The Church Mouse. Pulpit Speakers for December. Christmas Joy Offering December 19th. Courtyard Bricks

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1 Volume XL No. 11 December 2010 Newsletter articles for January are due on December 22nd. Church Office: (208) FAX: (208) Website: Kirkpatrickmemorial.com Ministers: The Congregation K I R K P A T R I C K M E M O R I A L C O M M U N I T Y C H U R C H The Church Mouse Christmas Joy Offering December 19th For more than seventy years, Presbyterians have expressed their faith, hope, and gratitude through the Christmas Joy Offering. Through this offering, churches like ours support the unmet needs of families who have responded to God s call by giving their lives to the mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA). At a time of economic hardships, we know giving of any kind is difficult, but please know that any amount would be greatly appreciated. The giving envelopes are in the pews for your convenience. Thank You Pulpit Speakers for December Our pulpit supply for December will start with Joey Mills on Dec. 5. Steve Toth, Oregon Corrections Chaplain, will be back on Dec. 12. We left Dec. 19 open for the annual Children's program and a chance to sing some old favorite Christmas songs which are not found in our hymnbook. Requests will be happily accepted by Karen, but make it soon. Dec. 26 we will have an amazing sermon with bells. Phyllis Tincher will be doing her famous presentation for us. Courtyard Bricks Would you like to buy a new Brick for the courtyard? We are taking orders for them now. One line is $25.00 Two to Three lines are $50.00 Deadline is January 1, For information please see Betty Johnston. Stewardship Dinner Reminder DECEMBER 5 TH, 5PM Community Center Here is what we would like you to bring: Last name beginning with: A thru H: Dessert I thru M: Side dish N thru T: Dessert U thru Z: Side Dish Don t forget your pledge cards, Or you can mail them to the office P O Box 789. Music provided by the Glitter Girls!

2 Page 2 THE CHURCH M OUSE Church Updates A Presbytery Meeting was held on November 13 th at Trinity Church. Jon Watson, Tommy Johnston, Jerry Hamby and Linda McMillin attended. Building and Grounds: Major trimming of the bushes and the trees is being looked into from a landscaping company. A refrigerator died in the furnace room at the hall and will be replaced with the one upstairs in the youth room. Christian Education: A Triennium sermon conducted by at least three youth that attended will be on November 14 th. A youth New Year s event is being planned for Anderson Hall in conjunction with Grace Baptist Church in Parma. ****Deron Beck, head of Christian Education, is interested in finding people who want to participate in an adult bible study group. Please contact Deron Beck if you are interested**** Finance, Stewardship and Memorials: The finance committee has met and will be sending out letters for stewardship. On December 5 th, at 5 P.M., a meal will be provided at Anderson Hall by Session with the congregation bringing side dishes and desserts. The quilt drawing will also be held that evening. Worship: Steven s Ministries cannot come here at the current time, but will be kept in mind for future use. Fellowship: Halloween party went great! Thanks to all who helped make this a successful and fun time for the kids. Louise wants to give a special thanks to Tom Johnston, who was a wonderful bingo caller. Times for the carnival were set for next year to be 6:30 to 8:00 P.M. Nominating Committee: The committee is currently discussing possible candidates for Session and Deacons. Submitted by: Linda McMillin, Clerk November session notes. N e x t S e s s i o n meeting is M o n d a y, December 6 th at 7:00 P.M. The Session would like to keep you informed in any way we can. For your own reference on who is in charge of the various areas, here is a list as it currently stands. Session Committee Designations: Session Information: Christian Education - Deron Beck Fellowship - Louise Duspiva Outreach - Evangelism - Sherman Takatori Worship - Karen Cornwell Stewardship and Finance - Jerry Hamby, Jon Watson and Gary Rohwer Building and Grounds - John Hartman, Jenny Brown and Linda McMillin These are the people you may contact if you have a suggestion or concern.

3 VOLUME XL N O. 11 Page 3 Thank You! Women s Association Our Church Family A big thanks to Susan Larson for all the updating and making of the new Christmas decorations. There looks like a lot of work and love put into them! Also, thanks to Jean Kearney and everyone that helped to put all this together for the start of Advent season. Thanks to Linda McMillin for doing most of the decorations in Anderson Hall for the Stewardship Dinner, along with a little help from your editor. A note from Karen Cornwell: The beautiful, new Christmas decorations are compliments of our men's group. They generously donated for this project. If the amount falls short, the remainder will be funded from the Movie Night at the Motor-Vu receipts. THANKS TO THE MEN! 12/04 Annabelle Edmonds 12/05 Jim Barbour 12/07 Carol Young 12/07 Diane Warren 12/10 J J Young 12/12 Mike Harris 12/12 Charles Jenkins 12/16 Jessie Thomas 12/17 Brandon Brown 12/24 Danny Renfro 12/28 Megan Johnson 12/28 Taylor Leigh Those who are interested in taking on a speaking part or helping with props for this months Cantata (December 19th) are urged to contact Nathan Leigh at , o r E - m a i l h i m a t nathanleigh@cableone.net. Thanks! Request For Help Women's Association News The Women s Association will be meeting on Saturday, December 11th at the home of Betty Johnston. We will be having a potluck lunch at 12 noon, followed by our meeting. Ladies, don't forget to sell all those quilt tickets and return the tickets and money to Karen Cornwell by next Sunday, December 5. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Stewardship Dinner that evening in the Community House. The Women of Sterry Church have invited the Kirkpatrick women to join them for their annual Women's Advent Service on Wednesday, December 8. The social and dessert time begins at 6:30 and the worship service begins at 7:00. There will be special music, and communion will be served. The annual Kirkpatrick Women's Christmas Luncheon will be Saturday, December 11, at the home of Betty Johnston. This is a potluck lunch beginning at 12 noon. There will be a short Christmas program following the lunch and fellowship time. Submitted by: Glenda Leigh

4 Page 4 T HE C H UR C H M O US E PEO Concert Information Lions Schedule Happy Holidays! 01/04 Joan Hilliard Our Community & Beyond 12/07 Vearl Sorenson 12/14 Bonnie Nichols No Lions until 1/4/2011 Chapter BD, P.E.O. will host their annual piano-organ duet program with Debbie and Karen on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary of KMCC. Included in the Christmas program will be a few 'sing-a-long' oldies. All are welcome.

