Centerville Presbyterian Church. the. CPC Missions Weekend February 11-12, MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Celebrating 163 Years of Ministry February 2017

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1 Centerville Presbyterian Church the A Church committed to Jesus Christ through worship, nurture, care, and growth. MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Celebrating 163 Years of Ministry February 2017 Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Greg Roth Associate Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Marsha Roth Assistant Pastor for Families, Young Adults & Intercultural Ministries Leedah Wong Director of Discipleship, Caring, and Outreach Alex Sung Volunteer Visitation Pastor Rev. Dr. Jim Schoon Director of Traditional Worship and Choral Ministries Darryl Guzman Director of Contemporary Worship Thomas Bañuelos Children s Ministry Interim Director Alana Bischoff Chan Youth Ministry Director Seth Beardsley Preschool Director Linda Hall Facilities/Office Manager Tammy Sawyer Finance Manager Sally Suryan Accounting Assistant Julia Knutson Ministry Assistants Alana Bischoff Chan Val Cooley Polly Walker CPC Missions Weekend February 11-12, 2017 Rev. Dr. Stephen Kelley, speaker extraordinaire, will talk about leading teams to help refugees and how he used the funds we sent him from lasts year s Easter Offering. See inside for more information about him. Saturday, February 11 th 8:40 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Seminar with Dr. Stephen Kelley speaking on How do Arab cultures see our world and what do we need to know to clearly present Jesus Christ? and What in the world is God doing in the Middle East? Several CPC-supported missionaries will give updates. (optional Dutch treat lunch to follow at Bombay Gardens) Sunday, February 12 th 1 st & 2 nd Services with Sunday Eats to Follow at 12:15 Q&A with Dr. Kelley during dessert Sermon Topic: From Thirsting to Drenching! From a Receiver to a Giver! (All are encouraged to read John 4:1-30 prior to Sunday services) Please sign up at the Missions Table on February 5th if you plan on attending the Saturday Seminar.

2 Missions Weekend Rev. Dr. Stephen Kelley is an enthusiastic, dynamic speaker and servant of the Lord providing leadership for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) World Outreach to refugees in Europe. He is also the Executive Director of the European Training Center where students attend seminary for seven years to go out and make disciples of all nations as the Great Commission commands in the Bible. Dr. Kelley led several teams of students using CPC s dollars so generously given by the congregation for the 2016 Easter Offering. Dr. Kelley was involved with Campus Crusade at Cairo University where he led other college age youths to Christ. In 1979 he came to the U.S. and joined the Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI, and studied at the Reformed Bible College. He attended the Urbana InterVarsity Conference in 1979 where he felt the Lord calling him to serve in the missions field for his people. In 1984 he began working in Chicago with the home center for Arabs where he also received a diploma in urban ministry from the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education. He attended Calvin Seminary and graduated in 1989 and became an associate pastor at the Dearborn Christian Reformed Church and started the Arab American Friendship Center to serve and witness to the 45,000 Arabs living in the Dearborn area. He led many Muslims to the Lord and trained others in working in the field. Dr. Kelley was born and raised in Egypt and as a youth he had two experiences: 1) racing a car in the desert when it got stuck in the sand and 2) learning to ride a motorcycle but didn t know how to stop it, when he found himself praying to Jesus for help like he had heard his Christian friends doing (not the Muslim prayers he had been taught). The Lord heard his prayer and help came in both instances. When he was invited to attend a Christian young people s group he started exploring the Bible. After many months he felt Jesus calling him to become a Christian, and he was baptized at the age of 19. As he made his conversion to Christianity known, he was arrested, and almost killed. His parents kicked him out of his home and he was expelled from college. He feels his suffering and persecution has made him a more mature Christian and leader through the years as he relies on and trusts in the Lord. He says Romans 8 and Psalm 91 summarize his life experiences and commitment in serving and trusting the Lord and leading others to Christ. 2 In 1996 he was called to work at the Arab World Ministries Center in southern England where he began training missionaries which led to his founding United Family International. He developed and continued training leaders and discipling both Christian and Muslim converts through Dr. Kelley received his Master of Divinity in 1989 from Calvin Theological Seminary followed by becoming an Associate Minister for church planting in the Arabic community in the Detroit area. He worked as a training consultant for OC International from where he was teaching in six continents and 55 countries. Concurrently he was working on his Doctorate at Providence Seminary and received his degree in During he was a consultant for the Digital Bible Society and was the CEO of United Family International during He began working with the European Training Centre (ETC) in Spain in 2013 and is currently the CEO. He received a call from the Lord to work with EPC in 2016 and is currently the Coordinator for Refugee Ministry simultaneously teaching/leading seminary student groups attending ETC to work in the missions field with refugees in Germany using CPC gifts to the generous Easter Offering. Also, during the past year he has taught in Egypt, the Netherlands as well as providing discipleship/evangelism in many countries. Dr. Kelley s goal and vision is to bring Muslim Arabs to Christ and disciple BMG believers. WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE DR. KELLEY BE OUR SPEAKER FOR CPC MISSIONS WEEKEND!

