Epistle We are a small congregation, part of God s larger family, teaching and living God s Word, and sharing God s love throughout the community.

Transcription

1 Epistle We are a small congregation, part of God s larger family, teaching and living God s Word, and sharing God s love throughout the community. Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Valatie Reverend Kathi L. Jones, Pastor P.O. Box 267, 3212 Church Street, Valatie, NY ifirstpresbyter1@nycap.rr.com Website: February 2019 From the Pastor s Pen What Does The Bible Really Say About Love? What does the good book have to say about everyone s favorite subject at this time of the year -love? Describing a biblical view of love turns out to be no simple matter. First off, the Bible was written in both Hebrew and Greek, and each of these languages has multiple words that we translate as love. (Hebrew wins out with about a dozen words expressing a range of emotions from sexual desire to intimate friendship, and from covenantal fidelity to acts of mercy and kindness.) There are also understandings of love floating around among different authors. So what the author of the Song of Solomon says about love isn t the same as what the author(s) of Genesis say, which isn t the same as what John says, which isn t the same as Paul... and so on. All of which means that not only is there no single view of love in the Bible but any larger scheme you propose by which to organize these various treatises on love will inevitably fall short. To get at it, I ll borrow the classic formula that distinguishes between three Greek words: eros, romantic, passionate love, from which we get our word erotic ; phileo, the love of great friends and siblings, from which we get Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love ; and agape, parental, self-sacrificing love that seeks only the welfare of the other. All three kinds of love are represented in the Bible. Eros is the emotion we probably think of first when thinking of love, especially the love of Valentine s Day and pop music. It depicts the passionate desire that unites lover and beloved praised in the Song of Solomon. Its presence in the Bible testifies not only that humans are moved by beauty and desire, but also that passion, romance, and sexual intimacy are an essential element of God s good creation and the human experience. Phileo, in contrast, is a more stable and constant emotion. However, phileo is also a powerful emotion that captures the love of great friends. Jesus weeps for Lazarus, whom he loved. Phileo is ultimately not about passion as much as it is about commitment, the love that binds one to another in enduring friendship. Agape dominates the New Testament but is more rare in contemporary literature of the Greek-speaking world of the first century. It best captures what we might call Christian love. Agape depicts the self-sacrificing love of a parent for a child and describes both God s love for the world as shown in Christ and the love Christians should show each other and all people. As to the former, think of the world s favorite Bible verse: For God so loved - agape - the world that he gave his only Son... (John 3:16). As to the latter, think of Paul s great hymn to love: Love - agape - is patient and kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Cor. 13:4-8a). But maybe this somewhat blurry picture of love suits the complicated nature of the subject at hand. Even Valentine s Day itself has a peculiar and complex history. Originally named for a saint (or saints, depending on the tradition) that were martyred for their commitment to their faith, over the centuries Valentine s Day came to epitomize the romantic ardor of lovers represented by the Roman god of desire, Cupid (the Romanized version of the Greek god Eros). And today one might be forgiven for thinking that V-Day is mainly about love for chocolate. Perhaps, then, the Bible s convoluted treatment is fitting. After all, isn t this mixture of emotions and motivations pretty representative of our experience? We love our partners and our children and our pets and friends and much more, but not all in the same way. And even our love for a single person varies and changes, not just over the years, but over the span of moments, as passion can turn to tenderness, which can turn to a desire to protect and serve, and then turn back again, all between the beats of a simultaneously fickle and courageous heart. Maybe the best we can say is that love in the Bible, like love in our everyday lives, is important, complicated, and at times a bit squishy. That is, it is too powerful and mysterious to be fully defined or grasped by any of us. If we get that much straight we ve probably gotten the heart of what the Bible has to say about love. Kathi

