Many Thanks for Your Fearless Generosity!

Transcription

1 Crossroads December 2016 Many Thanks 1 Le er from Pastor Ed 2 Le er from Pastor Lisa Christmas Events 3 The Eyebrow Blessing Our Inner Scrooge Poinse as 4 Year-End Giving Financial Update Stewardship 5 Session Highlights A Le er from Session The Sharing Tree 6 The Sperdutos New Team Members at The Healing Space Unifying Divisions Thanks Abound! (2 Corinthians 9:11) Three hundred and four area families were extra thankful this holiday. PCW and six other area churches and organiza ons raised money for Thanksgiving food baskets, then gathered to assemble and distribute them on Saturday, Nov. 19th at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Our Mission Team thanks you - and our resident preschoolers, as Stacy Akers, director of Lads & Lassies Community Preschool explains: The preschool students and their families lent a helping hand this Thanksgiving. Together, we collected over $650 for the Thanksgiving Basket Project. As dona ons were made, the children wrote their names on helping hands and added them to a turkey graphic. Each me we reached $50, the amount needed to sponsor a family, we added another box to our tower. The boxes were decorated by the students in The Studio. Thank you to Kevin Helser and PCW for allowing us to be a part of this project. It was beau ful to work together! Many Thanks for Your Fearless Generosity! (photos by Rod Sidley and Stacy Akers) Our Stewardship Commi ee would like to thank you for your commitment to PCW s 2017 Stewardship Campaign, Fearless Generosity, and to ask those of you who have not yet responded for your support. Through November 18 th, there have been 122 pledges received for over $474,898. These pledges breakdown as follows: 8 new pledges from members or friends who have not previously pledged 45 renewing pledges for the same amount as renewing pledges that are an increase in giving over renewing pledges with a reduced amount from 2016 Overall, the average amount per pledging household is up 11% over 2016! We are very thankful for our new PCW family members and the faithful generosity of our exis ng members. However, we have not heard from some of our members who previously pledged. We are currently short 45 pledging units from last year. These 45 pledges represent an es mated $103,494. Your support is vital to our church. If you have not completed and returned your pledge, please prayerfully consider your 2017 giving and return a pledge card in the enclosed self-addressed and stamped envelope. If you have already returned your Es mate of Giving Card, thank you! During this season of Thanksgiving, we are indeed grateful for your generosity. Yours in Christ, Rob Keelor Presbyterian Church of Wyoming. 225 Wyoming Ave. Cincinna, OH (513)

2 2017: A Walk Through the Word FROM PASTOR ED T his morning (November 17th as I write this), I read passages in Ezekiel and in the last chapter of Hebrews. The journey through the Bible this year is nearly complete. For those who have gone along for this journey this past year, I hope it has been a blessing for you as well. I hope you have experienced God s Word in a new way, that you have been encouraged and challenged in ways that you haven t been before, and that you will want to do it again. As we approach the end of this journey, it is me to embark on a new one through the Scriptures. One of the church leadership sites I follow regularly shared some of their research (from several decades of working with literally thousands of congrega ons) that the two most consistent factors in churches that were considered vibrant were that the par cipants in the church regularly read the Bibles in their personal lives and that people commi ed to small groups to study God s Word. Pre y simple. I want us to move towards that as we enter into But let s enter into the Word a bit differently. This past year was a marathon. There were 3-4 chapters to read every day. I remember some days where I read 3 chapters in the Old Testament and there was too much to take it all in. I especially felt that in the Psalms where each psalm is really meant to stand on its own but reading several one a er the other felt like a lot. So 2016 was a marathon. Let s make 2017 a hike through the woods. Rev. Lisa and husband Chris with their sons: Peter, John, Tom and Sam Star ng with January 1, we are going to start following a new reading plan where we will have just one reading per week. I want to encourage you to read that passage every day during the week maybe read it differently each day. 1. Read it quietly one day. 2. Read it aloud the next. 3. Journal about it or rewrite it in your own words. 4. Discuss it with your family. 5. Study it in your small group (or join in with a small group or start one if you aren t a part of one yet). 6. Maybe even try to memorize it! That passage will then be the one we preach on at the end of the week. Pastor Lisa and I will also be pu ng together some resources to help with the slow journey. We will be star ng with passages from the Gospel of Luke is a year to dig deep into God s Word and into what God wants to speak into your life and into our shared life together. Grace & Peace, Pastor Ed This last year s reading of the Word was a marathon. Let s make 2017 a hike through the woods. 2

