V O L 0 2 I S S U E 0 2 N O V E M B E R the good news M E M O R I A L P A R K C H U R C H

Transcription

1 V O L 0 2 I S S U E 0 2 N O V E M B E R the good news M E M O R I A L P A R K C H U R C H

2 what's inside 02 A Message from Pastor Dean 04 NEWLIFE Classes Prayer & Care: Christmas Generosity Men's Ministries Women's Ministries Memorial Park Christian Preschool Outreach Musical Christmas Tru Kids Holiday Edition Student IMPACT Freedom Firm Mission Team 16 New Employee Orientation Financial Update The Last Step: Next Step Campaign Updates

3 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 2 P A S T O R M E S S A G E From the Desk of Pastor Dean I love Christmas traditions! More than any other time of year, I enjoy the way our family celebrates this holy-day! The traditions bring us together in common or shared activities that shape us and point us to something beyond ourselves (and they are fun). From who puts the angel on top of the tree (we have a rotating system), to when we open our stockings (always before the presents), to what we eat (and when), our traditions matter! Something that has become a tradition for many of us on Christmas Day is watching the classic movie A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd. Every year, I love to laugh at Ralphie Parker and his quest for the ultimate Christmas gift, a Red Ryder Air Rifle (think BB gun). Anyone who grew up in the 50 s or 60 s can still hear that well intentioned adult warning us, you re gonna shoot your eye out kid so we identify with Ralphie. (Spoiler Alert: if you have not seen this movie you may wish to skip to the next paragraph). At the conclusion of the movie, after opening all his presents (including that ridiculous pink bunny outfit from Aunt Clara), Ralphie seems dejected that he seems to have everything except for what he really wanted (The Red Ryder Air Rifle). Then, when all hope seems lost, Ralphie s father encourages him to look again to look for something more! And there it was, hidden behind the piano, the object of our hero s greatest hopes and dreams: The Red Ryder Air Rifle! Our protagonist is ecstatic! And yet, shortly after receiving what he has long dreamed of, Ralphie goes outside to use his newly prized possession and promptly shoots his eye out (kind of). Lesson learned. The objects of our longing and desires may just not deliver what we hope for, leaving us looking for something more. "You are invited to be a part of God s family traditions. Be present. Sing, laugh, worship, and celebrate! " This Advent, we invite you to Look for Something More than the traditional wrappings and trappings of Christmas. We invite you to Expect More, Trust More, Find More, and ultimately to Become More! Be in worship anticipating the birth of God s own son and grow to expect more from your current condition as we learn from Elizabeth, Jesus aunt. Follow the Savior this season with us as we learn to trust more, by following the example of Mary and Joseph, Jesus parents. In the wonderment of Christmas, discover that you can find more when you seek after the Messiah with a community of believers like the shepherds. Finally, on Christmas Eve (day and night) journey with us to become more like the Wisemen who came to worship the newborn King! This year, two of our Christmas traditions at MPC are coming together to take on new meaning. In years past, we have had different people light the candles on the Advent Wreath during the worship services; and in years past, our staff has had the opportunity to celebrate with our partners in our Christmas outreach called The Giving Tree. This year, those two celebrations are going to be combined. During each of our services, one of our mission partners from the Giving Tree will light our Advent Candle for that week, but also will share briefly how the ministry of the Giving Tree has brought light into the darkness and made a

4 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 3 P A S T O R M E S S A G E significant impact on the lives of many in our community and around the world. It is our hope, that like Ralphie Parker s father, our invitation to look again at these traditions will help you see and receive something more this Christmas. We promise you that if you come to worship every week this Advent season, you will experience something more this Christmas. It is not about doing more, it is not about wishing for something more, it is about becoming something more! God s present to you this Christmas is His presence in His house! You are invited to be a part of God s family traditions. Be present. Sing, laugh, worship, and celebrate! You are invited to come looking for something more your Father in Heaven has much more for you than meets the eye (just be sure to not shoot your eye out)! From the Weavers to all of our beloved Memorial Park family we wish for you a blessed anticipation and celebration of our Savior's birth! Merry Christmas!

