THE WESTMINSTER VOICE
Westminster Presbyterian Church
2921 Airport Boulevard
Mobile AL 36606
(251) 471-5451
Helping you answer God’s call!
October 2009


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The Teaching Elder
By David C. Mauldin

Where is heaven? Belinda Carlisle says it’s a place on earth. Her logic seems compelling, “They say in heaven love comes first. We’ll make heaven a place on earth” [from her 1987 pop song “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”]. There’s sound theology in that if love means God’s love (agape love for those of you who know Greek or have read C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves). She had something else in mind, no doubt. If you understand love rightly, however, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Wherever God’s will is done, heaven is realized in some small way. In fact, God intends the church to be a preview of heaven. Think of the church as something like those little samples you get at grocery stores. They want you to buy a five pound package of meat, so they fry up a morsel and serve it on a toothpick. That’s the church.

And yet, in another sense Ms. Carlisle is wrong. Despite the presence of God’s Spirit, despite the joys we may share, despite those occasions when we manage to please God … still our experience here falls short of what we usually mean by heaven. To know where heaven is, we must first know what heaven is. Heaven is the dwelling place of God. Scripture says it is not earth, and it is not hell. It is better than earth and the opposite of hell. In heaven, God is immediately present. On earth he is present, but his presence and his rule are hidden. He makes them known in various ways, but his glory is not directly visible. At best it is reflected. Hell is separation from God, so it is the opposite of heaven.

Heaven is also the destiny of those who belong to Christ. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” [2 Cor 5.6-8]. Jesus spoke of rewards and treasures in heaven. We are correct to say that those who have died in the faith have gone to heaven. However, the picture we find in scripture of our eternal destiny is more complicated than simply “going to heaven when we die.” We go to heaven to await the Resurrection. Someday God will raise the dead in Christ and make all things new. Earth will be transformed. Heaven will be transformed. They will be joined together. God will be all in all, and his glory will fill all of creation. See Isaiah 11:6-9; Romans 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15; and Revelation 21—22. In that last passage, the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven to the earth. In a nutshell, we do go to heaven when we die, but on the Day of Resurrection, the veil between earth and heaven will be torn down.

Some people imagine heaven to be a place. They think of it in terms of space and time, as if you could fly up into the sky and keep going for x number of light years, you’d get there. Even if they dismiss this idea as crude, they still imagine heaven in these terms. After all, how else can one think about it? Consequently, they imagine heaven to be far away.

I think heaven is quite close. I imagine heaven to be sort of another dimension. It is different from our existence, but it is not far away. Imagine you drew a little town on a sheet of paper, and it came to life. You would have all these little two-dimensional people running around doing things. Then you put your pencil to the paper again. “What is this?” they wonder. “Where did it come from?” It came from up. But being two-dimensional creatures, your little people have no concept of up. Your three-dimensional pencil cannot fit into their world (although you could draw a picture of a pencil), but it is not far away from them. If heaven is another dimension (or at least we can imagine something like that—no one knows, really; I’m just sharing what has been helpful for me), then it is not far away. God is near, and so are those we have lost to death.

As I envision it, heaven is all around us, as if you could reach out your hand, take hold of a curtain, and pull it back to reveal the glory of God and all his angels. Of course, you can’t take hold of any such curtain. But I think it is that close.

This may be comforting to anyone who has lost someone dear to death. They are, I would argue, closer than they are far away. Are they watching us, then? Do they cheer us on, and that sort of thing? I think not.

What makes heaven so wonderful is the immediate presence of God. In heaven you see God face-to-face. Not that God has a literal face, but you get the idea. This is called the beatific vision—you behold God in all his glory. You will be overwhelmed. Take all the beauty of nature, the longing gaze of true love, the intensity of the most exciting sporting events, the wonder of discovering the pleasures of the flesh, and the most compelling works of art on earth. Add them together and multiply them by a factor of a billion, and the result is ugly compared to the beatific vision. Think of it this way. I like Mr. Goodbar candy bars. I could buy one, unwrap it, and eat the wrapper. The wrapper may have just enough of the chocolate on it to get a bit of flavor. Even so, the wrapper is nothing compared to the candy. All the beauty we know now is like the wrapper. God is the candy. He made all the things we find so exciting. How much more exciting must he himself be?

That is why I suspect that those who precede us in death are not thinking about us. They are so overwhelmed by God, they are thinking of nothing but God. By the time they get around to thinking about us, we will be there with them. Your loved one will say, “Oh, there you are! Can you believe this?” And you will say, “What? Huh? Oh, it’s you! Yes, this is wonderful.” And you will begin to enjoy God together.

