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The Trumpet
Firelands Presbyterian Church
2626 East Harbor Road Port Clinton, Ohio 43452 419-734-6211
Fax 419-734-5411 www.firelandschurch.org
Reverend Jeanne Gay, Pastor Dr. Jay Mann, Music Director Margaret Mann, Organist William Umlauf, Treasurer Dave Moore, Clerk of Session Karen Crownover, Preschool Director Janine Dress, Administrative Assistant Mark Owen, Custodian
Table Of Contents
Church Growth Article ......... 2 Firelands Family News ......... 2 Prayer List Changes ............ 3 Preschool Tidbits ................. 4 Lectionary Texts .................. 4 Session Highlights ............... 5 Pastors Page ...................... 6 News & events .................... 7 Birthdays, Anniversaries ..... 8 Calendar .............................. 8 Ministry Schedule ................ 9
August 2012
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August 2012
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August 2012
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Preschool Tidbits
Merry Christmas, everyone! On July 25, we celebrated Christmas in July. We decorated, put up a tree, made great art projects and food ... And incorporated literature and math skills with a Christmas theme.
August 12 Ordinary Week 19 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 31-33 Psalm 130 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51
For July 4 we worked on every kind of patriotic art project we could think of, including red white and blue hats! The other fun weeks were based on the beach, outer space and the circus. We have so much fun ! The little ones survived the heat wave with sprinklers, water bottles and popsicles. The covered shelter and the pavilion were a gift indeed!
August 19 Ordinary Week 20 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Psalm 111 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58
August 26 Ordinary Week 21 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 2230, 41-43 Psalm 84 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69
Firelands Preschool has a few openings for falltell your friends and family.
If youre interested in daily lectionary readings, go to http:// www.pcusa.org/devotions/ part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) website. You can read the texts online, subscribe to an email list to receive them daily, print out a reading list, or listen to them read out loud.
Preschool Staff
August 2012
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COMMITTEE REPORTS
Church Growth (Karen Coffin): The website and Facebook page are receiving frequent updates. The congregational picnic was a big success. It was well attended and we heard many positive remarks about the event, the landscaping and the bird proofing. Many thanks go to the Deacons, John Pugh, Bob Wilson, & Mark Stevenson for working so hard on the preparations. Financial Stewardship (Alison Falls): The Committee unanimously agrees with the Treasurers opinion that we are currently operating at a breakeven and also points out that revenues from ongoing pledges and contributions to the General Fund are under Budget YTD by $3,923.51. In August, Bill Umlauf, Pastor Jeanne and Alison Falls will be preparing a preliminary 2013 Budget for review by the Finance Committee. Presentation to Session will occur in September and to the congregation at the Annual Meeting later in September. Mission (Joyce Jagucki): We continue to prepare and serve a meal to the community surrounding the Church of the Nazarene in Port Clinton on the first Wednesday of each month. The Second Sunday Sack Program has been very helpful in keeping our Food Pantry in needed supplies. We will continue this practice throughout the summer months. The next Mission / Deacons Meeting will take place in early August. At that time we will formulate plans for the coming year. We will also research ideas for fundraising and interest to plan for a team to be trained for the program Living Waters of the World through PC (USA). Nominating Committee (John Madison): Things are progressing pretty much as expected.
August 2012
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Pastors Page: General Assembly: Awesome ... and Sometimes Awful Naked Spirituality Book Study Stepping into the River of Sacredness
June 29July 7 I spent in Pittsburgh, PA as one of 688 commissioners to our churchs 220th General Assembly. To be perfectly frank, though I continue to feel honored to have had the opportunity to go as a commissioner, Im not sure Id want to go again in that role. For its an awesome responsibility commissioners haveto sift through, debate and decide on hundreds of pieces of legislation, in a very short time. And when we got to the 15th hour of deliberations on Friday, almost all of us were feeling a bit on the awful side. The week began in committees, which are assigned randomly. My committee, Evangelical and Interfaith Relations, had no controversial matters to discuss. Rather we had the joy of celebrating anniversaries of other Presbyterian churches around the world (45 years in Cuba, 50 years in Guatemala, 100 years in Korea) and otherwise affirming our relationships with other denominations and religious bodies. The most striking report we heard was from the PC(USA)s mission partner relating to Presbyterian churches in Iraq. There are only five such churches left in the country, only one with ordained pastoral leadership. In one, an elder was kidnapped and killed last year. Another consists of a total of five women, who gather at the church when they canevery few months. Each committee (and some did grapple with difficult and controversial issues) submitted its report to the Assembly as a whole, which began meeting Wednesday afternoon to hear the reports and vote on the necessary issues. Im not going
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I invite you this fall to join in a study of a new book, by Brian MacLaren, called Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words. MacLaren talks about spirituality in terms of different seasons. Its a beautiful, well-written bookweaving together pithy writing, evocative Scripture, powerful stories, intriguing quotes, enriching poetry, thoughtful song lyrics, and morea book designed for people who want to dive into a deeper, purer, more meaningful spirituality. Heres what the author says in the books preface: This book is about getting naked - not physically, but spiritually. It's about stripping away the symbols and status of public religion - the Sunday-dress version people often call organized religion. And it's about attending to the well-being of the soul clothed only in naked human skin. (ix) Naked Spirituality is focused around twelve meditative words that serve as spiritual practices: here (opening to God's abiding presence), thanks (expanding our sense of gratitude and enoughness), O (soaking up the joy of life and God), sorry (living honestly and transforming wrongs), help (empowering ourselves to ask for help from God and others), please (relying on the support of God and others to get through difficulties), when (aspire after a better life and world), no (allowing ourselves to acknowledge pain, lament about our troubles, and refuse a problematic life and world), why (allowing ourselves
and others to ask God the difficult questions that arise from pain and doubt), behold (mindfully noticing and appreciating the indescribable goodness of God and the world), yes (joining and engaging in the sacred mission of God) , and [...] (enjoying moments of silence and contemplation). We will meet at 7:00 on five Monday evenings, every other week, starting the end of September and ending before Thanksgiving: Sept. 24 (introduction), Oct. 8 and 22, Nov. 5 and 19. If you want to participate, youll need to get your own copy of the book. The hardcover and Kindle versions are available now; the paperback is set to be released Sept. 25. Lets join together this fall to step into what MacLaren calls the river of spirituality: There is a river that runs like a song through this world, a river of sacredness, a river of beauty, a river of reverence and justice and goodness. I know that some people have only rarely seen or barely sensed it. But I also know that you and I are learning to live like green trees along its shore, drawing its vitality into us, and passing it on for the healing of our world. Its waters are clear, refreshingly cool, and clean, and if you care, you can strip naked, dive in, and swim. (237) Whaddaya say? Lets go swimming this fall!
