Second Presbyterian Church

• A Letter from the Co-directors
• Leadership
• Philosophy
• Vision and Mission
• Bible Study Opportunities
• Fellowship Opportunities
• Growth Opportunities
• Mentoring Opportunities
• Outreach Opportunities
• Suggested Reading

Meet and greet our guest pastor’s wife

September 3, 2009 - Fellowship Hall - 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

This is an opportunity to meet and listen to Barbara Ryan, wife of Skip Ryan, our guest pastor during the month of September.

Barbara Ryan was born and raised in the Washington, D.C., area. She came to Christ as a freshman at Bucknell University and was nurtured in her faith by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Fourth Presbyterian Church. Upon graduation from Bucknell in 1976, Barbara worked for one year as a youth intern at Fourth.

In 1977 Barbara moved to Charlottesville to enter the University of Virginia Law School, where she met and married her minister husband, Skip Ryan. After graduation from law school in1980, Barbara practiced law full-time until the birth of their son, Chris, in 1983. Thereafter Barbara practiced law part-time, devoting the bulk of her time to the nurture of Chris, who was soon joined by sisters Carey (1985) and Bekah (1987). Parenting Bekah has been especially poignant, since she is a severely developmentally delayed girl with autistic tendencies.

In 1991 Barbara and her family enjoyed a six-month sabbatical serving All Angels Episcopal Church on the West Side of Manhattan. While there, the Ryans received and accepted a call to move to Dallas, Texas, to serve Park Cities Presbyterian Church from which he retired in the fall of 2006.  Skip now serves as Chancellor at Redeemer Theological Seminary.   Since their move to Dallas, Barbara has done retreat speaking, counseling, teaching, and freelance writing. For the first half of 1996 Barbara worked as an interim curriculum director for a new educational company, Voyager Expanded Learning.   Barbara’s passion is creative expression, both verbal and written, for the spiritual encouragement of people.

Make plans to attend the luncheon and get to know Barbara.  She is anxious to meet you!

 Annual Christmas Coffee

  December 8, 2009 - C310 and the Salmon Room - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon

  Guest Speakers:  Frances Thompson will be our guest speaker.

Frances Thompson and her husband, Alex, are lifetime Memphians and graduates of Vanderbilt. She has been a member of Second most of her 35 years of marriage. They have 3 sons, A, Norfleet and Tread and 2 daughters-in-law, Margaret and Chancey, all of whom currently live in Memphis and attend Second. She has been involved in Mother's Heart, Community Awareness Ministry, taught Sunday School, and enjoyed foreign mission trips. She is currently enjoying working with City Serve Explorers which is a monthly site visit for members to experience Second's ministry partners working throughout Memphis serving the needy. Alex is an elder at Second and he and Frances serve as mentors in the Crossroads Sunday School class.

Mission Conference Luncheon

February 25, 2010 - Fellowship Hall - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.  

Guest Speaker:  Joke van Opstal - Cambodia

Ms. Joke van Opstal is the program director of the Hope program in Cambodia.  She has worked in Cambodia since 1993.  Originally from the Netherlands, she started her ministry to Cambodian children in 1994 and joined World Relief the same year.  Today, the multi-faceted Hope program directly impacts about 25,000 children and teenagers as well as 4,000 adults every week.  At weekly clubs and meetings, children learn about preventative health, values and Bible stories, and teens learn about HIV/AIDS, values and life skills for making wise choices to prevent AIDS.  Hope also provides training for adults who meet weekly in cell churches and minister to their communities, including caring for people living with AIDS.  Ms. van Opstal has adopted six Cambodian children.  She and her family live in Phnom Penh.

WOC Out of the Box Luncheon

May 18, 2010

Speaker:  Ginger Threlkeld

The Fullness of His Grace

Ginger is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, but has called Memphis home since 1997.  She is married to Steve Threlkeld who has been a member of 2nd Presbyterian for 35 years.   Steve and Ginger are members of the Community for Christ class.   They are the parents of Colin, age 12, and Blair, age 9. Ginger graduated from University of Mississippi and also earned her Master’s degree at the University of Alabama.  She worked as a social worker for 10 years in the mental health field before becoming a full-time mother/home manager.

At Second, she has been active as a Mother’s Heart group leader, a Sunday School teacher, a VBS teacher, and as a member of the leadership team for her Congregational Community.  She enjoys co-leading a weekly women’s Bible study in the community as well.  She served as chair for the Terrific Tuesday hostess team and is currently the president of the Women of the Church.  Her theme for this year for the WOC is “THE FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE”, based on the verse from John 1:16, “from the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another.”  

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT 

September 5 and November 9, 2009; February 5 and May 7, 2010 - Recption Lobby by the Bookmark Bookstore 

Looking for a casual evening of fun and fellowship with other ladies?  Needing a night out with “the girls”?  Wanting an opportunity to invite a friend to something at Second?  Join us for Girls’ Night Out!  We’ll meet in the Gathering Area (by the Second Cup coffee bar) to enjoy your favorite coffee drink and delicious desserts and programs designed to enrich and entertain women of all ages. 

Thursday, September 10, 7:30 p.m.

Girls' Night Out  featuring Leo and Soh-Hyun Altino, Sunday night service worship leaders, who will entertain us with music and answer questions about their interesting lives.

Women's Retreat 2010 

April 9-11, 2010 - Victory Ranch

The Choice of Grace                                                            

Ladies!  How would you like to slip away for a revitalizing weekend a short distance from the city?  Join the women of 2PC for the Women’s Weekend Retreat at Victory Ranch in Bolivar, TN.  We will put our busy lives on hold and take time to study God’s Word, pray, and enjoy His glorious creation. 

Our keynote speaker. Dr. Alice Mathews of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, will challenge us in the choices we make as we focus on His amazing Grace.  As Christian women, we want to make choices in our daily lives that accord with Scripture and God's purposes.  We will look at some biblical principles shining through the lives of individual women in the Bible on how we can make the right choices in daily life. 

The weekend offers fellowship, great food, laughter for women of all ages.  Consider coming and inviting the women in your family  - mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, etc.

Look for registration information in late 2009 but mark your calendars now and plan to register early as space is limited.