Pastor’s Notes: 7/7/2023

This Sunday, July 9th, we will begin a new chapter in our worship life together. The location for our weekly worship (still at 9:30am) will now be our beautiful chapel for the duration of the summer. Come and join us for an intimate and casual worship experience. The space is more cost-efficient to cool and since Covid is mostly behind us, being in closer proximity together is less of an issue. Many of you have expressed a desire to utilize this amazing space of ours even more, so here is the perfect opportunity.

According to the memorial pamphlet, The Elsie (Peg) Laybourn Memorial Chapel was dedicated in April of 1987 in loving memory of Peg Laybourn who was a faithful member of our congregation when she died in 1983. Peg had a degree in education and faithfully she had a deep commitment to Biblical Study. She had taken part in and taught the ecumenical, Menninger Bible Course (which is now in its 122nd year of existence). Over 14 years, 321 students learned from her. It was her practice to make this statement to each new class she taught.

“This course is designed to make the Bible its own interpreter, to deal with the Biblical facts and not assumptions. Begin with an open mind- be ready to do away with preconceived ideas about what the text says. When you study- read it as if you had never read it before and most of all prayerfully. And early church leader, Alexander Campbell, said it best: ‘Where the Scriptures speak, we speak and where the Scripture is silent, we are silent.’’

Peg Laybourn was a faithful Disciples of Christ leader, and we look forward to spending time together, worshipping God in the sacred space that was dedicated in her memory. This Sunday we will continue to explore the theme “Kin-dom of God: Within Us, Among Us.” The sermon text is Genesis 11:1-9:

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Many blessings and I look forward to worshipping with you in Laybourn Chapel throughout the summer.  The chapel is located in the wing closest to Palmeras Drive so parking under the shade in the back, entering through the library door is convenient. We will continue our wonderful fellowship time in Cobbs Hall following worship. 

Brett

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