generation needs to discover for itself the saving grace of Christ. In doing so, we become children of God by adoption.

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1 Thinking About the Impossible-The Resurrection and Its Meaning Greetings in the Name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ to the many Saints in and around First Presbyterian Church of Stockton! I never get tired of thinking about the resurrection of our Lord. Somehow the scriptures seem new and exciting every time I read them. It might be due to the mystery that wraps itself around me. The mystery is not a frightening one but one that draws me into each scene, each character. The miracle that God had in store for those who knew and loved the physical Jesus was beyond comprehension, even to those closest to him, those who witnessed his miracles, who heard the parables, who walked daily with him. Were the actual words of Jesus so confusing that even the possibility of His Resurrection unimaginable? I often think, If I would have been there, surely not as a disciple, but maybe as someone who had heard Jesus preach or seen him perform a miracle, I would have known what was about to happen on the third day! Then I think, If his disciples didn't get it, what makes me think that I would? Thanks be to God, we live some twenty centuries later. Centuries of great Biblical scholars have preceded us and have clarified every nuance of the narrative of Christ including His Resurrection. Not one Biblical word has been left untouched by the finest spiritual minds. They have shared their insights with each subsequent generation and now, we are the recipients of a vast collection of wisdom. Yet, it seems that each generation needs to discover for itself the saving grace of Christ. In doing so, we become children of God by adoption. Faith can be nurtured and informed by others. However, the gift of faith is the ministry of the God-the Holy Spirit, the mysterious third article of the Trinity. This rather mysterious aspect of God wraps itself around us often times unnoticed until that moment. It has been the same for every generation of the Christian Faith. My prayer for you and this wonderful, historic congregation is that we can pause and appreciate the blessings of the God-the Holy Spirit as Easter envelops us. God is doing a new and marvelous thing among us. And much like the first disciples, we stand in awe and wonder to the power and presence of God. Even on the day of Resurrection, the disciples and other followers had no idea about what was happening. The unleashing of the Holy Spirit drew men and women from every land and culture to become the Living Body of Christ. We, too, are part of this mystery. For the disciples, nothing was going to be the same. For us, too, much is changing, and all for the Glory of God. St. Peter s first and great sermon is recorded in Acts 3: Verse 20 states, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. God is in our midst and is doing a great thing! As I keep you in my prayers, I ask that you keep your church and its ministries in your prayers. To God be the Glory! Your servant in Christ, Pastor Kim

2 The most exciting news is that we are seeing salvation in our community! In the last month around 15 people have given their lives to the Lord, by His grace and to His glory! The children and youth ministries are flourishing as well, and we routinely have around 50 children between up to age 18 who are ministered to on Sunday evenings. You may have noticed lots of activity on the basketball court these days, and part of that comes from the El Dorado Eagles basketball team. Restore is coaching the junior high team in partnership with our local elementary school. The lives of the students on the team are being transformed through the patient and committed group of coaches, and the youth are learning about teamwork, losing well, integrity, winning well, effective communication, and so much more. We have been privileged to welcome several basketball players from University of the Pacific s men s basketball team to the practices as well, which has been fun and inspirational for the youth. Basketball is another amazing way we can mentor the youth around us, and many lives are being impacted. Go Eagles! Thanks to all who helped set up the new joint food pantry in the Koinonia kitchen! The food pantry is now a collaboration between First Presbyterian, Gravity Church, and Restore. We believe that working together will be the most effective way to collect and distribute resources to those in need in our community, and the generosity of all who have donated is much appreciated. Donations can be dropped off in the Church Office during the week or brought to church on Sundays. For additional inquiries, please contact the Church Office at or Restore at PG 2 APRIL 2017