August 2012
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to go through all of the decisions that we madetheres a booklet on the counter outside the sanctuary, called Assembly in Brief 2012, that covers them very well. (If you wont have a chance to pick one up, its also available through this link: http://www.pcusa.org/resource/assemby-brief-220th-general-assembly-2012/.) What I would like to do is to encourage each of you to consider volunteering at the 221st General Assembly, to be held in Detroit in 2014, or at least to going up for a day to observe the proceedings. Its a wonderful chance to watch people from all corners of the churchpastors and elders, presbytery execs, youth, seminary students, missionaries, and morework to be the church together. Sometimes we grumbled and complained, but also we spoke from our hearts, we laughed and we cried, we listened to each other, we sang, we prayed, and we worshipped. Its quite an experience. Sometimes awful ... and all-over awesome.
Social Media?
Which group do you fall in? The call me or send me a letter group? The I can do email group? The Facebook is Fun group? Hows your texting and tweeting? Were learning that we need to be communicating in all sorts of ways, especially if we want to keep up with anyone under 45. So ... Keep checking our Facebook page (with thanks to Pastor Jeanne, Janine Dress and Mary Caracci) and our website (www.firelandschurch.org), which keeps getting better, thanks to Wayne Walter. Were working on Foursquare (ask your grandkids). Is Twitter next? And if youre in the I dont have a clue about any of that and dont care, either group, keep on checking out the bulletin boards around the church. Kay McIntosh does a great job of keeping them up to date, and colorful!
What a Doll!
In the 1880s, the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus, OH wanted to build a new building, and the Womens Church Society helped raise the money needed by making and selling dolls, dolls that came to be known as Presbyterian Dolls. In 1956 the project was revived, and for around 30 years the women of First Presbyterian in Bucyrus sewed and painted dolls. This summer, Friend of Firelands Gretchen Curtis has gifted the church with one of those dolls, thinking that a Presbyterian Doll ought to go to a Presbyterian Church. Shes a beauty! If youd like to see the doll or have an idea how best to display her, please talk to Pastor Jeanne!
August 2012
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August Birthdays
Clara Maag Lori Madison Cathy Whitt Joe Spitler Stacie Cook Darrell Brand Harold Brown Barb Clemons Carolyn Klaus Bud True Mike Chandler 7 14 15 18 19 19 19 21 26 27 29
August Anniversaries
Tyler and Kara Gogolek Brian and Janine Montgomery Phil and Cathy Whitt John and Lori Madison Darrell and Connie Brand David and Janet Moore Bill and Ruth Shannon 7 9 15 18 23 24 27
If there are additions or corrections to the Birthday and Anniversary pages, please contact the church office. Thanks.
August 2012
Sun Mon Tue
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10 Bible Study at 9 Summer Lunch Common Program Grounds 6 Dinner at Church of Nazarene
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9:30 Worship
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9 Summer Lunch Program 9 MAS
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9 Quilting 10 Church Growth 12:30 Preschool Meeting
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10 Bible Study at 9 Summer Lunch Common Program Grounds 4 Sing along at Vineyard
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9:30 Worship
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9 Summer Lunch Program 6 WCWA Event
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7 Session
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9 Quilting
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6-7:30 Preschool Open House
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9 Summer Lunch Program
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9:30 Worship 9 Summer Lunch Program Potluck honoring Jay and Margaret
August 2012
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NAMES
Sarah Hartley & Kay McIntosh
August. 12
Bob and Liz Hartman Maxine & Bob Wilson Shirley Stary Merissa Jagucki Joyce Jagucki Anita Fisher, Jim Fisher, Heather Stouffer, Rosemarie Shinde Nila McCullough
August. 19
Greeter(s) Refreshments Reader Acolyte Communion Assistant Servers Nursery Volunteer Marilyn & Bill Umlauf Lori Madison Lily Stouffer Nila McCullough John McIntosh, Bob Elliott, Kaye Elliott, Ernie McCullough Anne OMalley
August 26
Greeter(s) Refreshments Reader Acolyte Communion Assistant Servers Nursery Volunteer Special Event Susan Rogers Lily Stouffer Dan Barlow Joyce Jagucki, Ernie McCullough Shirley Stary, Nila McCullough Heather Stouffer