big and as healthy as its roots. Even if you Worship in March · PDF file ·...

12345 West Main St., An 1 Cross Roads Church | 8102 Midcrown Drive, San Antonio, TX 78239 | 210.657.4441

March 2018

Worship in March

Sundays:

9am & 11:05am March 4 Worship Note: Communion 2 Kings 5:1-14

Great Faith: Stories of a Great Big God: Namaan

March 11 Num. 22:1-6,21-35 Great Faith: Stories of a Great Big God: Donkey Tails

March 18 John 11:1-6,17-44 Great Faith: Stories of a Great Big God: Lazaarus

March 25 John 12:12-26 Great Faith: Stories of a Great Big God: From Palms to Crosses

Dear Cross Roads Church Family: At a recent session meeting, we talked about the image from Psalm 1 of a righteous life as being like a tree planted beside a stream of water. Its leaves never wither, and it bears its fruit in season because it always has a fresh supply of the water it needs. During the dis-cussion it was pointed out that when it comes to a tree’s root system, when you look

at the branches and twigs that are visible above ground, the same picture is happen-ing below ground as well. Almost like a flipped im-age one of the other. One of our elders shared that the surface area of all the branches

and leaves above ground is equal to the sur-face area of all the roots that are below ground. The point being that a tree is only as

big and as healthy as its roots. Even if you can’t see them. The same with the spiritual life. As we walk the journey of discipleship and attempt to bear fruit with our faith - being able to serve others; being more loving; using our spiritual gifts; growing in patience, kindness, gentle-ness, joy, self-control; showing leadership in ministry; sharing our faith; welcoming others – we will only grow as much as our roots can support. That is true for the church as a whole as well. The outer expressions of our faith are only the visible part; just as im-portant is what happens beneath the sur-face. That’s why our inner spiritual life is so im-portant, and why the season of Lent is such a gift. We have a chance to intentionally work on deepening our roots. As followers of Je-sus, we need a deep spiritual life. Time of personal prayer, as well as prayer as a church is so important. What practices have you found helpful? Pastor Peter taught many the gift of Centering Prayer. Others use a form of meditative scripture reading (lectio Divina). Others seek time alone out in nature, or reading a devotional book. If you’ve never tried personal prayer time before, why not start a new habit now? If you don’t know what to pray, a very common practice is the

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ACTS model for prayer. This is a time of prayer that begins with Adoration (praising God for who God is), Confession (admitting to God where we have gone wrong), Thanksgiving (practicing gratitude for the people and gifts in your life), and Supplication (asking God for help for others and yourself). I think it’s also great to begin and end each time of prayer with silence for God to speak into your heart whatever you need to hear. Whatever it is (there’s no one way to do it), I invite us all to deepen our roots this Lent. Our outer expression will only go so far as our roots go deep. Keep growing!

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

(Psalm 1:1-3)

Yours in Christ, Pastor Brian

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Welcome to the Choir! You’re in! Did you know that you are a member of the music ministry team at Cross Roads? All of you are! The Book of Order states: “The congregation itself is the church’s primary choir;” That’s you! Welcome Aboard! We’ll see you at choir and praise team rehearsal on Wednesday! (Just kidding – or maybe not!)

At the heart of worship is prayer! Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is a vital and ancient form of prayer. The Book of Order also says; “Singing engages the whole person, and helps to unite the body of Christ in common worship.” Amy & I couldn’t agree more! Songs, Hymns, anthems, and instrumental music serve to help us interpret the Word and are the congregation’s prayers.

Music = Prayer

All music in worship is always to be an offering prayer to God. Since words are not necessary to pray, instru-mental music is also prayer! It is never for artistic display, entertainment or cover for silence and we take great care to ensure this is true at Cross Roads.

Music directs attention to God and expresses the faith of the church. God is definitely musical! To quote Wal-ter Savage Landor – “Music is God's gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven.”

