FIRST MATTERS! The Footsteps of Jesus

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1 FIRST MATTERS! May 2017 The Newsletter of the Saints at First Presbyterian Church of Arcadia From the Pastor s Heart Inside: Music Notes... 2 Preschool News... 3 Session Highlights... 3 Lectionary Readings... 4 On Discipleship... 5 Online Giving... 6 News from the Pews... 7 This & That Corner... 8 Community Prayer... 9 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 20 N Orange Avenue Arcadia, Florida Phone: Fax: FIRST MATTERS! is published monthly except for December/January and June/July. Rev. Bill Teng Pastor pastor@firstpc.church Elder Don Knoche Clerk of Session Genie Martin Music Director Jan Hancock Director of Preschool Charles Dirr Organist Karen Cassels Office Manager office@firstpc.church Gregg Johnson Sexton The Footsteps of Jesus As you read this issue of First Matters! I, along with about twenty other Presbyterian pastors from around the country, will have left for Israel for a pilgrimage following Jesus footsteps. The Footsteps of Jesus Experience is a unique two-week journey to the places where Jesus lived, made disciples, built a spiritual family, and fulfilled his mission. It is not a tour, it is a spiritual pilgrimage. We will focus on the historically verifiable sites from Jesus life and the spiritual impact these can have on us personally. The trip begins by exploring the Old Testament roots and the social setting of the Gospels in and around Jerusalem, Judea, and the Dead Sea. Then we will follow the course of Jesus life from his birth in the city of Bethlehem, to the Sea of Galilee where he called his disciples, to the far north of Israel, and then back to Jerusalem for the climactic conclusion of our journey. Each day we will begin with time for prayer and scripture-reading based on our itinerary that day. We will visit the sites with the greatest historical significance that illuminate the biblical account of Jesus life. At each site we will be given an overview of the history and archeology and then conclude with a time of biblical reflection, sharing, and prayer. Each day we will pause at a meaningful place for worship and teaching. The evenings will alternate between opportunities for worship, processing in small groups, and free time. During this pilgrimage, we will stay in Christian guesthouses within the ancient walled city of Jerusalem and on the peaceful shores of the Sea of Galilee. We will visit many sites by foot so we will need to be physically fit and able to walk 4-5 miles a day up hills in warm weather. Our trip leader is Bob Rognlien pastor, teacher, and guide with over 30 years experience along with his wife Pam. Bob and Pam have lived in Jerusalem where Bob conducted postgraduate studies in the archaeology and sociology of Jesus life. Many people who have taken this journey with them over the last twenty years have called it the trip of a lifetime. I truly believe this is going to be an unforgettable experience that will profoundly shape my reading of the Gospels, my teaching and preaching, as well as my walk with Jesus. Below is our itinerary: April 30 The World of Jesus, Sadducees and Pharisees: Jerusalem Museum, Temple Mount, Mount of Olives (Abraham and Isaac) May 1 The World of Jesus, Essenes & Zealots: Wilderness of Judea, Qumran, Masada, Dead Sea (Joseph) May 2 The Birth of Jesus: Bethlehem, Shepherds Fields, and Herodium (David) May 3 Jesus Baptism and Temptation: River Jordan, Wadi Kelt, St. George s Monastery May 4 Jesus Home in Galilee: Nazareth, Sepphoris, Cliffs of Arbel, stay at Sea of Galilee May 5 Jesus Headquarters: Capernaum, ancient Galilee Boat, boat trip on the lake May 6 Jesus Mission Field: Magdala, Tabgha, Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, Mount of Beatitudes May 7 Jesus Mission Field: Chorazin, Bethsaida, Kursi, Hippo May 8 Jesus Retreats: Gamla, Caesarea Philippi, Banias Waterfalls, return to Jerusalem May 9 Jesus Triumphal Entry: Bethany, Lazarus Tomb, Mt. of Olives, Pater Noster, Dominus Flevit May 10 Jesus Teaching and Healing in Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Pools of Bethesda & Siloam, Hezekiah s Tunnel, return via Herodian Street or Hakeldema and Hinnom Valley May 11 Jesus Last Supper & Trials: Upper Room, St Peter in Galicantu, Garden of Gethsemane, Wohl Museum, Palace of Herod, Passover dinner May 12 Jesus Crucifixion & Resurrection: Via Dolarosa, Golgotha, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Easter Service at Herodian Family Tomb, closing dinner, depart Tel Aviv early Saturday morning flight. Your prayers for safety are much appreciated! Yours in Christ,

