“A cheerful heart is a good medicine!” Proverbs 17:22 Look what my friends gave me! They saw this “Relish Sweet Jesus” shirt on a motorcycle trip and brought it back for me. Shall I wear it on Sunday? Speaking of Sunday, just a few weeks ago, our Sanctuary Bell Tower Door wasn’t lock-ing properly. And so, some men of the church tackled the problem. Pat Briggs & I both thought of this joke: Q: How many Presbyterians does it take to fix a broken door? A: Apparently, five. Rick Croskery, Lee Galloway, Stan Briggs, Morgan McNeil & Ron Tingle. See pg. 12! Our Bluegrass Group is still jammin’ together each week on Main Street. Come on down and listen to them on Mondays at 4 pm. What’s the latest with the Elevator/Parking project? Well, the elevator tower is getting a roof! The architects designed the elevator tower to blend in with the church’s original bell tower. Clark & Leatherwood are doing great work – I’m glad it’s not me up there! Finally, here are some recent pics of my grandchildren. Asher (almost 3) and Amina (almost 1) send this message:

Don’t forget to smile. God is with us.

The joy of knowing the Lord is our strength. Should we ALL wear “relish Sweet Jesus” shirts? Blessings & love, Holly

September 2021 Volume 15, Issue 9

Breaking News

The Women’s Retreat is post-

poned, due to the

increase in COVID-19

infections. We will let you

know when this popular event

is rescheduled.

Social distancing and masks at

church services will be the

norm to keep us all safe.

Communion will be paused

for September, again to en-

sure we do our best to keep

everyone healthy.

Drive-Thru Food

Collection is Wednesday, Sept.

8, from 10:00 AM-Noon.

Macaroni and Cheese is re-

quested.

Office manager Kristi Siplon is finally home after back sur-gery. She still has more healing & physical therapy to go but is doing well. If you’d like to send a card, her address is:

1471 South Main St.

Waynesville 28786.

Rev. Holly Davis

Church Elders

Beth Johnson, Missions

Ruth Caldwell, Elder for Deacons

Rick Croskery, Building & Grounds

Charlotte Casey, Discipleship

Gregg Miller, Worship

Hughes Roberts, Finance

Lee Galloway, Communications

Ron Tingle, Clerk of Session

Deacons

Beverly Benson

Stan Briggs

Bill Covin

Lee Hutchison

Janet Tingle

Sylvia Lonnee

Church Staff

Joel Lillethun, Minister of Music

Diane Combs, Organist

Kristi Siplon, Office Manager

Tony Caldwell, Sexton

This exquisite quilt is hanging in the sanctuary, thanks to our Prayer Quilt Ministry. Quilters for this project include Sylvia Lonnee, Janet Tingle, Sara Cifani, and Debbie McIntosh.

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August’s food drive was another success – 18 folks dropped off items at church prior to the drive and 14 cars came by on the day. We collected 167 jars of various sizes of peanut butter and 70 boxes of Hamburger Helper – THANK YOU!

The next drive through food collection for Haywood Christian Ministry will take place on Wednesday, September 8 from 10:00 to noon. This month they have requested macaroni and cheese. Once again, thank you to all who donate – your generosity is so helpful to those less fortunate in our community. HCM still aver-ages distributing 50-85 boxes of food per day, Monday through Friday.

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On October 9th and 16th, our Craft Fairs will again take place, after our 2020 Covid hiatus. While a small group of ladies has been meeting each Tuesday and Thursday in the Craft Room at church, we know that some have been crafting at home – and we thank you! We look forward to seeing what new items they have produced this year. Please bring complet-ed crafts into the church by October 7th. We know our congregation includes many talented bakers. October is your time to shine! We need cakes, pies, brownies, breads, jellies, and jams. If you can supply something for the bake sale, Margaret Rice will be your contact. We’ll have a food sales signup sheet on the bulletin board to help Margaret coordinate. Additionally, we need help on those two Saturdays. We need hosts to greet, assist and direct folks through our Fair. It will be set up differently, with an eye to social distancing our patrons. Folks will enter via the ramp doorway, shop and exit down the steps through the double doors. Food items for sale will be displayed in the kitchen. We will try to maintain a safe traffic flow from beginning to end. Please consider assisting us. No one will have to work the whole day. There will be a sign-up sheet posted on October 1st for you to choose the times you can help. We hope you will join us as we look forward to fall craft fairs. For more information please contact Janet Tingle.

