Portal A NEW YEAR, A NEW DECADE. Pastor Andrew FOUR AWARDED DOOLEY SCHOLARSHIP JANUARY 2017

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1 Portal Rev. Andrew Pomerville, Senior Pastor Rev. Drew Filkins, Associate Pastor Alan Canady, Chairperson, Council of Elders JANUARY 2017 Monthly Newsletter of The Peoples Church, 200 W. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI l l ThePeoplesChurch.com A NEW YEAR, A NEW DECADE What is it about the start of the new year inspires many of us to reflect on anniversaries and special dates? I hadn t thought of it until the calendar flipped over on Jan. 1, but this year marks my 10th in ordained ministry one full decade as a minister of word and sacrament, called and installed as pastor of a local parish. Ten years ago, I never would have expected to have experienced all of the highs and lows of ministry that I have known. And while 10 years seems like a long time to me, it is nowhere close to the ministry tenures of my colleagues and friends in our four denominations who have been serving local churches for many more decades. I like to think of myself as experienced, but experienced in what? Very few of my most memorable moments as a pastor are ones I could have truly anticipated the celebrations and the tragedies, the successes and the growing edges. Did the founders of The Peoples Church have any idea what was in store for this place after their first 10 years? After their first 100 hundred years even? How can we really know what tomorrow will bring? After 10 years as a pastor, I am still worrying that I will not be in tune enough to God s voice to really hear my call, our call and the call for our world to be a visible sign of God s Kingdom. Our wonderful church financial administrator, Dee Przybylski, often reminds me to stop worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself (she pulled this paraphrase from a pretty good source Matthew 6:25-34). Why do I worry about tomorrow so much? Why do so many of us worry about the next week, the next year, the next whatever for wherever? So here s my New Year s request Remind me, as well as one another, NOT TO WORRY ABOUT YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW! Instead, let us prayer for one another today, in this moment, and in this place. Let us not look back with regret and help us not look forward with worry. Instead, let us look around at today and strive to be God s people here and now. And by so doing, we will bring great comfort, strength and hope to our world. Peace be with you and Happy New Year! Pastor Andrew FOUR AWARDED DOOLEY SCHOLARSHIP In December, we celebrated the four recipients of The Peoples Church Academic Scholarship Award. Established in 2006 by Ron and Carol Dooley, it has been awarded to 33 of our wonderful young people. This Last year s scholarship was awarded to Benjamin Buttery, Rachel Ledubuher, Paul Przybylski and Matthew Watson. These recipients are college students who have grown up here and served in a variety of capacities. BENJAMIN BUTTERY remembers fondly his time participating in Vacation Bible School at Woldumar and Sunday School. Through these programs and the volunteers, he learned what grace was and how it impacted people s lives. Ben is a student at Lansing Community College. RACHEL LEDUBUHR credits the mission focus of The Peoples Church for her decision for joining the Peace Corp. In conjunction with our church family, she built houses in Trinidad and Tobago, installed bunk beds in South Dakota, painted schools in Mexico, taught and played with orphans in the Dominican Republic. Upon discovering the Applied Science Education program in the Peace Corps Masters International track, she said, My heart actually leapt. Rachel is in Mozambique teaching for see SCHOLARSHIP, Page 2

