PASTOR AIMEE S CORNER

Transcription

1 New London Presbyterian Church PASTOR AIMEE S CORNER Investing Our Talents Matthew 25:14-30 When I walk around the church grounds with Oscar, I see the hard work and dedication of the buildings and grounds crew who give up spare time to mow the yard, trim the edges, and pull weeds. Each member of the team invests their talents for yard work into creating a space that welcomes members and visitors alike, reduces the height of the grass I walk through with Oscar, and cares for the little bit of God s creation we ve been given here in New London. How are you investing your God-given gifts into caring for creation, your fellow human beings, and showing love to God? Who needs to be encouraged to use their gifts to serve God? In the passage mentioned above, Jesus tells a parable about a man who leaves three servants in charge of investing some of his money while he goes away on a trip. The two who receive the higher amounts go out into the world, make trades, and probably do some other things to grow what they have been given and are rewarded accordingly. The third servant chooses to ignore the owner s wishes and buries the talent he received in the ground and faces the owner s displeasure upon his return. Like the servants in the story, God gives us particular gifts of time, money, and talents to use in service to God and one another. What gifts have you received and how are you using them to serve God and one another? During Circle of Love and Presbyterian Women meetings, potlucks and other fellowship events, and the bazaar and garage sale, I taste the delicious food and recognize the cooking, baking, and other kitchen talents shared by many in the congregation and feel a bit at home, especially when I bite into a slice of pie, a deviled egg, or a favorite salad that makes the meal. At other times, I witness creativity in beautiful table decorations, love for children in preparing Sunday school lessons or quarterly activities, a beautiful singing voice, and so many other God-given talents here in the congregation. Whose talents do you notice around the community? What helps you invest your talents in the world around you? What keeps you from sharing your talents? Each and every day, God gives us opportunities to use our time, talent, and treasure to make a difference in the world. Some of us pray, repair a busted light, build railings outside a house, paint, send encouraging notes, or run a sound board. All of us can do something, no matter how insignificant we may deem it to be. What will you do this week to make a difference in the world using the gifts God s given to you? Who can you encourage by pointing out the talents you see in them? Let s invest our talents and change the world. Amen. Blessings, Aimee

2 January 2016 (corrected) TOTAL INCOME $8, TOTAL EXPENSES General Fund Financial Summary Information $8, NET INCOME $ February 2016 TOTAL INCOME $8, TOTAL EXPENSES $6, NET INCOME $1, March 2016 INCOME TOTAL INCOME $6, TOTAL EXPENSES $7, NET LOSS $1, ~ ~ ~ RADIO BROADCAST ~ ~ ~ Our church service is broadcast on KILJ (105.5) each Sunday. Our monthly cost for broadcasting the service is $220. Contributions from our church family and listeners keep this long time mission project going. Our broadcast reaches not only travelers, but also those who cannot get to church, including some of our own church family members. As our funds are dwindling down, we are reaching out to see if you will consider a donation to the fund. Donations can be mailed to: Presbyterian Church, 400 N. Elm St, New London, IA Please include Radio Fund in the memo portion of your check or if Making a contribution in the offering plate, please write Radio Fund on the offering envelope. Thank you for your contributions and continued support PER CAPITA Have you ever partnered with a friend to sponsor an angel from our Angel Tree at Christmas time or treat someone to lunch on their birthday? When did you last pay dues to an organization that you belong to? Much like our membership dues to organizations, the monies given towards this year s per capita go to our presbytery, synod, and denomination to maintain our connections with one another, further the ministries of Jesus Christ in our region and around the world, and share the costs that belong to the church. At the national level, this money funds work, such as helping us discern our vocations, participate in national and global ecumenical events, and support General Assembly, our biannual national gathering. In our synod, the allocated money supports the staff and covers committee expenses that impact ministries in our region. Finally, at the presbytery level, per capita helps connect pastors and congregations together for mission and support, provide opportunities for growth, and prepare for presbytery meetings. For 2016 our per capita amount is $33.00 for each member of the congregation. Please prayerfully consider paying this separately from your tithe or offering so we may better serve our local community.

3 CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES! College Bailey McAllister: Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Iowa State High School Victoria Noel, New London High School Austin McBeth, New London High School CELEBRATING NEW BIRTHS Congratulations to Parrish Blow and Jeff Snively, grandmother LaVita Hibbs, & great-grandparents LaVelle and Berdita Hibbs on the birth of Jackson Alan on April 14th! Congratulations to Erin and Joe Garvey, brothers Liam and Lincoln, grandparents Kevin and Jill McCabe, and greatgrandparents Milo and Lucille McCabe on the birth of Leo on April 11 th. OUTREACH AND MISSIONS We are going to serve lunch at the Fellowship Cup on Wednesday, June 1st. Anyone who has some time between 10:00 a.m. until about 1:00 p.m. that day is invited to come and help serve lunch. Contact Betty if you can be of service. It is really a fun time and the diners really appreciate it. Welcome home, Tom Corporon! God s Work in the World When did you last see God at work through the lives of our congregation? Just the other day, I watched members help youth spread mulch, build raised beds for the manse and a wind guard for the church trash cans, and keep track of Oscar so I could take pictures. Others mowed the church lawn, served breakfast and the Palm Sunday dinner, shared memories at a funeral visitation, and taught Sunday school. Over and over, we serve others through ordinary actions we might not even think about. Who have you seen do something loving or compassionate for someone else? Since we last talked, I ve seen members vacuum up leaves, fold bulletins, welcome a child, and play CDs during a worship service at the care center. If you have a story to share about how God is at work in the lives of people you know, please let me know so I can mention it here. Amen.

