The Presbyterian Bridge Celebrating our uniqueness Coming together in Christ

Transcription

1 The Presbyterian Bridge Celebrating our uniqueness Coming together in Christ first presbyterian church of menominee information for members and friends of november 2017 Joint Men s Club The Men s club will be ringing the bell for the Salvation Army on Friday, December 1 at Jack s Grocery store on Roosevelt Road. In order to cover the entire day, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., we welcome all men and women to sign up for a one hour shift. A signup sheet will be available at Pioneer and/or please call either church office. Daylight Savings Ends Remember to turn your clocks back this month. Daylights savings ends on November 5, 2017! All Saints Sunday On Sunday, November 5, we will celebrate All Saints Sunday at both Pioneer Presbyterian and First Presbyterian Church of Menominee. If you would like to have a deceased loved one listed in the bulletin, please call your church office during business hours or leave a message. lindividuals will be invited to light a candle during worship in honor of their loved ones who have preceded us into the glorious company of the saints.

2 counting your blessings When Karah was little, we used to read to her from The Berenstain Bears books. These books were filled with good, wholesome life lessons. One of my favorites was Counting Your Blessings where Mama Bear taught Sister Bear to be thankful instead of angry and resentful. The apostle Paul shared Mama Bear s appreciation for gratitude. In his letter to the Colossians, he prescribes that the Christian life is one of gratitude and thanksgiving: As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7) Like Mama Bear, Paul understood that thanksgiving needs to be encouraged along with an appreciation for what we have been given in Christ. An outlook of gratitude requires both practice and appreciation because ultimately gratitude is a choice. When we give thanks to God for our many blessings and practice gratitude in our lives through our actions then we choose to take on a Christ-like outlook of gratitude. We choose to enter into thanksgiving to God for what we have received. The more often we choose to enter into thanksgiving, the more thankful and gracious we become. However, the more often we complain and criticize, the further we are separated from the life that Christ calls us to share. When we criticize and complain, we choose to take on a spirit of discontent. We soon find ourselves angry, dissatisfied and jealous of others. Our perspective becomes smaller and our concerns greater. We begin to see the world only from our small point of view and we ignore the greater picture. An outlook of gratitude extends our perspective and allows us to share in the joy of others goodwill. It allows us to see ourselves and others from God s perspective. We are opened to a richer and fuller world. We are open to the grace and peace of Christ. Thankfully, it is never too late to practice thanksgiving. It begins with counting our blessings and thanking God for what we have received. It is then carried out into the world when we humbly thank those around us. It is fostered in our prayers and nurtured in our actions. As Christians, thanksgiving shouldn t be something we do once a year. It is a discipline to be practiced every moment of our lives. November is Stewardship month. Soon you will be receiving a pledge card in the mail. Please take a moment to practice the discipline of thanksgiving by sitting down and pondering all that God has provided for you this year and the blessings you have received. Then, fill out your pledge card and return it to the church. As is our tradition, we will be dedicating all received pledges on Sunday, December 3rd, the first week of Advent. Finally, let me end by counting my blessings and thanking God for each and every one of you. I am thankful for our hard-working elders, deacons, and Sunday school teachers. I am thankful for 150 years of faith at both of these churches. I am thankful for a wonderful staff. I am thankful for the privilege of being your pastor. And above all I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray that you have a joyous and gracious Thanksgiving celebration. Thank you for sharing Christ with me and my family. Blessings in Christ, Pastor Jon Pastor s Bible Study Please note that as we enter the Thanksgiving holiday we will not meet for Bible Study on Wednesday, November 22. Blessings to you all. DEADLINE for the December 2017 Issue of The Presbyterian Bridge is NOVEMBER 20th. To ensure that your article will be included, please submit your materials on time! 2

3 NEWS for November ~ Our Music Trio - Charlie, Joan and Rich - shared their musical talents with us in October! Thank you for sharing your musical gifts! BIRTHDAYS 8 Barbara Campbell 9 Carson Erdman 19 Mark Franzen 21 Sue Landenberger 24 Susan Mars ANNIVERSARIES 26 Rich & Nancy Ulrich GREETERS 5 Tom & Julie Skrzypinski 12 Bob & Sue Landenberger 19 Karen Hipwell & Nancy Ulrich 26 Ann & Jean Eggener MUSICIANS 5 Susan Thornton 12 Marilyn Schoen 19 Joan Campbell 26 OPEN COFFEE HOSTS 5 Liz Murphy 12 Ellis Langjahr 19 Bob & Sue Landenberger 26 OPEN 3

