FIRST NEWS & VIEWS. Christmas

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1 2017 FIRST NEWS & VIEWS Christmas Volume ISSUE 01 DEC, 17 #66 #27 Save the Date December 9th - 7:00 am Food Distribution in the Great Room December 10th - 9:30 am Advent Lessons and Carols December 10th - 11:00 am Holiday Free Community Dinner December 10th - 4:30 pm Beer and Carols December 24th - 5:00 pm Family Candelight Service December 24th - 8:00 pm Christmas Candelight Service with Communion Book Fair Sale Come and shop faith-filled children s books at a special discount and have presents under the tree for Christmas. We will be having a Sparkhouse Book Fair now through Dec. 3rd in Fellowship Hall. Many bestselling titles and Christmas favorites will be available for school age children to babies. Also, some amazing videos for the Christmas season and activity books. Come out and support the children s ministry and find a new favorite book! Sneak peaks available in Childcare Room 107a. All orders will be submitted December 4th. Fair Trade Sale Tired of giving the same old gifts each year? We can help! Stop by our Fair Trade Sale on December 3rd and 10th in Fellowship Hall to purchase exceptional gifts that they haven t seen before. You ll also be supporting artisans in need from around the world. Sunday s Advent Celebration An Intergenerational Advent Celebration will be taking place on December 3rd after the 9:30 service. Let s prepare for the coming of the Christ child together by crafting Advent wreaths, Reverse Advent Boxes for canned good donations, foam ornaments, Christmas cards for shut-ins, and sharing refreshments. We hope you will make time to prepare your heart with us during the first Sunday of Advent. Lessons & Carols On December 10, the Chancel Choir will present an Advent Service of Lessons and Carols. This service will consist of Advent scriptures, choral anthems and carols sung by the congregation and the choir. An extended prelude will precede the sevice and will begin at 9:15 am. Staff Updates Pastor Bill will be out on Family Care December 25th - January 3rd. Brent will be gone December 25th - January 1st INSIDE CHARACTER BUILDERS GODLY PLAY PASTOR S PONDERINGS KAIROS BOOK STUDY

2 Character Builders Dec. 3rd - The Class will not meet on December 3 in order to participate in the intergenerational Advent activities during the Education Hour. Dec. 10th - The theme for the Winter Quarter of The Present Word study is Faith in Action. The writer is well known author Donald McKim. Scripture selections taken from the books of Acts, Colossians, Matthew and Ephesians provide the sources for Unit 1 which is entitled The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ. The lesson for December 10, Faith to Discern, is based upon Acts 13:1-12. Come share in our discussion and enjoy the friendly fellowship served up with beverages and light refreshments. Adult Seminar Fellowship 10:45 am Dec. 3rd: Join us at our Intergenerational Advent Celebration. Come together with the rest of our community to celebrate the great gifts of the season! Dec. 10th: Join us for our Church and Community lunch today! Youth Food and Faith: 6th - 12th Graders Join us, December 10th, for food and conversations where we will explore the supposed conflict between science and Grow in Faith faith as we read through Genesis. Bring a friend! We ll meet at the Community Dinner in the Great Room after the service. Look for Nicole and your reserved table. Godly Play Children in 3rd grade and younger are welcome to attend Godly Play during the 9:30 a.m. service in Room 110. Upcoming lessons include: Dec. 3rd:The Prophets show the way to Bethlehem Dec. 10th: Mary and Joseph show the way to Bethlehem Dec. 17th: The Sheperds show the way to Bethlehem Children s Choir Have a child who loves to sing? Join the families with children here at FPC after worship in the Godly Play room for some singing with Brent on December 3. They will be singing in worship on December 10th! Please contact Pastor Jessie if you have questions! jessie@findlayfpc.org Kairos Book Study Join us for some time of spiritual reflection and conversation about how our faith matters in today s world and what we can do about it. Contact Pastor Jessie with questions! Jessie@findlayfpc.org December 4th at 7:00 pm Join us to discuss The Great Spiritual Migration by Brian McLaren December 10th at 4:30 pm Join us for Beer and Carols at Logans Presbyterian Women s Corner For God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7) The Mission Pledge, PW s annual fund, makes all things PW possible, regionally and nationally. Please consider a yearend Christmas gift to Presbyterian Women. You may give by placing your check, made out to Presbyterian Women, in the church offering plate on Sunday morning or mailing to the church. Please note Christmas Gift in the memo line. Thank you. December 5 - Joy Circle will gather at 6:30pm in Room 330 at the church for fellowship and Bible study. Patricia McVetty will lead the discussion of lesson 4 In Community with God s Messengers based on Genesis 25:10-22; Daniel 3:8-30; Matthew 1: December 15 - Sarah Circle will gather for lunch at noon in Room 112 at the church. Patricia McVetty will lead our discussion of lesson 4 In Community with God s Messengers based on Genesis 25:10-22; Daniel 3:8-30; Matthew 1: Peggy Lobb will provide the meal. RSVP to Mary Alice Patrickson for a reservation for lunch. valhal55@hotmail.com. We hope you will join us for women celebrating mission in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For further information contact Dana Bourne, PW Moderator, danalyndbourne@aol.com or PW PC(USA) has a new website Check it out! Daily Advent Devotionals Devotionals are avalable in the narthex and foyer. Take one to discover how light is always stronger than darkness.

