first presbyterian church newsletter.pdf · choir practices resume 6:30 p.m. – handbells 7:45...
TRANSCRIPT
Sunday Traditional
Worship – 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Praise
Worship – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, September 2
Labor Day
Church Office Closed
Thursday, September 5
Choir Practices Resume
6:30 p.m. – Handbells
7:45 p.m. – Chancel Choir
Sun., Sept. 8 – 11:00 a.m.
Ice Cream Social
Fri., Sept. 13 – 9:00 a.m.
Session Reports Deadline
Sat., September 14 – Noon
Hotdogs in the Park
5:00 p.m.
Worship & Communion
Sun., Sept. 15 – 10:00 a.m.
Worship & Communion
Fri., Sept. 20 – 9:00 a.m.
First Press Deadline
11:00 a.m. – PW Bible
Study and Lunch at Gino’s
Tue., Sept. 24 – 5:00 p.m.
Family Night
Sat., September 28 – Noon
Hotdogs in the Park
Sun., Sept. 29 – 7:00 p.m.
Hope Shelter Dinner
First Presbyterian Church Experiencing the Joy of God’s Love in Action!
September 2019
September
Happenings
Greetings Brothers and Sisters of FPC,
As I write to you this afternoon, we are preparing for a meaningful Fall season.
Summer has been filled with reflection, recuperation and vacations. It has also
been filled with four Hot Dogs in the Park events, a Vacation Bible School Fun
Day and the Back to School Bonanza. We provided dinner at the Hope Warming
Shelter and raced our Gravity Derby Car to a 3rd place finish in the Phoenix
Derby Races on Wayne Street. Way to go, Iris and Tom!
We have been so very blessed to spend so much time with our community.
Many of the same volunteers worked at a variety of our mission and evangelism
events as we joined with our community. Others helped as they had time and in
between vacation days. It takes a church working together to make these events a
success. Sometimes we join with partners to make our events happen. This was
true for the Back to School Bonanza. The Turner-Ound Ministries and the In His
Image Gospel Rap group helped to make the event a success. Together we
cooked and served 384 hot dogs and 250 bags of popcorn. We heard great music
and had fun making lots of spoon people. I think about 80. Lots of Jenga fun
was had. Lots of rides in the gravity car. Pastor Turner of Turner-Ound
ministries lovingly assembled 46 stocked backpacks and then helped us assemble
100 FPC bags of school supplies plus a dozen preschool bags. That means 150+
children received the needed supplies for school. This is so important as we
share Christ’s love with a hurting world in need.
One person said to me that we really affected the life of our community through
this one event. A father said thank you so much for what you are doing. Another
dad came and helped because he wanted to be a part of an event that was going to
help his children get a good start to their new school year.
Why do we do what we do? This question is asked of us often. Each dinner we
make, each hot dog we cook, each notebook or pencil collected or the time spent
reading to a child or volunteering at Owen School makes a huge difference in the
life of a child. Every time we reach out we are sharing the love of God with that
person as the child of God they truly are. We believe in them and what God is
doing in their life and want to be a part of seeing the people in our community
thrive.
Thank you for what you are doing as you pass on your faith, your hope and your
love. We do so and are so blessed, for we see God’s love shining back to us on
the faces of those we meet. We also see hope finding its way into the hearts and
minds of future generations. May we continue to find places to share the hope
we find in the Gospel and sew it into the moments we have as one community
living in unity and in love.
Many Blessings upon you,
Rev. Laura C. Kelsey, Pastor
With Our People
Please keep the following
in your prayers:
The family of Patti Andrus,
who died on July 26.
Corenna Aldrich, Lois
Donaldson, Pat Donaldson,
Nancy Euler, William
Fuqua, Heather Halls, Mike
Hood, Rosemarie McColl,
Jane Page, Ben & Pat
Pawley, Derek Spry, and
Justina Warren.
Our military: Lizz Huntoon
and Benjamin Walsh
We Welcome our new Organist/Music Director, Ava Janus
Ava Janus is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music,
Theater and Dance, a native of Pontiac and a current resident of Troy. She
began musical studies at the age of 6 on the piano, and later on the violin and
organ. She continued studies on all three instruments in New York City,
where she presented solo recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall
at Lincoln Center, and St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University.
