Blog: Forest Lake Talks

A Message from Ellen 3-13-24

March 13, 2024

March 13, 2024 Dear Friends, Each year, for the past five years, our congregation has participated in the work of MORE Justice [Midlands Organized Response for Equity and Justice]. And on Monday, March 18th many from this congregation will gather in the gym of Eau Claire High School to attend the Nehemiah Action. The Nehemiah Action is the big event of the MORE Justice year. All year long, committees of volunteers from local congregations have been doing research and identifying small measurable steps that may be taken to make our community a better place for everyone. Local officials, who have…

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A Message from Ellen 2-28-24

February 28, 2024

Dear Friends, I just returned to church from a meeting of The Decker Collective, and you need to hear the good news! Our partnership with Serve and Connect, to make a positive impact on the neighborhoods on both sides of Decker Blvd., is happening! From a small group of 10 or 12, these once-a-month meetings have grown to FILL the fellowship hall that belonged to Petersen Presbyterian Church! Present at Tuesday’s meeting were RCSD law enforcement, school district personnel, community members, Richland County officials, Mental Health providers, political leaders, Korean and Hispanic community leaders, Richland County Library staff, local business…

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A Message from Ellen 2-14-24

February 14, 2024

Dear Friends, The church staff have been hard at work to prepare for a celebration of Lent and Easter to help us reconnect with God and grow in our faith. We chose a theme, suggested by a Lenten hymn (#314), Christ, Be Our Light. The hymn recognizes that we are longing for light, peace, food, shelter, and many other things. There is a lot of darkness in our world. We need light! The Christian faith believes that Christ is the Light of the World! So, the hymn refrain invites us to pray by singing: Christ, be our light! Shine in…

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A Message from Ellen 1-31-24

January 31, 2024

January 31, 2024 Dear Friends, Do you know what happens on February 14th!? If you said, “Valentines’ Day!” you are partially right. February 14th is also Ash Wednesday! In the celebration of our Christian faith, this day is the beginning of a season of preparation, self-examination, and repentance that is intended to prepare us for the right celebration of Easter! On February 14th, FLPC will be observing Ash Wednesday with a drive-through Imposition of Ashes (you can stay in your car) from 4-5pm. Then, we will hold a brief, interactive Ash Wednesday service at 6:00pm in the sanctuary. If Valentines’…

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A Message from Ellen

January 18, 2024

1/18/24 Dear Friends, This week, we held our second Kirk Night Supper for 2024, and Jodi Beckham led the B365 group that she and I are co-leading. It was a good night! If you haven’t come to eat supper at church on Wednesdays in a while, or if you have never done this, I want to recommend it! Apart from the fact that food is prepared and served that I/we don’t cook (what a blessing!), the chance to talk to friends old and new is truly valuable! In a world that drives division, here is an opportunity – sitting in…

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A Message from Ellen 1-3-24

January 3, 2024

Dear Friends, Before I completely turn the corner to begin the New Year, I want to pause and give thanks for Forest Lake Presbyterian Church! FLPC is not a person, or a collection of individuals, but a community or a dynamic gathering. I am constantly amazed at the diversity within our congregation. When I look at you I see a tapestry of people who come from every political point on the spectrum, who come from all sorts of life experiences, and people who, in any other context, might not even talk to each other. There is much that could separate…

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A Message from Ellen 12-20-23

December 20, 2023

Dear Friends, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness . . . ” is how Charles Dicken’s begins his novel, A Tale of Two Cities. That is how I have felt these last few weeks. Even as the beauty, joy, and hope of the Christmas season pulls us forward, we have also borne witness to so much loss, grief,…

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12/19/23 Devotional from Ed

December 19, 2023

Text: John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. Devotional: A childhood sports hero of mine, Eric Montross, died on Sunday after a nine-month battle with cancer. He was one of the truly good guys in sports, something I noticed even as a child while watching him dominate college basketball and never back down against the Blue Devils. I loved watching him play and wished I had just 0.0001 percent of his basketball gifts. It was later in life that I learned about his other gifts. He began working for the University of North Carolina, an institution…

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12/6/23 Devotional from Ed

December 6, 2023

Scripture: Mark 13:24-37 24“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its…

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A Message from Ellen 12-6-23

December 6, 2023

December 6, 2023 Dear Friends, The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was talking with a friend who told me that she dreads the holidays because she has lost so many family members. She was grieving, and rightfully so. But then she said something like, “Everyone else has family to gather with at Thanksgiving. I feel like I am the only one who doesn’t have their family to eat with.” As gently as I could, I told my friend that this was simply not true. That “everyone but me” line is a lie. It might be a lovely, pink-tinged, Hallmark card lie,…

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A Message from Ellen 11-8-23

November 8, 2023

November 8, 2023 Dear Friends, When I look around FLPC and when I read the announcements in the bulletin each Sunday, I am constantly amazed at the good work that is happening – as a matter of routine – in and through this congregation. The good that flows from this congregation is non-stop. A minister friend of mine recently snuck into worship one Sunday, and as she left, she said, “Wow! The energy in this place is so welcoming and energizing.” I have been teaching Officer Training every Sunday morning before worship for the Elders and Deacons that you elected…

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11/8/23 Devotional from Ed

November 8, 2023

Text: Psalm 1 1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; 2 but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,…

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10/31/23 Devotional from Ed

October 31, 2023

Text: Genesis 2: 19 (CEB version) So the Lord God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. Devotional: In October’s Stephen Ministry meeting, one of our Stephen Leaders mentioned the recent loss of Rico, a SLED K-9 that died during a manhunt in September. This member had a special connection to Rico’s handler, as do all of our law enforcement officers who have the privilege of working with K-9s. More than 100 service K-9s, their…

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A Message from Ellen 10-25-23

October 25, 2023

October 25, 2023 Dear Friends, My heart breaks as I watch the news or read about the human explosion and tragic war in Israel and Palestine. I was heartened that so many of you made the effort to attend the vigil at the Jewish Community Center when we sent out an invitation to our congregation. And I know that you did that to show support to our Jewish neighbors and friends. But as the body count mounts and the sides begin to be entrenched, it is difficult to know what we can DO, beyond obsessing over the news (which is…

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9/20/23 Devotional from Ed

September 20, 2023

Scripture: Psalm 25:16-17 (CEB) Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Devotional: One of the books we use in FLPC’s grief group is Good Mourning: Getting Through Your Grief by Allan Hugh Cole, and I like it because it puts things in language that I find relatable. For example, Cole writes that all humans have two things in common: We all have the capacity for love, affection, and devotion to others We all suffer loss It sounds obvious, but it took someone else’s gift of writing…

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