Sundays at Walnut Hill Church

The next three Sundays at Walnut Hill Church…

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Preaching (see below for brief profiles) 

*July 26    - The Rev. Carol Gailey

*August 2 - The Rev. David Sharrard

*August 9 - The Rev. Gerard Howell

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

The Sacrament of Holy Communion (August 2)

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

****

Please welcome these guest preachers over the next 

several Sundays.

*The Rev. Carol Gailey: Rev. Gailey is an ordained

clergy of the Presbyterian Church (USA), having served

churches in Tennessee and Iowa.  Carol currently resides

in Lexington and practices as a health coach including 

heart and ear listening, symbolic imagery, and sound 

therapy.

*The Rev. David Sharrard: Rev. Sharrard is an ordained

clergy of the United Methodist Church and is Professor

Emeritus of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Lexington

Theological Seminary where he taught for 30 years. 

David is also an active member of Walnut Hill Church.

*The Rev. Gerard Howell: Rev. Howell is an ordained

clergy of the Baptist Church.  Gerard served for many

years as Pastor of Central Baptist Church in Lexington,

after which he served as Chaplain at the Fayette County

Detention Center.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Greetings to all!

One of the primary, but often overlooked, purposes of worship is the nurturing of 

gratitude, the encouragement of praise and thanksgiving in our hearts, minds, words, 

and actions.  There are a variety of practices, formal and informal, to nurture gratitude.  

Consider these thoughts from Joyce Rupp.

It is amazing, isn't it, how we can miss so much of life? The key to gratitude is 

surprise.  When we lose our sensitivity to wonder and awe, when we simply trudge 

or zoom through the days, we can so easily miss the daily gifts of life.  When we 

awaken to what is within us and around us, when we savor, relish, and taste life fresh 

each day, our heart holds much more gratitude.

One practice that has helped to reawaken my gratitude when my thankfulness 

has grown lean is to take one of my five senses each day and be attentive to it.  One 

day I notice all the sounds that I hear; another day I pay close attention to everything 

I see, etc.  Doing this helps me to move out of my tired approach to life.  I restore my 

alertness to my daily gifts and begin again to see the universe as one vast blessing.

(from The Cup of Our Life by Joyce Rupp).

Cycling Ride Wrap Up:  The 4th Annual Walnut Hill Cycling Ride was held on Saturday, 

July 18.  One hundred cyclists participated, not to mention a large group of Walnut Hill 

volunteers and other guests.  Walnut Hill's beauty and hospitality were on full display, 

and over $5,000 was received to purchase bicycles for refugee families.  Thanks to…

… all the Walnut Hill folks who supported this effort by their planning, time, effort, 

and contributions of food and dollars.

…the many cyclists who supported the event by their participation and donations.

…our partner organizations the Bluegrass Cycling Club and KY Refugee Ministries.

…our neighborhood and business sponsors including: Columbia Gas of Kentucky, 

Kerr Brothers Funeral Home, Chesapeake Farm, DeCamp Talbott Seif psc, Community

Trust Bank, Pedal the Planet, Suter Mechanical, and an anonymous sponsor.

   …the Lexington Police Department for the officers who helped ensure the safety of 

the cyclists.

…Team One Promotions for their help in producing this year's event t-shirt.

Sunday Conversations will be on summer break for the next three Sundays. Watch for 

Sunday Conversations to return on Sunday, August 16, 10am.

Morning Worship, along with nursery care and Sunday School for children, continues

at its usual time, 11am, this Sunday, July 26, and each Sunday.

Sermon Copies - Copies of the sermon, "The Word of the Lord?", from Sun, July 19,

are available (both print and e-copy) by request.  Use reply email to request a copy.

Sunday Hospitality - Opportunities abound for hosting our Sunday after worship 

gatherings for the second of half the summer.  Check the online sign up or the traditional 

sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer to host a Sunday upcoming.

Hope Center Items - Remember as you are traveling or shopping this summer that 

Walnut Hill is receiving travel size toiletry items (soap, toothpaste, etc) for our neighbors 

who might need them.  Place items in the collection box in the Sanctuary foyer.

The Weekly Letter will be on summer break for the next two weeks.  Watch for your

next Weekly Letter on Wednesday, August 12.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

This Weekend at Walnut Hill Church

This Weekend, July 18-19, at Walnut Hill Church….

