Newsletter: March 2023

Souper Bowl Raised $314

The communal lunch of February was also the Souper Bowl Sunday. We enjoyed good food from our members and the fried chicken from Kroger. The Presbyterians with caring hearts in Lebanon raised $314 to feed our hungry neighbours in town. The cheque was sent to the Caring Centre.

Caring Centre of Lebanon

Charity is one of the core value of Christianity, and the First Presbyterian Church of Lebanon has been helping many people in various ways. But as always, there were some people who tried to use it in a way which we do not intend. And as a church (not a professional charity organisation), we are incapable of examining who need real help and who do not. To serve the community better and to help real need more wisely, the session has been looking for a partner for a while (at least last six month). Pastor Je and Margi McConnaha visited the Caring Centre on Monday, February 6th and met Teresa Hanners, the manager. The centre has a food pantry, runs a thrift store, and also gives away stuff free to those in need, does a bit of homeless care, manages community garden, has educational courses of several weeks regarding how to live better and get out of poverty, and many more. Above all, the centre has a thorough system of checking the background of the people (not criminal background check) to tell if their stories are true or not, the exact thing we are incapable of. In the February session meeting, the session decided to work with the Caring Centre as partners. We will designate certain portion of our benevolence budget to the centre, and the last Sunday of each month will be the Caring Sunday when we bring non-perishable food items or monetary donations for the Caring Centre. The address is 1230 Ransdell Court, Lebanon, IN. The phone number is 765-482-2020. Website is https://thecaringcenter.net/

Gretel is Full Time

Gretel Magnuson, who was serving the church part-time (20 hr/wk), is now full-time (40 hr/wk). The personnel committee recommended the session, and the session approved it retroactively. She began her full-time work from Friday, February 10th. She has 10 days of PTO (Paid Time Off) each year, which she can use any time of the year. Her office hours are 8:30AM-5PM Monday-Friday except Wednesdays (8:30AM-2:30PM). Gretel is the main contact point of the church for all and any things. So you don’t have to worry about who to call. She will relay your message or request to the proper personnel.

Roy & Kathy Flanary Honoured

Roy & Kathy Flanary, wonderful Presbyterians in town, were named the Boone County Senior Services Margaret A. Corson Distinguished Seniors of 2023 on Wednesday, February 15th. Congratul-ations to Roy & Kathy, and we thank you for your wonderful and good work of love. To read the detailed story, please visit the Lebanon Reporter: https://www.reporter.net/news/local_news/lebanon-couple-get-standing-ovation-at-bcssi-breakfast/article_0e34f99c-ad71-11ed-8d18-f3cf1546b5a4.html

Nursery Helper Needed

The Outreach Committee (chair: Debbie Crouse) is preparing the nursery for Sunday morning so that the mothers can worship God worry-free, focusing all their hearts and minds on God. Pastor Je donated a Pack-N-Play. Janet Landon volunteer-ed to help. We need one or more volunteers. We have one mother of babies currently attending, but we hope to have more mothers can come and worship with us.

Matching Donations for Earthquake

The great earthquake in Turkey and Syria claimed so far more than fifty thousand lives, and they are keep getting aftershocks. To help them, mark your offering cheque or envelope “Earthquake,” then we will send it to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The session has decided to match your donations for the earthquake up to $5,000.

Unleavened Bread

At the time of Exodus, Israelites had to hurry a lot and they took the bread dough without yeast. And to commemorate it, God commanded in Exodus 12 to eat the unleavened bread (that is the bread without yeast) during the season of Passover. In Matthew 16, Jesus tells His disciples to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The yeast here implies sinfulness. Thus the symbolic meaning of eating unleavened bread is living the holy and pious living. For this symbolic meaning, the church bought three boxes of unleavened bread (baked in Jerusalem, Israel) which we will use for our communion during the Lenten season (that is March and April).

Bat and Ladybug

As it was in the last newsletter, we have a bat problem. Roy Flanary called and discussed with the Ladybug Pest Control and decided to use their service to let the bats out and block their way so that they cannot come back. We want the clean environments not only for our members but also for all the little children in the PPM.

Party Party Party

The Sunday before Ash Wednesday, February 19th, we came together and had a fun time, celebrating Valentine’s love, Mardi Gras, and Shrove Tuesday Sunday. There were good foods, wonderful Wisconsin root beer, lovely oldies goodies music (selected by Lisa Hutcheson), and fantastic photo section (prepared by Bess Wilkes). The photos are on the church website. Please come and see.

