Midweek: Wednesday, April 19th, 2023.

 

Midweek 4-19-23

In This Issue:          

•         Music Notes        
•          Live and Learn                                                                                                                                    
•          Reminders & Celebrations
•          Gourmet Seekers
•         Some Up-Coming Fun
•          East Street News                                                 
•          Adult Sunday School
•          A Sweet Way to Support PPM
•          Neighborly Invites
•          PPM Update
•          Have you walked the Emmaus road?

“. . . that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Romans 1:12

Music Notes: There will be no choir rehearsals until Thursday May 11^th.

Live and Learn on Saturdays: No Live & Learn this Saturday as Pastor Je is out of town.

Reminders: Liturgist for next two Sundays in April is Bess Wilkes.

NO MORE LITURGISTS SIGNED UP AFTER APRIL. 

     LITURGISTS DO NOT HAVE TO BE SESSION MEMBERS. ANYONE CAN DO IT!

NO MORE GREETERS SIGNED UP.

IF NO ONE VOLUNTEERS, THIS GETS PUT ON THE ELDER OF THE MONTH, WHO HAS A LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES ALREADY. ALL WE NEED FOR GREETERS IS YOUR SMILE, YOUR “WELCOME!” TO THOSE WHO WALK IN, AND MAYBE HANDING OUT BULLETINS.

NO MORE TREAT-BRINGERS SIGNED UP.

THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE HAND-MADE GOODS. THIS CAN BE STORE-BOUGHT. THIS CAN ALSO BE DROPPED OFF BEFORE SUNDAY IF IT IS A STORE-BOUGHT ITEM, AND GRETEL CAN MARK IT AND PUT IT IN THE KITCHEN FOR SUNDAY.

 

There are currently still sign-ups in the hallway for liturgists, greeters, and treat-bringers.

“Congratulations to you! We celebrate with you! Know that we love you, and God loves you too!”  

Happy birthday to Dr. Phil Gibbs, 4/20 and Emmett Wilder, 4/23! Happy anniversary to Steve MacPherson & Nancy Turner, 4/30!

Gourmet Seekers: Gourmet Seekers will go to town once again in search of good food and fellowship this Friday, the 21st! This month’s trek is to Longhorn Steakhouse on 86^th St. in Indianapolis. If you need a ride, please be at the church by 12:30. Some folks will meet us there. We’d be happy to have you come along! Interested? Have questions? Contact Gretel in the office.

Some Up-Coming Fun: Keep your eyes and ears open for more news about “Connections”  and “Faith Circle”, ladies! Fun stuff is in the works. Reading books planned. Bible Studies started. Maybe a tea-time slipped in somewhere? Stay tuned to find out what fun is just around the corner for you!

East Street News: It appears that the work on the church-portion of East Street is finished. Be wary, be alert: They may be done on our end of East Street but they are still out and about around town!

Adult Sunday School: Sunday School for Sunday, the 23^rd: continuing with Meeting Jesus at the Table: 9am-10:15am, Church Library, this week and next week. This study will be finished April 30^th.

A Sweet Way to Support PPM: PPM is doing a delicious fundraiser with ‘Nothing Bundt Cakes’! Individually sized, made locally, variety of lip-smacking-good flavors, each little bundt cake is just $6. The funds raised will go towards purchasing new books for the classrooms. It’s a win-win for everyone: funds are raised for PPM, kids get new books, and you get yummy dessert treats! There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside the church office. Or you can share your order with Gretel over email. Please add your name, phone number, which cakes you would like and how many of each. Checks should be written out to Presbyterian Preschool Ministry with a memo that it is for the Bundt Cake Fundraiser. Cash is fine, too. (Exact change please.) DEADLINE: APRIL 27^TH!

Options are:  Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Lemon, Red Velvet, White Chocolate Raspberry, Carrot, Confetti, Classic Vanilla, Strawberries and Cream, Snickerdoodle, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie                                           

Neighborly Invites: A couple invites have come to my attention which bring you opportunity to share with and bless our local community.

1)      Shalom House is having a 20^th Anniversary celebration: April 30, 2023: 3-4:30pm. At Lebanon Christian Church, on 610 W 250 N, here in Lebanon. If you are interested, please RSVP to shalomhousedirector@gmail.com. There will be light refreshments and the chance to hear all about what Shalom House is doing, while also celebrating their 20^th year of feeding and encouraging the Boone County community.

