CHURCH CURRENTS. April We seek to glorify God through: ONLINE GIVING

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1 CHURCH CURRENTS First Presbyterian Church 210 S. Wayne Street Milledgeville, GA phone: April 2017 like us on Facebook ONLINE GIVING We are on the radio Our worship service is broadcast on WKZR (102.3 FM.) every Sunday morning at 11:00AM We seek to glorify God through: Inspiring worship in Word and music, Inquiring study for adults and youth, Inclusive hospitality locally and globally, Industrious outreach for social justice and environmental stewardship. APRIL 13 ~ 6:30PM MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE APRIL 14 ~ 12:15PM GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE JOIN US FOR WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP Sunday School 9:45am Worship Service 11:00am

2 Pastor: Rev. Susan Balfour Coord. of Children & Youth Ministries: Gloria Burns Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, First Presbyterian Church Issue No. 251 April 2017 Admin. Asst.: Amy Snowden Director of Music: Dr. Jennifer Flory Organists: Kate Phillips Jenny Moore Child Care Providers: Charis Andrews Kathleen Green Sarah Patrick Grace to you, and peace, in the name of our Lord Jesus! I give thanks to God for you, praising his name for the gifts and talents with which he has blessed us, and the ways in which we come together as the Body of Christ to participate in the reconciliation of the world! As we near the end of Lent, and look forward to Holy Week and Easter, I am reminded once again of that African- American spiritual, Were You There? Were you there when they crucified my Lord Were you there when they nailed him to the tree Were you there when the sun refused to shine... Were you there when they pierced him in the side Were you there when they laid him in the tomb Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. But neither the story nor the song ends there. There is one more verse that we do not sing, and that is not in our hymnal: Were you there when he rose up from the dead? Were you there when he rose up from the dead? Oh! Sometimes I feel like shouting, Glory! Hallelujah! Were you there when he rose up from the dead? Inasmuch as we endure five weeks of Lent, and that nail-biting, last, holy week, we must not forget the very next verse: he rose up from the dead. In many ways and at many times in this life, we experience suffering and death, and it can indeed bring laments from our hearts. And yet, as with the old, old story, we come again to this season of the year and of our lives when we remember that suffering and death are no longer the culmination or termination of our story we are Resurrection people, and new life emerges from the tomb just as surely as new life emerges from a crumbly corm buried beneath winter s cold soil. Glory! Hallelujah! Were you there when he rose up from the dead? With the love of God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, I am your servant, Rev. Susan Elders: Jan Clark Dave Baarda Nancy Miller, Clerk of Session Lee Gillis Holley Cowan Bill Werts Doris Moody Faye Heal Bob Wilson Deacons: Joel Burns Mary Baker Millie Murphy, Margie Dodd Donna Gautier Moderator Irene Tchamna Barbara Rowe

3 April 2 April 9 April 16 April 23 April 30 JOIN US FOR WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP NURSERY SCHEDULE: Anne Smart Joel Burns Doris Moody Margie Dodd Gloria Burns Thank you to the faithful in this mission of the church. Anne Smart (asmart@johnmilledge.com) JOIN US FOR STUDY & WORSHIP Sunday School 9:45AM Sunday Morning Worship 11:00AM FPC Book Club Potluck Wednesday 6:30PM Bible Study 7:15PM The FPC Book Club met on Thursday, March 9th, to discuss the book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations by Thomas L. Friedman. Interesting does not really describe our discussion. It was more than that. Most people have had the experience of feeling off balance by the rapidity with which our world is changing and our inability to keep up with the changes. (Just ask any adult with a new iphone that has to ask their six-year-old grandchild to teach them how it works.) Friedman proposes that the accelerations that we are experiencing due to these rapid changes in our world and our culture are transforming five key areas in our life: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics and community. One of the topics we discussed at length was how education needs to change in order to prepare our young people, as well as our older workers, to meet these challenges in order to be successful in this new changing world. The question that was asked and discussed was if we see our local school systems changing to meet this challenge. Climate change was also a discussed concern, as well as what the present administration may or may not do to support the efforts being made world wide to deter climate change. This has been one of the most meaningful books that we have read. The book helps the reader understand what is going on in our world today. Friedman has written other books in which you might be interested, and his weekly column in The New York Times can be found on the internet, as well as a discussion of this book. The book that has been selected to read for April is Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman, a New York Times bestselling author from Stockholm, Sweden. The book selected for May is The Name of the Rose by Umerto Eco. Please bring ideas for books that we might want to read in the upcoming months. For questions or comments, please contact Millie Murphy at mmurphy1611@yahoo.com or Alice Tenold at amtenold@charter.net. PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN To nurture our faith through prayer and bible study and to build an inclusive, caring community of women that strengthens the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Sunday group will meet on the 2nd Sunday of each month (April 9) at 5:00 in the parlor. Tuesday group will meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (April 11) at 11:00 in the parlor, followed by lunch at a local restaurant. Rosemary Begemann will lead the discussions. ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING WILL BE COLLECTED ON EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 16. A gift to One Great Hour of Sharing enables the church to share God s love with our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, provide food to the hungry, and helping to empower the poor and oppressed. We welcome new member Devon Farmer. Devon officially joined FPC on March 12, when we celebrated his baptism. Laurette Smith, Harbor Chase could no longer care for her as needed, she has been moved into her son Russell Smith s home, 52 Cherry Hills Drive Aiken, SC