3 CPC Women s Retreat Location: Redwood Christian Park Dates: March 17 19, 2017 Registration: Between Services Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus Set aside some time to celebrate God s love for us and to fellowship with other women in the beautiful mountains of Redwood Christian Park. Cheri Gregory will be leading us on a journey to simplify our lives so we can fully focus on Jesus and His purposes. Praise God with Antoinette Rodrigues as she engages your heart with songs that will deeply connect you to our Lord. We hope you will join us in fixing our eyes on Jesus! Registration is in full swing. We have a maximum of 100 spots for the retreat, so don t delay! The deadline for registration and fees is Sunday, February 26. All scholarship applications must be submitted by Sunday, February 12. Please stop by the retreat table between Sunday services for brochures, registration forms, and scholarship forms or find them online at cpcfremont.org. WORSHIP LEADER: Antoinette Rodrigues Antoinette Rodrigues has a passion to see the body of Christ make a heart-to-heart connection to the Father. She has been a part of the worship ministry at Neighborhood Church in Newark for 15 years. She is wife to Ken, mother to 6, mother-in-law to 5 and Mimi to 6 adorable Kingdom bringers!!! Her deepest heart s desire is to see people set free by Jesus to live their lives on earth as it is in heaven. AT THE RETREAT, PARTY WITH A PURPOSE: SOLE HOPE Jigger infestations are causing a horrible problem for the people of Uganda. Because thousands of people cannot afford shoes, they walk bare footed and jiggers burrow into their feet. This destroys the soft tissue in the foot and the wound is prone to disease and infection. People infested with jiggers are banned from their village. It also prevents people from working to support themselves and their families. But there is hope. With a simple medical procedure, the jiggers can be removed. By providing education about foot care and shoes, the problem can be alleviated and avoided. On Saturday afternoon, March 18, we would like to invite retreat attendees to a Sole Hope shoe cutting party with a purpose to provide shoes to people in Uganda. Our group will work together to cut our old jeans into shoe uppers. These cut jeans will then be shipped to Uganda so local tailors and shoemakers can craft shoes to be given out at medical clinics. This project will help provide jobs, shoes, and medical relief to those in need. If you have the following materials, it would help in the process of our project: Heavy duty scissors or fabric scissors to cut jean material Old jeans you are ready to discard or donate Sharpie for marking the pattern on the jeans Large safety pins We are praying for each of you to come and find simplicity and focus this weekend. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, Retreat Committee: Lisa Dutra, Pat Lum, Sylvia Garrett, Teresa Schmit, and Wendy Stacy

