THE MESSENGER. Festival of Lessons and Carols. Worship Through Music. Sunday, December 11, 2016; 10:30am

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1 THE MESSENGER December 2016 Thank you for donating the Thanksgiving Boxes that provided 25 local families with a Thanksgiving dinner. Chief Dave Warman and the Glendale Police delivered the boxes, and turkey gift cards provided by the Mission Committee, to the families. Thank you to the congregation for the generous response to the recent special Disaster Relief offering. Over $1,100 was collected and forwarded to Matthew 25 Ministries as the congregation requested. Through the generosity of our congregation, The Mission Committee was able to donate $ to support the Glendale Needy Families Christmas Fund. Festival of Lessons and Carols Sunday, December 11, 2016; 10:30am A Festival of Lessons and Carols will be presented by the choir with congregational participation. This celebration of Christ s birth will include familiar carols, carols which tell the story, and selections from Handel s Messiah. The Hallelujah Chorus will mark the conclusion of the service, during which everyone will be invited to sing. Join us for this special service, complete with the accompaniment of organ and strings. Worship Through Music Sunday, November 13, was the first in a series of planned Worship through Music Services. We ll continue the program on the schedule below, and hope to see you! Sunday, December 11, 2016; 10:30am Christmas Eve Candlelight Service February - to be announced Sunday, April 16, 2017; 10:30am Sunday, June 4, 2017; 10:30am

2 Dear Friends in Christ, Back to the Mother Lode for more reflections on my trip to Sutter Creek in search of history my history. Did I find my great great grandparents graves? Now for the rest of the story. Winding along narrow roads through the hill country outside Sutter Creek I came upon the cemetery just where my research and GPS said I would find it. I knew there were three sections to the cemetery: the town section, the Roman Catholic section and the Odd Fellows section. Unfortunately while the three sections were distinctly separate there were no signs indicating which was which. Off I tramped row by row over the rocky, hard-scrabble terrain, scanning the distance for a distinctive headstone which matched the photo on my hand. Walking up and down the seemingly endless rows of the Sutter Creek Cemetery, the names on the gravestones read like the United Nations, reflecting how far many had traveled to strike gold in the Mother Lode. English, Irish, Welsh, Italian, Poles, Slovaks, Mexicans they were all represented along with other nations. Finally after an hour I stood at my ancestors graves at dusk. That was as much gold as I needed. I drove into town to check into the hotel. Passing through town which takes all of five minutes, I passed a large group of teenagers congregated in a visitors parking area. A minute later I heard a booming voice over a loud speaker announce, The parade should be starting in twenty minutes. I thought, Oh, this will be fun, and hurried to the hotel, quickly checked in, and hurried back into town on foot. This is the real Mother Lode. This is the Mother Lode which never plays out family, friends, community, the love of God. 2 With more energy and enthusiasm than finesse or polish the students were holding a noisy weeknight pep rally, cheering on the Amador Bulls in their annual contest against their arch rivals, the Argonaut Mustangs. I watched with amusement and joy as moms and dads, friends and neighbors cheered on the boisterous and proud youth as they passed down Main Street on floats and beds of pickup trucks. Then it struck me. This is the real Mother Lode. This is the Mother Lode which never plays out family, friends, community, the love of God. Further research the next day revealed more about my great great grandfather Thomas. He was a member of the Odd Fellows, a benevolent society to aid mine widows. He died in 1897 five days after a mine accident at age 58. I attempted without success to discover which mine he worked. One more piece of the puzzle to work on. At the local library I found the probate record and learned he left his widow and children a home valued at $500 in 1897, not exactly a mansion but a modest- wellconstructed home located on a 150 by 260 lot in Suter Creek. Years later the property became the home of the Amador County Historical Society. I toured the Amador County History Society museum and the Kennedy Gold Mine to learn about the world my ancestors occupied, the lifestyle they lived, the nature of a gold miner s work and how this precious metal was extracted from the earth. The final day of my visit arrived and I traveled from place to place continuing my research. Then one last stop before leaving for Sacramento, I stood at the grave and said a prayer. I thanked God that this tin miner from Cornwall and his farm daughter wife from the Hudson River Valley at last had found a home,