Lent Soup & Supper Changed

We were supposed to have communal supper and service for the five Wednesday in Lent (Lent Soup & Supper), but Centenary United Methodist Church withdrew and decided not to host this year, and there are some changes:

    • Wed., March 1st: St. Joseph Catholic

    • Wed., March 8th: Trinity Lutheran

    • Wed., March 15th: First Presbyterian

    • Wed., March 22nd: St. Peter’s Episcopal

    • Wed., March 29th: Private time with God

Joint Ash Wednesday Service

First Presbyterian Church and Central Christian Church came together for the Ash Wednesday service on February 22nd at our church. Rev. Kibler and pastor Je led the worship together. Janet Landon and Bess Wilkes read the Scriptures beautifully. Lisa Hutcheson made the ashes by burning the palm branches from last year’s Palm Sunday. Pastor Je mixed it with an anointing oil which he bought during the Holy Land trip. It contains the virgin olive oil from Galilee, myrrh, frankincense and cinnamon (and smells nice). By this Ash Wednesday service, we entered into the holy season of Lent for the journey with our Saviour to the cross and to the resurrection.

Mary F. Meyer, Chair of Care & Nurture

Dennis Brannon was in charge of two committees (Personnel and Care & Nurture), which is too much work and burden for him. Mary F. Meyer willingly took over one committee from Dennis and became the chair of the Care & Nurture Committee. Thank you Mary F. Meyer and may God bless you for your good work in the session for caring God’s sheep.

Lenten Devotional

The Daily Lenten Devotional was emailed to all of our members, and to some, it was mailed out. Some members picked it up at church. There are printed copies of this Daily Lenten Devotional at the back of the sanctuary for pick-up. If it is all gone (and you still need one), please let the church office know so that we can print out another copy for you.

Gourmet Seekers

Pastor Je launched a new monthly gathering—Gourmet Seekers. There was a pilot (or test) session to see how it would work on Friday, February 24th. Once a month, any members or friends interested in venturing exotic foods or enjoying the tasty things can join the club. The test location was at Ma Ma’s Korean Restaurant. They have not yet decided where and when in March. If you are interested in, please let pastor Je know.

Dignity for Women

The Outreach committee (chair: Debbie Crouse) is kicking off our “Dignity for Women” campaign in Africa on Sunday, March 12th after the worship service during the communal lunch. Dick & Suzi Stephens (who are the Malawi experts) will come and speak during the lunch.

Rev. Alan Griffin’s 2nd Grandchild

Rev. Alan Griffin’s daughter, Kellie Tracz and her husband had their second baby born on Thursday, February 9th, 8:01 AM. The baby’s name is Toby. Cute and healthy, the baby came with all the parents need and want!

Petition for Samuel’s Return

Pastor Je’s family, Hannah and Samuel, have not been coming to church for five months. It was not that they did not want to come. Samuel, 4 years-old boy, was (and is) energetic and was running in the sanctuary. Some member(s) raised a safety issue because senior members can knock down and injure if Samuel bump into them. To resolve the safety concern, the personnel committee notified pastor Je on Tuesday, September 27th, 2022 that Samuel cannot come to the church building on Sundays and whenever members are present. Bess Wilkes attended February session meeting with a petition signed by 28 members so that the session can re-evaluate the situation and bring Samuel back. There was a discussion in the session. The session address that both Samuel and our senior members are equally precious children of God, and the safety issue is very important. The session asked the personnel committee to meet the member(s) who raised the concern (for the privacy matter, only the personnel committee knows who they are) and listen to their opinions and feelings. If there are ways and solutions to ensure the safety of our members (and to make members feel safe), then the personnel committee will recommend the session otherwise, so that the session can either vote for it or against it. Following is the text of the Bess’ petition:

In June of 2022 our congregation joyfully greeted Pastor Je, his wife Hannah, and their little son, Samuel!

Our new quilt hangs in the entryway of our church. It’s covered with the hands of all our parishioners including those of Pastor Je and Hannah with Samuel’s tiny hand nestled in his mom’s. The quilt depicts a circle of unity… intertwined hands. The quilt’s message?

TOGETHER in FELLOWSHIP and MISSION

Yet Hannah and Samuel have not been allowed to be with us each Sunday as we worship and fellowship together for nearly five months. We truly desire that both of them be welcomed each and every time we gather together as a congregation!

Each and every member, guests and regular attendees belong to God’s family… Our precious church family. We come together not only for fellowship but most importantly to Praise and Worship The Father of us all! Both Hannah and Samuel need to be with us to be strengthened and encouraged in His presence. It is so important that both Hannah and Samuel believe that we truly want them to know how much we desire that they be with us each and every time we are together. Samuel especially needs to trust and believe that we do want him to be with us.

We earnestly desire to know when we will be able to welcome Hannah and Samuel back to church on Sundays and every time we gather together as the Family of God.

With that being said, we the members of The First Presbyterian Church of Lebanon, IN are requesting some form of notification given to this body of Christ informing us of the reason for banning a four year old from attending church and the timeline for the lifting of these restrictions.

Jesus says:

Suffer not—hinder not

the little children to come to Me.

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday, March 12th this year. As you know it is “Spring Forward, Fall Backward.” Don’t forget to change your clocks and watches forward one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. You don’t have to worry about your smart devices,

Sunday School

The outreach committee began the Sunday morning Adult Sunday School at 9AM before the worship and/or the choir practice begin. Anyone interested in can come to the church library on Sunday mornings 9AM to join the wonderful Bible Study.

