FAIRPLAIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH DECEMBER 2017 NEWSLETTER

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1 PASTOR S PEN Grace and peace to all of you in Jesus name! How quickly time has flown! Those early days of autumn, with a splash of color on branch after branch flowed into our season of Thanksgiving. Family gatherings, feasting, playing together, building new memories, Thanksgiving was great and now time has flowed into the month of December. This means, on our church calendar, Advent begins! Advent is a time that challenges our patience. While stores started playing Christmas music weeks and months ago, we are just now entering a time of looking ahead, anticipating, and enjoying God s great gift of love in the birth of Jesus. Culture tugs strongly to view this season simply as a time of shopping, decorations, with a touch of eggnog thrown in. Many of us do seek out special presents to give, but there is so much more to Advent and Christmas. During Advent we hear again the cries of people needing deliverance, yearning for freedom, seeking from God that which only God can give. During Advent we live with an awareness of how blessed our lives are, and how we are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. Advent is filled with opportunities for generosity, and I hope we will accept these as we are able. Advent also invites us to look inward, to discover our needs which only God can address. Advent invites us to live as seekers, looking for the depths and heights of joy and freedom which can only come from God. I m sure we will all do some shopping and giving of gifts, I know most of us will put up lights and decorations, but I encourage everyone to also live seeking two things: 1) that deeper encounter with God in Jesus Christ that God has always sought; and 2) opportunities to share Christ s love, to share hope, to invite others to find in Jesus the freedom and joy we all need. It s Advent and soon will be Christmas. Let s all share God s love and be a blessing to all. Merry Christmas to all! FAIRPLAIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH DECEMBER 2017 NEWSLETTER In Christian love, Pastor LaVerne

2 2 WEDNESDAY FAMILY DINNER Don t want to eat alone? Come find good food, good company and new friends at the FREE Wednesday Family Dinner, on December 27, at 6 pm, in the Courtyard Room. Everyone is welcome young, old, singles, families. Just bring yourself. We provide food and fellowship. We are thrilled with the response to our dinners so far, and are happy to have many guests as well as members. Join us to make visitors welcome. We plan to continue these dinners the last Wednesday of each month, so mark your calendars. If you can bring a dessert, help cook or clean up, call Linda Cogswell at We can also use financial donations to support this program. Just put in the offering plate Sunday or bring/mail it to the church office. Please mark your donation for Community Dinners. See you Nov. 29! DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 6: Dan Ong 10: Vicki Born 14: Jo Ann Paul 20: Cindi Pietruszka 27: Dennis Cogswell 28: Leslie Gilreath CANTATA Invitation to our annual Cantata, Saturday, Dec. 16, at 4 pm. Cantata will be sung by our Chancel Choir, guest musicians, Children s Choir, Ladies and Men s Chorus, Chimes & Bells, and vocals and instrumental soloists. Refreshments will be served immediately following the program. Invite your friends, family and celebrate the season! HANGING OF THE GREENS Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 2, at 9:00 am when we will decorate the church for Advent and Christmas. CONDOLENCES Family of Clara Fletcher donations may be made to Fairplain Presbyterain Church choir/music committee, Pine Ridge facility or Hospice. Family of Ken Opgenorth, former member of Fairplain Presbyterian Church, on his recent death. CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP Sunday, December 24, worship at 9:30 am and 4:00 pm worship!

3 CLERK S CORNER Recently your Session worked to arrange a Visioning Workshop. Working together the all-day workshop was guided by Rev. Jake Kaufman and his wife Rev. Dawn Kaufman, who is also a marketing and business specialist. The Rev. John Best of Lake Michigan Presbytery had recommended the speakers and even attended the workshop which was held at Marketing Partners in St. Joseph. The deacons were represented by Marlene Smith. The other women in attendance were Mary Bartels, Linda Cogswell, Leslie Gilreath, Nan Meyer, Jane Nettleton, and Dorothy Trachte. Male members included Chris Corbitt, John Kauffman, and Jack Stuber. Finally, the elders included Kim Edinger, Candi Kebschull, Fred Welch and myself. Thanks to all for your participation! As we prepare to transition to a new era, the Kaufmans cautioned us not to expect a new reverend to be the sole recruiter of future members. Because members must work together with their pastors, we learned basic marketing principles to help us grow the church. The group spent time imagining the target population we want to invite to worship with us in the future. A separate report will be issued to delineate the possibilities the group brainstormed at the helpful visioning workshop. Let me turn to considering the many reasons for a hopeful future. First, God is on our side! But, as my spouse always says, we need to be constantly looking to how we can help the Lord accomplish the necessary work. Based on demographic information supplied by Overflow Church, there are reasons to believe that we can attract people similar to ourselves to join us in praising the Lord and serving the community. By people similar to ourselves I mean people who will work hard to commit to important missions and to give willingly of their time and talents. The national average of people with no faith involvement is nearly 35%. As we know, some of these people are unfulfilled spiritually. Nearby us, the bulk of the neighborhoods range from 32% - 42% lacking faith involvement. More than half of the nearby population is older than age 50. If we look further across the county and plan to serve a commuter group of worshippers, many people are looking for the features we have to offer. For example, the majority of residents (27%) prefer a traditional church architecture while only 14% prefer a contemporary architectural style. More importantly, 38% of local people are looking for a combination of mission work that focuses on both community and personal spiritual development which we offer, in my view. 40% of the area respondents want a service which is both emotionally uplifting and intellectually challenging which we again have in place already. 3