3 Pastor s Ponderings Pledge Update 2017 I came upon this today. It is from I Thought My Father Was God, the book that is the first compilation of stories from Story Corps. Story Corps has been all over the country, finding people from all walks of life to share their unique stories, and place them permanently in the Library of Congress. (As a way to encourage you to share your story with Story Corps, go to for more information.) In the meantime, as we prepare together for our journey through this Advent season toward new and unexpected life, read these words from John Wiley in Charlotte, NC. I work as a postal letter carrier in Charlotte, North Carolina. One day a couple of years ago, I drove up to a mailbox. Christy, the young divorcee who lived there, was waiting by the side of the road. She said that she had a story to tell me. About six months earlier, it seems that I had delivered a letter to her which had her street number on it but was addressed to another house with the same number on a different street in the neighborhood. She had to run some errands, so she decided to drop off the letter at the correct house. It turned out that the letter had been intended for Stan, who happened to be single. They talked for a little while, and later on he called. They started dating and had been going out together ever since. I was embarrassed about delivering the letter wrong, but I was pleased that I had brought these nice people together. A few months later, a For Sale sign went up in Christy s yard, and then the wedding invitations were sent out. In short order the house was sold, the wedding happened, and Christy and her kids moved into Stan s house. A few months later, I saw a For Sale sign in their yard. I feared the marriage might be in trouble, so I made up an excuse to go to their door and check on them. Christy opened the door, smiled broadly, and pointed to her huge stomach. We re having twins! she said. This house won t be big enough, so we have to move. As I walked back to my truck, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the thought that my one misdelivered letter was now giving two little yet-to-be-born people a shot at life. Awesome. Awesome indeed! Isn t it amazing what God can do...even with our mistakes!? The title of this piece is Awaiting Delivery. It makes me wonder, what new, surprising, unexpected life is waiting to be delivered within each of us as we make our way through life as we anticipate this season of Advent. What new life is about to be born, even in us? Shalom, Bill 130 pledged $364, pledged $302, pledgers not yet 2018 pledgers 46 persons $109, new 11 pledged $19,360.00

