FAITH CONNECTIONS. In this issue... Advent2018. Did you pick up your Advent Devotional? Read about it on page 3!

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1 FAITH CONNECTIONS A monthly publication of the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest 700 N. Sheridan Road Lake Forest, IL FirstChurchLF.org VOLUME XVIII, NO. 11 DECEMBER 2018 Advent Did you pick up your Advent Devotional? Read about it on page 3! The SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 9:00 AM Christmas Pageant 11:00 AM Regular Worship Service Advent2018 Devotional SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 9:00 & 11:00 AM Regular Worship Service THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20 6:30 PM Longest Night SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 9:00 & 11:00 AM Worship with Messiah Performance MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, CHRISTMAS EVE Church Office Closes at 12:00 PM 3:00 Candlelight Service 5:00 PM Candlelight Service with Children s Choirs 9:00 PM Candlelight Service with Sanctuary Choir TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, CHRISTMAS DAY Church Closed SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 10:00 AM Hymn Sing (one service) MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 Church Office Closes at 12:00 PM MONDAY, JANUARY 1, NEW YEAR S DAY Church Closed In this issue... From the Interim Pastor s Study Christmas Flowers Advent Schedule Advent Devotional Giving Tree, Annual Christmas Pageant Third Thursday Taizé Service: Longest Night The Messiah Project Seminars: Steve Hall & Tom Tropp Thanksgiving Season at the Preschool Prayer Partner Church Update Commitment Celebration Sunday Mission Fan-Out Event Session Highlights ALICE Training FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LAKE FOREST I

2 WE WORSHIP From the Interim Pastor s Study Sunday, December 2 9 & 11 AM Sunday, December 9 9 AM Christmas Pageant 11 AM Sunday, December 16 9 & 11 AM Thursday, December 20 3 rd Thursday Taizé Service: Longest Night 6:30 PM Sunday, December 23 9 & 11 AM Worship: Messiah Performance Sunday, December 24 Christmas Eve 3 PM Candlelight Service 5 PM Candlelight Service: Children s Choirs 9 PM Candlelight Service: Sanctuary Choir Sunday, December AM Hymn Sing Advent and Christmas Greetings Every year we read the Christmas story in the gospels of Matthew and Luke; we watch children reenact the story in pageants and plays; we sing the carols in church and elsewhere. All of these are ways we become familiar with the mystery of Christmas. Yet, it is a mystery we never solve and it never loses hold on our hearts. This is because Christmas is God s doing; it is not our doing. God puts Christ in Christmas, thus marking our life and our world forever with God s love. Because the manger led to the cross and the empty tomb, all of life is changed forever. The tiny infant of the carols became the Lord of life, demonstrating and guaranteeing that God can be trusted to meet us at the point of our greatest need, whatever it may be. Thus, as one person puts it, lt is not so much that we keep Christmas; rather, Christmas keeps us! Do not be afraid; for see- l am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) To you and your loved ones, let me wish you joy this Advent and Christmas and in the year to come! Grace and peace, FAITH CONNECTIONS is published monthly for members & friends of First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest 700 N. Sheridan Road Lake Forest, IL Submission due date is the 15 th of every month. Church Office: Mon Fri, 9 AM 5 PM Christmas Flowers Our church is decorated as we enter Advent, in preparation for the birth of Jesus. One way we prepare to welcome Jesus is through the Christmas Flower ministry. You can honor a loved one by providing a poinsettia in their honor. Envelopes can be found in the office and on tables around the first floor. Please print clearly so names are reflected accurately in the Christmas Eve bulletins. Envelopes are due by Wednesday, December 19. 2

3 Worship & Music God s Inviting You to Prepare for Advent! Advent begins on Sunday December 2, and the elders and deacons of First Pres have been busy joining with the Holy Spirit to help this season to be meaningful for you! Our Advent Devotional this year is called God s Invitation to Prepare. Each day s devotion centers on one of the scripture readings that comes from the daily lectionary and has been written by an elder or a deacon. It includes the passage plus thoughts from the church officer, who have been invited to think about questions such as the following: How does this passage help you to prepare for Jesus coming? To prepare for new pastoral leadership? What memories do you have of past Advents/Christmases that relate to the themes of this passage? What does this passage tell you about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? In what ways does this help strengthen your faith? What does this passage say that helps send us out to serve God faithfully in the world? Hard copies of the Advent devotional will be available beginning December 2 in worship. You can also receive a copy of it by every day by contacting Alisa Steady at asteady@firstchurchlf.org. Each day s devotion will be posted on the church s Facebook page (search for and then like firstchurchlf ) every day as well. The Advent2018 Devotional Questions? Contact Pastor Chip at chardwick@firstchurchlf.org. It will be great to see how God draws us closer to Christ through the devotional this Advent! 3 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LAKE FOREST I

