The Home Page. First Presbyterian Church, Hastings, Nebraska Vol Weeks Of: September 2 and September 9, Greetings FPC Family!

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1 The Home Page First Presbyterian Church, Hastings, Nebraska Vol Weeks Of: September 2 and September 9, 2018 Greetings FPC Family! As moderator of the Personnel Committee, I wanted to reach out and update you on a few staffing changes that occurred over the summer months. As many of you know, Tarci Mathews resigned, effective June 15, Pastor Greg, as Head of Staff, along with members of the Personnel Committee did an assessment of the position and the work. Based on the needs of the church and the demands of this position as being the first face of FPC, it was decided that this position be split into one full-time position of Office Administrator and one 10-hour per week contract Bookkeeper. We were incredibly blessed to hire two wonderful individuals to fill these vacancies. Jean Matheny is the Office Administrator. If you have not had a chance to meet her, please stop in the church office and do so. Jean brings with her many years of experience and will be a valuable asset to our current team at FPC. Our new part-time bookkeeper is Deb Hamburger. Like Jean, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her position and we are thankful to have her to assist in the financial needs of the church. Through good management of resources and reprioritization, there was no impact to the bottom line of the church budget with this change in staffing. We remain grateful for your faithful financial support. Lastly, our parish associate, Rev. Don Canady resigned in May. We are thankful to Don for his devotion to our church family over the past several years and the vital role he served in our church community, particularly his help with the pastoral care needs in the last year. After careful thought and prayer, both Kili Wenburg and Pastor Damen graciously offered to add additional pastoral care duties to their current portfolio of work and will work with Pastor Greg to ensure the needs of our congregation are well taken care of. If you have questions about any of these staff changes, please contact myself or any member of the Personnel Committee. We are truly blessed by the staff that we have had in the past and those that are currently in place to help us continue spreading the good news and sharing that First Presbyterian Church is a congregation of hope and love. In Christ, Susan Oliver FPC Personnel Committee Moderator

2 September Communion Offering goes toward Revive Ministries Revive Ministries, Horizon Recovery & Counseling, and Unity House is an Outpatient Drug and Alcohol treatment facility. We also operate three ¾ way sober living housing (2 for men and 1 for women). These houses offer people a sober living environment where they can learn skills to help them live a sober life. Donations received go into a sponsorship account that is used to give a handup not a hand-out to people who are struggling financially to pay for treatment. Need a ride to church on Sundays? Request a ride by calling Deacon Moderator Dawna Whitcomb at or the church office at The radio broadcast airs during Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. on KICS 1550 AM. Sunday s service will be broadcast live on Facebook at and on Channel 181 Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. For those living at Good Samaritan Village, Sunday s service will be broadcast on Channel 3 on Sunday at 12:00 noon and on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. A copy of any Sunday service is available on DVD disc upon request at no charge. Contact the church office at In Memory of Shirley McKenzie Hoffman, Rich McKenzie s sister and former member of First Presbyterian, passed away the week of August 13 th in Overland Park, KS. Former church member Nancy Langford is experiencing several serious health challenges. Since she now lives in North Carolina near family, what we can do for her is limited, but she does appreciate greeting cards. Please send cards (handcrafted, mass-produced, funny, serious, inspirational, beautiful, whatever) to: Nancy Langford. 605 Tuttle Rd., Durham, NC For all of this, we are truly grateful. The family of Larry Nowka wish to thank the Church for your support, for the preparing of food, the giving of memorials with sympathy, and also for your thoughtfulness. The Nowka Family HOSPITAL REMINDER Due to privacy regulations in place at the hospital, if you would like the church to know that either you or a family member will be hospitalized or have been admitted, please take a moment and call the church office at Remember we don t always know what s happening unless you tell us! FPC Prayers for: Judy Brown Elmer Heeren Zelma Fobben Celia & Wayne Ganow Lois Katt (Barbara Sunderman s Mom) Kathy (& Steve) Illingworth Mary Kay LaMaster Richard & Wanda Langer Arlene Kort Ramona Shetler Steve Thelen (Pamela Lay s brother-in law) Carolyn Nowka & families Audery Watson Jim Wenburg & families Sue Horton Lori & Bert Wright Georgette Smidt (Ted Schroeder s sister) Gayle Fandry Dylon Coon Connie Meyer (Daveta Brader s sister-in-law) Gary & Carol Grummert