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5 Honorary Tribute to a Man with a Legacy By Betty Clark When I interviewed Ray Carlson in early January, 2017, he told me he was going to be 95 years old January 19. He grimaced when he said 95. Being a part of the elderly population, I laughed and said, Yeah, Ray, did you ever think you would be 95? One does not think about becoming old, old. You usually don t get to thinking about being older than 60. After talking to Ray, I decided I will wish him a Happy Birthday and also say Well Done. Ray is a native Californian. He was born in San Francisco. His family moved across the bay to Berkeley when he was 18 months old. He lived in Berkeley going through the school system from elementary through high school. After graduating from high school, he went to Business College, learning accounting skills. He then got a job in San Francisco with a box lumber company. The company transferred him to Salinas, California, and that is where he met his future wife, Virginia. I asked Ray how he met Virginia. He told me he was living in a house with some other college aged men, and Virginia s aunt cooked their meals. Virginia went to the house to help her aunt with the dishes. This also gave her the opportunity to meet these college aged boys. Ray and Virginia met in the kitchen. Ray and Virginia were married for almost 70 years. Virginia passed away forty days before their 70th anniversary. Ray was working in Salinas, but he wanted to enlist in the Air Corp. He needed his father s permission to do so. Ray was not 21, and so needed his dad s signature on a piece of paper saying he could join the armed services. Ray s father felt Ray would not be drafted and didn t want to sign that paper. When the United States was attacked on December 7, Ray s father agreed to give his permission. Ray joined the Air Force in The Air Force gave Ray and other enlistees aptitude tests. They wanted pilots, bombardiers, and navigators. Ray s test qualified him to be a pilot. He was sent to Santa Ana, Visalia and Lemoore, CA for flight training 90 days at each location and learned in a nine month training period how to fly a B 25 Mitchell Bomber twin engine plane, which was propeller driven. He received his wings on January 3, The B 25 bombers went to Africa, Italy and the South Pacific. Ray did not go to Africa, Italy or the South Pacific. The Air Force wanted him to be an instructor and teach young air cadets. They kept him here in the United States. I think God wanted Ray and Virginia to get together. Ray courted Virginia and she agreed to wait for him until the war ended. They did not have to wait that long. He was given a leave from LaJunta. He went to Salinas and married Virginia in the First Baptist Church. Ray said, Virginia was almost 19 and I was a mature 22. By the age of 22, Ray had learned to fly a B 25 Mitchell Bomber, was teaching air cadets to fly their B 25 and had married his one true love. In LaJunta, Colorado, and on her 19th birthday, Ray gave Virginia her first airplane ride. He was the pilot. I learned the following about the B 25 bomber. It weighed 40,000 pounds plus fuel. It had an 1,800 horsepower Pratt and Whitney twin engine plane. The B 25 s were made by the North American Aviation Company and 11,000 planes built. 1

6 Ray said during the training period and while he taught there were accidents. He was scheduled to take a crosscountry trip with some students. Because he had been with them on a previous cross country trip and found them capable, he told them to go without him. When they took off, they lost an engine and crashed. Ray told me that the torque from the other engine was so severe that the pilot could not control the plane. Ray would have been killed. God keeps working in this man s life. When the air base in LaJunta closed Ray was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska. Then shortly before the end of the war, pilots, bombardiers and navigators were sent to Greenville, South Carolina. The pilots were to get a crew of six men and learn how to handle that crew. This was to be done in 90 days and then they would go overseas. Fortunately the war came to an end. Ray and Virginia went to Salinas when he was discharged. The job he left when he enlisted was there for him. They lived in Salinas for twelve years, Ray working in the accounting department, and then moved to Newark because the company transferred him. It was in the early 60 s when they joined Centerville Presbyterian. Ray and Virginia were deacons and participated in Bible classes and church activities. Ray is a gardener of renown. Besides the vegetables and flowers he grew in his garden, he had a variety of fruit trees. I knew he had apricot trees (he had two different types) because Virginia made good apricot pies with the fruit from their trees. Ray still has access to this yard and trees. This good man sold his and Virginia s home to a granddaughter at an affordable price. He also favored another granddaughter with his car, because she was driving a clunker. Ray is a proud family man. He and Virginia raised three children, a son and two daughters. His daughter Patricia lives in Fremont and keeps an eye on her father. She is a nurse practitioner. His daughter Janet is a happily retired teacher who lives in Riverside, and his son is an electronic engineer and lives in Napa. He has five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. When I have been asked to write an article about a member in our church, I have been blessed. I have come to know very good people, and Ray Carlson is a fine example of a good man. You will be reading this paper after Ray s 95th birthday on January 19, but it is never too late to wish him a good year. May his 95th year be a year with abundant fruit from his trees and many blessings. 2

