In this post:

• May and June Announcements and Events
• Ukulele Camp:  July 20th, 22nd, and 24th
• Photos from around the church:  Fort Fisher Trip, Preschool Graduation, Halyburton Dedication
• “Wade in the Water” and William B. Gould
• Lydia and the River

Friends, please remember in the days ahead:

• Sunday, May 25th:  Our Chancel Choir will sing in worship.
• Sunday, May 25th:  Families of Children and Youth Cookout at Emile’s house.  5pm to 7pm.  Contact Emile for more information.
• Friday, May 30th:   Ukulele Choir members (and anyone else from the church) will sing songs at the Kempton on 41st Street at 10:30am.  WPPC Member JoAnne is now a resident at the Kempton.
• Sunday, June 1st:  Ukulele Choir goes (a bit) Blue-grassy in worship.
• Sunday, June 8th:   Annual Church Picnic after Worship at the church – Picnic food will be provided.  We need volunteers to bring desserts, though.  We will end with a sing along.  All are welcome!

Ukulele Camp @ WPPC: July 20th, 22nd, and 24th from 5:30 to 7:30pm!

We will have classes for children, youth, and adults as well a a Bible Study for adults.

Find out more and register here: https://winterparkpresbyterian.org/ukecamp/

The sign dedicated for William Halyburton at Halyburton Park on Tuesday, May 20th.  William was a member of Winter Park Presbyterian Church.

The Dedication Ceremony at Halyburton Park

The group on the fellowship trip to Fort Fisher at the Riverview Restaurant

Many Congratulations to the 2025 Preschool Graduates at Winter Park Presbyterian Preschool!

Photo: William B. Gould and his six sons in military uniforms circa 1917 (via Wikimedia)

Friends, this past Sunday I shared the story of William B. Gould’s escape from slavery in Wilmington in 1862.  He and seven companions rowed 26 miles down the Cape Fear River to find the ships of the US Navy’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron just off the coast.  He would enter the Navy, serve for the remainder of the war, and build a life and family post-war in Massachusetts.  I mentioned a 1917 photo showing Mr. Gould in his Grand Army of the Republic uniform surrounded by his six sons wearing US Army uniforms.  The photo is above.

As I shared in the sermon, I think that the song “Wade in the Water” conveys not only how an enslaved person might escape – by wading in the water to lose the bloodhounds chasing them, by fording a river, or by taking a boat – but also when: as God troubles the water, when it’s dark and stormy and everyone with any sense is seeking shelter indoors… and those who have to be outdoors are distracted by trying to stay warm and dry.

I think the song preserves a message from a long-ago preacher teaching in circumstances much different than our own.   Music is powerful.

That is not the message that most of us are going to hear from the story of Jesus healing the man by the pool of Bethsada in John 5.  Most of us don’t live a life where venturing out on a storm tossed, cannon guarded river in the middle of the night is far preferable to the life we are currently living.  None of us yearn for freedom or have to fear that our children might be sold away.  Sometimes its worth listening to preachers and teachers who have lived a very different life than we have.  They might find a different message in the same scripture we read.  For those in bondage, the message that God was going to trouble the water pointed to deliverance.  

We all need deliverance.  Even when we don’t recognize what we need it from.

Video: Fisk Jubilee Singers – “Wade In the Water”

Friends,

Sunday I will be preaching on the story of Lydia’s conversion in Acts 16.   It is one of my favorite stories from scripture.  (Maybe you could have already guessed that?!?)

Lydia appears to regularly go down to the river for prayer.  It is a part of her daily life.  She makes time for prayer – and in so doing is open to what God is doing in Paul.   She didn’t know where God was going to lead her, but she was open to hearing God’s voice.

Do you make time for prayer?  Each day?  We can all get so busy, but I wonder how much we miss of what God is trying to say to us and do with us on days when we are too busy for God.

Find your place whether it is down by the river or somewhere else, find your place and pray.

Grace and Peace,

Emile