Dear Friends, I love watching the children come down for the children s sermon on Sunday mornings. They are so beautiful, so wonderful and so vulnerable. When we plan for Sunday School, Vacation Bible School or even to hold a nursery, we as a congregation accept the terrible and all important responsibility of keeping them safe while they are in our care. When we hold a youth event, we take on this same responsibility to keep them safe. We want everyone who comes into our building and fellowship to be safe, and we bear extra responsibility for those who cannot keep safeguard themselves. I am proud that this congregation has a robust and thoughtful Child Protection Policy that is in place to safeguard everyone under the age of 18 from sexual predators. Do you know that we run background checks on everyone who has access to children or youth eighteen years and younger? You do if you teach Sunday School or work as a youth advisor! All staff, Elders, Deacons and volunteers are required to fill out a volunteer application (with references) and give the church permission to run a criminal background check (local and national) on them. That is good, but that is not enough! In addition, our policy requires that I tell the congregation each year through this newsletter about this policy, and that we train the leadership and volunteers in the policy and in our required standards of behavior. For example, it is our practice to have two, un-related adults supervising any group of minors at all times. Andrea Paschal and I will be leading a training session for ANYONE who wants to come on Monday, October 10 TH AT 6:30PM. Volunteers who work with children and youth will be personally invited, but I want to invite the whole congregation so that you will know more about both the risks of sexual predation and more about how FLPC aims to prevent it! Our best insurance against any child ever being abused or molested is a well-trained and alert congregation who knows what our standards of behavior are and who know how and to whom to report any suspicions. If you can come, please do. The safety of those beautiful and vulnerable children and youth who are a part of our family of faith is worth an hour of our time. I ll hope to see you there! And in church... Ellen Ellen F. Skidmore Forest Lake Presbyterian Church 6500 North Trenholm Road Columbia, SC 29206 (803) 787-5672 www.flpc.org Office Hours: M-F, 8:30-5:00 Proclaiming the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ, to build a fellowship of Christian Love, and to serve this community and the world in the spirit of the Servant Christ.
Please Pray For... Missionaries * Mark Adams - Mexico Shelvis & Nancy Smith Mather, - South Sudan * Ministry of Hope- Lesotho PASTORAL CARE NUMBERS Ellen Skidmore - 803-463-7586 (cell) E-Mail: ellenskidmore@flpc.org Michael East - 918-814-2137 (cell) Email: michaeleast@flpc.org Eric Skidmore - 803-543-9859 (cell) E-mail: zacchaeus@sc.rr.com Below is a note from someone who witnessed our Middle Schoolers serving at the food pantry during our VBS outreach program Middle Schoolers, Your thoughtful service brought a smile to my face. Thank you! The way you came to the aid of others was fabulous. We do what God permits but so often its nice when students like Presbyterian Middle Schoolers are serving. Thank you for what you did, what you said to them, and most of all, who you are. God Is Good. We are His children and He loves us all. Peace and Love, Jonnie Gillian P.S. I am a food pantry server. Thank You Stephen Ministry Forest Lake Presbyterian Church is a Stephen Ministry congregation! If you feel like you or someone you know could benefit from a one-toone, confidential, caring Christian relationship, please contact: Wayne Harris at 790-0954 or cell 608-1187 or harris1973@bellsouth.net ; Margaret Harris at 790-0954 or cell 608-1477 or harris1973@bellsouth.net Bettianne Davenport at 782-6256 or Cell 530-6018 or bettianned@sc.rr.com I want to thank you for your prayers, cards, emails, and meals as I recover from back surgery. I'm healing well and out of pain. Steve and I are truly blessed to be a part of the Forest Lake family. Hope to be back in church soon. Linda Etheredge New Address! Lois Jinks has moved to the Presbyterian Community in Florence. Her new address is: Box 86 2350 West Lucas St. Florence, SC 29501 She wishes to stay in touch with the congregation, so please update your directory. Memorial Gifts Made in August: Rosa Putnam