5 VOLUME XL N O. 11 Page 5 Atheism what s it about Thanks to Bill Fletcher for this article. At the heart of atheism is an appealing premise: My will be done, not yours. If atheism is true, and there is no God, then everything really is all about me, and what I want, and what I can get. No wonder it strikes such a chord in our self-obsessed culture. Take the pulse of modern culture: it pounds with me, me, and me. Ads tell you: Indulge yourself! You deserve it! You can buy your lunch and your coffee made your way. Flip open a magazine, or browse the best-sellers, to find ten easy tips on how you can have what you want, right here, right now. In our post-christian culture it s empowerment. We are told to follow our hearts, seek our deepest desires, and do what feels good. Indeed, if atheism is true, there is no ultimate purpose to life, so we might as well go for self-indulgence. In other words, the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a significant obstacle to self-indulgence. No wonder atheism is so popular. In contrast, if God is real, then such a focus on the self is ultimately destructive. Christians believe that they are alienated from God by the fall and damaged by their own sins and if left to our own devices, we will go wrong. To follow our own impulse is to wander without guidance farther away from the path that leads to true s e l f -k now l e d g e i n a relationship with God who knows us completely. If God is who Christians say He is, then our bodies are temples, not toys for abuse or pleasure. If God is who He has revealed Himself to be in Christ Jesus, then the path to true selfhood is the narrow way, the way of the Cross, and love of God. Yet, atheism is a curious mixture. On the one hand, it provides for a rejection of civilization entirely. On the other hand, atheists don t generally advocate lawlessness nor a return to barbarism. In fact, atheists show a remarkable streak of optimism about human nature. The atheist feels that the human race can be fixed. Despite all the colossal failures of the perfect society, especially the ones of the 20th century that ended in mass slaughter, there remains the idea that we can get it right all by ourselves. We can perfect ourselves through legislation; through restructuring society; through g e ne tic ma ni pula ti on; through drugs. We can make ourselves be happy or so we think; it never works, but the atheist can only try again. Atheism claims that we are in control of our selves, and thus our own destiny; it is the perfect faith for a culture that is obsessed with both perfection and selfwill. If our Christian faith is to be described in terms of personal satisfaction, then we are buying what the world is selling, just a different name. Christ did not die for us so t h a t w e w o u l d b e comfortable and happy today. He died for us so that we could be saved. Confronting one s own sin and repenting of it yields sorrow, not happiness. Hope and peace lie on the other side of that repentance, but we must go through pain to get there not around it. If we allow Christianity to be about fulfilling our needs, getting our prayers answered, feeling good about ourselves and our family, and improving our relationships, then we are making the same pitch as the atheists: it s all about me. Atheism is a lot less demanding than Christian faith. But in our frantic consumer culture, as we project ourselves outward to remind ourselves that we exist -- we may slowly realize that atheism may promise easy self-fulfillment, but it delivers nothing. Christian faith is hard. It costs more; in fact, it costs everything. Jesus told his disciples to count the cost. Why are we afraid to recognize that there is a cost and not in dollars? Let us not be afraid to speak the truth about Christian life. Let us reject the worship of personal fulfillment. Let us remember that Christ calls us to come and serve. Then those who have sought to find themselves, searching high and low, grasping after all the good things of the world only to find them slipping from between their fingers, may be ready to listen when they hear something new: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

6 Kirkpatrick Memorial Community Church Presbyterian Church (USA) 305 E. Bates Avenue P O Box 789 Parma, ID Phone: Fax: KirkpatrickCh@cableone.net In the heart of the community, with the community at heart We re on the web! Kirkpatrickmemorial.com Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Parma, Idaho Permit #3 DEACON S REPORT FOR NOVEMBER: Visits 14 Calls 13 Cards 8 Funerals 0 Communion Served: 72 Deacons for December: Kristie Renfro Dean Fisher Edited by Barb Sundays: Mondays: Tuesdays: WEEKLY EVENTS: 11am Youth Noon Wednesdays: Noon Thursdays: Bulletin items due 9am Fridays: Office closed Office Hours: Tues thru Thurs 9-1pm Sunshine Cupboard Please remember us in these days of need. Thanks to all that give so much. Our next food distribution: December 20th, 3-6pm Happy Holidays THIS MONTH S EVENTS Men s Breakfast: Saturday, December 4th, 8:30am. Stewardship Dinner: Sunday, December 5th, 5pm, in Anderson Hall Session Meeting: Monday, December 6th, 7pm. Women s Assoc: Saturday, December 11th, 12 noon, with a potluck lunch at the home of Betty Johnston.. Deacon s Meeting: Sunday, December 19th, after worship. Christmas Cantata: Sunday, December 19th.. Sunshine Cupboard: Monday, December 20th, 3-6pm. Christmas Eve Service: Friday, December 24th, 11:00pm.