Volume 35 No. 11 First Presbyterian Church November 2018

Transcription

1 Volume 35 No. 11 First Presbyterian Church November 2018 ANNUAL TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES SALE NOVEMBER 9, 10 AND 11 First Presbyterian Church Family Life Center Get your holiday shopping lists ready! The store will be open Friday, November 9th in the late afternoon until about 7:00 pm, all day Saturday, November 10th and during Coffee time after church on the 11th. This is your chance to help many artists from around the world as well as our local Habitat for Humanity. Kay Payne is donating a few of her ceramic pieces. This is yet another way she is helping the Kearney Area Habitat for Humanity. Thanks Kay! CONGREGATIONAL MEETING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018 The Session has called a Congregational Meeting following the 10:30 am worship service on Sunday, November 18, The purpose of this meeting is to approve the slate of officers for the Class of 2021 presented by the Nominating Committee, as well as approving the 2019 Members-at-Large for the Nominating Committee. COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING WORSHIP SERVICE Tuesday, November 20, :00 PM St. Luke s Episcopal Church, Kearney featuring a Community Choir A community Thanksgiving worship (and Pie-fest!) will be held on TUESDAY evening, November 20 th at 7 p.m. Congregations are combining choirs and leadership to share in the ecumenical feast, which will be held at St. Luke s Episcopal Church (24 th St and 2 nd Ave.) Volunteers can join the combined choir for rehearsal at 6 p.m. The offering gathered for the evening will be donated to the Kearney Jubilee Center. Participating churches include Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Salvation Army and Catholic congregations. You can also bring a pie! These will be shared in the fellowship afterwards, with all extra pies sent for the community Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. HANGING OF THE GREENS Help prepare the sanctuary for the Advent season on Sunday, November 25th. Decorating begins right after church. The youth will provide a soup lunch with a freewill offering beginning at 11:30 a.m. There will also be an opportunity to purchase soup mixes. Everyone is welcome so come join the fun!!! The deadline for submissions to the December newsletter is November 15th. to edit for content and space. Lori O Brien, editor The editor reserves the right

2 NOTES FROM NANCY NOVEMBER 2018 On this chilly November day, the day after our mid-term elections, I am reminded of all for which we each have to be thankful. We are in a country that allows us to worship the way we wish; we can choose to not worship; and we have the ability to vote in a peaceful election. We have homes of all different sorts and have running water inside, without having to walk miles to find water. We have access to doctors and healthcare. I personally have much to be thankful for, because about a week and a half ago it was discovered that I had a detached retina and went to Hastings to have emergency surgery. Since then I have been thankful for so many things, like having a car and a husband to drive me to the doctor; having a caring congregation that wanted to step up and care for their minister and husband; having sight to see this amazingly beautiful earth that God has given us; and loving family and friends that worry about me. This is that time of year when we remember all for which we have to be thankful. November and December are the months of the year when non-profits and charities find people to be most generous with their time and their monies. There is just something about the holiday season! We in church are no different than these other non-profits. This is the time of year when we host our annual stewardship campaign, where we ask each of you to pledge money, time, and talent for our next year. Pledging helps us plan our next year s budget, activities, and missions. During the next couple of weeks, we will not only be asking you for your dollars, but for some of your time to be given to help our congregation be the church and the people whom God has called us to be in this world. We have a letter with a pledge card going out the middle of this month to each of you, asking you to prayerfully discern what you and your family can do for and give to our congregation. Please know that the pledge card will have not just the amount of money that you would like to give, but have room for a committee you would like to serve on or something that you would like to do for the church. We will also have a space that allows you to mention a talent that we might not be aware that you possess, but that you would like to use with regards to the church. Blessings, Pastor Nancy Gary Smith... 11/2 Dan Hinrichs. 11/2 Jon Abegglen... 11/3 Gary Murphy... 11/5 Mary Beth Ailes... 11/6 Jennifer Nicol... 11/7 Karen Diestler... 11/8 Paul O Connell... 11/9 Kimberly Townsend... 11/12 Jeremy Dillon... 11/13 Sandy McKirahan... 11/14 Amanda Badgley... 11/15 Jill Hibbs... 11/15 Mark Nelson... 11/16 Scott Matteson... 11/18 Susan Ingram... 11/19 Stephen Miller... 11/19 Joseph Allen... 11/21 Bill Oldfather... 11/22 Lorraine Feind... 11/26 Jacob Hild... 11/26 JoAnn Lilly... 11/26 Georgia Byrn... 11/28 Jill Hurt... 11/28 Molly Hoback... 11/29 Beth Johnson... 11/30 Ruth Slominski... 11/30 If your birthday is not on our list, please contact the church office. Thanks!

