Member News
Deaths in the church family
Lydia Susan Slentz, 88, died January 18, 2012. Visitation will be at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 22 at Memorial Park Funeral Home (5668 Poplar, 767 8930), with the funeral service at 2:30 p.m., and interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Susie joined the church in 1994, but in the last few years she had been unable to attend services due to health problems. She was the owner of Susie’s Gifts in the Peabody, and was known for her volunteer work throughout the community as Susie the Clown. Please remember Susie’s brother, Frank Slentz, and all her family and friends in prayer. Blessed are those who die in the Lord.
Betty Tweedy, 87, died Tuesday, January 10, 2011. Betty came to Idlewild in 1997. She was a member of the John Knox Sunday school class, and was especially active in Presbyterian Women circles. Please remember her daughter and son, and all her family and friends, in prayer.
Cortez Jones died Sunday, January 8, 2012. Cortez was the son of Carl Norvell and grandson of Pat Norvell, both church staff members. The outpouring of love from our congregation has been deeply felt by the family. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. (If you would like to make a donation to help with funeral expenses, please make your check payable to Idlewild Presbyterian Church and clearly note “Cortez Jones” on the memo line.)
We're making a new Photo Directory
YOU ARE NEEDED to make our directory complete! A pictorial directory is our church family album. It helps us put faces with names. It introduces our church to newcomers. It creates a lasting record.
PHOTO SESSIONS have been scheduled during and after the holidays to make it more convenient for your family. You will receive a complimentary 8x10, and you'll have an opportunity to purchase additional portraits on the day of your portrait session. Lifetouch photo sessions will be at the church.
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CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR PORTRAIT SESSION
Thursday-Friday
Thursday-Friday
Tuesday-Saturday
Tuesday-Saturday
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December 22-23
December 29-30
January 10-14
January 17-21
January 24-28 |
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$10 Gift Certificate for signing up online!
$5 Gift Certificate for all families who bring in a food item for the Food Bank to their portrait session! |
HAVE A NEW FAMILY PORTRAIT MADE! You can have extra portraits made with your extended family. Just schedule sessions together and add additional time spots. Each family unit will be photographed and receive their own complimentary 8x10 portrait. Lifetouch will then photograph generational poses with everyone together — grandparents and grandkids, aunts and uncles, or any special poses you would like to have.
Please do your part to help affirm the beautiful togetherness of our church family!
Clean Water supplies needed
We have two clean water mission trips this year, to Mexico in February and to Ghana in April. In addition to installing clean water systems, our volunteers work with local leaders to teach health, hygiene and spiritual education, and develop long-term relationships. Our teams take supplies to help with education programs -- many items are needed before the Ghana trip. If you can, please bring donations to the church office by March 22. Monetary gifts are also welcome, just note "Clean Water" on the check memo line. Click here to see a list of needed supplies.
Stewardship: We Are the Church Together!
This year’s stewardship theme is “We are the Church...Together.” It’s true! Each member is truly a piece of the church – in evangelism, outreach, children’s education, music, congregational care – and its mission to welcome all and serve our community. As a church, our gifts are more powerful. Together, we live the vision of being a place where all who enter find a home!
Please give prayerful consideration to your financial commitment to our church in the coming year. Our church budget is dependent on member pledges, so only after all pledges are received can the Budget and Finance Committee prepare the budget for the coming year.
Here's how to pledge
EMAIL your pledge information to stewardship@idlewildchurch.org. (Be sure to include your full name, address, and amount of your 2012 pledge.)
PRINT and mail a pledge form. Click here.
GIVE ONLINE! Click here to be directed to our secure online giving site. You pay your pledge, give a memorial or honorarium, or make another type of donation online.
Fall classes and programs
Fall church school classes are in session. See the Christian Education brochure for class descriptions, schedules and locations.
WELL - Wednesday Evenings Living and Learning - dinners and programs are going on now. Dinner is served each week from 5:30 to 6:30. See the WELL brochure for schedules.
Plus 1 is one way you can help
These days, many people come to the church for assistance with utility bills. We refer them MIFA and the Plus 1 program. Plus 1 is a partnership between MIFA and MLGW that provides utility assistance to those in financial crisis. Clients are screened by MIFA for eligibility, then referred to MLGW for payment arrangements. If you don’t already, please consider giving to Plus 1. Each month, $1 is added to your utility bill. All Plus 1 donations go to assistance (not administration). This is one way we can answer the call to help our neighbors in need. Visit www.plus1memphis.org.
Pastor Steve and Faith Matters
"God is bigger than any church, denomination or faith," says Pastor Steve in the June 25 Faith Matters column by David Waters. The article is about Steve and Hope Presbyterian pastor Craig Strickland, their friendship and how people from different faiths or denominations can work together.
Read Faith Matters: Differences needn't be obstacles to understanding (Commercial Appeal)
Pastor Steve’s thoughts on local issues of faith and justice are frequently included in David Waters’ Faith in Memphis blog, where a panel of community leaders answer a variety of questions. Visit www.faithinmemphis.com.
A letter from Pastor Steve about Amendment 10-A
For over three decades the Presbyterian Church (USA) has been studying, debating, and praying over the issue of what it means to affirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all areas of life, especially as it pertains to the full inclusion and ordination of our faithful gay and lesbian members. In a sense, it boils down to the question, “What does it mean to be the church…together?”
