Midweek Newsletter: June 21st, 2023

 

From:

The News Desk

To: First Presbyterian Church

June 21^st, 2023

 

 

Your Weekly Edition of Narthex News is here!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

·         REMINDERS

·         SEWING HOPES AND DREAMS

·         CELEBRATIONS

·         CARING SUNDAY

·         KOREAN VETERANS LUNCHEON

·         WORSHIP IN THE PARK

·         TIMELY REQUEST FOR HELP!

·         PPM UPDATE

·         WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL

·         PRAYER ROOM

 

Dear Church,

Fun to follow! From worshiping in the park to camping in God’s beautiful world, adventures await you!  Read on!

 

Reminders:

Liturgists! Thank you to those who signed up to be liturgists for this year! We have every month covered except November.

Live & Learn! Live & Learn this Saturday, June 24^th, 11:30am. Bible Study is in the book of Luke. Come with your Bible and a readiness to learn. Lunch plans are yet to be determined.  Fun group! Great discussion! Be encouraged and enriched in fellowship with FPC!

Gourmet Seekers:  Meet Friday at the church at 11:30 to carpool. Going to LA Café in Whitestown (4 South Main St, Whitestown, IN)

Treats! Gretel has an idea . . . Maybe a new perspective can inspire folks to bring treats again?

Gretel’s idea is to have a theme for treats for each week.

 No treats are needed for June 25^th since it is the Worship in the Park service and you will be bringing either a dish to pass. However, July will begin a new month

The following are Gretel’s idea for the July schedule for treats. (If you like this concept, the “menu” will change each month.) Please email Gretel with your suggestions and your plans to volunteer to bring treats some Sunday. Bring a treat and give a smile! gretel@lebanonfpc.org 

July 2^nd: Bountiful Breads: mini loaves, full sized loaves, sweet breads, wheat breads . . . you pick! So

many wonderful breads to choose from! (Secret: I already have a baker for this day!)

July 9^th: Cheerful Cupcakes: Mini or regular sized; Your choice of flavor and size; mix and match

cake flavors and frosting flavors . . . Have fun baking!

July 16^th: Bear Hug Brownies: chocolate or peanut butter or both or . . .?

Your choice - Be creative!  

July 23^rd: Kind Cookies: chocolate chip, peanut butter chip, butterscotch chip, combination chip;

sugar cookies with frosting; snickerdoodles . . . Sky’s the limit!  

July 30^th: Merciful Muffins:  Turn a great zucchini bread recipe into muffins and add chocolate chips;

practice your pumpkin muffin recipe before fall arrives. What’s your favorite? Orange cranberry? Carrot cake? Share with the group!

 

Sewing Hopes and Dreams:  

“So she made her wedding gown herself, sewing into it the tender hopes and innocent romances of a girlish heart.” ~Louisa May Alcott, Little Women.

“Yesterday was a quiet day spent in teaching, sewing, and writing in my little room, which is very cozy, with a light and a fire.” ~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women.

Do you have sewing needs but are not skilled with a needle? Have you alterations to do or a special garment to make but no time in which to do it? Do you know of someone who has such a need? ONE OF HIS is a local business with services available to you. ONE OF HIS performs alterations on children’s and adult clothing; sews gowns for baptisms, proms, and weddings; enjoys heirloom sewing, as well as sewing of household items, dolls and their clothes, and quilted items. To contact the seamstress, please call Bess Wilkes at 765-481-6943, or email at bpy1964@gmail.com.

Celebrations:

Happy birthday to Kathy McConnell, 6/22!

Happy anniversary to Bruce & Kathy McConnell, 6/22; Ralph & Marty Willard, 6/22; Sigmon & Jane Myers, 6/24!

May the  gift of God’s grace strengthen you,

The gift of God’s presence comfort you,

And the gift of God’s love refresh you.

Caring Sunday! It IS Caring Sunday this coming Sunday. There will be a box at the park in which you can leave your donations for The Caring Center. Thank you for your generosity.

      

Korean Veterans Luncheon: For all US Veterans who were stationed in Korea: You are invited to a free lunch, courtesy of Pastor Je, at a Korean restaurant on Monday, June 26^th. Meet at the church at 11:30.

Worship in the Park!  Service is on Sunday, June 25^th, and begins at 10am at the Herr Cabin in Lebanon Memorial Park. That is 10 o’clock, folks! If you arrive at 10:30, you will have missed the first half of the service!  What you need to know about the service:

·        The service will be held outside the Herr Cabin in the lawn area. See the attached image for precise location.

·         Music will be provided by CCC’s Praise Band & Bud Hunter.