SATURDAY, JULY 18

The 4th Annual Walnut Hill Cycling Ride

*8:00am - Registration opens

*8:30am - Open Road Rides (15, 25, 40  miles) begin

*9:00am - "Fun Ride" on Walnut Hill Road

*10:00am - Complimentary Brunch

-Helmets required for all cyclists.

-Walnut Hill Road will be closed to regular traffic during the "Fun Ride."

-Donations accepted to benefit Kentucky Refugee Ministries

SUNDAY, JULY 19

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Listening as a Virtue

We'll talk about "listening," beginning with a video featuring Krista Tippett,

journalist and host of NPR's On Being program.

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - The Word of the Lord?

Text - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Greetings to all!

This Saturday, July 18, is the Walnut Hill Cycling Ride, an opportunity for the 

Walnut Hill congregation to extend hospitality to the cyclists who will visit our 

grounds that day, as well as to arriving refugee families who will receive bicycles 

purchased through the event proceeds.  While we might not immediately think of 

it, hospitality is a basic Christian practice. 

   Think of a time when you have felt truly welcomed.  Maybe it was coming home 

after a long time away.  Maybe someone took you in when you were far from home.  

Relive those feelings for a moment.  Feel that warmth again; see those smiles and 

feel those arms embracing you.  What a gift it is to be welcomed.

   Hospitality, true hospitality, is emotionally powerful. It touches something very deep 

within us - our profound human longing to feel accepted, to belong, to be loved, to 

feel safe, to be valued and respected.

   Hospitality is not something to be proclaimed; it must be lived. Hospitality is both a 

spiritual discipline and an expression of spiritual health…Hospitality is love in action.

(from Religious Hospitality: A Spiritual Practice…by Peter Morales)

The Walnut Hill Cycling Ride is coming on Saturday, July 18. Registration opens at 

8am.  Open road rides (15, 25, 40 miles) begin at 8:30am.  A "Fun Ride" for families 

and novice riders begins at 9am. Helmets are required for all cyclists.  A complimentary 

brunch will be served beginning at 10am. Donations will be received to help provide 

bicycles for refugee families.  Use reply email to request more  information. See you 

Saturday.

A Ride Preparation Meeting will be held on Friday, July 17, Noon, at Walnut Hill.

Feel free to join us as we do some arranging of Trinity Hall and other final event

details.

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, July 19, 10am, in Trinity Hall. Our

conversation topic will be, "Listening As a Virtue," beginning with a video featuring

Krista Tippett, host of the NPR program On Being.

Sunday Hospitality - Opportunities abound for hosting our Sunday after worship 

gatherings for the second of half the summer.  Check the online sign up or the 

traditional sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer to host a Sunday upcoming.

Thanks to all who supported our recent Big Blue Barrel food drive.  The results

are in, and the Walnut Hill congregation donated 228 pounds of food, which is

on its way, via God's Pantry, to neighbors throughout central and eastern Kentucky. 

Visit www.godspantry.org for more information about hunger and hunger relief in

central and eastern Kentucky.

Hope Center Items - Remember as you are traveling or shopping this summer

that Walnut Hill is receiving travel size toiletry items (soap, toothpaste, etc) for

our neighbors who might need them.  Place items in the collection box in the 

Sanctuary foyer.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, July 12, at Walnut Hill Church…

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Disestablishment

This Sunday's conversation follows up last Sunday's 

sermon as we consider the effects of "disestablishment"

upon the church's life and ministry.  Use reply email to

request a copy of the sermon to review before our 

conversation.

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - The Lost Ark

Text - 2 Samuel 6:1-23

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for fellowship and refreshments.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Greetings to all!

Pope Francis recently issued an encyclical concerning the environment

titled Laudato Si'  ("Praise be to you").  The encyclical is lengthy and

wide ranging.  Among its many recommendations is one that all people

can take to heart for their own and the earth's good.

Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality

of life, and encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one 

capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption. We

need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious traditions

and also in the Bible.  It is the conviction that "less is more."  A constant

flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from

cherishing each thing and each moment.  To be serenely present to

each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater

horizons of understanding and personal fulfillment.  Christian spirituality

proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy

with little.  It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and

appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which

life affords to us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and

not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.  This implies avoiding the

dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures.