2 PEOPLES CHURCH CAMPUS MINISTRY Offer Students rides to Sunday Worship As temperatures drop, the less pleasant it is for our college students who walk or ride a bike to worship. If you don t mind picking up a couple of local students on your way to the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, please give me at call at or me at eaho@thepeopleschuch.com We will work around your schedule. With Gratitude, Betsy Aho JANUARY BIRTHDAYS *80 & OVER 1 - Margaret Ward 3 - Helen Ward 8 - Susan Allis 10 - Daisy Hayed 11 - Charles Long 17 - Don Dickson 18 - Marilyn Ledebuhr 19 - Robert Erbes 20 - Marjorie Tibbetts 20 - Bill Dansby 23 - Cecil Mackey 24 - Fran Bradley 24 - Lois Huldin 26 - Virginia Scott 30 - Betty Weaver 30 - Jean Moore If we missed you, please accept our apology. Contact the office to make sure we have your correct information on file. PORTAL DEADLINE Deadline for submissions to the February 2017 Portal is Jan 20. Submit content to communications@thepeopleschurch.com or the Church Office. SCHOLARSHIP, Continued from Page 1 the Peace Corps and studying to complete her master s degree. PAUL PRZYBLYSKI grew as a musician here at The Peoples Church. He started in Carol Choir participating in the Christmas Pageants. He continued in Youth Choir and Coppertone Ringers throughout his middle school and high school career. Paul is a freshman at Michigan State University. MATTHEW WATSON had his eyes opened to the needs of others through various mission trips and events he shared with the Peoples Church Youth Group. He speaks of the impact of their mission trip to Louisville and how hunger is a real problem both locally and nationally. Matthew is a sophomore at Michigan State University. Congratulations to the four recipients. We are excited to see you continue in your education. And we anticipate the ways you will offer leadership here at The Peoples Church and in the world. PCYG PEOPLES CHURCH YOUTH GROUP PCYG WINTER RETREAT FEB. 3-5 The PCYG Winter Retreat for middle and high school students is just around the corner. We will travel to Grace Adventures camp near Muskegon from Feb. 3 to 5 for daily worship opportunities, fellowship with other students and tons of fun activities, like gaga, rock climbing, snow tubing, broom ball, open gym time, arts and crafts and an exploration of Lake Michigan s frozen shoreline. Contact Youth Director Jacob Gates at jgates@thepeopleschurch.com to learn more.

3 SUPPORT ANNUAL CAMPUS MINISTRY SPRING BREAK MISSION TRIP JAN. 22 Peoples Church Campus Ministry is looking forward to another great semester of worship, service, fellowship, learning and travel! Part of what we look forward to each spring semester is our Spring Break Mission Trip. This year, we are excited to be partnering with Habitat for Humanity in St. Lucie County, Fla.! Our work will be home building/ neighborhood revitalization in partnership with St. Lucie s local Habitat office. We also will share devotional/worship time together, and visit the Atlantic Ocean. One way you can partner with us for this worthwhile adventure, is to attend worship on Jan. 22 at either 8:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. so you can meet the college students who will be participating in worship that morning. You are also invited to help us raise funds for our trip by stopping by the Wall of Blessings that will be unveiled that day. The Wall of Blessings is 12 dozen envelopes numbered from 1 to 144. Each envelope will include a message from a student on the inside. If you or your family can commit to donating an amount from $1 to $144, you choose the envelope with that number on it. You keep the message inside, but return the envelope with the corresponding donation to the office or offering plate by Feb. 5. All donations will go directly into the Campus Mission Trip Fund. Thank you for supporting Peoples Church Campus Ministry! - Betsy Aho WITH THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT BEHIND US, KIDS SERVE STARTS JAN. 11, VBS ON HORIZON During December, we focused on preparing and sharing the Christmas Pageant. The children were so excited to share the story with everyone. I was so impressed with how they learned their parts and delivered their lines with the right dramatic touches. But what was most memorable for me was their excitement beforehand to get up there and share their talents! That is what brought the most joy for me; their enthusiasm to lead in worship that day. We also finished up our Deep Blue study for Wednesday Night Live! and will begin Kids Serve starting on Jan. 11. We are going to learn why followers of Jesus help others and then do various hands on projects through May. I am looking forward to participating with them as we realize that we can be in ministry to others regardless of our age. And the recent arrival of this year s VBS curriculum has me looking ahead to summer already! Keep an eye out for more on that in the near future. - Julie Bills WNL! MENU COMMUNITY MEAL 5:30 P.M. JANUARY 18 Tomato Bisque Tacos / Taco Salad (with all the fixings) Chips & Cheese Seasonal Fruit Trifle JANUARY 25 Vegetable Soup Italian Baked Chicken Mashed Potatoes Green Beans Peach Cobbler Frozen Yogurt FEBRUARY 1 Turkey Vegetable Soup Beef Stroganoff Biscuits & Honey Steamed Corn Pears Brownies ~~ CHILI COOK~OFF ~ ~ SUN., FEB. 5 11:30 A.M A Variety of Chili & Toppings Mac & Cheese Corn Bread Mixed Greens Salad Fresh Veggies & Ranch Dip Seasonal Fruit Rice Crispy Treats Coffee, Tea, Punch & Ice Water Gluten Free Options Available

4 PEOPLES FORUM Join us each Sunday for interesting and informative Voices of the Community at 9:30 a.m. in the Robertson Room. JANUARY 15 LASHAWN ERBY Communication Across Racial Lines JANUARY 22 PASTOR ANDREW & RACHELL POMERVILLE AND PETE & KURT GUTER December Mission Trip to Nyaka JANUARY 29 CHAD BADGERO, DIRECTOR Peppermint Creek Theatre FEBRUARY 5 FLORENCE UWIMBABAZZI MSU Graduate Student from Rwanda FEBRUARY 12 GARY BUCKBERRY Freedom of Information Act FEBRUARY 29 JACOB GATES, AUTHOR Writing Teen Novels FEBRUARY 26 CHIEF JEFF MURPHY East Lansing Police Department MARCH 5 ANDREA MITCHELL Camp for Girls MARCH 12 SUPERINTENDENT ROBYNE THOMPSON East Lansing Public Schools BIBLE STUDIES ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Gather with other people looking to dive deeper into the scripture. Adult Sunday School meets each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the Library to explore that morning s worship passages and discuss what they mean to our lives. MONDAY MORNING BIBLE Mysterious scrolls, four-horned creatures and a beast rising out of the sea. These are a few of the peculiar images within the Book of Revelation contains. We gather each week at 11 a.m. in the Robertson Room for Monday Morning Bible as we reveal Revelation. Pastor Drew leads us as we study the time, place and people to whom Revelation was written. Join us as we continue our study through this fascinating book and explore its meaning for today. WEDNESDAY MORNING SERMON PREP Join our pastoral staff for a wonderful preview of Sunday s scripture readings. This dynamic discussion often helps our pastors prepare their Sunday sermons and offers wonderful opportunities to dive deeper into scripture. We gather at 8:30 a.m. each Wednesday in the Robertson Room. BURCHAM HILLS BIBLE STUDY Pastor Andrew leads a weekly Bible study from 6:15 to 7 p.m. each Thursday on the fourth floor at the Burcham Hills Retirement Community, 2700 Burcham Dr., East Lansing. TUESDAY MORNING MEN S GROUP 7:00 A.M. ROBERTSON ROOM Join us for great morning fellowship and wonderful faith-focused discussion. This month, we begin reading and discussing The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu. We gather at 7 a.m. each Tuesday in the Robertson Room. WEDNESDAY NOON MEN S GROUP 12:00 P.M. FISCHBACH LIBRARY Join us for a lively discussion with friends who are excited to learning more about our faith. This month, we begin reading and discussing The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle as part of our continued study of the growth of Christianity during the first four centuries. We meet at noon each Wednesday in the Fischbach Library and our discussions are led by the Rev. Dr. Frank McAuley, a retired Baptist minister and member of The Peoples Church.