Elder Ordination & Installation

The new began but we have not installed our elected elders into the session. The new elders, Arlene Quinn and Sigmon Myers, will be installed into the session retroactively during the worship on Sunday, March 12th. Sigmon Myers has not been ordained as an elder, and thus he will be first ordained. Please come and celebrate together. We will have a communal lunch together to celebrate in the right way.

Easter Flowers

We just began the Lent, but we know to where our journey leads us—The resurrection or Easter! To celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, we will decorate the sanctuary with Easter flowers, which you can bring home later. For more details of ordering your Easter flowers, please stayed tuned—it will be announced in the Midweek and in the Sunday announcements.

In Memory of…

There is a very nice electric piano by the pastor’s pulpit and it says: “Dedicated to the worship of God in memory of Robert Flanary from his family and friends.”

Name of the Newsletter

If you think it is boring to call a newsletter a newsletter, please help us with your ideas of naming this newsletter. When we get enough candidates, we will vote.

Baptismal Font

Baptism is one of the only two sacraments in Presbyterian Church (Catholics have seven). The other is Eucharist also called Communion. The baptism is the symbol of death and resurrection, which is the core doctrine for Christianity. Our baptismal font was kind of hidden behind the pulpit. By the suggestion of Jennie Woods, pastor Je began to use the baptismal font from the first Sunday in Lent by pouring water into the font at the time of Prelude, to remind our baptism visually. This will be our new tradition.

Stained Glass Light Off

As our tradition, the Stained Glass lights in the sanctuary will stay off during the season of Lent.

Hosting Lent Soup & Supper

As you may already know, we are hosting one of the community Lent Soup & Supper on the third Wednesday, March 15th. The supper begins at 6PM and the simple worship begins at 7PM. Pastor Je and the worship team will take care of the second half, which is the worship. We need lots of help for the first part, supper. Since we have not this for the last a few years, we do not know how many people will come. Pastor Je will attend the first two Soup & Supper at other churches and see how many people come. We definitely need soup, simple sandwiches (or any other meal style food), dessert. Please stay tuned to the Midweek and especially the announcements on Sunday, March 12th.

Purim

Purim (פּוּרִים) is a Jewish holiday (Tuesday, March 7th this year) which commemorates the saving of the Jews from Haman. The origin of this festival is written in detail in the book of Esther. Some ancient Jewish scholars considered this book as ungodly for two main reasons. One, this book does not mention God’s name at all. Two, a woman (not a man) is the main character. But this book of Esther is truly shows God’s love and His salvation for His people. Purim is a Hebrew word plural of Pur which means a lot (as in casting lot). The name was chosen as Purim (lots) because Haman chose this date by casting lots. Haman chose this date to massacre Jews but God turned it over and he was executed on the very day he chose.

Liturgist Needed

We need a liturgist(s) on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Other Sundays in April is all signed up.

PPM Spring Break

PPM will be on the spring break at the end of March from Monday, March 27th to Friday, 31st.

Celebrations This Month

(B) = birthday. (A) = anniversary.

Wed. 1st (B) Gary Hill.

Fri. 3rd (A) Hannah & pastor Je.

Sat. 4th (B) Debbie Goodnight.

Mon. 6th (B) Dick Self.

Mon. 13th (B) Caleb Reynolds.

Fri. 17th (B) Steve Shaw.

Sat. 18th (B) Kerry Kries.

Mon. 20th (B) Lynn Kenyon.

Tue. 21st (B) Amy Morrison, Kendra Whipkey.

Wed. 22nd (B) Allen Woods.

Fri. 24th (A) George & Nancy Morton.

(B) Roy Flanary.

Sat. 25th (B) Casey Reynolds.

Tue. 28th (B) Sharon Clem.

Wed. 29th (B) Nancy Morton.

Serving This Month

Elder of the Month: Amy Morrison.

Liturgist: Margi McConnaha.

Important Days

Saturdays 11:30AM: Lunch & Bible Study.

Wed. 1st 6PM Lent Soup at Catholic.

Sun. 5th Communion Sunday.

Tue. 7th Purim.

Wed. 8th 6PM Lent Soup at Lutheran.

Sun. 12th Communal Lunch / Dignity for 

Women with guest a speaker(s).

DST begins.

Tue. 14th 11AM. Connections.

Wed. 15th 6PM Hosting Lent Soup & Supper.

Fri. 17th St. Patrick’s Day.

Tue. 21St 6:30PM. Session Meeting.

Wed. 22nd 6PM Lent Soup at Episcopal.

Sun. 26th Caring Sunday.

Mon. 27th—Fri 31st: PPM Spring Break.

Join Us

Want to write something in the newsletter? Want so share your story? Please contact pastor Je.

First Presbyterian Church, Lebanon, Indiana

765-482-5959 / office@LebanonFPC.org

je@LebanonFPC.org

128 E. Main St., Lebanon, IN 46052