3 D ear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, One of the hardest things to do at Christmas me is to be pa ent and wait for the Christ Child to come. With holiday decora ons coming out in stores before Halloween and decora ons on sale at 6 a.m. on December 26th, the world seems to be telling us in the church that our ming is off. Just as we are celebra ng the joy of the Christ child on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, others have already moved on to New Year s celebra- ons. And yet the church is now in the season of Advent, the season of wai ng and an cipa ng the birth of the Christ child and his return. The Presbyterian Church of Wyoming is living the truth of this season. We are in a me of wai ng, of an cipa ng the future, of hoping for what is to come. The Pastoral Discernment Team is mee ng with members of the congrega on as part of the Presbytery s Transforma on 2.0 ini a ve. The Team is listening to hear the gi s and strengths of the church and where God is calling the church into the future. The Deacons are iden fying how God has uniquely gi ed us, and we are finding ministry opportuni es to share these talents for the building up of the Body of Christ. Most importantly, the church is wai ng to again receive the gi of the Christ Child in whom we put our hope. This is truly an Advent Time at PCW. In this me of wai ng and discernment, members of the congrega on are invited to pray for the Holy Spirit at work in and through this church. Pray for God s future for the congrega on to be made known. A Time of Expecta on FROM PASTOR LISA Pray for each other and the unity Christ brings through the passing of the peace, the waters of bap sm, the sharing of Communion, the hearing of the word, and the voices joined together in songs of praise. Together we wait for God s grace to be revealed, as we trust with hopeful expecta on that the Word made flesh dwells among us. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day allow us a me to sing out our songs of great joy as we gather for a service with candles and carols. Then we will con nue to sing our songs of joy long a er they have gone, long a er the Christmas merchandise has been discounted, long a er the Christmas candies are eaten because we know Christ s promises of light and life con nue even as we wait. Living in the Hope of Christ, Pastor Lisa 3

4 4 The Eyebrow Blessing BY ANN BAUMGARTNER B lessings don t have to be formal, with choirs of angels singing and special oils for anoin ng. When our daughter Emily was li le, I blessed her each night as I put her to bed with what she called her eyebrow blessing. Smoothing one eyebrow I d say, May the Lord bless you and keep you... Smoothing the other I d say, make His face to shine upon you... And then with a quick slide down her nose I d end with, and give you peace. One night I was too sick to put Emily to bed with our usual rituals. I awakened to the sound of her pa ering down the hallway. She entered our darkened room, and I felt her ny hands search my face un l she found and smoothed each of my eyebrows and skated her finger down the bridge of my nose. A silent and powerful blessing! Note: The Baumgardners are long me members of PCW, with Emily and her husband Vinny being recently married in our church. Ann admits she is terrible at scrapbooking. Instead, she recorded the funny bits of life in her book, Pretend You re Normal. Ann enjoys giving paren ng talks, and she blogs at PretendYoureNormal.com and NaggingWithAnAccent.com. Talking to Our Inner Scrooge T his year we are doing something the same - but different. We are having a Christmas pageant again, but this year it will be a rendi on of A Christmas Carol. Huh? That s right! Mr. Scrooge will be front and center on Sunday, Dec. 11 th during the All-Church service at 10 a.m. But why Scrooge? Well, aren t we all kind of like Scrooge in the wake of God s goodness? I mean, we have every single reason to be thankful and joyous. And yet we s ll worry and let our problems strip us away from God. We o en hoard our things and our emo ons and let them build up a wall around us. Even in the midst of family and community we can feel all alone and empty. You would think that this month during the Christmas season, we would be the most aware of God s presence. Instead for so many of us it is presents that we are worried about. We are concerned with the house and how clean it is - or needs to be. We are worried about certain rela ves and friends who might judge us for any number of reasons. We are so worked up and worried about so much that we forget the meaning of the holiday. What are we forge ng? That is the challenge. Let us take some me to sit. To pray. To be thankful. The house doesn t need to be that clean. The presents are inconsequen al if they produce an anxiety a ack. The family or friends we think are going to judge us probably aren t. And if they do there is nothing we can do to stop them. It is their preroga ve to judge. Everything will be just fine. Let us sit to remember why it is we are so busy and in so doing hopefully our doing becomes more about being. To the Scrooge in all of us, thanks for visi ng! Peace, Adam Order Christmas Poinsettias Please send your order with a check to the church no later than Sun., Dec. 11th. Make checks payable to: PCW Designate Flower Fund Christmas I will pick up my order after the 11:00 p.m. Candlelight Worship Service, Dec. 24th. Please deliver my order to Shut-in(s) Recipient s Name Address I wish to order red poinsettias, $14/plant. I wish to order white poinsettias, $14/plant. Name for bulletin Recipient s Name Address