So welcome to the Music Ministry! As a choir member, Amy and I want to encourage you to SING LOUD from the pews! No standing and mumbling or staring at the screens! God made you and already knows what you sound like! Worship him. You can even clap! It’s allowed! It’s biblical and not just for the Pentecostals & Bap-tists! The Cross Roads Church Music Ministries purpose; Choir, Praise Team, and every musician, is to lead and support the congregation in musical prayer. Amen to that!

Gordon Ringler & Amy Oxley


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Between Hosanna and Hallelujah

An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship

The question is frequently asked, Why combine the pas-sion and the palms? First, it is in accord with historical tradition. Since at least the fourth century, the focus on the first day of Holy Week, or Great Week, has been the passion of Christ. After a palm processional, a Gospel passion narrative has been read. Western churches have kept the first day of Holy Week by concentrating on both the glory and the passion of Christ, recalling both the passion and the palms. ... Pastoral values result from combining the passion and the palms. Many people simply do not attend worship on Good Friday. The result is that, for them, there is a distor-tion in the story. A story that skips from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead evades the question, What happened in between? If we leap from Palm Sunday’s “Hosannas” to Easter Day’s “Hallelujahs” we overlook the pivotal event of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. The journey to Jerusa-lem has the cross as its goal, and the cross needs to be kept in sight even during the triumphal entry into Jerusa-lem. Where the long tradition of reading the whole pas-sion narrative on Passion/Palm Sunday is appropriated, congregations have found the value of hearing the entire passion story. … The most important reason for combining the passion and the psalms is the relationship between the death and the resurrection of Jesus. To understand the resurrection, we must contemplate the passion of Jesus. Long, careful meditation upon the mystery of the cross must precede the glorious message of Easter.

On the one hand, an oversimplified theology of glo-ry can undervalue death by implying that it is merely a stepping-stone on the path to resurrection. Therefore, in order to experience resurrection, one simply dies, and on

dying will automatically ascend from the grave to glory. On the other hand, an oversimplified theology of the cross can overvalue death as a “work,” by implying that resurrection is merely a consequence of the passion; therefore, if one suffers and dies for the faith, one will have earned resurrection. Instead, the cross and resurrec-tion must be held together theologically. The extent to which we understand the resurrection of Jesus will be determined by our understanding of his passion. Thus, the palm procession with ringing Hosannas symboli-cally foreshadows the Hallelujahs of God’s promised fu-ture when the risen Jesus will lead his people into a new Jerusalem. Interwoven with such liturgical experiences are the stories of the passion of Christ. Thus, the eight-day week from Passion/Palm Sunday to Easter Day is framed by resurrection and death on one side, and death and resurrection on the other. The need to affirm, as Holy Week begins, the inseparable relationship between the death and the resurrection of Jesus is precisely the reason the passion of Christ and the palms are linked together as Passion/Palm Sunday.

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Stations of the Cross At Cross Roads Church

During Holy Week you are invited to walk the “Stations of the Cross” at Cross Roads Church. The stations will each have scripture to meditate on and prayer suggestions. Some stations will have an active option and all will be accompanied with both traditional and contemporary images depicting Jesus on the day of his crucifixion. These solemn stations, and the suggested prayers that ac-company them, are most closely associated with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ. This Lent, we Presbyterians will explore the Stations in a creative, prayerful and interactive way. For centuries, people have walked the station to help them remember and reflect upon the suffering and passion of Jesus. While there are stations that follow the Biblical account of Christ’s journey to the cross, the ones here at Cross Roads Church are the traditional stations that include events not found in scripture but traditionally added as a part of the sto-ry. You’ll get to experience these in both a tradi-tional and contemporary style. Tradition has it that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was the first person to pray along the Way of the Cross and even had stations built in her yard after leaving Je-rusalem. There are historic accounts of people walking the Way of the Cross as early as the 300s AD and they brought this tradition back to Europe and the practice of praying the stations began out-side of Jerusalem. In the years of the Crusades, (1095-1270) people flocked to the Holy Land to ex-perience the life of Jesus and to walk the Stations of the Cross. As travel to this area became too dan-gerous and as many couldn’t afford the trip, the Stations of the Cross were added to many towns and eventually the stations were permanently set up inside many Cathedrals throughout Europe and even in the Coliseum in Rome.

