FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Volume 7. No. 3 August October 2017 Newsletter The Blessing that Changed My Life and My Church God loves you, and so do I, my son lisps as he kisses my forehead. I return the blessing, listening as the ritual of love echoes from sister to brother, from father to son. And I know it is true. Deep in my bones, in the darkest recesses of my soul, I know it is true: We are loved by God and by one another. Every night, my heart simply bursts with the love and grace and truth. But it wasn t always this way As a family with two young children and two pastors serving two different churches, our home life is harried. You would think a family led by clergy would have faith formation covered, but the sad truth is church schedules and the challenges of professional faith leadership can wreak havoc on a home. We usually managed a bedtime prayer and a rousing rendition of this little light of mine but it wasn t enough. So, encouraged by the work of Rich Melheim and Fatih Inkubators, we embraced the Faith 5: - SHARE your highs and lows - READ a Bible verse or story - TALK about how the Bible reading might relate to your highs and lows - PRAY for one another's highs and lows - BLESS one another In our house, we usually share our thumbs up and thumbs down at dinner and read a bedtime story from the Bible. Sometimes we talk about what we read and almost always pray, but we never ever miss the blessing. It s the sacred moment when our love for one another connects seamlessly with our love for God. These simple, powerful steps transformed our family life, and we didn t even need to buy a curriculum! Suddenly, all the things we were already doing sharing, reading, talking, praying and even the good night kiss became part of our family faith formation. Soon I began to wonder, if this work so well in our home, what about in our church? At Faith Presbyterian we ve been welcoming people of all ages into worship for a few years. We created a PrayGround at the front of our sanctuary to give families the space to move and engage in our traditional setting. We have a lot of fun during the service and love the joy and life the kids bring! But worshipping alongside children is not quite the same as worshipping with children. Page 1

2 We have the kids and the adults in the space, now how do we bring them together? How do we help them tell their stories and pray for one another? How do we foster relationships and build cross+generational community? How do we become the Body of Christ? Inspired by my experience of Faith 5 at home, I decided to experiment with it in worship. After all, share, read, talk, pray, and bless are authentic and traditional service movements. If these s could bring us together in the home, why not in the sanctuary? In order to reduce anxiety and keep everyone open to new experiences, we kept the basic flow of the service but before we began the prayer of confession, I encouraged folks to form small groups around the sanctuary or use Faith 5 as a personal spiritual in the tradition of the Examen. I closed the PrayGround and guided anxious but willing kids and elders to share and interpret the Word together. It was beautiful! We d Faith 5 Worship every Sunday in October and we will return to it at least once a quarter, but one movement remains every week: We form a circle around the sanctuary, literally knit together in a single body. As we gaze upon the faces of the family of God - young and old, black and white, refugee and native-born, long-time members and first-time visitors - we hear the charge, that the love of Christ that dwells within you can reach out and touch others through you. Then we turn to one another, crouch down or reach up, grasp hands, touch foreheads, kiss cheeks, and know the truth: God loves you, and so do I. Grace and Jake in the midst of the assurance that God loves you, and so do I. P a g e 2

3 Your Church Staff & Leaders Pastoral Team Pastor: Rev. Karen Ware Jackson Pastoral Associate: Rev. Jim Rissmiller Pastor: Prince Mundeke Mushunju Music Director: René Summerlin Child Care Coordinator: Michelle Watkins Office Administrator: Beverly Lucas Officers and Leaders Class of 2017 Bonnie Maready: Christian Education Larry Jones: Congregational Care Class of 2018 Lois Bazhaw: Missions Kelly Maher: Worship Class of 2019 Graham Pope: Buildings and Grounds Lorraine Holman: Stewardship Clerk of Session: Betty Rissmiller Treasurer: Tim Maher Elders of the Month Schedule August: Graham Pope & Kelly Maher September: Lois Bazhaw & Lorraine Holman October: Bonnie Maready & Larry Jones Treasurer s Report Year to Date 1/1/17 to 6/30/2017 Actual Budgeted Difference Income $51, $60, ($9,207.71) Expenses $59, $62, $3, Overall Total ($7,763.06) ($2,005.80) ($5,757.26) 30-Day Report 6/1/2017 6/30/2017 Actual Budgeted Difference Income $10, $10, $ Expenses $12, $10, ($2,523.46) Overall Total ($2,668.21) ($366.98) ($2,301.23) G.U.M Food Please place your non-perishable items in the basket marked Please Fill Me Up Again GUM Loves Faith in the Narthex. Pennies for Hunger August 27 th, September 24 th, and October 22 nd Come forward during the final hymn with your donations to this most worthy cause. Pastor s Discretionary Fund Please consider donating to this fund to assist with our ongoing ministry needs! P a g e 3

