November 2018 Check Out all the Fall Happenings... at FPC Lowville The Spire A PUBLICATION OF the First Presbyterian Church of Lowville THE SPIRE NOVEMBER EDITION Angels I know it seems a little early, but I am thinking about angels! I think I first fell in love with angels when I was about 5 years old. My Mom read me the book, The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell, and I was hooked. Later (after several attempts) my Dad introduced me to the angel Clarence in the movie, It s a Wonderful Life. I love Clarence! And I especially love the way he creatively helps George Bailey to realize how wonderful his life is! While it may seem a bit early to be thinking about angels (and Christmas movies), it is the perfect time to think about generosity! In November, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, our thoughts are focused on giving thanks for all of God s wonderful blessings. One of those many blessings is our wonderful church. During the month of November, we will be entering the Season of Stewardship in the church. A time when we focus on the good news of God s faithfulness to us and our church, past, present and future. This year our Season of Stewardship will be inspired by Clarence and George Bailey as we are reminded again of all the ways the FPC is a wonderful church. It s a Wonderful Life tells a delightful story that reminds us that we do not always know how we have impacted the people around us. I have always thought that George In order to share the message Bailey received a tremendous gift about our wonderful church, I from Clarence, as he helped him to need stories your stories. see how he had blessed his community through his generosity and caring. VISIT US ONLINE PRESLOW.ORG 1 TAKE NOTE! November Worship: Our Season of Stewardship will focus on how FPC is a Wonderful Church! November Pie and Movie: Join us on November 18th for a Pie Party and a showing of the movie, It s a Wonderful Life! Holiday Bazaar: Come and do your shopping at our annual Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 10 from 9-2pm Poinsettias: Help us as we decorate our sanctuary with lovely poinsettias on Nov. 25. Thanksgiving Boxes: Help to feed hungry families for Thanksgiving. All the food items needed to enjoy a holiday dinner will be gathered this month to share with 12 Head Start families.
Stories of how the people of God in this church have touched your life. This is an opportunity to delve deep in your heart and remember the moments that you have felt God s love through the acts of kindness of your church family. Try to think not only about the obvious and big things that have happened, but also about the little things. Have you ever received the precious gift of having someone unexpectedly tell you how much something you did mattered to them? Just as it was a rare gift for George to see how he had helped others, it is a rare gift for the church and its members to see how we have impacted one another. This precious gift needs to be shared so that we can celebrate together all that God has done and is doing. When you think of a story to share, you can send me a note, or email it to me at pastorpreslow@gmail.com. I would also be happy to talk on the phone or visit with you so that you can share it with me personally, just give me a call! Even more, if you are willing to share your story in worship live or on video, let me know! There is much to look forward to in this Season of Stewardship. I can t wait to hear your stories! I expect that the good news of what God has been doing right before our eyes will inspire us with joy and anticipation for what God will be doing through us in the future. In the meantime, be thinking and praying and remembering the stories of God s grace, love and mercy that you have experienced in this family of faith, so that we can celebrate and remember, It s a Wonderful Church. May God bless you (and all of us) as stories are remembered and shared about our wonderful church. Pastor Laurie November Worship Series Join us in November for our Season of Stewardship as we consider the blessings of our wonderful church. The series this month is inspired by the classic Christmas movie, It s a Wonderful Life. As a part of our celebration, we will be building a timeline of our church history by writing down significant moments. Look for the timeline and instructions. November 4: Wonderful Church: Foundations: Matthew 7:24-27 November 11: Wonderful Church: Fear: Matthew 6:25-34 November 18: Wonderful Church: Friends: Matthew 6:19-21 Pie Party & It s a Wonderful Life November 25: Giving Thanks: Psalm 100 2 FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN: Holiday Bazaar Everyone from church is encouraged to be a part of the Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 10 from 9-2 pm. in the fellowship hall. Preparations in the fellowship hall will be on Wednesday, November 7 and Friday, November 9 around 9:30 a.m. If you have crafts, gift baskets, Grandma s Attic items, or other donations, please bring to church on Friday, November 9. Items for the bake sale need to be at church before the sale opens on Saturday at 9 a.m. Bazaar Baskets - we are planning a basket table again this year and are asking people to bring a basket for the bazaar. Baskets should be brought to church or the office by November 9. Questions - contact Holly Aucter. Presbyterian Women s Bible Study A Bible study using the Horizon s resource, God s Promise: I Am With You continues on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 10 a.m. at the Andover House. You are encouraged to be a part of this learning group when they meet on November 13 and November 27. Presbyterian Women s Circle You are invited to join the women of the church as they gather on the second Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. at the Andover House for their meeting. In November they will meet on November 13. A lunch of sandwiches is enjoyed for which you are asked to bring a sandwich to share. HOLIDAY BAZAAR Saturday, November 10 9-2PM Fellowship Hall Crafts, Decorations, Grandma s Attic Bake Sale Coffee & Pastries in AM Corner Café 11AM-2PM Soup & Sandwich Lunch
S T E WA R D S H I P R E F L EC T I O N F R O M PA S TO R L A U R I E : What makes the First Presbyterian Church of Lowville a wonderful church? You do! All the ways you live your faith, share God s love and generously serve contribute to making our church wonderful! I am not sure who said it first, but numerous resources on stewardship include the quote, Stewardship is everything we do after we say, I believe. While we are used to equating the word Stewardship with financial giving, it is about so much more. Stewardship is about living a life in grateful response to God s abundant love. It is an act of devotion based first on God s love for us. Our awareness of that love prompts us to respond in love and gratitude. Often in worship, I begin the introduction to the offering with an invitation to offer ourselves and our gifts to God. This is a reminder that we are called to respond to God with our lives, (the everything we do in the quote above) and our gifts. Offering our gifts includes the financial gifts that support the life and ministry of the church and living out our call to do God s work in the world. Without financial support and volunteers who give their time and talent, the church would not be able to do the wonderful things that it does. Every gift, large or small, matters, just as everything we do to show God s love matters. On November 4th, we will enter the Season of Stewardship, which will end with a Stewardship Celebration and dedication of our pledge cards on Thanksgiving Sunday, November 25th. As you anticipate the arrival of your pledge card, please prayerfully consider how you would like to help make the First Presbyterian Church of Lowville more wonderful in 2019 by sharing your gifts. Photographs of our Wonderful Church Family When was the last time you had a nice photograph taken of yourself or your family? If you are like me, it s been some time! During the month of November we will be taking family and individual photos for a slideshow and hopefully for a new directory. If you have a recent photo (from 2018) in digital format you would like to submit please email it to Pastor Laurie at pastorpreslow@gmail.com. If you don t, plan to come to church in November ready to take a photo. Our photographers will be in the Nursery after church. F R O M T H E W O R S H I P C O M M I T T E E : Presbyterian Pie Party One of the many wonderful things about our church are the talented cooks! On Sunday November 18, we will be having a Presbyterian Pie Party at coffee hour. Bring your favorite pie to share (and a recipe if you have one). Looking for Help: Festival of Trees! We are decorating a tree for the Lewis County Historical Society s Festival of Trees. Our theme is messages and messengers. We are looking for donations of angel ornaments for the tree. We will also be placing messages on the tree. Look for instructions in Fellowship Hall and bring an inspirational quote, word of encouragement or message of hope with you to church. There is a box for the angels in the narthex. We need angels and messages completed by November 11th. Decorating the Church Everyone is invited to stay after worship on Sunday, November 25 when we will bring out the boxes and tree and decorate our church for the Christmas season. Please join us for this annual event and enjoy helping to make our church ready for Christmas! Date Ushers Coffee Hour Cash Up Prayers Communion Servers *Holly Aucter, Karen Jones, Rolly Mary Anne Kingsley Meeks * Indicates elder in charge 11/4/2018 11/11/2018 11/18/2018 11/25/2018 Bonnie Tarasek & Carole Dunbar Patrick, Michelle, Jenna, Josh & Jordyn Weiler Heidi VanZandt & Eric Virkler Rodney Rubar, Mark & Linda Bennett NOVEMBER MEMORY JOGGERS Mary Anne Kingsley Presbyterian Women Pie Party Sylvia Virkler Tracey Koss Karen Jones Carole Dunbar Kelly Clark 3 Jan Cook Steve Vance Martie McDowell
