IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, ARE YOU PART OF THE PROBLEM? ENJOY THE SUMMER THINK PRAY AND DECIDE, DO YOU CARE? I DO CARE!!!!

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1 2014 I DON T CARE! LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT! WHY IS THERE NO FELLOWSHIP TODAY? WHY AREN T PEOPLE IN CHURCH? WHY ARE THE COMMITTEES COMPOSED BASICALLY OF TWO PEOPLE? The list of questions I could pose to you goes on and on. As I look at Community Presbyterian Church I see a disease that is running through it. That disease is APATHY. No one seems to care. I am approached in my office with the question of having or not having fellowship after worship on Sunday morning. No one has signed up or the regulars are trying to give others an opportunity to provide something. That is only the tip of the iceberg. The clerk of session will retire at the end of the year after serving for five (5) years. I understand that she is ready to pass the duties on to another. At the time of this writing no one has even mentioned their desire to do the job. We lost our choir and no one cared. As I look at so many other things happening within the church I wonder what to do. What can I do as the pastor, to get people motivated and find that I am running out of ideas. I could write many other things about this topic, but I see no reason to do so at this time. You all know the problems. I want to say I DON T CARE, but unfortunately I cannot get myself to that point. Think about these things. Think about this church. IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, ARE YOU PART OF THE PROBLEM? ENJOY THE SUMMER THINK PRAY AND DECIDE, DO YOU CARE? I DO CARE!!!! Gary

2 The sacrament of the Lord s Supper will be celebrated during our worship service on July 13 th during worship service. This is a special day because we will gather together to celebrate the love of God and the meal that Christ offers to all who believe in Him. Please mark your calendar and make this a priority. CPC is online.. The church is now wireless. The new address for Pastor Catterson is: cpchurch.pastor@outlook.com. To send an to the Administrative Assistant send to: cici.cpc@centurytel.net. Please let us hear from you. Church website is: Pastor Catterson can be reached when not at the church, on his cell phone. The number of his cell phone is: The office number of the church is: If you would rather text please do as Pastor Catterson can now text back to you. All requests for use of tables and chairs owned by the church should be directed to the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Please contact Tim Irvine or Gary Landsgard. New light weight tables have been purchased. When borrowing tables please do not take these or any other tables in the dining room. We have only a few tables remaining that can be borrowed. Please check with someone before taking any table for use outside the church. The John Knox Presbytery s August 19 meeting will be held via video conferencing. If you are interested in seeing what happens at a presbytery meeting this is the perfect chance since CPC is one of the video conferencing sites. ON AUGUST 10 TH WE WILL MEET AT BEULAHLAND CAMPGROUND IN RURAL ELGIN. PLEASE WATCH THE BULLETIN AND THE WEB SITE FOR DETAILS. WE WILL WORSHIP AND HAVE A POTLUCK AND ENJOY BEING OUT IN GOD S CREATION. SERMON TEXTS FOR July July 6: July 13: Matthew 13:1-9, July 20: Matthew 13:24-30, July 27: Romans 8:26-39 PASTOR CATTERSON GONE WHERE DO YOU SOW YOUR SEEDS? COMMUNION ARE YOU BEING CHOKED OUT? DO THEY? SERMON TEXTS FOR AUGUST August 3: Psalm 14 August 10: August 17: Matthew 15:10-28 August 24: Romans 12:1-8 IN SEARCH OF A GOOD MAN BEULAHLAND BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY/COMMUNION WHO DO WE CONFORM TO?