4 Faith Formation You and your family are invited to participate in the simple yet powerful way to live out Jesus words that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The Giving Tree holds names and wishes from those in the Casa Central (Chicago) programs. Casa Central houses a network of services in an effort to propel a diverse population of all ages toward self-sufficiency and a higher quality of life. Please return unwrapped gifts with their tag by December 7 to the church. Monetary gifts are welcome and will be used to purchase gifts for any tags still on the tree. Please make your check payable to First Presbyterian Church with Giving Tree in the memo line. Roles include: sheep (preschoolers), angel or shepherd (grade schoolers), manger characters, narrations & scripture readers Sheep, angels and shepherds no sign up necessary. Just come to the rehearsal! Manger characters, narrators & scripture readers sign up with Sarah Seccombe at sseccombe@firstchurchlf.org or Sean Kelly at skelly@firstchurchlf.org. Rehearsal Saturday, December 8 9:00 10:30 AM, Sanctuary *Costume pick-up 8:30 9:00 AM or after rehearsal Breakfast with Santa hosted by The Kiwanis Saturday, December 8 8:00 11:00 AM, Fellowship Hall Pageant Sunday, December 9 8:30 AM Check-in, 9:00 AM Worship & Pageant, Sanctuary Pancake Breakfast with Santa Hosted by Kiwanis Foundation of Lake Bluff & Lake Forest Saturday, December 8 8:00 11:00 AM $7.50 for 3-10 years, $10 for 11 years and over, free for children under 2 years Third Thursday Taizé Service Thursday, December 20, 6:30 PM Longest Night For some, the holidays are not a joyous time. Our Third Thursday Taizé service offers a time to reflect on this the longest night. We will gather to pray, share communion and light candles to remind us that though it may seem dark Christ came into the world to be our light. 4

5 Faith Formation The First Presbyterian Church Messiah Project: Mark Your Calendars! The First Presbyterian Church Festival Choir has begun preparations for our church s Messiah Project. During the next calendar year, Handel s monumental oratorio will be presented in its entirety during four worship services. The four Sundays have been chosen to allow the piece to be experienced within the sweeping context of the liturgical year. The project s first segment, at both services on December 23, will be Part One of the oratorio: The prophecy and realization of God s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah. The music will be presented by the First Presbyterian Festival Choir and orchestra. In order to enhance this exciting worship experience for the congregation, the Adult Faith Formation committee is sponsoring a series of adjoining seminars, taught jointly by Stephen Hall and music director Tom Tropp. Steve s focus will be the scriptural foundation and meaning of the brilliant libretto, which is primarily based on Old Testament texts, and Tom will provide insight into Handel s musical setting of these texts. Steve Hall will be familiar to First Presbyterian Church. Many members of the congregation enjoyed his presentations on the Psalms last fall, as well as his talk last spring on What does the Old Testament have to do with Jesus? Steve holds both an MA in Hebrew Language Studies from the American Institute in Jerusalem and a Th.M. in Old Testament Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is in the process of completing a Ph.D. at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Steve Hall, Guest Speaker Tom Tropp is the Director of Music and Arts at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, where he has been the director of the sanctuary choir since He is also on the faculty at the North Park University School of Music, Art, and Theater, where he directs the Women s Chorale and teaches courses in church music history and literature. He holds master s degrees in conducting and historical musicology from the University of Arizona, as well as the Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University. On Sunday, December 9, Steve will give an overview of the year-long Messiah Project between worship services, at 10:10 AM in the Chapel. On Sunday, December 16, also at 10:10 AM in the chapel, Steve will lead a study of the text in Part One, The prophecy and realization of God s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah. Perfect for the Advent season. On Sunday, December 23, the choir and orchestra will present Part One during both morning worship services. Tom will lead a discussion on the music in the chapel at 10:10 AM. Come be inspired and gladdened. For details on The Messiah Project and for future performance dates, please go to firstchurchlf.org/messiahproject. 5