FROM THE MISSION COMMITTEE: Thanksgiving Boxes Every year our church prepares food boxes for 12 Head Start families that are delivered just before Thanksgiving. If you would like to provide food for the boxes please bring the following items on the following Sundays. And if you would like to donate toward the purchase of 12 turkeys, please contact Carole Dunbar, Rolly Meeks or the church office. November Stone Soup Thursday, November 15 at 5p.m. led by Rolly Meeks Menu: Chili and Cornbread PLEASE SIGN-UP TO DONATE AND HELP Oct. 28 :apple or pumpkin pie filling and pie crusts Nov. 4: canned vegetables and cranberry sauce Nov.11: stuffing mixes and 5# of potatoes Nov. 18: fresh fruit and fresh vegetables Christmas Sharing The Mission Committee invites you to help make the holidays special for families in need in our community. Christmas Sharing is a community wide effort to provide holiday cheer. On November 25th, we will begin collecting brownie mixes and cake mixes. We are hoping to collect 100 boxes by December 14th! Gift tags for children will be available soon in the church entry. They always seem to go fast, so keep a lookout for their arrival soon. Gifts should be unwrapped and brought to church by December 14. Thank you for your help and support of this important community project! POINSETTIAS FOR CHRISTMAS We will continue the tradition of decorating our sanctuary with beautiful poinsettias during the Christmas Season. We invite you to be a part of this by donating a plant to the church which will be ordered through the church office. After the 12 days of Christmas we share our poinsettias with our senior members to enjoy in their homes. Please return the form to the office with your checks payable to the First Presbyterian Church. You may mail your form to the office or drop in the collection plate. Orders are needed by November 18 to ensure delivery for the Christmas Season. Cost is $10 per plant. Name How many Color (Marble, Pink or White) Donating to seniors Taking home after Christmas Eve Willing to help deliver to seniors THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 4
Remembering in Prayer Pat Blonk, Jan Cook, Karen Jones, Michelle Blair, Angie Widrick, Jean & Dave Puddington, George Hadlow, Casie Salce Lewis County Nursing Home: Mary Rhode #314, Marian Holliday #111 Prayers of Lament The sympathy of the congregation is extended to Doug Brodie and family on the death of his step-daughter Colleen McElroy on October 5 in Texas. We also extend sympathy from the congregation to the family of Esther Feldmann (daughters Beth and Mary), who died October 17 in Rochester. Services for Esther were in Penfield, NY. Esther was a 74 year member of our church having served as a Trustee and on the Presbyterian Women. Prayers of Joy! Congratulations to Alan Koss and Theresa Bertany who were married on October 13. Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner Speaker Heidi VanZandt was the guest speaker at the 11th Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner on October 16 at the Lowville Elks Club. "It's very important for me to share my story and for other people to hear what it's like for somebody to go through what I went through," she said. "If you're going through cancer or have been diagnosed, to see people who are survivors and are doing well." November 4 T h a n k Yo u... f o r e v e r y t h i n g y o u d o : Our October worship participants: Rolly Meeks, Tracey Koss and Jan Cook. Nat Virkler for getting the snow blower prepped for the winter season as well as putting out snow sticks with Rodney Rubar! Mr. Larry Beasley, Presbytery leader and Stated Clerk of the Utica Presbytery, for leading worship on October 21. Folks who gave so generously to our extra giving opportunities in October: The Peace and Global Justice Offering, the Office for the Aging shelf stable food collection and the Safe House collection sponsored by the Presbyterian Women. Amy Bingle for providing refreshments for the Death Café on October 15. Our October 18 Stone Soup Crock Pot providers: Donna Diller, Carole Dunbar, Rolly Meeks (2), Joan Ropel, Jim Schlieder and Betty Woods. Holly Aucter for our dreamcatcher, construction of our church timeline and for making sure we have popcorn for our movie on October 28. Pat Homer for sharing her knowledge of church history at the PW Gathering and helping with our timeline. Holly Aucter and Heidi VanZandt for making Holy Spirit lollipops for the October 27 Halloween Towne event and handed out by Kelsey and Jonah Aucter at the Lowville Fire Hall. A special thank you to each and everyone for prayers, cards and calls. It certainly made a big difference for the support. Hopefully the healing has started. Again I m touched beyond words for the support I have received. Thank you for being my angels. With love, Karen Jones Dear Church Family, Thank you so much for allowing our family to borrow tables and chairs for Christian s wedding! Thanks also for the use of the fellowship space for Meghann s bridal shower in August. We are truly blessed to be a part of this family. Love, Kelly and Bruce Rohr Many thanks to this church family for your prayers, cards and flowers while I was out for hip surgery. I am grateful to Pastor Laurie and the session for understanding my need to take time to recover. A special thanks to Pastor Laurie and Rolly Meeks for keeping the office going in my absence. Love, Jennie Kelly 5