2 SESSION Music Notes, Genie Martin, Director Class of 2017 Dave Bremer Don Knoche David Maassen Ann Pepper Class of 2018 Ellen Davis Tyler Maassen Terry West Edith Wildt Class of 2019 Debi Halvorson Donnie Knoche Brad Lawrence Carol Treadwell Pastor Bill Teng Moderator / Pastor Keith Markey Treasurer Elders Emeriti Margaret Way Paul Whitlock Palm Sunday (April 9) music was glorious, with the children singing so joyously and playing chimes with the adults. The children are growing in the knowledge and performance of music in the church and growing in maturity of our church. Thank you for caring enough to bring your children to learn more about music in the church! The Handbell choir on Easter Sunday was phenomenal. It was a difficult selection with difficult rhythms. We have some new members: Mitzie McGavic will be playing next Fall; Nicole Maassen Jiskoot and Sarah Bennett are filling in Thank you! Ellie Sutphin, as usual, did a masterful performance on her flute. Thank you all, choir, for your devotion! One of our winter residents told me how outstanding our music was on Easter Sunday and every Sunday. I am so grateful for each and every one of you and your devotion to our church and the music of our church. The anthem, Joy in the Morning, on Sunday (April 23) was fantastic! Almost every choir member was there and it was awesome. So awesome that Pastor Bill wants us to sing that for the Presbytery meeting on May 18! So that will be our plan. Thank you to Berkley Latimer who sings bass in the choir when he is in town. He ll be here another week or two before heading to Switzerland for a Board Meeting for the school where he is Headmaster. He is a cousin of Edith Wildt and married to Peggy Braine. As you know, there s no further plan for Sunday morning handbell practice until necessary. We will continue Wednesday night rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. only. That is three more rehearsals until Presbytery meeting! It will be perfect! I have a thought for summer music: Thinking of adding children to the service instead of a regular anthem use their special talents whatever that is: records, dancing or singing. Parents of children in the choir, how do you feel about this? Let me know. Hosting Stated Peace River Presbytery Meeting FPC has the high honor of hosting the May Stated Meeting of Peace River Presbytery on Thursday, May 18. If you are able and willing to volunteer your time to serve as 1) registration helper, 2) parking attendant, 3) greeter and guide, or 4) luncheon staff; please call the church office and specify which area you d like to volunteer. We are expecting about commissioners from the 37 congregations in our presbytery. First Matters! Newsletter Editor/Layout Karen Cassels Page 2

3 MINISTRY TEAMS Clerk of Session Don Knoche Jan Hancock, Director Easter at the Preschool was fabulous. Mr. Hancock gave the students a Bible lesson before our egg hunt and reminded the children each time they found an egg to think of Jesus and his sacrifice. Thank you just doesn t seem adequate Kim & Debi Halvorson hosted the preschool Easter Egg Hunt at their beautiful home. They have an amazing yard that was perfect for our classes. We had an egg-dying station and a duck pond for the kids to play games. The parents brought lawn chairs and blankets and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and gorgeous weather. I m pretty sure they could have stayed all afternoon. Thank you Kim and Debi for making our day perfect! We are beginning enrollment for our next year s classes. Applications have been sent out and I have been receiving phone calls left and right for new applicants. Next year will be awesome for sure. Be sure and let anyone know who maybe interested in coming to our preschool, that our class sizes are small and we have a limited enrollment, that is rapidly approaching capacity. May is shaping up for a busy month. We will be celebrating Mother s Day with our annual Muffins with Moms morning, Pirate Party (because X marks