NEWS Jesus is RISEN! He has risen INDEED! That never gets old, does it!? Romans 8 says, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! Later, it also says, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen to that! The cross is the final and lasting payment for no condemnation and no separation. The cross demonstrates the kind of God we have and the lengths He will go for us all. He chose condemnation and separation so we would never have to receive either. The resurrection shows neither could condemn or separate our Lord forever, and in Christ, the same is true for you and me. Let s celebrate! Jesus Is Risen! April 2019 Pastor Drew s Views: Happy Easter! Pastor Drew Philippians 1:3-6 Website: www.fpcgriffin.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/fpcgriffin Upcoming events at FPC April 10 - Easter Potluck Supper with Bingo at 6:00 p.m. Meat provided. Call the church to reserve a spot. April 14 - Palm Sunday Egg Hunt for kids After worship Confirmation Sunday April 18 - Maundy Thursday The Living Last Supper at 7 p.m. April 19 - Good Friday with reflection and prayer at noon April 21 - Easter Sunday Easter Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. followed by breakfast at 9:30 a.m. Worship Service at 11:00 a.m.
Mission, Outreach, & Evangelism Jesus said Go, so let s GO! Here are some opportunities to serve together with unconditional agape love (sign ups in the Narthex or just call the church office): Here s a quote from one of our mission partners: One of the joys of being old timers on the mission field is seeing God continue to raise up young people with a fresh call to go out to the nations with the Gospel. Now some of the new folks are our kid s ages! George Mixon of Serge in Kenya The Prayer Room is open every Sunday after worship for anyone who needs prayer. It s right by the library in the C.E. office. Do you know someone who needs help with their utility bill? Spalding Samaritans is open on the 1 st and 3 rd Tuesdays of the month at noon to assist with up to $200 annually. Call the church office for more information. Abundant Life Soup Kitchen We will serve together again at the soup kitchen on Tuesday, April 16th, from 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. If you haven t tried this yet, it is a great opportunity to serve in our community with the love of Christ and also get the word out about who we are. Darlene Chipman Pruitt Health Monroe 4796 Highway 42 North Forsyth, GA 31209 Richard & Jane Gaston 1809 Maple Drive Joyce Jones 1401 Macon Road Remember our shut-ins. Send a Thinking About You card or note. Here is a list of our members who are not able to get out and about. Remember them in your prayers, send them a card, give them a call, drop by to visit. Let s don t forget them! Ione Kelly 3223 Newnan Rd., P-9 Griffin, GA 30223 Connie Kendrick Breman Jewish Home 3150 Howell Mill Road NW Atlanta, GA 30327-2108 Donna Krepps 1705 Oak Knoll Road Griffin, GA 30223 Marty Lang 201 Crosstown Drive Peachtree City, GA 30269 Anne Mixon Brightmoor Assisted Living 3223 Newnan Rd. Griffin, GA 30223 Michael & Maggie Rockholt 1211 Pebble rock Road Hampton, GA 30228 Richard Turner 929 Springer Drive Continue collecting items for the shoeboxes. April s item is stuffed animals which make a great WOW item. Aluminum cans needed! Please help Tim and me with our mission. We do the breast cancer walk every year. We have sold cans for years to help the cause. The money we get is doubled by Altria. Just think how much we can raise if we make this a church effort. A large trash can has been placed in the narthex for you to place aluminum drink cans in. Please put cans in a bag to eliminate leakage. Since 2006 Tim and I have walked over a thousand miles and raised approximately $50,000.00. Thanks for your help and support. Becki and Tim Brown Cereal Sunday The first Sunday of each month, FPC Griffin has the honor to participate in "CEREAL SUN- DAY". We ask members to bring bags or boxes of dry cereal and place them in the grocery cart located in the Narthex, near the wing of the Children's hall. This FOOD PANTRY ministry provides many poor and homeless individuals a nutritious meal that can either be eaten dry or with milk. Please bring cereal on Sunday, April 7th. In March we delivered 31 boxes of cereal to the food pantry. 2 3
