Worship

A bulletin is produced for each Sunday morning service, which starts at 10:45 a.m. and lasts for about one hour. It lists the order of service, announces church events for the coming week, and lists church officers.

            Bold type in the bulletin indicates responsive readings by the congregation, or readings the congregation provides in unison with the minister or liturgist.

            An asterisk (*) indicates moments when those members of the congregation who are able, are asked to stand.

Passing of the Peace

            At this point in the service, the congregation is invited to stand and greet the people closest to them, paying special attention to visitors and guests.

Children’s Sermon

All children are invited to walk to the front of the sanctuary to participate in the children’s sermon. Parents are welcome to escort younger children. Children younger than age 6 may be accompanied to the nursery following the children’s sermon.

Communion

            First Presbyterian Church celebrates communion (Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper) on the first Sunday of each month and on certain special occasions, including Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve. The congregation remains seated for this sacrament. Church elders distribute the communion elements on trays that are passed among the pews. All people are welcome to receive communion.

Fellowship Register

Please complete the fellowship register found on the inside aisle of your pew. First Presbyterian Church wants to be able to contact you.

Sanctuary

First Presbyterian Church moved to its present location on North Jackson Street in the mid 1950s and most of its facilities, including the sanctuary, date to that time. The narthex on the west end of the sanctuary is a popular gathering place prior to services. The sanctuary seats 200 people. It includes a pulpit, lectern, choir loft, pipe organ, piano and baptismal font. A new sound and video system was installed in 2006, making it possible to produce or share recorded music, videos and computer-generated displays. The east (front) end of the sanctuary is connected to the choir room.

Restrooms

            Restrooms are located off the breezeway through the northwest door of the narthex/sanctuary. Men’s restrooms are on the right side of the first classroom wing past the office. Women’s restrooms and a handicapped-accessible restroom are at the far north end of the breezeway.

Fellowship Hall/Kitchen

            The fellowship hall is located on the west side of the church. Meals, programs and many special events are conducted in the fellowship hall.

Nursery

The nursery is located at the far east end of the classroom wing, near the choir room. The nursery is staffed during all regular Sunday services and on Wednesday nights, when Bible study, youth group meetings and committee meetings are held.

Classrooms

First Presbyterian Church provides Christian education through Sunday School classes beginning at 9:30 a.m. for all age groups. A fellowship supper is held at 5:30 p.m. on most Wednesdays, often followed by Bible study, youth fellowship activities and choir practice. Committee meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.

Among other groups that meet regularly are the Men’s Breakfast, Women’s Circle, Prayer Group and Scouting troop. Check the weekly bulletin or monthly newsletter for details.

First Presbyterian Church hosts meetings of the Steel Magnolias Breast Cancer Support Group.

Clicking on the links below will send you to You Tube, where we are posting some of the sermons of the Rev. Mike Morgan. We appreciate that clicking through three or four links to get a complete sermon is cumbersome. Please bear with us as we work through this problem.

How to Enjoy a Sacred Cow, Part 1, Aug. 30, 2009.

How to Enjoy a Sacred Cow, Part 3, Aug. 30, 2009.

            The Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Magnolia, Arkansas, met for its monthly stated meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The following elders, constituting a quorum, were present: Jimmy Arnold, Martine Boumtje, T.G. Connelly, Chuck Joyce, Mike McNeill, Pam Murphy, Blake Pierce, Chris White and Larry Don Wilson. Nancy Grant, Mark Taylor and Martha Talbot were absent. Also present was Debbie Wilson, church treasurer.

            The Rev. Mike Morgan opened the meeting with prayer.

            Chris White presented the devotional.

Debbie Wilson, church treasurer, presented her report. She said that the transfer of $125,000 from the church’s checking account to a money-market account bearing a higher rate of interest has been accomplished. This action was authorized by the Session at its Feb. 23 meeting.

She said that the congregation has designated donations of more than $1,400 to Haitian earthquake relief efforts being made by the Haiti Education Foundation.

The treasurer’s report was received as information.

One change was made to the minutes of the Feb. 23 Session meeting, that being the omission of a vote by the Session to approve a $1,000 grant to a Cameroonian student at Louisiana Tech University. The money will be paid into the student’s account with the university to help cover educational expenses.

With that correction, the minutes of the Feb. 23, 2010 stated meeting of the Session, and the March 7, 2010 called meeting of the Session, were approved.

On motion of Pam Murphy, seconded by Larry Don Wilson, the Session approved the use of the Fellowship Hall by the Quota Club of Magnolia for its annual Columbia County Fair Queen Contestants’ Supper, Monday, Sept. 13, 2010.

The monthly report of the pastor, the Rev. Mike Morgan, was received as information. He reported on pastoral care matters and concerns.  He said the Magnolia Ministerial Alliance is considering ways to assist the Southern Christian Mission with the imminent retirement of its director, John Miller. He said the church is joining with others to assist Beta Upsilon Chi, a Southern Arkansas University fraternity, with an Easter egg hunt April 3 at East Side Park.

On motion of T.G. Connelly, seconded by Chuck Joyce, the Session approved one week of educational leave for the Rev. Morgan for the period of May 16-22. He will attend a National Festival of Preaching workshop in Nashville, Tenn. The Rev. Morgan will have eight days of educational leave remaining (including two Sundays) for use by the end of 2010 or to be carried over into 2011.

Committee reports were received as information. Committee actions of special interest to the congregation are listed below.

The annual supper saluting First Presbyterian Church seniors will be held Wednesday, May 5. As a result, May committee meetings will be held on Wednesday, May 12.

The Evangelism Committee is preparing an advertisement and article for the annual Progress edition of the Banner-News.

Men of the Church have agreed to set up and clean up after the Mother’s Day lunch on Sunday, May 9. The lunch will be catered.

The Stewardship Committee proposed, and the Session agreed, to amend the Session’s action of Feb. 23 to take $5,000 from an undesignated fund for the provision of college scholarships to members of the choir who attend Southern Arkansas University. The scholarships were to be in lieu of cash payments made heretofore. Instead, the figure of $3,400 will be substituted. The money will come from the budget’s contingency fund and moved to the choir supply fund.

Each committee is to provide the Discipleship Committee with a brief description of its work during the past year and the committee’s responsibilities.

In new business, the Session discussed the concerns of David Arrington. Mr. Arrington owns property on College View that adjoins the north side of the church property. He has expressed the concern that the church is infringing on his property line. On motion of T.G. Connelly, seconded by Blake Pierce, the Session voted to provide Mr. Arrington with a copy of the church’s most recent land survey, conducted when the church purchased the property from the W.P. Florence estate.

On motion of T.G. Connelly, seconded by Martine Boumtje, the Session authorized all necessary additions and deletions of names of congregation members on the mailing list to receive Presbyterian Today magazine.

Assignments were made for April. Pam Murphy will be greeter and head usher. She will also present the devotional at the April 27 Session meeting. April 4 communion servers will be Larry Don Wilson, Jimmy Arnold, Mike McNeill and Chris White. Pierre Boumtje and Martine Boumtje will prepare communion. Mike McNeill will operate the sound system.

The meeting was adjourned with prayer by the Rev. Mike Morgan.