3 MEET LORI O BRIEN Lori O Brien is our new Administrative Secretary. Lori has over twenty years experience as a Church Secretary, and we are pleased that she accepted the part-time position. Lori grew up in Kearney and knows many of you. She and her husband, Steve, have three daughters and four grandchildren. Lori s parents, Dale and Dorothy McCammon, began the Avenue of Flags project at Kearney Cemetery, and Lori and her sister, Gail Mullins, are continuing the project. Lori is also the Executive Director of Kearney s Dancing with the Stars, a fund-raising project of the Kearney Rotary Clubs. Lori is anxious to meet you, so stop by the office and introduce yourself! OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOX November 12-19, 2018 Operation Christmas Child is so much more than delighting a child in need with a simple gift. In the hands of local churches, every gift-filled shoebox is a powerful tool for evangelism and discipleship transforming the lives of children and their families around the world through the Good News of Jesus Christ! After receiving shoebox gifts, boys and girls are invited to enroll in The Greatest Journey, our 12-lesson discipleship program where children learn what it means to faithfully follow Christ and share their faith with others. Many children are coming to Christ as they study the lessons. A girl from Mongolia said: Through these lessons, I became a Christian and started going to church. Now I pray to God. Before I received Jesus as my Savior, I had fear in my heart. Now I feel peace and all my fears are gone. I thank God. Since 1993, Samaritan s Purse has distributed over 135 million shoebox gifts to children in over 150 countries and territories in Jesus name. Every shoebox gift is an expression of God s love that brings joy and the Good News of Jesus Christ to a child in need. Make up your own shoebox. Shoeboxes and brochures are available in the Narthex. Items you can include in your shoebox are: School Supplies, Hygiene Items, Toys, T-shirts, Small Stuffed Animals, etc. NO CANDY AND TOOTHPASTE. Other ways you can help: 1. Donate money to pay for shipping the boxes. A donation of $9.00 per box would be greatly appreciated. Make checks payable to: Samaritan s Purse. 2. Help during the week of the collections when boxes are received from around the area (over 9,000 boxes were collected and packed last year here at this collection site). 3. Your prayers. Shoeboxes and brochures of what to put in the shoeboxes are available in the Narthex!!! FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH is the collection site for the Operation Christmas Child project. For more information, go to

4 Thank you s Thank you to Kay Payne who has donated a piece of her pottery to the church art collection. Check it out in the library! Dear Church family, Thank you again for the beautiful flowers I love the yellow fall mums. I appreciate your continued prayers and for remembering me along with the other 90+ year olds in the special service. I am sorry I cannot attend I seem to be able to hear only when the conversation is one on one or written down. A special thanks for visits from several of you and especially Annabelle who keeps me up to date on church happenings. Sincerely, Mabel Patterson VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE LESSONS AND CAROLS WORSHIP SERVICE ON DECEMBER 30TH Nine readers are needed for our December 30th worship service, which will be Lessons and Carols. If you are interested in participating, please call Lori at the church office, REJOICING SPIRIT SERVICE Sunday, November 18-3:00 PM First Lutheran Church Rejoicing Spirit Service is an inclusive worship service adapted to meet the needs of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities! Participants come from a variety of community churches while First Lutheran Church hosts this monthly Rejoicing Spirits worship on the third Sunday each month for the next three months. Although the Rejoicing Spirits service is adapted to more readily engage people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, it remains inspiring and meaningful to everyone who attends. The Rejoicing Spirits ministry intentionally reaches out to these individuals and invites them to hear about God s love and grace. For more information, or if you would like to assist in the worship experience, contact Pastor John Gosswein at pr.john.foc@gmail.com or call the Family of Christ Lutheran Church office at HANDBELL CONCERT Sunday, December 7:00 P.M. Merryman Performing Arts Center The Handbell Choirs of First Presbyterian, First United Methodist, First Lutheran and Holy Cross Lutheran Churches will provide their annual Christmas Handbell Concert on Sunday evening, December 2nd, at 7:00 p.m. at the Merryman Performing Arts Center. A freewill offering will be taken and divided between the choirs to support their handbell program. Come enjoy their performance! It will be an enjoyable evening. WEATHER CANCELLATION POLICY The Weather Cancellation Policy for First Presbyterian Church follows this procedure in the event of inclement weather. 1. In the event of inclement weather, the Chair of the Worship and Music Committee and the Chair of the Property and Grounds Committee will confer and decide whether to hold church events. Advice of the Teaching Elder will be sought. 2. If a decision is made to cancel an event, all events for that day will be canceled. 3. If it is a school day, the church will cancel events if school and school events are canceled. 4. If church events are canceled, the One Call Now system will be activated to notify church members of the cancellation. RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE Tuesday, December 4, AM-2 PM First Presbyterian Church Contact Rodger Payne at for more information. REQUIRED TRAINING FOR DEACONS & ELDERS There will be a required Deacons and Elders Training on Saturday, January 5th from 8:30 am 2:30 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be served, and childcare will be provided. If you cannot attend, please call Pastor Nancy or her at nancy.tuma@comcast.net

