FAITH COMMUNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LOAVES & FISHES Volume 39 Issue 10 November 2017 SUNDAYS IN NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 5 9:00 am Bible Study 10:00 am Worship with Communion All Saints Day Stewardship Dedication 11:30 am Whitehall 6:00 pm Youth Group Daylight Savings Ends 12 9:00 am Bible Study 10:00 am Worship 2:30 pm Sleeping Beauty 6:00 pm Youth Group 19 9:00 am Bible Study 10:00 am Worship 5:30 pm Thanksgiving Potluck 26 9:00 am Bible Study 10:00 am Worship 6:00 pm Youth Group Hearing..Trusting..Acting..Sharing
Faith Community Presbyterian Church PAGE 2 VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 FROM DAN S DESK This is the time of year in which church folk get reminded about money. Giving money, that is. Giving money to the church, more specifically. Let me assure you, however, that this is not going to be yet one more effort to relieve you of more of your wealth. It is, instead, a chance to suggest that there are creative and innovative ways to express your support. This church is a strong supporter of mission among the Mayan people of Guatemala. A number of our people travel there every year and work hard to express God s love. Most recently a team installed a fresh water filtering system for San Lucas Toliman, the city where our mission is headquartered. There are other ways to support mission work there. Check these out: First, if you shop at Amazon, sign up for Amazon Smile. That way the company will donate a portion of your purchases to the House of Healing! Just type Amazon Smile into the search bar at www.amazon.com, follow the prompts, and when you re asked to name an organization enter House of Healing Foundation. Kroger offers to do the same thing, donate a portion of your purchases to the House of Healing. At www.kroger.com scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Home page. You ll find a column with the heading Community. Click on Kroger Community Rewards under that heading and it ll guide you through the process. When you re asked to name an organization to support enter House of Healing Foundation. So there you go. Just like that you can support the ministry of the House of Healing, changing the world one life at a time. Your friend, Dan Michalek SAVE THE DATE! December 3, 10 am Please mark your calendars and plan to join us Sunday, December 3rd at 10 am for our Christmas program, "The Heart of Christmas"! We are pleased to have this wonderful program filled with beautiful vocals from our Adult Choir and guest vocalists, narrations throughout the pieces, and a talented orchestra filled with musicians from all parts of Michigan! What a wonderful and joyous way to prepare our hearts for this Advent season and to guide our focus on the true heart of what Christmas is all about! Faith Community Presbyterian Church 44400 W. Ten Mile Rd. Novi, MI 48375-0001 Tel: (248) 349-2345 Fax: (248) 349-5716 www.faithcommunity-novi.org Staff Dan Michalek, Interim Pastor Rebekah Ratza, Director of Music John Bogdan, Pianist Daphne Paulk, Director of Family Development Lavanya Mohan, Business Manager Chrystal Vaughn, Office Administrator Church Officers Elders 2017 Adam Bednarek Lois Egner Terry Kazakos Viola Prater 2018 Jill Bednarek Ted Martin Angela Ryan Micky Tschirhart 2019 Jim Ernst Tammy Johnson Tom Sumiec Mark Turner Deacons 2017 Jay Danielsen Susan Farooq Connie Isbell Michelle McKnight Carolyn Watson 2018 Larry Brandon Mike Everett Suzanne Everett Cindy Huston Jim Paulk Brian Smith 2019 Tom Anan Ruth Anan Dave Bednarek Bob Grove Marianne Simancek Newsletter Nancy Rajala
VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 40 th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF FAITH COMMUNITY Faith Community Presbyterian Church YOUTH NEWS SAVE THESE DATES PAGE 3 On Sunday, October 1, we celebrated the 40 th Anniversary of our Faith Community Church. Following the World Wide Communion Service, the sanctuary was transformed into a festive dining room complete with colorful mum plants, silvery pumpkins, candles and linens. December 16 5-9 pm Drop N Shop Ages 3-Up $5 per child December 29, 7 pm through December 30, 10 am Youth Lock-In Grades 7-12 Youth Group meets on Sunday's from 6-7:30 pm in the youth room Pastor Dan welcomed the near 170 church family and guests with kind words about his role as Interim and his observation of the strength of the church family. Mr. Al Timm, Presbytery of Detroit, added to the welcome. Pastor Richard Henderson gave an emotional recap of the church when it first met at the Village Oaks Elementary