Bridgeport Presbyterian Church

Transcription

1 Bridgeport Presbyterian Church NEWSLETTER OF BRIDGEPORT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH NOVEMBER 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 11 You re Invited to... Bridgeport Presbyterian Church s Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday November 18 at 5:00 pm Turkey and gravy will be provided Please sign-up for a potluck item to bring Beginning November 4 th always giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20 Church Events November 3 - Clarksburg Mission Lunch 5 PW Bible Study 8 PW Thank & Bus. Meeting 13 Session 14 Blankets for Ruby 18 - Thanksgiving Dinner 19 Outreach 20 Resource Management 21 Thanksgiving Service 27 Stephen Ministry 28 Men s Breakfast

2 General Fund TREASURER S REPORT September, 2012 Identified receipts for the month of September were $12,000, versus a budgeted amount of $11,000. Year to date receipts are $107,000 versus a budgeted amount of $102,000. This variance is the result of the booking in 2012 of prepaid giving that was received in When this is considered, the giving was $500 ahead of budgeted levels. Expenses for the month were favorable by $1,600 as compared with budget, while the year-to-date expenses were favorable by $4,200. Building Fund The note on the building improvement project was paid off in May. Men s Breakfast The Men s Breakfast Group will meet at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, November 28th, in the back room of Eat n Park Restaurant on Bridgeport Hill. Bring a friend along and join us. As always, you are encouraged to invite a friend or neighbor to join with us for a time of Christian fellowship. Anyone with an idea for a program may contact Dave Davis, who has graciously stepped up to the plate to organize the group this year. Remember Men s Breakfast is the fourth Wednesday of each month! Thank you for your continued support of our church. Charlie Burkhammer Treasurer November Birthdays 2 Gail Liebig 9 Lori Gray 3 Annabel Timms 9 Roxanne Loar 4 Steven Loar 13 Georgia Faith Matthews 6 Patrick Aucremanne 14 Stacey McMullen 7 Britney Hitt 15 Lauren McCaugherty 7 Leroy Perry 17 Laura Miller 9 Alison Deem 17 Carrie Wickline

3 SESSION HIGHLIGHTS The Session of the Bridgeport Presbyterian Church met for their Stated Meeting on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Pastor Robin Ray moderated. Elder Sue Davis presented the evening s devotions and opened the meeting with prayer. HIGHLIGHTS: Session approved the Christmas Congregational Dinner at 5:00 pm on Sunday, December 16 th. Presbyterian Women: Met at Eat N Park for breakfast on Saturday, October 13 th. They will serve a meal at the Clarksburg Mission on Saturday, November 3 rd. They will provide lunch for those helping with Hanging of the Greens on December 2 nd. Christian Education reported dates for youth activities as follows: September 23 Valley Falls; October 7 BHS track cancelled (to be rescheduled); October 21 pumpkin carving at Liebigs; November 4 Service Project Shoebox Ministry; December 2 Holiday Party; December 16 Church Christmas Dinner/Play; January 5, 2013 Serve a Mission Dinner; January 27, 2013 Souper Bowl Sunday. Outreach: The total for the CHP Book Sale was $1, They collected $ for the MS Walk. October 12 th helped sign up qualified recipients at Criss-Cross. Sponsoring a Christmas Bazaar with Olive Wood Carvings, Candy and jewelry.advised recipients of the Alternative Christmas Giving are WVMAWS, Triennium and the Children s Health Pantry. They, along with the Congregational Life Committee will prepare a meal for the New Members Class on October 28 th. They are contacting church family to keep them informed of Around His House announcements that do not have access to the internet. Resource Management approved the use of the church by the Girl Scouts and Bridgeport Swim Team on November 1 and 8 and October 24 th. They also approved November 3 rd for the Shoe Box Ministry in the Fellowship Hall and a member of the church using the kitchen, date to be announced. Resource Management has formed a Memorial Walk sub-committee. Fall cleanup day is October 27 th, starting with breakfast at Bob Evans at 7:30. The committee is working with Mirage Sound System to train the choir on the new sound system. The committee presented Key Control Forms for Church Members and Non-Members. Congregational Life is sponsoring a New Members dinner on October 28 th, with the help of Outreach. There is a Called Session meeting at 7:30 pm to receive the new members. Worship Marlene Graeber presented information on the new hymnals, including cost. It was decided the congregation would be given the opportunity to place orders for hymnals in Honor or Memory of loved ones. This will be done with bulletin inserts. She advised the red Visitor Pads have been returned to the pews. Pastor s Report Pastor Robin reported activity for September 12 October 9 as follows: Visitation: Home 6; Hospital 8; Meals -4 (not through committees); Phone Calls: Pastoral Care 16; General Church 8; Meetings/Activities: Church 6; Presbytery 4: Community 6; and Office 2. Pastor Robin requested Wednesday, October 24 th and Sunday, November 25 th off. Session approved. She also requested Monday, February 4 th through Tuesday, February 12 th, 2013, one week Continuing Education and 2 vacation days off. Session approved. Prayer concerns were addressed and the meeting was adjourned with prayer at 8:45 pm. Naomi Burkhammer, Clerk of Session ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET Coming In December we will once again have our alternative gift market. Our three recipients for this year are or own Children s Health Pantry, West Virginia Ministry and Advocacy Workcamps and the Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Look for more information about this giving opportunity in our December Light.

