The Church Bell THE CHURCH BELL (U.S.P.S. #442-300) is published weekly for $1 per year by First Presbyterian Church, 200 Church Street, Neenah, WI 54956. Periodicals postage paid at Neenah, WI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 100, Neenah, WI 54957-0100 Volume 68, Number 55, November 15, 2016 First Presbyterian Church Chartered in 1848 200 Church Street, PO Box 100 Neenah, Wisconsin 920-725-4391 Sunday, November 20 th Communion Reign of Christ Thank Offering Received 8:00 a.m. Worship in the Chapel 9:00 a.m. FaithTime Children Pre-K to 5 th Grade Adult Christian Education Varieties of Prayer 10:15 a.m. Worship in the Sanctuary Pledge Cards Needed Thank you to those who have returned their pledge card. Your financial pledge enables the church to plan ahead, fulfilling its mission and ministries. If you haven t turned in your pledge card yet, please do so as soon as possible. Time, Talents, and Gifts Survey Your gifts and talents, large or small, are vital to our mission and ministries. If you haven t had a chance to fill out the Time, Talents, and Gifts Survey, please do so! Forms are available on our welcome desk or online at www.firstpresneenah.org under the Mission/Ministry tab. Once completed please forward to Michelle in the church office (mweber@firstpresneenah.org). Save the Date Hanging of the Greens, Saturday, Dec 3 rd, 9am
Upcoming Events... Quilt Raffle The TLC Quilting Ministries is raffling off three adorable baby quilts! Quilts are hung on the bulletin board across from the meeting room. Tickets are 1 for $5 or 3 for $10 and will be sold on Nov 20 th and 27 th. Winners will be picked and announced at the Advent Brunch on Dec 4 th. You do not have to be present to win. Funds raised from the raffle will be used for TLC Quilting Ministries supplies and shipping. To date, this ministry has shipped over 250 quilts to newborn nurseries in Wausau, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Intergenerational Bible Study The next meeting of the recently formed co-ed, intergenerational Sunday Bible Study takes place after the November 20 th, 10:15 a.m. worship service. You are warmly welcomed to join us in the meeting room as we prepare to study the book of Mark. This Sunday we will be discussing biblical interpretation. Currently, we plan to meet two Sundays a month. Please bring your coffee or snack and join us. Women s Outdoor Fellowship Dinner and a Movie! Plans are shaping up for our November 22 nd Dinner and a Movie Night. We will meet up at The Machine Shed for dinner at 5:45 p.m. After eating, we ll head over to Marcus Hollywood Cinemas for $5 Movie Night to see Hacksaw Ridge, the extraordinary true story of a WWII soldier s faith, valor, and courage while remaining true to his convictions. Join us, and as always, bring a friend! Please RSVP to Cindy Huxtable (chuxtable@new.rr.com or 727-0291). Meaning Statements Seeing Dots! During the Commitment Sunday lunch, members developed meaning statements based on the patterns of our church s history. Now we need to narrow them down! Review all of the meaning statements posted in the cloister, then place your dots (each person gets three) by the statements about which you feel most strongly. You may, if you wish, put more than one of your dots on one statement. We plan to narrow the list to our top five vote-getters. Voting ends on Sunday, November 27th.
Christian Education... Adult Christian Education Please join us 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the Meeting Room. Nov 20 Varieties of Prayer [LEARN] Led by Sam Hamilton-Poore Explore through prayer the interconnecting love that binds God, humankind, and creation forming a sacred trust. Sam has pastored churches around the country, is a trained Spiritual Director, and, prior to returning to the Midwest, served as Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality at San Francisco Theological Seminary. Nov 27 Bible Study 101 [LEARN] Led by Paul Huxtable, Associate Pastor Can you answer these questions: How many versions of the Bible are there? How many books are in the Old Testament? How many books are in the New Testament? How did the books that are in the Bible get chosen? What kind of literature is found in the Bible? We will learn the answers to these questions along with any you have! At FaithTime for Everyone! on November 6 th we learned about saints, including making this great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1-3) with pictures of some of the many who have reflected God s love. Storied Past, Faithful Future The JOY members attended a Starve In on November 27, 1982. It was to remind them of the many brothers and sisters around the globe who go to bed hungry. The fasting lasted 18 hours and church members could sponsor a youth by pledging financial support for each hour of their fast. Gathering in the Youth Lounge at 6:00 p.m. for studies of hunger issues, some fun, and an overnight at the church, the fast was ended at Noon the following day.