6 Faith Formation Thanksgiving Season at First Presbyterian Preschool by Kristina Mills, Preschool Director As we enter the holiday season, we are thankful for God s many blessings. Our classes created Thanksgiving art projects for their families as a representation of what they are thankful for. Several classes wrote thankful note cards and delivered them to the church staff to express an appreciation of all that they do for the church. The teaching staff met with specialists at North Shore Pediatric Therapy to develop deeper understanding about speech and language development. We were also able to get a better understanding of their services for occupational and behavioral therapy in the event parents ask us. Since the summer, I continue to meet with the curriculum directors from Lake Forest and Lake Bluff school districts to communicate on what we are doing in our program to help better prepare our students for their next transition into Kindergarten. I am delighted to continue to receive tremendous feedback on how the First Presbyterian program prepares our students. Below, right, we have the Marwede family, a multigenerational alumni family, who wrote a testimonial to their families wonderful experience here at First Presbyterian Preschool, which began in Please visit our website s Updated News section (preschool.firstchurchlf.org/news) to read more about them! Blessings, Kristina Preschoolers in Faith Building Carol Marwede, a local nurse, came dressed in her uniform and visited her sons school to give a presentation. 6

7 Update from our prayer partner church in Fairouzeh, Syria: We praise the Lord that the intensity of war in Syria has subsided in recent months. We continue to pray for peace in Syria and the protection and safety of our brothers and sisters in Christ in the village of Fairouzeh. Currently there are about 175 children from grades 1 through 10 in the Sunday School program. The large number of the displaced families taking refuge in the village of Fairouzeh means they serve almost 20-fold more children than prior to the war. Happily, Sunday School at the Fairouzeh church has been thriving through the transition to an entirely new teaching staff. Two of the new teachers just returned from special training to support children affected by war. Pastor Jacoub s wife Grace has a special gift for working with the Sunday School children. The Sunday School program at the Fairouzeh Church is unique in spending time on the Word of God. Now they are busy getting ready for Christmas programming. We also learned that the Fairouzeh church along with some other churches in the region celebrates second Sunday in November as Thanksgiving Sunday, a celebration of the first harvest and fruits of the land. Pastor Jacoub also talked abut their continued emphasis on reading the Bible and Bible studies at their church throughout the week. We praise the Lord for our prayer partnership and we lift up the Fairouzeh church, its leaders and congregation, as they are faithfully serving the Christ family under difficult circumstances. As part of our prayer partnership, the Fairouzeh church is also continuing to pray for the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest. Stewardship Commitment Celebration Sunday took place on November 11, featuring decorated baskets filling in for our regular collection plates, participation in the service by a number of young people from our Congregation, and wonderful music. Joy was the hallmark of the service, as we used the occasion to reflect and celebrate the bounties God has bestowed on us and rejoice in giving back in whatever ways we can. As of November 15, we have received $1,064, in 2019 pledges/gifts from 180 donors. We continue to gratefully receive your gifts and pledges and encourage you to join your fellow congregants in helping our church with crucial financial support. If you are 70.5 or older, don t forget to check with your tax professional about the required distribution from your IRA or 401K. Finally, please think about turning your capital gains into heavenly treasure for our church with a gift by December 31. With deep appreciation from your Stewardship Committee 7