5 GREAT DECISIONS SPONSORED BY THE FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION Great Decisions is America s largest discussion program on world affairs. We meet from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Robertson Room. The annual 2017 Great Decisions topic books are available in the church office for $20 each. Questions? Contact either Mary Anne Larzelere at malarz@aol.com or Sandy Bryson at sbryson@msu.edu. SAUDI ARABIA IN TRANSITION JAN. 26 As Saudi Arabia struggles to adjust to the drastic decline in oil revenue, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman attempts to boldly transform the country and shift more power to the younger generation. At the same time, many countries such as the U.S. point out the lack of democracy, violations in human rights and blame the promotion of Wahhabism, for creating jihadists. Bipartisan criticism of Saudi Arabia is rising in Congress. Both countries need each other, but they are at a crossroads in bilateral relations. We will welcome Dr. Russell Lucas, Associate Professor of Arabic Studies in MSU s Department of Linguistics and Languages, as our speaker. We encourage you to bring interested friends as we learn together. CONNECT GROW SERVE SHARE WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE! OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH NYAKA JAN. 18 We continue to look at our mission partnership with Nyaka Aids Orphans Project. on Jan. 18, with the presentation of Cornerstone, a documentary featuring Nyaka. Join us at 6:30 p.m. in the Robertson Room. Come early to enjoy our weekly Community Meal with friends at 5:30 p.m. in Snider Social Hall. NEW MEMBERS CLASS JAN. 18 & 22 Are you interested in becoming a member of The Peoples Church? New Members Classes will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 during Wednesday Night Live! and following the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Jan. 22. Contact the Church Office to RSVP. Childcare available upon request. All are welcome. READING PEOPLE JAN. 19 The Reading People will gather at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 in the Robertson Room to discuss The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohan Loigman. Questions? Contact Joanne Keith at RECYCLING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Earth Stewardship Committee is in need of volunteers to deliver Styrofoam collected as part of our Sunday Recycling Program to Dart Container in Mason. Interested? Contact Facility Director Andy Mayville at or amayville@thepeopleschurch.com. DEBORAH CIRCLE Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in The Lounge following the WNL! community meal. Childcare available. Contact Jessica Eysselinck at DORCAS CIRCLE Meetings are the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. On Jan. 20, our guest speaker will be Aram Kabodian, who will talk about The Writing Project and How it Helps Teachers. Contact Phyllis Gaulden at REBEKAH/HANNAH CIRCLE Meetings are the fourth Wednesday of each month at 12:30 or 1 p.m. Join us for lunch at Coral Gables in East Lansing, at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 25. Contact Joan at or Gretchen at PHOEBE CIRCLE Women of Peoples Church Meetings are the fourth Wednesday of September, November, January, and April at 9 a.m. Join us Jan. 25 in the Robertson Room as we welcome Pam Riley Miklavcic, Excectutive Director for the Davies Project. Contact Renate Carey at or Lois Huldin at

6 ANIMALS & CHILDREN: A NATURAL COMBINATION We have pets! The children in the Peoples Church Preschool enjoy a rich curriculum centered on STREAM. STREAM is an acronym that began as the more familiar STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STREAM goes a step further, including Respect for nature and Art. Having animals to care for and learn from in the preschool classrooms touches on all these elements of the curriculum. Children value animals intrinsically just because they are living things. Having meaningful encounters with animals in early childhood leads to stewardship ethics later in life. Animals assist children to learn empathy for one another and they allow children to hone the skills of care-giving and nurturing. The Peoples Church Preschool Infant Room is home to a saltwater coral reef; the Toddlers enjoy our Russian Tortoise, Baryshnikov, or Bear for short; The Twos Room houses our red-eared and yellow-eared slider turtle pond; the Preschool 1 classroom is home for Ginger the gecko, and a fresh water fish habitat; The Preschool 2 classroom lives with Raphael, the corn snake, Akiki, the ball python, and Jurassic, the iguana; and the Junior Kindergarten Room children share their day with Sleuth and Rosie Rose, guinea pigs. You are always welcome to come up to the second floor sometime and meet our friends. - Dana Johnson Peoples Church Preschool ON BEHALF OF 91 KIDS: THANK YOU A big thank you to all who purchased, wrapped and delivered Christmas gifts to children of Edgewood Village! Together we made this sacred time of year a bit more joyful for 91 kids. We extend special recognition to Emily Anderson, who was a key player in everything from converting the children s wish lists into tags for the Christmas tree to packaging the gifts for delivery to Edgewood. Thanks again to all who helped! - Barbara Scott and Loretta Johnston SUNDAY FLOWER MEMORIAL GIFTS Sunday Floral Dedications offer members weekly opportunities to celebrate and remember loved ones. Dedications may be reserved with a memorial gift of $85 to benefit the Sanctuary Fund. Reserve a Sunday using the notebook at the Welcome Center or contact the Church Office at