3 (A Word From the Pastor, continued) made abiding friendships, became a part of the community and raised their four children. Grateful for their tenacity, perseverance, courage, hope and hard work, I was glad to discover they had found the Mother Lode which never plays out. Soon we are coming upon a joyous time of family gathering. As I write this, Thanksgiving is a week away and then it is Christmastide. We will journey to visit children or they to visit us much like the three magi who came to visit the infant Jesus, the babe in the manger in Bethlehem. They brought gifts for the infant king gold, frankincense and myrrh. Some like my great great grandfather Thomas Hodges, the three magi and the infant Jesus born so far away from Nazareth, travel great physical distances to find the Mother Lode. The rest of us need only travel in our hearts. A Merry Christmas to you and all those you love and the richest of blessings for a Happy New Year. May there be peace on earth and good will among all of God s children of every age and place. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. And the Word became flesh full of grace and truth. (John 1:5 and 14) Your fellow traveler in Christ, Pastor Steve Leading through Serving The Deacons offer prayer, companionship, rides, or meals, but don t always know where care is needed. If you know of a need (your own or another s), call the church. It s Skyline Time! All men are invited to join the Men s Group for lunch at Skyline on Springfield Pike in Woodlawn on Wednesday, December 14. Lunch begins at 12:30p. 3

4 Please note there will be no Sunday School on the following dates so that families may worship together. December 18 December 25 January 1, 2017 Saturday, December 10 6:00pm-10:00pm Reserve your space now! The cost is $10.00 per child/$30 maximum per family. Santa had some trouble with his reindeer in November and was unable to get to the church for pictures with the children. The problems are all worked out now, and he ll be here for pictures on December 10. This Parents Night out will include pictures with Santa from 6:00pm-8:00pm, and a Santa Workshop. For a donation of two cans of food for Valley Interfaith Food Pantry (or a $10.00 donation) you will receive a printed photo and we will a digital copy to you. Sunday, December 18 Christmas Pot Luck Dinner 5:00pm Throughout the evening, the children will make gifts and decorate cookies at the Santa Workshop. For more information, or to make a reservation for your photo with Santa, please contact Charlotte at or charknows@gmail.com. 4

5 The Sharing Tree will be in place on November 27. The names on the tree are for gifts for children whose families are served by Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. Gifts should be returned, wrapped and with name tags attached, by December 11. Every year VIFCC provides Christmas Dinner and gifts for 300 families. The mitten tree will be in place in the church house from November 27 to December 18. Please decorate the tree with hats, gloves, mittens. ear muffs, scarves, and other warm gear for winter. The tree will be up through the Christmas program and pot luck. All of the protective gear will go to GLAD House children. GLAD House programs cover children in primary school through high school. The food offering in December will focus on holiday specific foods. Think boxes of stuffing mix, yams, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, etc. Children will be home from school, so extra child friendly food is needed. You may also donate ribbon, wrapping paper, or gift bags. (Partial rolls of wrapping paper or ribbon are acceptable.) thank you for being so generous to the client at Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. In December, you will find envelopes in the bulletin for our annual collection of the Christmas Joy Offering. This offering supports The Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges, and Racial Ethnic Leadership Development, which are all programs of the Presbyterian Church USA. Every year, Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Centers asks us for 300 of a specific food item to fill the Christmas Dinner boxes they provide to 300 families. Last year, they asked us for green beans and many of you brought cans and cases of beans. This year, they asked for jelly - not just any jelly, but jelly in plastic jars. Your Mission Committee looked around the table at each other, scratched our heads, and said duh. Our intrepid, dependable Dave C. went hunting and found plastic squeeze bottles of jelly at Kroger. They cost $1.79, but Dave got us a deal of $1.00 per bottle. We will buy in bulk to get the deal. If you would like to help defray the cost, please write a check payable to the church with the notation Mission Jelly. You may place your donation int e collection plate of leave it on the desk in the church office. When you see Dave, please thank him for being a star jelly hunter and negotiator. 5

