The Messenger January 2016 First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield

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1 The Messenger January 2016 First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Dear Friends of Faith at First Presbyterian, Grace to you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe,. I echo here the words of the Apostle Paul as he addressed the church of Ephesus in the 1 st Century. I love his prayer, and as pastor and friend to this congregation, I do truly pray his prayer over you. What else could be greater than that God would give to each one of us wisdom about God hearts that have open eyes to know the hope to which we have been called to know our inheritance and the greatness of God s power for those who believe Paul s prayer was addressed over a time of struggle in the church in the world. Then, Christians were seen to be crazy, enemies of the state, good scapegoats for the troubles of the world. Paul wanted the church he had helped to nurture to not be shaking in their boots, but rather to look to God and to see and know what power there is in believing. Only to outsiders does faith look like magical thinking (and only to us sometimes when we are afraid!) Believing, trusting ---is remarkably subversive to the forces of fear, suspicion, cowering, depression. Believing lifts one s eyes and the community we live in together to the grand design of God and to the joy and beauty of realizing that the God of love who shows God s self in Jesus, has both a plan and a future prepared for creation. That plan doesn t mean we lay back and relax---it means we are free to jump forward in action. Believers, at our best, are out in the lead---living, moving, caring, loving, sharing, working for justice---even when the odds look against us. We go out in the lead in our families, in our communities, in our world because we aren t watching the world s direction, we re following the One who goes ahead of us, walking in the Way. As this New Year unfolds with all its trouble and turmoil---may we remember who we are as people of faith and how we might lift the light of hope in our world by living our believing. Take the lead. Gather strength for leadership and hope in worship, in study and in prayer in the community of faith. See you in Church! Pastor Suzan Hawkinson

2 Women s First Presbyterian Deerfield A place for Presbyterian women to connect Save the Date... PW Spiritual Life Lenten Event Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16: Dates Available The new calendar book for 2016 is now available for you to choose a date to donate flowers for the Sunday morning services in the sanctuary, in honor or in memory of loved ones. The book is located at the Friendly Desk. The cost is $35.00 and checks may be made out to P.W. Please send them to Kate Welch, 1800 Hickory Knoll, Deerfield, IL, Or you can leave the payment in the calendar book. The Flower Committee will purchase flowers and create an arrangement for you, which you may take home with you after the 11:00 service. Please return the vase the following week. If you have forgotten to pay for flowers in the past, please send the payment now. The return of all vases would be appreciated. Thank you very much for your donations. Mark your 2016 calendar and plan to attend the Saturday, March 12th PW Spiritual Life program Full Bloom Live Life to the Fullest No Matter Where You re Planted! The program is scheduled from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. Leading our program is retreat leader and Seminary Gal Barbara Shafer. Look for more details in the Sunday bulletins and February Messenger. You won t want to miss this inspiring program! Just a reminder that our Presbyterian Women s calendar runs from September 1, 2015 through June 30, Mission support is a major objective in fulfilling our Christian responsibilities. We are truly grateful to the women who have donated to our Stewardship Drive since it began on September 1. Everyone who makes a donation in this PW year will receive a tax donation letter in early January, acknowledging their contribution. We hope many more of you will join us in this effort to reach our mission goals. Your checks may be mailed to Karen Stopps or left in the PW envelope in the Friendly Office. Thanks for any help you can provide. ~Karen Stopps, Stewardship Chair

