New Members. June 29, Servants of Jesus Christ Ministering To One Another, To Our Community, And To Our World. 805 Western Ave.

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1 June 29, 2016 The Servants Light (USPS ) is published monthly by First Presbyterian Church, Joliet, IL. Periodicals Postage paid at Joliet, IL Postmaster: Send address changes to The Servants Light, Servants of Jesus Christ Ministering To One Another, To Our Community, And To Our World. 805 Western Ave FAX firstpresjoliet.org Sunday Morning Schedule Worship 9:00 & 10:30 a.m. Children s Worship 9:00 & 10:30 a.m. New Members On Sunday, June 12, we had the pleasure of receiving nine new members into our church family. Their names, addresses and phone numbers are listed below so you can add them to your church directory. Jim & Thea Boness Nicolson St. Children: Alexandria, Camden Mark Dykema 409 Springfield Ave James Eddington 428 Bridge St Adam Halatek Superior Ct. Crest Hill, IL Children: Thomas, Zoe Ted & Misti Lakin Gloria Lane Children: Carter, Trevor Charlie Sullivan 1275 Marshall Blvd. Aurora, IL Robyn Vaughn Hamrick Ave. Romeoville, IL Children: Lily, Roxy, Dravin Coffee Fellowship 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. Nursery/Preschool Care 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Robyn Vaughn, Adam Halatek with Zoe, Jim & Thea Boness with Alexandria & Camden Ted & Misti Lakin, Mark Dykema, Charlie Sullivan

2 The Pastor s Corner Craig Herr, Senior Pastor Sunday, July 3. Come and worship with us this Sunday. On July 4th we celebrate our freedom as a nation, as you well know. In worship we celebrate our freedom in Christ Jesus to serve God and go out into the world as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus we are set free from all of our sins, for Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Give thanks to God for new life in Christ Jesus this Sunday in worship with your church family. Ken Myers is singing at the 9:00 a.m. worship service. The Worship Band is singing and playing at the 10:30 a.m. worship service. in the past year. And you ll see that Helping Hands does other wonderful things as well. Register For Lake Geneva ASAP. We are up to 40 adults and children going to Lake Geneva the first week of August. It s a great time. Bring your family and friends and make new friends. We enjoy the beauty and waters of Lake Geneva at Conference Point Center right on the lake. We are going August 3-6. Call the office for information May the joy, hope, and love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sustain and strengthen you. In Christ, Sermon. Dale Amber is preaching this Sunday as we continue our What Feeds Your Life? Series. Dale writes, Friend - it is a word we use frequently in our vocabulary. It is a word that has many interpretations depending on who we talk with and even our moods. This Sunday we will look at Making Friendship a Fine Art in the context of what Jesus has to say about being a friend in John 15:9-17. Future Champs Sports Camps. Soccer Camp for kids ages 4-10 is coming up July Pick up a brochure on one of the tables around the church or go to our website, firstpresjoliet.org, and be sure to invite your friends. Helping Hands. Make sure you read the wonderful impact of our Helping Hands Ministry. Think about it, 3100 meals provided! There were 400 meals given June 26, 2016 Worship Attendance 215 Stewardship Report Budget: $792,916 Year to Date Receipts $174,621 Year to Date Expenses $163, Bequest/Gift Income Received $2,000 Known to be in the Hospital: No one. United in Marriage: Jill Mueller & Mike Strimel (June 25)

3 Growing in Christ Adult Education Opportunities Join us for our traditional July Hymn Sings 10 minutes before the start of the 9 a.m. worship service every Sunday in July. We ll sing some favorite hymns and perhaps learn a couple new ones. Come prepared to request a hymn you d like us all to sing together! Bible Perspectives Sundays, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Room 201 with Jim Mullins We use the Common Lectionary Bible passages each week. The format basically follows a three question format: What do these words mean? What did these words mean to the original hearers? What do these words mean to us today? Churches United For Christ Joliet City-Wide Crusaders for Christ is now called Churches United for Christ. Plans are being made for July for the series of crusade worship services. There will be one week on the East Side of Joliet and one week on the West Side of Joliet. Worship July at 224 Chicago St., Joliet, at 7:00 p.m. Worship July at 2365 W. Jefferson St., Joliet at 7:00 p.m. We are leading worship on Tuesday evening, July 26, at 7:00 p.m. Plan to come and worship with people from all over our city. It s a time when we are one in Christ with so many members and guests from many different churches. Coming Opportunities: House or Home - Marriage Edition: God s Blueprint for a Great Marriage. Mandy Nolan will facilitate this opportunity that explores God s design for marriage and the roles of husbands and wives, as well as offering clear and compelling help for couples longing for unity and fulfillment in their marriages. Wednesday mornings this fall (more details to follow). Financial Peace University - coming this fall...a way to get a godly handle on your financial life with Sandi and Dave Zang facilitating. More details to follow. Smart Money, Smart Kids - Parents, help your children learn to make wise choices about working, spending, saving, giving and more. Cassie Lennertz will facilitate two opportunities: Tuesdays, beginning September 20, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. for 6 weeks. Fridays, beginning September 23 at 9:00 a.m. for 6 weeks Our devotional blog will continue with Author s Choice. If you are interested in joining our group of authors, just drop an to dale.ambler@firstpresjoliet.org. It s really not that hard the most important thing is committing to at least one day per week and writing devotional thoughts that are foundationally biblical. After all, the primary focus of this devotional blog is knowing our Bible better. To read the blog each day, just go to our website and click on Blog at the top!

