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January 01, 2008
January Newsletter
Pastor's Pen
“Entering the Gate in 2008”
by Pastor Ron
I am always pleased at the prospects of the coming New Year because of the hopefulness and excitement it brings. Perhaps you’re like me in that you have some special activities and exercise you have planned out for 2008. This December I have been thinking hard about joining a gym for the winter months. Icy roads and bicycling do not go well together! By taking the opportunity to challenge ourselves we may well change the whole new year.
Part of my routine each new year is to meditate on one of the quotes that puts into perspective my struggling to make everything come out in even numbers:
“I said to the man that stood at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown.’ But he answered, ‘Put your hand in the hand of God, for it is better than the known way and the lighted path.’”
It’s good advice. This unknown author is trying to advise us that, instead of knowing each step, we will do better to put our hand in the outstretched hand of Christ. After all, God has told us, “I know the plans I have for you,...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jer. 29.22)
If you’d like to do more to prepare, Stephen Covey suggests each should ask himself these three questions:
1)“Is there one exercise I know of, that if I could do it faithfully all year it would make things better for myself and my family? 2) If so what is it?”; and 3),“If there is such an exercise, why am I not putting it into practice?” You get the idea: a new discipline can change your year.
One possible life-changing exercise this year could be reading scripture on a daily basis. Studies show this will definitely strengthen a persons life and family. One of the most effective ways to develop our moral and relational fiber is to daily plant God's Word in our heart. After all, Mt 5.19 even says “Anyone who practices and teaches these commandments will be called GREAT in the kingdom of heaven.” II Tim. 3.16 says that all scripture is “God breathed” and “useful in training”. Ps 119.9 adds: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word.” Others who have done this say it has given their life a glow that’s almost indescribable.
Another exercise might be to evaluate how your time is being spent. A missionary named Adoniram Judson once wrote these words back (c1809):
“Thank you, Lord for the gift of time, knowing that in a few days or years, our work will be done, and when it is done, it will be done to all eternity. A life, once spent, is irrevocable. If it is marked with sins, those marks will be indelible through all eternity. If there has been a useless life, it can never be improved. As such it will stand for ever and ever. Though some days are past, O Lord, the future is yet in our power. Let us, then, resolve each morning to send the day into eternity in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever, Amen.”
God’s gift to us this New Year is TIME. As we share our lives together, let us use it in a way that shows him how we value his friendship.
Worship Information
January 6, 2008 “Celebrating When The Weather Is Bad”
Romans 5: 3 – 4
Ephesians 3: 13
January 13, 2008 “How to Keep from Being Broken a Thousand Times”
Psalm 61: 10
Hebrews 10: 32 – 11: 2
January 20, 2008 “The Ups & Downs of Christian Warfare”
II Corinthians 4: 7 – 11
Ephesians 6: 10 - 12
January 27, 2008 “Putting Your Foot on Satan’s Neck”
Deuteronomy 8: 1 – 10
Matthew 4: 1 - 1
Clerk's Corner
The Congregation is enormously indebted to Marilyn Sameh who in January completes her ninth year of devoted service as organist to Faith Presbyterian Church. From my own experience I can attest to the fact that it requires much effort to consistently play a prelude, postlude, offertory, anthems, choir accompaniment, three hymns, and miscellaneous interludes Sunday after Sunday. The Church is very blessed to have such an accomplished and enthusiastic musician to provide this very important component to the Sunday devotional service.
The Congregation is similarly indebted to Elders Dennis Dunn and to Don Gentry for their work during their six year tenure as Session members. Deacons Tom Housley and Jim Milligan have faithfully served on the Board of Deacons during their tenure. Deacon Carol Gentry and Elders Jane Stewart and David Stith will assume their terms of office in the Class of 2010 of the Session; Kathy Bowker (Class of 2008), Carol Graefnitz, Barbara Knox, Donna Lofgren, and Polly Tyler will represent the Class of 2010 on the Board of Deacons, beginning January 1, 2008. All these nominations were unanimously approved by the Congregation at its Annual Congregational meeting.
The Pastoral Nominating Committee consists of Don Gentry (chair), Elizabeth Goodrich, Janet Hem, Glenn Sparks, Grieke Toebes, Steven Varys, Lois Wark. These individuals were nominated by the Session and were approved unanimously by the Congregation at its Annual Congregational meeting. This group has already met several times for discussions of procedural matters and collecting information relating to the selection process.
The 2008 Standing Nominating Committee consists of Patrick Kain, Michael Lockwood, Kris Stith, Thomas Van Horn. These persons were nominated from the floor at the Annual Congregational Meeting, and were unanimously voted into office. They will be joined by two Session members and by one representative from the Board of Deacons.
Dennis Dunn deserves recognition and approbation for his excellent service to the Church as its Treasurer over the last five years. His place will be taken by Carol Gentry whom we warmly welcome and who has previously served in this capacity. Her appointment was approved by unanimous vote of the Session.
At its meeting on December 4, 2007 the Session arrived at the following additional decisions or took the following actions:
A training session for new Elders and Deacons is to be held January 13, 2008. Any member of the Congregation interested in the qualifications for and duties of those offices is invited to attend; due notice of the meeting will be provided in the Sunday Bulletins. Ordination of new elders and deacons is scheduled for January 20, 2008.
Prospective couples who wish to get married in the sanctuary must first provide Pastor Green with sufficient evidence for their Christian faith and seek permission from Session for use of the sanctuary before submitting their application forms.
