30th Anniversary

In March of 2004, West Plano Presbyterian church found itself decked in white from a rare Texas spring snow storm (picture courtesy of Joyce Jones).

On Sunday, September 12th, 2004, WPPC kicked off the first of several special events to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of our church. The event was an all-church family picnic, complete with entertainment by WPPC's Carl Jones and the planting of a tree to symbolize the roots of our church going back 30 years. In September 1974 the first meetings were held in Davis school. Families enjoyed their picnic lunch throughout the church, some sitting on tables while other families spread their blankets and

had their picnic on the floor. Ice cream sundaes and beverages were provided by the 30th Anniversary Committee. Special thanks to the church members who dug the hole for the tree. You can see the tree from the windows at the end of the education wing hallway. A plaque has been placed by the tree to remind people of the significance of this tree and the symbolism it represents. On Saturday, October 9th, 2004, we held a church-wide garage sale to raise money to offset some of the expenses of the events planned for the 30th Anniversary. Also, commemorative mugs were sold. In addition, the committee recorded member recollections of the early days of our church.

Wes Lackey, pastor of West Plano Presbyterian church from 1983 to 2000 - and now pastor emeritus - visited and preached on Sunday, October 31, 2004. He also conducted an All Saints service the next evening. Charles Taylor, initially parish associate (1998) then interim pastor following Wes' retirement until 2003, preached on March 6, 2005. On the left, from left to right: Polly Williams (parish associate), Wes Lackey (pastor emeritus), David Batchelder (pastor), and Charles Taylor (retired).

In April of 2005, a month-long celebration was held with guest ministers and dedicatory music written for this special time. The congregation had the opportunity to meet and share a meal with each guest prior to Sunday worship. This included participation in discusssion of issues of interest to the church today following the meal. The first guest was Dr. Ted Wardlaw, President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, who preached on Sunday, April 3. In his sermon he remarked, "In the church that my family is active in Austin, whenever we celebrate the Eucharist,

we come forward to stations of bread and wine at the foot of that church’s chancel where we receive communion by intinction. But when you leave your pew to go forward, you can’t get there except by negotiating your way, at the end of the nave, past a large eight-sided baptismal font. It’s in the way! It sits there, kind of like an interruption—a huge thing, compared to the average-sized font, octagonal in shape and thus a reminder of how Christians used to call the Lord’s day “the eight day,” the day of resurrection, the day when the sort of life we know of on every other day gets sucked up, somehow, into the juices of eternity and the future becomes present. ... Baptized people ought to be reminded, and often, of how their baptism is a fundamental ethical interruption, indeed an intervention: of the important ways in which their baptismal identity is forever getting in the way."

The second guest was Dr. Rebecca H. Weaver, John Q. Dickinson Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary (Richmond, VA),who preached on Sunday, April 10, 2005. In her sermon Dr. Weaver related that, "The Christ encountered on the road to Emmaus is the one who would tutor us in the depths of the Scriptures, opening, not shutting off, its meaning. The Christ encountered on the road to Emmaus is the one who would not only share a meal with us but would offer himself as our food. The Christ encountered on the road to Emmaus is one who would again and again reveal himself to us but will never quite allow us to grab hold of him. For he would not have us stop prematurely in our journey, satisfied by some insight, content with our convictions, convinced that finally we've got it figured out. Instead, the Christ encountered on the road to Emmaus is ever drawing us out of ourselves,

beyond ourselves, deeper and deeper into him." Dr. Weaver was Assistant Pastor at West Plano Presbyterian Church from 1975 to 1978.

The third guest was Dr. Glaucia Vasconceles-Wilkey, Professor at Seattle University School of Theology and former Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship of the PC(USA), who preached on Sunday, April 17. Dr. Vasconceles-Wilkey commented

in her sermon, "Here, at West Plano, this Good Shepherd’s Word, and this Good Shepherd’s Meal are all prepared with an eye for beauty, a heart for grace, and a mind for justice making. And the Shepherd’s voice echoes deep inside our souls in this holy place. But, dear Catechumens and dear church, there is danger in this gathering, danger in this water, danger in this word, danger finally, in this meal. ... The danger is this: we become what we experience here in water, word and meal, indeed, we become what we eat. ... Christ’s invitation is that you leave this banquet hall and go out: be water for the thirsty, be bread for the hungry, be wine of gladness for the sad, the oppressed by injustice, by racism and any form of exclusivism. Christ’s invitation is that you speak of peace when the world speaks of war, that you speak of justice when the world speaks of domination, that you speak of love when the world speaks of power." Dr. Vasconcelos-Wilkey also conducted a Saturday workshop titled "Worship and the Body in Motion," along with Hal Hopson and her husband Jay Wilkey - both noted musicians. It was well-attended.

The fourth and final guest was Rev. Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN. He is pictured here between Rev. Dr. David Batchelder and David Wasserman, General Presbyter, Grace Presbytery. Dr. Ptomey preached on Sunday, April 24, 2005. In his remarks he commented, "Liturgical practice makes a difference. Our Biblically inspired ethical impulses to work for peace, to be reconciled to our enemies, to include all persons in every aspect of the church's life, whatever, these ethical impulses cannot be sustained on good intentions. We need a vision that transcends our efforts and it is in the liturgy that we catch the vision. Heaven, the Reign of God, comes crashing down in our worship. ... You are thirty years old but it has been more than thirty years since many of you have been baptized. My purpose today is to simply remind you that you still bear the mark. It may have been twelve weeks or more since on Ash Wednesday you received the sign of the cross on your forehead. I am

sure you have bathed several times since then. But you still bear the mark. And I simply want to remind you of that and affirm that it makes all the difference."

Following the sermon, the congregation gathered in the Fellowship Hall for a celebration dinner,
catered by Red, Hot, & Blue Barbecue.

For more than a year we have been at work preparing for this anniversary celebration. Since last summer and fall, we have had sweet reunion, playful celebration and successful fund-raising as with the Garage Sale. We arrived at April ready and eager to consider what might be God’s calling for WPPC in the future. All have worked hard to make this time of celebration and discernment possible and some have gone beyond the call of duty in working overtime. Appreciation must first be given to the original members of the 30th Anniversary Committee. They are: Mary Ann Dudko, Jenny Mikhail, Bill and Linda Brooks, Sam Stevens, Beth Fultz, Mike Fleming, Mike Miler, Jeanne Denzin, Jim Boswell, and Sandra Calvert. This group helped greatly to get things off the ground but there are others who came to the forefront to give greatly of themselves and they deserve our deepest gratitude. We are grateful for Martha Baker generously permitting us to sell prints of her painting, "Call to Worship;" Bob Morton’s design of our special logo; Dennis Hayman’s careful accounting of income and expenses;

and Donna Deen’s careful office work. In addition, these people worked very hard on making April so meaningful to us all: Sharon Finley, Priscilla Kimery, Frank and Lee Ann Lugo, Connie Read, Nancy Stevens, Jeanne Stone, the Congregational Life Committee, and the Worship and Music Committee. And, thank you to our Conversation Meal hosts: Nancy and Sam Stevens, Martha and Bill Baker, Ruth and Bob Batchelder, and Diane and Bob Ganson. For all who made special contributions to offset our expenses we say "thank you." What remains for us now, is to savor the words we have heard, the experiences we have had, the challenges offered us, the affirmation poured over us, and the vision imparted to us and prayerfully consider the question first raised when began this journey: As a community of faith, gifted and graced with much to share and for which we seek to be good stewards, what is our calling for the next period in this history of this church?