Congregational Care The Messiah in the Passover presentation and participation March 13 was wonderful. Thank you to all who helped with the preparation, set up and clean up. We are already thinking about having a presentation with a banquet next year. You won t want to miss this. Easter Sunday Join us for a true Easter Sunrise service at 7 a.m. Meet outside at the cross. Easter Sunday Pancake Breakfast 9:30 a.m. in the Activities Center. Come hungry! There will be no Sunday School. Congregational Care will meet Sunday, April 7th, after worship. If you know of any needs or concerns, please contact Debbie Hammond, Bonnie Pfrogner or Bill Baldwin. Meal Coordinator for March is Becki Brown Jesus is risen! Facilities March 9 was our SPRING CLEAN UP DAY. If you missed it..well you missed it. We are thankful to have had two visitors assist us with our needed projects. We make projects at our church an opportunity for unchurched to come and walk on our campus AND get to meet our folks. What better outreach ministry could you have? Easter Potluck Supper and Bingo Wednesday, April 10 at 6pm Meat (pork roast) will be provided Bring a side and/or dessert Reservation Slips will be in the bulletins April 6 OR call the church office We are working on a trip in May to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Stay tuned for more information. Easter Sunday Worship will be at 11 a.m. Thanks to Bill and Lou Baldwin, Roger and Linda Soons, Ed, Sr. and Ed, Jr. Springer, Gary and Sylvia Hollums, Tim Brown, George Hollander, Joe Bailey, Hannah Lentz and our two guests, Willis Cox and Jim Rosser. Easter Egg Hunt Prep We are asking that anyone who wants to donate FILLED Easter eggs for Hope Town s Easter Egg hunt, would please bring them in between March 31st through April 14th. Easter Egg Hunt First Presbyterian Church of Griffin is planning on hiding a LOT of Easter eggs filled with candy for the children to find immediately following the service on April 14th. We will We pruned and cleaned up the landscaping on the entry side of the main church building, trimmed crepe myrtles, painted and modified a storage closet, caulked a roof leak, replaced attic insulation, replaced belongings in the music director s office, worked on children s rooms, replaced the ceiling tiles in the entryway of the activities building, polished the door handles going into the activities building, finished sanding one of these doors and set up tables for the upcoming Seder event. Facilities needs help with future projects. If you need a reminder, or would like to volunteer to help, there is plenty to do! Please see Michael Biddle. The choir celebrated Ivan Betz s 90th birthday in January! 4 The Newsletter is displayed on the big bulletin board across from the office. Check out the news and what s going on at FPC! 5
Christian Education Hope Town When we think of Easter, we may think of dying eggs, egg hunts, the Easter bunny, and dressing up in your Sunday best on Easter Sunday. But there s so much more to Easter than that. What really happened to Jesus over 2,000 years ago, and how does it affect us today? In this series, kids will become detectives to look for clues and discover the true meaning of Easter. Kids will learn about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus celebrating a special meal with His disciples, the crucifixion and resurrection, and Jesus ascending to heaven and giving His followers a special mission. 1st and 3rd Men s Fellowship Men! We are meeting at Chick-fil-a on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 8 a.m. (Taylor Street). Join us April 1st and 15th for fellowship, a short devotional and prayer. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. If you grew up going to church, it s probably the first song about Jesus you can remember singing. Jesus loves me may seem like a pretty straightforward and foundational belief, but let s be honest... singing about Jesus love is a lot easier than actually imitating it. In this 4-week series, the students will be challenged to observe, imitate, and be transformed by the radical love of Jesus for all people, but specifically His love for children, for the poor, for the stranger, and for the sinner. 