4 Joys and Concerns August Birthdays September Birthdays October Birthdays Jo Anne Jennings 8-Aug Elana Levy 8-Aug Helen Hall 16-Aug Ann Huffine 23-Aug August Anniversaries Larry & Sandy Jones 5-Aug Mike & Bonnie Maready 9-Aug Ed & Marge Mack 21-Aug Bob & Marge Zeliff 29-Aug Ben Maready 5-Oct Dee McGhee 1-Sep Beth Roberts 11-Oct Sandra Jones 3-Sep Michelle Watkins 11-Oct Rob Jackson 5-Sep Kem Gomo 22-Oct Myah D'Agostino 21-Sep Jim Rissmiller 27-Oct September Anniversaries October Anniversaries Graham & Peggy Pope 2-Sep Dennis & Daphne Atkinson 27-Oct Tim & Laura Maher 29-Sep Did we miss your birthday or anniversary? Please let us know so that we can update our records! You can find Member Information Forms outside of the church office. You can also , call, or leave a note in Beverly s mailbox with any updates. Faith Presbyterian s List Larry Avent and Family Rick Barreau The Family of Jim Bodkin Priscilla Christiansen Bertha Collins (Ralph Bazhaw s sister) Vicki Duncan Bonnie Evans The Family of Clyde Fraley Kem Gomo Pat Greeson Helen Hall Harold Henderson The Family of Sandy Henderson Judy Herron and Family Sara Kearns Tommy Knight (Betsy Rule s cousin) Stephanie Lindley and Family Marge Mack The Family of Andy Moye Garth and Inky Payne Georgia Renfrow The Sharon Family Patricia Shoffner (René s mother) Bill Summerlin (René s father-in-law) Karen Thomas (Helen Hall s daughter) The Family of Ken Wheat Marge Zeliff P a g e 4

5 From the Music Director, René Summerlin Fall is often thought of as a time of endings: the ending of summer s long, hot days and vacations from school and work coming to an end. Fall is when we expect the fun times to be over as we get back into the routine of our jobs and as students return to classes. What if we change our perspective? Let s think of Autumn as a time of renewal and new beginnings. A New School Year Begins... We can refocus on our work and create a new beginning for ourselves in our jobs... New opportunities arise in our church during the Fall... Our music program at Faith Presbyterian is poised for growth and change. We are excited about preparing for some very important musical offerings in the seasons of our church life: Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, etc. to name a few. How will you get involved with the music of our church? o Why not join in by singing in the choir? o Will you help with special music on 5 th Sundays? o Can you play an instrument to glorify God? Think of how you might take time to focus on this season as a time of change and renewal in your life. We need every person in our church community personally committed to making OUR church family the best it can be! As you consider how your musical gifts can add to our worship services, also think of how you might involve your children or neighbors who need a nudge or a personal invitation. Give me a call or send me an . I would love to have the problem of needing to order more songbooks because the choir is so full of excited folks making a joyful noise! r.s.summerlin@gmail.com mobile home P a g e 5

6 January-June 2017 Faith Members have contributed to Greensboro Urban Ministries: Food total of 707# for the 6 months. Powdered Milk -14 cases 742# The Mission s Committee takes the month s food contributions after the last Sunday in each month. The weight is posted on the bulletin board across from the stairs to the Sanctuary. We are accepting contributions to the Powdered Milk Fund throughout the year. The next purchase will be at the end of June. Please consider donating every quarter to the milk fund. Pennies for Hunger: April -$48.83 May June $38.42 RECYCLE Glasses: Have some old glasses to be recycled? Bring them in. and place in the box outside of church office. HELP SOMEONE SEE. Styrofoam Recycling: This is a new recycling program and we are off to a good start. Two loads of block type Styrofoam and food container Styrofoam have been taken to DART Company in Randleman, NC. A large green plastic storage container is located under the card table in the Narthex. Just place your CLEAN Styrofoam in the container and a member of the Mission s Committee will transport it to DART to be recycled. Thanks for helping to help protect our environment. P a g e 6

