Volume XX Issue 4 The Caller September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Inside this issue: 3 Letter from Pastor Allan 4 Birthdays, baptism, wedding, death, memorial gifts 5 College student addresses; blood drive; Plum food pantry; Stewardship 6 Music Ministry news & events 7 Christian Education 8 9 Heather McGarvey 10 12 Camp Crestfield 13 Calendar Garden Committee Wednesdays - 9:30am Labor Day September 5 Movie Night September 9 Sunday School Kickoff September 11 Pointfest September 17 & 18 New Members' Class September 17 Blood Drive September 18 Fall Festival at Camp Crestfield October 7-9 The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek Soup Sale October 16 550 Center New Texas Road Pittsburgh, PA 15239-1502 Secretary@PlumCreekChurch.com www.plumcreekchurch.com September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 1
The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek publishes The Caller monthly (with the exception of July and August). If you have an item to contribute, please email it to Secretary@PlumCreekChurch.com or place it in The Caller mailbox in the church office. To submit a newspaper or magazine article to be reprinted in The Caller, include the name and date of the newspaper or magazine where the article was originally published. The deadline for all articles is the 20 th of the month. Please provide submissions in computer-ready (MS Word or text) format when possible. Thanks! Church Address: The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek 550 Center New Texas Road Pittsburgh, PA 15239-1502 Office Phone Number: (412) 793 4525 E-mail Address: Office Hours: Pastor Director of Youth and Educational Ministries Director of Music Ministries Business Administrator Worship Services Sunday School Classes Secretary@PlumCreekChurch.com Monday Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Allan Drake Justin Pearl Gloria Mayo Kathy Kirk Sundays at 10:00 a.m. Sundays 8:45 a.m. September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 2
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4 Before I went on vacation, I had an incredible conversation with a Church Member who voiced her concern about the direction our church is headed into. She expressed concern that the beautiful community we currently have, could be blown apart if we are not careful. She also talked about the love of Christ for all people regardless of where they come from. I was able to explain to this fine member that the session shares her concerns for unity in the midst of the upcoming discernment process which has our congregation making the biggest decision it has possibly ever made. Stay in the PCUSA or forge ahead as Presbyterians albeit with another denomination is the question we are considering. I shared with her that the concern that the session has is trying to love all people while still being true to God s Word in matters related to human sexuality and other issues like the Authority of God s Word and the SOLE Lordship of Jesus Christ which also is coming under attack. What was wonderful about our conversation was that we were really hearing each other s concerns and appreciating what the other person was saying. We were also talking to each other from a place of sincerity and love, not politics and threats. In the fall we will be having at least 3 meetings together to talk about the future of our Church in relationship with the PCUSA. If we share from a place of genuiness and care, we can be true to what God is laying on each of our hearts without being manipulative, political, or hateful. In doing so, no matter what happens over the course of the next year, we will effectively maintain our unity and love for one another. Make these your goals this fall as we reflect, wrestle, and prayerfully consider our collective future. With Love, Pastor Allan September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 3
BIRTHDAYS September 3 Carolyne Ressler September 4 Maronee Delo September 7 Jack Martin If you know anyone who is 70 or older, please let the church office know. We don t want to miss anyone. BAPTISM Kade Logan Holmes July 17, 2016 WEDDING Andrea Strong and Eric Fenske married July 9, 2016 DEATH Frank Rybar July 5, 2016 MEMORIAL GIFTS For Gloria Mayo's Father: Gloria and Tim Mayo For Frank Rybar: Marty and Carol Holmes Lois Holmes September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 4
We want to keep in touch with our college students during the school year. We need to get their accurate college address and email address. Please call the church office (412-793-4525) with this information or email - secretary@plumcreekchurch.com. Thanks for your help. Summer is almost over. Is your Pledge up to date? Paper products Personal care (shampoo, soap) Dish detergent Jelly Yes, summer is almost over and it is time to get back into the routine. I pray that includes coming to church. We love you and want you to be inspired by the Word of God as He inspires us at Stewardship. The finances for the church are about as expected and thank you for that. We have had a good year with the Chore Tree being worked. There are still a few chores to be done but most are completed and we at Stewardship want to Thank You for helping keep our campus beautiful. Welcome back to the fall lineup of activities. September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 5