Sunday Nursery Workers October 2 9:00 - Kay Hampton & Carl Fogle 11:00 Vivian Bolton October 9 9:00 - Ashley & Kenyon Foster 11:00 - DoraAnn & Jack McKenzie October 16 9:00 - Ginny & Daniel Jones 11:00 - Nancy Livingston October 23-60th Anniversary 11:00 - Nursery Staff Join the Children s Choir Boys and Girls in 1st 5th Grade Please join us on Wednesdays, 6:00-6:30pm in the choir room. Bring a Friend! We ll be looking for you! Save the Date! Annual Church Retreat Feb. 3-5, 2017 Montreat Conference Center More details will be coming soon! FUN DAZE Trip Pumpkin Tour at Clinton Sease Farm October 14-9:30 4:00 Kindergarten 5th grade Fall fun awaits on this school holiday as we enjoy a picnic and fun at the Pumpkin Patch. We will learn about the pumpkins, enjoy a hayride, walk through a maze and even get to bring home a pumpkin! Cost is $10 and bring a picnic lunch. Space is limited to 13! Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 12. https://secure.accessacs.com/access/eventlink.aspx?id=1rtvhwh5u2rx%2f%2brjihslza%3d%3d Rev. Mark Adams and his wife, Miriam Escobar are two of our PCUSA Mission Co-workers and Mark has been the U.S. Coordinator of Frontera de Cristo since 1998. Frontera de Cristo is a Presbyterian border ministry focused on primarily on mission education, migrant resources, family ministry, church development, and health. Mark and his family will be joining us on Sunday, October 2nd for World Communion Sunday. Mark will help lead worship, lead a Sunday school class, and then that evening Mark and his family will meet with our youth. We are blessed and excited to host Mark, Miriam and two of their children and we hope you will join us as we hear more about border ministry. You may use the enclosed Peacemaking Envelope for your offering or look for one in your bulletin on October 2nd. You are Invited to a Community Interfaith Service on Tuesday October 4 at 7:00 pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (3909 Forest Drive) To recognize the first anniversary of the flood that brought together our community in a way we had never witnessed before. A Reception will immediately follow the service.
Calendar of Events SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 8:30 AM Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Worship Service 9:45 AM Coffee time 10:00 AM Sunday School 10:30 AM Choir Rehearsal 11:00 AM Worship Service 2:30 PM Disciple II 5:30 PM FLY (FH) 5:30 PM Financial Peace Univ (E102) MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 6:00 PM NAMI (E201) TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 6:45 AM Men s Bible Study & Breakfast 8:15 AM Personnel (E102) 9:00 AM Yoga (Parlor) 10:30 AM Staff Mtg 5:00 PM Education Ministry (E102) 5:30 PM Serv. & Benev. (Library) 7:00 PM Interfaith Community Service (Good Shepherd Lutheran) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 10:00 AM Ladies Small Group 5:15 PM Kirk Night 6:00 PM Children s Choir 6:40 PM Handbell Choir 7:30 PM Chancel Choir THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 9:00 AM Yoga (Parlor) 10:00 AM Hebrews 5:00 PM Property Ministry (E102) 6:30 PM Race & Law Enforcement (Parlor) 7:15 PM Stewardship & Admin FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 5:00 PM FLY Lock-in FLPC provides mentors to Forest Lake Elementary - a gift to you and the children of Forest Lake. We are looking for those that are willing and are looking to be of service in a way that is sorely needed - impacting the lives of children today! Here are the requirements: Meet the requirements for being a mentor Be at the school with your child for about 30 minutes to 1 hour a week - as a minimum 2 times a month Work with teachers to enrich the life of your child You can split the time with another person or be on your own. If you are interested or want to know more, please contact Emily Peebles or Diane Bruce in the media center of Forest Lake Elementary School at 803 782-0470, ext. 3147. Get ready for Drive for a Ride Please participate in our church s effort to support The Cooperative Ministry s Drive for a Ride fundraiser from October 1 through November 30. The Drive for a Ride initiative supports Cooperative Ministry s Autos for Opportunities Program which provides transportation for the working poor. Our efforts will include a fill the envelope fundraiser conducted throughout the fundraising period and a chili cook-off scheduled for Kirk Night, Wednesday, November 2, at 5:15 pm. The donation station for the fill the envelope effort will set up on October 1 in the Welcome Center. Donation envelopes will be marked from $1 to $50 and the goal is filling all 50 envelopes. Instructions for how to participate and additional information will be located at the donation station. Please contact Tom Leclair for additional information on the fill the envelope effort (803-786-5599; tjllsl@earthlink.net) and Pam Appleby for the chili cookoff event (803-736-8562; Pappleby216@gmail.com). Family Promise Our next Family Promise host week is October 16-22. Please stop by the Connecting Point desk to see the needs and sign up.
BACKYARD COMPOSTING 101 October 15th - 2pm 4pm Ridgewood Park Community Center 805 Crest St., Columbia, SC 29203 Did you know that 30% of the waste South Carolinians throw out consists of lawn debris and food scraps that can be composted? Attend this FREE, hands-on workshop to learn how composting can reduce waste, improve soil health, and add nutrients to your plant s soil without additional fertilizers. Registration deadline is October 12th Contact williamsc3@rcgov.us or 803-576-2491 to register Kirk Night Kirk Night OCTOBER 5, at 5:15pm Menu: Shepherd s Pie, Salad, Apple Crisp & Ice Cream $5.00 adult, $4.00 children, $25.00 Family Maximum Make your reservation by noon on October 4. Please indicate if your child wants the main entrée or a kid s meal. Disciple 1, What Other Christians Believe and Why, Falling Upward, Covenant: Young Families Bible Study ***NEW Mission opportunity at FLPC Help the clients at Harvest Hope bring your collected plastic grocery bags to Kirk night the first Wednesday of the month. Time will be spent in fellowship as we work together to flatten, double bag and fold for their client use. Blood Drive Update We had a very successful Red Cross Blood Drive on the 11th. We exceeded our goal by two units, and had a number of donors that are not FLPC members. In addition, WLTX came and did a story about our event on September 11 - the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Ellen was interviewed and the story appeared on the 6:00 local news that evening. FLPW Circle Meetings Circle 1 October 11, 10:00am, Fellowship Hall Circle 2 October 10, 11:00am, S211 Circle 3 October 11, 6:30pm, at Pam Appleby s, 216 Genesee Valley Rd Circle 4 October 13, 7:00pm, at Andrea Paschal s, 2212 West Branch Rd The 2016/2017 Forest Lake Youth Basketball season is about to begin! For Girls and Boys 2nd grade through 12th grade Sign-up sheets are at the Connecting Point and Welcome Center desks. The deadline to sign-up is Sunday, October 30. Payment of $75 must be turned in with registration form. Questions? Contact: Cambo Streater (803) 609-7906, streaterc2@rcgov.us Or David Beacham (803) 518-3958, dbeacham68@gmail.com Thanks to everyone who came to donate to this cause. Our blood drive assured that many people in need to blood will receive the gift of life.
Notes from the Stated Session Meeting of Sunday, September 18, 2016 Welcomed Dr. Allison Randel, supervising psychologist for the Autism Academy of SC, who brought both words of deep thanks and a plaque of appreciation to the Session for their sponsoring the CampMates summer camp for Autistic Children this summer in our building. See the plaque and picture of the children who attended camp in the Office Hallway! Approved the planning and fundraising for a Stop Hunger Now! Event on Saturday, April 1, 2017 with a fundraising goal of $10,000. Approved all special offerings for 2016. Approved Curricula (for adult and youth classes) and teachers for both children s and youth Sunday School and Kirk Night Classes Received information about plans for a special worship service on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8 th from 6:30-7:00pm to include communion, and also were invited to sign up for 30 minute prayer times in the sanctuary on that day from 7:00am until 6:30pm. The congregation will also be invited both to take prayer vigil shifts and to come to the worship service at 6:30. Received information about events being planned by Care and Connections: Flu Shots to be available on both Wednesday, October 19 th and Sunday, October 23 rd. Congregational Picnic to be held at Sesquicentennial State Park on Saturday, October 1 st. Plans to have a spaghetti lunch for the FLPC Basketball teams, coaches and parents after worship on Sunday, Feb 12, 2017 Received as information plans for educational events and conferences being planned: High School Mission Trip Raleigh Youth Mission, June 18-23, 2017 Montreat HS Youth Conference, Montreat, NC, July 9-14, 2017 Montreat MS Youth Conference, Maryville College, TN, July 19-23, 2017 Trinity Presbytery HS Conference, Bethelwoods Conference Center, November 11-13, 2016 The Body God Gave Me! Sexuality education event for parents of children, September 25, 2016 Covenant Bible Study small groups now beginning both in homes and at the church. Approved plans for a FLY Lock-In for October 7-8, 2016. Approved final versions of position descriptions for: the Part-Time Youth Director (Chandler Hulsey), The Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministry (Andrea Paschal), the Associate for Service, Care and Discipleship (Michael East), and the Youth Advisory Council (made up of youth and adult volunteers). All of these position descriptions were created or changed to accomplish the shift to a more congregational model of youth ministry. Approved two projects planned by Service and Benevolence: FLPC s support for the Cooperative Ministry s Drive for a Ride fundraiser to provide cars for people in poverty To plan and to carry out three programs from 6:30-8:00pm on the following Thursdays - October 6, November 3 and December 1, 2016 - on the topic of Race and Law Enforcement: A Call to Listen. Watch the Newsletter for full details. These programs have two goals: provide space for listening to the perspectives of others concerning race and law enforcement; and to identify future actions for individual congregation members or FLPC as a whole. The programs are not designed to provide a forum for debate but will provide a space for respectful listening. Members of Northminster Presbyterian will be invited to attend as well. Approved the creation of an Organ Facilitation Task Force for the purpose of taking the recommendation from the Organ Committee and identifying the issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the organ FLPC purchases becomes an enhancement to our worship and mission and recommending solutions to those issues to Session. Elder William Hunter will chair this Task Force. Other members are: Patsy Brown, Margaret Harris, Steve Hyman, Suzanne Precht, David Skinner, Cindy Welborn, and Beth Mears and Ellen Skidmore (exofficio). Approved FLPC s participation in an interfaith service of worship to be held on Tuesday, October 4 th at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 7pm to commemorate the one year anniversary of the floods of 2015. Elected Margaret Harris and Don Keever, with Suzanne Precht as alternate, to be commissioners to the Stated Meeting of Trinity Presbytery on Tuesday, October 18 th in Aiken, SC.
October Birthdays! 1 Luke Avant, Kitty Trewhella 2 Chloe Beckham, David Paschal, Landon Santino 3 Linda Byrum, Barbara Goff, Teresa Mitchell, Amy Watford 4 Craig Collins, Shane Horne 6 Gayle Charles 7 Marian Blakely, Kathryn LaRose, Pam McPeak, Russ Templeton 8 Buck Loflen, Calan Jackson 9 Katie Pittman 12 Preston McLaurin 13 Patti Eckhart, Ryan Olive, Nancy Winn 14 Hank Hankinson, Brady Harris, Philip Richardson 15 Doris Covert, Katherine Lockwood 16 Christie Brown, Kelly Hoppmann 17 Cooper Scott 18 Campbell Hutchison, Samantha Lencke, Eanes Lockwood 19 Ginny Andrews, Pick Ellerbe, Anne Fowler, Beverly Heath 20 Paige Anderson, Jeff Binnicker, Townes Holland, Jo May 21 Mary Dailey, Zeb Smith 22 Kenyon Foster, Don Keever, Adair Kinlaw, Barbara Smith 23 Mike Woodle 24 Michael Beall 25 Sherry Beck 26 Peggy Chason 27 Dana Kinlaw, Crawford Young 28 Sarah Helen Russell 29 Janice Bliss, Teri Hiott, Jeff Perry, Anastasia Shaw 30 Don Fisher, Grant Fontaine, Olivia Nix 31 Elizabeth Mitchell, Gina Morris Annual Budget $803,287 YTD Budgeted Expenses $535,525 YTD Actual Income $517,330 YTD Actual Expenses $481,794 Budget details are available in the Welcome Center. The Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion Program are currently looking for volunteers: Qualifications: Must be 55 Years Old and Older Must be a resident of Richland or Lexington County For a household of one cannot make more than $23,760.00 per year. Willing to undergo a background check. Benefits: Volunteering working with children or homebound seniors. Giving back to your local community. Receive a monthly tax-free stipend. If you are interested please contact Senior Resources, Inc. (803)252-7734 ext. 244 Join us in A Call to Listen Mark your calendars for Thursdays, October 6, November 3 and December 1, from 6:30 8:00 pm. The Race and Law Enforcement: A Call to Listen program will take place in the church Parlor on those dates. October 6 and November 3 will feature panel presentations. The October 6 panel presentation will provide the perspectives of three African-Americans. The November 3 panel presentation will provide the perspectives of three law enforcement officers. December 1 will feature small group discussions on the panel presentations. For additional information, please contact Tom Leclair (803-786-5599, tjllsl@earthlink.net).