You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world. Jesus (Matthew 5:13-14)

Transcription

1 OUR MISSION The Salt Shaker You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world. Jesus (Matthew 5:13-14) J A N U A R Y OUR MISSION Parkville Presbyterian Church is a community of believers Parkville following Presbyterian Jesus Christ by sharing God s Word, serving and Church is welcoming a community all. of believers following Jesus Christ by sharing God s Word, serving and welcoming all. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : 2. Veterans Hospital & Family Promise missions 3. Pastor s Perspective 4. Unbinding your Heart & Table Talk 5. Reflections: Advent and Christmas Power to Puerto Rico 7. Getting to Know PPC, Final Friday, Dec. Grads 8. Advent Gathering 9. January Calendar Epiphany for 2018 is observed on Saturday, January 6th. The day is also known as the 12th Day of Christmas or Three Kings Day to help us remember the three wise men who visited Jesus as a baby. The ancient celebration marks the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, as well as the visit from the three Wise Men - which is why it s also known as Three Kings Day. The word Epiphany comes from Greek and means manifestation. God represented his royal standing, frankincense his divine birth and myrrh - his mortality. We will be having an Epiphany Worship on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6:00 pm. As the ancients celebrated the appearance of Emmanuel God among us and proclaimed that nothing now need be the same, so will we, in this worship, celebrate the strange and wonderful through art, music and the presence of our selves. We hope you ll join us Saturday at 6pm! Ring out the Old; Ring in the New! New Year s Eve Worship

2 Special needs at this time include: January Food Pantry Needs Ramen noodles Bath soap Pork and beans Dry beans CA$H DONATIONS are also welcome; make checks to SPEAC Food Pantry This Sunday is Food Pantry Sunday! We will be hosting Family Promise guests January 14th-20th and we will need a lot of volunteers to sign up for Family Promise duties between now and the 14 th of January, the start of the next Family Promise Week. There are currently four families in the program. One of the November guests, Edythe, completed the Women s Employment Network program and got a new job! She and her family continue in the program as they work their way back to permanent housing. Join us in hosting families as they also work toward a place of their own. Please contact Debbie Walker dougdebwalker@gmail.com or Marla Zaragoza mzaragoza588@gmail.com for information. There will be sign up sheets in the Narthex. New Elders and Deacons Ordained / Installed Liz Miller - Elder Kay Jackson - Deacon Chris Davis - Elder Rayni Taylor - Deacon Steve Walker - Elder Heather Abrahamson - Elder T H E S A L T S H A K E R Mission Projects Depend on People Power Thanks to all who helped with the Park U. care packages donating, collecting and assembling items for international students! Pictured is the Nate and Melissa Staley family, who helped assemble gift bags after New Year s Eve worship. Little Dresses for Africa will NOT meet to work in January; we will resume in February. Veterans Hospital Project Expands into New Year! The Veterans Hospital was very pleased to be able to distribute the 307 cards from our PPC Christmas card writing gathering on December 10th. We at PPC would like to continue support for these deserving men and women by collecting basic need items in a collection container at PPC during the month of January with a delivery date of February 1st. Following is a list of needed items for the veterans: Snack items Bottled water Soda New socks and underwear Postage stamps Personal hygiene items

3 Pastor s Perspective: Rev. Steven Andrews P A G E 3 It s hard to see without vision. I say that with my tongue in cheek, of course, but what I mean is that a church needs a clear sense of vision a sense of who it is, why God placed it here, and what God is calling it to do in order to live into its full potential. With a clear sense of vision, it becomes easier to make decisions, easier to recruit people to serve in ministries, and easier to tell visitors and potential visitors who we are and how this church might make a difference in their lives. Last fall, I convened a group of 20 leaders in our congregation. It included people who have been part of the church for decades and people who joined the church in It included elders, deacons, and people who have never served in ordained leadership. There were Baby Boomers, Gen-X-ers, and at least one selfidentified Millennial (me). Over the course of three months, we met every two weeks to discuss a book Will Mancini s Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement and its implications for the vision of Parkville Presbyterian Church. A church needs a clear sense of vision These conversations were the beginning of a congregation-wide visioning process which will define our life in 2018 and for years to come. For a long time, I have admired the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (CoR) in Leawood, KS. CoR was founded in 1990 as a handful of people worshiping in a funeral home. Twenty-eight years later, they are over 20,000 people who gather in four campuses around the Kansas City metro area. Now, don t mistake my meaning, I have no intention of leading Parkville Presbyterian Church toward becoming a mega-church. One of our strengths as a congregation is our warm, intimate community our life together as a family of God s people, and I believe God made us to be a community church. But I admire CoR s clear sense of vision and mission. I admire them because, drawn together by a desire to serve others, they are growing in faith and love and doing great things for the Kingdom of God. Since its founding, the members of CoR have been inspired by their mission: Reaching non-religious and nominally religious people and helping them become committed followers of Jesus Christ. In our visioning conversations last fall, some looked at that statement and wondered if it excluded those who are already committed Christians. It s a fair question, and we can imagine what a hypothetical resident of Leawood thinks when reading this statement and considering a visit to CoR. But the reality is that committed followers of Christ show up to visit each Sunday, and many of them join the church, because they are inspired by a vision that brings people together for the sake of serving others. Over the course of the next year, PPC will seek its own version of this simple statement our own clear explanation of who God made us to be, why God placed us here, and what God is calling us to do. This will help us tell visitors and potential visitors who we are and how God might work in their lives through this church. It will also help us simplify our ministries, clarify our purpose, and inspire our service to our communities and to one another. With a clear sense of vision, we will find new energy for God s mission to go forth and make disciples, and new inspiration for the simple-yetdifficult call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. A clear sense of vision can bring us together, unite us behind a common purpose, and give us strength to serve. In the year to come, we will follow a process with the following outline. In January and February, we will survey the congregation, asking open-ended questions through bulletin inserts in worship, as we seek to inspire your memory and imagination. During Lent (from February 14 th to March 31 st ), we will engage in a congregational study of Unbinding Your Heart, which will remind us of God s call on our lives as individual people and as a people of God. Concluded on next page

