Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
Worship is broadcast at 11:00 a.m. on WCHS-580AM
304-343-8961
A Congregational Meeting will be held today immediately following the worship service for the following purposes:
- Election of a Pastor Nominating Committee to seek an Associate Pastor for Congregational Care.
- Election of officers for the Class of 2019.
Next Week’s Sermon is “Ancient Words: Sacraments”, by Bill McCoy.
Congratulations to Sprague and Sally Hazard on the birth of their granddaughter, Clare Kittinger Jenkins. She was born August 17, 2016, to Hannah Hazard and Mark Jenkins in Morgantown, WV.
Sympathy of the congregation is extended to:
- Family of Scottie LaMaster on her death September 17.
- Dave Cottrell and family, on the death of his father, Troy, September 17.
Children’s Bible Study: Following Time with Young Disciples and the Passing of the Peace, all children in grades one through five 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.
The Cents-Ability Offering is received today: “Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9) The Cents-Ability effort is only a whisper, but maybe if we all whispered at once it would become audible.
Geneva Choir for Youth and Adults welcomes sopranos, altos, tenors, basses, and everyone in between. No prior musical experience is required; just a servant heart and a sense of humor. We rehearse on Thursday evenings from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Choir Room at the top of the stairs above the Susie Early Room. Come sing with us!
Open Date for Flowers: If you would like to place flowers in the sanctuary in memory or honor of a loved one, Sunday, October 9, is an open date. Please call the church office, 304-343-8961.
Pray For: Sheila Banks, Diane Wilder, Idell Hamady, Janie Bowling, Lisa Comer, Tony Fowler, Lynne McChesney Knight, Ruth Pitchford, Beth Vorhees, Tom McCune and Cindy McDowell.
Act of Faith: We are reminded that all we have comes from God. Please remember to name the First Presbyterian Church as a beneficiary of your will, your retirement plan or of a life insurance policy in order that we may carry out God’s wishes and continue his work in our community and in the world.
This Week’s Food Pantry Needs: Cereal, Canned/dry milk & Toilet Tissue
Coaches Needed: We are in need of potential coaches for Church League basketball. If you coached last year I will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks. If you would be interested in becoming a coach please contact Payne Warner at youth@firstpresby.com
Needed: We are looking for adult and parent volunteers to help with youth group activities. Areas we need help with are: preparing and serving meals, leading Bible study and Sunday School, transportation, and chaperoning events. If you are interested, please contact Payne Warner.
Co-ed Church League Volleyball: We have two teams (Divisions 1 and 2). The games are Sunday afternoons, and they are beginning this Sunday. In order to be eligible you must follow the same attendance rules as the Basketball League. If you are interested in playing please contact Payne Warner.
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 on the table the in church hallway and church office. If you have any questions, please contact Payne Warner, youth@firstpresby.com.
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. 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 on the information table in the hallway. Applications are due on or before September 30, 2016. Please contact Sue Webster if you have any questions.
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!
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.
Faith In Action Volunteer Orientation Scheduled: Faith in Action of the Greater Kanawha Valley (FIAGKV) is a local nonprofit dedicated to helping seniors in Kanawha and Putnam counties sustain their independence and remain in their own homes as long as possible. All FIAGKV volunteers are required to attend one orientation session prior to serving. First Presby is hosting a Volunteer Orientation Training on Thursday, September 29, from 6–7:30 pm in the Activity Building Room 203.
Manna Meal Sandwich Making Next Sunday: The Elementary Sunday School Children will be making 200 sandwiches next Sunday during the Sunday School Hour. Adults are always welcome to help with this project and to help deliver the sandwiches and fruit to Manna Meal. Meet in the chapel at 9:15 a.m.
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 Response to the Prayer of Adoration, “Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying:”“Many hymns have been written by clergy to support their sermons, but this is a song written by a member of the congregation in response to a pastor’s teaching. The text behind this song is 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul’s reminder that though Christ “was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”…There are echoes here as well of the apostle’s affirmation “Whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10)…When the author wrote this song in 1978, he was attending the Williamsburg New Testament Church in Williamsburg, Virginia…At the time, a military couple were attending that church, and they carried songs they learned in the United States with them back to Germany. That is apparently how the song made its way to Europe and beyond.” 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.
Kroger Community Rewards: Thank you to the 110 First Presby families who have signed up First Presby to receive charitable donations from Kroger based upon their Kroger Plus card purchases! We will receive a check for $1,695.68 for purchases made from June through August this summer. The Kroger Fund is being used to purchase a special oven in the Activities Bldg. kitchen. If you are one of the 110, please remember to re-register your card now if you haven’t already done so. If you would like to register your Kroger Plus card for the first time go to https://www.kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow or you may call the church office and we can register your card for you. Thank you!
