Author: arpmagazine

Update from French Camp

As many of you already know, we have been walking through the sorrow of losing three of our French Camp Academy students over the Christmas break.  We are ever so grateful for those of you who have responded with prayers, comforting words, and generous donations to help meet the travel and burial expenses for their parents, Pastor Srinivas and Sujatha Naik.

 Joy (14), Aaron (15) and Sharron (17) died December 23 in a house fire in Collierville, TN, where they were spending the Christmas holidays with Danny, Karrie and Cole Coudriet. They were having such a wonderful fun time with this family before they went to bed, and a number of their friends here in French Camp had been on the phone with them that very evening. The fatal fire broke out during the night while they were sleeping, and Karrie, their host mother, and the three Naik children died of smoke inhalation. We were greatly relieved to know their bodies were not burned and they did not suffer long, if at all.

 Their parents arrived from India Christmas Day and have been staying with families in the Memphis area while making arrangements for their burial.  It has been a long and difficult time of waiting to determine if the bodies could be returned to India. We are now rejoicing with them that finally, on January 5, they learned that the bodies could indeed be flown to India for burial.  Please pray for them as they are traveling today and tomorrow (Jan. 8 & 9) back to India where family and friends are eagerly awaiting their return.

 In the meantime, we in French Camp have been grieving deeply and all the more so as we anticipate the impact their deaths will have on our students and staff. Please pray for the Lord to undertake in areas where we feel totally inadequate, and that we might give appropriate responses to the many questions and reactions that will surely come in all the conversations we will experience as a community. 

 There will be a memorial service at French Camp Presbyterian Church on Monday, January 14 at 10:00 am.  If you are in the area and would like to attend, you would be welcome. If not, we ask that you pray with and for us that this service will be a testimony to God’s faithfulness in and through this heart-wrenching tragedy.

 We trust that the Lord will greatly use the deaths of Joy,  Aaron and Sharron – in India, in French Camp and around the world for His own Kingdom purposes and that He Himself will be our Comforter and Helper in the days, weeks and months ahead!

 Again, thank you for your prayers, your concern, and your part in taking care of the needs of the Naik family!

 Sincerely in Christ,

 Rev. J. Alex Coblentz

November/December ARP Magazine

November/December 2018 ARP Magazine

Your copy of The ARP Magazine is available.

Be sure to read the cover story on our ARPC Chaplains on page 6. You can read the new Tips, Trends and Training from Christian Education Ministries on page 11. The Women’s Ministries Prayer Emphasis for 2019 is on page 22. Read the testimony from Rev. John Kimmons on page 25.  Contact our office if you would like to receive a complimentary print copy.

Orphan Sunday November 11

It’s time to take a stand!  Orphan Sunday is  November 11, 2018.  Join with churches across the world in taking a stand for children in distress.
With over 400,000 children in US foster care and an estimated 153 million orphans worldwide, thousands of churches will echo a united message on Orphan Sunday, November 11, 2018. Christians across the world will celebrate God’s special love for vulnerable children – and what ordinary people can do to put that love into action.
For more information on Orphan Sunday, visit https://cafo.org/orphansunday/.
To learn what the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is doing to come alongside orphans, visit https://dunlaporphanage.com.
Share pictures of Orphan Sunday on social media!!  Use #ARPOrphanSunday for all to see!

Michael S. Evans, Sr.

Michael Samuel Evans, Sr., 75, passed away on Tuesday, October 2, 2018. He was the son of Joseph Samuel Evans and Florence Sims Evans.

A funeral will be held on Friday, October 5, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Arsenal Hill ARP Church in Columbia, with visitation one hour prior. A graveside service will follow at Brewington Presbyterian Church in Brewington, SC at 2:00 p.m.

Drafted into the Army Air Corps, Michael was wounded in Vietnam on Easter Sunday 1968, and received a Purple Heart. He retired from Shakespeare Monofilament Co. He was a lifelong member of Arsenal Hill, where he served as Deacon, Elder, Clerk, and Treasurer at various times. He was elected as Elder Emeritus in July 2018. Michael served the ARP denomination as Vice Moderator of Synod, Moderator of Catawba Presbytery, Chairman of the Bonclarken Board of Trustees, and Chairman of the Dunlap Orphanage Board.

Surviving are his wife, Carol Keller Evans; his brother, John Ellison Evans; his daughter, Julie Evans Bowyer (Steve); his son, Michael Samuel Evans, Jr. (Roxana); and grandchildren, Nathan Bowyer, Sam Evans, Kristin Bowyer, and Josh Evans.

Memorials may be made to the Brewington Cemetery Association in care of Patti McElveen, 895 Pleasant Grove Rd., Lynchburg, SC 29080. Thompson Funeral Home at Greenlawn Memorial Park is assisting the family.