CHURCH CURRENTS. May We seek to glorify God through: ONLINE GIVING

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1 CHURCH CURRENTS First Presbyterian Church 210 S. Wayne Street Milledgeville, GA phone: May 2018 like us on Facebook First.Presbyterian.Church.Milledgeville.GA ONLINE GIVING We are on the radio Our worship service is broadcast on WKZR (102.3 FM.) every Sunday morning at 11:00am and Live on Facebook We seek to glorify God through: Inspiring worship in Word and music, Inquiring study for adults and youth, Inclusive hospitality locally and globally, Industrious outreach for social justice and environmental stewardship. CONGRATULATIONS!! The music ministry of FPC has always been one of the most inspiring, uplifting, and comforting aspects of our life together. Over the years, we have been truly blessed by the gifts and talents of wonderful musicians. Our music director Jennifer Flory is certainly among our blessings, and she has now been recognized as a blessing to her students, as well. Jennifer has been awarded the Charles Dunn Award by the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) in recognition of her commitment to her students above and beyond the classroom. We have had the pleasure to witness her mentoring of several of her students, particularly those in the Max Noah choir, and those relationships have in turn blessed us when her students occasionally join our choir for worship. Jen, we are grateful for you, and offer our heartfelt congratulations. Thank you for all you are and all you do! JOIN US FOR WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP Sunday School 9:45am Worship Service 11:00am

2 Pastor: Rev. Susan Balfour Dear Sisters and Brothers, Coord. of Children & Youth Ministries: Gloria Burns First Presbyterian Church Issue No. 264 May 2018 Admin. Asst.: Amy Snowden Director of Music: Dr. Jennifer Flory Organists: Kate Phillips Jenny Moore Child Care Providers: Sarah Clegg, Raeven Rodney, Andaysha Taylor Greetings in Christ! I give thanks to God for you, for your faithfulness and the work we accomplish together in Christ s name. Thanks to each of you who came to our congregational lunch on April 15, and who joined in our conversation about our vision for our church family in the present and the future! I d like to share a few of the things that came out of those talks. First of all, this family is just that: a family. There is a strong sense of family and community among us. This church is our home, and we are warm and welcoming of any and all people. We are a place where we are invited to question, learn, rest, be inspired, and serve. We also treasure our place in the community, not just geographically, but socially. There is a pride in our work in God s name. Among the ministries and missions you uplifted are the help we provide to the homeless and hungry, providing a Safe Haven for families involved in custody disputes, hosting our Prison Family members, being a welcoming place for those in the LGBTQ community, offering our hospitality to various community groups and nonprofit organizations, and the work we do with our own children through STARS and other programs. Yes, we also face challenges. We are aware of what some of those are: difficulty balancing the budget and financing our operations, the meta-struggle of keeping older youth involved, fewer individuals showing willingness to serve and the consequent need to prioritize our missions, communicating with the community, realizing that age is just a number, and maintaining our building and grounds. To be sure, these are substantial challenges, many of which all churches today are facing, but there is also a great deal of passion in this family to meet and surmount these challenges! But maybe the best part of our talks: there is a strong sense of hope here! The Holy Spirit is at work among us! We have a vision of a congregation that will continue its mission and ministry into the future. We have hope of numerical as well as spiritual growth. We have a vision of a church building bustling with youth and community. And we have a strong sense of who we are, what our place in this community is, and that our call to serve in Christ s name is ongoing and indefinite. What a blessing, this hope and this vision! I believe in this church family, and I know you do, too. Our next step, then, is for each of us to prayerfully consider how we can sustain our work together for the glory of God. Look back over the paragraph about our challenges; identify one or two that you can own, and how you and your own household can respond to them. The one who calls you is indeed faithful; let us be so as well. The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. Rev. Susan Session: Dave Baarda Bill Werts Mary Baker Bob Wilson Donna Gautier Faye Heal Nancy Miller, Clerk of Session

