For the week ending May 08, 2026

I am looking forward to being with all y’all in worship on Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 10. It will be four weeks since I was last with you in worship! On my first weekend away, April 11-12, Robin and I were able to travel to Tucson, AZ to attend the memorial service for a dear friend who had died unexpectedly. I had the honor of sharing a few words about her life and her faith in Jesus Christ during the service. The following weekend, during a week of vacation, Robin and I enjoyed a visit with our son, Andy, in Asheville, NC. This past Sunday, Robin and I enjoyed the rare treat of sitting together in worship at our home church in Franklin. Though I’ve not been with you for three Sundays, I’ve been keeping you all in my prayers, especially those persons on our prayer request list. And thank you, Jeremy Tucker and David Sadler, for preaching and leading worship while I’ve been away. I will see you Sunday! 

The Presbytery has a job opening for a full-time Operations and Communications Coordinator. We are looking for someone to help keep the Presbytery running smoothly and our community connected. This role blends organization, communication, technology, and collaboration in support of Presbytery meetings, events, and day‑to‑day operations. The ideal candidate is a self‑motivated, organized professional who can work independently and takes initiative as well as pride in their work.

The job description can be found here. Questions? Email ep@pbymidtn.org or call 615-332-3330.

Yes, this is a repeat from last year. I am amazed that I have been doing this PLPC article for over a year. But Mother’s Day is important. Who was your first emergency manager? Your first – first responder? Skinned knee, bug bite, boo- boo, you name it Moms were there. Sibling rivalry turns into protest, turns into riot – Moms were the law enforcement. Moms were the emergency medical team for the home. You name it Moms were there (sometimes with lights flashing) to solve the issue.
In · Psalm 91:4 we find – "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."
We also find refuge with our mothers.
Emergency Management addresses four pillars – prevention, response, recovery and mitigation. These pillars are what our mothers do for us in early life, and throughout life. Moms try to address prevention. They respond to the boo-boos. When we fall, they help with recovery. And they help mitigate or at least reduce the impact of future issues.
In · Proverbs 22:3 we find "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple goes on and suffers for it”. On this Mother’s Day weekend, I am offering a slight modification. – The prudent listens to their mother and is protected from danger – the simple goes on and suffers.
On this Mother’s Day capture the 5th commandment – Honor your father and your mother. Your Mother was your first – first responder.

On May 3rd the Presbytery met in Cookeville at First Presbyterian Cookeville. Here were some of the things discussed/decided during this meeting.:

• Some Minor Revisions to the Employee Handbook were voted on and approved
• Presbytery meetings were voted to be moved to Saturdays only instead of Thursday/Saturdays this was done to improve participation as the Thursday meetings sometimes didn’t have a quorum.
• A rule change was voted on and approved that allows new members to be a member of  a committee. Previously you had to be a member for a year before you could be a member of a committee.
• Mt Pleasant Church was dissolved, and church mergers were discussed. A recent success story of Hopewell Presbyterian merging with Northminster was shared.
  
  

We also had a talk from an Episcopalian Priest presenting his findings from a study he did with a group of rural churches. His presentation challenged the narrative of “Church Decline” many of us have been inundated with.  It was a very interesting presentation, and was encouraging.