5 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 4 N E W L I F E C L A S S E S NEWLIFE Classes at MPC B Y P A S T O R B E T S Y R U M E R As the holidays draw near, we are beginning to wind down our NEWLIFE class, ReFrame. It s been a great time of teaching with thoughtful and deep discussion for all those who ve participated. A big thank you to our Elders who took upon themselves the responsibility of teaching this class as well as the facilitation of the small group discussions. I hope all were blessed with a new (reframed) way of thinking about how to live out their faith in all areas of their lives. what the Lord might want to teach you as we start off the New Year. Further descriptions and details of classes will be available after the New Year. Until then, enjoy these next few weeks as we anticipate and celebrate with thanksgiving the birth of our Savior! Sunday Mornings Joshua League Men s Ministries: Difficult Questions for Christians, audio series, Tim Keller Tim Keller: "The Prodigal God" (Based on Jesus Parable of the Prodigal Son) Now, while I have no desire to hurry through these coming months of preparation and celebration of our Savior s birth, January WILL be here before we know it and so will our winter session of NEWLIFE Classes. So, let me just give you a taste of what s to come. Beginning on January 7th through the 21st, both online as well as in The HUB, registration will be open for our Winter classes. This semester we will offer a whole host of topics. I m sure there will be one that is just right for you! Please pray about Wednesday Evenings Re Engage Marriage: Enrichment program for marriages in any condition Financial Peace University: A practical look at how to handle your money Getting into S.H.A.P.E.: A working course to help you discover your purpose Looking for God in the stuff of life: a class on spiritual direction Working Women s class: Pricilla Shirer s "Discerning the Voice of God" Joshua League Men s Ministries: Difficult Questions for Christians, audio series, Tim Keller Depression Support Group Thursday Morning Seniors Class: "A look through the Psalms"

6 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 5 P R A Y E R & C A R E Prayer & Care: Christmas Generosity B Y P A S T O R K E V I N G O U R L E Y As we move into the Advent Season and Christmas, we must ask the question: where does the spirit of generosity come from? We hear a lot of words around Christmas: Merry. Christmas tree. Santa. Charlie Brown Christmas. Presents. Gifts... Unfortunately, in our increasingly materialistic and secular culture, we do not hear the word Jesus, and if we do, it is frowned upon or viewed as judgmental or intolerant. You have heard this verse many times in our Reframe Preaching Series: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). So many of us are so wrapped up in giftgiving and gifts from Black Friday until Christmas that the word gift consumes us for a month! the newborn Jesus. On the first Christmas, God gave the greatest gift of all: His Son to die for us, to give us a life purpose, and to give us a true home in Heaven. Jesus is the original Christmas gift! Think about God s generosity. If not for His giving, we would not have salvation, purpose, hope, or even the simple things we take for granted, such as the air we breathe, our hearts that beat, the blood that courses through our veins, the food we eat, our families and friends we enjoy, and even those God-ordained challenges that develop our character and our dependence on God. We love because He first loved us. We give because He first gave. God s greatest gift of generosity came on that first Christmas. Let His gift enter into us and flow out generously to others! We forget about the original gift and generosity of God: God so loved the world that He gave... Gift giving on Christmas was not started by the Wisemen who gave gifts to

7 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 6 M E N ' S M I N I S T R I E S Faith, Food, and Fellowship: Joshua League Monthly Breakfasts B Y D A V E D A N I E L The Joshua League has embarked on a new initiative, designed to bring the men of the church together once a month for a time of teaching, fellowship, and fun. Held at 8:00 AM on selected Saturday mornings, we begin with a hearty breakfast, followed by a speaker who challenges our men to grow in their faith and deepen their commitments to one another, the church, and the community at large. Our inagural speaker was Saleem Gubril, formerly youth leader at MPC, founder of The Pittsburgh Project, and currently head of the Pittsburgh Promise. He exemplifies the "local boy makes good" adage, and challenged us not to think too small when engaged in the work of the kingdom. speakers lined up for November 18, January 13, and monthly breakfasts through May. We encourage men of all ages to come, get to know some other men at the church, and learn more about opportunities to reach out and touch others with the love of Christ. If any of this surprises you, be assured that there is more to the Joshua League than meets the eye! Come, be a part of it: you, your family, your church, and the community will be blessed because of it. Next came Chris Mathewson, recently pastor at New City Church planted by MPC, and currently transitional pastor at Hickory Presbyterian Church. He focused on the idea of mentoring, to make use of the life experiences of our men in influencing the next generations of men and boys. Following the presentation, we have a chance to discuss the issues raised by the speaker in a small group setting. This gives us a chance to meet new men in a welcoming environment. We have a series of highly engaging