4 Another Timely Message from Pastor Steve We all want the church to grow, and we want to grow ourselves in faith and love--to become even more passionate and committed followers of Jesus Christ. Unbinding Your Heart is a small group study designed with these goals in mind, and during Lent (from February 14th until March 31st), we will engage in a congregational study of this important book. Unbinding Your Heart is about evangelism. It is designed for mainline Protestant churches like ours, to speak to our sensibilities and fears around evangelism, and it has helped hundreds of churches like ours grow in faith, love, and people. But it s also about so much more than that, because strong evangelism requires strong faith, and so the study also builds up our prayer lives and inspires our faith. Over the next six weeks, you ll hear more about this study, and about the many times and places small groups will be meeting. I d like each person in the congregation to be part of one of these small groups during Lent, and I hope that we will all be as inspired by this study as I have been. Grace and Peace, Pastor Steve Table Talk by Rev. Dr. Mike Graves For nearly two thousand years followers of Jesus have gathered in churches to eat a meal called Communion in his memory. In 2016, Rev. Dr. Mike Graves led us in a Sunday School adventure on Communion. He shared his research for an upcoming book on Communion practices in the early church, and invited us to celebrate the meal as a joyful feast, in keeping with the practices of the earliest Christians. The book he previewed for us has now been published. It s called Table Talk: Rethinking Communion and Community, and a description follows: In Table Talk, Mike Graves claims if we could travel back to those earliest Christian gatherings, we would realize we are not just two thousand years removed; we are lightyears removed from how they ate when gathered because eating was why they gathered in the first place, a kind of first-century dinner party. Four characteristics of their Communion practices would leap out at us, traits that are scattered throughout the New Testament, but that often go unnoticed: how the meal was part of a full evening together, promoting intimacy; how it was a mostly inclusive affair, everyone welcome at the table; how it was typically festive, more like a dinner party; and how afterwards they enjoyed a lively conversation on a host of topics. But Table Talk explores more than just Communion practices, because a new way of doing church is happening around the world, gatherings more horizontal than vertical. For two thousand years Christians have oriented themselves toward God in the presence of others; now a growing number of congregations, part of the dinner church movement, are orienting themselves toward each other in the presence of God. This book tells their story and helps us rethink our own.

5 P AGE Advent Children s Pageant and Christmas Eve Worship A Very Christmas 5

6 Power to Puerto Rico Marcus Flores, PPC Deacon, who has family in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, is spearheading an effort to bring electricity back to the island. You can learn more and support the cause by clicking here. Status of our giving and spending through Nov. 30, 2017 T H E S A L T S H A K E R T H E S A L T S H A K E R