Shortly after summer began, Plum Creek received several new handbell cases from Whitechapel Handbell Company in England. These were much needed and anticipated, and we thank the Alter Fund for this very practical gift! June s Praise at the Pavilion featured our friends from Monroeville United Methodist Church again. Their songs and humorous bantering with each other were a wonderful lift to that evening. I am told a women struggling with depression attended this event, and it cheered her tremendously. This is the power of music, particularly when it is sung for and about Jesus Christ. July s feature was The Original Class Act, whose location got hastily changed from the pavilion to the fellowship hall due to threatening (and very hot) weather. This energetic (and not so young!) group sang and moved nonstop for close to an hour, singing classic, familiar tunes and patriotic songs. It was a real treat for those who attended! Many thanks to the Plances, the Burnetts, the Sturchios, and anyone else who lent a hand where needed to supply and cook our food, set up and clean up! God bless you! August will once again see our hymnsing which may be a done deal by the time this publication comes out. For this event, I will use some of the hymns that were highlighted at our recent Hymn Share on July 17. (The rest of the hymns will appear in Sunday morning worship!) Next year for Praise at the Pavilion we have decided to go down to one outside musical group and our hymnsing, both taking place in the month of August to avoid picnic overcrowding in June and July with our Wednesday night picnics. Many of our worship team members took well-deserved vacations over the summer. I am thankful that September will bring them all back. We love our inter-generational look (and sound)! Be sure to thank the team members for their leadership when you can. Because He lives, Gloria Mayo Music Director September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 6
Sunday School is from 8:45am to 9:45am All are welcome! There are classes for all ages! The Religious Education Committee is preparing for a fantastic year of student and youth programming. Sunday School classes are held for all ages on Sundays at 8:45am! Additionally, students from Kindergarten to 5th grade are always welcome at our weekly Living Roots student worship time during the second half of service. Be sure to stop by on Wednesday nights for dinner and our all ages program, Oasis. Youth from 7th-12th grade are invited to our weekly Sunday night youth group (6:00-8:00pm), where we will be looking at outreach and missions. Also be sure to sign up your 7th-12th Grade students for PointFest (September 17th), an exciting program hosted at Cedar Point, Sandusky Ohio. There, we will not only get to ride some amazing roller coasters but also hear some great Christian bands and speakers. Sincerely, Justin Pearl, Director of Youth and Educational Ministries Special Events Sept. 11th, Sunday School Kickoff Sept. 17th-18th, PointFest (7th-12th Grade) Sept. 25th, Living Roots and Youth Group Kickoff Weekly Schedule Sundays, 8:45am Sunday School Sundays, 10:30am Living Roots Sundays, 6:00-8:00pm Youth Group Wednesdays, 5:30pm Oasis September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 7
Dear Friends and Family, This summer has been an amazing blur of fun times and precious relationships. Since arriving in Romania for full-time ministry this past March I have been in intensive language study, but the month of July I had a break from school so that I could be a part of the summer ministry here with H2H. We were blessed by having a remarkable number of people come on short term teams to help us out this summer! We had over 50 people total, so we were able to be running summer camps in two locations at the same time along with having an orphanage team to go and play with the kids in the afternoons. In one month we did a total of 8 summer camps with kids ranging in age from 3-23, frequent orphanage play days, and trips to love on babies at the hospital several times a week. Our camps were set up as a circus and our theme was Faith, Hope, and Love from 1 Corinthians 13:13. We shared the stories of Samson and Delilah, the woman caught in adultery, and the men who lowered a paralytic through the roof to meet Jesus and be healed. There were skits every day with a Bearded Woman and a Strong Man who were learning how to be what Jesus called them to be; testimonies were shared by team members and even by some of the older kids who grew up in the orphanage; and for the teens we had panel discussions about relationships and the future. Our days were spent loving on these kids and having tons of fun with all sorts of games, snacks, crafts, and pool time. Thanks to the generous support of God s people all over the world we were able to have some extra special things as a part of our games including a slack line (it s like a tight-rope for beginners), a trampoline, and inflatable bummer cars. We also made tattoos and buttons, had a photo-booth, ring toss games, slip-n-slides, and so much more. With the teens we spent a morning at