First Presby’s Weekly News
September 4, 2016
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
Worship is broadcast at 11:00 a.m. on WCHS-580AM
304-343-8961
The Church Buildings Will Be Closed Monday, September 4, 2016, For The Labor Day Holiday.
This week’s sermon is “ANCIENT WORDS: Faith” by Bill McCoy. Epistle lesson: Hebrews 11:1-16 & 39-12:3.
Next week’s sermon is “Ancient Words: Hope”, by Bill McCoy.
Congratulations to Susan and Phil Hereford on the birth of their grandson, Charles Allan Whelpley on August 21, 2016, in Charlotte, NC. Charles is the son of Sarah and Nick Whelpley. Proud aunt is Courtney Hereford.
Children’s Bible Study (formerly Second Hour Bible Study)- Following Time with Young Disciples and the Passing of the Peace, all children in grades 1-5 are invited to join us for Bible Study in room E-113. Janet Chambers will walk the children to their classroom. If this is your child’s first time visiting Children’s Bible Study, please accompany them to the room so that you can sign them in and get acquainted with our teachers.
LOGOS is right around the corner! Make sure you register your children before our start date of September 7. You can register online at www.firstpresby.com/the-logos-ministry or by completing a paper form that you can find in the main hallway. We would appreciate everyone to be registered by September 1, and all payments are due on or before the first night of LOGOS. Hope to see you there!
Thanks to our child care volunteers in our nursery, toddler and preschool rooms. All child care rooms are equipped with live video feeds of the worship service. If you love children and babies, call the church office, (304)343-8961, to volunteer in this special ministry.
Knitting group: We continue to make scarves and hats for flood victims. All are welcome to join us, even if you can’t attend our gatherings. Our meetings are September 6, at 6:00 p.m. and September 20, at 10:00 a.m., both in Room 406 in the Education Building. Contact Laura Ceperley 304-389-3562.
PW Luncheon: The first PW luncheon of the season is scheduled for Thursday, September 15, at noon. The program, Mission to Peru, will be presented by Linda Elliott and Steve Logan. For reservations, please contact the church office, 304-343-8961, by Monday, September 12.
All Church Picnic Sunday, September 18, at 4:00 at Coonskin Park, Gorman Shelter. We will have games and activities for all ages beginning at 4:00, dinner at 5:00, live music, and a dessert contest. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Meat and beverage provided. To enter the dessert contest, simply bring any dessert item to the picnic by 4:30. Our 3 special judges will sample all entries anonymously and pick their favorites. Winners in each category (youth and adult) will be announced after dinner. If you are entering the contest, please bring a copy of your recipe for publication. Please note that the entrance to Coonskin Park is now from the Mink Shoals exit on I79 and not through the National Guard base.
It’s Charleston Trash Bag pick-up time again. If you have more bags than you can use, please donate them to the church. Each year we save over $700 by using your donated bags. Thank you!
This Week’s Food Pantry Needs: Macaroni and Cheese, Rice (1 lb. bags)
The FPC Lyres Club thanks you for your participation in our musical outreach ministries this summer. With your prayer support, we visited and played our harps for patients and/or residents at Hubbard Hospice House (three times), Oak Ridge Nursing Care Center, Quarry Manor, Charleston Gardens, Hospice of Huntington, and Eastbrook (formerly Heartland of Charleston). We will resume our work together in the Ruffner Room this Tuesday, September 6 at 5:30pm.
Geneva Choir for youth and adults will hold our first rehearsal of the fall season on Thursday, September 8 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Choir Room. Sopranos, altos, tenors, basses, and everyone in between is welcome! No prior experience is required; just a servant heart and a sense of humor. The Choir Room is located at the top of the stairs above the Susie Early Room. On Thursday, September 8, a folder, a hymnal, and a new family of friends will be waiting for you. We’ll give our first anthem to God together on Sunday morning, September 11.
More about the music: We now have an important new resource, a volume of research on every tune and text in our hymnal written by the Reverend Carl P. Daw, Jr. M.A., M.Div., Ph.D. entitled, Glory to God: A Companion. This book contains extended articles about each text and tune in our hymnal. Here’s an excerpt from the article about this morning’s concluding hymn text, “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past:”
“As originally conceived, this text [by Isaac Watts] was a reassurance to the nonestablished English churches (known as Independents or Dissenters) in reaction to the Schism Act of 1714, which forbade those churches from operating schools like the Nonconformist academy at Stoke Newington that Watts himself had attended. The ‘Our God, our help’ of the opening line reflects the hope of an apprehensive minority that they would be spared from the increased persecutions this act implied would be forthcoming…The political slant of this paraphrase [of Psalm 90] is made especially obvious in the second stanza, which introduces an image of sovereignty (‘thy throne’) not found in the standard translations; in short, God is the only monarch we can trust.”For more fun tidbits about our music and hymn texts, visit a church copy of the Companion in our church library or look through the copy on the piano at the front of the sanctuary after worship.
