Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, January 10th, 2024.

 

NARTHEX NEWS

WEEKLY EDITION

January 10^th, 2024

 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:

~ Reminders

~ BYOB, Jan. 12^th

~ Gourmet Seekers: interested?

~ Celebrations

~ Installation of Elder

~ Warning on Requests for Money

~ No Communal Lunch in January

~ PPM Update

~ Weekly Devotional & Prayer Room

 

Reminders:

Live & Learn: Live & Learn will resume Saturday the 13^th, meeting at 11:30 in the church library, lunch included.

Liturgist: for January is Bess Wilkes.

Elder: for January is Amy Morrison

Live for Life Sunday is this Sunday. As a reminder, you are welcome to bring the following items for the Live for Life Box in the lobby. You are also welcome to give monetarily by writing on your check or donation envelope “Live for Life Sunday”. Thank you for sharing!

Live for Life accepts the following donated items: New pillows/ personal hygiene products; gently used or new shoes/zip closure bags in various sizes/large trash bags/cleaning and laundry supplies.

Other ways to give to Live for Life: There is an option on their website to become an “Ongoing Live for Life Sponsor”. The cost is $29 a month. There is a form online you would fill out to sign up for this option. There is another option to become a mentor or board member. There is an application on their website to fill out for that opportunity. Listed on that form are ways to help, and, in addition to “board member” and “mentor”, there are the options of “fundraiser”, “educator”, and “other”.

BYOB/ “Happy Meal”: Friday, January 12^th, at 11:30, you are invited to bring your lunch and meet with us in the library to enjoy each other’s company. Hope to see you there! (Don’t be scared away by the new name Gretel coined: instead of BYOB - and any misleading impressions that term inspires! -Join us for a Happy Meal!)

Gourmet Seekers: Interested? Gourmet Seekers goes to Klooz Brewz January 26^th. Would you like to go? Please notify Gretel in the office asap so she can connect with Klooz about the size of the group coming. (Klooz Brewz is conveniently located right around the corner from the church.)

Celebrations: Happy celebrations to a really great crew. We love each one of you. We hope your year is exciting and new, and that you remember God loves you!

Happy Birthday to: Leeza Finch, 1/9; Orion Nunley, 1/11; and Jerry Jones, 1/15!

Installation of Elder: Hats off to our soon-to-be-newest elder for Session: Bruce McConnell! This coming Sunday will include a special ceremony to install Bruce as elder on Session. Thank you, Bruce, for your willingness to serve. Thank you, friends, for your support of this important role in the life of this church body.

Warning on Requests for Money: We are sharing a warning with you as the church body, inspired by strange emails that came to the church offices this week. If you receive emails from someone calling themselves Reverend Je Lee or Pastor Je, and this individual asks for money, please do not respond or give any money. Pastor Je wants to remind you that he does not ask for money from the congregation. If you receive any such contact, please contact the church office and report it. Thank you.

No Communal Lunch in January. There will be no communal lunch in January. Pending discussions this month, there may be a communal lunch in February. We will keep you updated and informed. (And, for future reference, if you have any requests or suggestions for food themes for communal lunches, please let Gretel know. She appreciates the help.)

PPM Update:

Brr it's definitely winter in Indiana! I know the children would enjoy some snow!! This month the classes will be talking about winter weather, Arctic animals, and celebrating 100 days of school on January 22nd. The colors of Christmas will soon be replaced by blue and white for Winter artwork.

PPM is blessed to start 2024 fully staffed! We welcome new staff member Madi Osborne to our program before break. Madi has already transformed room #1 to a fun Dinosaur themed classroom and getting to know the children in that classroom. 

This month I am asking you to pray for our Pre5 teachers Miss Ashely Robison and Miss Beth Brown. Ashley is a first year teacher at PPM and she has two daughters Payton( Kindergarten) and Parker ( Pre1). Miss Ashley loves her coffee!! Miss Beth is in her 3rd year at PPM. She is a big Colts fan and is lucky to work with her daughter (Miss Brandy) every day. Both of these teachers have 10 four year olds in their classrooms and enjoy teaching these amazing children. 