Craft Fairs are Coming!

Healing Hearts-Pat Parker The grief support group, Healing Hearts, meets every third Wednesday at noon. We share lunch, conversation, problems and solutions, tears, and laughter. Currently, we are discussing the book: A Grief Observed, by C. S. Lewis. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one is welcome to attend. If you or someone you know needs this type of support, please come.

Many of you have been taking advantage of making charitable donations

from your Traditional IRA. In addition to the benefit of giving to the

church, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can be counted toward

satisfying your required minimum distribution for the year. And the QCD

is excluded from taxable income, unlike regular withdrawals.

To make a QCD, you need to request a distribution to be paid directly to

the church from your IRA. You may be asked for proof that the church is

a qualified charity and feel free to contact the office or Nancy Thompson

for any information that your broker or IRA custodian needs.

The next person to call or email about your QCD is the church office or

Nancy to tell us that there should be a check coming from your IRA.

Please let us know the name of the company/bank/investment firm that

holds your IRA, when you made the request and how you want the do-

nation to be applied (for example, to your general pledge, your building

pledge or other purpose). If you are leaving a message, don’t forget to

identify yourself!

When your check comes in, we will notify you via a phone call or email.

Telling us to expect the check is so important because already this year

we’ve had two problems with checks not arriving. One was never re-

ceived and had to be re-issued almost 4 months later. Another was so

delayed that the check was cancelled and reissued. Checks being lost or

delayed in the mail is becoming an increasing problem. Knowing that a

check is coming allows us to deal promptly with any lost check.

Thank you all for your generosity and love for our church. Don’t hesitate

to call or email Nancy with any questions.

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Charitable Donations-Nancy Thompson

Pumpkin Dessert With love from

Pat Briggs

1 (32oz) can pumpkin

1 (13oz) can evaporated

milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sugar

3 beaten eggs

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped walnuts

or pecans

3/4 cup melted butter

Combine first 8 ingredi-

ents in a bowl and mix

well. Pour into a 9x13

baking dish. Sprinkle dry

cake mix over top.

Sprinkle with chopped

nuts. Pour butter over

the top. Bake at 350 for

1 hour and 20

minutes. Cool and serve

with whipped cream or

ice cream.

Your church employs a qualified outside expert to review church financial reports and process eseach year. In June, a review was conducted by Lucy Keil, a retired CPA from Asheville, who frequently performs church financial reviews. Her report for the Session was delivered in July. The first line of her report states, ”I have very little to say about my review this year - except that everything looks great.” We are indebted to Nancy Thompson, Church Treasurer, and Melonie Gross, Assistant Church Treasurer, for their excellence in managing our finances. The Fi-nance Team feel that these reviews by an outside expert are im-portant to assure the congregation that church funds are being managed effectively and securely.

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Finance Team-Hughes Roberts

Budget Tracker-Nancy Thompson

Session’s August meeting was called to order at 1 p.m. on August 9th in the Fellowship Hall. Attending were Ruth Caldwell, Charlotte Casey, Lee Galloway, Beth Johnson, Gregg Miller, Hughes Roberts, Ron Tingle, Treasurer Nancy Thompson, and Pastor Holly Davis. Rick Croskery was out of town and excused. For informational purposes and church record:

Sunday in-person Worship Attendance in July: July 4: 66, July 11: 67, July 18: 77, July 25: 85. 10-Cents-a-Meal Offering: $413.00 for the Nickel-a-Meal hunger program $413.00 for Nkhoma Hospital in Malawi

Pastor Holly opened the meeting with prayer. The devotional was a discussion of the lyrics of the hymn Come, Thou

Fount of Every Blessing. Ruth Caldwell reviewed health and welfare concerns from the congregation and Pastor Holly led the elders in prayer for intercession and praise.