4 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION EASTER EGG HUNT Easter is quickly approaching, April 16, and as has become our tradition we will have our Easter Egg Hunt and rehearsal for Palm Sunday, when our Children s Choir will sing in worship, on Saturday April 8 from 2-4 pm. The time will include games, egg hunt, singing and palm placement rehearsal, snacks and fellowship for children and parents. Please let Doris Moody know if you would be willing to bring eggs, snack, or drinks for this event (dorismoody@bellsouth.net). Just a reminder that we do have children with allergies so please...no nuts of any kind (this includes peanut butter) also not chocolate eggs (they melt in the sun). Gloria has bags of 24 plastic eggs in her office if you want to pick them up to fill. Please return them by April 7 so we will know how many we have. Thank you, Christian Education Committee DEACON S HELPERS Our S.T.A.R.S. have taken on some responsibility to assist the Deacons on Sunday Mornings. Masoma Odihe and Josefa Tchamna will organize the younger children after worship to gather the attendance sheets from the pads, collect any left over paper from the pews and book racks, return books to the racks and gather cups after Communion. If you see them working take a minute to thank them for their service to our congregation. GIVE SPRING A CHANCE ~ PICK UP, RAKE UP, TRIM UP ~ SATURDAY APRIL 8, 10:00 AM The playground and back yard of the church property need you attention to remove the remains of fall and winter. The beautiful oak trees have made their annual deposit of leaves and sticks which need to be removed. Many weeds and woody plants need last summer s growth either cut to the ground or trimmed to a new starting point for this summer. Please bring gloves, rakes, and clippers large and small and join us on Saturday April 8, at 10 am to give a fresh look to the playground and back yard of the church property. Thank you and God Bless! Session Highlights ~ Meeting of March 21, 2017 Clerk reviewed events of NE Georgia Presbytery s meeting in February. Presbyterian Women requested approval by Session of them taking on replacement of drapes in Parlor. Both groups that regularly meet approved doing this project and money to be collected to pay for this replacement. Session approved this request. A committee will be appointed of PW members to help in selecting fabrics and finishes. Will let congregation know about this project so that they may contribute moneys as well. Heard report from Deacons by Millie Murphy. CE team working on Easter egg hunt and activities also beginning planning of VBS. Personnel team planning staff evaluations to begin shortly with computer evaluations to Session members. Property team has been working on trimming of shrubbery around property, trash pick-up and reported that air conditioning replacement has been completed in Sanctuary. Planning a Saturday work day for congregation to help with further outside work. Stewardship and Finance team have contacted 7 congregation members to see if they would consider Treasurer s position, all have declined. Faye Heal and Nancy Miller continue to handle receipts and expenditures respectively on a weekly basis. Worship team brought four requests for Session to consider: Radio station asked if we wanted to be a sponsor of DayOne programming, tabled until further info gathered; want to Spotlight members in newsletter to help us get to know each other better, Catherine Dean suggested to write articles and do interviews; in lieu of Easter lilies used in sanctuary Session approved donations be made to Samaritan s Fund. Pastor highlights included adult baptism; changes in communion serving; her attendance at NextChurch conference; visitation of homebound members and prayer requests.