PPM received a Literacy Grant from United Way in December. We will use that money to purchase literacy training for the staff, literacy material for the classrooms and host a literacy night to kick-off a bedtime story-time reading program. We are very excited for this fun opportunity for the kids and families. 

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Stay Warm and Safe. Blessings Lori Rowe.

Weekly Devotional: The Call

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzzz. (To self): “What is that buzzing?”

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. (To self): “It’s my phone! I forgot I left it on silent/vibrate. I don’t know that number, but it’s not registering as spam, so . . .”

(Answers and speaks into the phone): “Hello?”

“Hello! I’m so glad you answered My call. I’ve been wanting to talk with you.”

(Looks at the phone again to check the number. Reads the ID and eyes widen.) “You’ve been wanting to talk with me?”

“Yes. Does that surprise you?”

“Well, to be honest . . .”

“I think that’s best.”

“. . . Yes, I am surprised.”

“Why?”

“I thought . . . well . . . I figured . . . what I mean to say is . . . why me?”

(Chuckles.) “I’ve had this conversation before.”

“Come again?”

“Remember Moses? The burning bush?”
“Ahh. Right.”

“Can I save you some trouble and some time and cut right to the chase? I may be able to shed some light on some of your hesitation.”

“Please! By all means!”

“I created your hands and feet, so wouldn’t I know best how you can use them? I fashioned your heart and mind, so wouldn’t I know best how you can exercise them? I knit you together in your mother’s womb. I have a plan and a purpose for your life – one of hope and promise. Can you trust Me for that?”

(Pause.) “Wow.” (Another pause.)

“What do you think?”

“I think I’m afraid.”

“Understandable.”

“It is?”

“You bet.”

“How is that?”

“It’s a lot to process. If you thought you were unworthy, unlovable, unusable, you may have dismissed the idea entirely of ever being used by Me. Maybe you thought you’d never even get this call.”

(Another pause.) “You know me so well.”

(Chuckles again.) “That’s true.”

“But what can You do with me? I don’t think I’m minister-material. I don’t think I’m capable of anything all that great or wonderful.”

“Isn’t that for Me to decide?”

“Ahh. Good point.”

“So, will you give it a try? Or rather, will you give Me a try?”

(Takes a deep breath and lets it out very slowly.) “Okay. I’m still scared . . .”

“That’s okay. I’ll be here the whole time. Right by your side.”

“You’ve made some good points. And, honestly, I’m curious. Ok, God, let’s do this.”

“Great! I’m so excited! I thought you might be curious. Again, let Me say, I’m so glad you took My call. Now, here’s what I’m thinking . . .”

Prayer Room:

Prayer is important to the body of First Presbyterian Church. 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.

Dear Heavenly Father,   

The fact that You love each of us enough to send Your Son down to earth to walk among us, live among us, teach us, then be willing to die for us is remarkable, incredible, practically unfathomable. In fact, if we try to wrap our finite minds around that, we bump up against a wall. We have to approach that truth with faith. Faith breaks down that wall. At the very least, faith creates a doorway and invites us to walk through. But You didn’t stop at the cross. Jesus rose from the grave, conquering death and sin, so we could spend eternity with You. Why? Again here comes that remarkable, incredible, amazing truth that You love us. And yet, even conquering sin and death for us is not all. You want to use us. Broken, messy, fallible that we are, still You want to use us. The above conversation in the little piece called “The Call” is fiction, but it is based on fact. The fact that You call each of us to a relationship with You, the fact that You are bigger and far beyond any limitations we may see in ourselves or our lives. You are He Who Overcomes. Please, dear Father, help us to trust You, lean on You, abide in You, that, in doing so and through Your grace, mercy, strength, and presence, we too can overcome. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.