Most of you are aware that on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 the 87th presbytery in our denomination approved what has been called “Amendment 10-A,” which outlines the gifts and requirements for ordained service. It reads:
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Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. (G.1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates. |
Pastor Steve Montgomery has written a letter to church members addressing this issue and what it means for Idlewild. This letter has been mailed to all member households, and it is posted here. Feel free to share it with others.
David Waters wrote a column in the Commercial Appeal about the Common Word program. In the cooperative study group, 15 participants from each congregation learned about Islam and Christianity, about how we each worship and believe, and how faith shapes our lives. It's been great, and has created a valuable relationship between the two groups -- and between many individuals. Click here to read the article.
Make reservations for WELL dinner, First Sunday Lunch
Please make reservations for church dinners and lunches, so enough food can be prepared. You can call the church at 726-4681, or click the links below. Thanks!
First Sunday Lunch | WELL Dinner
Are you missing Idlewild e-mails?
If you are missing TW@I or other e-mails from Idlewild, be sure to check your spam folder on the Web. Bulk e-mails and newsletters are often filtered into a spam folder until you check them. This is true of all e-mail providers — BellSouth, Yahoo, Gmail, MSN, Hotmail, Comcast — as well as company systems.
If you use a program such as Outlook or Outlook Express you probably never see your e-mail on the Internet—but it goes there before coming to your computer. Their spam folder in on the Web. It’s a good idea to log onto your e-mail website occasionally and check the spam folder.
This is not an Idlewild email problem and we cannot control it.
We are glad to offer some help. Below is a document that shows how BellSouth/Yahoo web email works.
Click here for a illustration of Bellsouth/Yahoo online e-mail. This has illustrations for checking your spam folder, and for creating a filter to make sure Idlewild emails go to your Inbox.
Add these addresses to your contacts list — idlewild@idlewildchurch.org, chimes@idlewildchurch.org and twai@idlewildchurch.org. If you use a company e-mail system, tell your system administrator to allow e-mail from “idlewildchurch.org” all the time.
Congregational Care and Support
Do you know a member who needs some extra TLC? Please let the church office know if you or someone you know in the church is having difficulty because of illness, loss of job, bereavement or immobility, please contact the church. There are volunteers ready to offer rides, meals and their time.
Prepare a meal or two of your favorite recipe for members of the congregation who are recovering from illness or who have experienced a death in their family. Bring prepared meals in disposable containers, with cooking instructions, to the church. Meals are frozen then delivered as needed. For information contact Anne Covington at 274-5864.
Confidential prayer requests can be made by calling the prayer chain at 683-6578, or by filling out the cards in the pew racks on Sunday.
The Flower Ministry makes sure there are the beautiful flowers in the Sanctuary each Sunday. On Monday the large arrangements are made into small bouquets and delivered to hospital patients and shut-ins. If you would like to give flowers in memory or in honor of someone special, or simply donate to the flower fund, please call Buff Adams, 818-5567.
The Presbyterian Voice is online
The Presbyterian Voice is now online at www.presbyvoice.org. Stay current with news from around the Synod of Living Waters, including the Presbytery of the Mid-South. Find blogs from favorite columnists such as Ray Waddle, Dee Wade and Anne Apple. Subscribe to e-mail updates. If you would like to receive The Presbyterian Voice by traditional mail, simply e-mail Janet Tuck at voiceeditor@bellsouth.net.
Blessed are those who die in the Lord
Betty Tweedy, 87, died Tuesday, January 10, 2011. Betty came to Idlewild in 1997. She was a member of
the John Knox Sunday school class, and was especially active in
Presbyterian Women circles.
Jessie Krouse Tutwiler, 101, died at home on December 3, 2011. She and her husband Thomas (deceased) came to Idlewild Church in 1950. She had not been able to attend church for the last several years. She is survived by daughters Linda Tannen and Ann Dwyer, who are also Idlewild members, two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren, as well as her devoted caregiver Margaret Mabone.
Claire Covington Draper died November 27, 2011. She was 88 years old. Claire joined our church in 1982. She had recently become unable to attend, and had moved to a nursing home in Meridian in September. Her husband Wallace died in 2001. Claire and her sisters, Pauline “Pud” Covington Merrill (now living in Meridian) and Jean Covington Sinclair (deceased) were all longtime Idlewild members.
Arthur and Nancy Derr both died in the same week. Art, 87, died November 16, and Nancy, 83, died November 17. Art and Nancy joined Idlewild in 1986. Nancy was a Presbyterian Women Life Member and had served as Moderator. Art was retired from Firestone. In 2008 they moved to Winston Salem to be near their daughter Sarah Mixon. They have two sons, Arthur and George.
Demaris Claudette "Dee" Smith died sometime this fall, but we do not have a specific date at this time. Dee was born February 23, 1930. She joined Idlewild Church in 1956 and was very active in the choir. She lived at St. Peter's Village and had been unable to attend church for many years. We learned that her family had moved her to Bellevue, Washington not too long ago.
David Ragland Davis, 76, died October 1, 2011. David and his wife Adrienne came to Idlewild in 2005 from Whitehaven Presbyterian, where he had served as both deacon and elder. He was active on our Adult Ministry and Food Service Committees and was a member of the Covenant Conversation class. David retired as Professor of Education at Christian Brothers University, where he was chair of the Education Department. He is survived by wife Adrienne, his sister Anne Davis (also an Idlewild member), and his brother Clifford Perry Davis. (Click here for full obituary.)