The Church Chimes Peters Creek Evangelical Presbyterian Church PO Box 184 Venetia, PA 15367 November 2015 Our Mission Glorifying God by joyfully following Christ according to Scripture! Our Vision To be a vibrant community of Reformed believers creating a refuge of peace in Jesus Christ through the study of God s Word, worship, service and evangelism. Coming Up at Peters Creek... Daylight Saving Time Ends November 1 Commitment Sunday November 1, 11:00 a.m. Operation Christmas Child Dedication November 8, 11:00 a.m. Twig Benders Small Group November 8, 5:30 p.m. Men s Breakfast November 14, 9:00 a.m. Service Time Change November 22, 11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary Congregational Meeting November 29, 12:00 p.m. Just so you know this about our missions giving When we moved from our former place of worship in May, to St. David s, we TEMPORARILY suspended our mission giving. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to restore mission giving in our budget. Our goal is to give 10% of our giving to missions each year. So far, year to date, 3.4 % of our total giving has gone to missions. These figures do not represent donations such as: baby bottles, Operation Christmas Child or extra donations made to missions outside the budget. Thanks for helping us to be a blessing to many people!
What is Your Thanksgiving Paul wrote in Galatians: For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. (Gal 3:18 NIV) T he word promise plays a prominent role in this text and in the Bible. It is also our password for thanksgiving. As we are well aware of these days, a password allows us to enter in to a secure area. In this case God s promise is our password to His free grace. How do we view the word promise today? Is it a word we trust? Mark Twain wrote in Tom Sawyer: To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing. When I read this, I thought to myself, hmmm, Mark Twain has problem with the word promise. I found he had more to say about promises. All of which was very cynical. Perhaps this is true across America. Maybe the broken promises of politicians and the inability to keep relational vows has caused us to think of the word promise as one of those weak words. It is a word of pure potential with little, if any, fulfilling power. But Paul declares in Galatians that promise is a strong and eternal word because God guarantees its fulfillment! The verse cited at the beginning of this article implies God keeps His promises, no matter how old they are! Of course I am preaching this month from the Gospel of Mark. It is the point of Mark s Gospel to demonstrate that God keeps His promises and He does so in person through Jesus Christ. Keith Hartsell, of Wheaton, Illinois wrote: I was with a friend a few years ago in California, and as we were driving around the busy streets of L.A., I noticed that his cell phone was locked with an unusual password pro nobis. I asked him what pro nobis meant and why he chose that for a password. He told me it was Latin and it meant "For Us" and then he suddenly started choking up. I thought, Why would those two Latin words cause so much emotion? He composed himself and then explained that after walking through deep personal pain, true healing came when he learned that God is "for us" or the Latin phrase, pro nobis. My friend said that after his parents' divorce, was a season when he assumed that God didn't care or that God had given up on him, he finally found hope through those two simple words. When he decided to believe that God was pro nobis, that God had even sent Christ to die for him, he could then decide to lay down his life for others. I like that story because it s true! Here was a man who learned from experience he could rely on God s promises. The promises of God are more sure than any human pledge or promise, something I don t think Mark Twain ever came to grips with, much less believed. But we should believe and trust. When we come to God, even in our weakness, we come to the throne of Grace, not to the throne of judgement, if and when we come in the name of Jesus. I hope this thought encourages you in your faith. Let us remember that the word promise is our password to eternal life and gratitude for God s great gift! May the promise of the full measure of God s Grace fill your Thanksgiving festivities! Your Pastor and Friend, Doug Brandt 2