4 From the Choir Director Often I find myself in a mass of confusion trying to find something to write about for this newsletter. Many times I think I ve written about every hymn or song out there, when in reality, I know I haven t even come close to doing that. So, I often have to wait for God to lead me in the right direction. So today I decided to do an Internet search on Thanksgiving songs, looking for something different. (Note: there really isn t a large variety of Thanksgiving songs out there) By accident or fate, I stumbled upon a new Thanksgiving song. But that wasn t the best part however, I ll make you wait to the end of the newsletter to find out what the best part is. The new song I found is called The Song of Thanksgiving, and it was written by David Allen. Mr. Allen has been a singer and musician for the last 25 years. Until 1993, he spent his time in Los Angeles working as a studio musician. More recently, he is a singer with the Atlanta group Sons of Mercy. He said that he wrote the song as a prayer for his family Thanksgiving dinner, and made it simple enough that everyone could follow along and share it. He did go one step further though his song is available to buy and download from ITunes and a portion of the money will go to feed the hungry in America. This will be done through a group called the Society of St. Andrews. This group sponsors a variety of hunger relief programs across America. So, the best part is that you can be a part of feeding the hungry for just 99 cents and enjoy a truly wonderful, new Thanksgiving song. I encourage you to check out the song at To find out more about the Society of St. Andrews, you can go to Have a truly blessed Thanksgiving! Respectfully submitted, Lynne A. Davis Director of Music Youth News What a great start to the year, thank you to Gail and Craig Liebig for hosting the youth for their pumpkin carving and bonfire! Let s continue it by meeting Nov 4 th at 1PM in front of the Dollar Tree at the Meadowbrook Mall to shop for supplies for the Christmas shoeboxes for the less fortunate. Please bring $10 to buy supplies, and then after we buy the supplies we will travel back to the church to put the shoeboxes together. Transportation will be provided from the mall back to the church. If you have any questions or need further information please contact Garth or Jessica Leech, or Jacy Woods. Hope to see you there and as always friends are always welcome. We will join the rest of the congregation in celebrating Thanksgiving on November 18 th.

5 Youth Pumpkin Carving Presbyterian Women * Our Monday morning Bible Study on the General Epistles is halfway finished! Led by Nancy Atkinson, approximately eight women meet each week to delve into these New Testament scriptures. All are welcome to attend our Monday morning study sessions as well as lunch afterwards! *Five Presbyterian Women met Saturday, October 13 th to enjoy breakfast at Eat N Park. Those in attendance had a wonderful time. If you were unable to come, you missed a terrific time! * PW will be serving the November 3 rd meal at the Clarksburg Mission. We will be providing a lunch of chicken, mac and cheese and green beans. Coordinator Sue Davis will be looking for volunteers to both cook and serve. *Ladies, please make plans to join us Thursday, November 8 th at 7pm for our annual Business Meeting. Join us for coffee and dessert. We will collect out annual Thank Offering and elect our PW officers for The proposed slate of officers is as follows: Moderator-Penny Ranson AM Circle Chair- Lori Gray Treasurer-Nancy Atkinson Secretary- Teri Laurent Historian- Erma Reel Nominating- Wanda Kyle, Caroline Tate, & Nancy Aucremanne