Stations of the Cross: 1. Jesus is condemned to death 2. Jesus takes up his cross 3. Jesus falls under the weight of the cross – the

first fall 4. Jesus meets his mother 5. Simon the Cyrene carries the cross 6. The face of Jesus is wiped by Veronica 7. Jesus falls a second time 8. The women of Jerusalem mourn for the Lord 9. Jesus falls a third time 10.Jesus is stripped of his garments 11.Jesus is nailed to the cross 12.Jesus dies upon the cross 13.Jesus is laid in the arms of his mother 14.Jesus is laid in the tomb 15.Hope of the Resurrection

The Stations of the Cross will be available to you in the Cross Roads Church Chapel:

Monday, March 26th, 9am-4pm Tuesday, March 27th, 9am-4pm Wednesday, March 28th, 9am-8pm Thursday, March 29th, 9am-4pm Friday, March 30th, 9am-8pm


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FIESTA at Cross Roads Church—an opportunity to be the Church in sharing fun experiences and Christ’s love with our richly diverse community. The first planning meeting for Fiesta happened about a week ago. The date has been set for

Saturday, April 28th from 11am-2pm.

Lots of great brainstorming ideas and we’ll be coming back together to formalize planning at a meeting on Thursday, March 8th at noon in the Chapel. All are wel-come to attend and join in the organization of this fun outreach event. If you can’t make it to the planning meeting on March 8th but would like to contribute to the effort, you can fill out an info card you’ll find at the Wel-come Center in the church lobby or contact the church office. Here’s just a few ways you can help: Pray for this outreach event Help in the planning (March-April) Help with set-up (April 27) Help out the day of the event (April 28) Make an extra giving gift to financially support the

event (simply write “Fiesta” in the memo line of your check)

As planning continues, we’ll have more ways to help out—watch your bulletin announcements, newsletter & weekly e-blast for updates.

Godspell

Did you notice the date? Pastor Brian, along with music directors Gordon Ringler & Amy Oxley recently met to begin working on a timeline for the Cross Roads Church LIVE community production of Godspell. The dates have been set for August 18-19, 2018.

Godspell is a musical, composed by Stephen Schwartz. It started as a college project performed by Carnegie Mellon University students in the late 1960’s. It had its debut in a small off-Broadway production in 1971 and has grown in popularity playing on Broadway and in the-ater houses and at revivals ever since. One of the songs, “Day by Day” hit the Billboard pop singles chart at #13 in 1972.

The musical is a series of parables primarily from the Gospel of Matthew. They are laced with a variety of music set primarily to lyrics from traditional hymns. The Passion of Christ is noted briefly at the end of the musical. Do you have on stage, back stage or planning talents? Contact Music Directors Amy or Gordon for more info.

March—Promote & call for auditions April—Auditions & initial meetings June-August—Rehearsals August 18-19—Godspell!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_theatre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Schwartz_(composer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable


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“Anxious to Talk About It”: Carolyn Helsel, former asso-ciate pastor at Cross Roads Church is currently an associ-ate professor at Austin Theo-logical Seminary. She has recently written about her experiences coming to learn about racism and how white Christians can answer the call to work for justice alongside of others. Discussing race

and racism is not always easy, but is worth it in response to our calling as Christians. The book helps readers to work through the uncomfortable feelings of talking about such a loaded issue and will be the focus for a Lenten study led by Pastor Brian. Pick a time to come each week - either Wednesdays at 5:30 pm or Sundays at 10:00 am. Carolyn will also be leading a Presbytery wide workshop on Saturday, March 10th. This work-shop will be hosted by Cross Roads Church in our Geneva Conference Center from 10am—1pm. A potato bar & salad lunch is included with a $5 sug-gested donation.