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4 "When working with your attorney to update your will and estate plan, please consider including a gift to the First Presbyterian Church Foundation. Your gift will enhance the work of this congregation for many years to come. Our Federal Identification Number is " --Dave Dirks, Moderator of the Foundation The next Red Cross Blood Drive will be Tuesday, September 4, from 12 noon 6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Mark your calendar now! To donate or volunteer your time, please call Erica Brooks, FPC Parish Nurse, at or sign up at FYI Boy Scouts Troop 200 history is now on the FPC website...fpchastings.org under the Children & Youth menu. Check it out! Join us for the Presbyterian Women September Luncheon, 11:45a, September 5 th. Kili Wenburg will introduce the new PW Bible Study. Please RSVP to your telephone committee or to the church office by Friday, August 31 st. Langenberg Lesson Program You are invited to participate in a very exciting program offered by the First Presbyterian Church, Hastings. Several years ago, through the generosity of the late Luella Langenberg, a program was established to encourage the youth of our church in their musical pursuits. Parents of students in grades 1-12 may apply for up to $250 per semester to offset the cost of private music instruction. Applicable areas of study include: piano, voice, guitar, or any band/orchestral instrument. Grants are limited to one per child. Parents must be members of First Presbyterian Church and students must be active participants in the church choir/music program. Application forms will be available in the church office starting September 1, DEADLINE FOR THE FALL 2018 GRANT PROGRAM IS OCTOBER 1, ALTHOUGH GRANTS ARE RENEWABLE, PARENTS MUST RE-APPLY EACH SEMESTER. If you have any questions regarding this program, please call the church office, We hope you will consider taking advantage of this wonderful program! Wednesday Morning Book Study This fall, the Wednesday morning Bible@Breakfast group will be studying the book Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the Twenty-first Century, a collection of speeches by Marcus Borg. Weekly 7 a.m. gatherings (including breakfast!) will begin on September 5. All are welcome to join in the discussions that promise to be lively and challenging! Please order your copy of the book from your favorite book seller. The late Marcus Borg was "acclaimed for his ability to speak about Christianity in the context of contemporary society. He offered profound wisdom and inspiration--a new way of seeing and living the Christian life--for believers, students, and lay readers. Ultimately, he taught us that by developing a deeper understanding of Jesus and the New Testament, we can discover a more authentic way of life."

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6 On Grandparents Day, we call on members of all generations to do something GRAND! They say that genes tend to skip generations; is this why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable? More than 7.8 million children in the U.S. live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives. Which is the better age, 7 or 77? Future generations face challenges in areas of faith, finance, health, and education, but past generations faced these as well; how can the wisdom of experience be passed along in helpful ways? How many grandparent/grandchild Bible character pairs can you name? The September 9 (Grandparents Day) Forum will touch on all these topics and more. It will be a fun and informative time with attention given to how our spiritual lives are impacted by our family relationships. New Classroom, 9:15 a.m.. FPC: Exploring God s Mission Through Partnership Building relationships and understanding across borders. FPC Hastings is sponsoring an adult exchange to one of our mission partners, Frontera de Cristo from October 20 th to October 26 th, Frontera de Cristo is a Presbyterian border ministry located in the sister cities of Agua Prieta, Sonora,Mexico and Douglas, Arizona. Frontera joins with community partners in six areas of border ministry including: church development, health ministry, family ministry, mission education, the Just Trade Center and community development with the New Hope Community Center. Activities may include visits, interactions and services at a migrant resource center, migrant shelter, the border wall, border patrol, Sonoran Desert, a Maquiladora, Just Trade Center, drug/alcohol rehab center, community gardens, Lily of the Valley Church, Café Justo roasting facility and Café Y Mas coffee shop. Please remember to pray for the team and the ministry. Would you like to live "unafraid"? We know Jesus tells us, "Do not be afraid," but with everything going on in the world, how is it possible not to be anxious? In this five-week study based on the book Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times by Adam Hamilton, participants will learn to identify fears and discover practical steps for overcoming them in the light of Scripture and faith. All are welcome to join the Heirs Apparent class for this timely study. Sunday mornings in the Anderson Conference Room, 9:15-10:15 a.m., beginning September 9. New Member Classes Coming in September If you are interested in joining First Presbyterian Church, or if you're simply curious about what membership might mean, you are warmly invited to attend our three-session New Member course, which will cover Presbyterian history and theology as well as local structures and involvement opportunities. The classes will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on three Wednesday afternoons: September 12, 19, and 26. Each session includes complimentary meal and childcare. Please contact the church office to RSVP ( ).

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10 Home Page First Presbyterian Church 621 North Lincoln Avenue Hastings, NE Phone: , Fax Website: Address Service Requested The Home Page A publication of First Presbyterian Church 621 N. Lincoln Ave. Hastings, NE Senior Pastor: Greg Allen-Pickett Publishing Guidelines: The Home Page is a bi-weekly publication for the people and mission of First Presbyterian Church. The newsletter seeks to inform, instruct and challenge its readers to become engaged in the ministry of FPC. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. -2 Corinthians 9:8 Articles will be accepted by the Friday prior to publication. Submissions may be edited for length and suitability. You may send articles to the church office: fpc@fpchastings.org or call