4 4 CLERK S CORNER CONTINUED 28.5% want a blended worship style that combines the formal (traditional/ceremonial) with the informal (contemporary) aspects. They also favor music which includes both contemporary and traditional 33.6%; and by the same margin prefer to both participate and hear performers during church services. Taken altogether, these statistics are confirming that what we offer is what the mainstream wants. Individuals just don t realize yet that Fairplain Presbyterian Church is what they need. Because local preferences are not that different from the national averages, we can confidently approach people from anywhere in the county with the message that, while we have been around quite a while, we remain cutting edge. Upcoming Important Dates and Times December 2 Hanging of the Greens at 9 am December 3 Congregational Meeting; Visioning Conversation December 24 Services at 9:30 am and 4 pm December 31 Pastor away; Leslie Gilreath preaches Jan. 7 Communion, Ordination & Installation Jan. 8 New session meets Jan. 13 Degreening of the sanctuary Thanks for reading my column, Robert L. Smith, Clerk of Session

5 MUSIC NEWS 5 Greetings to all from Ephesians 5: Speak to one another with psalm, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The following groups and soloists warmed up our hearts on Sundays in November: November 05 Family Slavujevic Chimes & Bells and Chancel Choir November 12 The Praise Band Wherever Two November 19 Ladies Chorus and Chancel Choir November 26 LaVerne & Mary Jane Davenport and Men s Chorus Thanksgiving Christmas The busiest time of the year for most families with children. Daily school homework, sports activities, school programs, committee meetings, family gatherings, special church music Christmas programs, writing and sending numerous s, cards, shopping, etc. Think you have also contemplated at least once in your life time escaping all this Wish we could have less stressful Christmas season Even though we will have to accomplish so much in the next few weeks, it will not be the first time for us to do it. We have experience coping with all this mentioned above. Our traditional Christmas program is scheduled for December 16 at 4:00pm. All are welcome! Please, do invite your families and friends for this special occasion when we celebrate Christ s birth. The first part of the program will feature our Ladies Chorus, Men s Chorus, chimes / bells, children s choir and a couple of vocal and instrumental soloists. The second part will be a 35-minute cantata EMMANUEL Celebrating Heaven s Child performed by our Chancel Choir. It is created by the Dove Award-winning song-writer, Joel Lindsay, and arranged and orchestrated by the Dove Award-winning musician Russell Mauldin. This passionate Bethlehem miracle experience will touch the hearts of listeners and singers in wonderful ways.

6 6 The whole Saturday Christmas program will be interesting but not too long. We will miss 4 choir members who will spend winter in a warmer climate, but we are counting on several guest volunteer singers to join our choir for that occasion. Our main cantata REHEARSAL will be on December 09 at 4:00pm - exactly one week before the actual performance. This is when we expect all singers to be present. *************************************************************************************** Here is an article about a well-known and loved hymn Angels We Have Heard on High (# 23 in our church hymnal) adopted from Randy Petersen s interesting book Be Still My Soul. Have you ever wondered what language the Christmas angels used? Luke put Glory to God in the highest in his own Greek language, and the shepherds might have understood that but they might have been more comfortable with the regional Aramaic tongue. Would the angels words have been in old Hebrew, as David would have spoken, or some heavenly language the shepherds were supernaturally enabled to understand? Whatever language it was, it probably wasn t Latin, which was used by the occupying Romans. Yet that s the phrasing we sing each Christmas Gloria in excelsis Deo because Rome eventually became the headquarters of the Western church. The Latin-language Bible, translated by Jerome about AD 400, became the dominant version for the next millennium and beyond. So, we re singing Jerome s wording of Luke s version of what the shepherds heard the angels say. Christian worship is often a blend of various cultures. Through nearly 2000 years more if we consider early Jewish customs we have gathered stories, songs, creeds and styles. Each generation adopts and adapts elements from previous generations. This song Angels We Have Heard on High with its sweetly flowing refrain, is a great example. The verses began in the south of France as Les Anges dans Nos Campagnes literally Angels in Our Fields sometime in the 1700s. An English-Irish theology professor named James Chadwick put them into our present English form in The tune found its present form in 1937 from American arranger and organist Edward Shippen Barnes, and its lasting partner is Chadwick s rendition of Les Anges. So, thanks to an American organist and an English-Irish professor working with an older French text and tune, with a refrain from a Roman scholar and Greek doctor, we can musically recreate that scene in the Bethlehem countryside where Jewish shepherds were engrossed in a surprise praise fest from a celestial choir. May God grant us all good health, patience and perseverance throughout this hectic month. Vladmir Slavujevic Music Director