3 Courageous Giving 2016 All good gifts come from God... James 1:17 Pledges Received as of Dec 15, 2015 Pledging Units (Individuals or Families) $ 726, out of 383 We thank all of those who have sent in their pledge for our Courageous Giving 2016 Campaign. We are closing in on our goal of $845,000 for the 2016 operating year. As we look around, we can see examples of how our giving, both in dollars and time, is having an impact on our congregation and the world around us. Photos of our youth on their mission trips, the mitten tree full of mittens for Christmas, the food boxes for Thanksgiving, and the beautiful music and voices filling our sanctuary and John Calvin Hall are all reminders. Holy places where we learn, we pray, we celebrate, we grieve and we commune with God and each other are all around us. If you have not sent in your pledge yet it is not too late. Pledge forms are in the pews or in the Church Office. We need to hear from everyone. No gift, no pledge is too small, or unappreciated. Thank you. MONEY MATTERS First, here is a brief review of the first eleven months of Revenue is a bit under budget, as total income is $826,000 compared to budget of $845,000. About 92% of revenue, or $758,000, represents essential support from the congregation. On the expense side, total disbursements are $852,000 compared to budget of $886,000. Being under budget on expenses is mainly a timing issue this gap will be closing in December. With the hope that 2015 pledges are paid in full, we expect to finish the year at, or near, breakeven. Speaking of pledges, although we may have crossed the line into 2016, we will be accepting payments on 2015 pledges for the next few weeks. If you have not already done so, please complete your pledge today. It has been an interesting year in the stock market. After hitting a low of 15,370 in August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has recovered and now (December 16), at 17,750, is very close to where the year started. Looking longer term, over the past five years the market is up over 65% - as a result, many investors have significant unrealized capital gains. The opportunity to donate appreciated stocks continues - the church receives the current value of the stock and the investor receives the full amount as a charitable deduction, but the appreciation is not subject to capital gains tax. This opportunity for a taxadvantaged donation could be used to complete a 2015 pledge, to apply to a 2016 pledge, or just as extra support for our church programs in our building, in our community, and beyond. As always, individual considerations vary, and we urge you to discuss your plans with your financial advisor or accountant. Please check out our new and improved website firstpresdf.org. Much information is immediately available; and for more features, it is a simple process to register and gain access to your pledge history and other useful items. Just click on Give Today and you will have the options to make an immediate donation and to complete your 2016 pledge on-line. The website is a great way to manage your FPCD financial support!

4 Christmas Pageant Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2015 Christmas Pageant a great success! Directors, Amy Browdy and Gabby Ruiter, Youth Choir Director, Michelle Perkowitz, the cast, parents, volunteers and attendees all contributed to a truly memorable pageant. Angels Watching Over Us Thank you to everyone who participated in our Angel Tree Gift Program this year. Forty-eight families in need received gifts of clothes and toys. Thank you for your generosity and sharing spirit. You make a difference!

5 Senior High About 40 Senior High youth and returning college-age Senior High graduates gathered for the annual Turkey Bowl football game and luncheon on November 28th. Many thanks to our tireless Senior High parents for volunteering to referee and cook lunch for the hungry players! Junior High The December fellowship event for our Junior High combined a cookie decorating party and dinner. Attendees enjoyed preparing beautiful holiday sugar cookies for their annual cookie sale fundraiser. Many thanks to anyone who purchased a tasty plate of beautiful holiday cookies to support our Junior High Missions! Senior High families hosted the dinner portion of the Advent Workshop on November 29th. It was a terrific night of fellowship and faith with delicious food and beautiful carols sung by our Senior High youth choir. Save the Date: Feb p.m. - Feed My Starving Children Outing Look for registration on the church website to participate in this outing to Feed My Starving Children. The group will help prepare meals for those who are experiencing hunger worldwide. More than 30 youth and chaperones kicked off winter break with our annual caroling party and progressive dinner. The group caroled at three area retirement/nursing homes, and enjoyed a progressive dinner at three host homes. It was a wonderful evening! Senior High Ski Trip Join us for our annual ski trip! We ll return to Wilderness Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells for this faith-filled, activitypacked trip. Some of the activities available are downhill skiing, tubing, bowling, and a water park. Each evening there will be fellowship time. Registration is open and can be found on the church website. Please register now if your son/daughter would like to attend this fun weekend of fellowship! Senior High Mission Trip We are in the final stages of registration/flight arrangement for the summer mission trip. Please register immediately if your son/daughter plans to attend.