4 NEWS for Christmas Program & Potluck Dec. 10, 2017 at 9:00 am Christmas, Jesus and Santa Please join us after the service for a Potluck Lunch! We will be accepting cash donations for homeless high school students in our community. The outreach committee will match donations received up to $200. Please join us in fellowship and help young people in need. Pioneer Family & Kids Activities Be sure to save the following dates! Wednesday, November 1 at 6:30 pm Visiting and playing board games with residents of The Renaissance. We will meet there. Sunday, December 3 at 9:00 am Christmas program practice during Sunday School Wed, December 6 (tentative) Activity night with light supper, program practice, bell ringing and angel tree shopping! We will continue to have Sunday School every Sunday during worship. No Sunday School on December 24 or 31. Pioneer Christmas Party for Adults We will be having our Christmas party on Sunday, Dec. 3 at Little River Country Club. Packer game is at 12 noon. Social hour at 5:00, dinner at 6:00. Dinner will be served family style and will include water, coffee, rolls, butter, salad, deep fried chicken, tenderloin tips, mashed potatoes and gravy, baby carrots, green beans and dessert for $ The traditional white elephant gift exchange will follow the meal. White elephant gifts can be anything from not so nice to nice gifts. A signup sheet will be available by the Church entrance as we get closer to the date. Please join us for this delicious meal and fun event. Presbyterian Women Pioneer s Presbyterian Women will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 6pm in the Riverside Room at church. Dr. Jim Boren will present pictures and information about his trip to Egypt. All women and friends of Pioneer are invited to attend. Desert and coffee willl be served. Please RSVP to Pat Pottratz at or Liz Murphy at Finance Committee News We have noticed that our expenses are consistently exceeding our contributions. Please keep our church in mind when considering charitable contributions and year-end donations. Thank you. 4

5 NEWS for first presbyterian church of menominee Book Club The next meeting for the Book Club will be Thursday, November 16 at 6:30 p.m. Please note, because of Thanksgiving, we will be meeting a week earlier than ususal. We meet at Harbors in the fourth floor library. This month s selection is The Zookeeper s Wife by Diane Ackerman. We welcome new members and would love to have you join us to share your favorite books with us. If you need a ride please call Janet Johnson at We will not be meeting in December. Reminders The first Sunday of each month is the Food Pantry Collection. The Deacons gather the donations and distribute to local food pantries. The loose coin offering is collected the third Sunday of each month. All change is donated to local mission work. Anyone wishing to sign up for Flowers or Coffee Hour can do so on the bulletin board in the Gathering Room. The sign-up sheets are for a three-month period but if there is a special date that isn t there and you would like to reserve it, please contact the church office and it will be reserved on the calendar. If you know of someone who would like to added to our current homebound church list, please contact the church office as we update it frequently. Mission News We will continue to collect personal items for men, women, and teens. These items will be donated to The Abundant Life Mission (the homeless shelter). Please place your donations in the basket in the Gathering Room. Thank You! Presbyterian Women The Presbyterian Women s Club of First Presbyterian Church of Menominee will meet on Thursday, November 2 in the library at 10:00 a.m.. We will be planning the December Craft and Bake sale and discussing the recent Rummage Sale. This is open to everyone and hope that you join us. Backpack & Christmas Shoebox Project 2017 School supplies are now coming out in the stores for the upcoming school year. Would you consider buying a few extra for the annual Backpack and Christmas Shoebox projects? Backpacks, 2 pocket folders, 3 X 5 index cards, colored pencils, scissors, liquid glue, crayons, pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, notebooks, watercolor paints, glue sticks and small notebooks are just some suggestions. They don t accept scissors or liquid glue for the shoebox project. As always, MONETARY DONATIONS are excepted if you would prefer us to do the shopping. Donations can be dropped off at the church office. Thank you Debbie Hofer and Linda Engeldinger. November Birthdays 4 Jane Stripling 6 Janet Evans Smith 9 Janice Wilke 10 Sandra Fernstrum 15 William Bennett 24 Donna Rife 25 Erika Schloegel 25 Janet Schloegel 28 Charles Ferm 5

6 Celebrating our uniqueness Coming together in Christ Pastor Jon Nelson first presbyterian church of menominee 923 5th Street Menominee, MI Administrative Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 noon 1947 Riverside Avenue Marinette, WI office@pioneermarinette.org Administrative Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 noon SESSION Clerk of Session Donna Rife Building & Grounds Steve Engeldinger Christian Education Kay Waypa Fellowship Steve Engeldinger Finance Leigh Howell Mission Patricia Johnson & Jane Stripling Personnel Sam Hofer Worship Patricia Johnson, DeeAnne Polhmann Evangelism/Membership Sam Hofer BOARD OF DEACONS Moderator Alice Estebo Alice Estebo Janet Johnson MaryAnn Langill Pam Maye Carol Mick Mary Nelson Sue Plautz Ann Schultz Janet Smith Carol Symyneshen Helen Thibodeau SESSION Clerk of Session Karen Bickel Administration Liz Murphy Building & Grounds Joe Reines Christian Education Ann Eggener Finance Bill Lenca Memorial & Mission Karen Bickel Outreach & Fellowship Ellis Langjhar Personnel Karen Buyarski Worship & Music Rich Ulrich Nominating Joe Reines BOARD OF DEACONS Co-Moderators Marilyn Galineau Pat Pottratz Secretary Linda Baumler Sarah Austad Linda Baumler Marguerite Braley Karen Curtis Mark Franzen Karen Hipwell Barb Kopish Sue Ochs Myrna Stanley