2 Christian Nurture Our Christian Nurture committee meets once a month on the first Monday of the month at 10:30 am. All are welcome, even if for one or two meetings, no commitment necessary. This is the place to bring new ideas to enhance our worship services. Our next meeting is February 4 th. We will continue to worship in the Fellowship Hall through March 31 st. Marc Petrie graciously donated his organ to the church and it will be played during these worship services. We have added coffee hours on the first and third Sundays. Please consider signing up to prepare a coffee hour on either of those Sundays. Hertha Matuszek has a schedule and she will be happy to explain what is needed. These coffee hours are meant to be easy to prepare, a package of cookies will work. We are hoping to stock the kitchen with most items. This is still a work in progress as we are hoping to streamline the process. Our church prepared the main meal for approximately 110 folks at St. Luke's Community Dinner January 15. These dinners are held on Tuesdays through March. We served a Pizza Casserole that was tasty and elicited many compliments. There was enough for all and it was served for lunch at our Annual Meeting. A thank you to all that helped with the menu, shopping, cooking, serving and clean-up. Our church participates with the Souper Bowl of Caring, held on February 3 rd. Souper Bowl of Caring is youth across the nation working to fight hunger and poverty in their own communities on the day of the Super Bowl football game. On that day young people take up a collection, asking for donations for people in need. They give 100% of their donation directly to the local hunger-relief charity of their choice. We will be giving to the housed in our church. Please consider supporting us in this worthy cause. Congregational Meeting A meeting of the congregation and corporation was held on Sunday January 27 following a lunch hosted by the Deacons. The meeting opened with prayer by the Moderator, Pastor Kathi. A quorum was present and the call for the meeting was approved. The body: Approved minutes from the 3 congregational meetings held in 2018 on recommendation of the Session. Remembered with prayer Jake Coons who died last January. Learned that our membership is 72 total. Elected Hertha Matuszek to fulfill a one year unexpired term on the Board of Deacons and elected Tina Coons, Vieve Gay, Marge Laurie and John Coons to the 2019 Nominating Committee. Reviewed and received annual reports from the boards, committees and treasurers of the congregation. Heard that Session approved a 3% cost of living increase for all staff. Saw that the 2018 Financial Report showed the year ended in the black. Reviewed the 2019 Budget that the Session has approved. Approved the terms of call for the Pastor for 2019 which include a 3% cost of living increase and a fifth week of vacation. Discussed changing the By-laws to allow the Nominating Committee to be reduced in size to 5 members total. Another congregational meeting will have to be held to approve those session recommended changes as per the Bylaws. Received a very helpful report from the Food Pantry which was included in our report booklet. There being no further business to come before the body the meeting was adjourned with prayer. In Our Thoughts and Prayers Tina Coons fell and broke her left leg. After surgery she went to Sunnyview and will be coming home February 2. Our sympathy for Pastor Kathi on the death of her brother.

3 From the Mailbag A quote from the November/December Horizon s magazine says: Christian women always have a passion to be Christ s hands to those needing God the most, where justice, peace, and reconciliation are needed. This passion is shared by women all over the world through the Fellowship of the Least Coin (FLC). Valatie Presbyterian Women (PW) have been contributing our pennies to this cause for over thirty years and last year we invited the congregation to join us in collecting pennies to support the thirty to fifty project grants that are distributed annually. These grants focus on women s leadership development, and women s and children s health, education, and safety. A 2018 grant of $43,600 was awarded to Bags for Homeless Women in Puerto Rico. Also, Presbyterian Women in the United States have initiated a Together in Service project in connection with PW in the Synod of Puerto Rico to help in the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Maria. Locally the women of Westminster Presbyterian Church have been working in Sierra Leone and Liberia on projects to keep children in school and a $5,000 grant entitled Keeping Kids in School has been obtained for Liberia. Fatmata Hilton will be speaking about this issue as one of the panel members at the Spring Gathering of Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of Albany on April 6. All women of the church are encouraged to attend this informative gathering and every one is invited to contribute your pennies to the Fellowship of the Least Coin.