Sojourner’s Class continues to study “Jesus and His Jewish Influences.” We meet on Sundays at 9:15 a.m. in Room 411 in the Education Building. Dr. Jodi Magness gives her eleventh lecture (DVD) on “Jesus’ Jewish Lineage,” tracing his ancestors and especially how his family had to migrate from Nazareth to Bethlehem to show his descent from King David in order to be a true Jewish Messiah. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The Lay Academy of Religion fall series of study sessions on Science and Religion begins today, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Room 201 in the Activity Building. Dr. Andrew Newberg continues his lectures on “The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience.” (DVD). Dr. George Keller, Chemical Engineer, will lead discussion on how Science and Religion are both different and necessary for responsible human life. All who register will receive a free book, “When God and Science Meet.” This series will continue for nine weeks, same time and location. Free and open to everyone. Bring a friend or neighbor. For more information, please contact the Church Office (304) 343-8961.
Thank You! Diane and I have been blessed by God in many ways and we have so much to be thankful for. Our First Presby family is one of our greatest blessings, and we give God thanks for you, daily. Eight-plus years went by way too fast, and now that we’re back in Alabama, we miss you already. Our hearts will always be warmed by thoughts of you. Not only do we thank God for you; we thank you for your love, support, and affirmation during those years. Thank you for your genuine welcome in the beginning of our time with you, for the joy of sharing worship, fellowship, and ministry with you that nurtured and sustained in us a sense of knowing that we were where God intended us to be, and for all of your kind words, hugs, and expressions of love as we approached our departure last month. Thank you so much for your contributions to the generous retirement gift. We pledge to be good stewards of your generosity. May God bless each of you and bless you together as a congregation. We pray that God will prosper First Presby as you continue your faithful service to God’s kingdom in Charleston and around the world.
Grace and peace,
Jim & Diane Roberts
The Peace and Global Witness Offering is received next Sunday, October 2: On World Communion Sunday, people are joined from all over God’s earth, looking at our world and our lives and asking, “Can God spread a table even in this wilderness? Even in my wilderness?” To which God responds and says, “Come to the table of peace.” Our congregation’s support of the Peace & Global Witness Offering helps to invite others to the table, both near and far. Our church determines how best to use 25% of the Offering to engage in peace work and global witness. Can God spread a table in the wilderness?”—Psalm 78:19. This year’s theme is inspired by the cry from a people feeling abandoned to a cruel existence: The psalmist quotes the people as they ask; “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?” In response, the author reminds the people that the God who delivered them from bondage in Egypt could not only spread a table in the wilderness, but had already done so over and over again. The Peace & Global Witness Offering exists to ignite a movement of Presbyterians engaged in the Christian witness of peacemaking and reconciliation. For generations, and to the ends of the earth, Presbyterians have borne witness to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Our witness has been profound in our own communities and in places we ourselves have never been, around the corner and around the world. Please give generously to this special offering as together we strive to share His peace both near and far.
This Week at First Presby
Sunday, 9/25
Stewardship Kick-off
9:15 Sunday School
10:30 Worship
11:30 Congregational Meeting
11:45 Service of Healing-Chapel
4-6:30 Stephen’s Ministry
5:30-7 Lay Academy
Monday, 9/26
8:30 Aerobics
9:30 Bible Study
Tuesday,9/27
5:30 FPC Lyres Club
7:00 Boy Scouts
Wednesday, 9/28
8:00 Wednesday Work Crew
8:30 Aerobics
11:45 Men’s Group, Bistro
5:00 LOGOS
6:00 Church Family Style Dinner
7:30 Worship Music Team
Thursday, 9/29
7:30 Shoney’s Group Downtown
5:30-7 Capella Bells Rehearsal
5:30 Faith in Action Training
7:30 Geneva Choir
Friday, 9/30
7:00 Men’s Group
10-11:30 Women’s Outreach Bible Study
Saturday, 10/1
10:00 Archery
Church Family Style Dinner, September 28
Please make reservations by 4:00 p.m. Monday.
Please complete the form below or contact the church office (304-343-8961) for reservations.
Menu: Rotisserie Chicken, Fried Potatoes, Carrots, Fruit & Cheesecake Cups
Hosts: Finance Committee & Presbyterian Women
Return the form below for your dinner reservation.
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Wednesday Dinner – September 28, 2016 – 6:00 p.m.
First-time visitor, be our guest—no charge!
NAME____________________________________________________________________PHONE____________________
______Adults _______Children 3 through 12 _______Children 2 and under
PRICE FOR DINNER: Adult/$7; Child 12-under/$3; Child under 3 is free