3 JOIN US FOR WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP JOIN US FOR STUDY & WORSHIP Sunday School 9:45AM Potluck Wednesday 6:30PM Sunday Morning Worship 11:00AM Bible/Book Study 7:15PM May 6 May 13 May 20 May 27 NURSERY SCHEDULE: Anne Smart Elizabeth Baarda Joel Burns Jackie Northington Thank you, volunteers, for your service to our children. Anne Smart (asmart@johnmilledge.com). PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN Presbyterian Women s Study meets on the 2nd Sunday (May 13) at 5:00pm and 2nd Tuesday (May 8) at 11:00am in FPC Parlor. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 FPC Book Club The Sarajevo Haggadah, a famous version of the text used during the Jewish Passover observance, is an actual manuscript that is more than 600 years old. Geraldine Brooks imagined what the text might have endured throughout its history in the most recent FPC book club selection, People of the Book. The work of historical fiction includes stories of various keepers of the Haggadah, including an artist slave in Seville in 1480 and a young girl who barely managed to escape the Holocaust in 1940, leaving her family behind. Those connected with the book encountered oppression and discrimination because of their faith. Brooks theme for her book might be summarized in a quote from page 195: Well, from what you ve told me, the Book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You ve got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything s humming along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize the other - it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists...same old, same old. It seems to me the book, at this point, bears witness to all that. The Lady in Gold by Anne Marie O Connor will be the topic of discussion for the May 10 meeting. The book tells the story of the famous painting, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, by Gustav Klimt. The cultural life of art and music of early twentieth century Vienna was shattered by the rise of Naziism, leading to the confiscation of property, including many famous paintings, and ultimately the deaths of many Jewish residents. This is a true tale of old Vienna, Nazi war crimes, and the still-ongoing quest to have stolen art returned to its rightful owners. Other future book club selections include Letters From Hawaii by Mark Twain for June 14 and The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers for July 12. The group meets in the parlor on second Thursdays at 2 p.m. You are welcome to join us! NEW GIVING OPPORTUNITY!! Our church is now registered with Smile.Amazon.com! Go to smile.amazon.com and select First Presbyterian Church of Milledgeville ( ) as your charity of choice, and start shopping! A portion of all purchases made through this site will come back to our congregation! Happy shopping!

4 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Students That Always Rejoice and Serve Our Elementary children continue to meet each Sunday afternoon, 3-5pm for singing, Bible Stories, crafts, games and prayer. This group has committed as part of our involvement in our church to help with the Food Pantry. In addition to bringing the food to the front during the first hymn, we will help take the cans to the closet, mark them for distribution and shelve them. We continue to try to help the ushers with clean up after worship. Vacation Bible School VBS will be June here at First Presbyterian. Our Theme will revolve around the Blessings God gives us through feeding us and how we share what we have with those who have less than us. Admission for each day will be a can good to be donated to our Food Pantry. Children rising K-5 are invited to join us from 9am-12noon each day that week. Older children are asked to come be our helpers. Please see Ms. Gloria for more information. Please talk with her about volunteering opportunities. WE NEED YOU! Youth Group Returns Middle and High School youth group will return in August this year. Please watch your and our Sunday bulletin for dates and times. Each year on Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit as a bringer of new life with an Offering that nurtures the faith of children, youth, and young adults. As one of four Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Pentecost Offering unites us in a church-wide effort to support young people in Christ and inspire them to share their faith, ideas, and unique gifts with the church and the world. 40% stays with this congregation to develop and support programs for young people in our own church and community. 