4 Deacons Doings We have elected our new officers for 2019: Moderator: Judy Bury Vice-Moderator: Alicia Albertson Treasurer: Laurae Hoffmann Secretary: Hertha Matuszek We wish to thank Betsy Gorman for her dedicated service on the Board of Deacons and we will miss her. We look forward to a new year of service for our Lord, Church family and friends. If there are any needs that the Deacons can help with please contact Judy Bury or Alicia Albertson. If you need transportation to a doctor s appointment, Church or any other necessary trip please contact Pastor Kathi ( ) and she will make the necessary arrangements. Prayer List We pray for: Our farmers who are struggling with not getting enough money to pay for loans, feed and fertilizer and food for their animals and their families Our service men and women, and their families People in hospice care and their families Responsible behavior especially while driving Those who are lonely Patience and willingness to compromise by our newly confirmed government officials Tolerance, compassion and less aggression towards others We look forward to our Scouts BSA Troop taking part in the worship service and hosting the coffee hour on February 10th. The Deacons will be collecting money for CWS Blankets during the month of February. Your support makes a difference in the lives of children and families all over the world. Last year blankets were sent to Haiti, Syria, Serbia, and the United States (for people that were victims of Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael). A blanket can be used for a tent, to carry belongings, shelter, shade and warmth. One blanket costs $ We will collect money each Sunday during February. Thank you for your support. We are thankful for: Organizations that build character in our youth Beauty in each season we have Those around us that show their love and caring for others LECTIONARY FOR FEBRUARY February 3: Jeremiah 1:4 10 Psalm 71:1 6 1 Corinthians 13:1 13 Luke 4:21 30 FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS 1 - Hertha Matuszek 2 - Vieve Gay 2 - Madison Jostlin 26 - Rick Sayers CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL If we have missed your Birthday or Anniversary on our list, please give Naomi in the office a call. We want to celebrate with you and let others know about your special day. If you are reaching some other significant milestone let us know. February 10: Isaiah 6:1 8 (9 13) Psalm Corinthians 15:1 11 Luke 5:1 11 February 17: Jeremiah 17:5 10 Psalm 1 1 Corinthians 15:12 20 Luke 6:17 26 February 24: Genesis 45:3 11, 15 Psalm 37:1 11, Corinthians 15:35 38, Luke 6:27 38

5 Soup Sampler & Bake Sale First Presbyterian Church Church Street, Valatie Saturday, March 2 11:00 A.M. 1:30 P.M. Choose from 15 + delicious homemade soups ADULTS $ 9.00 CHILDREN 5 11 $ 4.00 Under 5 Free Lunch includes all you can eat soup, crackers and a beverage.

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7 First Presbyterian Church, Valatie February 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30 Sunday School Adult Education 11:00 Worship Sacrament of Holy Communion 12:15 Coffee & Fellowship C&C Committee 12:30 Deacons Meeting 4 10:30am. Christian Nurture 12-2pm. 5 Scouts BSA 6 6:00pm. Scout Committee 7 11:00am. Presbyterian Women 8 9 9:00am. 10 9:30 Sunday School Adult Education 11:00 Worship 12:15 Coffee Hour pm. 12 Scouts BSA Happy Valentines Day :30 Sunday School Adult Education 11:00 Worship 12:15 Coffee & Fellowship pm. 6:30pm. Pre-school Board Committee 19 Finance & Stewardship Scouts BSA 20 6:00pm. Session 21 2:00pm. Warm Up America! am. 24 9:30 Sunday School Adult Education 11:00 Worship 12:15 Coffee Hour pm. 26 Scouts BSA 27 6:00pm. 28 Church Street Pre-School meets Monday through Friday from 9:00am. to 11:30am. February Hours Mondays - 12noon to 2pm Wednesday - 2/6, 2/20 & 2/27 6-8pm Saturday, 2/9 & 2/ am

8 3212 Church Street P. O. Box 267 Valatie, NY Phone: TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION-PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY Every Sunday at 11:00am. Sandra Hohneker, Treasurer Bill Ring, Financial Secretary Naomi Handley, Secretary Nancy Pienta, Clerk of Session Ardelle Stewart, Organist Nick Becker, Sexton