Presbyterian Crier F i r s t P r e s b yt e r i a n C h u r c h May The Waiting Is the Hardest Part Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God. Easter Sunday has come and gone. It s good, though, to consider the mood of Holy Saturday, that day just before Easter. There are times in our lives days, weeks, months that can feel like Holy Saturday. As I read the forty-second psalm, and hear the last verse, I think about the disciples on that day. A sad, disturbing event has befallen them. They are feeling a bit lost, a bit confused: cast down, disquieted. And Jesus knew they would be feeling this way. Quite deliberately, Jesus told Peter to strengthen his fellow believers, once Peter has collected himself. And Peter does. The way to that strengthening is not hard to find: we always find the way in Jesus Christ. He is the hope we have from God. He is the cause of all our praise, because he is our help. None of us can see into the future, yet in Christ, we all see the future: reconciliation, being healed and whole in the company of all the saints, singing praises and enjoying God eternally. The destination is clear, even if the stages of the journey aren t, even if some of the stages are hard and not particularly happy. Each of us is lacking. That is one side, one aspect of the mood of Holy Saturday: absence, lack, silence. We live our way through that day; we don t dwell in that day. In His mercy, God brings that awful day to an end. The Church is not the sum of our lack, but the flowing surplus of what we have in Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. We live our way through Saturday, and we live through (because of) the power of the Resurrection that we celebrated on Easter, that we celebrate every Sunday, every Lord s Day. For Jews, Saturday is the Sabbath, the seventh day. What Christ does for us, what God does for us in Christ on Easter, is so monumental, so unique, wonderful, and reality-altering, that his disciples have since then made Sunday, the first day of the week, the dedicated occasion for worshiping God. We worship on Sunday because we remember that Jesus rose that day. This congregation is now entering a Saturday time. Something is ending, a door closing. That is not the end of the story. You already know this: you ve known it several times over the past twenty years and more. It s good to be reminded and to remember, though. New life is not only just around the corner. It s already here, with you, alive in you, still guiding you, still nurturing you, still helping you. Rejoice in God. Hope in God, who is your help, who shines His light upon you, who holds all of you always in His perfect love. Your brother in Christ, Paul
Page Presbyterian Crier May Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 5 Sunday School - :45am Session Meeting - :pm Clinton Community Outreach Food Pantry :-:am 4 Mother s Day 5 Fellowship Meeting - :pm Sunday School - :45am 4 Deacons Meeting - :pm 5 Memorial Day
Page 4 Budget Income 44. Expense. Income/(Deficit) (4.) From deficit Budget Tracking rs la 4 o D - -4 / 5 / / / / 4 4 / 5 5 /4 / Week / / / / 4 / /5 / / / / FINANCIAL REPORT Total Income March : $,. Year-to-date Income : $ 4,4. Total Expenses February : $,4. Year-to-date Expenses : $,. Net Income/(Deficit): $ (,4.) PER CAPITA for is $. Per MEMBER Total Amount Due: $ 4,4. (4 MEMBERS as of /5) Donations Received: $ 5. Additional Paid:. Balance Due: $,.
Page 4 Presbyterian Crier Deacons Class of Audrey Buchanan, 4- Michael Parylak, 4-5 Tammy Eliszewski, -55 Session Paul Kucera, Moderator, -4- firstpresclinton.pastor@gmail.com Class of Betty Kohls, -45 Wendy Korth, -44 Barb Shull, -455 Class of Stephanie Anderson, -4 Kris Duhr, -554 Devon Kucera, -4- Class of John Eliszewski, -55, jelisz@aol.com Fellowship, Mission & Evangelism Alyson Ryan, -, alysontiffany@gmail.com Christian Education, Personnel Debbie DuCharme, -4, dducharm@amfam.com Personnel, Worship, Christian Education April Attendance: April : April : (Palm Sunday) April : (Maundy Thursday) April : 5 (Easter) Class of Jodi Burton, Clerk of Session, - jkburton@gmail.com Stewardship & Finance Angel Davis, -444, angelemt@yahoo.com Fellowship Melanie Stevens, -54, melaniestevens@gmail.com Mission & Evangelism Class of Wendell Paynter, 4-, wdpslp@gmail.com Building & Grounds, Personnel, Worship Craig Stauss, -4, craig.stauss@woodward.com Building & Grounds, Worship April : 5 April : 5 Thank you to David Larsen for counting every Sunday.
Page 5 Birthdays: 5/ David Larsen 5/ 5/ 5/ 5/ Louis & Barb Shull 45 Years 5/ Rick & Jeannie Taylor Years 5/ Kelli & Shawn Bell Years 5 Tonia & Joe Maly Years Janelle Taylor Jada Bell, Jackson Repaal 5/ 5/ Anniversaries: Jim Korth Susan Blair, Margaret London Sandy Holmbeck, Kim Porter-Bell 5 Allie Bell, Jordan DeLong, Lance Kutz 5 Lora Boggess, Michelle Dennis, Bruce Ruston 54 Chuck London 5 5 5 Jackie Moe Korrie Mumm Jena Boerema, Dean Burton, Membership Anniversaries Jean Marti 5/ Jo Wellnitz, Marjy Crapp 5 Wendy Korth (), Brenda Wiedmer () 5/4 Chad Moe (), Jackie Moe () 5/ Brad Burton (), Daniel Holmbeck (), Jacob Taylor () 5/ Mitch Buchanan (), Jordan DeLong (), Janelle Taylor (), Megan Wiedmer () 5/ Emilie Bell (4), Crystal Buchanan (4), Becca Carratt (4), Marisa Giza (4), Trent Jensen (4), Cameron Klein (4), Gabby Wellnitz (4), Abby Wiedmer (4) 5 Brett Eliszewski (), Dylan Grzenia (), Jordan Holmbeck (), Nathan Kalish (), Ross Oldenberg (), Marjy Crapp (5), Terry Crapp (5), Daina DeVoe (5), Jamie Elguera (5), Hailey Kuban (5), Brianne Kutz (5), Michael Parylak (5), Michelle Parylak (5) 5 Amy Mumm (), Erick Repaal () 5 Susan Blair (), Jon Holmbeck ()
Fi r st Pr e sb yt er i an Ch ur ch Church St PO Box Clinton WI 555 Phone:--54 Website: stpresclinton.com Belong. Believe. Become. Here's a photo from our mission work at Carpenters Place, a homeless day shelter in Rockford, Illinois where seven us served lunch on 5/. We had plenty of barbecue and buns, chips, fruit, lemonade, and cookies for our 5 guests. All leftovers were scooped up and stored by the staff to serve for another meal, so this mission multiplied! Thank you to everyone at First Presbyterian Church for providing a hearty lunch that was very appreciated by all.