4 PW Presbyterian Women will meet on Monday, May 16 th at 1:30 p.m. in Friendship Hall. Devotions will be given by Barb Carmon. Melody Raub will have the program and the hostesses will be Elsie Williams and Elsie Miller. During the business meeting, there will be a discussion about the bazaar and the canning of beef and chicken. We would like to invite all women of the church to come, enter into the discussion, and enjoy the fellowship. WOMEN S ACTIVITIES CIRCLE OF CIRCLE OF Thanks so much for everyone who signed up to donate pies, food, and other supplies for the garage sale lunch. Thank you, also, to those who signed up to work. It takes a lot of hands to get the job done. LOVE Circle of Love F LOVE Many thanks ~ to all who CIRCLE ate at our pancake breakfast OF on Sunday, LOVE April 17 th. One The next circle meeting will be Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00. Shelley Smith will be the hostess and lead devotions. ~ We will work on materials for VBS. This will be the last meeting before taking the summer months off. All women of the church are invited to join us! Take Away Hunger Many in our church have enjoyed participating in the Kids Against Hunger packaging events the last few years. Don and Sandee Fields have decided to break away from that organization but are still very committed to the fight against hunger in the world. They have started a new Iowa-based organization called Take Away Hunger. They will continue to produce, package, and ship healthy meal packages to needy people in Iowa, the U.S., and abroad. This year our church will host a packaging event on Sunday, June 26 at 10:45 following the morning worship service. Please consider giving an hour of your time that morning to help Take Away Hunger! We will need twelve willing people of any age! If you would like to package less than an hour, sign up with a friend and split the time! We will have a light lunch following the event. Please join us for a rewarding activity helping others. WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP The next women s fellowship will be Monday, May 9 th for lunch at Costas in Mt. Pleasant. If you wish to carpool, please meet at the church at 11:30 a.m. There will be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in Friendship Hall. Please come and bring a friend. Stay tuned for information about fellowship in June. of our children came back four times for more pancakes yum! The free will offering will be used for purchasing materials for the summer VBS August 1-4.

5 Christian Education ~ Youth Activities Save the Date for Bible School As you are planning your summer activities, please save the date for our VBS, Rome, Paul and the Underground Church. This year s dates are Monday through Thursday, August 1-4. We invite all community children ages 4 years-5 th grade to join us so pass the information on! Because we will be preparing for 60 children, we are going to need more help this year. Please consider how you can be involved. We have had such wonderful participation from our congregation in the past! We will need family leaders, craft leaders, kitchen helpers, and decorators. Contact Jane, Teresa, Aimee, or Chris if you are able to help in some way. For a tin craft, we will need the ends of large frozen juice cans (12 oz). As you are making summer drinks, please think of VBS! We will need at least 60. We will put a box in Friendship Hall to collect the lids. On Fire for God Each quarter, the Christian Education team plans an activity for community children. Our event this quarter coincides with Pentecost, the birthday of the church. Children ages 4 years-5 th grade are invited to come to our church from 2:00-4:00 on Sunday, May 15. We are asking families to bring the children to the door under the awning because we will be starting our activity in the basement. We will show a short video about Pentecost with discussion and will also have outdoor games, a craft, and a birthday snack. We will divide the children into two age appropriate groups with one group outside while the other is inside. On Pentecost Sunday (May 15), we ask the congregation to bring red geraniums. The children will be planting them during our event, so we hope we have enough geraniums for each child to plant. You will soon see our church sign on fire! Session members Reminder: meetings are on the 2 nd Wednesday of every 7:00 p.m.

6 Calendar Events MAY Sun., Mar. 1, 10:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship 4:00 p.m., Worship, care center Weds., Mar. 4, 6:30 p.m., May Fellowship, Christian Church Sat., May 7, 8:00 a.m., Yard Sale Sun. May 8, 10:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship Mon., May 9, 11:30 a.m., Women s Fellowship Wed., Mar. 11, 7:00 p.m., Session meeting Sun., May 15, 10:30 a.m., Pentecost worship service 2:00 p.m., On Fire for God children s event 7:00 p.m., Baccalaureate, sanctuary Mon., May 16, 1:30 p.m., Presbyterian Women Weds., May 18, 7:00 p.m., Circle of Love Sun., May 22, 10:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship Sun., May 29, 10:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship JUNE Weds., Jan 1, 10:00 a.m., Serve the Fellowship Cup Sun., June 5, 9:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship 10:30 a.m., summer fellowship Tues., June 7, 2:30 p.m., Bingo, New London care center Wed., June 8, 7:00 p.m., Session meeting Sun., June 12, 9:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship 10:30 a.m., summer fellowship Mon., June 13, 11:30 a.m., Women s Fellowship Sun., June 19, 9:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship 10:30 a.m., congregational meeting 10:45 a.m., summer fellowship 4:00 p.m., Worship, Care Center Sun., June 26, 9:30 a.m., Sunday morning worship 10:45 a.m., Take Away Hunger project REMINDER: Bring non-perishable foods for donation to the Felowship Cup, on 4 th Sunday of each month. REMINDER when moving: If you or a family member receives the newsletter by mail, please let us know when you or they move so we can update our records. PRAYER CHAIN If you would like to be included or excluded on the Prayer Chain, let Aimee know.

