newsletter july 2016 - · pdf filefirst presbyterian church newsletter 250 w. huron, vassar,...

First Presbyterian Church

Newsletter250 W. Huron, Vassar, MI 48768 VassarFPC.org July 2016

...from Doug’s desk... “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ~Apostle Paul, Gal 2:19b-20 (NRSV).

“A growing church is a dying church.” ~J. Barrett Lee, Hopping Hadrian’s Wall Blog, Sept 4, 2012

We are a resurrection faith. We serve a Risen Savior. We believe in a robust, embodied existence after death, with joy and purpose, serving and worshipping our Lord forever. No other faith believes this. Whether it’s disembodied paradise, merging with the universal consciousness, or simply nothing, other faiths teach something very different than resurrection.

Resurrection is everywhere around us. Flowers return in spring, new saplings grow from the stumps of a burnt forrest, a business is reborn, a new hope is gained. But the unsettling thing about resurrection is it must go through death. The winter has to come before spring. The forrest has to burn. The business has to fail. A prior hope has to be let go. To get to Easter, one must go through Good Friday.

In the article referenced above, the author taps into an important truth: “a growing church is a dying church.” When new things come, old things must sometimes die. It doesn’t mean that all that is old should be flippantly discarded or has no value. But whenever any change occurs, now it is different than it was before. Something has died, and something new has been born.

There is no escape from this process in the church, or our lives. And it can be unsettling.

We do not know what awaits our church in the coming months and years. We only know we are called to advance God’s Kingdom, spread the good news God has for humanity, be God’s hands and feet in service. How we go about that has already had to change a lot, and will be under more pressure in coming years. The gospel never changes, but how it is lived out in our time does. We do not know what the Church (capital “C”) will look like here in America in 10 or 20 years. All we know is it will look very different than it does now.

Are you ready to discover our next mission to a changing world? Are you willing to risk the “death” of beloved things to make room for resurrection? If you’re looking for a hint from me about what I think that is, sorry, I’m in the dark as much as you! But I know God is preparing us for it. And I know we’ll know it when we see it. That will be our moment of truth, our “pop quiz” from God.

Let us cooperate with what God is doing to prepare us. Let us cultivate our resurrection life together. It starts by refocusing on the mission. It continues by holding things loosely. It leads to God doing unexpected and amazing things. It ends when we hear him say “well done, good and faithful servant.”

http://vassarfpc.org

http://vassarfpc.org

Do you or someone you know need visitation?

In the hospital? Home bound? In a nursing facility? Please let the church office know so that Pastor

Doug can visit them! You may also call your care team Deacon.

FINANCIAL NOTES

MAY: ACTUAL INCOME: 10,899.20 EXPENSE: 16,015.00 NET: ( 5,115.80)

JAN-MAY: ACTUAL BUDGET INCOME: 41,852.53 39,583.33 EXPENSE: 48,339.80 50,641.67 NET: ( 6,487.27) (11,979.25)

NEWSLETTER INFORMATION DEADLINE

July . 26

PASTOR DOUG’S CONTACT INFO: Cell/Text: (989) 780-2813

Email: [email protected]: facebook.com/pastordougabelLinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/pastordougabel

TWITTER: @REV_DSA

http://about.me/pastordougabel

mailto:[email protected]

http://facebook.com/pastordougabel

http://linkedin.com/in/pastordougabel

http://twitter.com/Rev_DSA

http://about.me/pastordougabel

mailto:[email protected]

http://facebook.com/pastordougabel

http://linkedin.com/in/pastordougabel

http://twitter.com/Rev_DSA

GREETERS: July 3: Bob & Jackie Strecker July 10: Ray & Helen Waggoner July 17: Shane & Kate Pease July 24: JoLinda Manus & Shirley Smith July 31: Ron & Cheryl Sholty

USHERS July 3: Kevin H., Mike K., Dan Z. July 10: Alex C., Sue C., Dan J. July 17: Ted G., Nathan H., Russ H. July 24: Lynn C., Bill S., Tanya S. July 31: David W., Zack W., Scott W.

WORSHIP LEADERS July 3: Kevin Haines July 10: Lori Hubbard July 17: Steve Franko July 24: Tanya Steele July 31: Kim Wegrzyn

VIDEO/TECH July 3: Shelley Abel July 10: Tanya Steele July 17: Dianne Hackett July 24: Mike Kennard July 31: <open>

BIRTHDAYS:

1 Maureen Sowden 5 Taylor (Hamilton) Waggoner 7 Karl Lee 15 Chuck Bradanini 21 Dianne Hackett 21 Nathan Abel 23 Shawn Swaffer 30 Rose Marie Gamet Germain

ANNIVERSARIES:

(none)

WHAT’S GOING ON???