4 Church Life Small Groups & Special Events At its regularly scheduled meeting of June 9, 2016, the Session of First Presbyterian Church, Joliet, voted: It s going to be a GRAND DAY!!! August 28, Annual Church Picnic We ll have one worship service that day - 10:30 a.m., commission our Stephen Ministers and then gather outside for the picnic. 12:00-2:00 p.m. Grilled Chicken with assorted sauces Pasta Salad Watermelon Ice Cream Sundaes So mark your calendars!! August 28 a GRAND Day!! --to move the August 2016 Session meeting from August 11th to August 18th; --to approve the baptisms of Bailey Brown on July 24th at the 10:30 a.m. service and Kainen Koening on a Sunday in August, and any other baptisms that may be requested; --to receive new members Jim & Thea Boness, Mark Dykema, James Eddington, Adam Halatek, Ted & Misti Lakin, Charlie Sullivan, and Robyn Vaughn; --to obtain a current appraisal of the property at 806 Buell and to authorize Stewardship Council to investigate and determine the best use of that property; --to accept the transfer of membership of Mark Dykema from First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton and Adam Halatek from Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Park to First Presbyterian Church of Joliet. A personal invitation by you, to someone you already know, to come and see not only what First Pres. has to offer, but what Jesus Christ offers to them. You will hear more about it but Invite Your One is about a personal invitation by you for September 11, 2016 to someone you already have a relationship with. More to come... If you have prayer requests, please fill out the form in the pew pad and place in the offering plate, in the box on the table in the narthex, or mail to the church office. Our Pat s Prayer Circle prays for those in the congregation, their friends and relatives, and for those in our community and in our world. Meal Fellowship Men s Breakfast July 1, 7:30 a.m. at the Old Fashioned Pancake House on Jefferson St., Joliet. Dinner Out Group July 19, 6 p.m. at Little Joe s Famous Pizza, 1300 N. Cedar Rd., New Lenox. Please call Sis Schmidt at or Mary Haas at by July 18 if you are planning to join us, so a reservation can be made. Men s Dinner Group July 22, 6 p.m., at Old Town Restaurant, 113 Stephen, Lemont. RSVP to Bob Smietanski at Please Lend Your Smile as an Usher or Coffee Fellowship Server!! A major responsibility of our church s Night Deacons is to coordinate the weekly usher and coffee fellowship schedules. Please join in the fun of a small group by extending your hand of friendship to our congregation members and visitors. We invite you to sign up once a month, every other month, or every few months. Several months of opportunities are available at the Night Deacon Helper s Table in Hoffman Hall between services. You can also contact the coordinators, Megan Bauer (mebauer0516@hotmail.com) or Jen Beck (ahbjlb@att.net) to find a time that works for you. Thank you!!