8 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 7 W O M E N ' S M I N I S T R I E S Cozy Christmas: Holiday Happenings in Women's Ministries B Y M I C H E L E H O L M E S & J O L E E N C L O U S E The Psalmist writes, The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy! Our hearts echo these words this month, as we are wrapping up from our 14th annual Christmas Spree, Coffee, and Tea. We truly are in awe of what the Lord allows to transpire in events such as this one! He allows it to be so much more than a Christmas shopping event, and the stories from the weekend will trickle into the weeks beyond the Spree, spilling out into our community. They are stories of friendship, of servanthood, of welcoming our community here, and of honoring the Lord by using our gifts people visited our church for the Spree this year a record crowd! We had countless people from MPC jump in to help with the Spree from running the cookie Café to baking the cookies, from managing the parking lot to helping sell tickets, from greeting our guests with a smile to cleaning up all the tables when the whole thing was done we are so incredibly grateful! Now we begin praying into what local, national, and international non-profits we can support with the funds we raised. As we look ahead at all the Lord has planned for us in the coming months, we are particularly excited for Wednesday, December 13. Women s Ministries is hosting a Cozy Christmas Café that night at 6:00 PM with Rev. Melissa Pearce from Enduring Hope Ministries as our guest. We are inviting all ladies to come with their favorite appetizer and a pair of slippers so that we can eat together and enjoy a festive evening of fun! Melissa will share an Advent word of hope with us, and there will be music, games, and plenty of laughter. The event is free, and a free-will offering will be collected to help support Melissa s ministry. Mark your calendars and plan to bring your girlfriends! Be on the lookout for the Advent Devotional that we are compiling from our MPC writers we will be handing it out after services the first weekend of December. We pray that your Advent will be blessed by marking out time to spend with the Lord using this devotional each day in December. And once our calendars settle down a bit after the Christmas season, we ll have a whole host of new studies to join in the month of January. We are so looking forward to spending time together this holiday season!

9 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 8 M P C P & M I S S I O N S Got Shoes? MPCP Soles for Jesus Collection B Y J A N M O R E T H For some, October means pumpkins and harvest festivals, but here at Memorial Park Christian Preschool (MPCP), October means shoes. Each year, Memorial Park Christian Preschool and Memorial Park Church come together to host a shoe drive benefitting Soles for Jesus, an overseas relief group that uses new and gently used shoes that will make a lifechanging difference in the lives of children and adults in 30 African countries. Memorial Park Church serves as the main Pennsylvania collection site for this non-profit organization, and each year, members and MPCP families gather together to donate, sort, and package shoes before shipping them off to the Soles for Jesus headquarters in Milwaukee. Each pair of donated shoes then makes its way to selected countries in Africa to be placed on the feet of children and adults in need. This small act of kindness enables children to attend school, adults to travel to work, and ultimately break the cycle of infection that is common in many African countries. Former MPCP parents Don and Michelle Simon volunteer throughout the year to sort through the donations and band them together in pairs for shipment. They have been involved in the shoe drive for several years. We feel very blessed that God has put this mission of shoes on our hearts. We have been a part of helping thousands to have their physical needs met and bringing them closer to Jesus. The work we do on a weekly basis, collecting and sorting shoes, brings us tremendous joy! Jan Moreth, Director of MPCP, also notes the opportunities the October shoe drive provides, not only for the recipients of shoes, but for her students: The heightened awareness and collection of shoes for Soles for Jesus during the month of October is one of several initiatives that we embrace as a preschool. Everyone wears shoes! So, a family with preschoolers simply needs to open up closet doors to see what hasn t been worn before bringing them in. Most of us have many daily choices of shoes, so on one hand, students learn to share out of abundance. On the other hand, some families actually go to buy shoes giving that may pinch a bit. Both acts of giving are valuable for children to be exposed to early on. The 2016 drive brought in over 10,000 pairs of shoes. With the success of the October drive, boxes remained for donation throughout the remainder of the year, with a subsequent shipment of 5,000 pairs of shoes shipped out in late July this year. Sorting for the next shipment is still ongoing, but with collection boxes needing to be emptied at the end of each week throughout October, hopes are high for even bigger numbers than For more information on the Soles for Jesus collections and details on the other outreach initiatives at MPCP and Memorial Park Church visit the Memorial Park website. Shoe donations can be dropped off any time throughout the year in the boxes at the main church building by the Preschool wing.