the park where we set up a human foosball game and after a very intense game we had a picnic together. Every day was filled with activities from the moment the kids arrived until they left and although it left us exhausted, we felt the enormous joy of getting to be a part of the lives of these amazing kids. One of the things that we talked about a lot with our short term teams was appreciating the responsibility of helping these kids to make happy memories. For many of our kids, the programs that H2H does are the highlights of their lives, and they treasure everything that happens. The children have been asking us when they would be coming for camp since early spring, and after camp every time we saw them they would begin to tell us all about their favorite parts of camp and ask when they could come back. This is our opportunity to give them memories of what it is to be genuinely loved, cared for, safe, and valued. There were two time this summer that really stood out to me. The first happened when we had to unexpectedly move a camp around because we found out the kids were going to be at the Black September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 8
Sea during their normal camp time. We ended up having several days without any camps happening so we went out to the orphanage at Periş because thirteen of the children were left behind for various reasons. Since we had a large team with us we easily had at least one child to one team member at all times, and giving these kids that kind of individual attention made an amazing difference. One of the days I was sitting with Daniel helping him with a puzzle and he began to sing to himself. This may seem like nothing, but for him to feel that safe and relaxed that he could sing to himself was a huge deal. In fact, we hardly ever experience that with a kid. But those who usually beat him up and cause issues with him were gone, and he was surrounded by people who were loving on him and playing with him and valuing him, and in turn we got to see a wonderfully free and beautiful side of Daniel. The second thing that impacted me happened at our teen girl camp. The summer team that was here at that time wanted to do something special for the girls, so they each chose one girl to pray for during the camp. As they prayed for this girl and interacted with her, they came up with a word that would describe her and/or encourage her, along with a bible verse and a note to tell her how loved and valued she is. One the last day of camp each one of the team members came up and read the word, the verse, and the note, and then they revealed which girl it was that they were describing. That girl was then given the card with her word on it to keep. It was so beautiful to see these girls respond, often with tears, as they would here a team member talking about someone who is loving and kind and beautiful and then find out that it was all about them. For these girls, words of encouragement are few and far between, so to have someone publicly declare their value and encourage them and tell them how much God loves them was an enormous gift. Our summer programs are now finished and we are on to the next task which is interviewing teens for our transition program and setting up our programs for the school year. As for me, my language study has started back up and will continue into the fall. I am so incredibly thankful that God has called me here to live in this beautiful country with these amazing people. In the middle of the challenges of language barriers (which, praise the Lord, are becoming less of an issue) and cultural differences, I find myself learning more and more about this amazing God that I serve through the people around me. Thank you for your prayers, they are making a difference in my life and in the life of the kids here in Romania! Please continue to pray as we enter a new school year with new transition kids, new programs in the orphanages, and new chances to show God s love. In Christ, Heather McGarvey *You can get regular updates from my blog: http://music-missions-and-movingon.tumblr.com, the staff blogs on the Heart to Heart website: http://www.h2hint.org, and through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/h2hinternational * September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 9
October 7-9, 2016, are the dates for our Church family to come to Camp Crestfield in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania to enjoy the beautiful orange and gold fall foliage! Our leader for the weekend will be Betty Angelini and her topic will be Praying in Color. Her questions for us are as follows: How is your prayer life? Is it drab, faded or washed out? Or are you praying with vibrant color? God wants to hear from us. Come and explore your own prayer life, how to teach your children and grandchildren about prayer. We will take a special look at prayer using a labyrinth-not a maze where one gets lost within the boundaries but a clear path to God s heart. She is looking forward to spending time with all of us on October 7-9, 2016 at the Fall Festival at Camp Crestfield. The first session will be 8-9pm on Friday while small children are being entertained in Harold s Room. Teenagers will be included in all the