6 Session met on Wednesday November 9. The new copier has been installed and we are now able to add color to some of our printings! As the cost of the color printing is higher than the black and white, it will be used judiciously and can only be accessed with a special code. It will certainly add more life to our documents. It's fall and Buildings and Grounds reminded us of the task that many of us perform: cleaning the gutters. The church is no different, the gutters need to be cleaned of all the leaves. Due to the height, we contract this service at $300 for all the buildings. Session's next stated meeting is Wednesday, December 14. If you have any concerns, questions, suggestions, or words of encouragement or criticism, please contact any of the members of Session. This is the only way that we know what others are thinking and we need your suggestions. Fourth of a series on the church's endowment funds The Robert F. and Coombs R. Lovett Memorial Music Fund This fund was accepted by Session in 1989 as a bequest for the purpose of providing ongoing funds for the enhancing, extending, and enriching the music program of our church. The bequest was made by members that were very active in the choir and wanted the special music to continue. The funds have been used for many special concerts as well as funding the special music for Easter and Christmas, which cost between $400 and $800 each. Money from this fund is currently also paying our soprano section leader, Kate. Without this fund, the additional expenses of our special music programs could not be met. Our music program in the services would be of a totally different quality. This is a true endowment fund and as such, the principle may not be spent, only the earnings. The Finance Committee annually suggests to Session the amount that should be allocated to be available for spending each year which historically has ranged from 2% to 4% depending on the market conditions. Any funds that are not used in one year are available to be spent in subsequent years. There is currently $43,000 in the fund with $3,100 available for the music programs. 6

7 Thursday 1 Choir Rehearsal 6:30pm Friday 2 Gentle Yoga 10:00am Sunday 4 Worship (The Lord s Supper) 10:30am Tuesday 6 Small Group One 12:00pm Thursday 8 Choir Rehearsal 6:30pm Friday 9 Gentle Yoga 10:00am Saturday Sunday 10 Parents Night Out (Pictures with Santa and Santa Workshop) 11 Worship (Lessons and Carols) 6:00pm 10:30am Tuesday 13 Small Group One 12:00pm Wednesday 14 Men s Lunch (Skyline) Session Meeting 12:30pm 6:00pm Friday 16 Gentle Yoga 10:00am Sunday 18 Worship Christmas Pot-Luck Christmas Play 10:30am 5:00pm Monday 19 Deacon Meeting 11:00am Staff The Rev. Steven R. Garstad heygarstad@earthlink.net Amy Duke Director of Music and Organist jbduke@cinci.rr.com Tyler Hagy Choir Director hagyty01@luther.edu Deborah Senile Administrative Assistant glenpres@fuse.net Tuesday 20 Small Group One 12:00pm Saturday 24 Candlelight Service 5:00pm Sunday 25 Worship (Church House) 10:00am Tuesday 27 Small Group One 12:00pm Please alert the church office if your meeting, event, or activity is not represented on this calendar. 7

8 The outreach committee sponsored a very successful lunch after church on October 30, where we listened to the congregation s responses to a summary of all the interviews the Outreach Committee had previously submitted. The outreach committee plans to sort through the comments by the congregation to continue the discernment process. We plan to meet again with the congregation and separately with session as we, with God s help, contemplate potential future activities and actions by First Presbyterian Church Glendale. The Transformation Steering Committee has been meeting and we wanted to share with you where we are in the process. Transformation is a four step cyclic process. Listening, discerning, experimenting, and evaluating. Listening - This step is where the team interviews members of the congregation, and community to find out where God is working in the community. The interviews are all combined and a listening report is generated. Discerning This is the step where the Listening Report is shared with the congregation, and the community and they have an opportunity to respond to the report and help to discern were God is working in our community and where he is leading us to place our efforts. There should be a minimum of three meetings, more if possible Experimenting After the steering committee has reviewed the reports from the discerning meetings they share the information with the congregation, who join with them to set up experiments which take where God is leading the congregation to see how to make the ideas work. Evaluation This is the time you look at your experiment(s) and see if they worked, try to make adjustments to make it more successful or return to discernment and see if the group didn t discern the correct direction. There are many things we can learn from our failures too. Living into a new future Incorporate what we have done into our future life of our congregation Currently we are in the Discerning part of the process. Everyone is an important part of this process and the steering committee will continue to reach out to people in the congregation and community for help with all of these steps. The point of this process is cyclical so once we are done we start the learning and engagement process again. 8

9 First Presbyterian Church, Glendale 155 East Fountain Avenue, Glendale, OH Phone Fax Mailed in Christian love on November 21, 2016 Worship - 10:30a You re invited! Please join us for these events and worship services. Sunday, December 18 Christmas Pot Luck 5:00pm Candlelight Service 5:00pm Lessons and Carols Sunday, December 11 10:30am play follows dinner Christmas Eve Christmas Day Service 10:00am 9