Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, September 20th, 2023.

 

From:

The News Desk

 

To: First Presbyterian Church

September 20th, 2023

Your Weekly Edition of Narthex News is here!


·         REMINDERS

·         CELEBRATION OF LIFE

·         HONORING CAROL McDONALD

·         CELEBRATIONS

·         GOURMET SEEKERS SEPT. 29

·         PPM UPDATE

·         FURNITURE TO SHARE

·         FALL GREAT BANQUET

·         DOWNTOWN EVENTS & STREET CLOSURES

·         REACHING INTO HISTORY

·         WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL

·         PRAYER ROOM

Reminders:

Liturgist for September is Margi McConnaha. Elder of the month for September is Amy Morrison.

Live & Learn! Come with a Bible and an interest to learn. Meet at 11:30 Saturday morning in the church library. Lunch is part and parcel with this deal – a fun time together – consider coming and joining in the fellowship.

Prayers:  Please keep in your prayers the McConnaha family and the McConnell family. Please also keep in prayer June Stark, sister to Phil Stark, as she continues to heal from the unexpected loss of her brother. There is a bond which is formed in prayer – between us and our Heavenly Father as we pray and between us and those we pray for. We also form a connection with each other as we pray, don’t we? A praying family is a growing, caring family, and we thank you for holding this church family in prayer.


Celebration of Life:

~ Al McConnaha’s Celebration of Life will be at Myer’s Mortuary at noon on Thursday, September 21st.

~ Phil Stark’s Celebration of Life will be at First Presbyterian Church in Lebanon at 3pm on Sunday, September 24th.

 

Honoring Carol McDonald: The following invitation was shared with me to share with you here at FPC. There is an RSVP requested. If there is a number of you interested in going, and you wish to go as a group, feel free to send Gretel an email at the church office and she will begin a list of interested attendees. Please do RSVP on your own if you plan on attending this event.

“We are thrilled to invite you to a very special event - a celebration of Carol McDonald! Please mark your calendars for Sunday, October 22nd as we come together to honor Carol's remarkable contributions and years of service.

 Date: Sunday, October 22, 2023

Time: 11:15 am – 1:30 pm

Location: Northminster Presbyterian Church 1660 Kessler Blvd E Dr., Indianapolis, Indiana, 46220

      Carol's tireless dedication, hard work, and love for Northminster deserve recognition, and this celebration is the perfect opportunity to express our gratitude and celebrate her journey. It promises to be a gathering filled with joy, laughter, and fun.

      Refreshments will be served, and cards of celebration are certainly welcome.

 Please respond by Monday, October 16th by using the appropriate link below, or you can reach out to office@northminster-indy.org with any questions or concerns. If you would like to share this invitation with friends of Carol, feel free to do so, and please ask that they R.S.V.P. as well.

      If you are unable to attend in person but would like to send a greeting to Carol, please use this link to add your greeting online, and Carol will be able to view it there.

      Let's make this event a truly memorable one as we honor Carol and all that she has done for Northminster and PC(USA).

      We look forward to seeing you on October 22nd and celebrating together!

 Northminster Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis”

R.S.V.P. Here

                          

Celebrations: As far as the writer of this note can detect, there are no birthdays or anniversaries within this next week. However, there will be, within a seven day time span, three different celebration of life services. Therefore, perhaps this week, rather than celebrating the birthday or wedding anniversary of someone in the church, celebrate the lives of these three precious individuals who graced our hearts and church home: Kathy McConnell, Al McConnaha, and Phil Stark. And while you thank God for these individuals, thank God for those who supported them, nurtured them, cared for them, and loved them throughout their lives. You might also consider reaching out to the loved ones of these three special people, those who will feel their loss most keenly.

 

Gourmet Seekers: September 29th: The Gourmet Seekers group is going to “So Italian” in Brownsburg on September 29th. Meet at the church for carpooling at 11:30. The group has been having such fun on these outings – come along and join them! Address:  515 Main St. Brownsburg, IN 46112. Expected arrival time if you are meeting the group at the restaurant will be 12:00-12:15.

PPM Update:

We have been enjoying our new play area. Thank you for allowing us to use the courtyard for extended learning opportunities. Once we get everything in place, we can do art, build with blocks, have picnics and my favorite, playing the drums! We have added some mums out there and next week we will add some pumpkins. 


Furniture to Share! If you have been in the church recently, you have noticed there are a few extra pieces of furniture in the lobby. Why are they there? We would like to share them with you! They are items from the church library that are no longer needed. The church library is being refurbished, under the leadership of a few very talented members of FPC. If you know of anyone who might benefit from said pieces, please take them and share them. Thank you. There will be other items from the library available shortly. You may contact Gretel in the office if you are interested in other things.