3 August 31: Matthew 16:21-28 THINKING ON THE DIVINE THINGS The Sacrament of the Lord s Supper will be celebrated on August 17 th. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending. Remember we do not need a special occasion to celebrate the meal prepared for us by our Lord and Savior. ATTENDANCE FOR JUNE June 1: 36 June 8: 44 June 15: 47 June 22: 81 TOTAL = 208 AVERAGE FOR 4 WEEK PERIOD = 52 Did you know CPC had a mission statement? If so, do you know what it says? It has recently been suggested that this statement be published more often so that the people might know what it says. WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WHOSE GREATEST JOY IS TO GLORIFY GOD. WE EXIST TO SERVE GOD AND TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST WITH OTHERS. WE PLEDGE OURSELVES TO REACH OUT TO OTHERS WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY, THIS STATE AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. WE WILL CONSTATLY SEEK OUT NEW WAYS TO SERVE GOD AND BEAR WITNESS TO HIS GRACE AND HIS LOVE. WE ARE PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AND AS SUCH, WILL INCLUDE ALL PEOPLE WHO COME TO US AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST. THE SESSION MEMBERS THIS YEAR ARE: CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: Marilyn Armentrout & Nikki Steffans ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL: Larry Reed & Lee Marsh MEMBERSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: Marj Kjosa & Harold Peck BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS: Tim Irvine & Gary Landsgard MUSIC AND WORSHIP: Linda Hughes and LuAnn Friederich INTERPRETATION AND STEWARDSHIP: Lisa Acevedo & Bill Armentrout CLERK OF SESSION Cindy Converse TREASURER Dave Schutte SESSION HIGHLIGHTS: NO MEETING WAS HELD IN JUNE

4 Per Capita for 2014 is: $ Cindy Converse has served as the Clerk of Session for several years. She will retire from this job at the end of the year. If you are interested in serving as the clerk please let Cindy or Pastor Catterson know. Cici WILL NOT be working on Fridays during June, July, and August. Pastor Catterson may be in the office. Please call before coming to be sure the door is open. Volunteers Needed for Meals on Wheels CPC s turn to deliver Meals on Wheels is in July. We need help to deliver meals at 11 am, Monday- Friday. It takes about 30 minutes a day. If you can help, please call Carolyn or the church office. Thick bath towels for dishwasher are missing! The bath towels used to drain the dishes for the dishwasher are missing. If you took them home to launder & forgot to bring them back.please do so soon. THE 221 ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY As a commissioner representing the JKP I arrived in Detroit on June 13 th. I registered and that was all that was to be done that day. The next day I attended what they called Riverside Chats that were informative sessions on what was to come. We celebrated worship complete with bagpipes and liturgical dancers. That evening we were to elect a new moderator from three candidates. At first all votes were to be cast electronically. No one had checked to see if the system could handle over 600 people using the system at the same time. We then went to a system using what looked like a TV control. They were unsure if that was working properly so we finally voted for the moderator by paper ballot. Fortunately Heath Rada an elder from South Carolina was elected on the first ballot. The remote control system was finally approved for use and we used that system the rest of the week. Sunday we worshipped at churches in the Detroit area. I worshipped at Fort Presbyterian Church, a historic downtown church where Teddy Roosevelt worshipped once. Later in the day and all day Monday and Tuesday committee meetings took place. I was assigned to the Congregational Vitality Committee. We did not have any controversial issues before us. We discussed such things as 1001 Worshipping Communities and being missional in the church. Wednesday we gathered for our plenary sessions. Wednesday was comparatively smooth compared to the days that followed. One of the big issues before the GA was marriage. Several overtures had been sent to allow same sex marriage in Presbyterian Churches and to redefine marriage as between two people. In the final text it will say, traditionally between a man and a woman. The