8 Opportunities to Serve, Connect and Learn Please join us in our Bible Studies! Brown Bag Bible Study: Tuesdays at 11:45 AM, Parish House Conference Room Gretchen Seymour, Adult Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1:30 PM Parish House Conference Room Cynthia Hessemer, Wednesday Women s Bible Study: Wednesdays at 9:45 AM, Parlor Rita Fossell, ritafossell@sbcglobal.net Men s Bible Study & Prayer Group: Fridays at 7:00 AM, Parlor Peter Keller, pjkeller@concentric.net Men s Discussion Group: Every other Sunday at 9:30 AM, Parish House Library David Cain, mdavidcain@gmail.com First Pres is looking for a Part-Time Building Supervisor! The Building Supervisor is responsible for the daily operations of the First Presbyterian Church Campus which includes the Sanctuary, Office and Pre-school Wings, Parish House, Herbert B. Anderson Legacy Manse and the overall grounds maintenance. He/she supervises the work of the custodian(s), contract cleaning staff and the other contractors related to the above areas. Working under the direction of the Director of Business Operations, this part time position supports the church to accomplish its goals within budget constraints and assists in the annual maintenance planning for the entire campus. Full description: firstchurchlf.org/building-supervisor For more information, please contact Jan McNicholas, Director of Business Operations at jmcnicholas@firstchurchlf.org. Usher Ministry Needs You! Do you enjoy welcoming friends and newcomers to Church? Want to spread positivity to others on Sundays? Looking to be more involved at First Pres, but only have time for an occasional commitment? Usher for a month of Sundays, a few Sundays a year, or whenever your schedule permits. 9 or 11 AM service your choice. To sign up or learn more, contact Donna Birney at dbirney@firstchurchlf.org or call We need Sunday School volunteers! Go deeper with your faith, while planting and nurturing the seeds of faith in our younger people! We are building our roster of Preschool 4 th Grade faith-building teachers and guides for the coming program year. Interested? Need more information? Contact Sarah Seccombe, Director of Children s Faith Formation at sseccombe@firstchurchlf.org. PADS (Providing Advocacy, Dignity & Shelter) Wednesday, December 12 First Pres provides food and volunteers to PADS in North Point Church, Waukegan on the 2 nd and 5 th Wednesday of the month. Join us on Wednesday, December 12! We are in need of volunteers and food. To sign up to serve, please go to firstchurchlf.org/ serve-at-pads and to sign up to donate food, please go to firstchurchlf.org/donate-food-for-pads. We are grateful to all of you for living out your faith through generous donations of time and food, which are so desperately needed. 8

9 Mission Corner Mission Fan-Out Event at Lake County Haven and A Safe Place As part of our faith in Christ, we care for those whom Jesus called the least of these. On Saturday morning, November 3, members of the Mission committee, congregation and staff lived into this by making short visits to two of our long-time mission partners. Team Haven was John Johnson, Geoffrey Luce, Jill Moot, Missy Burger, and Sue Barkhausen. We visited Lake County Haven in Libertyville bringing bag lunches for the women going to or looking for work. We had a tour of the home where Lake County Haven has been transforming the lives of homeless women and children for over 25 years. The Haven was started in 1992 by two deacons at First Pres. For more information on Lake County Haven, visit lakecountyhaven.org. The team visiting A Safe Place was Kristie Finley, Amy Wells, and Mary and Stew Kerr. They shopped and delivered bed and bath supplies, and toured A Safe Place facility in Zion. For more than 35 years, A Safe Place has provided services to victims of domestic abuse and their families in Lake County. They offer a comprehensive approach to domestic violence to break the cycle of abuse and create safe and healthy communities by providing a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, transitional living arrangements, permanent housing, counseling, community education and more. For more information on A Safe Place, visit asafeplaceforhelp.org. In only two hours, we were able to make a difference in many lives. You are invited to join us in our future fan-out events. You can contact Stewart Kerr at skerr@firstchurchlf.org or Geoffrey Luce at geoffrey@lucesite.com. 9