·         The message will be shared by Rev. Nate Kibbler from CCC.

·         Bring lawn chairs to sit outside for the service and for lunch.

·         FPC will be providing the main meat for the luncheon. Please bring a dish to share with those attending the service and the pitch-in luncheon to follow.

·         If you are bringing food to share, please arrive a few minutes

early and put the food on one of the tables inside the Herr cabin.

·         Iced tea, lemonade, and bottled water will be provided by CCC & FPC.

·         Silverware with napkins, as well as plates & cups, will be provided by CCC & FPC.

·         The meal will proceed as follows: file into the cabin through one door, select your food and drink, file out through the other door. Sit in your lawn chair or at one of the picnic tables in the area.

·         Come prepared to enjoy worship in fellowship with CCC in a beautiful setting with a friendly lunch after the service.

·         If it rains, the service will be held at CCC.

 

Timely Request for Help! Request from CCC for Preparation for Worship in the Park:

The following message is from CCC’s Praise Band Leader. Please read and respond to Gretel ASAP if you are able to help:(765)482-5959; gretel@lebanonfpc.org

 

“I have a favor to ask.  Since we are going to have to create a makeshift stage, we will need some help (people and vehicles) to transport the stage items to the park and back to the church.  A couple of pickups with full size beds should take care of it but will probably need 4 people to move the stuff out of and back into the church basement.  These items are heavy. 
 

The plan is that the Praise band will meet this coming Saturday (June 24th) at 9:00 am to practice our songs at CCC and then we will tear down and pack up all the praise band equipment into our vehicles.  Practice usually takes about 2 hours for the number of songs we are doing.”

PPM Update: Happy First Day of Summer! This week at PPM we are construction workers, busy building all sorts of things. Next week we will celebrate the 4th of July here and learn about this important holiday. PPM is closed the first week of July and will resume our summer session July 10th. We will finish the summer with a cooking week, pets and science fun! Summer Blessings to all of you, Lori.

Weekly Devotional: Do you enjoy camping? There is a camp I’d like to tell you about called “God’s Care”.  

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life . . .” (Matthew 6:25)

Camper 6:27 has this story to tell:

     I carried in my knapsack, along with all my supplies, my tent, which is called “The Tent of Worry.” On my way to the campsite I walked through fields of tall grass and wildflowers. I was drawn to these fields to admire and ponder:

“Consider the lilies of the filed, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that

even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . .” (Matthew 6:28,29)

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

     Once I arrived at the campsite, I set up my Tent of Worry. To the left of my tent were woods. Majestic trees invited me to rest and remember:

“Blessed is the man . . . his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water . . .” (Psalm 1:1-3)

     

To the right of my tent was a calm, serene lake. It refreshed and rejuvenated me to recall:

“He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2,3)

     Above me during the day was a bright, blue sky. At night the sky was ablaze with stars, reminding me:

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. . . .” (Colossians 3:2)

     Below my Tent of Worry was the rich earth, causing me to consider:

“. . . From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm

121:1,2)

     I journeyed through blessings to get to my campsite. All around me were reminders of God’s truth, but still I chose to reside in the Tent of Worry. As I thought on the lessons of the fields, trees, lake, sky, and earth, I found myself thinking. “God cares for the lilies. Won’t He also care for me? Don’t I prefer the lasting Word over the withering grass or fading flower? Don’t I want to be like a firmly planted, healthy tree? I need the still waters, His restoration, and His help. Why am I living in Worry?” Then I decided, “I’m going to take down my Tent of Worry and replace it with the Tent of Trust.”

“Therefore do not worry . . . For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

     Friends, will you go camping with me? Will you pack the Tent of Trust or the Tent of Worry?

 In the camp of God’s Care

The Spirit resides, our Savior waits,

And our Heavenly Father tends and guides

When we, in His Care, with trust, abide.

Prayer Room:

Here at FPC, prayer is important to us. Are you interested in joining the prayer chain? Would you like to learn more about the role of prayer in our lives? Please contact Phyllis Duff, Prayer Coordinator, at (765)482-1485/ raduff2@att.net

Within the following prayer are lyrics from the hymn “Abide with Me”, by Henry Francis Lyte.

Dear Heavenly Father, You invite us to dwell in You, yet oftentimes we set up camp somewhere else. Sometimes we look around us and wonder, “How did I get here?” and, “And how long have I been here?” Instead, dear God, help us to abide in You. Forgives us our wanderings, our fears, our worries, and bring us Home to You.

“Abide with me: fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail and comforts flee, help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.” Amen