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May 01, 2005
May Newsletter
Pastor’s Pen
This month began with our family room a mess. No, it wasn’t shoes or dirty clothes lying around. It wasn’t that kind of mess. Bonnie and I were putting down hardwood flooring. The furniture too heavy to move out was placed here and there. Boxes of wood were stacked at the side.Strip by strip the large family room got covered with straight lengths of wood until the whole floor looked as though it had always been that way. It took us a couple weeks and a bunch of aching muscles and bruised fingers to finish. Bonnie asked me, “Do you see any sermon illustrations when you’re doing this?” This because I see analogies nearly everywhere to the larger matters of life from looking at the ordinary things of life. I mention these to Bonnie, who has to put up with my incessant dabbling in my calling, so she’s come to expect this out of me.
Once I came into the pulpit with a dandelion with a very long root. I dug it up the day before and the idea hit me, “Wow, what an illustration of the Christian life!” Since it was out of the ground that nourished it, the dandelion was dead. It was an illustration of how important it is that we keep rooted and grounded in God’s word and in the community of faith.
Similarly, I saw as the days dragged on to get the flooring down in our family room that it was a picture of life itself that takes so long to unfold. Not only that, but as it was important that I prepare the surface before the wood went down, and important that I keep the individual boards straight for the whole floor to look good and straight, so it is important that my life’s foundation be clean and even, and details of my life need to keep well aligned with the Gospel-life if I want to seem to be the Christian I claim to be.
I could put up a sign in our family room that says, “These are beautiful hardwood floors,” even though a dirty old rug actually covered the floor. That would be a lot less work than laying all those boards down one by one. But folk would think I was touched in the head if I did that. But don’t we at times depend on the sign we put on ourselves for folk to know we think we are Christians? How good it is to see actual hardwood on the floor. How good it is to see the character that befits a Christian.
There are analogies everywhere if we are open to seeing them. What do we do with these analogies? Are we to say to ourselves, “How interesting!” and then move on? Or maybe are these times when God is trying to break through into our minds and teach us something? Maybe in moments like these God is whispering to us.
Sometimes whispers carry important messages. When we are in love often it is a whisper that most eloquently expresses what is in our hearts in speaking to the one we love. God loves us and whispers often to us. -Pastor Robertson
Worship Information
May 1: “Jesus Suffered Death and Was Buried” Isaiah 53 Matthew 27: 57 -61May 8: “Jesus Arose from Death As the Bible Said”
Isaiah 53: 10 - 12
I Corinthians 15: 3 - 4
May 15: “The Descent of the Dove”
Joel 2: 21 - 29
Acts 2: 1 – 4, 14 - 21
May 22: “Jesus’ Ascended to God’s Right Hand”
Genesis 28: 10 - 14
Acts 1: 6 - 10
May 29: “The Second Coming of Jesus”
II Samuel 7: 10 - 14
I Thessalonians 4: 13 - 18
Clerk’s Corner
At its March7, 2005 meeting the Session approved a request by Pastor Robertson for a personal leave of absence July 2 – 16, 2005.
A new supplementary hymnal is in the process of being assembled by members of the Worship and Music Committee.
The Session set Monday October 10, 2005 as its regular joint meeting with the Board of Deacons.
There has been a delay in the preparation of the Annual Report, which is in the process of being assembled. Anyone who has contributions to the report should forward the material as soon as possible to Ms. Stephanie Cardwell.
A flier is available in the Church office detailing instructions on how low income families may avail themselves of federal assistance in meeting pharmacy bills; see Stephanie Cardwell for details.
A website for Faith Church will soon become available. When operational Pastor Robertson’s sermons will be posted on that site. Hard copies of his sermons will continue to be placed on the narthex table.
Recent graduates will be honored at a reception following Sunday morning services on May 22nd.
Elders Michael Bergmann and Glenn Sparks will offer a two-week Inquirer’s Class at 7:00 pm on Sunday, May 15 and May 22 for anyone interested in learning about the ministry and teaching of Faith Presbyterian Church. Participation in the class does not obligate an individual to become a member; those who desire to do so will be received into Fellowship on a subsequent occasion. Please notify Elders Bergmann or Sparks, or Pastor Robertson if you are interested in participating in the class.
-J.M. Honig, Clerk of Session
VBS is Coming!
Please invite children you know to Faith’s Vacation Bible School, June 27-July1, Entering-K through 6th Grade (completed).