July 2016 June 2016S M T W T F S

1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 1819 20 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30

July 2016S M T W T F S

1 23 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 2324 25 26 27 28 29 3031

August 2016S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22 23 24 25 26 2728 29 30 31

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday26

10:00 AM Worship6:00 PM TLC Youth Group

27 288:30 AM WIC8:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours1:30 PM Pastor's Of-5:00 PM Pizza Hut

291:30 PM Pastor's Of-fice Hours

30 18:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours8:00 PM Firepit Fri-days

2

3COMMUNION10:00 AM Worship6:00 PM TLC Youth Group

4Independance Day

58:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours1:30 PM Pastor's Of-fice Hours

69:00 AM Vassar Min-isterial Alliance12:30 PM Study: Bad Girls of the Bible1:30 PM Pastor's Of-

76:00 PM Discipleship & Growth Team7:00 PM Cancer Sup-port Group

88:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours8:00 PM Firepit Fri-days

9


11 128:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours1:30 PM Pastor's Of-fice Hours

131:30 PM Pastor's Of-fice Hours5:30 PM Community Connections Team6:00 PM Women's

145:30 PM Deacons7:00 PM Session


16


1810:00 AM Book Club

198:30 AM WIC8:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours1:30 PM Pastor's Of-fice Hours


217:00 PM Cancer Sup-port Group


23REACH Trip

24REACH Trip10:00 AM Worship6:00 PM TLC Youth Group

25 26

8:30 AM WIC8:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours1:30 PM Pastor's Of-

27


28 29


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39:00 AM Vassar Min-isterial Alliance12:30 PM Study: Bad 1:30 PM Pastor's Of-6:00 PM C&P Team

46:00 PM Discipleship & Growth Team7:00 PM Cancer Sup-port Group7:30 PM Worship &

5RIVERFEST8:30 AM Church Of-fice Hours8:30 PM Firepit Friday CANCELED: Riverfest

6





2


4Independance Day





9






16







23REACH Trip


25 26


27


28 29


30






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2


4Independance Day





9






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23REACH Trip


25 26


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Page 1/1Eastern Time Time Zone

Vassar First Presbyterian Church Ministry Team Summaries

Administration (Scott Wegrzyn)This team has two sub-teams: personnel and finance. It oversees these and other general administrative concerns of the church. It crafts a budget proposal each year for Session to approve, oversees staff, considers staffing structure, crafts job descriptions, and recommends building use policy. Buildings & Grounds (Bob Rice)This team handles all things related to facility and property, such as routine maintenance, small repairs, facility or equipment upgrades, tech needs, or large projects as approved by Session. The church owns not only the church building and grounds, but also the upper parking lot and the pastor’s manse, as well as the equipment and appliances inside them.Communication and Publicity (Betty Jo Atkins)This team’s focus is providing for and managing communications and publicity, with internally and externally, by prioritizing and appropriately timing these things and implying the most effective method for them. This is not only so that any given need gets the best exposure appropriate to it, but so that key events or initiatives don’t get “lost in the noise.” The team will work closely with the church secretary to execute communication and publicity, but will curate what, how, and when any communication publicity is done, and help establish processes and strategies for easy management of the same.Community Connections (Mark O’Connor)This team’s focus is any event or project that brings the community together in Christian fellowship: which is “Christian-speak” for having fun and making connections. It serves a practical and cohesive function in our community of faith, and at the same time provides a safe space for new people to get to know us. The team executes several events each year to that end, and looks for smaller ways to facilitate a sense of connection between friends and members as well.Discipleship & Growth (Kevin Haines)This team’s stated mission is “Inviting you on a Journey with Jesus.” It oversees, enables, resources, and supports the person-inviting, disciple-making and disciple-growing aspects of the church’s ministry, from nursery to families to ecumenical Youth Group and VBS, to adult professionals, to retirees. It is concerned with education, but not merely as knowledge transfer, but heart changing: helping people of any age or stage meet Jesus, grow in faith, and become committed followers of Jesus. This team also oversees and resources any small groups that form, from study groups to affinity groups to service/mission groups. Mission & Outreach (Betty Jo Atkins)This team concerns itself with supporting mission efforts that do not typically fall under our own congregation’s ministry. These may be local, regional, statewide, national, or global in nature. In many cases that support is financial, such as perhaps funding a missionary abroad. It may also sometimes be more personal, like forming a work trip to a devastated area of our nation.Worship & Music (Steve Franko)The worship & music team concerns itself with providing for the worship and music aspects of our congregation, and considers not only present needs but future directions for forms of and tools for worship. There are practical matters like making sure ushering and children’s sermons are covered, resourcing our choirs and accompanists, making sure candles are stocked, etc. It also, in collaboration with the pastor and music staff, considers weightier matters like the practice and philosophy of worship.

