August 5, 2020

T he H e ral d
Volume XXXXXVII,
Issue 8

Blessing of the Backpacks and

Virtual/Remote Learning devices
will be on Sunday, August 16 at
4:00 p.m. All students of all ages
and teachers/instructors are in-
vited to come to the parking lot
Inside this issue:
south of the church.

Pastor writes/ 2
Manna from 7/ Enjoy a treat from the
McKee scholarship
Kona Ice truck. Families
Church Bubble 3
groups/Volunteer will also join in blessing
Birthdays/Live 4
the ISU campus with
streaming

Holder ponderings 5
chalk art.

Calendar 6

Masks should be worn as needed and physical

Church Happenings 7
distancing will be observed.
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Note from Pastor Mike Riggins

As you read this Linda and I will have departed for our first vacation
of 2020. We plan to spend ten days at our extended family's place
near Minocqua, Wisconsin. Unfortunately, no one else has chosen to
join us. Linda's parents are 85 and 90 years of age. They and her brother's family all have
co-morbidities that make them vulnerable to the worst the virus can do, so their choice is un-
derstandable. We, however, won't be lonely as we'll take our dogs with us. It's their favorite
place on earth.

I have not been aware of feeling stressed. Our year has gone well considering all that's hap-
pening. Yet as we approach our trip I find myself eagerly anticipating it. Maybe I do need
some time off, after all!

May God grant each one of us health, safety and even that joy which we claim as part of the
Body of Christ. God willing, we'll see you in mid-August.

Update on Gift to Manna from 7

Many thanks to the congregation! With only a little publicity we managed to collect $1190
to support Manna from 7, the local not-for-profit that distributes food each Friday. They
have moved their operation to St. Stephen's. When things open up a bit we also plan to
seek volunteers physically to help with the effort.

Attention High School seniors and college students

Applications for the 2020/21 Nancy and Dale McKee Family Scholar-
ship for the benefit of a member of the Central Presbyterian Church will
be available at https://wvcfscholarships.communityforce.com/Login.aspx un-
til August 25, 2020at 2 PM. This scholarship requires that you are a mem-
ber (or regular attendee) of Central Presbyterian Church.
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Church Bubble Groups

At this month's Christian Nurture meeting, the Commission brainstormed

several very creative ways of offering ministry in the time of COVID-
19. Look for word from them on a partial resumption of Sunday school.

We want to start immediately to implement what we're calling Church Bub-

ble Groups. These would be small groups of Central households who have decided to re-
strict their social interactions to a common level. One group may be comprised of people
who wish to interact only via virtual platforms (Zoom, for example). Another may be com-
prised of those who feel comfortable holding a carry-in at a local park. Still another may be
comprised of those somewhere in between.

Watch your email for an invitation to take a VERY brief poll. If you do not wish to join a
Bubble Group, do not respond to the poll. If you do, please respond as quickly as you
can. Pastor Mike and Christian Educator Cheryl will work together to help groups form.

The rest will be up to the Bubble Groups!

If you would like to help, there are volunteer opportunities at our local Salvation Army.
They are in need of someone to answer phones Monday - Friday from 8:45am - 12:00pm
and 12:30 - 3:30pm. They could also use help at their food pantry on Thursdays from
12:30 - 2:30pm. If you would like to volunteer please contact Kelly@thcpc.org.
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August Birthdays

1—Evelyn Gladden
3—Robert Guell
4—Pat Collins
5—Paul Shaw
7—Nathaniel Spencer
9—Scot Mardis
10—Donna Garrison
12—Beth Christ, Evie Templeton
13—Max Payne, Leah Ramer
134—Luke Bailey, Jack Judge
15—Jill Conner
20—Joyce Cook
22—Cathy VanNahmen
25—Lucas Rubey, Justin Woodruff
27—Tim Johnson, Karringten Winn
29—Isabelle Conner, Grant VanNahmen

We are live-streaming our worship services...and then posting them for

viewing at any time as well.

You can watch the live stream in our Church Family at Central Presby-
terian Facebook group. If you're not already a part of that group, re-
quest it on Facebook and Cheryl Moles or I will approve your request.

We post the streamed service later each Sunday in that same Facebook group.

We also post a more produced, hopefully pleasing recording of each worship service
on YouTube. Search "Mike Riggins" and look for the picture of Linda and me beside
our channel. There you will find a library of our services dating back a few months.