3 It s time to de-clutter the church. The Finance, Buildings & Grounds Committee will be setting up Saturday dates in the near future to clean out the church. We have, for many years, stored items that we no longer need. You are invited to take part in this project not only because more hands make light work but you may have an attachment to items that we are now clearing out of the church. If that is the case, you will be welcome to take those items home with you. We will let you know the Saturdays when this will take place as soon as those dates are set. Please remember to bring in 2 canned food items the first Sunday of every month. These items go into our Food Pantry. Join John Vaughn for the last two sessions of the Lenten Study on The Sermon on the Mount. on Wednesday, April 5th and 12th. There will be a communion service following the study on the 12th. Potluck dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., Bible Study at 7:00 p.m., ending at 8:00. Women s Retreat April at Cedar Lodge Please join us for Biblical teaching, crafts, guided hikes to the Giant Sequoia Grove, a climbing wall and Worship in the beauty of the Redwoods. We will be pampered and well looked after and return refreshed and renewed through the Holy Spirit. The Retreat begins with dinner on Friday night at 6 p.m. and concludes with Chapel and Brunch on Sunday. The Retreat theme is: God turns His face toward us and shines upon us. He also created us to shine out to the world around us. (see John 8:12). We will explore what it means to be an image-bearer, created and commissioned by the Light of the World. The Speaker is Lucinda Chumley, who has been described as a soft-spoken person with a lot to say. She has an eclectic resume which includes being a waitress, a sign language interpreter, a college Pastor, a church planter, and a Resident Hall Director. For more information, see Kim Roider. APRIL 2017 PG 3

4 April 9th is Palm Sunday and also the second Sunday when we have our Fellowship Luncheons. Let s bring celebratory food! What s that mean? Whatever food you like to eat when you celebrate or whatever food you like to eat and share! On Palm Sunday we remember Christ s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus entered to lavish praise of the townspeople who threw clothes or palm branches in front of him as a sign of homage. Instead of throwing our clothes on the floor, perhaps we can honor Jesus on this day by bringing clothes to donate to the Robes of Righteousness ministry. Readers R Us will be meeting Thursday, April 13th at 3:00 p.m. Linda Trapp s home to discuss The Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle Memorial funds left in the name of the Bewley, Lopez, and Woods Family are now available for scholarships to church members pursuing higher education. High school seniors, students enrolled in a college or university or re-entering adults are eligible to apply. Applications are available in the church office. You may also request them electronically by writing the church office at office@fpcstockton.org. Requirements A word personal statement 3 letters of recommendations Any and all transcripts Due Date is May 12th Your entire application (with letters of reference, and any other requested supporting materials) must be turned in together in one packet. If your supporting materials arrive separately from your application, they will be disregarded and your file will be considered incomplete. Late applications will not be accepted. You may submit your completed application in 2 ways: Mail to: to: First Presbyterian Church ATTN: Scholarship Committee 31 E. Vine St. Stockton, CA office@fpcstockton.org Subject Line: FPC Scholarship Committee Date April 2 April 9 April 16 April 23 April 30 Name Merilyn Vaughn Kim Roider Craig Holmes Gretchen Louden Bill Alessio Please remember if your back up materials arrive separately from your application they will be disregarded, and your file will be incomplete. PG 4 APRIL 2017

5 Tuesday, April 4, at 12:00 P.M. women will gather at church to continue our study of Who Is Jesus? Please bring your lunch and join us for the discussion even if you haven t read Lesson Seven. Monday, April 10, at 7:00 P.M. is another opportunity to continue this journey of discovery at Cheryl s home. Carrie Lane will be the speaker at our combined meeting in April. Instead of our usual third Tuesday Luncheon we will be traveling to the Spring Gathering at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Modesto on Saturday, April 22. Contact Carol Dietrich for transportation information. Our luncheon in March was so delicious. Desiree and Emma prepared a beautiful buffet from our garden and the Midtown Food Pantry. Our Pastor gave us a new vision of how our church can move into a brighter future. Rebecca Nelson led us in raising our voices in a hymn of praise For the Beauty of the Earth. Perhaps we should have sung: For the Bounty of our Church. We are so blessed for these ties that bind us to each other in Christian Love. Easter Lilies will are now being offered for purchase to decorate our Sanctuary on Easter morning. The cost for the plants are $10 each and there will be an envelope in upcoming Sunday Bulletins so you can donate in Memory of, In Honor of, or In Appreciation for. DEADLINE TO PURCHASE IS APRIL 9th. In the past donations received that were not used to purchase lilies were used to build Sunday School rooms in one of our sister churches in Colombia. Last year the Presbytery of Urabá started three new worshipping communities. All are in very isolated communities in the jungle where the economy is subsistence farming. The community in Morindó deeply desires to have functioning latrines attached to their building available to worshippers. Our Session has voted to support this project with excess funds from the donations made to beautify our sanctuary this Holy Season. First Presbyterian Church celebrated its 167th birthday on Sunday, March 19th. APRIL 2017 PG 5