Come and be a part of the

conversations!

A Baby Shower ... You’re invited to a baby shower on Sunday, March 4th at 10:00 am in the Chapel. We’re celebrating one of God’s greatest blessings – the gift of life! One of our Cross Roads Church partners, Ballinishabit, is coached by Jarrett Turner. Jarrett & his wife Jade are expecting their second baby boy in early April. Come bless this special young family in love and celebration!


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Book Group The Read & Dialogue Book Group meets the 2nd Thursday of each month (September-June) at 7:00 pm in the Parlor to fellowship, review the book of the month, pray & discuss their mission focus. This month’s book is by Jodi Picoult entitled “Small Great Things.” For March, the group will meet on Thursday, March 8th at 7:00 pm in the parlor. No invitation

needed—come and check an evening with fellow book lovers! Questions? Contact Ann Zeigler.

Having a Birthday? The Birthday fund was established a few years ago and is used to purchase items beneficial to the life of the whole congregation that may not be part of the operating budg-et. Simply make a donation in the amount of your age as a thanks giving to God for another year of life!

Sunday School Sunday School classes for all ages are ready & waiting for you! Sunday mornings at 10:05 am in the main build-ing—just follow the crowd.

Presbyterian Women The Presbyterian Women are waiting on you to join them. For March, the Lydia Circle will meet on Thursday, March 1st at 1:00 pm in the Parlor and the Mary Martha Circle will meet on Monday, March 12th at 9:30 am in the Parlor. Study, Fellowship & Mission awaits you!

Men’s Breakfast The Men’s Breakfast group is reconvening for their monthly breakfast on the second Saturday of each month. 8:00 am at the Windcrest Golf Club is the place to be. (March 10th). See you then!

Prayer Quilt Ministry The Prayer Quilt Ministry meets the 1st Friday and 3rd Monday of each month at 9:00 am in the Quilting Room in the Cross Roads Church Education Wing. Join them! Questions? Contact Beth Powell or Debbie Gilbert.

Prayer Team Thinking about joining the Tuesday morning prayer team? Stop on in any Tuesday morning at 10:00 am in the Parlor to pray.

Reminder! There is a lot of activity at Cross Roads Church these days. Thanks be to God for all of the ministry happenings and partners that bring this campus alive. Help us be good stewards of our resources by making sure thermostats are returned to their proper settings, lights turned off when leaving the buildings and coffee pots, dishes, etc. are washed up and put away.

Need a Notary? Office Manager, Lisa Ringler, is a licensed notary through the Texas Notary Commission and American Association of Notaries. If you find yourself needing something nota-rized, simply stop in during office hours. There is no charge for this service—it’s a Cross Roads Church perk!

We Need Glasses! Have you recently gotten new eye glasses? Maybe you have a drawer full of old glasses or “readers” that you no longer use. Bring them to Cross Roads Church! You’ll find a Lion’s Club Eye Glass donation box at the Welcome Center in the sanctuary lobby for your donations. These glasses are then picked up, prescrip-tion verified through a licensed optometrist and then giv-en to those in need. Thank you for the gift of clear sight!

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MINISTRY HIGHLIGHT: Habit for Humanity (HFH)

Mission: Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio is an ecumenical Christian non-profit housing organization working in partnership with God’s people in need to build modest, decent and affordable houses without interest or profit, thereby witnessing God’s love in ac-tion. Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

To learn more about what HFH does, feel free to attend a Habi-i-tour or Coffee Break Tour. Read more ...

Hab-i-tours are informational, guided bus tours that give insight about the families, homes and communi-ties that Habitat is building in the San Antonio area. Led by staff, Hab-i-tours provide information about how interested groups and individuals in the communi-ty can become a part of Habitat’s mission of elimi-nating substandard housing in San Antonio, whether it be through volunteering or monetary donations. Hab-i-tours leave promptly at 12 noon from the Habitat office on 311 Probandt. Allow 60 minutes for the tour. The tours are free and include complimentary lunch.