25% supports Young Adult Volunteers, 25% supports Ministries with Youth, and 10% is devoted to children at-risk. Please give generously in this, our 20th Anniversary Year of building lives of faith, of building the church of the future. IF WE ALL DO A LITTLE, IT ADDS UP TO A LOT TREASURER'S CORNER We recently had a Finance Committee meeting in which we reviewed our financial situation. Our year has started well, but we have very few reserves. As a result we asked the Session to implement a number of suggestions to try to raise more money for the Church. We are trying to think out of the box to make sure our Church can continue to be the mission oriented, loving community of faith that it should be. One of the things on that list is that everyone in the Church family be contacted to try to emphasize how important it is to give generously. Before long you will receive a letter about the finances and we ask that you prayerfully consider what additional support you can give. Please show your love in all the ways you can. ~ Joel D. Burns February March 2018 YTD Contributions $12,027 $17,033 $54,253 Other Income Total Income $12,147 $17,143 $54,605 Budgeted Expenses 20,254 $17,676 $54,029 Net (Loss) ($8,107) ($533) $576

5 COMMUNITY OUTREACH Prison Family Luncheon We welcomed about 25 visitors from the Atlanta area for Prison family Lunch on April 21 and all enjoyed a meal of ham, blackeyed peas, greens, and cornbread, and of course popular desserts. We were pleased to have Ed Loring and Murphy Davis with us for the event and to see how strong and healthy Murphy is after her battle with cancer. That electric smile just lights up the room! Next time, on May 19, Millie Murphy will be serving as hostess since Barbara Rowe and Donna Gautier both need to be out of town, so fried chicken is on the menu to ease preparations. Please contact the church office or Millie to let her know if you plan to be there to help. The set-up crew will meet Friday morning and the serving/clean-up folks will be needed on Saturday. Thanks in advance for helping out! Food Pantry~ 2nd Tuesday of the month 9:30-10:30am Thank you to FPC members that continuously support the cause to feed the hungry! We are in need of volunteers, 1-2 people once a month! Please let Donna Gautier know if you are able to help. Always in need: Canned soups, ravioli, ham, tuna, salmon, chicken; boxed mac & cheese, spaghetti, canned sauce, pb&j, beans, rice, cereal, oatmeal, and grits. Lunch bags consist of small boxes of tuna and chicken salad, Vienna sausage, or canned sardines, crackers, saltines. Bottled water, Boost, and Ensure. Thank you for your overwhelming compassion and generosity! We served over 35 families and at least snack packs a week in APRIL! Samaritan Ministry April was an electrifying month! We were able to assist three families in retaining their electricity and keep them comfortable, nourished, and safe. We ALL need a helping hand to stay strong, well-minded, and purposeful! All Glory Be to God!! Help for the Hopeless, Love for the Brokenhearted, Peace for the Restless, and Rest for those who Strive... Free Books Come and get them At the request of Session, John Lamsma and Barbara Rowe, with help from Gloria Burns, have been sorting through books in the church library. There are now two marked bookcases of older books that need new homes. You are welcome to take as many as you would like. Unwanted theology books will be sent to small seminaries in African countries through a contact in Athens given to us by General Presbyter Hilary Shuford. So, stop by the library before or after church and pick out a few books for your own library. Please do so by the end of May. Got old photos? So, do we! Who knew that there were boxes of old photos in the church library? In fact, there are probably several hundred photos of church folks, youth, camps, church meals, etc. Nearly all are unmarked and undated. Who are these people? If you have been in the church a number of years, why not stop by the library, pick up a packet or two, take them home, identify the people and, when possible, the year. We want to save and organize these visual reminders of church life. Unidentified photos will eventually be discarded, so please help us put names to faces!! Milledgeville Liquidation Mart located at 1021 S. Wayne, has a large amount of FEMA food/care packages for sale. These boxes contain 2 cans of Chef Boyardee, small cereal & milk, Pringles, trail mix, 3 small juices, pop tarts, granola bar, pudding, crackers, fork, and moist wipe! They are selling for $2.50/box or 5 for $10. If anyone would like to pick some up and drop off at FPC they will be put to great use in Food Pantry, daily lunch/care packets, and easily accessible in a bind or emergency! A new collaboration between Overview, Inc. and Milledgeville Cares is setting out on a mission to improve some of the housing conditions in this community. There will be a need for volunteers to do repair/construction and for others to help make the residences more attractive -- plant flowers, remove unsightly or dead trees/shrubs. Workdays might even provide an opportunity for those of us who love to feed people. If you would be interested in helping make an appreciated difference in some poor housing situations, contact me at donna.gautier@charter.net or