Mission & Outreach... Give Back this Thanksgiving with Community Table There is still time to sign up for Community Table, which our church is hosting on Saturday, November 26 th at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Neenah. Donations of salad -- pasta, potato or fruit are still needed - they can be store bought! If you are able to help, please contact Anne Jones (anne65jones@gmail.com or 422-0695). Take a Dove and Leave Your Heart Tis the season to be jolly and generous. Once again, the Dove Trees will be located outside the office and the Sanctuary. This coming Sunday, November 20 th each tree will be filled with Christmas wishes from individuals and/or agencies. For 2016, our Mission & Outreach Committee has selected the following agencies: COTS, Fox Valley Warming Shelter, Riverview Gardens, and Parkview Health Center. This years Doves contain the wishes of both individuals and organizations to help individual clients and to ensure that programs continue. Here s what to do: a. Select a Dove from the tree. Write your name and phone number on the corresponding Heart, and leave the Heart on the tree. b. Check the back of the Dove as it will indicate if there are specific requirements, e.g. unwrapped vs. wrapped gifts, gift bags only, no glass, etc. Please use the paper Dove as a gift card. If you have more than one gift per Dove, whenever possible, please put all gifts in the same bag and attach the Dove. If you have more than one bag/box for your gifts, put the Dove on one package and place a tag(s) with all information from your Dove onto each of the other gifts. c. All gifts need to be left under the Dove Trees on or before Sunday, December 11 th. If you have any questions please contact Liz Gibson (920-851-0058 or 920-721-9210). Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 We extend our sympathy to Gina Glover and family, on the death of her grandfather, James Kaszmaul, on November 8, 2016.
AMID the HOLIDAY RUSH COME CENTER your SOUL p l e a s e j o i n u s f o r Holden Evening Prayer a s e r v i c e o f s o n g, l i g h t, a n d h o p e Sunday December 11 TH 7:30PM First Presbyterian Church 200 Church St, Neenah Director Dr. Stephen Sieck, Lawrence University & First Presbyterian Church Free Will Offering to benefit Leaven Artwork by Barb Ramaeker
Volunteers Needed... Pianist Needed Do you long to play with a choir who loves to sing familiar hymns and other tunes? Are you available on the third Tuesday of the month for 20-30 minutes between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.? If you answered yes, the Happy Friends Class would love for you to serve as their accompanist. Contact Shirley Willis (585-0265) to volunteer or for more information. Meal Sponsorship and Toy Donations The Just For You Group is looking for a group to sponsor the Teen Parent Christmas Party on December 13 th, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. This would include food purchase, prep, serving, and clean up. They are also in need of toy donations for children ages 0-3 years and gift cards for the teens, such as Target, TJ Maxx, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, etc. Donations can be dropped off at the Baby Closet in the church basement. VolunteerFEST Join VolunteerFEST on Tuesday, November 29 th, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Waverly Beach in Menasha to meet and mingle with representatives from over 40 local nonprofit organizations. Enjoy complimentary hors d oeuvres and learn about how to get started as a volunteer with any of these organizations! RSVP by going to www.volunteerfest2016.eventbrite.com. Presbyterian Women Thank Offering... How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7 Presbyterian women have been making grants to creative ministries through the Thank Offering since 1888 when Eliza Clokey of Springfield, Ohio, urged each woman to give one dollar over and above her usual contribution to the Women s General Missionary Society of the United Presbyterian Church in North America as a thank offering to her Lord. Women gave sacrificially and were credited with saving the worldwide missionary movement of the church at that time. Since then, Presbyterian women have granted support to thousands of ministries worldwide, and raised millions of dollars for mission. Join us this coming Sunday as we dedicate our Thank Offering. Envelopes are available in each pew. Five Second Steward On Sunday, Reverend Terry Hamilton-Poore reminded us that the recent election left half of Americans feeling their world was in rubble, while the other half felt a new day dawning. We are occupying the same space, but we are experiencing two completely different realities, she said. Regardless of your perspective, our church offers opportunities through stewardship to embrace that new day or rebuild from the rubble. How will you participate?
The Back Page... If you re like me, you are still catching your breath after last week s election, and trying to figure out how to move forward with your fellow Americans from both sides. I was grateful for worship this past Sunday, and the opportunity to hear scripture, sing, and pray together, reminding ourselves of our common values and common calling as Christians. It is striking how divided our country is. We have become strangers to one another, and we seem unable to find empathy for the different struggles that the other faces. Part of it, I believe, is that we don t have opportunities to know one another as human beings. When the congregation gathered two Sundays ago to begin forming meaning statements about the church, I noticed that this was a concern even within this congregation. Along with statements about the importance of youth and of mission here, there were a number of statements that expressed, in different ways, a hunger for community, for relationships a yearning for opportunities to get to know one another more deeply, across the divides of age and gender. Moving forward, I will work with staff and committees to explore more ways to make this happen, but I also welcome your ideas. What kinds of activities would create connections? What kinds of groups would feed your soul? Early in Genesis, God pronounced, It isn t good for the human being to be alone. And there is no reason for it, either! Here we are, all in one place, with lives, with hearts, with stories. Together, we can certainly find ways to connect with one another in honest, meaningfully, lifegiving ways. Grace and Peace, P.S. The Meaning Statements will be posted in the cloister through next Sunday, November 27 th. If you haven t already put your three dots by the ones that are the most significant to you, please do so! First Presbyterian Church 200 Church Street Neenah, WI 54956 (920) 725-4391 www.firstpresneenah.org Interim Pastor: Terry Hamilton-Poore Associate Pastor: Paul Huxtable Director of Christian Education: Gina Struensee Director of Music: Steve Sieck Organist: Blake Doss Handbell Program Coordinator: Paul McKlveen Faith Time Director: David Pecsi Youth Handbell Choir: Tanya Schroeder