I hope this finds you well and boy, do I look forward to seeing you all face-to-face as
soon as each of us feels it's right to come to church!
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Fear and Trembling — A Haphazard Supplication by Allen Holder

Being reared in the Deep South's prevailing Christian ethos surrounded me with rhythmic intimations
about what could go terribly wrong if I neglected "to work out [my] salvation with fear and trem-
bling" (Philippians 2:12). Friends and acquaintances would quip that I was dangling over brimstone if I
didn't attend their church or didn't follow their exact interpretation of the Word. I remember a
neighbor arguing that I would be off to the eternal calefactor if I dared to call someone a fool
(Matthew 5:21-22), but he insisted that I would be invulnerable if our brothers and sisters were in-
stead buffoons, morons, or nitwits. I wonder how he would have responded to Paul calling the Gala-
tians foolish (Galatians 3:1)?

I reciprocate negatively to Christian nudges prompted by fear, whether they be continued alter calls,
dietary restrictions, auditory censorship, dance prohibitions, or admonitions about the great and
dreadful day of the Lord (Joel 2:31). I am not immune to fear, but why should I choose to act in love
out of trepidation? Why should I commit myself to a bellicose bully wafting through the sky with
dreadful intentions? My very instinct is to confront that fictional bully and to demand release from his
distressful torment – indeed, let my people go!

History credits the 'fear of the divine' for many of the Great Awakenings' successes, but the tentacles
of that fear have fostered a baffling and abject replacement for the law. Watch out, your toes could
get toasty if you do that, and you must do this, because, well, if you don't ..., oh let's just go ahead and
do this so we don't have to discuss consequences. We tried the law, but we couldn't follow instruc-
tions. So God sent Christ and installed a covenant so full of love that it overcame our failures. Fear
may keep some in the pews, but God's grace dwarfs our narcissistic actions along with the desirous
mirage that they can somehow save us.

So what should I fear, and why is the fear of the Lord so prevalent in scripture? Conversations among
Christians in response to these questions meander in their interpretations, sometimes suggesting that
we should fear an angry God who wants to do us harm or that we can merely substitute respect for
fear. Such rationalizations seem disingenuous and unsatisfactory against my experience, but biblical
hermeneutics still dictates that I should, nonetheless, fear the Lord. So I ask, what do I fear with re-
gard to the great loves of my life, and do these gifts of relationship inspire perspective? I love my wife,
my kids, and my family, but I don't fear them. What I do fear is my ability to damage these relation-
ships by crawling into the worries of myself instead of obliging and caring for the ones I love. Project-
ing that recognition onto my faith agrees with Christ's resounding love, for if damage is to come, then
it is certainly due to my shortcomings, my selfishness, and my sin. I am the prodigal wondering if, and
indeed fearing that, I have irrevocably damaged the greatest of loves. Let us all rejoice as the Father
sees us, runs to us, and throws his arms around us as we whimper home.
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V o lu me X XX XX V II , Is su e 8

August 2020
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

2 Worship service 3 4 5 6 Book Club 2:00 7 8

10:30

9 Worship service 10 11 12 Staff meeting 13 14 15

10:30 11:15
Deacons 5:00
Session 7:00

16 Worship service 17 18 Third Tuesday 19 20 21 22

meeting night for
10:30 Commissions/
Blessing of backpacks Committees
in parking lot 4:00

23 Worship service 24 25 26 Personnel 27 28 29

10:30 Committee 12:30

30Intergenerational 31
Sunday school 9:30
Worship service
10:30
Central Presbyterian Church
125 North Seventh Street
Terre Haute, IN 47807
Phone: 812-232-5049
Fax: 812-232-5040
Email: CPCOffice@thcpc.org
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Next Herald
Deadline —
Aug. 26, 2020
Sunday School for all ages 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
Rev. Mike Riggins, Pastor
Cheryl Moles, Christian Educator
Sarah Kelsheimer, Church Secretary
Church Happenings
Women’s Book Club
The Women’s Book Club Choir Director Mark Carlisle has
will be meeting on August 6 been arranging for our soloists to
at 2:00 p.m.. The participate in our worship ser-
Homesman by Glendon vices. If you are willing to perform
Swarthout is the book to
be discussed. Masks will
this service for us, would you
reach out to him? His email ad-
be worn and we will social dress
distance. is mark.carlisle@indstate.edu
Thank you!
All women of the church
are invited to attend.