A word of warning, and I owe this insight to C.S. Lewis, from his book The Great Divorce. If what you want most is your loved one back, so that you love that person more than God, then you are lost. In the end you will get neither your loved one nor God. But if God is your heart’s greatest desire, then you will get both God and your loved one. Those we love must not become idols for us, as if we exist for them. We live to God, and the people we love are precious gifts from him, so that we might experience and share love. It is right to love God’s gifts, but never more than their Creator.

Another word of warning, heaven is not automatic. We are not fit for heaven. As we are, we probably would not enjoy it. Why? Because we are not capable of perfect love. Even our best love is tainted by selfishness. Heaven is a world of love, and we would be as out of place in it as a penguin in the desert. We need grace. We need to become a new creation. Because God loves us, he wants us in heaven. Jesus Christ is his answer to our need. Through Christ, we are forgiven, transformed, and (finally) made fit for heaven. We must turn to Christ in faith. Then throughout our life, he works on us. On the other side of death, his work in us will be complete. Make no mistake, though, without Jesus heaven is impossible.

Consider, why does Christianity make the claim that Jesus is necessary for one to get to heaven? Because this is the clear teaching of Jesus, the apostles, and scripture (not to mention Christian tradition). But, you may wonder, what if they are wrong? If they are wrong about that, why should we trust them when they tell us to believe in heaven? Why do we believe in heaven? Because Jesus, the apostles, scripture, and Christianity tell us to. If we do not trust them, what reason do we have for believing in heaven? Nothing more than our own desire. I don’t know about you, but I’ve desired lots of things in vain. That reason is too flimsy. So you trust scripture or you don’t. If you do, you take both what you like and what you don’t—or don’t understand. If you don’t, why take any of it?

To say no one is saved apart from Christ is not to condemn those whose faith is unknown or who never heard the gospel. Christ may save many who did not respond to the gospel in the usual way. That is up to him. It is not our place to say. He is the judge, and scripture says of him, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” [Matt 12.20]. We can hope for grace.

Where is heaven? Closer than you think. Our loved ones and the heroes of old are close to us. That should comfort those who grieve. And yet, far more importantly, God is near to us. Heaven is real. Christ has prepared a place for us. And this should comfort us all.

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Beeson Update

I am working diligently toward the seminar in January. I am having lots of fun with the assignments. The class is called Biblical Theology for Christian Ministry. We were assigned passages to study, outline, and interpret. They are: Genesis 12:10—13:1; Deuteronomy 21:18-21; Psalm 2; Proverbs 22:6; Isaiah 19:16-25; John 2:13-22; Matthew 20:1-16; Acts 10:44-48; and Philemon. I am preaching on a few of these this fall. It is exciting to dig deep into these texts. I had to buy some new commentaries, and it was like making new friends.

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Thank You

A special word of thanks from David Mauldin to all who helped put on the reception for Rosalyn’s birthday. Your participation was a precious gift to our family. We are blest to have such a loving church family and friends.
Dear WPC Family: I wanted to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to all of those who attended and helped David give such a beautiful reception for my 40th Birthday! From all of the delicious food and lovely décor, to the festive spirit and joyful greetings, it was a most exquisite event! I was truly touched and blessed to celebrate this special milestone amongst dear friends and family! Thank you very much for all of your loving kindness and support for me and our family.

In Christ’s Love,
Rosalyn Soo Mauldin

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IHN/Family Promise

Many, many thanks to all of the faithful volunteers who helped with IHN. We had a wonderful appreciative group. Be assured you are doing God’s work. We had a family with two small children come in late in the week. They were in great need and it was a blessing to be able to help them.

Thank you and may God bless each of you.
Nan Reed

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Retirement Congratulations:

After 29½ years with the USA system, Betsy Watson has retired from USACWH effective Sept. 30, 2009. Congratulations Betsy!

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Workmen of Westminster (WOW)

The Workmen of Westminster will have the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, 2009 at 8:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Cost will be $4.00 for adults and children under 10 will be free. The price increase will help absorb the cost.

Sunday Breakfast, Oct. 4th at 9:00 am. Cost will be $4.00 for adults and $1.00 for children.

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Financial Snapshot:

2009 Budget: $237,500
Needed each month: $19,791
Income in August: $17,802
Income year-to-July 31: $135,402
Projected 2009 shortfall: $34,397
NOTE: Pledge cards will be sent in October. Many give but do not pledge. We encourage you to pledge, because the more accurate our estimate of income is, the better our budget.