(Note: Nominating team is not listed because at-large members of this team are nominated by previous nominating team and elected at the congregational meeting. Steve Franko is the chairperson this year)

If you would like to be a part of any of these ministries, please contact the chairperson.Come find your place with us as we build God’s Kingdom together!

CONTACT PERSONS

Pastor Doug Abel, (989) 780-2813 (Voice, VM, or Text) Kimberly Wegrzyn, Church Office: (989) 823-7671

Elders

Shelley Abel 780-2817 Kevin Haines 871-3293....................... .............................

Betty Jo Atkins 882-9021 Mark O’Connor 823-8663.................... ..........................

Nicole Baker (917) 776-9546 Bob Rice 652-9474............. ....................................

Lynn Childs 868-4802 Scott Wegrzyn 529-1147......................... ...........................

Steve Franko 823-7590 Dan Johnson, Clerk 823-2525...................... ...................

Deacons

Louanne Campbell 823-3624 Ray Sowden 871-9127............ ..............................

Cherie Herr 823-2094 Tanya Steele............... 823-2278......................... ...............

Mike Kennard, Mod. 823-2192 Carol Swaffer 823-3756........... .............................

Bill Shoop 823-1331 Kimberly Wegrzyn 233-8460........................... .....................

PRAYER CHAINS

Telephone Chain: Louanne Campbell....823-3624

Email Chain: Kimberly Wegrzyn....233-8460

Contact Persons Session Ministry Teams: Administration (Finance & Personnel) Scott Wegrzyn 529-1147 ........................................ Buildings & Grounds Bob Rice 652-9474 ................................................................... Discipleship & Growth Kevin Haines 823-3293 ................................................................. Communication & Publicity Betty Jo Atkins 882-9021 ......................................................... Community Connections Mark O’Connor 823-8663 ............................................................. Mission & Outreach Betty Jo Atkins 882-9021 .................................................................... Nominating Steve Franko 823-7590 .................................................................................. Worship & Music Steve Franko 823-7590 ......................................................................... Deacons Mike Kennard 823-2192 ...................................................................................... Youth Cheryl Childs 868-4802 ........................................................................................... Choir (Shared with FUMC) Pat Middlin 545-0948.........................................................

SESSION HIGHLIGHTSSession met on Thursday, June 9th, 2016. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting. Pastor Doug Abel was our Moderator

• Elder Steve Franko was excused, Elder Scott Wegrzyn was absent, and all other Elders were present. Pastor Doug Abel and Clerk Dan Johnson.

• Devotions were based on Mark 8 v 34 – 38 and Galatians 2 v 19b – 20.

• Minutes of the May 12th Stated Meeting were approved as presented.

• An error was made last month, and our membership rolls now stand at 147.

• Financial report was received. We are operating in the RED after the month of May.

• The next 5th Sunday will be July 31st. Donations will go toward the Vassar Ministerial Alliance.

• Our apportionment and building insurance have been paid and this is part of the reason we are in the Red. If you can help by paying your part of the apportionment, that fee is $26.00 per member. Again, this fee is voluntary, trying to replace money paid out of our budget. Checks still made out to the church, but put “apportionment” on memo line.

• Communion was served on June 5th. Next communion will be served on July 3rd.

• Vacation Bible School will be August 7th – 10th (Sunday – Wednesday).

• New members’ class, cancer support group and Friday night fire pit are up and running.

• Steve Franko gave a very thorough report on the Presbytery Meeting.

• Next Session meeting will be Thursday, August 11th. Next Deacons meeting will be Thursday, September 8th.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan Johnson

Clerk of Session

First Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 117

Vassar, MI 48768

newsletter july 2016 - · pdf filefirst presbyterian church newsletter 250 w. huron, vassar,...

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