6 Session passed a motion to welcome Bill and Autumn Alessio into membership, reconfirm the membership of Cynthia Allison, and to approve the baptism of Nathan Alessio on March 26 th. There will be a joint meeting of Deacons and Elders sometime in May to discuss What does it mean to be a member of First Presbyterian Church of Stockton (in 25 words or less). Following that discussion Session will consider a motion to appoint a subcommittee to work with the Pastor to schedule visits with families who have recently not been attending worship and to draft letters for members who have not attended in the last year asking if they want to be part of our journey forward or if they have found a new worshiping community. There will also be an opportunity sometime in the near future to define the mission of our congregation and the role that Christian Education plays in carrying out that mission. First Presbyterian Church will host the meeting of the Stockton Presbytery on May 6 th. Keep you eyes and ears open for an announcement of the date to go to the Amador Flower Farm. We had a wonderful time last year and want to go back. Date will be chosen closer to the time, depending on weather and other conflicts. It s not too early to be thinking about fresh produce from your own vegetable garden. Fortunately, we have some beds right here at FPC for those who enjoy growing fresh tomatoes, basil, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, etc. They are the perfect solution for those who would like to have a vegetable garden, but don t have enough sun or space for one. We have several beds (measuring approximately 4'x8') just east of the parking lot for adoption. You can reserve an entire bed or just half of one. A drip irrigation system is already in place for each bed and the beds are watered 3 time a week. All you need to do is prepare the plot, plant the plot, and maintain (weed/fertilize) the plot. The bounty is all yours, or you can share with friends, neighbors, or your church family. Anything can be planted in the beds, but because of the size of the garden, smaller or determinate plants (those with a fixed size) will be more successful, i.e. just one zucchini, watermelon, or squash plant can take over an entire bed. Some of the beds will be utilized by Restore s mentoring program, so, if you are interested in adopting a bed or portion of a bed, or have questions, please contact Craig Holmes ( or holmescdm@aol.com; or leave a note for our Office Manager, Suzi. PG 6 APRIL 2017

7 Dear Pastor Kim, Thank you from our whole family for the wonderful service honoring my brother. It was so warm and personal, and your remarks were spoken as if you had known Jeff for so long - it was quite special! I think Christopher especially appreciated your call to the men in the congregation to fill in for his dad. Carol and her crew were amazing and selfless - the meal was served beautifully! Marie did a lovely job at the organ as well. Thank you to everyone at First Presbyterian - so many of our friends commented on the perfect service - it took a great team to do that. With much affection from our whole family. Wendy Roek Weir Dear Friends, Thank you so much for all of the cards, your nice messages and phone calls. I hope that I will be back soon, it has been so long since I ve been there. Thanks again and God bless each of you. Evelyn Morrow I Corinthians 12:26 says: The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don t, the parts we see and the parts we don t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. At First Pres we have a prayer team. Every week all joys and concerns shared in worship as well as prayer requests that come up during the week are ed to the prayer team members. If you would like to pray regularly, send cards and/or make visits to friends and members of our worshipping community, contact our Suzi, Office Manager, or Cheryl. If you signed up, but have not been getting We Care s, please let us know. We can send you updates to your home if you do not have access to . To everyone who celebrates their birthday in April, may it be happy and a very special day. A BIG thank you to Doug, Craig and Victor for repairing the Little Free Library APRIL 2017 PG 7

8 First Presbyterian Church of Stockton 31 E. Vine Street Stockton, CA Phone: Website: fpcstockton.org Business Office Hours: Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The deadline for submission of articles for the May Window is April 20th. APRIL 2017