From The Pastor's Desk

Transcription

1 From The Pastor's Desk Please help us take care of our church! Saturday, October 18th 8:00 to 12:00 P.M. We'll provide hotdogs & chips for those who wish to stay for lunch. Hope to see many of you on the 18th! Happy Birthday! Alex Hall Dave Larson 7th 9th Krista Naaktgeboren 10th Marlene Gibson Jeffrey Hall 18th 26th Sunday, November 9th following worship We will review the 2015 budget and approve pastoral terms of call for October, and the season of earthy hues, cool weather, and falling leaves is upon us. But it is also the season of unearthly creepy crawly things and ghosts. I will be out on the porch on Halloween night hoping for some scary visitors, my bowl of treats close at hand. Although there does not seem to be a lot of trick or treat in our neighborhood I m sure there are those who will give away pounds of the goodies. Raising my family in Decatur Michigan we would buy ten pounds of candy and give nine of it away! I can understand the thinking of some who will purposely dine out during the trick or treat hours, but I think they are missing out on something important. For an hour I get to sit on the porch and hand out candy. I feel like a Judge. If their costume is especially imaginative and scary, they might get a precious snickers bar. If they are, in my judgement, too old they will get a stale tootsie roll. And if they are just super-cute, I will let them pick out their own candy. My point is; it all takes me back to my youth and to those magical years of young parenthood. I am also inspired by God s good grace and love that is reflected in the innocence of the children. It makes me think about the role children play in the Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, children are instrumental in God s plan for salvation. As the children go, so go the people of God. The most powerful story is about Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis beginning in chapter twelve. The whole future of the Jewish people rested on Abraham and Sarah having a baby boy. God promised a great nation (Israel) would bless the earth. The only problem was that the lucky couple was over a hundred years old! In spite of this obstacle, Isaac was born.if you are lucky enough to be in a neighborhood rich with children be generous and enjoy the show. And remember, Jesus loves the little children. God Bless You All,

2 Tom passed away on September 12, He will be missed by the whole community and especially by family and friends. Tom served the church as an elder, his country in the armed forces, and his community in public service and participation in many civic organizations. We celebrated his life and resurrection on September 20 th in the church. Tom was a common man who did uncommon things WOMENS CIRCLE MEETINGS Join us for Bible study and refreshments on the first Tuesday of each month at various homes. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM: Oct. 7th - Connie Espel, at the Church Nov. 4th - Kathy Cartwright's home Dec. 2nd - Carolyn Workman's home PERRY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEMORIAL SERVICE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd, 2 p.m. We honor the memory of those who have died at Perry Memorial Hospital during the last year. Anyone is welcome to attend and we especially encourage those who have lost loved ones to attend. It will be held in the lower level education room at the hospital. ~ 2014 STRONGHOLD SILENT AUCTION & QUILT AUCTION ~ The Fundraising Quilt Auction that was supposed to take place at Stronghold Castle on October 4 has been changed: There is no live auction. Instead, all quilted items will be available for bid at beginning November 1st through Cyber Monday, December 1st. The Quilt Auction is ONLY online at There will be a full color catalog on that site and beginning October 15th, there will be previews on the Stronghold Facebook page. Proceeds will benefit castle and camp improvement projects. Sunday, October 5th Celebration of World Wide Communion Sunday was adopted as a denominational practice in the Presbyterian Church (US) in Churches in other denominations were invited to celebrate with us from the beginning, but it wasn't until 1940 when the Department Of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches promoted extending the celebration to a number of churches around the world that the practice became widespread. Today, World Communion Sunday is celebrated around the world, demonstrating that the church founded on Jesus Christ peacefully shares God-given goods in a world increasingly destabilized by globalization and global market economies based on greed.