the spot) at Ft. Ogden Park, and our year-end field trip to Ryals Ranch. And then of course we have our graduation on Tuesday, May 23 at 6:00 p.m. Please make plans to attend. Session Highlights At its April 17, 2017 stated meetings, the FPC Session took action on the following items: Approved an increase in our line of credit at First State Bank from $50,000 to $75,000 to assist with our cash flow issues; Approved a congregational survey recommended by the Worship Team re: changing Sunday worship time to either 10:00 or 10:30 a.m.; Approved a request from the Missions Team to use Pfrangle Hall one night each week during the months of June and July for tutoring in the volunteer program; Approved the Rev. Dr. Winston Lawson to preach on May 7 in Pastor Teng s absence and to officiate Holy Communion; The handicap bathroom retrofit in Pfrangle Hall is progressing on schedule and should be finished by May 12; and Preparation to host the Stated Meeting of Peace River Presbytery on May 18 is being worked out and needs volunteers in the following areas: 1) registration helper; 2) parking attendant; 3) greeter and guide; or 4) luncheon staff. An update on the IRS situation: At the request of the Board of Trustees of Peace River Presbytery, attempts will be made to take another approach to resolve the balance of back payroll taxes owed (about $26,000), with the assistance of St. Paul s Presbyterian Church in North Port, which has experienced a similar situation as ours. More information will be forthcoming once meetings are held with their certified public accountant. Please see Clerk of Session Elder Don Knoche or Pastor Teng for any questions. Administration/Personnel Dave Bremer Children s Christian Education Debi Halvorson Communications Terry West Congregational Care Edith Wildt Congregational Life Donnie Knoche Discipleship Kenneth Hancock Evangelism & Assimilation Carol Treadwell Finance & Stewardship Judy Kirkpatrick Missions Brad Lawrence Ellen Davis Properties David Maassen Ann Pepper Worship Tyler Maassen Youth Tyler Maassen A Note from the Office If your address has changed, please notify the church office as soon as possible. Any updated addresses, phone numbers, birthdays and anniversaries are appreciated. Please also note that both the church website and address have been changed: office@firstpc.church Page 3

4 Lectionary Readings for Sundays May 2017 FOR HEALING FPC Members: Rudolph Dunn Sheila Knoche Roberta Mann Sue Overcash Joyce Shenefield Barbara & Carlos Walker Skip West Friends of FPC: Tucker Adkins Nelson Arrington Myrtice Beck (Myra Kirkpatrick s friend) Tisha Coker Carrie Evans Kay Frierson (Kim Fender s mother) Angie Hill Connie King William Lolley John LoPorto (Jan s brother) Karen Mercer Will Nugent Nancy Richmond (Edith Wildt s friend) Frank Tanner Robert Thomas Tim Vowels Mike Waller Nancy Webster Please remember Mitzie McGavic and family in your prayers as they mourn the passing of her brother, Rodger White, on April 17. Fourth Sunday of Easter May 7 Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-35; John 10:1-10 Fifth Sunday of Easter May 14 Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5,15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 Sixth Sunday of Easter May 21 Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 Seventh Sunday of Easter May 28 Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11 Thanks to All Who Helped with Ushering! April Carol Treadwell, Marlou Zolkos, Paulette Raschelle, Ellen Davis 9 Kim & Debi Halvorson, Keith & Martha Jo Markey 16 Rev. Bige & Jacqueline Combs, Paulette Raschelle, Ellen Davis 23 Paulette Raschelle, Jerry Nathe, Peggy Latimer, Ellen Davis Also greeting on April 23: Addison and Cadyn Gill 30 Paulette Raschelle, Marlene Harris, Metzie McGavic, Judie Neeley If you re interested in helping with ushering during a Sunday worship service, please call Elder Ellen Davis at Missions Corner, Elders Brad Lawrence & Ellen Davis One Great Hour of Sharing A total of $ has been collected so far. Be sure to send in your donation. Will be collecting for one more week. Caring for Generations Will be collected on Sunday, May 14. Center for the Needy Beginning with May 21, children s coins will be collected on the third Sunday of the month. A Big Thank You A big thank you to Bill Stander and Rich Borsmann for getting everything together for the church picnic, as well as for everyone that assisted. It was a beautiful day and we had around 57 attendees. We look forward to our next picnic in the fall. Page 4

