October Grapevine. Jeremiah 5:24. 'They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its

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1 October Grapevine Jeremiah 5:24 'They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, both the autumn rain and the spring rain, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest Church Office:

2 133 East North Street Geneseo, IL Inside This Issue of the Grapevine Table of Contents From Your Pastor... 3 Announcements & News... 4 News From... 5 Musical Notes... 6 Presbyterian Women... 7 Geneseo Food Pantry... 8 Birthdays and Anniversaries... 9 October Worship Schedule Prayers of the People Our prayers continue for Shane Haas, Janet Borkgren, Sandy Haas, Carol (Mrs. R.C.) Johnson, Phyllis Keag, Pat Williams, Archie Cullen, Gen Atwell, Terry Hein, Betty Miller, Helen Ellsberry, Dennis Carton, Chuck Grunwald, & The Stephens Family. 2

3 From Your Pastor If we could travel in time back to ancient Israel, we would see an interesting sight at harvest time. A farmer would get a large basket and gather up some of each of his crops wheat, barley, grapes, olives, apples. He would put them in a basket and take them not to his house, not to a neighbor, but to the Temple. There he would dedicate them to God. This was the offering of first fruits. Along with the offering, the farmer would recite a statement of faith. He would acknowledge that it was God who had freed him from bondage in Egypt and given him his land in the land of Israel. In this way he would admit that all he had, the very land from which his crops grew, was the gift of God. And the whole service of dedication would end with a celebration of sharing: Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) In most churches fall is the stewardship season. Here at First Presbyterian the Session, Deacons, and committees are busy preparing a budget for Soon the Session will be appealing to you to make a financial pledge toward that budget. Your pledge is like the first fruits of the harvest that the Israelite dedicated to God. The church needs your financial support to provide worship, education, fellowship, pastoral care, and mission. But more important, you need to pledge. Making a tangible commitment to God through the church is one way of acknowledging that all that we have comes from God. It is a way to grow in faith and discipleship. What God has given us is not fully ours. It is ours to use responsibly for the good of our neighbors. We are stewards of the good things God has given us. One way to celebrate God s goodness is to share it with the church and with those in need. Tim 3

4 Announcements & News Finance Update Wednesday Bible Study Our Church Budget Update: Y-T-D through September 2014 Budget Income $72, Budget Expenses $87, Deficit $ -15, In Bible Study we are in the middle of a study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. When we have finished that, we will begin a study of one of the strangest books of the Bible, Revelation. We will try to get beyond the misuse of Revelation as the key to unlocking the secrets of current and future events. Rather we will try to understand what is the central message of the book which made it meaningful to its original readers in the first century, and equally meaningful to a multitude of Christians at many different times and places in Christian history. Bible Study meets on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome and you can join the group at any time. Pastor Tim Freezer Meal Fellowship Saturday When: Saturday, October 25, 2014 Time: TBD by what works best for everyone that signs up. The idea of this day is to spend time in fellowship with each other As well as to take this: And turn it into this: Let s face it life gets busy and how nice would it be to have a few meals in the freezer ready to go when you have forgotten to plan a meal for the night. The idea would be to get together and have everyone that participates take home the same three meals with them. I have a list of recipes to choose from and the three most popular recipes will be the ones that we will make. I will do all the shopping that is required to make the recipes and to store them; this way when you show up everything is all ready to go for you. The only thing that I ask from you is a $10 deposit. This deposit is just to ensure that I do not have people sign up and then they do not show up. When buying the supplies for the meals I will be buying for the amount of people that will be here so I would like it to be as accurate as possible. If you have a friend or family member that you think would enjoy this and benefit from it I would love to have you bring them along as well. 4

5 If you are interested in participating please contact me at the church office at , or on my cell at You could also leave me a note on my desk in the office. I will keep track of who signs up and deposits up until Friday, October 24 th, that is when I will go and do the shopping. Recipes to consider: Baked Ziti, Chicken Parmesan Casserole, Mexican Chicken Chili, French Dip Sandwiches, Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells, Chicken Enchiladas, Meatless Enchilada Casserole, Coconut Lime Chicken, Honey Dijon Chicken, Freezer Pulled Pork, Pizza Pasta Bake, White Chicken Chili, Potato Soup, Black Bean Taco Soup, Slow Cooker Pineapple Glazed Ham, Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Slow Cooker Sweet Teriyaki Chicken, Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops & Potatoes, Slow Cooker Newlywed Beef Tips, White Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Million Dollar Casserole, Stuffed Mexican Shells, Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole, Burrito Pie, Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, & Easy Cheeseburger Casserole. Heritage Sunday will be Sunday, November 2, This service is to celebrate our heritage and also to honor our members who have been with loyal to our church for 50 plus years. If you are a 50 year member please plan on attending this service and allowing us to celebrate your commitment to our church. Veterans Day will be celebrated on Sunday, November 9, We will recognize our veterans during this service. If you are a veteran and new to the church could you please contact Virginia Nelson at so she can get your information for this service. Please plan on attending this service and allowing us to honor the service that you have provided us. News From The Sunday School classes have started the year learning about the Lord's Prayer, and in October we will begin a curriculum about the Ten Commandments. On Rally Day the students served breakfast to the congregation before worship. Please drop in on Sunday mornings to see what we are doing. We'd love to share our activities with you. 5