10 T H E G O O D N E W S 0 9 O U T R E A C H The Spirit of Giving B Y P A U L H O U S M A N As we do our Christmas preparations, would you please give once again to New Hope EPC? On Saturday, December 16, New Hope Church, a sister EPC congregation in the Shadeland Avenue community of Pittsburgh s North Side, will conduct their annual outreach project The Christmas Store. Several area churches provide funds to purchase Christmas gifts for low income families in the neighborhood. The shoppers (parents, grandparents and guardians) pay only 10% of the retail value of the gifts. Our donations will ensure that our Shadeland Avenue neighbors will have a nice Christmas while they celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. To be part of this effort, please make your checks payable to MPC, noted for New Hope. Because you gave... over 100 people will be warmed this winter by your loving generosity and the beautiful winter coats that were given to our outreach partner North Hills Community Outreach for distribution. Because you gave... You shared the generous love of our Savior with our sister church New Hope EPC by donating lots of children s clothing and footwear for their Children s Closet in their mission depot.

11 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 0 W O R S H I P & A R T S Musical Christmas B Y J I M L U E E R S Part of what makes the Christmas season so magical is the music that holds a place in our hearts. Here at Memorial Park, we have several holiday events that are sure to tickle your musical fancy! Brass, Bells, and Christmas! Allegheny Brass Band will present a concert with the Memorial Park Church Bell Choir and Chancel Choir on Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. The Allegheny Brass Band is a traditional British brass band featuring a flugelhorn, euphoniums, tenor and baritone horns, as well as cornets, trombones, and tubas. The band will combine with the choir and bells for a Christmas concert of joy for your season. Featuring many carols and Christmas favorites, a concert by the Allegheny Brass Band has something for everyone! The concert is open to all and a freewill offering will be taken. Looking to get involved after the holidays? Why not think about joining us for Trombone Sunday? Calling all trombonists to come and join the excitement of leading worship on Trombone Sunday, January 7, 2018! The Pittsburgh Trombone Project will lead us in offering new arrangements of great music and inspire us to sing to God s glory together! The rehearsal will be Tuesday, January 2 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Musicians from all over the region come for this time of fun and fellowship. Invite a friend to worship and come experience over 30 trombones in our Sanctuary! Save the Date! Christmas Eve Choir Come and worship with the MPC Chancel Choir as they sing the carols of Christmas! As Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, our Christmas Eve service schedule is a bit different. Join us for services Saturday, December 23 at 6 PM, or Sunday, December 24 at 11:00 AM, 5:00, 7:00, or 9:00 PM Twilight Night Friday, February 2 A sneak preview of upcoming high school musicals!