5 YOUR DEACONS & SHEPHERDS AT WORK Your Board of Deacons and the eleven Shepherd leaders hosted the 4 th Annual Shepherd potluck lunch on Sunday, October 7th after a wonderful worship service. Approximately 120 sheep attended the lunch, each flock sat together and enjoyed delicious food and fellowship. A big thank-you to all the Shepherds who contacted their flocks, to the Deacons who assisted the Shepherds and especially to those who attended the event, brought food and helped set up and clean up. Serving as a Deacon or Shepherd are two of the many rewarding and heart-warming ways to do God s work. If you are interested in Loving, Learning and Serving on the Board of Deacons, please contact Barb Icenogle at barbicenogle@yahoo.com or any Deacon. If God is calling you to be a Shepherd, please contact Barb Friskopp at bfriskopp@gmail.com. HELP MAKE CHRISTMAS BRIGHTER FOR HEAD START CHILDREN A mitten tree will be set up in the narthex to collect coats, mittens, hats, scarves, underwear, socks and boys sweatpants for the children at our Kearney Head Start program. They have 80 children between the ages of three and five years old who sometimes come to preschool without a winter coat or mittens. Boys and girls items, sizes 3T-6T are needed. Please choose an ornament off the giving tree and bring your items to church before December 15th so we can deliver them before their Christmas break. The Church office will close Wednesday, November 21st at Noon, and will be closed Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday. KEVIN & HEIDI CHENG CONCERT Saturday, December 15th 7:30 p.m. in our sanctuary Kevin and Heidi Cheng will provide a concert of keyboard and violin in our sanctuary on December 15th. A freewill offering will be taken. A reception in the Family Life Center will be held after the concert. In December, the office will be closed December 22nd January 1st.

6 POINSETTIAS FOR CHRISTMAS How many? (Cost is $15.00 each Payable to the church in advance) NAME ADDRESS PHONE Given in Honor of or Given in Memory of Please place orders for poinsettias by Wednesday, November 28th. Orders received after November 28th will not be guaranteed due to the high demand for poinsettias. MARK YOUR CALENDAR! CHRISTMAS PAGEANT ON DECEMBER 16TH The worship service on December 16th will be a Christmas Pageant by the children and youth. LONGEST NIGHT SERVICE The Longest Night Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 20th in the sanctuary. CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE Candlelight Christmas Eve Services will be held at 7:00 p.m. on December 24th.

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8 First Presbyterian Church th Avenue Kearney, NE WORSHIP SCHEDULE OFFICE HOURS 9:15/9:30 am Adult/Youth Sunday School Monday through Friday 10:30 am Worship Service 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Minister: Every Member of this Church Rev. Nancy Tuma, Interim Pastor, nancytuma@comcast.net Lori O Brien, Administrative Secretary, fpchurch@citlink.net Susan Wallace, Financial Administrator Dennis Shultz, Custodian Sandy McKirahan, Music Director Clayton Moyer, Chancel Choir Director Angela Wright, Bell Choir Director Connie Moon & Susan Wallace, Organists Sharon Rees, Accompanist Lynette Cobb & Madison Cobb, Nursery Tiffany Tarvestad, Website Coordinator Website: