Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
NARTHEX
NEWS
WEEKLY
EDITION
OCTOBER
25TH, 2023
FROM
THE NEWS DESK
OF
FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
LEBANON,
INDIANA
128 E. Main St. ~ Lebanon, IN
46052~ (765)482-5959
https://www.lebanonfpc.org ~ office@lebanonfpc.org
In the midweek newsletter this week:
~ Celebration of Life for George Morton
~ Reminders & Celebrations
~ PPM Bundt Cake Fundraiser
~ PPM Update
~ General Election Early Voting Info
~ Fundraiser for Boy Scouts
~ Weekly Devotional & Prayer Room
Celebration of Life for George Morton:
Visitation is from noon to 2pm at Myers Mortuary
in Lebanon, Indiana.
Reminders:
Flooring work continues this week
on the first floor of the church building. Office can be contacted via email.
Pastor Je is on study leave this week.
Liturgist for
October is Arlene Quinn; Elder is Sig Myers.
Reformation Sunday is this
Sunday. Scott Hutcheson will do the Reformation Monologue, replacing the
sermon.
Caring Sunday: It’s Caring Sunday this
weekend. So that means you can bring things in to share with The Caring Center
and leave them in the box in the lobby. Their top ten needs are:
·
apple juice
·
applesauce
·
canned fruit
·
cereal
·
macaroni and cheese
·
peanut butter
·
canned tuna or chicken
·
vegetable oil
·
sugar
·
spaghetti sauce
They have needs beyond
that list, which include the following:
- flour
- tomato juice
- sugar
- toilet paper
- granola/cereal bars
- crackers
- mixed vegetables
- instant potatoes
- women’s deodorant
- spinach
- canned ravioli
- laundry detergent (regular and sensitive)
- dish soap
- shampoo
- conditioner
- baked beans
- chili beans
- pork & beans
- chicken noodle soup
- miscellaneous soup
- cream soup
- tampons
(40ct)
Celebrations: “A Very Happy Birthday to you – to you! A very happy anniversary to you two, too!
PPM Bundt Cake Fundraiser:
The orders will be in before Thanksgiving. These cakes freeze very well, so you can stock up and share or enjoy them at a future time. Make checks out to PPM. You can send your order to Gretel via email and bring/mail-in money separately or fill out the order sheet on the hallway bulletin board on a Sunday morning and leave the payment on Gretel’s office desk. Thank you for helping support PPM’s sweet ministry with this sweet fundraiser!
Fundraiser for Boy Scouts: There is an opportunity to support the Boy Scouts and get a great deal on pizza at the same time! Boy Scouts Pack 359 Troop is selling discount cards to Pizza Hut for $10. This card gets you a discount up to 4 times for Dine-In or Carryout. It includes offers for $9 Large 1-topping pizzas, BOGO Pasta Dinner and Personal Pan Pizza, $.70 Boneless Wings, a $5 dessert, and a $1 Medium pizza with purchase of a large specialty pizza. You can purchase these cards by visiting Jon Hause Surveying and Engineering at 105 N Meridian St in Lebanon. For more information, you can email Jon at jon@hausesurveyingandengineering.com (Information courtesy of Missy Krulik from the Heart of Lebanon.)
Samuel Hildreth lived in the 1800s in
Marietta, Ohio. He was a widely respected doctor, a lover of nature, an avid
supporter of his local community, and one of the first to pen the early history
of the West. When he died on July 24, 1863, the obituary run in the local paper
had this to say:
Besides
his laborious medical practice, he accomplished very much, as he himself
expressed it, by saving the ‘odds and ends of time’ . . . He was exact in all
his dealings – an honest man, a Christian. His was a complete life, he
‘finished his work’.”[1]
Towards the end of his life, the
apostle Paul had the following testimony to share. He had faced many obstacles
in ministry, overcome much hardship, and persevered through countless odds to
follow the calling God had given him. As he looked back on his life and work he
could say:
For
I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure
is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only
but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
In the final hours before His death,
Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father. He prayed for Himself, for His disciples,
and even for future believers. In honest confession with His Father, Jesus
said, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You
have given me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with
the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17: 4,5) Not long
after this, as He hung on the cross, His body bruised and broken, His blood
spilt for us, His final words would be: “It is finished.” (John 19:30a)
Scripture records that it was at this time that “bowing His head, He gave up
His spirit.” (John 19:30b)
The fall of 2023 for the FPC family
has been a season which has carried with it the theme of “finishing”. Several
beloved members of the FPC family have gone on to their Heavenly home, having
shared, in their own way, their testimony that “It is finished.” Whatever their
accomplishments were in this life, and however far their reach of compassion
and loving care for others will extend from this point forward, we looking on
have been graced with the chance to see, hear, remember, and know testimonies
that declare their work was finished. It is an honor to carry in our hearts the
living witness of lives well spent, time well shared, and a Lord well known.
In the same letter in which Paul
shared his testimony of having finished his work, having run his race, the
apostle was able to say, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so
that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all Gentiles
might hear.” (2 Timothy 4:17)
As the trees around us turn brilliant shades of orange, yellow, and red, showcasing the glory of autumn in the waning hours of the season, we delight to behold them. We smile, breathe in deep draughts of fresh air, and store within us the beauty of this season. And so it is with loved ones as well. We smile as we remember them, we breathe in deep draughts of the fresh air they shared with us, and we reflect on the brilliance and beauty of their lives. May we each have the testimony to share that “The Lord stood with me and strengthened me.” May it be said of each of us that we finished the fight, we ran our race. Above all, may it be said that our Heavenly Father was glorified in our lives. Amen.
Prayer Room:
The following prayer is from the hymn “How Great Thou Art” by Stuart K. Hine, 1953)
Heavenly
Father,
“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the
worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power
throughout the universe displayed . . .
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 . . .
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation and take
me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim,
“My God, how great thou art!”
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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