5 Servants of Jesus Christ Ministering to One Another, to Our Community, and to Our World Night Deacons Free Pancake Breakfast The Night Deacons are serving breakfast on Saturday, July 2, 8 to 10 a.m. to those in our community who are spiritually or physically hungry. Come on out and help us serve and welcome our guests. Volunteer Drivers needed for Meals on Wheels Program Meals on Wheels, a Senior Services program, provides nutritious meals to persons age 60 and over who are homebound. First Pres currently has four volunteers making deliveries to West Joliet, Route 4, on Fridays taking only about an hour (11am noon) to complete. We would love for at least two other folks to be a part of this rewarding ministry. For some meal recipients, this is the only personal contact of the day. Almost all of the weekday deliveries are done by volunteer drivers. Please call Tari Ambler at for more information, or to volunteer to drive on a Friday. Summer Food Service Program Spread the word...every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in July and August (except for July 4th) from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., First Pres., supported by a large number of volunteers, is serving a nutritious box lunch provided by the Northern Illinois Food Bank through the USDA and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education. So many children in our community are food insecure, not always guaranteed that next meal. Please keep this effort, the children who might benefit from this program, and all the volunteers in your prayers that God would bless this new ministry. Since the inception of this ministry in October 2005, over 3100 meals have been provided to members of our church family through your generosity. This past year alone over 400 meals have been provided. Helping Hands would like to thank the following people who over the past six months have provided meals, rides, and other services to members of our congregation. We would also like to thank ZooM for providing meals as well. We can always use additional people to help provide assistance. We would like to invite you to be a part of this vibrant ministry. Please contact Betty Jones at , Dave Steinberg at or the church office at to become a part of this ministry. Dale & Tari Ambler Jean Bailey Marvin Balsley Don & Raelene Barnes Stacy Becker Pat Benson Gina Kleckauskas- Bonomo Don & Mary Caisley Karie Chesebro Jim Chiado Dave Church Pat Costion Karl Darley Dale Endres Kyla Fris Jen Gabl Bob & Mary Haas Kris Hayden Craig Herr Rich & Mary Jane Johnson Anna Johnson Judy Jordan Chet June Mark Kapral Jeff & Lisa Kasper Patti Kelly Mary Kessling Carol Kline Nick & Marsha Maggio Brenda & Darryl McCormick Diane Milosevich Bo Mircea George Redman Martha Sayles Carolyn Schaeffer Kena Schreiner Cyndi Schwartz Nancy Shively Bob Smietanski Jodi Steinberg Emma Sticklen Holly Tomashek Mike Valdez Suzanne Watson Kristina Wilson Linda Zoellick ZooM

6 CHILDREN S MINISTRY UPDATE God is Good All The Time! The whole VBS week can be summed up in those words. 176 kids, 50 plus volunteers, tons of snacks and crafts. 250 hygiene kits for MorningStar Mission. One week that impacted so many lives and will continue to do so. Thank you to all who helped to make this week a fantastic week for the kids in our community. Bo M.

7 July 2016 Summer means it s time for Mission Trips! Jr. High As you read this, ten of our junior high students are serving in our community. By Friday afternoon, we will have helped at: Hands of Hope - food bank; pricing, sorting, etc. Lamb s Fold yardwork for clients Feed My Starving Children packing food for hungry children worldwide Warren Sharpe Community Center food pantry; helping people shop, loading vehicles, etc. MorningStar Mission Treasure Chest thrift shop; sorting, tagging, organizing merchandise We will also have devotional time and recreation time to strengthen our relationships with God and with each other. Sr. High We are preparing for our trip to Mingo County, West Virginia, July While the severe flooding has been mostly northeast of where we are headed, Mingo County is a community with its own challenges due to the decline of the coal industry. It s a rural area in the Appalachian Mountains, where 11 of our high school youth will be serving through labor-intensive construction projects. There is a mandatory meeting scheduled in preparation of this trip on Tuesday, July 12, at 7 p.m. in Room 210. All participating students and a parent should plan to attend. We look forward to seeing how God will work in each of these youth! And remember, that even though it is summer time and we are having a break from Youth Group, God doesn t take a break from you! He is there whenever you need to talk to him. He wants to hear from you.

8 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Craig M. Herr Senior Pastor Dale Ambler Associate Pastor Bo Mircea Associate Pastor of Children s Ministry and Family Ministry Dale Hammond Pastor of Visitation Diane Uden Administrative Ministry Assistant Sherry Buffington Outreach Ministry Assistant & Newsletter Editor Newsletter Deadline The deadline for reserving space in the July 27 Servants Light is July 10. Please to sherry.buffington@firstpresjoliet.org. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT JOLIET IL USPS Address Service First Presbyterian Church 805 Western Ave. TO: C4 - All About Relationships Relationships with Jesus first and relationships with other men second. You ve already heard that the leadership team for C4 has been meeting since November 2015, and maybe you still have some questions. C4 was started because we wanted to see every man at First Pres. grow in his relationship with Jesus and to begin to develop meaningful relationships with other men. C4 is about discipleship and discipleship begins with relationships in Christ first, then with others. Everything C4 will do will be centered on this standard principle. That s why every gathering, whether fellowship-based or service, will be grounded in a biblical perspective. This past Saturday, for example, 11 men gathered at 8:30 a.m. for a light breakfast and a time of Bible teaching using John 15:1-17 as a basis to discuss the idea of having real friends in this life. We also talked about how C4 may in fact do a service project like staining the parking lot fence BUT the purpose of gathering was not service service was only a means to an end of getting those who gathered to better know the others. And that s what we did!! We only got part of the fence stained but we got to know each other a little better in the light of Christ. It is what we will continue to do build relationships with Jesus first and relationships with other men second.