2018 Hab-i-Tours (12 noon) March 9, May 11, July 13, September 14

Coffee Break Tours are on-site walking tours of Habi-tat’s model home, training home and Home Center. Unlike Hab-i-tours, Coffee Break Tours do not include a bus tour of our construction site. Guests are greeted at Habitat’s administrative offices with coffee and tacos and a Habitat overview. A walking tour of the Habitat’s Home Center store, model home and training house will follow.

2018 Coffee Break Tours (8:30 am) April 13, June 8, August 3

To learn more about Habitat tours contact the Mar-keting Associate at 210-223-5203 x 156 or email at

[email protected]. Hab-i-tours and Coffee Break Tours are a fit for anyone interested in learning more about how to become a volunteer, donor or sponsor.

Lunch & Love March through Octo-ber months are still open to serve the meal at Lunch & Love. Please contact Silbia Esparza at 210 860-7293 if you are willing to serve.

If you are available to volunteer your time and talents the last Saturday of any month, please feel free to show up anytime between 9a-11a to help. Any time you can share is needed and appreciated.

Agape Ministry Don’t forget to bring your nonperishable food items to benefit the Agape food pantry. Place your donations in the new “Agape Pantry Cupboard.” This cupboard is lo-cated on the left hand side as you walk towards the kitch-en.

Ambassadors’ Welcome Update 25 Cross Roads Church family members attended the Am-bassadors’ Welcome Luncheons on February 11 and 18. Pastor Brian shared a video pointing to the fears and con-cerns of first time attendees which included: Am I dressed right? Should I bring a Bible? Will peo-ple notice me and be friendly? How will I know

Missions & Congregational Nurture Ministry

tel:2102235203



where to go? Can my children come with me? What if they speak in tongues? I’m uncomfortable when people I don’t know crowd around me? What should I say? We’ve all been the new person at one time or anoth-er and can definitely identify with one or more of these thoughts. Our goal is to be intentional and gen-uine in reacting to these thoughts. Most everything we do is done with some sense of purpose. Rarely do we engage with someone or in some activity accidentally. When we talk about being intentional, we mean doing things WITH purpose. Acting with purpose means we give significant thought to what we are doing and making sure our actions align with our mission, vision and Christ’s call to us. With that in mind, we want to be intentional with new folks. Those at the luncheons were introduced to the new “vocabulary” we will be using as we speak of folks new to CRC. We have changed some words to create a more welcoming environment and one that will help build new relationships.

NEW VOCABULARY Visitors will be referred to as GUESTS. Greeters will be referred to as HOSTS. We have always been known as a welcoming, friendly church. We want to take that a step further by ena-bling our GUESTS to feel connected and part of our church family. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP US IN THIS PROCESS: Wear your name tags. Allow the Hosts to visit with our Guests. They

have a procedure to follow. Respect the fact that some folks would rather not

be singled out. Continue being the caring and welcoming family

you are. Peace & Blessings, Silbia Esparza and Ann Zeigler

Our Mission We believe that lives are

changed forever when people experience God’s unconditional love. Our mission is to nurture

and celebrate God-centered, lov-ing relationships in our increas-

ingly diverse community.

Our Vision We wish to become the destina-

tion congregation for anyone seeking to experience and share

the love of God more deeply through life-giving worship,

Christ-centered preaching and teaching, and nurturing care, through all the seasons of life.

Missions & Congregational Nurture Ministry


Community Life at

As I write this, I am sitting in my office on a recent Satur-day afternoon in February. When I walked in today, I was met with the joyful sounds from the Chapel of the UPCM choir team – beautiful. I then met with partners from Kids Hoops as they discussed the full scope of their program, one which includes tutoring, mentoring and real involvement with community youth – tremendously exciting and hopeful! And now I am honored to hear the singing and loving conversation of a CRC member’s fami-ly gathering and celebration in the Chapel. It is truly a blessing to watch these rooms filled with praise, love, joy – and plans for the future!