5 Year-End Giving FROM RON STOERKER, ADMINISTRATOR & DIRECTOR of FINANCE A s we approach the end of the year, I would like to ask your help in facilita ng the processing of your gi s to PCW. Thanks to all of you who have responded to our call for increasing or speeding up your gi s to PCW. We have not had to access the line of credit from PCW Founda on, LLC. If your gi s are in the form of checks, please make sure they arrive at PCW by December 30 as I will make a final deposit that day. If your gi s are in the form of stock transfer to PCW, please no fy me that this will happen as I have no ced that not all investment companies no fy me about the transfer. It would be helpful for me to know the stock involved and the number of shares. I then no fy Merrill Lynch about that transfer. When Merrill Lynch no fies me the stocks have arrived, we sell them and the funds are deposited into the Fi h Third opera ng account. This en re process takes 5-7 days to complete. In order to facilitate this process in an orderly manner, please ini ate the transfer no later than Dec 19. If you need the account numbers to ini ate the transfer, please contact me and I can or mail you the informa on. May each of you experience an awakening of God s Love in your lives as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Christ, Jesus, the Lord of all crea on. Financial Update FROM STEVE KMORSKA T hankfully, we have entered the fall on a stronger financial note as compared to last year. Cash levels have increased as receipts have come in with the support of members that have blessed up with paying pledges before yearend and next year. Pledges received are exceeding levels in 2015; especially unpledged contribu- ons with are more than twice as high as last year at this me. Receipts have also been helped with our agreement with New Life Covenant Church. While we cut our expecta ons in half for budgeted special gi s or bequests received for the opera ng budget in 2016 we have received none which is nega vely affec ng our overall budget. However, costs con nue to be watched closely and we look for ways to carefully control expenditures. If you recall, we entered the year with an expected faith budget or projected nega ve financial outcome which s ll appears to be the case for We look forward to a strong finish to 2016 as our programming, ministries Summary of PCW October s Finances (new) and pastors head into the tradi onal Christmas season. Thank you for con- nued support and feel free to contact Steve Komrska at or skomrska@fuse.net if you have any ques- ons or comments. `âá v Éy TwäxÇà 9V{Ü áàåtá Wed., Dec. 7th Dinner at 5:30. Concert at 6:30 TÄÄ TÜx jxävéåx4 5