12 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 1 C H I L D R E N ' S M I N I S T R I E S Tru Kids Holiday Edition! B Y J E S S I C A P A R K E R Children s Ministries has been busy this fall with a mix of new and more traditional events. Over 150 people came together in fellowship at our first ever Fall Family Fun Night. Children and families enjoyed a grilled hot dog dinner, bounce houses, sardines in the dark, a pumpkin hunt, and other activities. The evening of fall fun concluded with s mores around a bonfire. We were very happy about the turn out, especially the number of people who attended from outside the MPC family. In mid-october we returned to a traditional celebration by presenting new Bibles to our first graders in Tru Kids. 28 children received these engaging, ageappropriate Bibles, and the event was followed by a time of encouraging children with their parents to immerse themselves in God s word as a family. Most recently, we celebrated our first communal infant baptism ceremony with four babies and their families participating in the sacrament of baptism together. These families learned about the meaning of baptism in a class the week before, and then the congregation celebrated bringing these children into God s family at the worship service and a reception afterwards. Parents and the congregation alike vowed to raise these children up with Christian principles, supporting and encouraging one another along the way. It was a beautiful celebration, and our next one will be February 18th of We hope you ll continue to support Children s Ministries in this upcoming Christmas season! Join us at the 9:15 service on December 10 to watch our elementary kids perform the pageant, and on December 17 to hear our toddlers sing a Christmas song. Also, stay tuned for more details on the MPC website about our upcoming Pancakes and Pajamas Party on Saturday, December 16. Enjoy a full pancake breakfast and hot chocolate bar, and participate in a family advent activity that will bless others this season, all for just $4 a person (or $20 a family)! Lastly, mark your calendars now to save the date for our Spiritual Parenting weekend crash course, January of 2018! We are excited to bring this course back to families, available for parents or grandparents of any age or even parents-to-be. We hope to see you there! Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

13 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 2 S T U D E N T I M P A C T High School Student IMPACT B Y R Y A N P I E T R Y G A It has been a fun, exciting season for Student IMPACT! We kicked off the fall with our Glow Night event at the Clayton Center where close to 100 students came to enjoy activities such as Blacklight Dodgeball, a Paint Room, Glow in the Dark Bowling, and Gaga Ball under the lights! It was a great way to kick off the fall season in Student IMPACT! The high school IMPACT students have been meeting at the Clayton Center on Sunday nights and have been going over the same Reframe Series that the congregation has been using. Students have been challenged to think about how all parts of their life, including schoolwork, social media, and extracurricular activities, are part of their faith journey. Party, which was hosted by Tammy and Steve Hawbaker, who serve as adult volunteer leaders in the ministry. The night included dinner, a pumpkin carving contest, smores around the fire, and an apple bobbing contest. Students had a great time and were very grateful for the Hawbakers warm hospitality! "It has been a fruitful time of bonding and learning." The Student Leadership team has been very active and busy so far this fall! Our student leadership team is comprised of 11 high schoolers who invest in our middle school ministry program on Wednesday nights. In addition to leading on Wednesdays, these students have been meeting monthly with Ryan and Jacob to talk about leadership principles and expectations. It has been a fruitful time of bonding and learning for the leadership team! Thanksgiving meal! It is always a great time of fun and fellowship. Students then will be heading off to Laurelville on December 1-3 for the weekend retreat. Students will also be invited to visit senior citizens at Kane Senior Living Home for this year s Presents for Patients event in early December. As we close out the year, we will have our annual HS IMPACT Christmas party on December 17 at the Clayton Center. The night will include holiday games and treats, and, of course, a White Elephant gift exchange! It will be a great way to wrap up 2017! The highlight of the fall so far has been the High School Fall Harvest The year is not yet finished! High school students still have much to look forward to before year s end! On November 19th, we will have our annual Friendsgiving event, where a leader or student from each grade will host their small group and enjoy a pre-

14 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 3 S T U D E N T I M P A C T Middle School Student IMPACT B Y J A C O B S O T O MS Impact has gotten off to an awesome start this year. Here are a few things that we have been up to. We have been faithfully meeting almost every Wednesday and Sunday mornings for times of fun, worship, teaching, and small groups. We started off the year with a series on the book of Acts. We talked about how the story of Acts is relevant and even continuing in our lives today. Acts is a continuation of Jesus' story, and each and every student has a role to play in it! sense of significance from? We looked at things such as performance, acceptance, and shame, and examined how our view of these things affects us. We rounded it out by calling to remembrance that God alone is the giver of true and lasting significance. We are looking forward to finishing out the year strong with the last major event being our Christmas party. It should be a fun night of fun, laughter, and community. Our fall retreat to Laurelville was an absolute blast! We had a total of 27 students, and 9 leaders go on the trip. It was a weekend of fun, but also a weekend that challenged the students to look at their lives. We looked at things that might be holding them back either from a relationship with Christ, or even in their relationship with Christ. We have also recently had our Pumpkin Olympics! It was a night full of pumpkin themed challenges, pumpkin smashing, and an ice cream trough. On Sunday mornings we did a series called "Search for Significance" that challenged the students to take a hard look at their lives. We are all people who need to feel significant. The biggest question was this: Where were they deriving their