5 majority ruled and what was passed is: in states where same sex marriage is legal a church may allow the ceremony to take place in the church. The pastor may officiate. The session also may say no to such a request and the pastor may also say no. In other words the local church still maintains control of who gets married in the church. The pastor also may refuse on the basis of scriptural understanding. The other hot issue was the divesting of Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar Tractor and HP stock. These three companies sell their products to Israel and many believe Israel abuses the Palestinians. After several hours of debate the assembly voted in favor of divestment by 2 votes. I personally was opposed to this issue. Nothing was said about those who blow themselves and others up in the name of religion and religious freedom. The days were long. The earliest dismissal was 10:30 pm after starting at 8:30am. Many nights dismissal came at 11:30. Friday night I found myself exhausted and unable to focus. I left the meeting at 11:30. As it turned out they dismissed at 12:10 so I did not miss much. It was an experience to be there but one that I doubt if I will seek to do again. I did learn that the church is tied up in so many political quarrels that the real work of the church does not get done. Pastor Gary BLOOD DRIVE Our church is once again holding a blood drive for Life Serve of Iowa. Please consider taking the time to give blood, knowing you are saving lives and the units are being used in local hospitals. The blood drive will be on Saturday, August 16 from 8:30 am- 1:30 pm in our church. There will be a sign up sheet at the back of the church in July. The M & F committee will also be making calls in July. If you need to schedule a time right now, call Harold Don t forget, we always have homemade goodies at the hospitality table! Hope to see lots of you on August 16 th. The Membership & Fellowship Committee

6 Your mid-year pledge giving will be available in the back of the church. Please pick it up & let the office know if it is not correct. Sunday, August 10, am- Worship 11 am- Potluck BEULAHLAND CELEBRATION! Noon to 5 pm- Activities include: swimming, fishing, canoeing/paddle boats, hiking, games, crafts, food, and fun! The lodge is air conditioned and handicapped accessible. It s a celebration for all.kids, parents, families and ANYONE wishing to share in a great time! If you d like to stay overnight on Sunday eve contact Nikki Steffans. Donuts on Monday morn.

7 JULY PRAYER LIST Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself. St. John Vianney 1. Burnell Koth 2. Dave and Karen Schutte 3. Beverly Bacon 4. Our Country 5. Larry, Mary Jo Moore 6. Dennis and Phyllis White 7. Alphonso and Taylynn Rios, Tammy and Tressa Loomis 8. Claire Heck 9. Dave and Rosalind Palas 10. Jacob Roach 11. Loretta Backhaus 12. Brittany Bacon 13. Dave and Diane Lensing 14. Bob Enyart 15. The Session 16. Connie Arnburg 17. Don and Rita Anderson 18. Pastor Gary, Nancy Catterson 19. Allen and LuAnn Friederich 20. Sandy Bacon 21. Elnora Penrod 22. Keith and Verta Kerr 23. Chad, Erin, Kayla, Korby and Emma Keehner 24. Tony, Karine, Chance and Callie Schager 25. Richard, Nikki, Zach, Mitchell, Jacob and Isaac Steffans 26. Steve and Whitney (Jarvis) Hughes 27. Jim and Marilyn Lenth 28. Kyle Turner 29. Kory Turner

8 AUGUST PRAYER LIST True, whole prayer is nothing but love. Saint Augustine 1. Norma Peterson 2. Gary and Sharon Ingles 3. Opal Colvin 4. A Friend 5. The Deacons 6. Dave and Carolyn Smith 7. Evelyn Martin 8. Marvin and Diane Berg 9. Ethel Flack 10. Those at Beulahland 11. Marlen Schutte 12. Roger and Ellen Bechtel 13. Brad Bucknell 14. Leonardo, Trinna, Carter, Cedrick, Elena Kay, and Elise Lynn Navarro 15. Edith Feuerhelm 16. Dave and Carolyn Smith 17. Ed and Nancy Englehardt 18. Jessica and Alexandria Duffield 19. Teachers and Students as school begins 20. The John Knox Presbytery 21. Dwaine and Lorraine Nordhus 22. Craig, Darlyn, Daylee, and Mariah Mostaert 23. Kevin and Dawn Cronk 24. Tom, Julie, Trevor and Tyra Benson 25. Hall Roberts 26. John Dresser 27. Elaine Kenny 28. Betty Haltmeyer 29. Dan Bruns 30. Connie and Samantha Duffield

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