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November 2023
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 Yesterday's audio broadcast on Zoom and simulcast to Facebook received excellent reviews. Music was finally crisp and clear. The spoken word was excellent.
As a result, viewers praised the production for its high audio quality. While we occasionally experienced short bursts of static, we have found a lead on how to isolate that interference. We will try to totally eliminate it this week. Even with the occasional static, the production team is determined to deliver a high-quality audio experience and we are getting much closer, thanks to the efforts and patience of Charlanne Brown, Rick Roberts, and our wonderful choir. Thanks to all our folks at home and traveling, who have joined the service, despite the technical difficulties of the past few months. We even had Kathleen checkin in from Hot Springs, Arkansas yesterday on her journey westward. With our updated wireless audio system, our efforts are paying off; as example, we can now enjoy mouse-free listening! Our mice will have to dine on wires, elsewhere!  Little-Known Memorial Day History; Submitted to the FKPC website by Brigadier General (Retired) Richard K. Sele I am delighted to present to you today a very interesting guest article sent to me by a friend, Richard Sele, for Memorial Day weekend. The commonly held belief is that the first commemoration of Memorial Day occurred in 1866 when women laid flowers on the graves of Civil War soldiers in Mississippi. One little-known, maybe even overlooked, event is that freed slaves paid tribute to the fallen in 1865. Writer and Professor at Yale David Blight wrote about this event in his 2001 book Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. Freed slaves and white missionaries came together on 1 May 1865 in Charleston, SC to memorialize soldiers that were buried in unmarked graves at a former racetrack where Confederates held Union prisoners. In the days leading up to the event, the former slaves reorganized the graves into rows and built a 10-foot white fence around them, with the words “Martyrs of the Race Course” written in black letters on an archway. Starting at 9am on the 1st, about 10,000 Charlestonians, mostly black, participated in the event. Children sang songs, aid groups and former Union officers gave remarks, and pastors provided sermons and prayers. They held a parade around the racetrack and decorated the graves with flowers. Picnics followed and, in the afternoon, three black and white Union regiments performed drill and ceremony around the graves. Years later when the racetrack was torn down, the graves were relocated to the national cemetery in Beaufort, SC. Aside from two articles reporting on the 1865 event in The New York Tribune and The Charleston Courier, any memories of the celebration disappeared with that relocation. However, there is a sketch of the event housed in The Library of Congress. Interesting to note, Blight gave a talk about Memorial Day in 2001 at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. After the discussion, a black woman who grew up in Charleston approached him and said that her grandfather used to tell her a story of a parade at the old race track. She never knew if it was true but Blight’s account confirmed it. Information gathered from “The Overlooked Black History of Memorial Day” by Olivia Waxman for Time (May 22, 2020) and “One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed African Americans” by Dave Roos for History Channel (May 24, 2019 and updated May 16, 2023).   Brigadier General (Retired) Richard K. Sele began his career in the U.S. Army as an enlisted Interrogator and Linguist and retired 35 years later in 2018 as the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). He’s commanded soldiers through the 1-Star level, served in 5 conflict zones, and a number of staff assignments through the strategic level.
He has published articles on national security related issues for the peer-reviewed journal “Low Intensity Conflict and Law Enforcement” and the Army professional journal “Military Review.” BG (Ret) Sele has an MS in National Security Strategy, MA in International Relations, and a BA in Psychology. He now works as a civilian contractor for U.S. Special Operations Command. There are now TWO ways to watch the FKPC live-streamed service; 1. CLICK BELOW to join Zoom worship Note: Use this option for meeting participation chat and interaction.  Meeting ID: 873 6259 7304 Passcode: Micah6:8 ***Zoom opens early at 10:00 AM, for anyone wishing to test audio/video connections and pre-worship chat. Worship Service starts at 10:30 AM. 2. CLICK BELOW to join LIVE simulcast on FACEBOOK Live  Facebook stream is a simulcast, so does not include user interaction, which is very important to most. It does have the added feature of live subtitles. Worship and Crossroads II live-stream links are always available on our website and Facebook pages, too. https://www.facebook.com/FKPCinOcala https://www.ftkingchurch.org/    This Sunday when entering church and leaving, a laptop will be positioned and connected to our worship service via Zoom.
You may stop and chat "live" with members of our homebound and distantly located church family! This allows us to connect on a deeper, more inclusive level connections and ensure our relationships remain strong and meaningful. Though we may be physically apart, we are still connected, love one another, and support one another. 