6 November Session Highlights FROM DON HOFFMAN, CLERK of SESSION Session opened with Bible study followed by devo ons led by Susan Volle e Directors of the PCW Founda on met with Session jointly to discuss possible future program and financial ini a ves Pastoral Discernment Team reported work on Transforma on 2.0 ac vi es Discussed a revised/updated policy for the PCW Child Protec on and Volunteer Policy Session also reviewed and approved an updated Building Use Policy Discussed and prayed for Northminster Presbyterian and David Zuidema s temporary assistance for pastoral care (see le er below.) A Le er from Session FROM DON HOFFMAN, CLERK of SESSION A s some of you may already be aware, Northminster Presbyterian Church (NPC) has reached out to Reverend David Zuidema and asked him to assist Reverend Nancy Ross-Zimmerman (Nancy) with pastoral care un l the end of April next year. NPC has been without a senior pastor since June of 2015 when Reverend Jeff Hosmer took a call to a church in Florida. During that me, Nancy has effec vely been a solo pastor for one of the largest congrega ons in our Presbytery. While he has moved into a new stage in life and ministry, David felt that the Lord is calling him to help support our neighbor congrega on during the very busy seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. At our last Session mee ng, Pastor Ed presented an agreement that Reverend Nancy Kahaian (our new Execu- ve Presbyter), David, Nancy, and Ed worked out in which David would provide part- me (10-15 hours per week) pastoral care assistance to NPC from November 17, 2016 un l April 30, A er discussion and prayer, our Session supported this arrangement for David to serve with NPC and sends our best wishes going forward. David will periodically assist in worship but will not be preaching during his me at NPC since his primary focus will be on pastoral care for NPC members. While David is stepping into this new role, his ministry will be to the members of NPC and he will s ll refer pastoral care needs of PCW that may arise to Pastor Ed and/or Pastor Lisa. We ask for your prayers for NPC as they con nue to move through their transi on me and join us in giving thanks for the rela onship we have between our two congrega ons. C hristmas is a special time of year for those connected to Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. The Sharing Tree will be up in the Gathering Area on November 27 giving us an opportunity to bless other families in our area at this special. To participate: Select a card from the tree The Sharing Tree Write your name with the number on the card in the log book Purchase a gift, wrap it and put the card from the tree securely on the package Gift cards given in lieu of clothing must be wrapped in a box with card attached. Return the gift by Dec. 8th and either place under the tree or in Linda s office. 6 Thank you so much for helping to make this Christmas brighter for so many!

7 Remembering the Sperdutos D r. Ted Sperduto was the head pastor of Wyoming Presbyterian Church from 1966 to We were sad to let you know that his wife, Muriel Sperduto, passed away the morning of Oct. 27th. The Sperdutos were a big part of the Wyoming family at church, school and on the athle c field. One son, Paul, was the center on the great Wyoming Cowboy football team of 1975 and an outstanding hi er on the baseball team. While all three sons, Gary, Kim, and Paul graduated The Sperduto Clan These Days from Wyoming High School, their daughter, Teddi Dawn, was a child with special needs and lovingly cared for by congrega on. They were sorely missed when they le. Paul is now one of the top brain surgeons at Mayo Clinic in MN, and along with his team, invented the gamma knife cancer treatment system. Please remember the family in prayer as they grieve Muriel s loss. If you would like to send a card, Rev. Ted Sperduto s address is: 4916 English Dr., Annandale, VA Celebra ng New Team Members FROM CHRISTI GRAETER T he Healing Space is celebra ng the addi ons of two new team members. John Wingfield has joined the Prac oner Team as a Master of Oriental Medicine, including Acupuncture. Sr. Joanne Schuster PhD has joined our Board of Directors. John offers Acupuncture to clients at The Healing Space, along with other Tradi onal Chinese Medicine treatments such as Chinese herbal remedies, therapeu c massage and cupping. He focuses on one client at a me with a pa ent and calming approach. Extensive nursing experience supports the depth and breadth of John s skill set. Joanne offers the board an excep onal integra on of both clinical and administra ve experience. Building on an ini al career in nursing, Joanne expanded into healthcare administra on, which was the focus of her doctoral training. Joanne s leadership experience includes working as CEO of a mul -site healthcare system, a life- me of working in Non-Profit Corpora ons as a Franciscan Sister of the Poor, and the development of two holis c healing centers. Upon re rement from leadership, Joanne has shi ed her focus into the provision of holis c healing services, including both Shamanic prac ces and Spiritual Direc on. Unifying Divisions FROM ADAM HAYDEN A t the beginning of November our middle-school and high school youth groups joined over 125 youth from around the Tri-state area to talk about racism and what our response to it as Chris ans should be. I was very inspired. The message was simple: we live in a broken world where racism exists. We also believe in a God that is bigger than our problems. We don t need to feel overwhelmed. We simply need to show up and allow God to guide us through. Many youth showed up that night at Knox Presbyterian, and it couldn t have come at a be er me. Few in the room were eligible to vote in the elec ons, but they offered us a li le solu on to our divisive poli cal climate. That solu on is so simple yet so profound; be together. That s it. Our fear of the other diminishes when the other becomes us. When we sit with those we oppose, when we break bread with our cri cs, when we give selflessly to our enemies, we blur the lines and deconstruct the walls that separate us. Regardless of elec on results, I believe our job as humans is to rev up the work of community. We must be pioneers in bringing different people groups together. We must be inten onal about not just loving our enemies, but trying to become friends with our enemies - and I believe it doesn t stop there. I believe God s tricky call on our lives is to love people in such a way that they have no choice but to love us back. Sure, we can t force people to love., but we can certainly reduce the reasons for people to hate by showing selfless love. Let us follow the example our youth gave us last night and together tackle the challenges of our me. We owe that much to our kids. 7