A quorum was declared, the agenda was approved, as were the minutes of the July meeting. Session approved a re-

quest from the Tuscola High School band boosters for use of our parking lot on September 18th for their annual fundraiser. Ron then led a discussion about the recent internet breach resulting in electronic theft of the church’s directory infor-

mation. After discussion, elders offered key points for Ron to include in an explanatory message to the congregation. Treasurer Nancy Thompson presented the financial report for July. July income was $14,097, trailing expenses of

$18,028. Summer figures are always “interesting”, says Nancy. At 58% into the year, our year-to-date income is at 56% of budget and expenses year-to-date are at 40% of plan. Session reviewed financial details and comparisons to 2020. Hughes Roberts remarked that our annual financial review produced stellar comments from Lucy Keil, recently retired accountant. Ses-sion thanked Nancy and Melonie for their wonderful work and approved the financial report.

Beth Johnson then presented an excellent report and recap of the July 31st Presbytery meeting. Gregg Miller shared the discussion items from the Worship Team meeting earlier in the day. The recordings of our

Sunday services are often of very poor quality by the time they are posted on the Web. A group will take a hard look at tech-niques and technology to improve this. The Worship Team sees our online presence as permanent and will continue even after COVID departs. Elders discussed the team’s proposal of pausing Communion for one month while we arrive at a better ap-proach to serving the elements as the COVID variants have dictated more caution. After discussion, Session decided to pause communion for one month, skipping Communion in September.

Pastor Holly reported that changes are afoot at Haywood Christian Ministry, with their Board citing a “change in direc-

tion”. After lengthy discussion, Session voted to discontinue financial support until we can discern what is happening with the organization.

Hughes Roberts shared with Session the Endowment Team’s education awards for 2021. Each of the recipients will

receive $500 toward their college education: Sarah and Emma Clark, granddaughters of Pat Parker; Sydney Weeks, grand-daughter of Merry June Burwell; Beau and Jack Hecimovich, grandsons of Larry and Janie Oakley. Announcement and photos will appear in upcoming newsletters.

COVID tracker Gregg Miller delivered statistics and trends from Haywood County health department. Things are cer-

tainly less rosy than last month. During worship, social distancing will be the norm and we will suggest masks for all in attend-ance. Gregg will share the county health department’s weekly update with elders via email.

Note that the church newsletter always needs your input. Reports and articles should be submitted to editor Kathi by

the 20th of the month. There being no further business, Session adjourned after prayer.

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Session Notes-Ron Tingle, Clerk of Session

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Data are current through the end of the day on Friday August 13.

The upturn in cases we saw last month has turned into a new wave. We are currently at the

same level of cases as back in late fall, with the rate of new cases still increasing. There is current-

ly no indication of where or when the peak number of cases will occur.

Dr. Mark Jaben, Medical Director for Haywood County, reports that local hospitals are being

stretched, and EMS response time is increasing significantly, as ambulances must wait to unload

their patients as hospitals try to find space to receive them. Even non-COVID related calls

(injuries, heart attacks, etc.) are being affected by the delay.

As always, we will continue to monitor the recommendations of the CDC, the governor’s execu-

tive orders, and the level of activity of the virus in the county to guide our decisions.

Please stay safe.

COVID Corner

Gregg Miller

Worship Team Minutes

8/9/2021

Present: Janet Tingle, Beth Thrift, Diane Combs, Holly Davis, Joel Lillethun, & Gregg Miller

Gregg opened with prayer.

Much appreciation was expressed for the new mountain themed banner in the sanctuary. Many

thanks to Janet and the quilters for their work.

Considering the recent spike in COVID cases, the ushers this past Sunday provided reminders to wor-

shippers to maintain proper distance between household groups. The team agreed that this less

regimented approach is preferable to the placing of bulletins ahead of time in the checkerboard

pattern, as this led to several bulletins being wasted.