5 COMMUNITY OUTREACH FOOD PANTRY Our Food Pantry received a grant for $1,500 from Tri-County EMC! Many thanks to all who participate in this important ministry with their time, donations, and contributions, and especially to Mary Baker for writing the grant! The food pantry is open to those in need in Milledgeville on Tuesday mornings 9:30 ~ 10:30 and anyone interested in donating can drop off items at the church. Thanks be to God! GAME NIGHT!! First Monday evening of each month at 6:30 pm (April 3) we will be resuming our healthy competition of entertainment. Please bring a snack to share with fellow gamers! All are welcome to join in on the FUN!! SAMARITAN S MINISTRY In lieu of lilies for Easter we will be accepting contributions towards our Samaritan Fund in honor or memory of your loved one(s). The form to fill out is in the newsletter and each Sunday bulletin. Also, loose offerings on 5th Sunday will be added into this fund as always. Thank you in advance for your generosity. PRISON FAMILY LUNCH We welcomed about 50 visitors from the Atlanta area on March 18 for old fashioned chicken and dumplings, mixed greens, and (the always enjoyed) macaroni and cheese. Several selections of salad and desserts came in, along with volunteers, to make this one more successful joint effort. Thank you to all the participants! We look forward to another gathering on April 15, unless the trip does not materialize for that date (day before Easter). Watch your for the next opportunity to be a part of this ministry.

6 CHURCH AND COMMUNITY VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS LIVE THE WAY YOU WANT On a cold day when you least expect folks to brave March winds, a crowd gathered in the Fellowship Hall for the monthly VIP Meeting. VIP members and visitors welcomed regional representatives from the National Federation Of The Blind, guest speaker Dorothy Griffin and Faye Wright, Coordinator. In her opening remarks, Mrs. Griffin emphasized the word Of in the title, Federation Of The Blind stressing that OF more accurately describes the federation rather than For The Blind. The focus of Mrs. Griffin s presentation was NFB Newsline, a free service which offers information and materials in various formats including Braille, radio, news, emergency weather and forecast, TV listings, in addition to jobs, popular magazines and talking books, available through local libraries. Membership in NFB Newsline is available to the blind and low vision who cannot read conventional newsprint, anyone with physical or reading disability. The Newsline also provides an opportunity for blind professions to discuss relevant topics to their work. Senior citizens can participate in community affairs. Blind children are able to complete school assignments independently. To qualify for membership one needs to be a member of a support group or have a statement from a doctor. Newsline services can be accessed using touch tone phone, mobile app for ios, portable players, on demand s and accessible websites for additional info. call HelpDesk and leave a message, someone will contact you within 24 hours: (404) or National Federation Of The Blind (866) Websites include nfbnewslinega@gmail.com After an individual signs up NFB will give a 6 digit password and 4 digit security code, it is recommended to stay in contact in order to remain continuously logged in. The National Federation Of The Blind understands that blindness is not the characteristic that defines the person. Testimonials from NFB-Newsline Subscribers: It s a wonderful service. I am delighted to be back in touch with the world. Ethel, Idaho Keeping up with weather reports; keeping up with the sports; keeping up with the world and yeah, keeping up with my friends and co-workers---it s great. Mark, Pennsylvania The Milledgeville Visually Impaired Persons group meets monthly every 3rd Wednesday at 10:30am. We regret to inform you that we no longer need prescription bottles. With the closing of The Open Door Community in Atlanta there is no longer a homeless shelter to distribute small containers of lotion. Please dispose of your prescription bottles at home. Over the years First Presbyterian Church Of Milledgeville provided thousands of individual lotion treatments for the homeless. Thanks to all who helped in anyway. Many were blessed when they needed a helping hand. Thank you!! Flowers for FPC Easter Cross The Sunday School Fellowship Class will continue the wonderful tradition started by John & Libby Lounsbury, but we need your help. On Easter morning we are asking you to bring flowers from your homes and/or flower gardens to be placed on a flower cross on our front lawn. It s a beautiful decoration to take pictures with family and friends during this lovely season.