Local Mission Grant Applications: Through your very generous pledge and plate offerings, we are able to fund many local mission outreach grant requests each year. First Presby has a very long and rich history of supporting local non-profit agencies/organizations that work to promote a better quality of life for those in need in our community. The grant process is such that local/state agencies submit their application to First Presby’s Mission Division. A subcommittee of the Mission Division reviews the grants following a best practices set of guidelines and makes recommendation to Session regarding funding. If you know of or have an association with a 501c3 organization that would qualify to submit a grant application, please make them aware of this opportunity. The grant applications for 2017 are available in the church hallway on the information table. All applications are due on or before September 30, 2016. Please contact Sue Webster if you have any questions. Thank you.
Flood Relief Opportunities to Serve Now: We are looking for a small work crew, male or female, to form up to provide assistance with home rebuilding projects for flood victims through varied jobs such as sheet rock taping, closet building or cabinet installation, painting, and more. This type of work can be done during the week and will be prearranged with the homeowner. Our church has been assisting a young family that is working hard to get back into their home. The husband works during the day and only has nights and weekends to try to rebuild his home. Any help we can provide during the week would be a tremendous help. We are planning to have a larger work party to help this family in October, details to come. Please contact Andy Ceperley to get involved in this very important and necessary work!
Youth: There will be a Lock-In at YMCA on September 23. Please RSVP to Payne Warner by September 9. Sunday Night Youth group starts on September 11 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. If you would like more information about upcoming Youth evens, please contact Payne, youth@firstpresby.com.
As you pray, please remember: Jim Harris, brother-in-law of Mary Kay Boyle; Flora George, friend’s daughter of Sandy Zando; Roger Eskins, Commissioned Ruling Elder of Comfort Presbyterian Church; Jo Athey Adams, sister-in-law of Barbara Wessels; Lois Johnson, cousin of Mary Odin; John Lambros; Beth Reynolds, friend of Dawn Martinez; George Darlington, cousin of Mary Jo Krantz; Robert Schultz, pastor of South Park Presbyterian Church.
Sojourner’s Class continues: Dr. Jodi Magness gives her seventh lecture this week on the overall topic “Jesus and His Jewish Influences.” Her topic this week is “Alexander the Great’s Impact on the Jews.” After the death of his father, Philip of Macedon, Alexander became ruler of all Greece and soon was pushing his rule eastward, eventually to conquer Persia and reach India. He died at age 33 (323BCE) and his empire was divided among his generals. They soon ruled all of the Jewish territories all the way to Egypt. The influence of Greek or Hellenistic culture upon the Jews was powerful but also hard to measure. Dr. Magness examines how this influence prepared the way for the Jews to deal with the career of Jesus in new and adventurous ways. Everyone is invited and welcome to learn and enjoy these lively discussions on Sundays, at 9:15 a.m., in the Education Bldg. room 411.
Presbyterian Coffee Project- Coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolates, raisins, and nuts continue to be available for purchase after worship and during the week during church business hours.
An Update from Strategic Planning: The Strategic Planning Committee will host a “Dinner and Conversation” September 6, for our millennials (ages 25 to 40) to get their input about our church and its future. Their input, along with the information gathered at our congregational meetings and the Barna survey, will be taken to Session for planning. We are working with Dr. Stan Ott, a Presbyterian minister and head of The Vital Churches Institute. (Stan was also our Benfield-Vick speaker last spring.) He encourages us to be prayerful and thoughtful in our work. With that in mind, we expect this process to take up to a year. Dinner and Conversation. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 5:30 p.m. at the home of Bob and Nikki Moses, 1350 Johnson Rd. Children are welcome. Let us know if you would like child care, 304-345-3593.
Church League Basketball: To be eligible to participate in church league basketball, you must attend church or Sunday school twice a month, on two separate dates, beginning in September. You must attend twice a month throughout the entire season (September through the end of February). Registration forms are now available. If you have any questions, please contact Payne Warner, youth@firstpresby.com.
Church Family Style Dinner: Our first Wednesday night dinner is here! Please make reservations by Monday, September 4 at 4:00 p.m. Please complete the form below or contact the church office, 304-343-8961, to make reservations. Our hosts for this week are the Fellowship & Rec. Division and the Christian Education Division. The theme for our first night is “Fiesta!” Dinner is September 7, at 6:00 p.m.
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This Week at First Presby:
Sunday, 9/4:
9:15 Covenant Class
Sojourners Class
Manna Meal Sandwich Making
10:30 Worship
Monday, 9/5:
Labor Day: Buildings Closed
Tuesday, 9/6:
5:30 CE Division
6:00 Knitting Group
7:15 Boy Scouts
Wednesday, 9/7:
8:00 Wed. Work Crew
8:30 Aerobics
5:00 LOGOS
5:15 Property Division
6:00 Church Dinner
6:45 Board of Deacons
Personnel Division
7:15 Worship Division
8:00 Worship Team
Thursday, 9/8:
7:30 Shoney’s Group, Downtown
5:15 Coordinating Council
7:30 Geneva Choir
Friday, 9/9:
8:30 Aerobics
Saturday, 9/10:
No Activities Scheduled.