7 7 POINSETTIAS The Deacons offer the opportunity to order poinsettias this Advent season. Please complete the order form below and place in the offering plate or drop off at the church office. Each poinsettia costs $10, and a portion of the proceeds will go toward the Funeral Fund. Color options are listed below as well, and the deadline to place your order is no later than Sunday, December 10. Please make your check payable to Board of Deacons. You may designate your poinsettia in memory and/or honor of an individual(s). Please indicate on the order form if you will be taking your poinsettia home, would like to leave it in the sanctuary for Christmas Eve, or would like it delivered to a homebound friend. POINSETTIA ORDER FORM Color Options: Red White Pink Total number ordered: Amount enclosed: Check # Cash Yes, I will leave my poinsetia in the sanctuary for Christmas Eve: Yes, I will be taking my poinsettia home: Please deliver my poinsettia to a homebound friend: I wish to designate my poinsettia in memory of: I wish to designate my poinsettia in honor of: Order placed by:

8 8 The Christmas Joy Offering has been a cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s. The offering distributes gifts equally to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. The Assistance Program provides critical financial support to church workers and their families. CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING Presbyterian-related schools and colleges provide education leadership development while nurturing racial and ethnic heritage. This has been a Presbyterian commitment for nearly 140 years. The Christmas Joy Offering will be received on Sunday, December 17, and on Christmas Eve. Please use your envelope provided in your bulletin on December 17 and 24. PER CAPITA 2018 The per capita amount for 2018 per member is $28.98 and summarized below: General Assembly $ 7.73 Synod of Covenant $ 3.25 PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN The next Women s Circle will meet on Tuesday, December 12, at 9:30 am in the Courtyard. Eloise Gundersen will lead the lesson and Marion Crossman and Linda Zitta will provide refreshments. Presbytery of $18.00 Lake Michigan Total $28.98 There are three boxes in the church office for recycling as follows: Printer, Fax, Copier toner cartridges in tall box marked Toshiba Ecostyle Recycle Bin Batteries only in small box marked Batteries Paper only in small box marked Newsprint and Plain Recycle Paper Only.

9 DEACONS OUTREACH 9 YELLOW PEW ENVELOPES As you will notice in the pews, the yellow envelopes have been reprinted for your donations toward Deacons General/Funeral Fund and Food Pantry/Soup Kitchen. Deacons General Fund: Goes towards the purchase of communion cups, oil for candles, Advent wax candles, flowers for shut-ins (Christmas and Easter), printed support materials for members: These Days devotional, Care Notes (various topics), greeting cards and postage for members; CD players for shut-ins. Deacons Funeral Fund: Goes towards any funeral luncheon expenses that are not reimbursed by the family. Donations to the Deacons General Fund and/or Funeral Fund should be made payable to Fairplain Presbyterian Church. Food Pantry: To purchase products we are low on, or take advantage of good sales on products, we normally furnish in food bags from our local retail grocer. Soup Kitchen: To purchase the needed side dishes for our once-a-month meals we prepare at the soup kitchen in Benton Harbor. Donations to the Food Pantry and/or Soup Kitchen should be made payable to the Community Food Pantry at Fairplain Presbyterian Church.

10 10 CHURCH LIBRARY Mission Statement: The purpose of the Fairplain Presbyterian Church Library shall be: to provide books and material that will help promote a better understanding of our Christian heritage; to encourage members to grow in Christmas faith and spiritual living; and to provide wholesome literature and audio/video materials for entertaining and learning. Click on this link to go to our library catalog: There are several ways to browse the books in our church library: 1. Use the search this library window to search for a particular book or author. 2. Scroll through the listing of books which are in alphabetical order by title. 3. Search by categories to do this, click on the Tags heading. The categories are: Art & Literature Biblical Studies Biographies Christian Living Christian Theology Church History Church Leadership Commentaries Devotionals Local History Media Missions Prayer Presbyterian Church Reference Stephen Ministries World Religions Worship The following books have been added to our library recently take a moment and check one out: Understanding the Koran, a Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book Islam & Christianity, compares teachings and beliefs The Kurds, Creating of the Modern Middle East Waking up White Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor

11 11 CHURCH STAFF LaVerne Davenport, Pastor Office Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 9 am-noon and by appointment Linda Cogswell, Church Secretary church fairplainpc@gmail.com Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: 8:30 am-noon, 1:00-3:00 pm Wednesday: Closed (Pastor LaVerne available by appointment) Friday: 9:00 am-11:30 am (closed in the afternoon) Vladimir Slavujevic, Director of Music vladoslavujevic@yahoo.com Mary Jane Davenport Organist/Accompanist portofmj@yahoo.com Jenna McAllister, Treasurer jennabetz@comcast.net Chris Corbitt, Financial Secretary cpc1_1999@yahoo.com Bud Cornelius, Custodian