We still need volunteers. If you would like to help, please contact Deb Johnson (477-6569) or Alice Landolt (463-9897
Prayer for VBS
We feel prayer is going to be a valuable part of Vacation Bible School this year. We would like to ask you to pray for the following: 1) for the staff as we prepare for VBS; 2) for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of the children that God will send to us. We appreciate your upholding us in prayer. -Deb Johnson and Alice LandoltInquirer’s Class
The next Inquirer’s Classes (a two-week series) will be offered at 7pm on Sunday May 15 and on Sunday May 22. These classes are for anyone interested in learning about the ministry and teachings of Faith Presbyterian Church. This includes those who want to become members as well as those who aren’t sure they want to become members but who would like to find out more about our church. Please contact Michael Bergmann, Glenn Sparks, or the church office if you’re interested.Summer Sunday School & Verse of the Week Club
The last Sunday School class of the regular Sunday School season is on May 22. There will be no Sunday School classes during the summer months. But Mike Lockwood will once again be leading the Verse of the Week Club for children in grades 1-6! Each week there will be new Bible verses to learn and there will be prizes and snacks as well. It will start on June 19 and (except for July 3) continue through until July 31.Women’s Bible Study
The last day for Women’s Bible Study will be Tuesday, May 17th. We will meet for a luncheon on Tuesday May 24th. For more information contact Deb Johnson at 477-6569.Celebration
Following worship on May 22nd (please note the change of date) we will honor our graduates with a reception in the Fellowship Hall. Please join us to congratulate: Alexandra Dubikovsky Elizabeth Goodrich Kathryn Goodrich Markus Hess Jessica Mason John McKinnis Dave Stith Rob Stith Missy Yacomeni If we have missed anyone, please let us know! -Lois Wark, 743-1903Bible Study
Ladies: Did you ever wonder what really went on in the Garden of Eden or who the US is in Genesis 1:26 or Noah, Abraham, any number of things in Genesis? Well now is your chance, join Bible Study Fellowship, an interdenominational Bible study. We will be studying Genesis this September; be the first in your block to register for the fall, May 5 or May 12 at 9:10am at Kossuth Street Baptist Church. Bring your Bible and a receptive heart. For more information you can talk to Myra Leap, Fran Thompson or Carol Gentry.A good way to forget your troubles is to help others out of theirs. -Unknown
Senior Trip, Mexico 2005
First of all, I wanted to thank all of those who contributed to help out for the trip to Mexico. It would have taken a lot longer and more work to get all the money together so that we would have been able to go had you not helped. Thank you. We enjoyed our experience in Monterey, Mexico very much. God really blessed our stay there. It was a different experience from life in the US. For many of the seniors it was difficult to adjust to the culture and environment, as most of them had never been outside of the country. We left early Saturday morning; we all piled in a bus and drove down to Indianapolis Int’l. to catch a two and a half hour flight to Dallas, Fort Worth. We then had an hour lay over in Dallas before our next hour and a half flight to McAllen, TX. When we finally arrived in McAllen it was three in the afternoon. We were met by the Missionary’s and a guide. We put all our luggage into a pickup truck and climbed into a fifteen-passenger van for another long haul to Monterey, Mexico. It was a three-hour drive because we had to cross the border and there were many military stops on the way. We arrived at the compound at around six o’clock in the evening. We unloaded and the Missionary’s showed us our rooms. The guys got the building on the left side of the compound; the girls got the building on the right. The rooms had bunk beds. The showers were outside. It was great. Later in the evening a friend and I went out to explore the compound. There was a large open shelter where we would just gather to hang out, talk, listen to music, and juggle soccer balls. The next day we went to church at eleven in the morning. The service was four hours long, but full of music, sharing, prayer, and a good sermon. We talked with the people afterwards. They were very happy to see us. We received a warm welcome. Afterwards we went to a hill in the center of town where an enormous flag had just been erected (about one block long, half a block wide). It was the pride of the Mexican’s. We walked around to explore the city. The Missionaries showed us around and took us out to eat tacos. On Monday and Tuesday we were asked to paint a Catholic Church. This had been a longtime prayer for the missionaries. This church was to be their main focus of their missionary activity. It is a large church where they can reach many people. Everybody was so pleased when we got this building ready for them. We really enjoyed the work, it was fun to paint, and many times we put more paint on one another than on the walls. Both days we came home tuckered out from a hard days work and we would just sit around and talk the rest of the evening. On Wednesday we drove out to a school that was run partly by the government and partly by a youth pastor. It was for those children who either didn’t have a home or didn’t have enough money to go to a bigger school. We made balloon animals for them and we played soccer with them. Then we ate lunch with them and played games. One of our seniors shared the story of the Good Samaritan. In the evening we went to a youth group gathering where we played soccer with the local young people in a competitive match. It was wonderful to play soccer with Mexicans. I really enjoyed talking with their coach, who was so open to share his experiences with the children, and his views about God. Talking with him reminded me so much of my experiences in Africa. After the game we enjoyed a meal with them. On Thursday we had a free day; we were taken to a mountain in the morning where we went for a hike. Afterwards they took us to a shopping center where we could buy souvenirs. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon just walking around and looking at the displays. People are so good with their hands, so inventive, and creative. They have joy. They love their work and they are content with what they have. That night back at the missionary compound, we had an extended evening service where everyone had a chance to share a testimony. After that we had time on our own when we could talk, share or just think. A wonderful time was coming to an end. We were sad. We wanted to stay much longer. Yet, we knew we had to meet our schedule. The next day we helped clean up all the rooms, washed the cars, and said our goodbyes and got ready for the long trip home. God blessed our time together and blessed even more the time we could spend with the missionaries and with the Mexicans. It was a very rich experience, one none of us will soon forget. The experience I enjoyed the most was the fellowship with my classmates. I believe we all became a little closer together in our relationships. –Markus HessRemembering Pope John Paul II
Comments on the life of Pope John Paul II still stream at us from everywhere. During the week after his death the commenting sometimes seemed to reach overkill. So many people tried to find the right words, and so the words poured out as society, it seemed to me, hoped that out of the mass of words a few of them might say it right about this remarkable man. One last word. I wouldn’t want our Faith newsletter, which offers the unfolding story of part of the soul of this congregation, to omit mentioning that this pope, though a mere mortal like the rest of us, was a striking example of what a Christian is to be. There was no posturing in him. He wasn’t impressed with himself clad in the papal attire, as though the white skullcap made him superior to the fellows who wore red ones, or superior to the masses who wore no skullcap at all. Jewish friends who wear skullcaps found common cause with him though they wore skullcaps for a different reason. I think the skullcap is a symbol of servant-hood in the Catholic tradition, a view not incompatible with the Jewish view that men cover their heads in humility in the presence of God. Some wear the kipa only in synagogue, or when studying Torah. Others wear it all the time because we are, after all, always in the presence of God. I caught the distinct sense when observing Pope John Paul II that he always felt in the presence of God. Even if he was standing in a vast throng of adoring people, he wore their adoration lightly because he far more felt the presence of God. He exemplified for me the outlook of Paul’s words, borrowed from a poet of the time, “In Him we live and have our being” as he acknowledged so personally the existence of other people, while being personally most aware that he lived in the presence of God. He noticed people, individuals and crowds, but the events always gave to me the feel that this man embraced people to him as together they were in the presence of God. Even when Gorbachov or Castro was with him, they were drawn into the presence of God. I doubt that his thoughts of himself were different when he was completely alone than when he was the center of attention for thousands or millions via the TV cameras. Alone or in a crowd the reality of God seemed by far his most keen awareness. Because God loved every individual in those massed throngs, when individuals stepped forward from the crowd he touched them lovingly, perhaps planting a kiss on a forehead of someone who came to him—because he understood that individual was beloved by God. For me this pope was not a contradiction of great humanity and great conservatism, or of the other paradoxes in him people have observed. He was one man who walked his pilgrimage faithfully from start to finish. He probably stumbled here and there along the way. He was a pilgrim, and there are stones in the path as we all walk our pilgrimages of life. His pilgrimage happened to lead him to high places, with the most powerful people in the world seeking his notice, if not his counsel. But I doubt he was more impressed when it was a child from the crowd or when it was a Prime Minister. He viewed each as a precious replica of the Image of God in whose presence they both were at the moment of their encounter. And I think this is what people must have felt when they were with him. They were “nearer” God, not because the pope could claim any greater nearness because of his office in the Catholic Church. His office merely made more noticeable that this man lived in the sense of the presence of God. He didn’t put on an aura when in the floodlights. You could tell it if this were the case, I think. It was this aspect of him that reached me the most: that he seemed to live aware he was always in the presence of God. -Pastor RobertsonA Message from Poland
Sunday, May 15th come hear about Pastor Robertson’s trip to Poland during Sunday School hour (11am – 11:30am). We will follow this with our first non-annual **Polish Pot Luck** Please bring a salad or dessert to share. Polish soup and American bread and beverages will be provided as well as table service. -Jan HemA Special Baby Shower
Saturday, March 19th was a time women at Faith Church came together to five a baby shower to Amanda Graves and her soon to be born baby daughter (as of this date we have no news about that event). About 30 people joined in the Fellowship Hall for a light breakfast and watched Amanda open the gifts that were brought for her. Large items were bought with the generous money donations from all of you. Thank you, Faith Congregation, for helping with this “mini-mission project.” -Carolyn Kessler, Jan Hem & Grieke ToebesTo the Ladies of Faith Church
“Nothing reaches the heart but what is from the heart.” William Penn I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. God had blessed me with all of you. –Amanda GravesA Memory for Memorial Day
There is a cemetery in Okinawa where many American military men are buried. Near the entrance to the burial ground, visitors find a thought provoking statement that we might recall on Memorial Day. The sign reads: “We gave our todays in order that you might have your tomorrows.” -Albert L. Zobell in Speaker’s HandbookHelp Needed?