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7 Community Cares Curious about what it means to be a member of the First Pres family? Want to learn more about the church and why we do what we do? Come to the next New Member Inquiry class on Saturday, January 30 from 9am to Noon. Brunch is provided. Childcare is available upon request. Please contact the Friendly Office or Terri (tberardini@firstpresdf.org) to let us know if you'll be present. Cares and Concerns Please pray for: Phyllis and Elwood Baker, Candy Baruffi, Kathy Braunlich, Jim Eager, Jim Gerken, Frances Griffin, Robyn Miller, Shirley Patterson, Jack Pohn, John Reid, Jeanne Salzman, Hannah Stopps, Joan Thompson, John Wilcox, and Tuck Woodson. Christian sympathy to the loved ones of Margaret Hayner. On Sunday, January 10, when we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord in worship, we will also celebrate our recent baptisms during Coffee Fellowship time. Please join us during that time to celebrate the baptismal identity we share in Christ. Registration for Childcare and/or Preschool in Christian Beginnings is underway for the school year which runs Sept 2016 to Aug Please contact Judy Rundell for information or visit the school page on the web site Please contact the CB office ( ) or check out the Preschool page on the church website for more information.

8 New Church Logo Design Considerations We are excited to introduce you to a new logo for the church. For the past decades, we have been using different images of our stained glass windows as a sort of logo. To becoming more intentionally welcoming, we want to reach beyond our walls more effectively. There are many things involved in reaching beyond our walls including compassion, service, invitation, communication. To do communication well, we want our materials to become more recognizable, consistent and memorable to the reader. A Little Background In 2014, the Marketing Task Force studied the question How Can We Be the Best Stewards of Our Gifts to Reach Our Community? The team developed a suite of recommendations to cover many ways we can intentionally invite, welcome and involve those whom God gathers. The Session acted on the 2014 recommendations of the Marketing Task Force and decided to create a new standard look and feel for all church communications, which includes a new logo. A Communications Team then formed to develop these standards, benefitting from a combination of professional expertise from members and an accomplished design contractor. We are grateful for substantial gifts and efforts poured into this important endeavor. When we first examined directions for a new logo, we thought long and hard about the character of the church and the energy we wanted to communicate. We asked our designers to capture the energy and relational ministry within the church. We are a vibrant, multi-generational suburban congregation who worships, studies, serves, enjoys fellowship, and cares for one another and community. We wanted to incorporate an active, welcoming, caring congregation in a new logo. Our designers delivered well, and we are grateful. The new logo, adopted by Session, represents a cross and a crossroads. First Presbyterian is at the crossroads of downtown Deerfield. Our programming provides a crossroads for faith and life, family and friends. Its clear perspective implies active motion, as we are the church, a people on the move animated by our faith. Its color is a symbol of the royalty of Jesus Christ who is head of the church. The tag line Where Faith, Family and Friends Connect underscores the church as a human family where we worship, grow in faith, and serve as a community. As with any change, we anticipate it will take a little familiarity before we grow accustomed to seeing it on our materials. We hope you will join your Session and church staff in celebrating our new logo for our ongoing ministries. Questions? Please contact Pastor Secrest at asecrest@firstpresdf.org. Questions? We d love to hear from you! Pastor Suzan Hawkinson Associate Pastor Alisa Secrest Director of Education and Mission Thom Cunningham Christian Beginnings Director Judy Rundell Director of Music Mike Nelson Organist Bill Crowle Accountant Dilyanka Chardaklieva Office Manager Jori Maguire Administrative Associate Terri Berardini Ministry Intern Lawrence Sharrett Assistant Dir. of Children s Music Michelle Perkowitz Messenger submissions (by the 15th of the month) 824 Waukegan Road Deerfield, IL shawkinson@firstpresdf.org asecrest@firstpresdf.org tcunningham@firstpresdf.org jrundell@firstpresdf.org mikenelson71@comcast.net bcrowle@firstpresdf.org dchardaklieva@firstpresdf.org jmguire@firstpresdf.org tberardini@firstpresdf.org larrysharrett@yahoo.com mperk3@gmail.com tberardini@firstpresdf.org