Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, September 20th, 2023.
From:
To: First
Presbyterian Church
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
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”
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.
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!
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.
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!
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