15 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 4 M I S S I O N S Giving Hope: Our Mission to Freedom Firm B Y G A Y E S H E P H E R D Did you know that you may have helped 25 Indian girls heal from the trauma of sex-trafficking by attending a Freedom Firm Wilderness Camp hosted by eight women from Memorial Park? Well, if you gave to last year s Thanksgiving and Christmas special offerings, supported one of our mission team members, or prayed for us, then you helped. And if you did, please accept the thanks from the girls, Freedom Firm, and our team members, because it was an amazing experience for all involved which culminated in all the girls saying they wanted to make a new start in their lives rather than returning to prostitution. Our team of eight Jan Anderson, Missy Bourdius, Tara Gunther, Andrea MacDonald, Kathy Raymond, Michelle Scott, Gaye Shepherd, and team leader, Lauren Skurcenski traveled to a YMCA camp near Mumbai on the west coast of India from October The team spent the week with Freedom Firm (FF) staff and 25 girls who have been rescued by FF (or sister organizations) from forced prostitution. The girls are in the process of rehabilitation or restoration, which may mean completing their education or learning new skills to enable them to make a living other than through prostitution (i.e., tailoring, computer skills, jewelry-making). There is a long waiting list of rescued girls who want to attend the camp as a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity. You may recall that in addition to rescuing minor girls from sextrafficking, FF offers a multi-faceted Restoration program to the rescued girls, while the Legal branch of FF undertakes the prosecution of the brothel keepers. Trained Social Workers assess the home settings, and when necessary, relocate the girls into private or government housing to support the healing and restoration process in a safe environment. FF Social Workers are a group of Christians committed solely to fostering the well-being of these girls, and inspired our team with their devotion to the girls healing. Please keep all the FF staff in your prayers since they are all on the frontline of the fight against the evils of trafficking. The Wilderness Camp was not only the first time most of the girls had been outside a city environment, but even more so the first time to participate in the kind of outdoor activities which are easily accessible for kids in the US (e.g., swimming, kayaking, rock climbing and rappelling, archery and ropes courses). These activities were specifically included to challenge the internal fears developed as a result of the girls' unspeakable past, and reward them with the new knowledge that they are capable, worthy, precious young women who have much potential and a future. It is very hard to imagine the betrayal many have experienced by friends or family who lured or sold them into trafficking. Our team came alongside the FF staff to demonstrate the unconditional love of Christ and to tell the girls that they are worthy of love, of trust, friendship, forgiveness, and have beauty inside and out as daughters of a loving God. "They are capable, worthy, precious young women who have much potential and a future." We all cried together and separately but we also laughed, sang, danced, exercised, talked, shared tiny gifts and important stories, listened, prayed, hugged and held one another in a safe environment. Can we even imagine the horrors they have endured being our daughters, sisters, neighbors, friends? It s far too brutal to think about for very long. It is wonderful that we as the church have been given the capacity and passion to go and serve, to speak out and act against injustice, and to demonstrate the incomparable love of Jesus. While Indian law prohibited our

16 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 5 M I S S I O N S team from proselytizing, we were able to speak of our own experiences of Jesus. And while many of the girls were from Hindu or Muslim backgrounds, many also spoke of their love of Jesus. Our prayers continue that these, and all girls in the world, whether here or overseas, whether free or in bondage, in whatever color of skin God has wrapped them in would all come to know Jesus as their onlyloving Lord, and sweet, sweet Savior. To God be the Glory for the many, many things He has done and is doing here and to the ends of the earth! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and thank you again MPC!

