CHIMES. The HAPPY VALENTINE S DAY. February Sunday Morning Schedule Choir Practice 8:30 -- Worship 9:30 Coffee Hour at 10:30

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Oroville, California Informing you of our Ministry - Inviting you to Worship with us - Welcoming you

1 The CHIMES First Congregational Church United Church of Christ 1715 Bird Street Oroville, California (530) February 2018 The Monthly Newsletter of the First Congregational Church of Oroville, California Informing you of our Ministry - Inviting you to Worship with us - Welcoming you always HAPPY VALENTINE S DAY Sunday Morning Schedule Choir Practice 8:30 -- Worship 9:30 Coffee Hour at 10:30

2 First Congregational Church of Oroville 1715 Bird Street, Oroville, California A great place to grow in Faith, Hope, and Love. Worship Leaders Roy Fisher Pastor John Zenor Organist Our Sunday Schedule 8:30 am Choir Practice Chapel 9:30 am Sunday Service Sanctuary 10:30 am Coffee & Fellowship Social Hall First Tuesday of the month 9:30 am Women s Fellowship Social Hall Every Tuesday 1:00 pm Sewing Group Youth Room Every Thursday 5:00 pm Choir Practice Chapel Administrative Asst./Bookkeeper Sandy Bolt Church Office Hours Monday thru Friday 8:00-12:00 (530) Website Council... REPORTS January 2018 has been a busy month for our church. Pastor Roy Fisher started us off with an inspirational service, and we look forward to his future sermons and services. Our pulpit exchange Sunday went well with Pastor Cheng Yang of First Methodist delivering a personal sermon on challenges to our Christian faith around the world. The service was followed by observance of Carolyn Lindsay's birthday in the social Hall. The unity service and potluck at the Methodist Church also went well. We will climax the month with the annual Winter Soup Luncheon put on by the dedicated ladies of our Women's Fellowship. A brief meeting of our congregation approved the proposed contract with Jordan's Crossing and Jerry Davis's appointment as a member of the Board of Trustees. Jane Warmack reported that the new heaters in the social hall and sanctuary were installed successfully, so we should be able to keep warm during the months ahead. We thank Art and Dolores Devol for the wonderful job they do on our Chimes and look forward to another busy month ahead. Jim Lenhoff, Moderator Trustees... January 11,2018 We were happy to have our new Pastor, Roy Fisher, at our meeting. We welcomed Jerry Davis, newly elected Trustee, to fill the vacant spot on the Board. The Monthly Newsletter of the First Congregational Church of Oroville Dolores Devol - editor Ph ~ adevol@comcast.net We approved a new contract with Pastor Roy Fisher for 6 months while seeking a permanent pastor. We approved a contract with Jordon Crossing for use of our main building

3 for one year. The final contract agrees that they will pay 400 a month (for electrical, water, etc. expenses), an increase from the first proposal, plus they will be taking over much of the building maintenance and yard service). This will help us a great deal with our budget. The renewal of our non-profit status is filed with the County tax collector. A discussion was held re: the choir music. Much reorganization needs to be done. Hopefully the music committee will be able to do this in the future. John Zenor s music is still missing. Hopefully, whoever borrowed it will return it soon. Jordon Crossing repaired a ceiling leak in the Narthex. We will still need to find the leak in the Narthex/Gallery corner after it rains again. Some of us also helped out at the Annual Pancake Breakfast at Applebee s Restaurant for a fund raiser for the Hunger Walk sponsored by the Cooperating Christian Churches of Oroville. All proceeds are divided between the following to help feed the people of Oroville: Salvation Army Rescue Mission Hope Center Feed the People Thank you all for the support and help during the event. Shirley Quackenbush, Chairperson Respectfully Submitted Jane Warmack Trustee Chairperson Diaconate January 2018 As you all know we started off the New Year with changes in our service and a new pastor, Pastor Roy Fisher. To accommodate both his churches we are starting our service at 9:30 am on Sunday. He is available prior to the morning service but does have to leave right after the service. We are very willing to work with the changes so that he is available for our services. He will be working part time and doing all the duties that Pastor Jerry was doing including visitations to the ill, etc. So please let us know if you are ill and would like to have the pastor drop by for a visit. As you know the main job of the Diaconate is to assist the Pastor in the service and keep the church and sanctuary in good condition so that we can be very proud of it. However since we have so few members much of our job is assisting all the other committees in the church. If you are feeling that there is some need that we need to be doing, please let one of us know. We are starting off the New Year with our Annual Soup Luncheon which has always been successful and many in the community really look forward to the event.