6 Dear Friends On Sunday, November 4, all members are asked to return their pledge cards for the plans we have for ministry next year. It is always an exciting and inspiring time as we thank God for our blessings and remembering that our debts were paid by Jesus Christ. As your turn in your pledge cards, it helps our church treasurer and the session set a budget for next year, making the most of all your gifts. I am hoping that before you turn in your card that you (and your spouse) will take time in prayer and reflection, considering what your offerings will be for the coming year. Craig and I are looking at our expected income for the next year and have been working our pledge towards a tithe. We are not there yet, but each year we have made a step towards that goal. God has blessed us as we have watched Craig s business grow and for the past two years we have been able to raise our pledge each year $25.00 a week. I understand that is not a possibility for many of our members, but would you consider raising your pledge a dollar or five dollars a week. I d like to invite you to take a step toward tithing this year. Take a look at your giving, determine what percentage of your income you are currently giving as an offering to God, and consider raising your pledge a half a percentage or a percentage as you work towards the goal of tithing. I have included a chart to help you. I am so grateful for your financial support of the church. Your giving this year has made a difference in the lives of the children, youth and adults in our church as well as people that we have helped through ministry and mission. Thank you for your support of God s work here at Bridgeport Presbyterian Church. Pastor Robin Weekly Tithing Chart Annual Income 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% Tithe 10% 12% $10,000 $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 $12 $13 $15 $17 $19 $23 $20, $30, $40, $50, $60, $70, $80, $90, $100, $110, $120, $130, $140,

7 PRESBYTERIAN MEN S MISSION NETWORK The Synod of the Trinity Presbyterian Men s Mission Network held its fall meeting at the Bedford Presbyterian Church in Bedford, PA on Saturday, October 20, 2012 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. There will be two special presentations. The first will be by Mr. Adam Gray of the Public Health Department of the University of Pittsburgh on how congregations can prepare for disasters and be ready to serve their members and community in the event of storms, flooding, etc. Presbyteries that have active Men s Mission Networks will also present reports of their activities including video presentations from Carlisle and Pittsburgh presbyteries. Another significant matter will be to plan for a men s Conference on May 4, 2013 featuring well-known Presbyterian Men s speaker and activist, Derek Maul. Derek is deeply committed to Jesus Christ and the special role that men can play in our churches. You can read some of his postings at HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE REGISTRATION On Friday, October 12, in a three-hour period, the Reverend Robin Ray, Ruth Allen, Tammy Hamner and Joyce Hartzell helped to register 60 families who wished to receive Holiday Assistance Baskets. These baskets are donated by churches, clubs and individuals. The baskets contain food and perhaps a small gift for each of the children in the family. Criss-Cross, a United way Agency, is the organization that processes requests from families and determines eligibility. All the work of registering the families was handled by volunteers. SHEPHERD S CORNER Thanks to Kathy Dodson, Joyce Hartzell and Alison Deem who served at the Shepherd s Corner on September 25. October was the last opportunity to serve as a volunteer at the Shepherd s Corner. While the Outreach Committee will continue to support The Shepherd s Corner financially, it was decided to discontinue our service effort because of a lack of willing volunteers. CONGREGATIONAL LIFE COMMITTEE On Sunday. October 14 th, Dinner for Eight participants came together to kick off the new season by sharing their favorite appetizers and dessert, as well as some wonderful fellowship time. Three groups will be meeting through the next year. See either Beth McCaugherty or Pam Pinti if you would like to take part in this programthere s still time! MS WALK Many thanks go out to all those who helped make the September 30th MS Walk Picnic such a success. Members of the congregation enjoyed a meal of fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, rolls and dessert while coming together to raise $965 for MS Research

8 Presbytery of West Virginia s Christian Nurture and Worship Committee presents Equipping Disciples Events LET S PRAY: in a variety of ways! Sunday, November 11, 3-6 pm Bridgeport Presbyterian Bridgeport Revs Barb Accord and Robin Ray, leaders Prayer is an important part of the lives of disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is a daily journey, and prayer is an active part of that journey, as through prayer we open ourselves to God s presence in our midst, bring our concerns to God and seek God s guidance. Sometimes we think we have to pray just right, but there s no right way to pray. Maybe you hear about someone else s prayer time and think, that s not me. Come join us for conversation around different ways and forms of praying, particularly in light of the ways we interact in the world around us and learn through different intelligences identified in Howard Gardner s Multiple Intelligence theory. While there is no cost with this event, it is important that we know you are coming. Please complete the registration form below and mail it to Presbytery of WV, Equipping Disciples Events, 520 Second Avenue, South Charleston, WV 25303, or susan_sharp_campbell@hotmail.com with the information requested below. The registration deadline for each event is the Monday before the event. Name Home Church Phone number Place I plan to attend How many people are you registering

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10 Bridgeport Presbyterian Church The Church Office is open Monday-Friday 9:30am 12:30pm Pastor Robin Ray Office Website: Pastor Robin Ray Clerk of Session Naomi Burkhammer Treasurer Charlie Burkhammer Director of Music Lynne Davis Organist Beth Armentrout Presbyterian Women Sue Davis Janitorial Support Sharon Salate Church Secretary Jane Merandi Bridgeport Presbyterian Church 1 John Calvin Drive Bridgeport WV 26330