School and the first service where we are today. He commented on the closeness of the church family and the feeling of being home. Dave Butler, Rebekah Ratza and John Bogdan provided special music. Former Associate Pastors Kate Thoresen, Jann Martin and Catharine McCloskey- Turner attended as well as our first secretary, Linda Wilder. Many church family members from the past and the present were enjoying the food, festivities and fellowship. It was fun to see the pictures and videos of the life of our church over time. The planning committee is thankful to all those that helped set up the sanctuary, help with the food and with the clean up. The gifts of the Key Fobs and Ornaments were made by Brian and Ann Smith. Gifts such as dedication, time and talent are cornerstones for our church today as they were 40 years ago. Thank you from the Anniversary Planning Committee: Tom Sumiec, Suzanne Everett, Barb Crawford, Nancy Rajala, Ginny Mowbray, Ann Kowalczyk, Marianne Simancek and others that shared their vision. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD A small shoebox can teach a child about the love of God, lead him or her to faith in Christ, inspire pastors, plant new churches. What goes into the box is fun, but what comes out is eternal. Be part of changing lives through the power of a simple gift. See the table in the narthex for more information about how you can pack a shoebox that will be sent to children in need worldwide. Our youth will be collecting packed boxes through November 19 th.
PAGE 4 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 SELF STUDY UPDATE Thank you to all who helped make this year s CROP Walk for Hunger Relief a success. We joined our sister churches in Novi and Northville to support Church World Service s efforts to relieve the suffering of those affected by hunger. Twenty-five percent of our Walk s funds stay local to assist the Novi Emergency Food Program, Northville Civic Concern, Everyone Eats in Detroit and the Redford Interfaith Relief Agency. Final numbers will be available soon. If you would still like to support our local Walk, or are interested in helping organize the 2018 Walk, contact Tom Anan. Please continue to pray for those suffering from hunger and food insecurity and those working with Church World Service around the world. The Congregational Assessment (survey) has been completed. Letters were mailed to all members with a summary and there are copies of the full survey results available for review in the church office. The committee is working hard to complete the entire lengthy study. This study must then be submitted to Session for their approval prior to submission to the Presbytery of Detroit. Once the Self Study has been approved by Presbytery, we can then move on to the next steps in this transition. The Self Study Committee would like to thank all Faith members for their survey participation and all other input that has been provided to the committee. Most of all, we would like to thank the congregation for their support and their patience in this process, which has been much more involved and much more time consuming than anyone expected. PILLOWCASE PARTIERS DONATE 25 PILLOWCASES to AGED OUT FOSTER STUDENTS at WSU WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 Mark your calendars for an exciting NEW event on Faith s Advent Calendar! Join us for the Children s Christmas Presentation at 5:30 pm. The program will be sure to make you smile and reflect on the true meaning of the season. Then stay for Family Pizza Party and Hanging of the Greens. Fellowship and food for all and then decorate the sanctuary for Christmas. Join in the fun! Although FCPC did not make care packages for Wayne State University students who have aged out of the foster care system as we have done in the past, we did contribute to this annual project. Our friends at First Presbyterian Church in Plymouth created 25 care packages that included toothbrushes, toilet paper, shampoo and soap, snacks and other personal items. We provided a hand-sewn pillowcase for each student made with fun fabric and a contrasting border. Each had special message attached Made for you, with love by the Pillowcase Partiers sewing group at Faith Community Presbyterian Church in Novi. We wish you sweet dreams. The care packages will be distributed later this month. This will be an exciting event that all generations will enjoy. Due to busy lives, the Pillowcase Partiers will not meet in November and December. Our next get together is January 23 at 1 pm. For more information, contact Val Kushman.
VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 ANNUAL THANKSGIVING POTLUCK November 19, 5:30 pm Bring Your Appetite and a Dish to Share The tradition continues! As usual, the Fellowship Committee will provide an abundance of roasted turkey and gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and warm rolls and butter. You bring salad and vegetable OR stuffing and dessert, your choice. This family dinner will include a look back at the church year in photos, plus a sing-a-long of well-loved Thanksgiving hymns. Extended family and friends are invited, so bring em along. Please sign up on the poster in the narthex so we can plan for you. And don t forget place settings and silverware! Faith Community Presbyterian Church BIBLE STUDY PAGE 5 We continue to discuss Paul s Letter to the Romans, but will be taking a break for an Advent study. Starting November 19th we will be discussing The Redemption of Scrooge by Matt Rawle. This is a four week look at the classic Christmas story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In this series we see Scrooge as a man needing forgiveness and we look at the Ghosts as offering him hope through Christian faith. The thing I m most thankful for now is elastic waistbands. ~Unknown MEN S BREAKFAST GROUP December 9 If you are one of the regulars or a first-timer, plan to join the group for breakfast and conversation Saturday morning, 8:30 am, December 9, at the Honey Tree Restaurant. It s BYOB, buy-your-own-breakfast, paired with anything-goes conversation. Classes will meet Sundays November 19 & 26 and December 10 & 17 at 9:00 am. Enrich your faith this Advent season by joining us as we discuss a classic Christmas story in a different way. See Linda Shoener or Laura/Adam Bednarek if you have any questions. The Honey Tree is located at 10 Mile & Meadowbrook. Contact Mike Everett for more information. NO SUNDAY BRUNCH IN NOVEMBER & DECEMBER We will return with brunch on January 28, 2018. If you have a suggestion for a brunch location, contact Suzanne Everett.
PAGE 6 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 YOUR GENEROSITY PUTS PRESENTS UNDER THE GIVING TREE One of the nicest traditions we follow every year is the Christmas Giving Tree. This tree in the corner of the narthex is decorated with special ornaments with wishes from our Food Bank families for a Christmas gift. Each ornament has suggestions for something you can buy to make someone s Christmas a little merrier. Some people choose a payment to DTE or Consumers Energy to help pay their utility bill as their gift. It s easy to participate. Take a gift tag from the tree and then sign YOUR name on the gift poster next to that tag number. Purchase and wrap your gift, securely attach the gift tag and bring it to church by Sunday, December 10th. If you decide to help pay a utility bill, write a check (in any amount you choose) payable to DTE or to Consumers Energy. Put the check and gift tag in an envelope marked Giving Tree DTE/ Consumers and leave in the church office by the due date. If you would like to purchase a gift but have someone else shop for you, see Cindy Tschirhart, Jim Ernst or Val Kushman. CHRISTMAS EVE Join us as we celebrate the Birth of the Christ Child. Bring your family and friends to share in the joy. 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service 6:00 pm Family Christmas Eve Service 9:00 pm Candlelight Christmas Eve Service THEATER OUTING PLANNED FOR 2018 Get ready for an afternoon of laughter! The Fellowship Committee is planning a Matinee and Dinner event for early 2018. We are still looking for a light and entertaining play for this church-wide event. Gifts will be given to our Food Bank families on December 11th so they will have them in time for Christmas. Stay tuned for more details!
PAGE 10 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 39 ISSUE 10 PRIMETIMERS On Wednesday, November 8 the PrimeTimers will meet at Alfoccino s at noon. Sign up on the sheet located on the narthex bulletin board. Alfoccino s is located on the corner of Grand River and Haggerty in Farmington Hills.