8 Presbyterian Church of Wyoming 225 Wyoming Avenue. Cincinna OH RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Organiza on US POSTAGE PAID CINCINNATI, OH Permit No YÉÜ âçàé âá t V{ Äw á uéüç hçàé âá t féç á Z äxç4ê Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 8:30 Thurs. Bible Study 4:00 Organ Prac ce 6:00 NLCC Rehearsal 6:30 Chancel Choir 7:00 Girl Scouts Second Sunday, Advent 8 & 11 Tradi onal 9 Contemporary 9:20 & 11:20 Godly Play 10 & 10:15 Adult Ed 11 NLCC Worship 5 7 Worship Commi ee 7 Finance Mee ng 7 Toastmasters 7:45 Boy Scouts 6 7:30 Men s Bible Study 9:15 Prayer Mee ng 10:00 Staff Mee ng 2:00 Organ Prac c 7 Narco cs Anonymous 7 7:30 Owen Study Grp 5:30 Super Wednesday 6:30 Christmas Concert 6:30 NLCC Bible Study 8 8:30 Thurs. Bible Study 4:00 Organ Prac ce 6:00 NLCC Rehearsal 6:30 Chancel Choir 7:00 Alanon Third Sunday, Advent 9:30 NLCC Bible Study 10 All-Church Service Christmas Pageant Sanctuary 11 NLCC Worship 12 7:00 Session 7:45 Boy Scouts 13 Crossroads Deadline 7:30 Men s Bible Study 9:15 Prayer Mee ng 10:00 Staff Mee ng 7 Narco cs Anonymous 14 7:30 Owen Study Grp 11 & 2;30 LLCP, Sanctuary 5:45 Super Wednesday 6:30 NLCC Bible Study 7:00 Visions Band 15 8:30 Thurs. Bible Study 9:30 & 1 LLCP Christmas 4:00 Organ Prac ce 6:00 NLCC Rehearsal 6:30 Chancel Choir 7:00 Girl Scouts Fourth Sunday, Advent 8 & 11 Tradi onal Worship 9 Contemporary 9:20 & 11:20 Godly Play 10 & 10:15 Adult Ed 11 NLCC Worship 19 7:00 Deacons 7:00 Toastmasters 7:00 Mission Mee ng 7:45 Boy Scouts 20 7:30 Men s Bible Study 9:15 Prayer Mee ng 10:00 Staff Mee ng 6:00 Daisy Girl Scouts 7 Narco cs Anonymous 21 7:30 Owen Study Grp 6:30 NLCC Bible Study 7:00 Visions Band 22 8:30 Thurs. Bible Study 9:30 & 1 LLCP Christmas 4:00 Organ Prac ce 6:00 NLCC Rehearsal 6:30 Chancel Choir Christmas Eve 5:30 Family Service 11:00 Candlelight Service 25 Christmas Day! 10 All-Church Service 11 NLCC Worship :30 Men s Bible Study 9:15 Prayer Mee ng 10:00 Staff Mee ng 7 Narco cs Anonymous 28 7:30 Owen Study Grp 9:00 Crossroads Mailing 5:45 Super Wednesday 6:30 NLCC Bible Study 7:00 Visions Band 29 8:30 Thursday Bible Study 4:00 p.m. Organ Prac ce 6:00 NLCC Band Rehearsal New Year s Eve