7 ONEfaith ONEhope ONEfamily Dear Peoples Church Family, ANNUAL CAMPAIGN 2017 IN CHRIST With humble gratitude, we thank you for your outstanding gifts of time, talent, financial resources, service, faithful attendance and prayers for our church, staff and programs. Your contributions have made our church family a dynamic community, one in which we all can grow in our faith and understanding of what the Lord calls us to be in this world. Thanks to your faithful giving, we met our 2016 budget. In addition to this good news, we replaced our aged boiler with an efficient system that will reduce utility costs. Thank you so very much for your additional pledges to this important capital campaign. The continued honoring of pledges made over a multi-year basis will allow the Finance Ministry to pay for the boiler system without incurring a loan. This is outstanding news for our congregation! We are so very appreciative of your support for the needs within our church building. The Peoples Church is indeed a pillar in the community and our building is actively used seven days a week by dozens of programs, classes, projects and groups from inside and outside of the congregation. This letter is written to request your continued personal and financial support as we enter into We are confident in our faith that each of you will help the church meet its 2017 budget as proposed by the Council of Elders. ONE faith, ONE hope, ONE family in Christ is our theme for the year. No matter what occurs in the world around us, we are called to be faithful members of our community locally, nationally and abroad through service, mission and ministry. We are leaders in service locally through programs around the Greater Lansing Area, including our ongoing partnership with Edgewood Village, nationally in partnership with Re-Member in South Dakota, and internationally, where we support missionaries in four countries and engage in partnerships from Peru to Uganda. Our youth, college and adult groups have traveled on missions to these partnership organizations. As we grow as a church community, with attendance up 10 percent since 2010, we continue to have needs within our building. Just as previous generations provided our physical structure, may we ensure the legacy for future generations. The Building & Grounds Ministry has done an outstanding job through the past several years with infrastructure improvements related to safety, greening of the building, increased efficiency, and with wonderful restroom renovations. Thanks to several legacy gifts and diligent budgeting, the next major renovation is planned for the Snider Social Hall. This update will provide a comfortable, beautiful space for activities such as Wednesday Night Live!, receptions, conferences and community programs. This renovation should be completed in several stages without need for an additional capital campaign. The annual operating budget for the church is proposed by the Council of Elders and approved by the congregation. Pledges from our members and affiliates are the key component to meeting the budget. These pledges assure that programs planned by the various ministries are vital throughout the year. We invite you to prayerfully make your 2017 pledge. Join us as ONE faith, ONE hope, ONE family in Christ. We appreciate your support and look forward to all the exciting possibilities in the year ahead. With love in Christ, Crystal & Jack Branta Co-Chairs, Annual Campaign 2017 CONGREGATIONAL MEETING JAN. 29 The Council of Elders approved its proposed 2017 operating budget at its November meeting. The budget will be presented to the congregation for final approval during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Jan. 29. The 2017 Annual Campaign kicks off on Jan. 15. Please return your pledge forms to the Church Office or Sunday Offertory by Feb. 19. COUNCIL OF ELDERS Our Elders meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Robertson Room. Chairperson Alan Canady elders@thepeopleschurch.com Clerk Thad Morgan Treasuer Gary Dawson Members Paul Babbitt Mimi Burpee Jodi Cook Ben Eysselinck Kathleen Hawkins Beth Lundy Wallace Markham Robin Matheson Jennifer Nagel Jan Reed Barbara Scott Dot VanLooy Lew Worthington

8 THE PEOPLES CHURCH 2017 HEARTS OF FIRE CHILI COOK-OFF & EMPTY BOWLS FUNDRAISER SUNDAY, FEB. 5 SNIDER SOCIAL HALL FOLLOWING THE 10:30 A.M. WORSHIP SERVICE SIGN UP TO ENTER YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE OR HELP OUT AT THE EVENT AT ThePeoplesChurch.com 200 W. Grand River Ave. East Lansing MI ThePeoplesChurch.com JANUARY 2017 PORTAL