5 On Discipleship, Elder Kenneth Hancock Roadblocks to Discipleship Part I I came across what appears to be an anecdotal story about something Abraham Lincoln said during a prayer breakfast with a group of ministers during the Civil War. I am not sure if it is historically accurate, but it s still a good story. At some point during this breakfast one of the attending ministers said, Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side. Rather than what I am sure the minister assumed would be an Amen, President Lincoln responded, No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God s side. That sums up one of the many flawed aspects that make up the whole of what I generally consider to be the human condition. We often assume that the path we are on or how we are travelling that path is right. Maybe that assumption is the result of heartfelt prayer, in which case it may be justified (or maybe not). Unfortunately, I think many times the assumption that we are travelling the right path and/or travelling it in the right way as Christians is simply bred from doing the same thing in the same way time after time. It worked once, so it must still be working. Walking a different path or walking the current path in a different manner never even shows up on the radar until something goes south. This begs another question: What s the something that has to go south to get our attention? If God has His way (and we know He always gets His way), you can 100% guarantee that the something is whatever is MOST important in our lives that isn t Him. Things go south and we cry, Why me, God? What did I do? I picture God looking down at us in the middle of our temper tantrum, shaking his head with a knowing, sad look on his face: Kenneth, Kenneth, Kenneth [long, drawn out sigh]. How many times do we have to go through this? It s what you DIDN T DO. I ve been there. My foolish pride won t let me confess how many times, but trust me: it s a recurring theme with me. I was in Dr. Overcash s Sunday school class recently and he was sharing something from a new book by Andy Stanley that hit home. I cannot quote it (yet I ll be buying the book soon, though!), but here s the gist: That something for many, many churches is almost always money. Nobody looks up and wonders if things are going south until the money runs out. Once that happens, all the work is geared towards fixing the money problem. No adult baptisms? Active ministry involvement dropping? Membership dropping? No Sunday school classes? No Bible studies? None of these things are a blip on the radar until money is tight, and sometimes not even then. Money gets tight because people stop giving, stop attending church, or both. People stop supporting their church because church becomes irrelevant to them. I have no idea who Ray Altman is, but I found a quote by him that hits the nail on the head: The cost of non-discipleship is the irrelevance of the church. I haven t travelled all over the world and I haven t been to a zillion churches. My lack of experience in those respects notwithstanding, true, meaningful, and intentional discipleship is the only way. The only way for what? It s the only way for everything. It s the only way to grow as a believer, the only way to grow as a church, the only way to help others and, most importantly, it s the only way to obey Christ. And now for a reality check: FPC Arcadia is becoming irrelevant. This isn t new. It s been happening for years. If I ve offended anyone then I beg your forgiveness in advance. We are trying a few things and there are many good aspects of our church life, but honestly answer the following question: If we closed our doors next week at FPC Arcadia, would anyone other than us notice? Would anyone miss our contribution to the community outside our doors or to the body of Christ? At best the honest answer to this question is Maybe. I know a few families outside our church who would be upset if our pre-school program went under. I can think of a few members trying to get things going, but there really isn t much support or, for that matter, desire to help from the rest of