7 Anniversaries Birthdays Church Family: Harry Beck, recovering surgery Bryan Dempster, Green Acres, recovery broken shoulder John Sallstrom, prostate cancer Extended Family: Hayden Adams, Don & Terri Glover s 13 yr old granddaughter, large cell leukemia, New York Mick Arnett, Jenny Moore s son-in-law, recovery, open heart surgery Janice Clark, Sunda Coleman s sister, recovering at home Judy degrandcourt, Sandra Balfour s sister, advanced MS Kyle Dennis, Anne s husband, Multiple Myeloma, kidney issues Russell & Kathleen Edwards, Marianne s parents, numerous health problems Marty Flory, Jennifer s mother-in-law, ongoing health issues Dr. Tina Holmes-Davis, Jennifer Flory s friend, recovering at home following a stroke in December Leigh Humphrey, friend of Bill & Ruby Werts, kidney failure Helen Kelley, Craig Callender s mother, liver cancer April McMillan, Jeanene Vinson s granddaughter, stage four cancer since 2009 Arthur & Julie Montemayor, Becky Henderson s parents, ongoing health concerns Larry Moore, Jenny Moore s husband, recovery, knee replacement surgery Tom Murphy, Kathy Carroll s brother, colon cancer Betty Owens, Joe & Charlotte s sister-in-law, cancer Chris Pearson, Sunda Coleman s son, under heart specialist care Roy & Runette Pound, Sunda Coleman s parents, at home Suzy Smith, Lois Callender s mother, prayers for improved physical & mental health Sue York, cancer treatment In Assisted Living: Marguerite Owens, Gloria Burns mother, Savannah Court Reba Vaughan, Antebellum at Arlington, 684 Arlington Ave., Macon, GA Hospice Care Laurette Smith, moved into son s home Russell Smith, 52 Cherry Hills Drive Aiken, SC Those with Limited Mobility: Mrs. Gerry Califf Mary Carlton Martha Chappell Helen Danuser Bob & Eloise Lamb Jo Ann Manley Polly Morrison Joe & Charlotte Owens Gloria Smith Ruth Treptow Samaritan Ministry Fund ~ In lieu of lilies Name Amount In Memory Of In Honor Of April 5 Andrew & Min Lindsay April 12 Jamie & Melissa Wheeles April 14 John & Libby Lounsbury April 4 April 17 April 22 April 30 Donna Gautier Jackie Mary Lucik Wesley Applebury Northington Steve Powell April 9 April 18 April 23 Jennifer Morris Roy Phillips Dave Baarda Anne Smart April 25 Vera Bales April 10 April 20 April 28 Jose Garcia Faye Heal John Sallstrom April 12 April 21 Emily Wells Marianne Edwards

8 April 2 5th Sunday of Lent 11:00 Worship w/ Communion & Food Offering Received 3:00 S.T.A.R.S./Youth 3:00 Deacons Meet 3 5:30 Christian Ed Committee 6:00 Game Night 4 5 5:15 Long Range Planning 6:30 Catered Dinner 7:15 Lectionary Psalms Bible Study 6 6:30 In Our Best Interest 7:00 Choir 7 Palms Delivery 8 10:00 Church Yard Work 2:00-4:00 Easter Egg Hunt Palm Sunday & Children s Choir Rehearsal 9 PALM SUNDAY 11:00 Worship 3:00 S.T.A.R.S./Youth 5:00 PW Study 10 4:00 Worship Committee 5:30 Stewardship & Finance Committee 11 11:00 PW Study 5:30 Property Committee 12 NO POTLUCK or BIBLE STUDY 13 MAUNDY THURSDAY 2:00 FPC Book Club 6:30 Service 7:30 Choir 14 GOOD FRIDAY 12:15 Service 15 11:30 PRISON FAMILY LUNCH 16 EASTER SUNDAY Bring your flowers for the Easter Cross!! One Great Hour of Sharing 11:00 Worship 3:00 S.T.A.R.S./ Youth 17 3:00 Baldwin County Retired Educators Association 18 9:30 Samaritan s Ministry 5:30 Session Meet 19 10:30 Visually Impaired Person s Group 5:15 Long Range Planning 6:30 Potluck 7:15 Bible Study 20 2:00 Learning In Retirement Reading 3:00 Learning In Retirement Writing 6:30 In Our Best Interest 7:00 Choir :00 Worship 3:00 S.T.A.R.S./Youth 6:00 Girl Scout Leaders 5:15 Kiwanis Meet 6:30 Bridge 6:30 Potluck 7:15 Bible Study 7:00 Choir 30 5th Sunday - Loose Offerings go towards Samaritan Ministry 11:00 Worship 3:00 S.T.A.R.S./Youth 1 MAY 5:30 CE Committee 6:00 Game Night 2 3 5:15 Long Range Planning 6:30 Catered Dinner 7:15 Bible Study 4 6:30 In Our Best Interest 7:00 Choir 5