Earlier, the COVID Task Force recommended the choir maintain distance from each other, and re-

sume use of their masks in rehearsals and during most of the service. Joel reported that there has

been little or no resistance to that request.

There was much discussion regarding the way in which communion is being served. Several options

were considered, each having its drawbacks. It was suggested that, with the increasing number of

COVID cases in the county, we pause serving communion until we see how large the spike will be. It

was noted that the Book of Order says that Session sets the schedule for communion, not less than

quarterly. The team agreed to recommend to Session that we do not have communion on the first

Sunday in September (which was later approved at the Session meeting).

Concerns were expressed about the musical sound quality in the sanctuary and on the Facebook Live

feed, which are often quite different. Joel and Gregg will identify and document the list of issues

with the current setup, and propose next steps to try to improve the sound quality. Since the online

service is seen as a permanent offering for those who are sick, shut-in, or traveling, improving the

online experience is an important part of our ministry.

The staffing of the A/V team continues to be a challenge, with the same, minimum number of people

needed currently running the equipment every Sunday (sometimes reluctantly). A request for

volunteers has produced no response. Discussions continue about hiring a part time staff to run the

equipment.

Beth has been researching availability and cost of a more demographically appropriate Nativity sce-

ne. Gregg will check the current budget status to see what funds might be available to purchase a

replacement.

Holly closed with prayer.

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BUILDING AND GROUNDS UPDATE-Rick Croskery

The Building and Grounds Team remains busy with refreshing the Sunday School wing

downstairs. Dick Siegrist has completed refinishing all of the doors, and they look great.

The Siegrists have recently cleaned and painted the previous crib nursery room and the

classroom adjacent to the pastor’s office. The small restrooms in the downstairs hallway

sport new signs indicating that they are no longer gender-specific. New LED hallway lighting

has been purchased and will be installed in the coming months. A changing table has been

purchased and will be installed in the large restroom behind the sanctuary, so we can be

better prepared for visits from grandchildren and new families. We have also replaced the

old heavy extra tables that are used for the craft fair with modern lightweight ones and

stored them next to the fellowship hall—no more hauling those old dinosaurs upstairs. Out

front, the foundation hedges just received a haircut and look great.

Speaking of looking great, we hope you notice the excellent and thorough cleaning the

church gets every week from our new sexton, Tony Caldwell. Take a look especially at the

floor in the Fellowship Hall, which has received its first really thorough cleaning and buffing

in several years. There continues to be plenty to do for our volunteers, and we welcome

anyone interested to join the faithful Building and Grounds Committee.

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News from the Endowment Team – Melonie Gross

COLLEGE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Generous members of our church have made gifts to the First Presbyterian Church Endowment

Program to fund annual $ 500 undergraduate College Fund Awards. These awards are available to

first-time college students, as well as to continuing college students, attending accredited undergrad-

uate programs. Eligible students must be Members or Affiliate Members of First Presbyterian

Church or children or grandchildren of Members or Affiliate Members of the church, and must com-

plete an application and submit an essay.

This is our second year offering these awards. We are happy to announce the 2021 recipients:

• Sydney Weeks, granddaughter of Merry June Burwell, who will be a freshman at Virginia

Polytechnic Institute.

• Sarah Clarke, granddaughter of Pat Parker, who will be a sophomore at Elon University.

• Beau Hecimovich, grandson of Janie and Larry Oakley, who will be a sophomore at High Point

University.

• Emma Clarke, granddaughter of Pat Parker, who will be a senior at Elon University.

• Jack Hecimovich, grandson of Janie and Larry Oakley, who will be a senior at the University of

South Carolina in Columbia.

Over the next five months, we’ll introduce you to each recipient and highlight their applications and

essays.

The Endowment Team would love to be able to contribute gifts towards college expenses to all who

apply in the future. One of the purposes of an endowment is to form a legacy of faith for future gen-

erations. FPC does not have an active youth program, so these gifts are more than just a check. As a

congregation, we also offer our love, encouragement, and prayers to these students. Please consider

making donations to the Education Fund of the Endowment Program. No amount is too small!