A Committal Service for William R. Morley, a Friend of Walnut Hill

Church, will be held on Saturday, July 11, 11am, at the Lexington

Cemetery.  This service is open to the public.

The lectionary texts for Sunday, July 12…

2 Samuel 6:1-19

Ephesians 1:3-14

Mark 6:14-29

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, July 12, 10am, in Trinity

Hall. Our topic will be "Disestablishment," a conversation following up 

last Sunday's sermon of the same title.  Use reply email if you would like

a copy of the sermon to review in advance of Sunday's conversation.

The Walnut Hill Cycling Ride is coming on Saturday, July 18. 

Registration opens at 8am.  Open road rides (15, 25, 40 miles) begin

at 8:30am.  A "Fun Ride" for families and novice riders begins at 9am.

(Helmets are required for all cyclists).  A complimentary brunch will be

served beginning at 10am. You can participate by inviting friends and 

neighbors, riding, serving as an event day volunteer, and/or providing 

food for the brunch.  

In regard to volunteering, we are looking to fill the following tasks: 

set up,registration, parking, food service, greeting/hosting, and clean-up. 

In regard to the brunch, we are looking for any of the following food 

items: fruit, breakfast casseroles, pastries/donuts, small sandwiches, side 

items (e.g. various salads, baked beans, mac & cheese), and veggie trays. 

Use reply email, or check the volunteer sign-up in the Sanctuary foyer, to 

let us know what you might like to do and/or bring.

Sunday Hospitality, Part II - Opportunities abound for hosting our Sunday

after worship gatherings for the second of half the summer.  Check the 

online sign up or the traditional sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer to host 

a Sunday upcoming.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, July 5, at Walnut Hill Church…

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Our American Experience: A July 4th Conversation

We'll have an informal conversation sharing our thoughts

about the U.S. past, present, and future.

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - Disestablishment

The Sacrament of the Holy Communion

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Greetings to all!

Independence Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the freedoms

we enjoy in the U.S., not the least of which is the Freedom of Religion.

The free exercise (or non-exercise) of religion was not a given in the

colonies, or in the new nation, but was the result of discussion, debate, 

and argument.  An important marker in the process was the passage 

(1786) of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, authored by Thomas 

Jefferson.  Below is an excerpt from the Statute.

Be it enacted … that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support

any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be

enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor

shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief,

but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain,

their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise 

diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities … and [we] do declare that 

the rights hereby asserted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if 

any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its 

operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

The scripture lessons for Sunday, July 5…

Amos 5:14-24

2 Peter 2:9-17

Mark 12:13-17

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, July 5, 10am, in Trinity

Hall.  Our conversation topic for this Sunday will be "Presidential Faith."

Come enjoy a cup of coffee, join the conversation, or just listen in.

The Walnut Hill Cycling Ride is coming on Saturday, July 18. 

Registration opens at 8am.  Open road rides (15, 25, 40 miles) begin

at 8:30am.  A "Fun Ride" for families and novice riders begins at 9am.

(Helmets are required of all cyclists).  A complimentary brunch will be

served beginning at 10am. You can participate by riding, by volunteering 

as an event host, and/or by providing food for the brunch.  Use reply 

email for more information.

Sunday Hosts - Opportunities are available to host our after worship

refreshments for Sundays in July and August.  Visit the online signup

sheet to volunteer for a Sunday upcoming.  Remember that the 

refreshments need not be elaborate, just something simple to gather

around as we visit after worship.  Thanks to all our refreshment hosts.

Back to School - A shopper(s) is needed to help Walnut Hill fulfill a

request from the Nathaniel Mission to provide "back to school" outfits

for 10 children (one outfit each).  A grant from the Community Fund 

will pay for these outfits.  We simply need someone(s) to do the 

shopping.  Use reply email to inquire about helping with this project.

Sermons available:  Copies of two recent sermons are available by

request…

*"Offering an Ideal" - the church and human sexuality in the 21st

century.

*"What Can We Say?" - a response to the events in Charleston

Use reply email to request a paper or e-copy of either sermon.

Thanks to all who contributed non-perishable food items in response

to our Big Blue Barrel Food Drive.  We filled the barrel in record time!

The folks from God's Pantry will be picking up the barrel this week and 

distributing the food to neighbors throughout central and eastern Kentucky.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward