Bethany Spirit. A Monthly Publication of the Bethany Presbyterian Church CHURCH STAFF. Pastor. Rev. Daniel J. Commerford. Secretary Annie King

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1 Bethany Spirit January 2015 CHURCH STAFF Pastor Rev. Daniel Commerford Secretary Annie King Pianist Carolyn Peters Choir Director Joanna Reesman SESSION MEMBERS Class of 2015 Stuart Clive Suzanne Hooper Bill Mote Carolyn Peters Class of 2016 Ken Frederick Joanne Hooper Tracy Pirkle Jessica Robinson Carolyn Sullivan Inside this issue: Session Reports 2-4 Volunteers/ Prayer List Calendar 6 Youth News A Monthly Publication of the Bethany Presbyterian Church What is Your Spiritual Resolution? I Rev. Daniel J. Commerford say it every year. The day after Thanksgiving, I always tell myself that I will not gain any weight over the holiday season. But then, as the holiday season progresses, I find myself breaking the promises I made to myself. I get home from work and convince myself that it is too dark to go out for a run. I tell myself that I can have one cookie, and keep telling myself the same thing as I eat more and more. So, by the time Christmas comes around, I have already accepted that I will make it though this holiday season with a few extra pounds! When I told a member about this holiday struggle, he had a simple response of encouragement. He said, Well, that s what January is for! And he is absolutely correct! No matter how out of shape any of us get during the holiday season, all of us have the opportunity to turn things around and get back on the right path with our New Year s resolutions. That s the beauty of the New Year. It s always an opportunity to improve our quality of life. But above and beyond our resolutions to become physically healthy, the New Year is also an opportunity for us to get back into spiritual shape. The beauty of the grace we receive when we follow Christ is that every day is an opportunity to renew our faith life. But staying in spiritual shape takes commitment and discipline. Below are some suggestions to enrich your relationship with God: Personal Disciplines Set aside a certain time of the day and devote at least 10 minutes for prayer. Commit to reading the Bible throughout the week. Identify an individual weakness and commit to eliminating that sin from your life. Community Disciplines Commit to enrich your faith through regular tithing. Participate in an additional program at Bethany (Sunday school, Wednesday night Bible Study, etc.) Volunteer with a ministry at Bethany (Teach Sunday school, help with Kid s Club/Youth Group, be a liturgist, etc.) Service Opportunities Make Bethany s sack lunch program a regular part of your monthly schedule. Devote one morning a month to a local charity. Invite a friend to church. As we begin 2015 together, I want to challenge all of us to pick at least one spiritual discipline from each of these categories and make a resolution to make it a part of our relationship with Christ. May God bless all of us in 2015!

2 P a g e 2 Session Summary, Clerk The regular monthly meeting of the Bethany Session was held on December 16 at 6:30. Tracy Pirkle gave the devotional. She read from Matthew 6:34 and Luke 12: 22-34, where we are told to not be anxious about tomorrow and live one day at a time. In Luke, we are also told not to worry that our Heavenly Father will provide for our needs and that we need to concern ourselves with the Kingdom of God for that is where our treasure lies. Tracy shared a lesson about the clock and how we should take things one tick at a time. Betty O Donnell expressed a desire to join our church and she met with the Session. She gave a profession of her faith and told of her faith journey. She comes to Bethany by Transfer of Letter from Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Farnham, NY. The Session was unanimous in its decision to accept Betty into our church. The Session reviewed and prayed over the current prayer list. The financial reports were reviewed. The following correspondence was shared with the Session: A thank you letter from Annie King for her Christmas gift. A thank you letter from Ronald McDonald House for the monetary gift that came from saving pop-tabs. This gift was matched by Clark Howard to help expand their housing for families. The current active membership is now 157 with the edition of Betty O Donnell. A Congregational Meeting will be held on January 25 for the purpose of electing an Elder Nominating Committee and to hold the Annual Meeting of the Corporation. Stuart Clive and will be the representatives from the Session on the Elder Nominating Committee. Joanne Hooper and Chris Mize will serve to count the ballots for the election. Rev. Greg McMinn will fill the pulpit on February 8. Ministry Team Highlights The money currently held in the operating account for a youth director salary ($4000) will be added to a CD maturing in December for the same purpose. This will make a total of $8000 being placed into a 1-year CD. Currently there is one other CD for $2,000 that will mature next year as well. As per the Book of Order, Jessica Robinson will see that an internal audit is performed on the church financial records for The Membership Roll will be adjusted in January as there has been no response from people receiving letters. A baby shower for Bryanna Henderson will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 2:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. All ladies of the church are invited to attend. Bryanna is registered at Target and Babies R Us. A covered dish supper honoring our new members for the year will be held on Sunday, February 22, at 6:00pm. Communion Dates for 2015 will be: January 4, February 1, March 1, April 2 (Maundy Thursday), April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, December 5, and December 24 (Christmas Eve). The first communion date for 2016 will be January 3. The Session supported Rev. Commerford s suggestion that there be a joint Ash Wednesday Service with other local churches. He will coordinate this with the other pastors. (Continued on page 3)

3 P a g e 3 Session Summary (Continued from page 2) Kid s Club will continue to meet every Sunday. More volunteers are sought to make an every Sunday youth program a reality at this time. Plans are in place to encourage church-wide participation in the Hunger Walk on March 15. This takes place in Atlanta, beginning at Turner Field. Four youth have signed up to participate in the Son Servants mission trip this summer. The playground is completed and in use! The wood will be stained when it has cured. Bill has picked-up picnic tables from Grace Covenant Church to be used by Bethany. There is a continuing need for Sunday School Teachers. A PATH Grant for $1000 has been granted by the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta to the Mission and Outreach Team to assist with the Sack Lunch Program. Through the generous support of our members, we were able to sponsor five children through DFCS this Christmas. This included food items for meals for all their families as well! Sixty bars of soap were collected and donated to the Food Pantry. This was from the Fun Seekers Christmas Party. The meeting was closed with prayer by Rev. Commerford. The next regular meeting will be January 13, Bible Study Resumes January 7! Every week at worship, all of us say the Apostle s Creed together, but do we know what we are saying? From January to Easter this year, we will spend our Wednesday nights studying the Apostles Creed. This study will be great for anyone who is interested in learning more about their faith. Put these dates on your calendar and join us for an exciting journey! January 7 - Why Creeds? January 14 - Believing in God January 21 - The Triune God January 28 - The Sovereign God February 11 - The Identity of Jesus Christ February 25 - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ March 4 - The Reign of Christ March 11 - The Life of the Spirit March 18 - The Community of the Spirit March 25 - The Work of the Spirit March 25 - The Work of the Spirit Stewardship & Finance Ministry Team Elder Jessica Robinson he Reason I Give My reason for giving to God was really put into perspective after becoming a mother. The young children of our church family are our future elders, teachers, T and greeters. Please help me in supporting the future of this church by being faithful in your tithes and offerings each week.

4 P a g e 4 Buildings & Grounds Ministry Team e have the playground completed and back open! W Thanks to all that helped from start to finish! There were so many people that pitched in to help. Also, thanks for all the kind words I ve received! Now we look forward to our boys and girls enjoying it for years to come! Elder Bill Mote Mission & Outreach Ministry Team Elder Carolyn Sullivan hew! This year has come and gone so quickly. As we look back on 2014 and evaluate the W many accomplishments and contributions made by our great congregation, I am so proud and full of gratitude. We have supported five children (and two single parents and a married couple) by providing toys, clothes and other needed items along with food and gift cards to make their Christmas happen. We have continued to support the Community Food Pantry, the Sack Lunch Project, Faith- Works, Refuge Pregnancy Center, missionaries, benevolences and the list goes on. The willingness to help and the generosity of Bethany reaches so many and does so much good. The good work will continue on as we plan for and look forward to 2015.together we can do great things! Worship Ministry Team Elder Carolyn Peters As I write this on December 27, I would like to thank everyone that came out to help de-green the church. Our church was simply beautiful during the Christmas season. It took many hands to make it beautiful. We had a total of 57 poinsettias and they really gave the color we needed to make it pop. Thank you to everyone who purchased one in honor or memory of someone. There are so many special people who played such a great part in the overall decorating that I am afraid I will miss someone so I won t list any names but, here is what they did picking up the tree and pruning it, picking up the poinsettias and bringing them to the church, dragging out all of the decorations from the shed plus putting it all back! Thanks everyone again!! Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you will find your place of service if you haven t already. Maybe the choir will be for you and we always welcome new members, plus we have loads of fun!

5 P a g e 5 Monthly Volunteers January 4 January 11 January 18 January 25 Children s Worship Ken Frederick Tina Douglas Suzanne Hooper Adrianne Mote Acolytes Jordan McCullough Jordan McCullough Jordan McCullough Jordan McCullough Liturgists Sandi Thompson Schylar Parris Jessica Salmon Greeters Angela Gilmer Terri Quackenbush Billy Hunt Connie Hunt Angela Gilmer Terri Quackenbush Billy Hunt Connie Hunt Angela Gilmer Terri Quackenbush Billy Hunt Connie Hunt Angela Gilmer Terri Quackenbush Billy Hunt Connie Hunt Ushers Wayne Mize Tommy Pirkle McKenna Smith Wayne Mize Tommy Pirkle McKenna Smith Wayne Mize Tommy Pirkle McKenna Smith Wayne Mize Tommy Pirkle McKenna Smith Open Bldg. Annie King Bill Mote Buddy & Rae Cook Men s Breakfast Close Bldg. Lisa Parris Jessica Robinson Tracy Pirkle Wayne & Prayer Concerns Lee & Beth Allen Sam Ball (Nancy Boyce s friend) Maegan Brakehal (step-granddaughter, H. Coggin) Bryan (Friend of Nancy Boyce) Mark Burton Sarah Cason Betty Davenport Henry Fisher (Sarah Cason s son-in-law) Marylou Frederick (Ken Frederick s sister-in-law) Brittney Foreman (Sherill Foster s granddaughter) Tyler Head (Tommy Pirkle s cousin) Penny Hill (Executive Presbyter) Ruth King Paul Lewis Ruth & Warren MacEntee (Friends of Nancy Boyce) Melisa (Danny Douberley s daughter) Missionaries: Cheryl, Marcin & Maciek David Morris and son, David Doris Mote Susan Mote Ray O Donnell (Betty O Donnell s son) Cody Pirkle Charles & Charlene Rape Will Reymundo (Chandler Salmon s nephew) Dayle Robinson (Dee Norris daughter) Cooper Salmon Dee Starr Patti Starr Brent Tunison (Charlene Rape s brother) Susan Turner (Ed Turner s mother) Willie Underwood (Wagner s grandson) Gail Viau (Pastor Dan s mother) Kevin Waters (Friend of Carolyn Peters) Avery White Chaz Woods & Family Our College Students Our Military Men and Women A Friend of Nancy Boyce with a brain tumor

6 P a g e 6 January 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 New Year s Day Church Office Closed 2 3 Charlotte Brandenburg Vanessa Sears 4 Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 11:00am Communion Kids Club Ice Skating 2:30pm 5 6 Boy Scouts 7:00pm 7 Bible Study 6:00pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Y.G. Progressive Dinner 5:00pm Ryan Mote 11 Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 11:00am Kid s Club 2:30-4:00pm Youth Group TBD 12 Girl Scouts 6:00pm 13 Session Meeting 6:30pm Boy Scouts 7:00pm 14 Bible Study 6:00pm Choir Practice 7:00pm 15 Girl Scouts 7:00pm Eli Stevens Bob King 18 Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 11:00am Kid s Club 2:30-4:00pm Youth Group TBD Boy Scouts 7:00pm Joe Lewis 21 Bible Study 6:00pm Choir Practice 7:00pm Debbie Mote Joshua Starr Hinton Reunion In the Fellowship Hall Sarah Swope 25 Men s Breakfast 7:30am Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 11:00am - Congregational Meeting / Meeting of the Corp. - Newsletter Deadline No Kids Club/Youth Group Baby Shower for Bryanna Henderson 2:00pm 26 Girl Scouts 6:00pm 27 Boy Scouts 7:00pm Mark Burton 28 Fun Seekers 11:00am Bible Study 6:00pm Choir Practice 7:00pm 29 Girl Scouts 7:00pm Cody Parris 30 Mike Adams 31 Sack Lunches 10:30am Bethany is delighted to welcome our newest member, Betty O Donnell, to our church family! Betty comes by transfer of her letter from Holy Cross Lutheran Church, ELCA in Farnham, New York. Please take a moment to speak with Betty if you haven t already done so.

7 P a g e 7 Kids Club Submitted by Suzanne Hooper Kid's Club wrapped up another year with a Christmas Party on December 14. We decorated coffee mugs to keep, had hot chocolate with lots of fun toppings, and decorated sugar cookies to eat! We had games of hide and seek, ping pong and even broke in the new playground equipment. That was a huge hit! We took some silly pictures and Brylie Lewis won the tacky sweater contest with her homemade decorated sweater! It was lots of fun and a great way to wrap up the year! (Dan has even more pictures) Over 2014, we have seen the Kid's Club group grow in size. Praise God for all of these children who are excited to come and fellowship at Bethany! With this great group of kids and several volunteers, we are moving the Kid's Club back to an every Sunday schedule! Terri Quackenbush and Danielle Stevens have volunteered to be co-coordinators for the Kid's Club Spring/Summer Session of Please see them for details or questions about the schedule or Kid's Club program. We will be kicking off Kid's Club with a "Frozen" month in January with Ice Skating in Olde Town Conyers, making Frozen in Time timecapsules, and watching the movie Frozen. Please see your bulletin and the bulletin board in the assembly room for more details and to sign up for these events! Thank you to everyone who made 2014 a success. Please continue to pray for this group as we enter the new year.

8 Bethany Presbyterian Church 1002 Bethany Road Covington, GA Phone: Fax: P a g e 8 Youth News Submitted by Suzanne Hooper he Youth Group will be kicking off 2015 T with a progressive dinner around Covington on January 4. The youth will meet at the church at 5pm and should return around 7pm. Each youth will need around $10 to buy their dinner at our various stops. We are still finalizing the youth schedule for the rest of the Spring/Summer. Please see your bulletin and announcements in church for further details. The Member Care and Hospitality Committees will host a baby shower for Bryanna Henderson on Sunday, January 25, at 2:00 p.m. All the ladies of the church are invited to attend! Bryanna is registered at Babies R Us and Target.