The Women's Thursday Afternoon Bible Study will begin the a new study "Preparing My Heart for Advent" on November 5 at 12:30 pm at St. David's. Please contact Susan Prosser at 724-942-5427 for more information or to register. Child care is available. The YOUNG FAMILIES Group has been re-shaped and re-named in order to include ALL who are raising up and influencing children at this stage in their lives. According to the saying, As the twig is bent, so grows the tree, the group will now be named THE TWIG BENDERS. All TWIG BENDERS are invited to their next meeting, again to be held at the Milbourne s home, 126 Castlebrooke Dr, Venetia, on Sunday, November 8. Come with a dish to share and bring the children; dinner for all starts at 5:30, and study- and discussiontime starts at 6:30. (The meetings usually conclude about 8.) Childcare is provided! Enjoy a cozy evening together, dive into the Bible, and join in prayer for one another. Pastor Doug will be leading. The Women s Thursday Evening Bible Study is studying "66 Love Letters" by Dr. Larry Crabb. They meet at the Eat and park in Peters at 6:30 pm. If you would like to join or for more information please call Cyndi Taylor at 724 531 9950. The Pastor s Wednesday Night Bible Study meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room at Beinhauer s Family Funeral Home in Peters. It is located at 2828 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317. (If you put this address in your GPS the GPS will want to be told this is a Canonsburg address.) Remember we share in a fellowship meal before we begin our study. If you plan on attending please, RSVP to Jenn Such at jenn@peterscreekchurch.org. Join the men for breakfast on Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 a.m. Location to be announced. We meet the second Saturday of each month. 3
November Mission of the Month: Food Pantry Military Packages Once again the Deacons plan on sending care packages to our military members serving in Iraq/ Afghanistan. This year we would like to send them in time to arrive for Valentine s Day. If you would like to help us fill the boxes, below you will see some of the items suggested we include. We will have a box at church each Sunday for your donations until December 15. If you have a friend or family member serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and would like us to send them a package, please get their address to one of the Deacons or the church office. The Board of Deacons are sending out a S.O.S. signal for the Peter's Township Food Pantry. But, S.O.S. will now stand for "Sundays of Sharing." Each second Sunday of the month will be the desiginated day for collection of unperishable food items for the Peter's Township Food Pantry. Please look for the S.O.S. posters locating the drop off area near "our" church entrance. Any and all items will surely be appreciated by those in need. Please remember we CANNOT SEND CHOCOLATE IN ANY FORM. Cotton socks Individual drink mixes Individual coffee/tea/sugar Dry snacks Gum/life savers Travel size toiletries Batteries Writing paper/envelopes Baby Wipes Ziploc bags Magazines/videos DVDs Books There will be a Congregational Meeting on November 29, 2015 following worship for the purpose of receiving the report of the budget, changing bylaws and electing officers Youth Director It is with great excitement that we announce that we have hired a part-time Youth Director. Her name is Marion Maentz. Marion is no stranger to our congregation. She has been attending with her family for some time now. Marion holds a B.S. Degree from Marquette University. While living in Wisconsin, Marion was a Youth Director for 7 years at Emmanuel United Methodist in Appleton. We are pleased to have Marion on staff at Peters Creek EPC! 4
Growing God s Kingdom Fall Festival Thanks Many, many thanks to everyone that helped with the Fall Festival and to those who bought a ticket benefiting Missions at Peters Creek! It was a huge success for Missions and would not have been possible without you! Stewardship Corner The Stewardship Committee extends its appreciation to all members for your continued support for the work of Our Lord s Ministry at Peters Creek Church. We have been blessed in many ways. We must remain faithful to our Lord, pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, and encourage one another to support the church with our time, talents and treasures. This Sunday, at the November 1 st worship service, we will be receiving the 2016 Commitment Cards from our members to financially support the 2016 church budget. Your commitment can be changed during the new year at your discretion. For the Finance Committee to prepare the budget for the new year, let us give them a sound basis for preparing it, by submitting our financial Commitment Card. Thanks to all who have already submitted their cards. Praise to our Lord, Jesus Christ, Stewardship Committee Fall Festival