Are you unable to get out of your house without assistance? Do you need help doing things like shopping, errands run, something done around your home or just a visit? There are those at Faith who would like to help you. If you are interested, call the church at 743-3683 or call and leave a message for John or Lola Miller at 743-5781.Community Worship Services
•Sun., May 1 - St. Mary Healthcare 2:30pm •Sun., May 8 - Tippecanoe Villa 1:30pm Friendship House 3:00pm •Sun., May 15 - Davis Manor 3:00pm •Sun., May 22 - Rosewalk Commons 2:30pm • Sun., May 29 - St. Mary Healthcare 2:30pm The Deacons invite you to become a part of this ministrySunday School
There is a class for everyone! Pre-kindergarten & Kindergarten: Amber Latour & Lou Ann Johnston Grades 1-3: SueAnne Bergmann Grades 4-7: Carolyn Kessler Grades 8-12: Michael Lockwood College Class: Pastor Robertson Young Adults Bible Study: Mark Johnson Adult Bible Study: Glenn Sparks New Testament Greek: Jurgen Honig Bible 101: Michael BergmannSchedule Information
You can contact Pastor Robertson by calling the office, 743-3683, on Wednesday mornings any time and Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Pastor Robertson's day off is Monday. Outside of office hours please feel free to call Pastor Robertson at home at 497-2162.Worship With Us
We invite you to join in the wor-ship of God each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. We also invite you to partici-pate in the prayers, fellowship, work and activities of this church. For more information about this opportunity to be involved at Faith Presbyterian Church, please call or talk to any member of Session, Pastor Robertson or call the church office, 743-3683.Birthdays
May 1 Reed Elijah Clinton
Marilyn Hinze
May 2 Grace Czerwonky
May 3 Laura Tyler
May 8 Jeremy Powell
May 11 Robert Landolt
May 18 Knox Clinton
May 20 Jackie Tyler
May 22 Piers Hunter
May 27 Eve Hanson
May 28 Madison Castongia
May 31 Jan Hem
Anniversaries
May 12 Jay & Jenne McMillin
May 14 Darrell & Myra Leap
May 22 Steve & Mary Lou Varys
May 26 Donald & Penny Winship
Faith Presbyterian Church
3318 State Road 26 West
West Lafayette, IN 47906-4666
(765) 743-3683
E-mail: office@faithpresbyterian.org
Home page: http://www.faithpresbyterian.org
An answering machine is available.
Fax number: 765-746-5955
Stuart D. Robertson, Pastor
Ralph Smith, Parish Associate
Stephanie Cardwell, Admin. Asst.
Ordinarily submit articles to the church office by noon on the last Friday before the last Monday of every month except November and December when deadlines are announced.
You are welcome to worship with us at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday.
Mother’s Day
In 1907, a lady in Philadelphia, Anna Jarvis, began lobbying for a day when our nation would honor mothers. She persuaded the leaders of the church her mother attended to designate the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day. After Mrs. Jarvis had written countless letters to political authorities across the nation, by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday. He chose the second Sunday in May for the annual celebration. The second Sunday in May was the anniversary of the death of Mrs. Jarvis’ mother. -Author UnknownPosted by faithpres at May 1, 2005 09:43 AM