4 December 2017 Sunday December 3 8:00 am Communion Worship C 8:45 am Prayer Ministry C 9:30 am Traditional Worship S Goldy Play S, :30 am Intergenerational Advent FH Monday December 4 9:30 am Women of Faith L Tuesday December 5 6:00 am Men s Breakfast Cafe Marie 9:15 am GatherRing S 6:30 pm Joy s Circle 330 Wednesday December 6 9:30 am MOPS GIFT 332,107 12:00 pm Hope House Christmas Party GR, Kitchen 7:00 pm Chancel Choir CR Thursday December 7 8:00 am Miller s Men Group P Friday December 8 9:30 am KnitWits 112,107 Saturday December 9 7:30 am Community Food Pantry GR Sunday December 10 8:00 am Communion Worship C 8:45 am Prayer Ministry C 9:30 am Advent Lessons and Carols S Goldy Play S, :45 am Character Builders Community Dinner GR Monday December 11 9:30 am Women of Faith L Tuesday December 12 6:00 am Men s Breakfast Cafe Marie 9:15 am GatherRing S Wednesday December 13 9:30 am MOPS GIFT 332,107 7:00 pm Chancel Choir CR MOPS Evening 332,107 Thurday December 14 8:00 am Miller s Men Group P 9:00 am NS Christmas Party GR 7:00 pm Trustees 214 Friday December 15 9:00 am NS Christmas Party GR 12:00 pm Sarah s Circle 112 Saturday December 16 Chopin Hall Serve Chopin Hall is in need of children s winter coats for this season s donations. With the cold weather creeping in, we need as many as we can get, any and all coats are welcome. You can stop by and drop them off or mail them to: 1800 N. Blanchard Avenue Suite 125 Findlay, OH Sound & Video Are you looking for a ministry in the church family where you can volunteer without a lot of work? Come and check out the sound and video ministries. The sound ministry helps assure that our worship services can be heard by all in attendance on Sunday mornings. This is just a matter of learning the sound board and when to turn mics on and off. The sound board operator also takes the morning attendance count for us. The video ministry produces the worship service on tape and DVD that is then downloaded to our church website. The camera operators learn the basics of camera operation under the direction of the director, who monitors from the AV Room. Knowing your right (lectern) from your left (pulpit) is all that is needed. The director is positioned in the AV Room and prepares the equipment for taping and gives direction to the camera operators. The director works closely with the video editors. We have two excellent video editors who prepare the video for the website, so don t let that frighten you away. Most likely when you join the team, you will operate the cameras first and work your way up if you wish. If you are interested in knowing more about these ministries, please contact Dana Bourne at or danalyndbourne@ aol.com or Carol Smith at or css2612@aol.com. You need not do both the sound and the video ministry, either one will be a big help. Junior and Senior High School students are invited to check it out. We really can use additional help. Thank you. Angel Tree An angel tree is available again this year in the foyer to support families at Hope House. We have been asked to support them with gift cards and other needs that aren t always met. Please take an angel off the tree and return by Dec. 19. Please contact Tracy Kennedy with any questions.

5 First News & Views First Presbyterian Church 2330 South Main Street Findlay, Ohio FIRST NEWS & VIEWS (USPS # ) is published bi-weekly by the First Presbyterian Church, 2330 S. Main Street, Findlay, OH Periodicals postage paid at Findlay, OH. POSTMASTER: send address change to PERIODICAL Phone: Fax: Visit our website findlayfpc.org Like us on Facebook facebook.com/findlayfpc First Presbyterian Staff Bill Lindeman, Interim Pastor Jessica Myers, Interim Associate Pastor Brent Neuenschwander, Director of Music Nicole Cramer, Coordinator of Children s Faith Formation Stephanie Bryan, Office Secretary Bethany Charlton, Communications Coordinator Amy Wilkerson, Financial Secretary Marna Weaver, Church Accountant Sharon Vaas, Nursery School Director Mercedes Risser, Childcare Staff Sterling Helms, Building Superintendent Evonne Helms, Custodian Kevin Cotterman, Custodian Ned Niswander, Custodian Next newsletter deadline is Friday, December 8th. Mission Mentionings Tuesday, November 28th was #GIVING day. Instead of shopping for doorbusters, find meaningful gift ideas for your loved ones in the Presbyterian Giving Catalog with nearly 40 items to choose from. You can find a gift that connects to your loved one s interests and celebrates the spirit of the Christmas season by helping people in need. PCUSA have Giving Catalogs that can help guide you. Church Transportation Dave Reynolds will be the bus driver for Sunday, December 3rd and 10th. Please call if you need to be picked up (419) Sunday Morning 8:00 am Communion Worship in the Chapel 8:45 am Prayer Ministry in the Chapel 9:30 am Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary 10:45 am Christian Education Preaching Schedule December 3: Rev. Bill Lindeman December 10: Lessons & Carols December 17: Rev. Bill Lindeman If you would like a large print newsletter please contact the church office.