6 CHURCH AND COMMUNITY Visually Impaired Person s Group DON T MAKE YOURSELF A TARGET This April the Visually Impaired People Support Group was privileged to have three members of the Milledgeville Police Department Lt. Reenae Gray, Officer David Descoteaux, and Public Relations Officer Felicia Cummings talk to our group and answer questions from members. As we discussed various topics, the message for staying safe was clear Don t Make Yourself a Target. Criminals are out there, standing around, and looking for an opportunity- to shoplift, to steal, to steal identities, etc. We often unwittingly make ourselves targets by, leaving our keys in the car at the gas station, leaving our purses in the shopping cart while getting something off the shelf, or giving out personal information to strangers. Here are some examples of strategies you can take to keep yourself from being a victim: When going out of town for a vacation- have your mail stopped, put your lights on a timer, have a friend or neighbor keep an eye on your house. When leaving your home leave a porch light on and a pet like a dog is a good deterrent to criminals. Lock your car even when it is in your driveway. When returning home from work or shopping, be aware of the traffic; if you notice a car following you or suspect it, drive to the police station or call the police to get it checked out. When you arrive home, look around you before getting out of the car to insure no one is lurking in the shrubbery, etc. Also, get your house keys out and ready to open the door. If someone with a blue light on the car indicates you should pull over, and you are in a lonely area or feel suspicious, you may call the police to check it out or you can put on your flashers to acknowledge them and then drive to a more secure area or police station before stopping. Keep your credit/debit cards in sleeves or containers that protect them from scanning machines. Before using an ATM, shake the card receptacle and look to see if has been tampered with. After using the machine, press random numbers as some scammers, use heat detecting devices to identify what button you pushed as your PIN. Before using the machine, look around you to be sure you are safe. At stores, and in general, make sure you have a good grip on your purse and that it is zipped closed. Don t put your wallet or money in a back pocket. Don t leave your cell phone unguarded. When a stranger calls on the phone, do not give out personal information, bank account numbers, social security numbers, etc. A popular scam is for someone to call claiming to be from the bank or credit card company, claiming your account has been compromised, and asking for personal info to open a new account for you. Always call your bank or credit card company at a number you know to verify the situation. Another current scam is to call you and tell you someone in your family has been arrested and needs you to send them money. Other scams include: you missed jury duty and or you owe the IRS and need to send cash via credit card number. A popular scam locally is to receive a check and be told you have won it but need to take it to the bank, cash it and send money to a certain address. Or be told you have won money but need to send cash or credit card info for a processing fee. If it looks too good to be true, it probably isn t; and if you have won something you will not be asked for money. You can keep up with what s happening on the Milledgeville Police Department Facebook page, The police also have a 5 week Citizen s Police Academy. Different topics are covered each Monday it meets. For information about this and other non-emergency Police business you may call (478) / If you are interested in learning more about how our police department works or having someone from the Milledgeville Police Department talk to your group, Public Relations Officer Felicia Cummings is the person to contact. She is very helpful and the officers were very good at answering our questions and giving helpful information. We thank officers all the officers for giving us their valuable time. Our next meeting will be Wed., May 16 th at 10:30 AM; our speaker will be Rev. Terry Quick, who will speak about caretakers. Anyone interested in learning more about coping with vision loss is invited to attend. Photo (left to right) Public Relations Officer Felicia Cummings, Officers Gray and Descoteaux, and FPC s very own Harry Beck!