7 The Christmas in July Excursion to Samaritan s Purse was a wonderful and eye-opening event. We will be filling the Shoe Boxes with the desired items (soap, tooth brush, clothes and toys, etc.). The book about Jesus, printed in the local language, is added when the boxes arrive in country. The shoe boxes are the vehicle that brings the Good News of Jesus to the children. Classes follow and a gift of a Bible in their language is given to children who complete the classes. Mission s Committee will be giving out the boxes to be filled. Presbyterian Special Offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing: $ collected. Pentecost Offering for Children and Youth $388 collected/ $ stays at Faith for our Youth ministry. An Offering for our Missionaries will be collected in August. Our missionaries, Charles and Melissa Johnson, will be at Faith on Sunday, August 20th at 6 PM to share their experiences during their ministry in Zambia. A covered dish meal is planned. It isn t often that a small church is blessed with the presence of their missionaries in person. We hope you will take time to come back to church that Sunday evening to eat, hear their presentation and support them with a donation. Children s Hope Alliance: This offering collected in October. (Formerly Barium Springs.) Joy Gift Christmas offering in December: Assistance for retired church employees in need. P a g e 7

8 News and Announcements Church in the Park Church in the Park has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 8 th at Gibson Park, Shelter 1 (5207 W. Wendover Ave.). Faith turns 60! 2017 marks Faith s 60 th anniversary! We are excited to announce that we will hold a day of worship and celebration in honor of this milestone on Saturday, October 28 th. We ll be inviting former ministers and staff and of course we hope to see as many of our current members and friends as possible! More details will be coming over the next few months, but we anticipate a wonderful day of revisiting memories, joyous fellowship, and renewing our bonds of community. We will, of course, need your help to ensure Faith shines on this important day. If you are interested in assisting with clean-up days or other aspects of Faith s anniversary party, please get in touch with Betty Rissmiller, the chair of the anniversary committee. Mobility Access We are delighted to announce that we have plans to make worship at Faith more accessible! Funds have been donated to put in a chair lift for easier access to the sanctuary. Sidewalk Construction The City of Greensboro will be starting construction for installation of a sidewalk across the front of the church property along Friendly Avenue in the near future. We have granted a construction lease deed for that purpose, and will receive cash remuneration in return. School Supplies Donation Drive It s Back to School soon! We re collecting donations of school supplies and book bags until Friday, August 18th. As far as the supplies we need: glue sticks, pencils, hand sanitizer, tissue, paper, colored markers, and rulers are all welcome purchases. If you have questions, please contact Mikhail Stephens for more information! P a g e 8

9 August 2017 Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :00am Worship and Communion 3 pm -English 11 am Women s Circle :00am Worship 3 pm -English 4 pm - Session :00 am Worship 3 p.m. -English 6pm Potluck with Charles & Melissa Johnson :00 Worship, Pennies for Hunger 12:00 pm- Fellowship Brunch 3 p.m. -English P a g e 9

10 September 2017 Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :30am Sunday School 11:00am Worship and Communion 3 pm -English English Choir :30am Sunday School 11:00am Worship 3 pm -English 4 pm - Session 11 am Women s Circle English Choir :30 am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship 3 p.m. -English English Choir :30am Sunday School 11:00 am Worship, Pennies for Hunger 12:00 pm- Fellowship Brunch 3 p.m. -English English Choir P a g e 10

11 October 2017 Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Church in the Park has been rescheduled for Oct. 8 th! :30 Sunday School 11:00 Worship, Communion 3 pm. - English Anonymo us CHURCH IN THE PARK 3 p.m. - English 4 pm - Session 11:00 a.m.- Women s Circle Anonymo us :30 Sunday School 11:00 Worship 3 p.m. - English Anonymo us :30 Sunday School 11:00 Worship, Pennies for Hunger 12:00 p.m. Fellowship Brunch 3 p.m. - English :30 Sunday School 11:00 Worship 3 p.m. - English Anonymo us Choir and FAITH S 60 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION On Saturday, October 28 th, we will have a celebration in honor of Faith s 60 th anniversary. More information is coming soon! P a g e 11

12 FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 6309 W. FRIENDLY AVENUE GREENSBORO, NC Telephone: Website: We are a loving faith family, worshipping and serving God, and testifying in word and deed as disciples of Jesus Christ. P a g e 12