on a short term basis. Mary volunteered her garage and record keeping expertise. Business Manager Brad Engel provided the necessary legal forms and Claud Smith has kept the equipment in good working order.

Through the years, Mary has had about 250 contacts with people using the ministry and said “I’ve met so many nice people and happy that I could meet this need.” St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church wants to thank Mary for her dedication and establishing this much needed ministry.

SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE FOR SAPC TRIP TO ISRAEL & EGYPT

We still have some spots for the SAPC trip to Egypt March 3-11 and to Israel March 11-21. In Israel we will visit many places you have read about in the Bible: Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, the River Jordan, Jerusalem, and more! You can choose to go on either trip or both. The Israel trip costs $4995 per person, double occupancy. The cost to also go on the Egypt trip is $3265. Both trips include airfare, hotels, and almost everything else except for lunches and drinks. If you are interested in going, please contact Kevin Oxnam at kevinoxnam@gmail.com for more information and details on how to register. If we still have spots available on October 30, we will open up registration to friends and family of SAPC. So, don’t wait and register soon!

ARTIST GALLERY

Georgie Campas

Around August, 2014, I began drawing a daily picture for the woman I love. We were a new older couple and I felt the inspiration to draw her a picture which was accompanied by a short love letter too. I had the desire, I suppose, to be romantic, to express to her my love and devotion.

After a while of drawing daily small pictures for Denise, she wondered what to do with all of this art, and she got the idea to mount them on a poster board. This way they could be displayed and not just be put in a box like the letters.

So that is how these posters of small colored pencil art drawings originated. When I first started drawing, I used simple Crayola colored pencils. You can see some of my earliest pictures on the poster boards marked “Pictures with Crayola colored pencils.” I then moved on to using much better pencils when a friend told me of Prisma Colored Pencils and gifted me an assortment. These pencils were wonderful because they allowed me to blend different colors together, something I could not do with the Crayolas. I hope you enjoy my drawings.

- Georgie Campas - gdcampas@gmail.com

PRAYER & CARE

Did you know that St. Andrew’s has a new resource for prayer? You can not only submit a prayer request, but you can view prayer requests of others and pray for them. If you’d like to share a public prayer request or if you are led to pray for others go to the Prayer & Care page, under Ministries, for more information. Submit your prayer request at sapctucson.org/prayer. You can choose to make your request public to appear on the wall so others can pray for you. You can also make it private so it goes only to our team and keep your request confidential. For questions, contact our team at care@sapctucson.org.

Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministry training can be life changing. This training will equip you with skills to provide one-on-one emotional and spiritual care by listening, empathizing, and encouraging. Not only will you learn how to support others but you will have skills that you will use in all of your relationships. Begin with prayer and ask God if you are being called to this ministry. Training begins November 12. For more information visit sapctucson.org/care or call the Church Office, 520-297-7201, or Cheryl Smith at 520271-6591

VISIT THE SAPC NARTHEX OCTOBER 22 - NOVEMBER 26, 2023 TO VIEW GEORGIE’S ART.