Blog: Forest Lake Talks

Dear Friends, I received an invitation that I want to extend to you. The Central Carolina Community Foundation is sponsoring a community discussion about the things that make our community great and the things that need to be changed. Our congregation – along with all sorts of congregations and community groups – is invited to hold Table Conversations on Wednesday, October 24th in order to identify strengths and challenges facing our local community. The whole process is called On the Table, and you can find out more about this initiative at www.OnTheTableCola.org . The goal is to have as many…

At first blush, generosity may seem to be a very strange place to begin when we talk about the values and practices that we need to embody and live out if we want to become more like Christ. It seems strange because Forest Lake Presbyterian Church is already a very generous congregation – both as individuals and collectively. If I listed the ways in which this group of Christian disciples are generous, I wouldn’t have time to say anything else.  Suffice it to say that in every way, I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the members and guests…

The second of our four values for the year ahead is generosity. It is a word that reminds us both of the nature of God and of life as God imagines and desires it for our world. The Bible is clear that generosity is a part of God’s identity and that we demonstrate God’s presence in the world when we live in a generous fashion. Numerous stories about generosity are found in the Bible, from the story of creation to the story of final redemption, so that even a quick survey of the Bible makes it clear that generosity is…

I remember when I first felt – deep in my own heart – the conviction of wanting the words of Psalm 51:10-12 to be my real prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, And do not take your holy spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, And sustain in me a willing spirit. It convicted me because I was tired and resentful and worried and I was taking it out on everyone around me. And, I really…

September 26, 2018 Dear Friends, I hope that you will accept my invitation to think about how you might grow in your faith and Christian life by thinking/praying about/focusing on the four values that your Elders and Deacons are using as a focus for their leading and planning in our congregation. We are focusing on Joy, Generosity, Reconciliation, and Presence over the next four weeks. Please listen to the sermons, seek out and read our church blog (www.flpc.org ) and consider how God is calling you to change and to be transformed to better reflect God’s love and purpose onto…

It is not hard to find joy in the pages of the Bible. Biblical texts remind us over and over again that joy flows from the heart of God and is God’s gift to us in both good times and bad. “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy (Psalm 47:1). “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice (Philippians 4:4). It is easy to make the case for joy as a central part of the Biblical narrative. And yet joy is not always easy to understand or to recognize. We can start…

The Officers of Forest Lake – Elders, Deacons and the Elders and Deacons elect all met together over the weekend of September 7 -9 for our second annual fall retreat.  The purpose of the retreat was to focus our hearts and minds on what it means to be “transformed head, heart and hands in the service of Jesus Christ!”  And to do that we began on Friday night by focusing on four values that Ellen Skidmore and Dan Holloway had chosen.  The values – drawn from Scripture – were chosen because Dan and Ellen believe that when and where we…

Even though I have been involved with Forest Lake Youth (FLY) for several years, I have never had the opportunity to attend the Summer Youth Conference in Montreat until last week. I must tell you it was an amazing experience. Overall there were over 1200 youth and youth leaders from as far away as Ohio and Kansas. The theme for the week was “Lift Every Voice” and we learned how to use our own voice while respecting all voices as we relate to God and other believers. Each day our youth participated in a large group session with energizers, singing,…

Even though I have been involved with Forest Lake Youth (FLY) for several years, I have never had the opportunity to attend the Summer Youth Conference in Montreat until last week. I must tell you it was an amazing experience. Overall there were over 1200 youth and youth leaders from as far away as Ohio and Kansas. The theme for the week was “Lift Every Voice” and we learned how to use our own voice while respecting all voices as we relate to God and other believers. Each day our youth participated in a large group session with energizers, singing,…

Which Church is This?

During your drives around town, be sure to LOOK UP & LOOK OUT to see the beauty of this city.  Where do you see God?  Have you ever noticed the steeples that dot the landscape downtown? Which one is this?

June 16, 2018 Sisters and brothers: I am dismayed and I am hope-filled, I am angry and I am determined.   Yesterday at the Evo DeConcini Federal Courthouse in Tucson, Miriam became a US citizen together with 44 other persons. It was a beautiful ceremony– persons from different backgrounds, young and old from 13 different countries throughout the world– becoming part of the fabric of this country.  They were reminded in the ceremony that they are a renewing force in our nation.  They were reminded that we are a nation of immigrants who have the Statue of Liberty as a symbol…

Dear Friends, I want to say “Thank you!” I know that gratitude is one of the results of claiming and receiving God’s Grace. And I know that I don’t stop often enough to say “Thank you!” to people through whom God works. First, I want to say thank you to Beverly Salley. As many of you know, Beverly has told us that after forty-five years as the organist at Forest Lake, she is ready to retire. She planted the seeds that developed into the organ fund, that eventually allowed us to purchase a new pipe organ, and so it was…

DID YOU KNOW? A group of teens and adults from Shillington, Pennsylvania spent the night in our building twice in June. Once on Saturday, June 16, as they were on their way to do construction and mission work in Macon, Georgia. And the group spent the night with us again on Friday, June 22, as they made the return trip home.  They left us a picture of the group with the following thank you note: Dear members of Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, We greatly appreciate you guys letting us stay at your church. Thank you for blessing us before we…

Dear Forest Lake, The week at Camp Fellowship on Lake Greenwood has been a wonderful experience. A ministry of Camping Ministries of the Carolinas, Inc, Fellowship works to engage our community in experiences that make connections for better living, stronger communities and personal and spiritual growth and development. This summer campers have the opportunity to learn and wonder about the great “I AM” and our relationship to God as fearfully and wonderfully made children of God – who they are as individuals called into a community and living the life of faith. The week has been filled with many activities…