10 Session Highlights from the November 19 meeting by Mary Watanabe, Clerk of Session At its November 19, 2018, Stated Meeting, the Session: Heard a devotional and prayer about listening offered by Roberta Miller; Joined Pastor Ingersoll in welcoming Jan McNicholas, our new Director of Business Operations; Listened to an update from the PNC, noting that there are many excellent candidates from which to choose, so they are carefully reviewing the Personal Information Forms, evaluating sermons online, and listening to God s direction in their efforts; Shared the Deacons good news of successful PADS evenings, plans to deliver Thanksgiving dinners, fun evenings playing bridge, and encouraging first meetings of the Caregivers Support Group; Celebrated the progress of the First Floor Renewal Project, including permits in process, carpet samples and kitchen appliances being ordered, choir room high costs being rebid, and plans to hold choir rehearsal at the high school during construction; Approved fund raising for the bell choir tour; Heard a finance/stewardship report about the importance of pledging in order to more accurately finalize the 2019 church budget; Examined graphs favorably comparing FPCLF attendance with PC(USA) nationwide attendance; Was reminded by Long Range Planning and Governance about the update of our FPCLF Operations Manual to be ready for our new pastor; that committee updates should be submitted by mid-december; that ALICE training (Active Shooter Training) should be completed by elders and deacons by January 31; Was excited that Membership was opening New Member Classes in January and that they would reach out to new residents from the Welcome Wagon list; Saw a Personnel PowerPoint update regarding the progress made in initiating and revising personnel and safety policies, including instituting an anonymous Report it program; installing new security cameras; and making a greater effort to tune into staff, including the pre-school; Heard from Mission about plans for the All Church Auction on March 2, 2019, planning for higher attendance and greater revenue for mission; and saw photos from the November 3 Mission Holiday Fan-Out, which delivered food and needed bedding to the Lake County Haven and A Safe Place. Did What not to miss popcorn callouts that included announcements about the: December 2 reception celebrating John Johnson s service; Covenant of Closure to remind committee moderators as well as the congregation to honor John Johnson s November 30th retirement; Between-services presentations by Steve Hall and Tom Tropp on December 9 and 16 about the scriptural history of the Messiah, before the choir and orchestra perform Part 1 on December 23. Update on ALICE Training In light of recent tragedies such as the one at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, our church has been adding a layer of security to our campus. This layer of security requires everyone to be involved: clergy, staff, ushers, and members of the congregation. The method our church is using to add this security is called ALICE training. ALICE is an acronym meaning Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate. This training has been adopted throughout the country to educate schools, congregations, and municipalities in situational awareness to counter this ongoing problem. Our church is currently in the process of educating its Elders, Deacons, staff, preschool staff, and head ushers by having them view an online ALICE training, church-centric video. So far, the short video course has been completed by nearly 50% of this group. For this first phase, we expect around 100 members will be trained by the end of January. As more members are trained, we will continue to give updates to our congregation. 10

11 Deacons Martha Zeeman, Moderator Bill Allen Paul Bergmann Dorothy Chantler Kim Clair Scott Crawford Susan Daly Wendy Darling Stephanie Elliott Pat Ensing Dan Fietsam Peg Gronau Nancy Hamming Hildo Hoogcarspel Beth Jones Marcy Kerr John McNicholas Susan Milanak Molly Newman John Noble Sherry Trenchard Patti Tucker Gale Strenger Wayne Carson Ward Shawn Ward Tina Young Elders Mary Watanabe, Clerk of Session Rita Fossell, Assistant Clerk of Session Mike Adams Membership, Finance: Endowment Jim Bertram Adult FF Renee Borkowski LRPG Matt Brown Finance: Budget, Stewardship Missy Burger Mission: Rummage Roger Burgis Finance, Budget, Endowment Ed Hamming Buildings & Grounds, Worship & Music Bruce Keith ACNC, Personnel Jim Kingsley Youth & Young Adult FF Geoffrey Luce Mission Roberta Miller LRPG, POCC Geoff Murray Stewardship Susanna Noble Worship & Music Scott Notz Buildings & Grounds Barbara Schulz Personnel, Mission: Evangelism, PNC Jim Seymour Personnel Nancy Thomson LRPG Marty Vander Velde Children FF Mary Watanabe Worship & Music Amy Wells Children FF Dewey Winebrenner Youth & Young Adult FF ACNC - All Church Nominating Committee FF - Faith Formation LRPG - Long Range Planning & Governance POCC - Presbytery of Chicago Commissioner Pastor Nominating Committee Donna Coffin T.S. Elliott Bill Ensing, Co-Chair John Gescheidle Cindy Johnson Diane Quinn, Co-Chair Barbara Schulz David Strong Martha Zeeman 11

12 Third Thursday Taizé Service Thursday, December 20, 6:30 PM For some, the holidays are not a joyous time. Our Third Thursday Taizé service offers a time to reflect on this the longest night. We will gather to pray, share communion and light candles to remind us that though it may seem dark Christ came into the world to be our light Longest Night For some, the holidays are not a joyous time. Our Third Thursday Taizé service offers a time to reflect on this the longest night. We will gather to pray, share communion and light candles to remind us that though it may seem dark Christ came into the world to be our light. 700 North Sheridan Road Lake Forest, Illinois FirstChurchLF.org Join Us for Sunday Worship 9 & 11 am followed by Fellowship