3 The Session met on August 19th for a regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting opened with prayer and the minutes of the last meeting and the treasurer's report were approved as written. Pastor Brian requested approval for him to officiate at two weddings: Dana Schultz to Nicky Silvestri on October 11, 2014 and Kathy Costerisan to Tim Bauer on June 20, Approval was granted. The September Presbytery meeting will be held in Mantino on the 9th and Pastor Brian will be accompanied by Lillian Johnson. The Administration committee will be proposing a policy for the financial reporting process and the weekly handling of church money. They will also take a look at the job descriptions of the Financial Secretary and the Treasurer. The Christian Education committee reported a very successful VBS for the summer with 70 adults and children participating. Pictures of the event are on the church website. Sunday school will begin on September 14. Good publicity and having Grandma Rosie's ice cream truck present contributed to a successful auction and ice cream social. Money received will be given to the Health and Wellness organization sometime in September. The Bells will be performing on August 31 and Chuck Stiles will be asked to provide guitar music for the day since Wanda Stenzel will not be playing the organ. The meeting was closed with all reciting the Lord's Prayer. It s hard to miss the work being accomplished at both church and parsonage. The brick work is to repair and prevent water from seeping into the basement. The windows and eves on the church were painted. Unfortunately the boom the painters used was so heavy it damaged our lawn with deep ruts which subsequently filled in with dirt. Let s keep in mind that the grass will grow back. The parsonage (pastor s home) experienced some water damage, traced back to roof and gutter problems. The roof was repaired and new gutters were put on. Also, Pastor Brian built a ramp to help make the home more accessible. The work was done by Amy and Rob Allen, a talented couple who have done this type of thing before as a ministry of the Walnut Bible Church. Amy happens to be the sister of Kate Hall! Prayer Time Join us in prayer every Monday afternoon at 4pm in the church fellowship hall.

4 First Presbyterian Church OCTOBER 2014 Our Table Salads Presbyterian Women provide salads on the third Monday of every month for Our Table (a free dinner every Monday night supported by community churches and donations) held at the Methodist Church. If you are able to provide a salad, please sign up on the bulletin board in the Narthex or see Pam Cochran. PRINCETON BARBERSHOP HARMONY CHORUS October 18, 2014 Christ Community Church (Across from Zearking Park on Euclid) 6:30 P.M. The Princeton Barbershop Harmony Chorus is back with Pastor Brian singing in the group. This year's program will showcase the history of Barbershop harmony and will include members of the Peoria barbershop chorus. Bureau County CROP Hunger Walk (Princeton Area) Sunday, October 12th Princeton United Methodist Church The Walk is a 5k Registration 1:30 p.m. Step off: 2:00 p.m. First Presbyterian Church CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Visit crophungerwalk.org today to donate or sign up for your Walk!

5 Amazon Smile Supports Presbyterian Women Support Presbyterian Women when you purchase books, music and lots of other items from Amazon.com. Simply visit smile.amazon.com and select "Presbyterian Women" as your favorite charitable organization. Shop as you normally would through "regular" Amazon, but when you shop through AmazonSmile, a portion of the purchase price for eligible products is donated to Presbyterian Women. Each product's detail pages indicate eligibility. You'll have access to the same wide selection of products at the exact price as you do through "regular" Amazon! Giving to Presbyterian Women in this way costs nothing extra. Once you set up your AmazonSmile account, PW receives a donation for each eligible purchase you make. Members and Friends at Home: Coyla Harris, Norma DeRose, Marjorie Hall Members and Friends at Retirement Communities: Greenfield: Marilyn Pryor Veteran s Home: Roy McKune Liberty Village: Mary Beth Lunn Asta Care Center of Pontiac: Alice Pohanka THOSE SERVING IN OCTOBER: DEACON: Nancy Sims LAY LEADERS: Beth Schultz Kristie Cass Nancy Sims Len Brumbaugh USHERS/GREETERS: Dave Larson June Larson Luke Schultz Beth Schultz COMMUNION SERVERS: Janet Naaktgeboren Don May Becky May Mark Schultz* *Did you hear Elder Mark Schultz preach on the 5th Sunday of August? The title of his sermon was Better Together. Church World Services School Kits Needed To assemble a School Kit you will need: One pair of blunt metal scissors (rounded tip) Three 70-count spiral notebooks - or notebooks totaling pages. (No loose leaf or filler paper.) One 30-centimeter ruler (12 ) One hand held pencil sharpener. One large eraser Six new pencils with erasers. One box of 24 count crayons (only 24). Kits are placed in a 12 X 24 finished size cotton or lightweight canvas bag with cloth handles. Costs for processing and shipping cost for each kit is $2.00. You may drop off your School Kit at the Church Office. Children in the Dominican Republic using their CWS School Kits that were distributed through SSID Social Service of the Dominican Churches/Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas. Photo: CWS

6 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY Evening Circle 7p at Church (Connie Espel) Dana Schultz & Nicky Silvestri Wedding 12 CROP WALK 1:30 p.m Church Workday 8am-12pm Covered Bridge Chorus 6:30 p.m "Our Table" Salads Session Meeting 7p.m. 26 Puppeteers

7 The Harvest Breakfast kicks off Year. Adult classes include Kerygma study of the gospel of Mark and a study of the Acts of the apostles. Children s classes are also provided in the Education Building. CONTACT US: First Presbyterian Church 320 Park Ave East Princeton, IL Ph fpcpton@frontier.com Matthew 6: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they..."