Marks of the True Christian

When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome, one of the topics that he discussed was what we call marks of the true Christian.

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 1

I thought that this month, I would share with you some of the places here at The Presbyterian Church where I have seen some of these marks.

Let love be genuine. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers. This month the disastrous explosion in Rustic Ridge gave the entire community an opportunity to respond through donations of food, drink, clothing, prayer, monetary donations, and other creative responses. Who are the needy saints? Certainly, the families and neighborhood directly impacted by the explosion, but also the neighbors and emergency responders who put themselves in harms way to do as much as they could to limit the damage and loss. The saints also include those who have relatives, friends or neighbors who were impacted and those who care for them as we all navigate this tragedy. Who are the strangers? The strangers are those we may not know by name but denied themselves to help our neighbors. The community has responded mightily to this need and continues to care through continued fundraising, tangible donations, and prayer vigils. We sponsored a prayer and pizza gathering in the pavilion and a car wash to allow our youth to contribute to the response in a hands-on and meaningful way.

1 The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ro 12:9–17.

Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. To make space for A One Room Schoolhouse, we relocated the Children’s Library to shelves in the main floor library. The former Children’s Library room has been converted to a meeting room with a door that closes for privacy. AA and Al-Anon have graciously moved their supplies to this space and Al-Anon is using it for their meetings. This change created a large space in the Primary rooms, the 3 colorful rooms downstairs that are separated by folding doors, for A One Room Schoolhouse. This program will provide home-school support for up to 20 youth.

Take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. This month the Session has decided to reseed the Benevolence Fund with $5,000.00. This fund is established to assist church members and friends of the church who are experiencing severe economic struggles. To maintain confidentiality and respectability, funds will be distributed at the discretion of the Pastor with one auditor and the church Treasurer auditing the distributions. No further detail knowledge of the distribution will be provided. If you would like to contribute to this fund so that there will be money available when it is needed, please make a separate donation to The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek and mark Pastor’s Discretionary Fund in the memo line.

And finally, do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. The Session approved the baptism of Cooper James Zaspel on Sunday, September 17, 2023.

Yes, the Spirit of the Lord truly is in this place!

To God be the Glory!

Pastor Frank Hancock

Email: pastor@plumcreekpc.com

Office: (412) 793-4525

Cell Phone: (412) 860-3719 – Please feel free to leave a message.