us. According to Jesus, we are salt. If we re not seasoning or preserving, then, also according to Jesus, we re useless. We are good about caring for ourselves and we have pleasant fellowship with one another (that s one of the BEST things about FPC Arcadia), but we are not laserfocused on discipleship. We cannot blame any person, event, or circumstance for this. If we are not focused on discipleship, it s nobody s fault but our own. Period. If we don t admit that and do something about it, then make no mistake: our doors will close. Lest I be accused of pointing fingers, let me be the first to raise my hand and admit that I have never made discipleship a priority. I know I should, but I just don t. Why do I struggle so much with this command from Jesus? I never really went further than that until I sat down to think about this month s newsletter. One thing led to another and before I knew it I had an outline of my next four newsletter topics. I ve identified what I think are 3 roadblocks to effective discipleship: 1) Pain/Loneliness; 2) Fear; and 3) Relationship(s). There will be some overlap as I discuss each roadblock, they are closely related and, technically, are all part of the same broad category: Excuses. Let s remove and jump over these roadblocks so we can get to work! We can start small, start big whatever. The important thing is to start. Remember: love is a verb. Page 5

6 Online Giving Let s face it we don t carry cash or a checkbook around with us today, so now we ve made giving to our church as easy as buying a song on itunes! There are three ways to give; they re all really easy! May 10 Edward & Jill Maassen 29 Ken & Ann Pepper May 1 Cooper Hancock Vivien Liszak 2 Ray Sutphin 3 Laurie Eggleston 4 Dave Bremer 7 Tom Anderman 8 Alex Martin 11 Bige Combs 17 Wayne Gallant Barbara Walker 18 Macie Hickox 23 Larry Eggleston Jan Hancock 26 Ernie Hewett 27 Marilyn Gallant If we missed your anniversary and/or birthday, please contact the church office to have your important date added. Text Engagement Grab your phone and text FPCOAF to You ll receive a text back with instructions to start giving. Be sure to type FPCOAF as one word, and make sure your phone doesn t autocorrect. Tap the link, and you re ready to give! Giving Link on Our Website Simply go to our website [ and go to the giving page. This will take you to the secure giving link and allow you to make your donation. OR: Pushpay App Lastly, simply download the Pushpay App from the Android Play or the Apple App Store. You can text pushpay to and receive a link back to download the app. From there, making a contribution is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Open the app, choose who to give to, enter the details and you re done, in only seconds! Be sure to make our church a favorite by selecting the star in the upper right corner of the App to easily find it later! ACH We re also excited to be able to offer you ACH giving! This is huge because it allows you to give directly from a bank account, which allows more of your donation to go into resourcing God s Kingdom. Simply navigate to the giving page using one of the methods described earlier, and choose Give from Bank Account. Enter your account and routing numbers and give! With Pushpay, you can: Give easily, quickly, and securely Store multiple cards and bank accounts Give recurring donations Login to and see your giving history On Sunday, March 12, we will officially introduce these new giving methods to the congregation at FPC! As you know, your generosity and financial partnership with us is how we are able to help expand the Kingdom. We value our church family and want to make sure everyone at FPC is aware of this exciting new giving platform, which allows for simple giving through a variety of ways, including mobile and online. If you have any questions, please direct them to Pastor Teng or our Office Manager, Karen Cassels. We re excited about this easy way to give, and think you ll love it too! Financial Summary (January 1 - April 30, 2017) Tithes & Offerings $72, Other Income 5, Expenses 87, (Deficit) ($9,854.30) FPC Session Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work (2 Cor. 9:7-8). Page 10