Fall Great Banquet: Are you interested in attending the Fall Great Banquet at Zionsville Presbyterian Church? Please fill out the application via the link provided, if you wish to be a part of these events. Note that the Women’s Banquet is this coming weekend. The Women's Banquet is September 21 – 24. The Men's Banquet is September 28 - October 1.  The Banquets will be held at Zionsville Presbyterian Church.  Come enjoy food, fellowship, and the love and grace of Jesus Christ for 72 hours.  Complete the Guest Application at zionsvillegb.org.  There is room at His table, and you are invited!

Downtown Events and Street Closures:

Coming up in the next couple months, there will be various events happening downtown, some of which will include street closures. The Heart of Lebanon has informed us of these dates and closures and this information will be shared with you for your convenience. Within the next week, there will be:

September 22nd: Music on the Plaza, Boone County Bike Night – 6:30-8:30pm

Closures: N. Meridian from Washington to Main from 6-9pm

September 26th: Lebanon City Market – 5-7pm

Closures: Meridian St from Washington to Main St and Main St from Meridian to Alley

from 4-7:30pm

 

Reaching into History: A friend of George Piper, David Rodgers, is working on a book that will be about Boone County World War I Veterans. In his research, he has discovered there were veterans which were members of this Presbyterian church. This church office will be looking into what we might have on this topic. If you know anything and wish to share it with this gentleman, he would be most appreciative. The following excerpt is from Mr. Rodgers:

“I’m working on/toward a book telling the story of five Boone County boys who served as Marines in WWI. Two of them, Lyle Stephenson (LHS ’13) and Searle Comley (LHS ’17) were members of the Presbyterian Church, along with 11 others who served. I’m looking for any information the church might have about them, including memorabilia or pictures. In particular, I know that at the service on November 18, 1917, the “Industrial Society” of the church presented a service flag with 13 stars on it to hang in the church. I know it’s a long shot, but maybe that flag still exists?” 

If you have anything you can share, you may pass that on to Gretel in the office, or to George Piper II. Thank you!


Weekly Devotional: “Like a tree planted by the waters . . . ” Jer. 17:8

In 1788, when the first pioneers came to “the Ohio country”, they were amazed at the size of the trees and the rich, fertile soil. It was not uncommon for it to take a group of at least six men to cut down one tree. The trees were large enough to house a man. For instance, when creating shelters, some built log cabins or shanties, some threw up tents, but one man hollowed out a tree and made his home in its trunk. Reportedly, there was a sycamore tree measuring twenty-one feet in circumference, a tulip tree estimated to be over 400 years old, and a giant hollow walnut tree forty-one feet in circumference and large enough for six men on horseback to circle the inside of it.[1]

There would be many uses for the trees found in “the Ohio country”. It would take hours of back-breaking effort to clear the area for the first town in the Northwest Territory of the United States. The town would be called Marietta and the county would be Washington County.[2] The lumber would be used to build a stockade as well as the buildings and homes for the town. The first bridge in this territory would be built using wood from these harvested trees.

What life is springing up from our efforts, from our “lumber”? When we look around us, we can see: little children learning and growing, hearing about the love of Jesus and seeing the example of worship and prayer; friends and family being supported through grief, sickness, loneliness, as well as in times of joy and celebration; missions’ work supported overseas and right here in town; new paths being plowed in our very own church building – from expanded classrooms in the preschool, to new names on the Sunday service attendance sheets.

All around us are people at different stages, different ages, each with their own story. For example:

 In the lobby of a church building, a young parent waits to pick up their preschool child from class, while bouncing another young one on their knee. In another room in that same church building, a ministry team meets to support a beloved member of the congregation and help create a service to honor the recent passing of a loved one. Across town, a woman in her second trimester waits in her doctor’s office for her monthly check-up. Two seats down is another woman waiting to speak with the doctor about the onset of menopause. Down the street from the doctor’s office, a mother rushes into the grocery to pick up the needed ingredients for her young-adult’s specially-requested birthday cake. In that same aisle will be another individual selecting the ingredients for a cake to bring to a friend’s retirement celebration. So many expressions of life all happening at the same time.

Whether its 2023 or 1788; whether it’s in a preschool, a church, a doctor’s office, or the grocery store, there is One God, One Creator, from which springs abundant life. It is trust in this God which supports, encourages, and strengthens each soul to hope and to blossom. No matter what stage of life we are in or what our needs are, no matter where in the country or the world we live, no matter what season of life we are entering or exiting, the same promise holds true for each of us. A hardy group of pioneers in 1788 or a ministry meeting in 2023 can each draw from the same source to meet their needs to grow and to thrive:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

It is a wonder that so much is going on all at the same time. It is awesome to consider that there is one God who holds the whole world in His hand. He holds us and He knows us. He loves us and He treasures us, at any stage, any age, any page of our story. Will you worship and exalt this God with me?

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. 

The following prayer is taken from the hymn “How Great Thou Art”, words by Stuart K. Hine, 1953, verses one and two.

 “O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed:  

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art!” Amen!


[1] David McCullough, The Pioneers, p.58

[2] David McCullough, The Pioneers, p.56

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