The session has set a pledge goal of $175,000 for 2010. If met, it would be a 15% increase. If met, we would still need to make significant cuts to the budget

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Service Commission

Each year Westminster supports a number of local benevolent organizations. Each month, I will list a few of them and describe what they do in our community. Thom Fultz, Chair of the Service Commission

Compassionate Friends - a self-help group composed of bereaved parents who conduct monthly meetings with parents and siblings of children who have died. Provides a network of "telephone friends" for the newly bereaved and publishes a small newsletter which goes to parents, hospitals, and churches. Provides a library of books and pamphlets for parents. Provides speakers for grief networks in the city and in-service programs for pediatric nurses and doctors. Supports an infant death group and sibling group which meets monthly. The Learning Tree - Helps multi-handicapped children learn skills. They have group homes and schooling facilities on their campus.

Thom Fultz, Service Commission Chair

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Wednesday Wheelers

The Wednesday Wheelers will be going to the Bass Pro Shop on Wednesday, October 28th. We will leave the church at 9:30 am. Lunch will be at the Fish Company which is there at the Bass Pro Shop.

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Smore Supper Club

The Smore’s will meet on Sunday afternoon October 4th at 4 o’clock at the Alba Club with Ray and Martha Adams as our hosts. Please note the change of date. This was such a relaxing time for us last year.

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Evangelism Commission:

“The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 The Message). Each time I read this verse of scripture, I am touched by God’s amazing love for the world. And the church is the body that reveals that love. The key for all of us is to be the hands and feet of Christ in our neighborhoods. What breaks God’s heart? What breaks our hearts? How do we serve in ways that broken hearts are mended? It’s an amazing thing that we can celebrate God’s loving deliverance through resurrection, and then go from that celebration to serve others in the name of Jesus. What if, in following Christ, we became more hopeful and less afraid, more forgiving and less resentful, more willing to sacrifice and less likely to protect what is ours. Then we’d have lives that people would notice and we’d have a gift we would want to share with as much passion as we share news about our children, spouses, pets and sports team. We would freely share the difference this way of life has made in our lives.

Evangelism is sharing good news. It’s bearing witness to the source of life and love through what we do and what we say. It’s a lifestyle.

Evangelism is all about communication, through words and deeds, where that liberating life if found. The key for all of us is to be the hands and feet of Christ in our neighborhoods. What if evangelism is helping others see the love that has changed our lives.

These comments were copied off the internet- http://presbyterian.typepad.com

— Nan Reed

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Early Childhood Program
by Trattie Ollis

We’re Back

Hello! Hello! Hello We are so excited to be back and in full production mode. The children are precious, as always. The teachers are enthusiastic and anticipating a Fall season full of delights and surprises. We have begun Chapel and the older children will participate in their first off-campus fieldtrip to the Pumpkin Patch. Our younger children are adjusting to their schedules beautifully. The teachers are awesome! In Trattie’s absence they have worked together to establish a united front lead by Maureen Henderson, our “Moe”. Each teacher has assumed more responsibility to make the program continue to run smoothly and seamlessly. Our wonderful Mary Ann Nobles has been truly a God-send. She has coached us and supported us and taken on many of the duties normally not in her realm. Thank you to everyone! The faculty has opted to forgo the garage sale for a Fall Festival on October 16, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Everyone is invited. Please include friends. We will even be selling hot dog dinners! No one need miss this fun, family-friendly event. When you need a little “pick me up” please visit our Program. Watching the children explore their world is a gift and a spirit lifter. We would enjoy seeing you!

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Preschool Bible Verse of the Month
Honor your father and mother.
Exodus 20:12

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Westminster Early Childhood Program is having a Fall Festival!
Friday, October 16th, 2009
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

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October Birthdays

3 Al Ladner
5 Jerry Headrick
7 Sabrina Johnson
7 Jessica Tadlock
9 John Kimbrell
9 Betsy Watson
10 Sybil Smith
12 Jennifer Baker Black
13 Lois Elleard
18 Zach Hutchinson
22 Christine Azzolini
23 John Black
23 Brad Calametti
24 Betty Mayes
29 Ray Adams

Apologies to anyone inadvertently omitted.

Please call the office to update.
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Prayer and Care

Special Needs:

Mari Arnold, Alfred Cash, Frances Duval, Bill Fox, Alice Godfrey, Charles Gollott, Rene Green, Missy & Jimmy Gresham, Nell Hardin, Dave Harvey, Shirley Jacobson, Craig Kavanaugh, Al & Ardell Ladner, Trattie Ollis (Preschool Director), Dorothy Otterbach, Martha Ragland, Al Reed, Phyllis Smith, Mike Sorocak, Jackie Swann, David Watson, Marge Wehner.