2)      Love INC is asking for help filling their pantry. Their pantry provides food for neighbors in a pinch, when Love INC GAP ministries and other local pantries are not open. Supplies are extremely low at this time, leaving them unable to help hungry neighbors who come to them for assistance. If you can spare some non-perishables, including food for those who do not have access to stoves and microwaves, please bring them to Love INC during their regular business hours. Thank you for your consideration and generosity.  www.loveincbc.org (765)482-6152

PPM Update: Thank you so much for letting PPM attend church on Sunday and sing for you. We had about 25 families attend, which is great! I have heard great feedback from parents, as to how friendly and helpful the FPC congregation was. We can be a loud group, so I appreciate your patience with us. I am hopeful we will be able to do this next year as well. 

We have one more week for our Bundt Cake fundraiser. Great Mothers Day treats!

Every year we purchase brand-new Bibles for our new students. This year we will be giving out 45 bibles. That is 1/2 of our current enrollment for this school year. Blessings to you all, Lori Rowe.

Have you walked the Emmaus road? Two of Jesus’ disciples walked together along a road, which happened to go to Emmaus, after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They were troubled. They were puzzled. Have you been there? Have you walked the road of the troubled heart? Did you walk alongside a friend? Who joined you in the journey? Jesus appeared to the disciples as they walked. He listened not only to what they said but how they said it. He heard their words and their hearts and he acknowledged their grief. (Lk.24:17) Have you experienced Jesus’ presence in your grief? Have you seen Him beside you along the way? Have you heard His voice encouraging you: “I see you. I hear you. I am here.” After they shared with Him their concerns, He shared with them truth that would illuminate their hearts. He opened up the scriptures to them. Later in the day, the two disciples said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Lk.24:32) Has the Lord opened the scriptures to you? Have you experienced that sensation of knowing within the very core of your being that He is speaking to you, He is revealing Himself to you, He is sharing a message with you? Perhaps you did not realize it at the time but only after further consideration. Maybe after the fact, as you went over the experience in your mind, you realized that you were not alone in your musings, in your search. Once the disciples realized what had happened, they immediately went to see their brethren. They shared what had happened on the road. What happened as they shared this account? Jesus appeared in their midst and shared peace with them. Have you had an encounter with the Lord through His Word which impacted you so greatly that you wanted to share it with someone else? While you shared it, did you experience His presence, His peace?

I have been walking “the road to Emmaus” with Jesus for a little while now, but a few incidents stand out to me. He opened the scriptures to me on top of Mars Hill in Athens, Greece, and opened my heart to desire the One “in whom we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) Jesus opened the scriptures to me in Isaiah chapter 53 and I walked with Him through the brutality of the crucifixion and the beauty of His love-filled sacrifice for me. Most recently, I walked with Him through Psalm 116. I was reminded that I love Him because He heard me. He inclined His ear unto me. He has surrounded me and filled my life with such bounty, blessings far exceeding what I could enumerate, and I join the psalmist with a great longing of my heart to respond to His generosity. But what can “I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” (Ps.116:12). I am stumped. I am stopped. Midstride, mid-thought, mid-prayer, I halt my progress and must fall to my knees. What can I do for Thee? My answer is the same as the psalmist: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Ps.116:13). I will worship Him. Perhaps as I worship, openly and honestly through my life (my walk and my talk), others will see and be led to do the same. Will you walk the road to Emmaus with me? How is the Lord revealing Himself to you today? My testimony here is, in a small measure, a way I can imitate the two disciples and tell of what has happened along “my Emmaus road”. What is your “Emmaus road”? Who can you share your journey with?

Interested in joining the prayer chain? Contact Phyllis Duff at (765)482-1485/ raduff2@att.net.

Portions of prayer taken from hymn “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”.

Heavenly Father, “Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it, Jesus, is my plea, daily walking close to Thee: let it be, dear Lord, let it be.”

When life’s plate holds more than I can handle, when there are more plates than I can juggle, when I am too weak to even lift a finger: draw me closer to Thee, because “I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee.”

Some journeys are taken in the sunshine; it seems as if life smiles down on us and it is clear sailing through blue skies. Other times we traverse a path dark, twisty, hilly, and long. The way is obscure, our steps falter, our confidence wanes. Whether our way be dark or bright, clear or foggy, Lord, draw us closer: “Through this world of toil and snares, if I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.”

Few things in this life are certain. We do not know what a day may bring. Once we come to know You, dear Lord, we are certain that we cannot travel this way alone. Through our memories of yesterday, our challenges of today, and our hopes for tomorrow, keep us close to You: “When my feeble life is o’er, time for me will be no more; guide me gently, safely o’er, to thy shore, dear Lord, to thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee, grant it, Jesus, is my plea, daily walking close to Thee: let it be, dear Lord, let it be.” In the arms of Jesus we trust, Amen.