7 Anniversaries Birthdays Church Family: Deepest condolences and prayers for Gloria Burns and family on the loss of her beloved mother Marguerite Owens Sandra Balfour, tests Harry Beck, chemotherapy Extended Family: Hayden Adams, Don & Terri Glover s 13-yr-old granddaughter, large cell leukemia, New York Ann Bertolli. health concerns Carol Boyd, resident at Chaplinwod Health & Rehabilitation Murphy Davis, Open Door Community, cancer, multiple health concerns Judy degrandcourt, Sandra Balfour s sister, advanced MS Kyle Dennis, Anne s husband, Multiple Myeloma, kidney issues Russell & Kathleen Edwards, Marianne s parents, numerous health problems Jeremy Erickson, Carolyn Erickson s son, liver issues Marty Flory, Jennifer s mother-in-law, multiple health concerns Dee Hartmann, Sandra Balfour s sister-in-law, health issues Leigh Humphrey, Will & Becky Humphrey s son, recovering Arthur & Julie Montemayor, Becky Henderson s parents, ongoing health concerns Tom Murphy, Kathy Carroll s brother, colon cancer Chris Pearson, Sunda Coleman s son, under heart specialist care Roy & Runette Pound, Sunda Coleman s parents, father is on Hospice Care Suzy Smith, Lois Callender s mother, prayers for improved physical & mental health Christian Vander Groef, Amy Snowden s uncle, terminal cancer Sue York, cancer treatment In Assisted Living: Bryan Dempster, Green Acres, 313 Allen Memorial Drive Bob & Eloise Lamb, Fellowship Home at Meriwether, 10 Meriwether Place Limited Mobility: Mary Carlton Martha Chappell Helen Danuser Polly Morrison Charlotte Owens Gloria Smith Dear Congregation ~ Thank you for remembering me with cards, calls, and goodies. Most especially thank you for your prayers, which contributed greatly to a successful recovery. Your thoughtfulness is truly appreciated! ~ Marion Robinson Communion for the Infirm and Homebound Our FPC Worship Committee would like to make Communion available to those members of our congregation who are unable to attend our church worship services. They will do so by bringing the communion elements to homes, hospital rooms, and nursing facilities. To request this service, please call the church office at (478) and leave your contact information. For as often as YOU eat this loaf and drink this cup, YOU keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives. 1 Corinthians 11:26 May 12 ~ Kyle & Anne Dennis May 8 ~ Dorothy Elangwe HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! May 17 ~ John & Linda Bradley May 25 ~ Lin & Linda McKnight May 9 ~ Catherine Dean Charlotte Owens May 10 ~ Mackenzie Morris May 12 ~ Masoma Odihe May 17 ~ Fidelis Folifac Kerry Jordan May 29 ~ Bob Carroll

8 May 1 2 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. Zephaniah 3:17 3 5:30 Worship Committee 6:30 In Our Best Interest :45 Sunday School 10:00 Puppets 11:00 Worship Service w/communion & Food Offering Rec d. 3:00~5:00 S.T.A.R.S. 7 7:00 Milledgeville Singers FUMC 8 9:30~10:30 FOOD PANTRY 11:00 Presbyterian Women Study 12:00 Kiwanis Club Luncheon 2:00 Mourning After Group 5:30 SESSION Meeting :00 FPC Book Club MOTHER S DAY!! 9:45 Sunday School 10:00 Puppets 11:00 Worship Service 3:00~5:00 S.T.A.R.S. 5:00 Presbyterian Women Study :30 SAMARITAN S MINISTRY 9:30~2:00 Presbytery Meeting in Athens 12:00 Kiwanis Club Luncheon 16 10:30 Visually Impaired Persons Group 17 2:00 Learning in Retirement Reading 3:00 Learning in Retirement Writing :00~1:00 PRISON FAMILY LUNCHEON 20 PENTECOST 9:45 Sunday School 10:00 Puppets 11:00 Worship Service 3:00~5:00 S.T.A.R.S :30~2:30 Baldwin County Retired Educators Association 22 12:00 Kiwanis Club Luncheon 5:15 Kiwanis Club Board Meeting 5:30 Finance Committee 6:30 BRIDGE :00~5:00 M ville Communtiy Garden Association 6:30 In Our Best Interest :45 Sunday School 10:00 Puppets 11:00 Worship Service 28 MEMORIAL DAY OFFICE CLOSED! 29 12:00 Kiwanis Club Luncheon 30 31