6 April Church-wide Memory Verse So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 Youth The Living Last Supper April 18, 2019 7:00 p.m. The Chancel Choir and the men of the church, will present the musical drama, The Living Last Supper by Ruth Elaine Schram on Thursday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m. for the Maundy Thursday service in the church sanctuary. The musical drama incorporates the Leonardo Da Vinci painting The Last Supper which depicts the twelve disciples seated around the table with Jesus as they observe the traditional Passover Supper before his sacrifice on the cross. The music passionately captures the pathos of the event while, one by one, the disciples speak, expressing their innermost thoughts with brief but poignant monologues about their relationship with Jesus. The meaning and the purpose of this presentation is best described in the words of the composer, Ruth Elaine Schram: When God called these twelve men to be His disciples and apostles and to establish the New Testament Church, He chose flawed individuals, people just like you and me, men who were no saints or even finished products, but works in progress; men whose qualities needed to be honed, molded and channeled in positive ways. It is my prayer that God will use this production to remind all of us that He is not yet finished with any of us, and that every one of us is guilty of denying and betraying Him. The most important lesson of this presentation, however, is that His love and mercy covers every contingency, and His will is perfect, even if it is difficult to understand. Just as these twelve exemplary men had a mission given to them to build the New Testament Church on a foundation of love and grace, we are also charged to continue that mission, to love one another and to share the good news of the Messiah. -Ruth Elaine Schram Please come and participate in the Lord s supper around the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sylvia Hollums, Director of Music 7
We serve in March Dates & Stuff Children s Message April 7 - no children s message April 14 - Drew Elling April 21 - Ina Jones April 28 - Hannah Lentz April 7 - Diane Gordon April 14 - Cindy Baynham April 21 - Frank Taylor April 28 - Hannah Lentz Jim Skinner, Captain Sid Esary Ed Springer, Jr. Katrina Springer Wendy Biddle, alternate April Elder in Charge Russell Johnson Communion Servers April 21 - Easter Lou Baldwin, Captain Bill Baldwin Bob Bugg Bill Day Andy Musser Chip Reahard Mike Biddle Diane Gordon Ed Springer, Jr. Bonnie Pfrogner Session meeting The next regular Session meeting will be Sunday, April 28th after worship. 4/2/1974 - Lanier & Marty Dunn 4/12/1975 - Russell & Mimi Johnson Communion will be served on Maundy Thursday during The Living Last Supper. It will also be served on Easter Sunday, April 21st. There will be no communion on Sunday, April 7 th. 11 - Elsie Musser 13 - Bill Day 16 - Laurie Hudson 17 - Christy Skinner 18 - Debbie Hammond 20 - Mary Johnson 21 - Cheyenne Sewell 23 - Greg Blanton 24 - Roi Bugg 26- Bill Baldwin Griffin-Spalding School System Spring Break is April 1-5. ECO Presbytery of the South will be in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 12-13. Church Hour Nursery Age Limits The nursery during the church hour is for children in Pre-K and below. No child older than 4 should be in there. This is for the safety of our toddlers. Thanks for your cooperation, Your CE Ministry Team Just a reminder The church leadership team/staff meets most Tuesday mornings from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm. If we don t answer the phone, please leave a message and we will call you back soon. The office closes at noon every Friday. Newsletter deadline for the May newsletter is April 15th. Special Notes Doug and I want all of you to know how much we appreciate your prayers and concern during my recent hospitalization. The cards, the calls, the food and being available for transportation all mean more than you will ever know. God bless each of you. Pat Brown Dear FPC family, This time of my life must come to an end. My husband, Reuben, has accepted a job in Athens, and we have decided to move there. My last day at FPC will be April 30th. As many of you know, our daughter and her family live there, so we won t be completely alone. Words can t express what you have meant to me over the last 7 years. It has been my joy, honor, and privilege to serve as your church secretary. You took me in and made me a part of you, and I have loved it all. Thank you so much for your friendship and love. I will always treasure my time at FPC. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of you for this time. I pray for God s richest blessings for all of you dear brothers and sisters. Love, Millie P.S. Come visit us in Athens! 8 9
1349 Macon Road The Women of the Church Bible Study The Women of the Church will meet on Tuesday morning, April 9th, at 10:15 for our monthly Bible Study and time of fellowship. We will be studying Lesson Eight, "God with Us as the Holy Spirit, starting on page 67 of the Study Book. Scripture to be used is: John 14:1-31 All women are invited. If you need a study book, or want more information, please contact Camille Berry (770-227-3901 or berry3901@comcast.net)