FAITH COMMUNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LOAVES & FISHES Volume 41 Issue 05 May 2018 SUNDAYS IN MAY Sunday, May 6 Communion 11:30 am Mother s Day Tea Set-up 12:30 pm Mother s Day Tea Sunday, May 13 11:30 am - 4:00 pm Rummage Sale Drop Off Sunday, May 20 11:30 am Walton Woods 2-5 pm Spring Clean-Up Sunday, May 27 Hearing..Trusting..Acting..Sharing
Faith Community Presbyterian Church PAGE 2 VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 FROM DAN S DESK As I write this it's mid April, freezing, with a winter storm warning in effect. Stop for a moment and reflect on that sentence. In some ways I suppose we should be grateful. After all, my son in Traverse City pointed out that last night (April 13) seven inches of snow fell, and today they're expecting up to fifteen inches more!! Mid April. By the time you read this it'll be late April or early May, so this should be a distant memory (at least we can hope so), but it does provide a nice reality check along with a reminder that we do well to always keep the mission to which we've been called front and center. In a recent sermon I talked about the twenty eight day rule: The mission and vision have to be repeated and reaffirmed every twenty eight days in order to avoid mission drift. It may be a degree or two at the beginning but without regular monitoring and course correcting you'll get so off course that you won't know where you are or where you're going. Distraction can be a killer, even if it's something as mundane as the weather. This summer will feature a review and reaffirmation of our mission and vision. You remember, it's printed on the back of most of our bulletins with our logo on the front and even on the building itself. Then again, perhaps it was long ago relegated to those places with little more than an occasional glance. Twenty eight days go by much too quickly. So, friends, stay tuned and remain attentive. As we move ahead in seeking God's choice for our new pastor, we do well to prepare by reestablishing our firm foundation. That way we'll remain faithful even if there's snow in July! Your friend, Dan POSTAL FOOD DRIVE On Saturday, May 12, the Post Office will hold the annual food drive, which is the largest donation to the Novi Emergency Food Program for the entire year. We need volunteers working in 2-hour shifts from 1:00 to 6:00 pm on May 12 to sort food and put it away. Please sign up in the Narthex. If you have any questions contact Jim Ernst 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 2018 Jill Bednarek Ted Martin Angela Ryan Micky Tschirhart 2019 Jim Ernst Tammy Johnson Tom Sumiec Mark Turner 2020 Leonard Berman George Kortlandt Kim Richmond Roger Wilfong Deacons 2018 Larry Brandon Mike Everett Suzanne Everett Cindy Huston Michelle McKnight Jim Paulk Brian Smith 2019 Tom Anan Ruth Anan Dave Bednarek Bob Grove Marianne Simancek 2020 Adam Bednarek Barb Crawford Connie Isbell Cathy Ross Newsletter Nancy Rajala, Design & Layout Brenda Benn, Editor
VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 Faith Community Presbyterian Church PAGE 3 RUMMAGE SALE TIME! Beginning May 13th, after the church service your no longer used possessions will be welcome to offer as someone else s treasures (NO electronics or baby cribs please). Drop off times: Sunday, May 13, until 4:00 pm Monday, May 14, 10:00 am-6:00 pm (sale prep) Tuesday, May 15, 10:00 am-5:00 pm (sale prep) Wednesday, May 16, sale prep 10:00 am-3:00 pm Sale times: Wednesday, May 16, 5-8:00 pm (members only) Thursday, May 17, 9:00 am-6:00 pm Friday, May 18, 9:00 am-noon (bag day) GRADUATING STUDENTS Please contact the church office if you have a high school senior that will be graduating this year. We are currently planning Graduation Sunday and want to be sure we include ALL our students. If you have a college/post graduate student that will be graduating, please get that information to us also. Just contact the church office or email Chrystal and let her know. Thank you and Congratulations! We need lots of assistance to make this a successful endeavor. Please sign up to help us sort and display goods. The proceeds this year will go to various mission projects. Volunteers to organize set-up, advertising, check-out and bagging, and clean-up after noon on Friday are needed. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR LIBRARY CLEAN UP During the month of April members of the congregation were invited to take books from the library for their personal use. Reference books for use during Adult Bible study classes have been moved to the adult classroom. Now volunteers are needed to help sort and box the books remaining in the library. See Linda Shoener if you can help. PILLOWCASE PARTY TUESDAY MAY 22 1:00 pm Hearing Trusting Acting Sharing
PAGE 4 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 PRESBYTERIAN INVESTMENT AND LOAN PROGRAM The mortgage we have on our building is through the Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program. In order to borrow funds at the PILP base interest rate, congregations commit to building an investment base equal to 20% of the initial loan amount. This helps replenish the funds available for loans to other congregations. The investment base must remain at a minimum of 20% of the outstanding balance of the loan over the life of the loan. When members of our congregation designate their investment in support of a Faith Community s mortgage, then that amount is credited toward the church s 20% requirement. When the investment level exceeds 20%, Faith Community can earn rebates on the interest paid on the mortgage. Rebates are paid at investment levels of 35%, 50%, 75% and 100% and could reduce our effective interest rate on the loan by as much as one full percentage point. Currently our congregation s designated investments are at 82% giving us a 3/4% interest rate rebate. This rebate goes to pay down our mortgage which is currently $240,000. If you are interested in making an investment in the PILP that not only pays interest to you but also helps reduce our mortgage you can download information at pilp.pcusa.org or contact a member of the A&B Committee. Faith members, families and friends met on April 15th to show off their bowling skills. Sorry guys, the women ruled! First place was Sharon Brandon followed by Barb Crawford. A celebratory dinner followed at Border Cantina. Congratulations Sharon and Barb. BIBLE STUDY We continue a study of the Old Testament through May. The class is based on the book The Bible Jesus Read by Phillip Yancy. Remaining classes will discuss Psalms, Ecclesiastes, The Prophets and a summary of the messages in the Old Testament. Classes will not meet during the summer months. See Laura/Adam Bednarek or Linda Shoener if you have any questions. PRIMETIMERS Wednesday, May 9 12:00 pm Tirami Sú 146 Maincentre Northville