adult conferences. The evening will conclude with fellowship, games, and lots of snacks. After breakfast on Saturday there will be a second session for the adults and teenagers from 9-11am. In the meantime, the chaperone will use age appropriate material for the young children in Harold s Room. The group picture will be taken at noon. At 12:30 pm, we will come together for a delicious lunch in the dining hall followed by scarecrow building, apple cider making with an old fashioned wooden cider press, wall climbing, archery, and (WEATHER PERMITTING) canoeing. A hay ride will conclude the afternoon. Others may choose to walk in the woods, shop at the Grove City Outlet Mall, or maybe even take a nap. Dinner will be around 5:30pm, followed by a short session for the adults & teenagers with small children watching a video in Harold s room. Later there will be toasting marshmallows over the fire, making s'mores or playing board games in Harold s Room. After breakfast on Sunday morning, adults and teenagers will have another brief session while the small children continue on age appropriate activities. It will be followed by a combined worship service in the large conference room. Finally, at noon, lunch is available at an extra charge for those wishing to stay for lunch. Then we will pack up to head home. It will be a weekend of great fun, spiritual renewal, fellowship, Bible study, and getting to know your fellow church members better. Please take time out of your busy schedules and join us for all or whatever part of the weekend you can manage. Camp Crestfield is our Presbytery's Camp, supported by your mission dollars, so if you haven't been up to use the facilities, come up on October 7-9, 2016, to see what is available. It takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours to drive to Crestfield. If you are unable to stay for the whole weekend, please consider coming up for the fun filled activities on Saturday. A completed registration form plus the deposit of $20 per person is due by September 11, 2016. Final deadline for full payment is September 25, 2016. Costs for lodging plus the registration form are attached. Please send your deposit to the church office. Call Dea Ann Wingard at 724-351-2081 or Carolyne Ressler at 412-793-9686 if you have any questions. September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 10
Scott Lodge - single occupancy, 2 nights + 4 meals, towels & bedding Adult $120 Scott Lodge - double occupancy, 2 nights + 4 meals, towels & bedding Adult 19 and up $80 Child 11 18 $40 Child 6 10 $27 Child 0 5 free Scott Lodge - triple occupancy, 2 nights + 4 meals, towels & bedding Adult 19 and up $70 Child 11 18 $35 Child 6 10 $25 Child 0 5 free *** If you have more than 3 people staying in the same room or only want meals on Saturday, please contact Carolyne Ressler, 412-793-9686, for cost information. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Plum Creek Church Fall Festival Registration form Camp Crestfield October 7-9, 2016 Name: Phone: Email: Address: # Adults: # Children: Children's Ages: Lodgings: [ ] Scott Lodge # Nights: # Occupancy Meals only: Saturday [ ] Breakfast [ ] Lunch [ ] Supper Sunday [ ] Breakfast [ ] Optional Lunch (additional charge; $10.50 adult 11 & older, $7.00 Child 6-10) Saturday Activities: [ ] Scarecrow building [ ] Apple Cider pressing [ ] Canoeing [ ] Wall Climbing [ ] Hayride [ ] Grove City Outlet Mall; [ ] Hike [ ] Archery Deposit Paid: $ Date paid: Final payment $ Date paid: September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 11
Schedule of Events - Fall Festival October 7-9, 2016 Camp Crestfield Slippery Rock, PA Friday Evening 8:00 pm Welcome; adult session in large conference room in Scott Lodge.* Games for children with chaperone in Harold s Room in Scott Lodge.** 9:00 pm Pumpkin painting, snacks, games, and fellowship; bedtime: as desired. Saturday Morning 8:30 am Breakfast in Main Lodge Dining Hall 9:15 Adult session begins in large conference room in Scott Lodge. Children's session begins in Harold s Room. 10:15 Break 10:30 Sessions resume 11:30 Sessions end (Take group picture) 12:30pm Lunch in Main Lodge Dining Hall Saturday Afternoon (Adjust times/events for weather & staff requirements) 1:00 pm Cider pressing. Scare crow making 1:30 Climbing Wall 2:30 Archery will be held in the field beyond pool. 3:30 Canoes available for 1 hour pending weather, meet at dock if you wish to go. 4:30 Hay ride on trail around Camp Crestfield (takes about 1 hour). 5:30 Dinner in Main Lodge Dining Hall Saturday Evening 7:00 pm Adult session in large conference room in Scott Lodge Children s games, crafts, DVD s in Harold s Room in Scott Lodge 8:00 End of session followed by games, S mores, fellowship and snacks; bedtime: as desired. Sunday Morning 8:00 am Breakfast in Main Lodge Dining Hall 9:00 Adult session in conference room Scott Lodge; children in Harold s room 10:30 Worship (combined adults and children) 11:30 Break/pack up for home 12:00 Lunch at extra charge is available 1:00 Leave for home *Adult sessions are for everyone 11 years and older. **Children sessions are for 10 years and younger. September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 12
September 2016 Volume 27, Issue 7 Page 13