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Hodges Presbyterian Church NEWS

Two Church Members Go Home
to Be with the Lord

The congregation was saddened at the loss of our long time member, A. Courtney Cobb, Jr. He had been in declining health for a number of years, and finally succumbed to complications from a stroke on the evening of September 5. His memorial service was held on Wednesday, September 8, at 2:00 PM at the church.

Then, just a week after Courtney passed away, the congregation was stunned to learn that Courtney's wife, Nancy passed away suddenly from what is thought to be a massive heart attack. She passed away on Sunday, September 12, almost exactly one week following the death of Courtney. Her memorial service is planned for Friday, September 17, at 2:00 PM, also at the church.

Both Courtney and Nancy will be greatly missed by all their family and friends here at Hodges Presbyterian Church. We pray that God will give support, comfort and peace to all who mourn this wonderful couple.

FAMILY NIGHT SUPPER
RESCHEDULED TO SEPTEMBER 22

Because of the arrangements for Nancy Cobb's memorial service, the regularly scheduled Family Night Supper that would have been held on Wednesday, September 15, has been rescheduled to the following Wednesday, September 22.

Service for Wholeness and Healing
Rescheduled for September 26 at 4:00pm

James 5:13-15 (NRSV)

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

On Sunday, September 26, at 4:00 PM, the Hodges Presbyterian Church will host a Service for Wholeness and Healing. This service is based on an order of worship found in the PC(USA)'s Book of Common Worship. In it, the congregation will have the opportunity to come forward for individual prayer and anointing from the pastor and elders. Anyone in the community is welcome to attend.

New Bible Study to Begin September 12 at 6:00pm
Beginning in September, Hodges Presbyterian Church will hold an evening Bible study at 6:00 PM on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The study will begin with a short hymn sing (old favorites - not ones that nobody knows) and will be led by the pastor. As a special treat, for the first session, On Sunday, September 12, we will kick off the Bible study series with an ICE CREAM SOCIAL organized by the men of the church, so everyone be sure to come out for a good time and (hopefully) a learning experience too!

Presbyterian Women Install New Officers
in Morning Worship on August 29

On Sunday, August 29, in the morning worship service, the Hodges Presbyterian Women installed the new slate of officers for 2011.

The following officers were installed:

Moderator Mary O'Dell

Vice Moderator Agnes Nickles

Secretary Barbara Shirley

Treasurer Sue Hannah

Historian Mary Bolen

Search Committee Chairman Becky Hodges

Mission Opportunities Pam Kelly

Spiritual Enrichment Agnes Nickles

Maye Haddon

Global Awareness Faye Hannah

Service Project Linda Bridgers

Day Circle Moderator Agnes Nickles

Evening Circle Moderator Sue Hannah

Curly Q's Coordinator Mandy Hannah

Pastor Away in August
Guest Preachers on Aug. 8 and 15

The pastor will be away for two weeks, beginning on August 2. The first week, from Aug 2-Aug 8, he will be on vacation in Melbourne, FL, and the second week, he will be attending the Summer Institute of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. If you need to contact him, the best way to get in touch is via his cell phone at 609-647-3505.

While he is gone, we will have guest preachers on Aug. 8 and Aug 15. On Aug. 8, Rev. Dr. Michael Bush, Professor of Presbyterian Church Studies (USA) at Erskine Seminary will be preaching, and on Aug. 15, Rev. George Day of Greenwood will be here. We want to welcome both of these gentlemen and thank them for sharing the gospel message with us.

Pulpit Exchange
set for morning worship on July 25

On Sunday, July 25, the Hodges Association of Protestant Churches will have its first ever Pulpit Exchange. This is an occasion when the ministers for one church in the association will preach for that week in a different church in the association.

On July 25, two churches will participate, with Rev. R.T Bowling preaching here at Hodges Presbyterian, and Rev. Joel Kelly of Hodges preaching at both the Hodges and Cokesbury United Methodist churches.

The pulpit exchange will give members of the various churches the opportunity to meet and hear pastors from other local churches, and it will also give the ministers an opportunity to experience how the other local churches structure and conduict their worship services.

We plan to conduct pulpit exchanges several times a year, and hope that other churches in the Association will be able to participate in the future.

Sacrament of Holy Communion set for morning worship on July 4
On Sunday, July 4, at 10:00 am, the Hodges Presbyterian Church will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communnion. All baptized Christians are welcome at the Lord's Table to participate in this sacred rite. We encourage you to join us for this celebratiuon and remembrance of the Lord's death and resurrection until he comes again in glory.

Baptism Service held on
Sunday, June 20

On Sunday, June 25, Alexis and Melanie d'Amecourt presented their daughter, Harper for baptism during the morning worship service. Harper's family has been members of Hodges Presbyterian Church for many generations.

Melanie is the granddaughter of Mary Alice Hagen, and we were privileged to have Harper baptized here.

Participating in the baptism were (of course) Harper and her parents, as well as the Pastor, Rev. Joel Kelly, The former pastor, Rev. Bob Piephoff, and the Clerk of Session, Elder Maye Haddon.

Infant baptism is a sacramental rite in the Presbyterian church that recognizes the membership of a child in the covenant family of Christ. In it, the parents and the local congregation as representatives of the Church Universal, promise to raise the child in the faith and model the Christian life for her so that she may come to accept Christ as savior for herself and enter fully into the Christian community. We take biblical warrant from the promise in:

Acts 2:38-39 (NRSV)
³⁸Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."

We wish to welcome Harper to the family of Christ.

Service for Wholeness and Healing
set for June 13 at 4:00pm

CANCELLED DUE TO DEATH IN THE PASTOR'S FAMILY

WILL BE RESCHEDULED IN THE FALL

James 5:13-15 (NRSV)

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

On ~~Sunday, June 13, at 4:00 pm~~, the Hodges Presbyterian Church will host a Service for Wholeness and Healing. This service is based on an order of worship found in the PC(USA)'s Book of Connom Worship. In it, the congregation will have the opportunity to come forward for individual prayer and anointing from the pastor and elders. Anyone in the community is welcome to attend.

Note: This service has been cancelled for the present time. It will be rescheduled for the Fall.

Fundraiser for Angie Harrison on May 22 a Big Success
In a first of its kind event, Hodges Presbyterian Church, in association with the Hodges/Cokesbury Volunteer Fire Department, staged a fundraising event to help pay for medical treatments and living expenses for Angie Hodges Harrison. Angie is the Assistant Director and 4K teacher at the Shepherd's Flock pre-school. In January, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, and she is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments in preparation for surgery later this year. While she is undergoing treatments, Angie is unable to work, and neither she nor her husband have health insurance. The members and session of the Hodges Presbyterian Church teamed up with the Hodges/Cokesbury Volunteer Fire Department to organize a fundraiser on May 22 to help raise funds for Angie. The event took in over $11K that will be used to help pay medical expenses and other bills while Angie is out of work. Below are pictures from the fundraiser.
	Angie with other members of her family
Folks enjoyed the tempting food offerings inside the Fire Station. Church members offered barbecue pork sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs as well as a table of delicious baked goods.
	Local horse owners offered horseback rides for the children in the community.
The Hodges Public Elementary School made their bounce castle available for the youngsters.
	The Greenwood County Blood Connection was here with their Blood Mobile. Members of the community donated 24 units of whole blood during the event. The units will be credited to Angie's account if she needs them during her treatment.
The highlight of the event was a drawing for a Browning Pump Action 20 Gauge shotgun. The gun was won by a gentleman from Honea Path as a gift for his son.