T hanks to all who made our first Service Project of the new school year, SHIM's Winter Coat Drive for Kids, such a success!! We had half a van full of coats and other winter paraphernalia with us when we visited SHIM on October 8, and received a memorable tour of the clothes closet and the food pantry there by family case worker Jennifer LaRosa. Throughout the afternoon of the Fall Festival on October 17, PCEPC kids had fun at the three children's stations (Bounce House, pumpkin painting, and Lollipop Lasso)! On Reformation Sunday, our church family focused on the importance of reading the Scriptures, each in our own language... be that the language of a three year-old, an eleven year-old, or of an adult...! ;) Five Bibles were given to children this fall to PCEPC children; one to an incoming Preschool student (Danny Nguyen), and four to new Fourth graders (Leah Edgar, Calvin Falls, Ellie Maentz, and Will Whitehead). With the arrival of November, we turn our attention once again to being of service...for this November is COLLECTION month in Children's Ministry! We are currently collecting presents for little (and not so little) boys and girls across the world who will be receiving shoe boxes full of Christmas presents via Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child! Kids love presents...they love to get them, but they also love to buy them for others! November 8 will be our Sunday to dedicate and collect the boxes we've been working on as a church family. 6
Children s Ministry continued... Another project we're collecting for is Stocking stuffers for Soldiers! Have you gotten some of the items for the Military Packages yet that the Deacons will be putting together for deployed military personnel overseas? Let your children help pick up some of these suggested gift items in a store, and please bring them to the camouflaged (but still well visible!) collection box in the lobby on any Sunday in November (through December 15): Cotton socks; individual drink mixes; individual pouches of coffee/sugar/tea; dry snacks (NO CHOCOLATE); gum or life savers; travel-sized toiletries; batteries; stationery and envelopes; baby wipes; ziploc bags; magazines or videos or DVDs; books. How little things can brighten someone else's day!! Thinking ahead towards CHRISTMAS... Who would like to be in the Still Manger Scene this year? Please email Katie at katie@peterscreekchurch.org if your child wants to be part of the annual Still Manger Scene, whether or not he or she is sure yet which role to take on! We'll have two rehearsals in December, and the scene is portrayed before the congregation during the 5:30 Christmas Eve Family Worship Service. No speaking required; costumes provided. O Come, All Ye Faithful..! Christmas Dinner Don t look now but Christmas is right around the corner! Sooooo let s not miss this opportunity to celebrate together! On Friday, December 4, at 6:30, right at St. David s, our In Church Chefs, Don McCaig, Denny Hutchison, Ken Lash and Mike McCaig, will prepare an amazing, gourmet meal featuring Surf and Turf (beef fillet and shrimp). Following dinner, you will be treated to the Teenyweeny Christmas Pageant! The cost for the evening will be $50.00 a person, and the proceeds will go to our church. Babysitting will be available. We can all agree our church family has had quite a year! We definitely deserve to celebrate by spending a fun evening together basking in the warmth of our friendships! 7
Church Staff Doug Brandt Senior Minister doug@peterscreekchurch.org Thank you for preparing such a beautiful service for Barb. It was comforting to know she had a church family she could rely on for support and friendship. Please thank Doris for all her help over the last few months. I received your invitation to the Reformation Service - unfortunately we will not be able to attend. Please share my gratitude with the members who provided the lovely reception at the memorial and those who are preparing the reception for the upcoming service. Thank you again, Leslie Gorke Doris Sawhill Visitation Minister doris@peterscreekchurch.org Katie Brandt Director of Children s Ministry katie@peterscreekchurch.org Maura Kelly Director of Accounting maura@peterscreekchurch.org Jennifer Such Administration & Communications jenn@peterscreekchurch.org Publication Deadlines Articles for the Church Chimes and announcements for the bulletin should be submitted in electronic format. Submissions for the Chimes are due no later than noon on the 15th of each month for the following month s edition. Sunday Bulletin Submissions are due no later than noon each Wednesday. Peters Creek Evangelical Presbyterian Church A Congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church 724-941-6210 www.peterscreekchurch.org