Ilion Presbyterian News December 2017

Transcription

1 Ilion Presbyterian News December 2017 Pastor Rick Riggle 90 Morgan St. Phone Fax Church Church website: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the Pastor s Desk And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. (Luke 1: 46-55) This beautiful poem, attributed to Mary by Luke in his gospel are more than just beautiful words to remember; they are a story in themselves. A story that calls each of us to examine our relationship to God, our faith in the Savior and our willingness to serve when and where we are called. This news could not have been good news to Mary when she first heard it, a young woman pregnant in a world where you could be stoned for that behavior. A fiancé with more questions than she could ever answer, and a family that at best would never speak to her again and at worst would throw her out. In spite of all that Mary says, let it be with me according to your word, and then she launched into this song of praise and faith. As we think about that I ask you to consider what God may be calling you to do, and all the reasons you may find not to do it. People might talk, or my family won t understand, or I don t want to risk losing everything I have. They are good reasons, and sensible people would agree with you, but the gospel does not call us to be sensible. We are called to say let it be with me according to your word. Dangerous words if you want to live a safe, boring, easy life, no danger in them, but of course there is no great reward either. No chance to reach out farther or to strive a little harder to be what God has created you to be. And what is the reward for this risk? Mary says it in the first words of her song. Our souls will magnify the Lord. I never really appreciated the magnifying power of bent glass till I got older and those little words on the page got fuzzy and hard to read. Now with my glasses I see them clearly and understand what the author is saying. Friends, it is like that with God as well. For the most part the people around us have a hard time seeing God clearly. They may have a vague understanding but how can we finite beings really understand the infinite all powerful God. It is easier than you may think. When we live lives of faithful service, we magnify the Lord, bringing him into sharper focus for people to see and understand. We are the glasses through which the world sees the love of God more clearly. This Christmas it is my prayer for you that you will say let it be for me according to your will, and that your lives will magnify God in new and exciting ways all through the year. Sue and I both wish you the most blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with the promise of God s call to all of us. God Bless you all, Pastor Rick

2 David Jones's Pastor Emeritus Service Ohmigosh, what a wonderful Sunday we had on Nov. 26th! We had an awesome time honoring David s ministry with us and naming him Pastor Emeritus. There were 111 folks in church and almost 100 who stayed for a delicious steak (or vegan pasta) dinner. I would like to thank everyone who had any part in this special day. I know if I try to name you all, I will surely leave someone out, and I don t want to do that. SOOOO, thank you to all who helped set up tables, who carried dishes up & down stairs, who brought in the food when it was cooked and ALL those who helped to clean up! There were so many people I saw who were just pitching in & helping us get it done! I do have to name Diane Lamphear & Mike Orendorf who were taking pictures for us and Janet Darling who made the beautiful centerpieces for the tables. And wasn t it great to hear 4 parts in the choir?? There were many people here who used to come all the time. If you know any of them, please encourage them to return. And if you ARE one of those who we ve been missing, please consider coming back to church! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! It was a beautiful tribute to David and his ministry here in Ilion. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year! Lesa A word of thanks from Rick I think Sunday November 26, 2017 will long be remembered as one of the great days in the history of First Presbyterian Church. I want all of you to know what a pleasure it was for me to be able to help you say thanks to David in such a meaningful and emotional way. I have known David and his family since we moved to New York and I am blessed to be serving in the same church which he served. Just a few thoughts, from me as I reflect. A lot of people, too many to try to name them all, did an awful lot of work to make this happen, and I hope I thanked each and every one of you on Sunday, but if I did miss someone let me just say thank you now and tell you how much I appreciated everyone s hard work. We showed a lot of people what a great church we are, we extended radical hospitality, we had meaningful worship and we celebrated how good God is to us here in this place. I hope you will tell people what a great day it was, and how much this place means to you. David said something a few times that I can heartily agree with. You are an incredible people filled with love and desire to serve God, and that makes this a great place for me to serve God with you. Thank you all for Sunday, and for all your love and support for me. I promise you many more celebrations in the days ahead of us. Thanks again, Rick