17 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 6 M P C N E W E M P L O Y E E O R I E N T A T I O N New Employee Orientation MPC held it's first ever employee orientation this fall for its newest staff members. New staff and staff leaders came together to worship, discuss the importance of community and culture at Memorial Park, plus take part in some fun activities like a Q&A and a lunch scavenger hunt. The day was a huge success as we welcomed our staff into the MPC community! "I love working at MPC because my faith can easily be an integral part of my daily work (having staff devotions, Bible study, doing ministry for His Kingdom purposes). Co-workers provide a culture of love, understanding and flexibility." -Jessica "My favorite thing about MPC is the warm, loving, inclusive environment. I love worshiping on Sunday mornings with diverse worship styles and being challenged by each sermon." -Ryan "My favorite thing about MPC is the feeling of family here I have built many wonderful relationships." -Dee "My greatest hope for the future while serving MPC is that we would be disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples. living the Christian life together." -Paul "My greatest hope for the future while serving MPC is to develop as a leader and be equipped to do youth ministry long term." -Jacob "I love working at MPC because we get to spend time in fellowship together, getting to know one another on a personal level." -Katie

18 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 7 F I N A N C I A L U P D A T E S Year-End Giving B Y F I S C A L M A N A G E M E N T T E A M Did you know that approximately 25% of our annual budgeted income comes in during November and December? That s significant! As we go into the holiday season, we count on your generosity to provide the funds needed to support God s work at Memorial Park Church. But asking for your generosity is not about meeting a budget (although that s a nice side benefit!). We encourage you to give because that s what God asks of you. A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. (Leviticus 27:30) God taught the Israelites that a tithe, or 10%, of everything they earned was to be returned to the Levites for the running of the church. Some people think that this is an Old Testament rule, not applicable today, but Jesus never overturned the tithe. Instead, he provided the ultimate offering (offerings are gifts in excess of the tithe), by giving his whole self for us on the cross. Such a gift cannot be taken lightly. Your gifts provide the funds for the ministries that go on at Memorial Park Church and beyond these walls. You have seen some of them in this newsletter and read about others in the bulletin, heard from mission partners who visit MPC, and observed firsthand the ministry going on around you. We encourage you to generously support these ministries and missions as we strive to be the hands and feet of God in our community and around the world. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday. B E P A R T O F S O M E T H I N G B I G # G i v i n g T u e s d a y N o v e m b e r 2 8,

19 T H E G O O D N E W S 1 8 F I N A N C I A L U P D A T E S The Last Step B Y C A T H E R I N E P A V L O C K Just over two years ago we kicked off our Next Steps campaign. As you recall, our goal was to eliminate all remaining debt from the purchase of adjacent properties and construction on the Education Wing that we had completed under the Seventh Trumpet campaign. Although pledges did not come in as strong as we had hoped, we have still been able to reduce the debt from $1,421,148 to $624,955 a $796,193 reduction in just 25 months! In addition, we have tithed over $74,000 to support church planting. We still have $276,922 remaining in pledges to be collected. For those of you still working on your pledge, or those who haven t started yet, we encourage you to remain steadfast and help us take this last step. If you need to see where you are against your pledge, check on MPC Connect or contact Kelly Baker in the business office for an update. Finally, we've received almost $130,000 in un-pledged gifts, which we've applied directly to the debt. These are a wonderful bonus gift! For those of you who weren t here when we started the campaign or who chose not to pledge at that time, please consider getting on board for this final year. Your support is still vital if we are to achieve our goal of being debt free in the next few years. As we enter the last year of the campaign, it s time to take the last step. So far 25% of people have completed their pledge, and to you we say a huge, Thank you! You have allowed us to pay down the debt faster than we projected, which reduces the interest that we pay. Some of you have even overpaid your pledge! If you are in a position to do that too, it will help us knock off this debt even faster.

20 T H E G O O D N E W S V O L U M E 0 2 I S S U E 0 2 N O V E M B E R Save the Date! Memorial Park Church 8800 Peebles Road, Allison Park, PA Find us on Facebook!