PAGE 5 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 COME JOIN US FOR VBS June 25-29 9:00 am-12:00 pm We will take you on a rolling adventure where children will learn the depths of God's love through the rolling waters of the High Seas Expedition. Now taking registration for church members. Forms are in the narthex. We are also seeking volunteers. MOTHER S DAY TEA May 6th 12:30 pm We would like to honor our Moms by having our young ones serving a special tea just for them. Kids to set up at 11:30 am. Moms to return at 12:30 pm for tea. All ages welcome. Please see Daphne Paulk for more information. Nick Everett cleans the tables for April 4th E1E lunch. SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Please consider donating a little of your time to the children of Faith Community Church this summer! Starting June 17, we will offer group Sunday School (but only on the Sundays that we have volunteer teachers). The materials and lessons will be organized and provided for you to make the experience very easy. There is a signup sheet in the narthex. You can sign up for just one week, or a few. Many members have expressed a desire for increased membership and family participation in our church. Offering Sunday school is one way to welcome and be attractive to families. However, we cannot offer Sunday School without volunteers. No special experience or certain level of biblical knowledge required! You CAN do this, and we need your help. Contact Kim Richmond or Daphne Paulk for more information. We are also searching for regular Sunday School teacher teams, and occasional subs for next school year.
Faith Community Presbyterian Church PAGE 6 VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 SPRING CLEAN UP Sunday, May 20th following the service. We need help for spring cleaning inside and outside of the church. The outside work will include: trimming trees and bushes and laying mulch. Please bring hedge clippers, wheel barrels, shovels and rakes. Cleaning supplies are needed for the inside work. A lot of hands will make this a quick and successful day. CPR TRAINING Thursday May 3, 6:30-10 pm We will be holding an Adult and Child Heart saver CPR class. This is an American Heart Association course covering choking emergencies for adults and children. Upon successful completion of the class you will receive a two year certification card. You will learn the difference between a Heart Attack versus Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Did you know that 75-80 % of Sudden Cardiac Arrests that occur outside of the hospital happen at home? The chance that you may have to provide CPR to a family member or friend at home is enormous. Consider attending this FREE class. You will receive a Heart Saver CPR AED workbook and other valuable information. Look on the Narthex Bulletin board for a sign-up sheet or call Mike Everett and ADD YOUR NAME to the list of attendees. Class size is limited to 15. WOMEN S GROUP Tuesday, May 8th 12:30 pm Please join the group as we will be crafting some decorations for this year s VBS. We will be making creatures of the High Seas and it does not matter if you are artistic or not, this is all in fun and lunch will be provided. SPINACH SALAD Salad mixture: 1 package spinach 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped 3 strips bacon, cooked & crumbled 1 can French Fried Onions Mushrooms, sliced Red onion, sliced There is a signup sheet in the narthex. Any questions please see Daphne Paulk. Dressing: 1/4 cup vinegar 3/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup ketchup 1 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Mix dressing together well. Pour over spinach mixture. From the kitchen of Ginny Mowbray
PAGE 8 Faith Community Presbyterian Church VOLUME 41 ISSUE 05 MUCHAS GRACIAS Y MATIOX! The Mission Team to Guatemala would like to extend a heartfelt Thank You for the congregation s support in helping prepare for our trip to San Lucas last month. It takes a whole church to respond to the Spirit s calling to do God s work. We ve been overwhelmed with the generosity of so many in donations of supplies and funds. Although we were represented in San Lucas by 10 team members, the real team is all of us and all of our neighbors in Toliman, Guatemala. We were able to install another Living Waters for the World project in Cerro de Oro, reconnected with our brothers and sisters with The Pentecostal Evangelical Church in San Lucas, built two fuel efficient stoves for two families in Chitulul, assisted with some renovations at the House of Healing where we stayed, and helped care for about 200 patients in the Clinic at the House of Healing. Please continue to pray for our team, our friends in Guatemala, Teri (our missionary host in San Lucas), and the ministry of the House of Healing. Also please consider joining a mission team in the future- it s a great cross-cultural experience. More information will be coming in the near future. Please contact Mark Turner or Tom Anan with any questions. Visit the website, houseofhealingfoundation.org, for interesting stories and information about God s work among the Mayans of Guatemala.