3 Liturgical Ministers for November Deacon's News Annually, the Board of Deacons provides help to those less fortunate in our community by providing certificates for food. This is done discreetly; recipients are known only by our pastor. Money collected for this benevolence is acquired from monthly donations at coffeehours and, this year, we are presenting a "Holiday Hymn Sing." This will be held on Sunday, December 17th. Our song leader, Jean Smith will start the program at 1:00. "But", we invite all to join us for our weekly coffee and fellowship before that. During the time before the music we will have baked goods for sale and holiday-themed baskets to be raffled. $5.00 buys you 20 tickets! We, the Board of Deacons, want to encourage and welcome all in our church community to attend, support us and enable us to make this "good will toward men", at Christmas - time, great. Thank you. Prayer List: Men and women who protect us and our freedoms. Cody Adams, Anita s friend, Anne, Bob Bailey, Kim Bigelow, Santa Brocato, Mel Darling, Beverly Doolen, Mary Franklin, Dave & Jane Jacquays, Sophia Johnson, Betty Karabanoff, Dr. Aimee, Christine Lawrence, Phyllis Laymon, Barbara Maley, Kim Maley, Steven Maley, Joan Matteson, Pat & Marge Moylan, Patrick O Connor, Peg Olson, Jan Orendorf, Mike Orendorf & family, Leah Grace Passalacqua, Eric Price, Steve Price, Bea Raux, Ginny Reynolds, Sandy Richards & Family, Henry Rocker, Sheri Rohrer, Tom Smith, Angela Traglia, Diane (Selwood) Williams, Ricky Wilson & mom, Gretchen December 3 Communion Reader: Jean Smith Greeter: Joan Matteson Usher: Betty Helmer Communion Setup: Janet Darling Coffee Hour: Class Act Servers: Sue Thomas, Jean Smith, George Gullis, Sandra Eldredge Home Communion: Joan Matteson December 10 Reader: George Gullis Greeter: Jean Smith Usher: Kim Bigelow Coffee Hour: Kim Bigelow December 17 Reader: Sami Pulver Greeter: Sandra Eldredge Usher: Betty Helmer Coffee Hour: Deacons Bake Sale & Coffee Deacons Hymn Sing, Bake Sale & Basket Raffle 1:00 pm December 24 10:30am Reader: many readers Greeter: Sami Pulver Usher: Shaun Orendorf 7:00pm Family Service Ushers Shaun & Jan Orendorf December 31 Reader: Lesa Decker Greeter: Warren Lennox Usher: Jan Orendorf, Janet Darling Coffee Hour: Janet Darling & Jan Orendorf Christmas Joy Offering The time for the Christmas Joy Offering is here. We hope you will support this mission for Presbyterian leadership: Past, Present and Future. Envelopes are included for your convenience. You may bring your offerings to church during the Advent Season or mail them directly to the church. Please make checks payable to First Presbyterian Church-Ilion with Christmas Joy Offering in the memo line. MIS Committee

4 November 26, 2017 Pastor Emeritus Rev. David W. Jones

5 The First Presbyterian Church Non-Profit Organization 90 Morgan Street Permit #80-US Postage Paid Ilion, New York Ilion, NY Address Service Requested POINSETTIA/MEMORIAL ORDERS Poinsettias this year will be $6.50 Ours will be delivered on Dec. 15, so please get your orders in as soon as possible. Plants will be in church on Dec. 17. You may request red, pink, white or marble Your name: Your phone # How many do you want? What color(s)? In Memory/Honor of: You also may donate to one of our ongoing Funds of the church instead of a plant. Choices are: Renovation Fund, Memorial Fund, Music Fund or Organ Fund. I wish to donate to the Fund THE DEADLINE TO ORDER POINSETTIAS IS DECEMBER 12. You may put your order in the offering plate, call the church office at or hand the order to me after church this week or next.