The sum of $ 6000.00 will be forwarded to the Presbytery of Wabash Valley in lieu of the current membership apportionment. The sum of $ 3000.00 is to be donated to Geneva Center (as opposed to the Presbytery operations) to help defray part of their operating costs.
I hope to complete work on the 2007 Annual Report to the Congregation in January 2008 and am requesting all contributors to submit their reports to Stephanie Cardwell as soon as possible.
Jurgen Honig
Clerk of Session
Pastor Nominating Committee Update
The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) has met each week since the congregation elected them in November. The first meeting outlined the process for calling a new pastor. At that meeting, Don Gentry was elected chair.
The first task of the committee was to develop a Congregational Information Form (CIF) in the format required by the PC (USA). All members participated in developing and reviewing various parts of the report. Much of the information collected during the Congregational Reflection Survey was needed to populate the CIF. The committee completed this CIF during their third meeting and communicated the document to the Session for review and approval, as required by the process. The Session approved the CIF. The CIF has been submitted to the Committee on Ministries (COM) of the Presbytery for review and approval. The next meeting of the COM is the first Thursday of January.
Once the CIF is approved by the COM, it will be placed upon the PC (USA) and Presbytery web sites for the interest of prospective candidates. The PNC has set up a special e-mail site to receive information from candidates called Personal Information Forms (PIF). faithchurchpnc@hotmail.com
The PNC can also receive nominations of prospective pastors from members of the congregation or others. If you have a nomination, please contact on of the committee members. Don Gentry, Chair; Elizabeth Goodrich, Electronics Secretary; Jan Hem;
Glenn Sparks; Grieke Toebes; Lois Wark; and Steve Varys.
And we thought the University has a lot of acronyms.
Don Gentry
Jubilee Christmas
Jubilee Christmas was celebrated on December 15. So many people in the congregation helped to make it a true celebration - you contributed in so many ways. Thank you, everyone!
We were started off by Lou Ann Johnston and Amber Latour's Sunday School class, who made the tags for the tree. Then the shopping began. All of you toy shoppers came up with a wonderful variety of toys. Kathy Bowker bought hats and mittens to keep all the children warm this winter. Peggy Housley found household gifts for the parents. Many bakers warmed up their ovens, and produced dozens of cookies and breakfast goodies.
Then came the celebration of Jubilee Day. Lou Ann Johnston did a wonderful job pairing our guests with hosts, and welcomed our guests at the door. Kris and Dave Stith and Tom Van Horn started us off with a delicious breakfast, and later kept us well-filled with cookies and punch. Ron Smith told everyone the basis of Jubilee Christmas, and led the singing of Christmas carols. Santa Tom Housley coordinated the shopping, keeping the whole process flowing smoothly. Grieke Toebes kept us humming by playing Christmas music on the piano.
Along with the toys and family gifts, each family took home a ham, a bucket of cookies (thanks to all the bakers), bags full of household items like detergent and paper products, a blanket, and grocery gift certificates. Teenagers also received gift certificates.
A big "Thank You" goes to all hosts. You are the main contact that our guests have with Faith Church. You make them feel welcome and set the tone for the day. All volunteers on Jubilee Day have a part in making our guests feel welcome, and all of our guests said that they were "very much" welcomed in a warm and friendly way. Here are some comments from our guests: "This was such a blessing and I appreciate everything Faith Church did to make this a blessed Christmas for our family." "I knew there were good people out there but not as good as these guys at Faith Presbyterian." "You are giving my children a wonderful Christmas. Thank you very much." "We would like to thank you all very much and wish you all a happy blessed Christmas." Thanks to all who volunteered your time to be a part of this. Many, many thanks also to Dorothy Bethel for all of her help.
Thanks to everyone in the congregation - you made Jubilee Christmas a wonderful and joyous day!
However ... We could still use some financial assistance to defray the costs of Jubilee Christmas. We appreciate any additional help you can give.
Donna Lofgren
Church Announcements
Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
The sermon this morning is: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.
Birthdays
January 2 Kenneth Wark Jr.
January 3 Lydia Frazier
January 8 Mark Varys
January 12 Mike Lockwood
January 12 Austin Sandel
January 14 Isaac Old
January 16 Alyssa Kirby
January 16 Dan Trinkle
January 17 Corinne Janovitz
January 21 Jessica Hem
January 24 John Miller
January 25 Norbert Muller
January 26 Penny Winship
January 27 Dale Housley
January 30 Caleb Destefano
January 31 Katie Houtsma
January 31 Samuel Trinkle
Anniversaries
January 21 Norbert & Barbara Muller
Community Worship Services
• Sun., Jan. 6 St. Mary’s Healthcare 2:30pm
• Sun., Jan. 13 Tippecanoe Villa 1:30pm
• Sun., Jan. 13 Friendship House 3:00pm
• Sun., Jan. 20 Davis Manor 3:00pm
• Sun., Jan. 27 Rosewalk Commons 2:30pm
The Deacons invite you to become a part of this ministry
Schedule Information
For those wishing to visit with Pastor Green his office hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 10:15am – 2:30 pm (lunch 12:30pm – 1:00pm), Wednesday 8:30am – 1:00pm, and Friday 10:15am – 1:00pm or by appointment.
Worship With Us
We invite you to join in the worship of God each Sunday morning at 9:30am and each Wednesday morning at 7:00am. We also invite you to participate 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 Green or call the church office at 743-3683.
Posted by faithpres at January 1, 2008 10:17 AM