From the Session: Notes from the October Meeting Letter received thanking the church for our donation of $721.67 to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. Session continues to read and discuss the book Spiritual Leadership. Structure/Finance/Personnel: There will be a walk around and through the buildings to assess needs. The tree trunk will possibly be carved with a meaningful design. Rolly Meeks has been sending church members greeting cards for the past two months. Deacons: A Deacon Job Description was approved. The Nominating Committee will be looking for six (6) new Deacons for the upcoming year. Presbytery Report: Pastor Laurie reported on the last meeting. The agenda had an environmental focus and worship, led by the Rev. Rick Ufford-Chase was very inspiring. Mission & Outreach: Shelf stable foods requested from the Office of Aging is all set; September Stone Soup served 52 dinners and 36 take outs and home deliveries. Carole Dunbar led the October meal of soup & bread, Rolly Meeks is in charge of November serving chili and Jim Schlieder will take December with a menu yet to be determined. Old Business: Session was encouraged to attend the first Death Café session on Tuesday, October 15th at 6:30 p.m. Session will continue to work on the Memorial Fund Policy, along with other policies over the next several meetings. Stay in Touch Church Leaders COME SEE US 7707 N. State Street Lowville, NY 13367 Worship, Education and Fellowship: Holly Aucter, Amy Bingle, Tracey Koss CALL US 315-376-3631 Mission and Outreach: Rolly Meeks, Carole Dunbar, Karen Jones Structure (Buildings & Grounds, Personnel and Finances): Kelly Clark, Jim Schlieder and Steve Vance Moderator: Pastor Laurie Sponaugle Clerk of Session: Mary Anne Kingsley EMAIL US officepreslow@gmail.com VISIT US ONLINE www.preslow.org FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK 6
4 COMMUNION CELEBRATED Daylight-Saving Time Ends Head Start Thanksgiving collection 8:45 AM Choir Practice 10:00 AM Worship 10:15 AM Sunday school/church 11:15 AM Coffee Hour/fellowship hall 11 November 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Head Start Thanksgiving Collection Veterans Day 8:45 AM Choir Practice 10:00 AM Worship 10:15 AM Sunday school/church 11:15 AM Coffee Hour/fellowship hall 11:30 AM Prayer & Care Ministry Meeting/ fellowship hall 18 Head Start Thanksgiving Collection 8:45 AM Choir Practice 10:00 AM Worship 10:15 AM Sunday school/church 11:00 AM Pie Party/fellowship hall 11:30 AM Movie: "It's a Wonderful Life"/ sanctuary 11:30 AM Stone Soup Meeting/fellowship hall 25 Christmas Decorating Stewardship Sunday 8:45 AM Choir Practice 10:00 AM Worship 10:15 AM Sunday school/church 11:15 AM Coffee Hour/fellowship hall 5 8:45 AM Knitting Group/ AH 10:00 AM Tai Chi 12 Office Closed/Veterans Day Holiday 8:45 AM Knitting Group/ AH 10:00 AM Tai Chi 19 8:45 AM Knitting Group/ AH 10:00 AM Tai Chi 26 8:45 AM Knitting Group/ AH 10:00 AM Tai Chi 6 2:00 PM Bible Study/AH 4:00 PM Tai Chi/church 7:00 PM Community Chorus Rehersal 13 10:00 AM PW Bible Study/AH 11:00 AM PW Circle/AH 2:00 PM Bible Study/AH 4:00 PM Tai Chi/church 6:00 PM Session/AH 7:00 PM AA/church 7:00 PM Community Chorus Rehersal 20 4:00 PM Tai Chi/church 7:00 PM Community Chorus Rehersal 27 10:00 AM Utica Presbytery meeting/ilion Presbyterian Church 4:00 PM Tai Chi/church 7:00 PM Community Chorus Rehersal 7 10:00 AM Tai Chi/church 6:00 PM Theology Class/AH 7:00 PM Meditation Group 14 10:00 AM Tai Chi/church 6:00 PM Theology Class/AH 21 10:00 AM Tai Chi/church 28 10:00 AM Tai Chi/church 1 All Saints Day 5:00 PM Stone Soup Dinner/LUMC 8 4:30 PM Stone Soup Dinner/Trinity Church 15 5:00 PM Stone Soup Dinner/fellowship hall 22 Church Office Closed Thanksgiving Day 29 2 8:30 AM Office Open/AH 9 8:30 AM Office Open/AH 16 8:30 AM Office Open/AH 23 Church Office Closed 30 8:30 AM Office Open/AH 3 12:00 PM AA/AH 10 9:00 AM Holiday Bazaar/fellowship hall 12:00 PM AA/AH 17 12:00 PM AA/AH 24 12:00 PM AA/AH 7
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LOWVILLE 7707 N. State Street Lowville, NY 13367 www.preslow.org November 4 Phone: (315) 376-3631 November 2018 Worship Service:...10:00 AM Sunday School...10:15 AM Office Hours:. Mon.-Fri.8:30-1:30 PM Phone...315-376-3631 Fax..315-376-7707 E-mail...officepreslow@gmail.com Website/Facebook...www.preslow.org Pastor...Rev. Laurie Sponaugle 8