Our very own CRC ministry groups keep our campus humming along; rarely a day goes by without some gath-ering whether it is a PW circle, a small group, Lunch and Love, book club, choir or praise team, or a ministry team, such as B&G, quilting, prayer or nominating, the newly formed GROW team, session…the list goes on. Wasn’t it marvelous to have a SUPER Congregational Potluck put on by Strengthening? It is wonderful to see so many involved, committed and dare I say, FUN people around the building!

We also continue to host several community groups reg-ularly - Monday night bridge, the San Antonio Scottish Society and TXWeAct. In addition, our brothers and sis-ters in Christ, the Universal Pentecostal Mission Church, and St. Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Church use the Chap-el and the Geneva Conference Center respectively to worship on Sundays.

The gym was a little quieter this month, without St. Thomas More…however, we did get one last visit for the time being during their bake sale on Feb. 18. Thank you so much for your support of this school!

The St. Thomas Moore partner

bake sale raised $284!

Thank you & Thanks

Be to God! Ballinisahabit practices each weekday evening, as well as Sunday evening. On a recent visit, I was excited to see Jarrett putting around 15 kids through 4 differ-ent but coordinated drills -- completely fo-cused and working hard on their basketball skills – it was a delight to watch their energy and effort, as well as the skilled training from Jar-rett Turner. Tryouts were held at the end of February for the travel-ing girls teams. One of the young ladies from last year’s girls’ traveling team, Victoria Joseph, recently com-mitted to Hesston College on a basketball scholarship! Oasis, an educational non-profit, began a 6-week course in diabetes self-management on Feb. 28, and continues over the next 5 Wednesdays. Have a look at the partner board on the way to the kitchen for more information on how to sign up if you are interested!

Speaking of bulletin boards, check out the Ballinisahabit Bulletin Board in the Choir hallway, as well as the Quilting Ministry board on the way to the Education Wing …. thank you, Stephanie Butler, for making our walls informative, current, and BEAUTIFUL!!

As always, thank you for your continued support. Your prayers for the Partnership Advisory Board (PAT) are much appreciated as we meet to discern the process for new partnerships and the way forward.

Blessings, Bev Spitznagel


Every Week: Mondays 6:00 pm—Bridge Group Tuesdays 10:00 am—Prayer Group Wednesdays Church Office Closed 1:00 pm—Small Group 5:00 pm—Lenten Supper 5:30 pm—Lenten Study 6:30 pm—Vespers 7:00 pm—Sanctuary Choir Practice 7:30 pm– Praise Team Practice Sundays 9:00 am—Traditional Worship 10:05 am—Sunday School 11:05 am—Praise Worship

March Calendar for

In March Mar 1—Lydia Circle, 1pm Mar 2—Prayer Quilt Ministry, 9:00 am Mar 4—Baby Shower, 10am Mar 8—Book Group Mar 10—Men’s Breakfast, 8am Anxious To Talk About it Workshop, 10am Mar 12—Mary Martha Cr, 9:30am Mar 18—PWCT, 12:15 pm Mar 19—Prayer Quilt Ministry, 9:00

am Mar 20—Ministry Meetings, 6:00 pm Session Meeting, 7:00 pm Mar 24—Oscar Party, 5:00 pm Mar 25—Palm Sunday Mar 26-30—Stations of the Cross Mar 30—Good Friday Worship


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8102 Midcrown Drive San Antonio, TX 78239 210.657.4441 210.657.2747 fax Web: CrossRoadsofSA.church Email: [email protected] Staff: Brian Diebold, Pastor Bev Spitznagel, Facilities & Events Coord Lisa Ringler, Office Manager Amy Oxley, Choir Director Gordon Ringler, Worship Leader Edward Esparza II, Campus Technician Office Hours M, T, Th, F—8:30 am—4:30 pm

big and as healthy as its roots. Even if you Worship in March · PDF file ·...

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