Ava has served various churches in New York
and in our area as Music Minister and Organist
and as Choir/Handbell Director. Her most
recent instrumental study was the carillon at
Christ Church Cranbrook, and she has
presented several carillon recitals.
Ava is a member of the American Guild of
Organists, Detroit Chapter, and the Guild of
Carillonneurs in North America. She has also been the Organist at the
Masonic Temple of Detroit since 1999.
Ava will begin Thursday evening practices on September 5 and Sunday
morning worship on October 6.
08 Jennifer Irish Robare
10 Rebecca Walsh
12 Rosemarie Owen
14 Julie Ogg
14 Mark Smith
17 Nancy Duffield
23 Ben Pawley
24 Alexander Walsh
24 Sue Wilton
26 Diane Sayles
If you would like to have
your name on this birthday
list, please call the church
office, (248) 335-6866.
PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN ACTIVITIES
PW GROUP – PW BIBLE STUDY
RENAISSANCE CIRCLE
PW Bible Study
Friday, September 20, 2019 – 11:00 a.m. at Gino’s
“Love Carved in Stone:
A Fresh Look at the Ten Commandments”
by Eugenia Anne Gamble.
What would it mean to consider the Ten Commandments not as
a harsh list of what not to do but, instead, as a “love letter”
from a loving God? Come join us as we begin our new
Horizon's Bible Study. See you in September!
PWPD Ingathering at Detroit Westminster
Date: October 21-23, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Place: 17567 Hubbell, Detroit, MI 48235
Phone: (313) 341-2697
Email: [email protected]
September Bible Readings
Weekly Lectionary Scriptures:
09-01 Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16;
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16: Luke 14:1, 7-14
09-08 Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139; 1-6, 13-18;
Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33
09-15 Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14;
1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
09-22 Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9;
Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13
09-29 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16;
1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31
Session Actions August 20, 2019
During the August 20 Session meeting, the elders voted on the following:
The motion to hire Ava Janus as Organist/Choir Director at a salary of
$20,000.00 per year beginning October 6, 2019 was approved.
The motion to contract with Section Leaders Hannah Marshall and Angela
Tocco at $300.00 per month from September through May was approved.
The motion to give Vincent, NA facilitator, a key to the church and a code to
the alarm was approved.
The motion to contract with Raphael’s Donuts for their use of the kitchen at
$15.00 per hour was approved, including 6 months probation and pending
receipt of satisfactory background checks on the employees.
The motion made to purchase oil candles and acolyte supplies totaling
$397.00 was approved.
Memorials
Contributions
A gift to the Memorial Fund
has been given in memory
of Harry Miller by Harold &
Amanda Boettger.
Reading for All
We invite you to help local residents spend their free time
reading by contributing to our Little Library near our parking
lot at Wayne & Lafayette. Please bring your new or gently
used book donations to the office or leave them clearly
marked outside the office on Sundays.
Deacons Doings
At the June 25, 2019
meeting, the Board of
Deacons voted to:
Donate $1,000 to the
Furniture Bank for their
Annual Comedy Night
fundraiser to be held on
October 17, 2019.
09-07 Rev. Laura Kelsey
09-14 Rev. Laura Kelsey
09-21 Tom Duffield
09-28 Rev. Laura Kelsey
Join Us for the “Welcome Back Ice Cream Social”
Please join us on Sunday, September 8 for an Ice Cream Social to welcome
everyone back. September 8 is the start of our fall schedule
which includes education programming, our fall meeting
schedule and the new choir year. Immediately after our 10:00
a.m. service we will have make your own ice cream sundaes in
the dining room. Join us!
Mark your calendars
World Communion Sunday,
Peace and Global Witness
Offering on October 6, 2019
First Presbyterian Church
99 Wayne Street
Pontiac, MI 48342
Address Correction Requested
Our Staff
Pastor………………………..………..…..Rev. Laura Kelsey
Director of Music/Organist……………...…… Ava Janus
Praise Worship Music Leader……........…Steve Keith
Administrative Assistant………….……………Julie Smith
Sexton…………………………………….….Matthew Nelson
Vision Statement
Our vision is to be a Christian
fellowship, firmly grounded in the
Word, ministering to the whole
person, and serving the community by
sharing the good news of the Gospel
in worship, word and deed.
Web site: www.fpcpontiac.com
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: 248-335-6866
Fax: 248-335-7824