7 Getting to Know PPC December Graduates P A G E 7 Congratulations to these winter graduates: Molly Jackson graduated from the University of Missouri with a Health Science Degree and will be starting her masters in occupational therapy in January. Join us Saturday, January 13, from 9 to 11:30 am, for Getting to Know Parkville Pres. If you d like to know the difference between a Presbyterian and a Methodist, or what animates the mission and ministry of this particular church, come on January 13th. Doughnuts and childcare are provided; all we need is you! Joel Overfelt graduated with a BA major in Chinese and minor in business from KU. Joel left the U.S. Dec 26 th for Kunming, China. He signed a year contract to teach English there! If you have a celebration to share with the congregation please contact Nancy Stifter: njstifter@gmail.com Celebrating Birthdays in January - Friday, January 26, 7:00 pm Join us as we welcome Robert McNichols, Jr. With his stirring, one-person tribute to life and music of Paul Robeson. Please extend birthday good wishes to the following Parkville Presbyterian members in January: 1/1 Lyndon Reents, Herb Tillinghast 1/2 Kristin Miller 1/3 John Broyles 1/4 Wanda Moore 1/5 Stephanie Berg, Nicholas Riffle, Anna Davis 1/7 Michael Gunn, Steven Shrawder 1/10 Rayni Taylor 1/11 Jack Miller, Blair Walker 1/13 Holly Downing, Finley Bogener 1/14 Paige Cook 1/15 Carol Lehman, Jessica Bloomer 1/17 Aaron Miller, Bob Grant 1/19 Mary Ann Bleish 1/20 Sandra Annis 1/21 Laura Ozenberger 1/22 Hunt Listrom 1/23 Kenneth Selvidge 1/24 Randy Smith, Greg Nook, Melissa Overfelt 1/25 Aaron Wilt 1/26 Pamela Godlove, Jan Myers 1/27 Missy Wilt 1/29 Sharon Adair If we missed your birthday, please notify Nancy njstifter@gmail.com or call the church office.

8 We were privileged to participate in an International Sash Ceremony for graduating international and study abroad students at Park University on Friday, Dec. 8th. Several PPC folks joined for a Christmas Gathering on Sunday, Dec. 10 to share Christmas carols, a light supper, and to write Christmas cards to veterans. T H E SA LT SHA K ER

9 Parkville Presbyterian Church January 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Church Office Closed 2 1-4:00 pm Pastor 3 4 9am-12pm Pastor 5 6 6:00 p.m. Epiphany Worship 6:30 p.m. Cubs/ rooms 205/206/208/215 7:00 p.m. Session, Room 307 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 10:00 am Circle III, Room :30 a.m. Worship 9:40 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Worship 3:00 p.m. Girl Scouts 4:30 p.m. Rising Youth Group 8 6:00 p.m. Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts 205/206/208 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts Whipple Hall 7:00 p.m. Evening Circle 9 1-4:00 pm Pastor 2:00 p.m. SPEAC 6:30 p.m. Cubs/ rooms 205/206/208/ :00 p.m. Daisy Troop 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 11 9am-12pm Pastor 7:00 p.m. Generosity Ministry Team Meeting 7:00 p.m. Mission Team Meeting, Rm 311 7:00 p.m. Right Side Of the Tracks 12 10a-Preschool Music Class 13 10a-Preschool Music Class 9-11:00 a.m. Getting to Know PPC 14 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:40 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Worship 4:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Group Family Promise Hosting 1/14-1/20 15 Church Office Closed 6:00 p.m. Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts 205/206/208 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts Whipple Hall :00 pm Pastor 17 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 18 7:00 p.m. Right Side of the Tracks 19 10a-Preschool Music Class 20 9:00 a.m. Worship Ministry Meeting 10a-Preschool Music Class 21 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:40 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Worship followed by Annual Congregational Mtg. 3:00 p.m. Girl Scouts 4:30 p.m. Rising Youth Group 28 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:40 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Worship 4:30 p.m. Middle School Youth Group 22 6:00 p.m. Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts 205/206/208 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts Whipple Hall 29 6:00 p.m. Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Cub Scouts 205/206/208 7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts Whipple Hall :00 pm Pastor 6:30 p.m. Cubs/ rooms 205/206/208/215 7:00 p.m. Board of Deacons, Room :00 pm Pastor 6:30 p.m. Cubs/ rooms 205/206/208/ :00 p.m. Daisy Troop 6:03 p.m. Presbytery Meeting, Room 307 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 31 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 25 7:00 p.m. Right Side of the Tracks/ 26 10a-Preschool Music Class 11:00 a.m. Kramer Memorial Service 7:00 p.m. Final Friday Community Concert 27 10a-Preschool Music Class 9a-4pm Leadership Retreat 4:00 p.m. Pinewood Derby, Whipple Hall

10 Parkville Presbyterian Church 819 Main Street Parkville, MO Grace and PPastor Steve Office: Fax: Like us on Facebook! Forward the Salt Shaker to a Friend Sunday Worship 8:30 & 11:00 a.m. Church School: 9:45 a.m. Church Office: Church Fax: church@parkvillepresby.org Salt Shaker published monthly by Parkville Presbyterian Church The Rev. Steven Andrews, Pastor Paul Erickson, Director of Music and Arts & Organist Peggy Pape, Office Manager News Deadline is NOON Last Sunday of Month