7 Session Notes December 2016 Submitted by Paul Whatley, Ruling Elder By Linda Hall, Director of CCP Happy Valentines Day to you all!! This month we celebrate LOVE. The most important gift we can ever receive is God s gift of His Son, our Savior and Lord. With this gift we also receive the gift of forgiveness, grace, restoration and the promise of a spiritual relationship that begins with our belief and lasts for all eternity!! How amazing is that? Our response should be one of thankfulness that is filled with an awesome wonder at this gift of grace that can only come from God!! Our Chapel verse this month is God loves us, taken from Psalms 107:1. We will have our Chapel Day s on Tues. February 7 th and Wed. February 8 th, where we ll be discussing how much God loves us all and how we can share that love with those around us. Of course there will be a lot of art projects starting with making some very special Valentine cards for our parents, creating beautiful glittered mail bags that we will use to exchange cards with each other, Spin Art paintings and a Pink Day Heart project. Wow, we re not done with art yet! We also will be doing an Annual project designing our own bowls and plates, from the Makit Company, that will be on display during Open House at the end of May. The Preschool will be closed on Monday, February 20 th for the observance of Presidents Day. We said goodbye to Miss Lori last month as she found a full time teaching position in Newark. Miss Jennifer is still out on medical leave and receiving treatments following her surgery. She will be back at preschool as soon as her doctors release her to return to work. In the meantime Miss Kaitlyn Baker is our Interim Ladybug Preschool Teacher. Please welcome her! We here at the Preschool wish you all a month filled with Love for both our Lord and for the family and friends that he has blessed us all with!!! 5 On December 5, 2016 we held our final Session meeting for We had a great meeting reflecting on what the Lord has accomplished in our congregation and in organizations/groups that we serve. As always we began our meeting in prayer. This gives all those attending a time to give thanks to our Lord for the many things He has provided, as well as to ask Him for help with issues we are facing, whether they be financial, political, relational, or health. He ALWAYS hears our prayers! We expressed our appreciation to those Ruling Elders whose terms of service were ending and welcomed the new ruling Elders that are going to be joining our team. This is such a great time for the outgoing members to share what they ve learned and gained during their terms. We look forward to having another great and successful year as your Session. We received monthly reports from staff and committee members. One in particular was presented by Leedah Wong regarding the development and commencement of the Foundry. This group is a ministry of CPC and not a new church plant. It is comprised of singles, couples and families in the millennial age group who have been meeting together and inviting their work colleagues and friends to join them in a covenant community that seeks to follow Jesus in their homes, work, and friendships. We also discussed the development of the CPC property located where the Little White Church was. Housing development and planning for the future needs of our staff and possibly other Christian groups in the neighborhood is our focus. Additional info will be forthcoming. We are looking forward to serving you all for another year and hope that if anyone has questions or input for Session that you feel free to contact any of the Ruling Elders or staff.

8 Session Notes Janary 2017 Submitted by Gary MIlco, Ruling Elder Session had the opportunity and privilege to meet twice in January. A half day Session retreat provided special time to share prayers, faith, insights and perspectives in the context of exploring issues of importance related to better serving our church community. We recognize that all ministries are confronted with challenges and obstacles and require resources in personnel and finances. We seek to best apply God s provision of resources to meet the ongoing needs of the church while looking forward as well in anticipation of future requirements consistent with the vision of church leadership. As church leaders, we strive to increasingly connect with, and spiritually nurture, our church family while drawing and inviting new people to worship, spanning many generations and cultures. A multigenerational, multicultural church body has long been the vision of CPC leadership. What does church growth (or success) look like? Increased attendance? Individually and collectively seeking a deeper relationship with our Lord? Perhaps one need not compromise the other. All for the glory of God and His kingdom. CPC small groups are a wonderful opportunity to go deeper in faith and share our life experiences, directed toward living out our common calling of discipleship. All are encouraged to connect with others and grow in faith through participation in a small group. The start of a new year provides a fresh opportunity to get connected in such a meaningful way. It may be as we learn more about the Lord, we learn more about ourselves. Individually, we can all do our part to grow attendance by inviting an unchurched friend or family member to a Sunday worship service. The Lord s word is not only powerful, but contagious. Pastor Marsha affirmed Session and staff members ongoing ministry participation through committee assignments carefully made with individual gifts and talents in mind. All are excited and enthusiastic to be a part of God s continuing work at CPC. We trust in the Lord to provide direction for His church and inform our path as we practice patience 6 (perseverance) and discernment and stand ready and willing to heed His word. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalm 127). The regular Session meeting provided opportunity to address immediate church needs, allocate resources and plan short and long term goals for both spiritual and administrative purposes. CPC Session and staff are committed to the work of the Lord and our hopes and expectations are steadfast in Him. We have been blessed with the leadership and dedication demonstrated by Pastor Leedah as he continues to provide a vision and path forward for nurturing and growing our younger generation of Millennials through the The Foundry group. We look forward to seeing God s hand touch this generation at CPC as well as the overall life of the church. As we learn to interact and share our faith across generations and cultures, we become an intergenerational and intercultural church body. Please encourage and pray for Pastor Leedah as he steps out further in faith to meet his calling and do the Lord s work. We continue to pursue the earlier proposed housing project on the little white church property to seek future affordable housing for church pastors, youth workers and church staff. While the process is lengthy, (estimate months to completion) the rewards will be great; much needed housing in the community we serve, allowing CPC ministries opportunity to continue flourishing. Session approved appointment of a housing project task force to address planning, development and construction needs. Preliminary architectural drawings were reviewed by Session. A recent review of membership rolls revealed a list of people to be considered for a change in status. Session agreed to move these individuals from active membership to inactive status. The change in status is based on extended nonparticipation in the life of the church. Status can be changed back to active upon request by the individual. Change in membership status is in accordance with guidelines outlined in the Book of Order of the EPC. We are excited as God reveals His plan for CPC in this new year. May God bless our path forward, renew our faith and draw us closer in relationship with Him. Elder Gary