4 Originally published in The Plain Dealer Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, May 28, 2006 By Regina Brett To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying. 17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today. 18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write. 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?" 27. Always choose life. 28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable. 38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 45. The best is yet to come. 46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 48. If you don't ask, you don't get. 49. Yield. 50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift. Do you know that great feeling when you get into bed, fall straight to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day No,...me neither.

and had a variegated metal roof. That was all.

finish her house: Brick and cement walls, and a cement

This is her thank you note published in our local church

Jeannie Maes in Mexico 1/11/2018 On the first day we

On the next Tuesday Betty, shown in the pictures, will

On Wednesday I will be at the dump helping distribute

Puerto Vallarta To each of the generous Souls which made

Thank you for all these in my life that create for me the

You are creators of incredible things that seem

(Thank you from the bottom of my heart).

5 and had a variegated metal roof. That was all. After the fundraiser we were able to give her enough to finish her house: Brick and cement walls, and a cement floor. Her next goal is to save money for a "real door". This is her thank you note published in our local church bulletin. Jeannie Maes in Mexico 1/11/2018 On the first day we bought shoes. On the next Tuesday Betty, shown in the pictures, will buy more school shoes. On Wednesday I will be at the dump helping distribute shoes. I will take more pictures. Betty found less expensive shoes. We will be able to purchase almost 100 pair of shoes! Puerto Vallarta To each of the generous Souls which made this miracle possible. Thank you for all these in my life that create for me the experience of unconditional love. You are creators of incredible things that seem impossible. Gracias desde el fondo de mi corozon. (Thank you from the bottom of my heart). 1/18/2018 Yesterday we gave away about 75 pair of School shoes. We were at two sites and we had several volunteers helping. Jeannie Maes 1/15/2018 Some of you we're given poetry 2 years ago for a donation. The author, Merriam, lived and worked at the dump. This year a group of us wanted to help her build her house. She used pallets and some bricks for walls Where s Melvin? Church mouse Melvin is hiding somewhere in the pages of the Chimes. Can you find him?

6 The Legend of St. Valentine The history of Valentine s Day and the story of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first valentine greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl possibly his jailor s daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed From your Valentine, an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and most importantly romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France. Origins of Valentine s Day: A Pagan Festival in February While some believe that Valentine s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine s death or burial which probably occurred around A.D. 270 others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to Christianize the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Valentine s Day: A Day of Romance Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed as it was deemed un-christian at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine s Day should be a day for romance. Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine s didn t begin to appear until after The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

7 (Continued from page 6) Typical Valentine s Day Greetings In addition to the United States, Valentine s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine s Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as scrap. Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines. It doesn't matter how big your house is, how much money you have, or that you wear expensive clothes. our graves will be the same size. Stay humble. PARKING Sunday and evening parking for church attendees is available at the following locations by agreement between the Church and the owners of the lots. Lot behind the Cal Oro Manufacturing building on the NE corner of Bird and Oak Streets. Department of Education lot on the SW corner of Lincoln & Bird. I don t like to think Before I speak I like to be just as surprised as everyone else about what I say. When was the last time you invited someone to church?

Monthly Financial Update For the Month of January (Thru Jan. 22, 2018) Approved annual budget for 2017 2018 94,750.

83 Income for the month: Pledges, gifts & tithes: Rentals Garden Fund Advertising & Growth Organ Maint. 3,519.80 50.00 25.00 11.28 50.

8 Monthly Financial Update For the Month of January (Thru Jan. 22, 2018) Approved annual budget for , Budget needs for each week: 1, Budget needs each month: 7, Income for the month: Pledges, gifts & tithes: Rentals Garden Fund Advertising & Growth Organ Maint. 3, TOTAL INCOME FOR THE MONTH: 3, BIRTHDAYS 1 10 Margaret Everett Eleanor Pontius ANNIVERSARIES 22 Art and Dolores Devol 27 Bill and Jana Black Chimes Deadline will be Tuesday Feb. 20 Articles may be left in the Chimes box at the church office or to adevol@comcast.net

July Pastor s Notes July 2017

July Pastor s Notes July 2017 July 2017 A Publication of FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 211 S. Avenue G Clifton, Texas 76634 phone (254) 675-8105 Church Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Rev. Clint Schofield, Pastor Brenda