Newsletter September 15, 2010
From the Senior Pastor...
A year and half after we moved to Chattanooga, the Lord called my father home, just after Christmas in 1984. At that point in time the idea of planting of a new PCA church in East Brainerd wasn’t simmering on anyone’s back burner.
Dad and Mom moved to Trenton, NJ in the mid 40’s. By the early 50’s we were members of the Bible Presbyterian Church. All of my earliest memories included Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Pierce and their daughters and son as being a vital part of our lives. I know that my parents counted Mr. and Mrs. Pierce among their dearest friends. I thought of Karen and Cathy as sisters, and Stephen as an annoying little brother.
Mr. Pierce served as an elder of our church and for many years as the chairman of the Covenant College Board. For me his life exemplified what it meant to love the Lord and His Church. His words of advice and encouragement where used by the Lord to lead me toward the Gospel ministry.
The reason I take the time to tell you all this is because this coming weekend, September 18-19, my family has the privilege of joining Mr. Pierce’s family and friends on Saturday evening to celebrate his 90th birthday. Sunday morning, September 19, the Pierce family will worship with us here at CPC. For me, having Mr. Pierce present for worship will be the next best thing to seeing my father sitting in one of our pews.
Sunday morning I’ll identify them for you, and I know you will warmly welcome them.
Two weeks from this coming Sunday, October 3, there will be no evening programs here at the church. Instead you are invited to join with many others from various churches throughout the East Brainerd community, at the East Hamilton Middle/High School gymnasium for a meal, time of prayer and a show of support for our public school students.
The objective is to raise the funds needed to support a teacher to teach Bible History to our middle and high school students, not only at East Brained Middle/High School, but also at Tyner Academy. Sixth graders will be taught the history recorded in Genesis. Seventh graders will learn the stories of Exodus. Eighth graders will study the Gospel of Luke. And then, in High School, students will have the opportunity to take courses in OT and NT survey.
Bible in the Schools is a program first introduced in 1922 as a gift to the community by Dr. J. Park McCallie. The Federal Courts have ruled that under certain stipulations this program can continue. One of those stipulations is that no public (tax) dollars are used for payment of Bible teachers. The approximate cost of supporting teachers for both East Brainerd and Tyner for two years is $300,000. Bible in the Schools is recognized by the IRS as a 501c organization. Contributions are tax deductible.
Bible in the Schools mission is “to enrich the next generation with the wisdom and knowledge of the Bible by developing curriculum, training, and financial resources for elective, for-credit courses in Bible history, using the Bible as the text, taught in a controlled curriculum by trained and certified middle and high school teachers, employed by the Hamilton County Department of Education.”
As your Pastor I have been actively involved in preparing for this meeting. RE Todd Gaither has served on the steering committee. And the Session has approved our involvement as a church in this effort.
So please mark this on your calendar and plan to join us, Sunday evening, October 3, from 6-7:30 PM, at the East Brainerd Middle/High School gymnasium.
Pastor Caines