9 HELPING THE HOMELESS! The CPC Congregation has been busy in the last few months with new projects to help the Homeless. Not only were we able to raise money to update the Free Dining Kitchen, but we have been involved with two additional projects with Abode and Compassion Ministries. Each time a new family moves from homelessness to an apartment, Abode provides a HOMEWARMING BASKET of basic supplies for household use and cleaning. Many of you participated in bringing packages of paper towels, hand soap, mops, glass cleaner and many more items. These items were combined into a large new laundry basket that was then presented to the needy family. Take a look at these pictures and you will see that we were able to provide SEVEN complete baskets and we have enough items to probably make about five more baskets! Special thanks to the individuals and Life Groups who each packed an entire basket and brought it ready to go! But thanks also to all of the rest of you who were so generous! It s especially hard to be homeless in the rainy and cold weather and many of you assisted with a different project to provide FOOD AT THE WARMING CENTER that is open many winter evenings at the Senior Center at Lake Elizabeth. This walk in homeless shelter is directed by Compassion Network Ministries, the City of Fremont and Abode. We served the week of December and more than forty of you provided food and served approximately 35 people each evening! Thank you! If you didn t have an opportunity to participate in December, we hope that you will help us in February! CPC will be providing food and serving the week of February 5 through 10. Sign up on Sunday at the table on the patio or contact the church office to see how you can be a part of this worthwhile service. Many hands make light work! Items collected for the Abode Home Warming Baskets Serving at the Warming Center Special Offerings Update The Christmas Offering designated to Hope Alive! Total: $18,000 and Hope Alive! gave a tithe to the Free Dining Room. The Free Dining Room Donations Total: $14,000 This amount was matched by a donor. Shortly after donations were received, the oven burned out God s timing! 7

10 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Fremont, CA 4360 Central Avenue Fremont CA PERMIT NO. 7 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Please Note: If you do not wish to receive this Newsletter, please call our office at ext. 14 February 10, 2017 is the deadline for submitting articles for the March 2017 BELL Newsletter. Please submit to Val Cooley, Ministry Assistant vcooley@cpcfremont.org. All articles submitted are subject to approval, editing, and space available. Feb 5 Feb Feb 12 New Beginnings class starts 9:00 am E202B CPC Missions Weekend Sunday Eats following 2nd service Feb 20 President s Day Holiday Campus & Office Closed March 1 March 5 March 12 March ASH Wednesday Service at 6:30 p.m. The Foundry Kickoff Sunday Time Change Turn clocks AHEAD 1 hour Women s Retreat at Redwood Christian Park 8 Join us for Worship 9:00 a.m. Contemporary Service Led by Thomas Bañuelos with the Worship Team and Band 11:00 a.m. Traditional Service Led by Darryl Guzman with the Centerian Choir and CenterPeace Orchestra Office Hours: M TH 8:00am 4:00 pm Office fax cpcoffice@cpcfremont.org