6 Musical Notes The first thing I want to say in this month s missal is that I am very pleased with the musical presentations we had this past month. We began with the Celebration Band, the choir is back from a short summer, and we ended with the Blackhawk Bagpipe Band what a month. And we found an excellent flutist (Kylie Gember) for when our homegrown Robin is unavailable. Kylie also plays the piano I ll have to investigate that further. As a matter of note: This year your choir is going to attempt to sing a few more difficult pieces. They are a lot more fun to sing and more interesting to hear. The problem with that is we should have more members to be able to make the sounds that are required. To keep the costs down, we will be singing anthems that have been sung in the past, with a few brand new ones thrown in for variety. (It s great to have an in with other churches that are willing to lend us some of their tried and true tunes.) But to make these ambitions a reality, we really need a few people to step up and make a commitment to sing in the choir. If we can get members who can only commit for one or two Sundays a month that would be fine we can schedule the more challenging music for those Sundays. But we need help!! Adults and junior/senior high school age. I can see the children singing with us occasionally. Come spend an hour to an hour and a half with us on Thursday evenings 7 to 8: its fun, it s relaxing, and it greatly benefits your church. As Dr. David Rash once said, I joined the choir because I didn t want to see the choir go away. I didn t realize how much enjoyment I would get from it. Thank you for your continued support. George 6

7 Presbyterian Women Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. (NLT) PW October Meetings Faith Circle Lamplighters Circle Date: October 15, 2014 Date: October 27, 2014 Time: 9:00 a.m. Time: 7:00 p.m. Hostess: Barb Schang Hostess: Evelyn Leonhart Lesson: Louise Rash Lesson: Sharon Esche Thank Offering Sunday, October 19th Thank Offering is a special offering take in the fall for designated project that are decided by The Creative Offering Committee of the Church wide PW Coordinating Team. Forty percent (40%) supports medical mission. Of the 62 applications received this year the committee selected 30 to receive funding. 17 of the projects are ministries serving people in need in the United States, and 13 projects are International. More than 40% of the projects funded this year are health ministries. Thank offering envelops will be inserted in the bulletins on Sundays October 19th and 26th. Please make checks payable to Presbyterian Women. Beth Simpson PW Together in Mission Coordinator 7

8 From the Geneseo Food Pantry October 2014 Newsletter Hard times are still upon us and that is being reflected in the number of households we are serving each month. In August we broke another record; distributing food to 92 households. With colder months ahead, we expect this number to continue rising. We are consistently in need of food donations. Please continue to keep us in mind when you are doing your own grocery shopping. If you would like to make a monetary donation designated for food purchases, you many indicate that on your check. We are able to purchase some items from River Bend Foodbank at.18 cents per pound. For the entire month of October Geneseo Super Wash, at 810 W. Main Street, will be donating 50 cents to the Food Pantry for every fully paid automatic car wash. If you prefer to use tokens, they will also donate $1.00 for every set purchased (5 for $22.00). We are in need of a volunteer to help in our clothing rooms on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00. Please consider donating your time and talents. Just call the Pantry at if interested. Weather like this means the holidays are not far away. The Food Pantry staff begins making plans for receiving and distributing Thanksgiving food baskets and Christmas gifts for client families. Every year your Christian love is demonstrated in the many ways you make the holidays better for the less fortunate in our area. For many years members of the community have assisted client families in need during Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. This year will be no exception. Help can be given in many forms including ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner, gift certificates for singles or elderly, food drives, or monetary donations, just to name a few. To find out more about adopting a family for Thanksgiving or Christmas, please contact us. Please continue to pray for our clients that they may find strength and comfort in God, as well as have enough for basic needs. Thank you for your continued support of our ministry. Food needs this month are: canned soup (any), spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce, elbow macaroni, and stuffing mix Non-food needs: mouthwash, any cleaning products, toilet paper, shampoo, and diapers (sizes 5 and 6) Drop boxes at the church for Food Pantry donations are located outside the church office and in the coat room off the front entrance of the church. Donations are always appreciated and especially encouraged on the third Sunday of the month, which is designated Food Pantry Sunday. 8

9 Birthdays and Anniversaries October 12 th Bill & Nancy Noord October Lloyd Vespermann 7 Pat Williams 8 Jim Schaefer 14 Kayla Simpson 16 Don Griffith 17 Bill Noord 19 **Bernard Achterhof** 19 Andrea Lyman 21 Bonnie Asay 21 Darlene Christiance 21 Roger Stancliff 22 Callie VanKerrebroeck 23 Kelli Williams 24 Ken Atwell 24 Louise Rash 25 Randy Hugh 29 Marian Keag 29 Lily Johnson 30 Pam Durian 30 Alison Johnson October 18 th Sheldon & Ethel Schroeder October 19 th Doug & Melanie Curran If your birthday or anniversary is not listed, please call the church office. **Golden Ager** 9

10 October Worship Schedule October 5 October th Sunday after Pentecost 18 th Sunday after Pentecost Holy Communion 9:45 a.m. Confirmation & Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Confirmation & Sunday school 11:00 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. Worship 12:00 p.m. After Church Coffee 12:00 p.m. After Church Coffee Sermon: The Fruit of the Spirit Sermon: What s Going On in Here? is Strawberries (Psalms 19) (Galatians 5:16-25 & Psalms 1) October 19 October th Sunday after Pentecost 20 th Sunday after Pentecost 9:45 a.m. Confirmation Class & Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Confirmation Class & Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. Worship 12:00 p.m. After Church Coffee 12:00 p.m. After Church Coffee Sermon: Return to Sender Sermon: The Fruit of the Spirit (Matthew 22:15-22; Psalms 99) is Peaches (Gal. 5:16-25; Psalms 145:1-9) Deadline for article submission will be October 20 th for November s Grapevine. Monthly Publication of First Presbyterian Church 133 E. North St. PO Box 196, Geneseo, IL Volume 34, No