Calling all contributors! Have you ever wanted to be a part of something bigger than yourself? Now is your chance to make a difference! We invite you to join our community of contributors and help us create something special on our FKPC website
We are looking for photos, memories, prayers, stories, and other items to be shared on our website. Your contributions will be seen by many and will help to create a unique and meaningful experience for all. We can’t wait to see what you have to offer! Take a moment and think of the memories, stories, and prayers you would like to share. Photos are especially appreciated! Your contributions will be cherished. Any contribution is valuable and appreciated. So don’t hesitate any longer! Come join us in our mission to create something special and be a contributor to our website. We will provide free lessons via zoom, so you don't even need to leave your home. With your help, we can make our website a place of beauty and reflection. We look forward to seeing what you have to offer! Ephesians 6:12 King James Version 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.   At the end of the day, technical problems are a fact of life. If you've ever been faced with a technical problem, you know how frustrating it can be. It can feel like you're in a battle against a machine that just doesn't want to cooperate. Such has been the challenge with our troublesome audio stream. It's like piecing together a puzzle – you have to identify all of the pieces, figure out where they fit, and determine which ones are missing. When everything finally clicks into place, it's a sense of satisfaction. When you finally solve a technical problem, it's like winning a battle. We believe we have finally won the audio stream battle! Let's hope that this coming Sunday things go well! We will be testing audio again today during choir practice staring at 4PM. If you have a few free minutes at 4PM today want to listen in via a Zoom to offer your thoughts on the quaility of the audio, below is a Zoom link for today;  Meeting ID: 898 8627 0548
Passcode: 804100  I wrote this article several years ago and I thought it was worth revisiting. During these times of turmoil, concern and world events, it’s good to know God is with us. One of my very favorite hymns is Amazing Grace. I’ll wager that it’s yours, too. But do you know the story of the author, John Newton and what led him to write this wonderful song of testimony? John Newton’s life was filled with many unexpected events. Losing his mother, when he was just six, Newton frequently looked to his father – a sea captain – to help him get through difficult predicaments. At age eleven, the young lad was already at work on his father’s ship. As a young man, he found himself working on a slave ship after he was traded from the vessel he’d been on. At one point, he worked on land, in Sierra Leone. Falling out of favor, he was forced to work as a slave. To use a phrase of the time, he was “growing black.” Becoming commander of a slave-trade ship himself, Newton experienced firsthand the evils of selling human beings as though they were animals. Later, when he wrote An Authentic Narrative (in 1760), he said: “I know not that I have ever since met so daring a blasphemer.” He was talking about himself. In 1748, he was on board the Greyhound. Largely incorrigible, he derided people of faith and, according to his own journals, he did – and said – all kinds of things which shocked even the hardened crew. In January, the Greyhound was sailing home to Liverpool. They would cover 7,000 miles before they made landfall. During the trip, Newton looked for books to read. He found only a few. One, by George Stanhope, was called The Christian’s Pattern. A devotional, without theological dogma, it was simple in style and based on the work of Thomas à Kempis (a Renaissance monk). Newton began to study it. On March 9th, the crew encountered a ferocious westerly gale. Sleeping below deck, Newton was awakened when he felt a jolt and water began to flood his cabin. Furiously pumping and baling during the storm, the crew thought the ship would sink. Tethered to the deck, so as not to be washed overboard, they did what they could to keep it afloat. Later, in his Narrative, Newton describes the storm: The sea had torn away the upper timbers on one side, and made the ship a mere wreck in a few minutes...Taking all the circumstances, it was astonishing, and almost miraculous that any of us survived to relate the story. We had recourse to the pumps; but the water increased against our efforts...We had but eleven or twelve people to sustain this service; and, notwithstanding all we could do, she was full, or very near it: and then, with a common cargo, she must have sunk of course; but we had a great quantity of bees wax and wood on board, which were specifically lighter than the water... Newton kept pumping as the waves crashed over his head. Around noon, exhausted after pumping for about nine hours, he briefly rested. Thereafter summoned to steer the ship, he thought about the events of his life and how many times he’d been spared from some calamity. His Narrative: the extraordinary turns in my life; the calls, warnings, and deliverances I had met with... about six in the evening [I heard] that the ship was freed from water, there rose a gleam of hope. I thought I saw the hand of God displayed in our favour; I began to pray. Although the Greyhound survived the storm, the crew was far from land. Their next worry was starvation, since much of their food had been washed overboard. Four weeks after the gale, the ship reached Lough Swilly, in northwest Ireland. They were safely home. Newton’s Narrative describes how close they’d still come to disaster: When we came into this port our very last victuals were boiling in the pot: and before we had been there two hours, the wind, which seemed to have been providentially restrained till we were in a place of safety, began to blow with great violence, so that if we had continued at sea that night in our shattered, enfeebled condition, we must have gone to the bottom. About this time I began to know that there is a God that hears and answers prayer. Years later, as a clergyman writing hymns with his friend William Cowper, Newton recalled the Greyhound events. He didn’t need to compose music for his lyrics because, at the time, people did not sing the words – they chanted them. He did not name his song “Amazing Grace” – that came later – but hereafter are three of his original verses: Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav’d a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev’d; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believ’d! Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. I have had the privilege of visiting the The Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Olney, England where the still-popular song was first introduced. It has stained-glass windows which depict two contrasting scenes. The first is a ship going “through many dangers.” The second is a ship brought safely home. I also stood in the shadow of the church’s 185 foot tall spire at John Newton’s grave and thanked God for His “Amazing Grace.” With a song in my heart, Rick 
The Rev. Leroy Chandler is our speaker this week. Rev. Chandler is pastor of New St. Paul Church in Flemington. Being a pastor is a second career for him, and he entered it as a prison minister. It was there that he realized that there were very few artifacts and historical items from African American history in local museums and libraries. So he put together the Shamgar Ministries' Pathways to Freedom Exhibit. After years of curating, research and study he created a massive collection of unique and historical items of the history of African people. This Sunday Rev. Chandler will look back at Black history through the eyes of Jesus. His talk centers not on the atrocities that happened, but on how and why they happened. How would history have been different during that period if people had been living according to the teachings of Jesus? Please join us for coffee (and on Zoom) at 8:45 and class will begin at 9:00. 
Meeting ID: 822 7630 6920
Passcode: Micah6:8 |
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Fort King Presbyterian Church
13 NE 36th Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34470 Church Phone: (352)-694-4121 Church Email: fkpc@ftkingchurch.org Website: https://www.ftkingchurch.org Website Contact: fortkingpresbyterian@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FKPCinOcala This website is maintained by members of Fort King Presbyterian Church. |