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I would like to deeply thank my church family at First Pres Waynesville for the overwhelming love and support I’ve received since I began my journey in the US Navy, even though I am at a halt right now, you are still pushing me to do better and strive for greatness.

Thank you and with much love, Fireman First Class, Ian Hutchison

Sydney Sarah Beau Emma Jack

ELEVATOR/PARKING PROJECT UPDATE Things are really taking shape out back. The elevator lobby and new restroom walls and floors are in place and the elevator shaft awaits only a roof (coming soon!) The multipur-pose room over the covered drive is nearly framed in now and one can get an idea of the size and configuration of this new 500 square foot space. The elevator itself (well, its com-ponents) will arrive the second week of September and a special elevator crew will assem-ble and install it. We still anticipate a completion date around the end of February, 2022.

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Christmas in September-Laura Janson As I start to write this article there are 131 days till

Christmas!!! Have you started your shopping? Have your

young grandkids told you what they want from Santa

Claus? Do you know where you’re going to eat the big

Christmas dinner? OK, there may be some who already

know where they will be spending the day but I’m guessing

there are only a few who have actually started their shop-

ping. Unless you are like my roommate who has 9 grand-

children, 9 great-grandchildren plus other family and

friends on her shopping list. She starts Christmas shopping in January. So why Christmas in

September? I’ve heard from a couple of sources and saw the same on-line, that there is a

good possibility of a shortage of toys around the holidays and prices will likely be higher.

Each year we do the Christmas tree, and one can pick the name of a child or an elderly person

and buy from their wish list. Our congregation members have always been generous, even

during the height of the pandemic, and the Mission Committee anticipates the same will be

true this holiday season.

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FPCW: jamming, planning, and examining

How many Presbyterians does it take to fix a door? Bats in the Belfry?

Monday Jam Session at 4:00 PM

CCSHH, despite all the limitations faced derived from a pandemic and two hurri-canes that hit Honduras last year, continues its ministry to the underserved. The economy of Honduras has been greatly weakened as a result of these phenomena that have occurred in our country. Added to the economic limitations, due to the existing corruption and political situation, our country is unable to advance. In spite of everything, God has continued to provide the necessary resources to con-tinue our mission to serve. In the last 5 months, we have im-proved our service capacity, even with the restrictions due to COVID 19. In 2020, we were closed for almost three months, seriously affecting our ministry and out-reach. We are thankful that we had available funds to maintain our dedicated staff and provide for them during our closure. We still face many challenges. For example, we have not been able to reactivate our visiting doctors’ program until this month. These doctors support us a lot in performing surgeries and encouraging our staff. Dr. Judy Newman, a dedi-cated pediatric ophthalmologist will be returning later in August. Even with these limitations we are gradually recovering from the economic losses of 2020. The continued financial support we receive from First Presbyterian Church is very much appreciated and needed now more than ever. Because of the loss of employ-ment during the pandemic and hurricanes, more and more of our patients have little funds to contribute to the services they receive at the clinic. Your contribu-tions are used to assist us in purchasing consumable supplies and materials and help us with the purchase of equipment that needs to be replaced after many years of use. All this helps us to be able to continue to provide the services our pa-tients need and to minister to their spiritual needs as well. On behalf of the staff at CCSHH, we thank you for our continued partnership. Both your financial and prayer support are appreciated and needed.

CCSHH Eye Clinic and Good Samaritan Project (Honduras)

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ee, Ian, Paula, Gwen & Will

From Your Editor-Kathi Armstrong

National Grandparents Day will be celebrated on September 12, 2021, the first Sunday after Labor Day. This is

a day set aside to commemorate the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. Rich and I

became grandparents in 2020, and I have to say, there is nothing we treasure more than those two little girls.

Reflecting on this extraordinary bond has lead me to thinking about the wonderful relationship I shared with

my grandparents, even though growing up as a BRAT meant that we sometimes lived continents apart.