7 News from the Pews, Monday Morning Ladies It's great to have Joyce Shenefield back in church. We like seeing you on the front row! Thanks go out to Mac Martin for recording our concert with Joel Raney at the choral workshop in Bradenton. Sue Overcash is recovering from a bad fall near the church chancel. She will be out of the choir for a while. The picnic at Brewer Park was packed with a huge crowd that enjoyed all the good food and fellowship. who helped. Thanks to all Paul & Lcille Whitlock recently enjoyed the visits from their daughter, Francene, who lives in Gainesville. Genie Martin recently watched the opera, The Prince of Players, which was streamed live from Tallahassee, The opera was composed by her long-time friend from FSU, Carlisle Floyd. Joyce Harmon was a happy person recently when she was surrounded by her family in church. What handsome grandsons, Joyce! Church History Factoid On March 2, l969 the new sanctuary was completed and dedicated. Congratulations, Seniors! Robb Adams, son of Jeff & Nancy Adams and grandson of Joyce Harman, will graduate from DeSoto County High School on Friday, May 19. Robb has chosen to continue his education and baseball at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in the fall. In addition to playing baseball for the UVA Cavaliers, Robb will be working towards a degree in Business Analytics. Lizzy Evans will be graduating from DHS this year and plans to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville starting the summer B session in June. Daughter of George & Marshelle Evans, Lizzie has always been very interested in science and helping people live better lives. She hopes to major in biology and then further her education by either applying to pharmacy or medical school. Kalyn Lewis Markey, daughter of Keith & Kelly Markey II, granddaughter of Keith & Martha Jo Markey and Bill & Colleen Martin, was baptized on Easter Sunday in 1999 by Pastor Ted Land and confirmed in After graduation, Kalyn will begin her next chapter at Kaiser University in the fall. She has been accepted into the Diagnostic Sonography program which will give her great career opportunities upon graduating from Kaiser. Kalyn s parents are very proud of her for pursuing her goals and accomplishing them. She will have a bright and successful future. The three graduates will be honored at the worship service on May 21. Page 7

8 This & That Corner Ladies Card-Making Class It is a class led by Karen Cassels where we get together and make three (3) cards from cardstock. We will meet on Monday, May 1 at 2:00 P.M. in the Duplex. The cost of the class is $10 to pay for the supplies for the cards and envelopes. If you would like to come, please call Karen the church office at Lunch Bunch is going to Nav-A-Gator in Lake Suzy on Saturday, May 20. The group will leave at 11:00 A.M. from the church parking lot. Be sure to call the church office to reserve your seat. Ladies Circle Bible Study The final Ladies Circle Bible Study will meet on Tuesday, May 16 at 2:00 P.M. in the Duplex. Come and enjoy Bible study and fellowship, and don t miss Ms. Ellen s cookies! Looking for another way to stay up-to-date on the latest FPC news? We re on Facebook! Page 8

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10 First Presbyterian Church ~ May 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 9a Monday Morning Ladies (Duplex) 12n Men s O Brady s 2p Ladies Card Class (Duplex) 2 3 6:30p Handbells th Easter :45a Sunday School 9a Monday Morning Ladies (Duplex) 10:30a Choir Rehearsal 12n Men s Café 11a Worship w/ Holy Communion 12:05p Fellowship 5:30p All-Team Night (Pfrangle Hall) 6:30p Handbells 14 Mother s D ay :45a Easter Brunch (Pfrangle) 10:30a Choir Rehearsal 11a Worship 12:05p Fellowship 9a Monday Morning Ladies (Duplex) 12n Men s Skillets 5:30p Session (Duplex) 2p Ladies Circle Bible Study (Duplex) 8a-3p Presbytery Meeting 1p Presbytery Worship Service 11a Lunch in Lake Suzy (meet in church parking lot) 6:30p Handbells 21 6th Easter 9:45a Sunday School 10:30a Choir Rehearsal 11a Worship 12:05p Fellowship 22 9a Monday Morning Ladies (Duplex) 12n Men s O Brady s th Easter 29 Office Closed :45a Sunday School 10:30a Choir Rehearsal 10:50a Hymn Sing 11a Worship 12:05p Fellowship To add meetings or events to the calendar, please contact the church office: or office@firstpc.church. Deadline for submitting articles and announcements for First Matters! is the 20th of each month. Page 10