Homebound, Assisted Living, Nursing Home:

Cogburn: Doug Chamberlain,
Hearthstone: Mary Randall,
McAuley Place: Reggie Wheeler,
Robertsdale Healthcare Center: Lois Elleard,
Somerby of W. Mobile: Frances Duval,
University Oaks: Eleanor Conyers, Mary Weissinger

Home: John & Emmagee Black, Carolyn Cousar Jernigan, Norva Potter, Charles Richmond, Harriet Stanley, Bill Sturgeon, Bernard & Elizabeth Todd.

Members’ Families/Friends who need our prayers:
Mike Combre (son-in-law of Dorothy Moore),
Bill Conner (brother of Nan Reed),
Bill Clark (father of Tracy Hunter),
Jim Crane (friend of the Calamettis)
Virginia Godfrey (mother of Alice Godfrey),
Sarah Godwin (friend of Diane Harvey)
Robin Goffi (friend of the Sorocaks)
Christina Gregory (daughter of Shirley Jacobson),
Alfred Griffin (nephew of Glynn Teichmann),
Johnny Havard (son-in-law of Flo Painter),
Lucy Haynes (friend of Jerry Green),
Ralph Holley (nephew of Flo Painter),
J.C. Kavanaugh II (son of Craig Kavanaugh),
Eddie Mayes (son of Betty Mayes)
Pickens McMillan (son of Thelma McMillan)
John Moore (friend of the Humphreys),
Elvie Nicholson (sister of Rene Green)
Partee Family (friends of the Ladners),
Madeline Prine (aunt of Nan Reed),
Deanie Skinner (friend of Susie Hargrove),
Anita Toole (friend of Mable Kahalley),
Jerry Walker (friend of the Humphreys)
George Weiss (1 year old grandson of Walter & Dorrie Rose)
Elizabeth White (granddaughter of Jeanne White),
Kevin & Cassie Williams (grandchildren of Phyllis Smith),
Jake Winlow (friend of the Sorocaks)

In the Military:
Kenneth DeLon Bosarge, U.S. Army Retired (wounded Veteran); Pate Caldwell (son of Swift Pastor); Dallas H. Carl (great-nephew of Mary Wilkerson); Ryan Gregory (son of Shirley Jacobson); Andrew Rose (son of Walter & Dorrie Rose); Eric Weiss (son-in-law of Walter & Dorrie Rose); Christina Patton (boot camp at Maxwell Air Force Base)(granddaughter of Thelma McMillan)

In Iraq: James Watkins (friend of Al & Phyllis Smith), Daniel Powell (nephew of Walter & Dorrie Rose).

In Afghanistan: Joel Gresham (nephew of Missy & Jimmy Gresham


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In Loving Memory
Derrik Barton Arnold
Dec 31, 1966 – Oct 10, 2008

A donation has been given to the church in memory of Derrik Arnold by his loving mother on the first anniversary of his death.

Please remember Mari Arnold in your prayers, along with all who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick …
Matthew 12:20

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Nile Luncheon Club
The Nile Luncheon Club will meet on Saturday, October 3rd at 12:00 noon at the Segars Center. For information contact Thelma McMillan-479-1579

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October Assignments
Greeters
Front Porch—Glenn Garside
Hall—Jean Buckner

Ushers
David Evans
Gerald Larison
Rosemary Nazarian
Flo Painter
John Potts
Billy Wilkerson

Liturgists
Oct. 4 -Shirley Jacobson
Oct. 11 -Rosalyn Soo Mauldin
Oct. 18 -Brenda Humphreys
Oct. 25 -Thom Fultz

Communion
Elder in Charge: Glenn Garside
Alternate: Jerry Larison

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Loaves and Fish
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
11:15 am
Susie Hargrove
Pat Johnson
Marge & Don Wehner

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October Meetings

Commission Meetings
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Deacons Meeting
Monday, October 19th at 9:30 a.m.

Session
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

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Westminster Presbyterian Church
2921 Airport Boulevard
Mobile AL 36606
(251) 471-5451
The corner of Airport Blvd. and Sage Avenue

E-Mail: wpcmob@bellsouth.net
Web Page: www.westminstermobile.com

Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Rev. David C. Mauldin, Pastor
Jan Neverdahl, Organist

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