My grandfather, "Pa", was a funny and kind person, who always had time for his grandkids. Pa taught me how

to bait a hook, catch and clean a fish, plant tomatoes, and draw funny pictures. It was rare to see Pa without a

cat or dog beside him. Anytime you received a letter from him, it was always adorned with one of his naughty

drawings-like a dog with a lifted leg. He made delicious turkey stuffing, and if you were standing by when he

carved it, you'd get a sample that no one else was supposed to know about. Pa entertained us during long and

boring Catholic masses, by turning Latin responses into silly English phrases-I guess his many years of altar boy

training paid off for his grandchildren. He had a beautiful, Irish tenor voice and would sing "I'll take you home

again Kathleen" to me, as well as other beautiful ballads. And, Pa loved buying cars, and, helped me pick out

my first car. He taught me to change a tire, replace the oil, and to keep my car shiny and clean.

My grandmother, "Ma", was also very special to me. Ma made sure that each grandchild had a week with

them during the summer-when we received all their attention. Ma had three favorite things in her life: Pa, ice

cream, and shopping. Ma and Pa married right after WWI, when Pa returned from the trenches in France. They

lived with her parents and saved their money to open a restaurant called the "Green Parrot", which was a

typical Irish pub. Together, they did all the cooking, serving, cleaning, and entertaining (Ma played the piano,

and of course, Pa would sing). When Ma's health deteriorated, they sold the pub, and she was able to stay at

home while Pa worked at Pratt and Whitney. Ma was a polio survivor, and I remember Pa helping her take off

her orthopedic shoe/brace, and massaging her foot every night. She never, ever complained about the pain

she must have felt.

As I mentioned, Ma adored ice cream, always coffee flavored. When the grandkids had their week with Ma and

Pa, you could be sure to visit "the Cow", a dairy in Bristol, CT, where they lived. I always ordered Black Rasp-

berry but prefer coffee ice cream now! Shopping was fun with Ma. She loved hats (women wore hats to church

back then), and we would go to department stores to try on hats. And, the hats had to match your outfit-none

of that beige stuff for my grandmother. When I got older, makeup was also included in the shopping trip, and I

thought I was pretty grown up with my new tube of lipstick. Ma did not drive, so Pa would drive her to the

shopping area and wait for her in the car. I am not sure how Pa knew she was done shopping, without a cell

phone, but the car would always be waiting for us in front of the store, so that Ma did not have to carry her

packages very far. I grew up thinking all men did that when their wives went shopping!

It's funny, the memories that make you smile and that you hold close to your heart. Maybe you have a special

story about your grandparents-or someone special in your life- that you'd like to share with others. Just email

to me: Drkathi51@gmail.com, and I will add it to the next newsletter.

Discipleship Team-Charlotte Casey The Discipleship Team met on Tuesday, August 10, with Van Davis, Billye Simmers, Laura Janson, Judy Bryson, and Charlotte Casey in attendance. Following the opening prayer, the minutes of the July 13th meeting were approved as read. The financial report showed a balance of $1,046.00.

The Seekers class is studying: Modern Parables, a look at some of the familiar teachings of Jesus, with a focus on our time. In September, they will read and discuss: Broken We Kneel, by Diana Butler Bass. The Isaac class is continuing their study of the minor prophets. The movie selection for September is: A Man for All Seasons. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, who was beheaded by King Henry VIII, for refusing to give up on his principles, when the king wished to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and make himself the supreme head of the Church of England. Van has contacted Sheriff Greg Christopher to speak during the Au-

gust 29 Sunday School hour on How God is Working in our Community. This is the third of our summer series on this topic. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall, and EVERYONE is invited. Billye presented information on Haywood Dementia Response Effort or HayDRE. Discussion was held on how best to present the information to the community. Suggestions were through the deacons, mission team, and articles in the newsletter. The meeting was closed with prayer.

First Presbyterian Church 305 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786

news@fpcwaynesville.org 828-456-3243

The First Presbyterian Church of Waynesville is a vibrant community of faith to call home. Everyone is welcome and each of you is valued.

Our varied backgrounds and stories woven together produce a beautiful tapestry of faith, bound together with a common mission of

loving God and our neighbors.

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