7 Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary! BIRTHDAY 1 st Colton Moore 2 nd Micah Allen 4 th Brad Selby 6 th Donna Brinkmeyer 7 th Donna Colton 7 th Chase Smith 9 th Brittony Cummings 10 th Kristin Stuekerjuergen 19 th John Blow 20 th Britt Noel 22 nd Linda Raub 22nd Aubree Moore 23rd Janae Lemley 23rd Freda McKinnon 23rd Tim Corporon 25 th Layney Loyd 27th Bailey McAllister 27 th Lauren Grove 27 th Olivia Grove 29 th Jim Osborne 30 th David Mixon 31 st Karen Osborne 31st Israel Lemley June BIRTHDAYS 1st Lonnie Borton 5 th Nick Fry 4 th Landon Summers 6 th Linda Noel 7 th Kevin McCabe 8 th Shirley Glover 9 th Kari McAllister 9 th Delpha Wallingford 11 th Charlie Byzcek 13 th Jason Lemley 15 th Michala Alden 17 th Parrish Blow 17 th LaVelle Hibbs 19 th Rebecca McIntosh 21 st Mary Shelledy 23rd Sharon Borton 29 th Jennifer Loyd May ANNIVERSARIES 6 th Charles and Karen Bowman 25 th Jen and Damon Loyd 27 th Robert and Cynde Lemley 27 th Pam and Reggie Williamson 29 th Dale and Diane Brinkmeyer 30 th Mick and Darlene Lutes June ANNIVERSARIES 4 th Ryan and Jessica Rouch 5 th Don and Karen Johnson 7 th Becky and Josh Walker 8 th Jennifer and Doug Lee 10 th Ron and Melody Raub 10 th Chris and Sonja Carmon 12 th Matthew and Jennifer York 20 th Dick and Thelma Lane 21 st Adam and Linda Raub 25 th Rod and Shelley Smith REMINDER: Ruth Ann Corporon does the courtesy cards for our church. She does a great job of sending out Birthday, Anniversary, Get Well and thinking of you messages proving she knows about it. So if there s someone you know who needs an uplifting message, please call Ruth Ann ( ) and let her know. If you like to read, don t forget to check out the books we have in our Library.

8 NLPC MISSION STATEMENT Inspired by the powerful, creative force of God's love, our mission is to glorify God in ways both great and small by growing spiritually, nurturing children, impacting our community, and using our gifts in service to God. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Our leadership team seeks to nurture God s blessings in our lives in a variety of ways. Will you please pray about how God may be calling you to serve in our congregation? If you would like to share your gifts with others or have questions, please contact Pastor Aimee or one of elders listed below Session Members (Effective July 1, 2015): BUILDING & GROUNDS: Tom Davis CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: Jane Simmons & Teresa Wehrle CLERK of SESSION: Chris Selby FELLOWSHIP: Ron Raub FINANCE/ MEMORIALS/ STEWARDSHIP: Lyn McAllister & Dave McGregor MISSION/OUTREACH: Betty Grove WORSHIP: Bob Lemley THE MESSENGER: Published bi-monthly by the New London Presbyterian Church, 400 N. Elm St, New London, Iowa 52645, The messenger is also posted on the church website and linked to their Facebook page: at: or at fnewlondon. If you d like to help reduce paper & mailing cost and receive the newsletter by , please send a message to revaimee@mediacombb.net. Paper copies are typically available at the church for two Sundays and those not picked up after printing, will be mailed. If someone has been removed from or if someone needs to be added to the mailing list, please let Pastor Aimee know. Postmaster: Send address changes to The New London Presbyterian Church % The Messenger, 400 N. Elm St. New London, Iowa, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Staff: Pastor: Aimee Goldmeyer Manse Phone: revaimee@mediacombb.net Office hrs: Church Secretary: vacant Treasurer: Brittony Cummings Custodian: Jamie Loyd Organist & Choir Director: Nella Elliott Church phone: Church Address: 400 N. Elm St. New London, Iowa Church Website: Church facebook link; NewLondon. Information for the July/August 2016 newsletter is due: Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016

9 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NEW LONDON, IOWA 400 N. ELM NEW LONDON, IOWA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED March / April 2016 Messenger See you at the. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 400 N. ELM NEW LONDON, IOWA 52645