THE FIRST WORD FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

629 Main Street Shelbyville, Kentucky 40065

(502) 633-2693

Email: 1pchurch@bellsouth.net Web Page: www.presbyterian-church.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/FPCShelbyville Office Hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Thursday

Volume XXXIV, Number 2 February 2017

The History of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' Original Source: Fr. Calvin Goodwin, FSSP, Nebraska

The song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. To fit the number scheme, when you reach number 9, representing the Fruits of the Holy Ghost, the originator combined 6 to make 3, taking the 6 fruits that were similar: the fruit in each parenthesis is the fruit that was not named separately. There are actually Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost. The "True Love" one hears in the song is not a smitten boy or girlfriend but Jesus Christ, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also represents Him because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators.

According to Ann Ball in her book, HANDBOOK OF CATHOLIC SACRAMENTALS:

The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The five golden rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament, which describe

man's fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit-----Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-----Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience [Forbearance], Goodness [Kindness], Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency [Chastity].

The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.

FEBRUARY 2017 REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY

FOR SUNDAYS & FESTIVALS

We are encouraged and invited to read and reflect on these scripture passages as a part of our

preparation for each worship service.

Good Grief

Good Grief, a ministry for folks who have suffered the loss of a loved one, meets every Sunday following worship for lunch. The location moves from week to week, so check with Barbara Troyer for this week’s lunch site. All are welcome to join in for the friendship and fellowship.

FEBRUARY GREETERS & USHERS

Feb. 5—Fran & Gregg Neal, Paul & Stephanie Schmidt

Feb. 12—Phyllis & Mike McCardwell, Cathy & Fred Waits

Feb. 19—Jenny, Carlen & Addy Pippin; Nancy Sears;

Louise Van Slyke

Feb. 26—Joyce Dotson, Sue & John Davis, Tandy Chenault

FEBRUARY LITURGIST

Joyce Dotson

FEBRUARY NURSERY VOLUNTEERS

Feb. 5—Janet Kalmey Feb. 12—Unfilled

Feb. 19—Stephanie Schmidt Feb. 26—Mary Steinhilber

INCLEMENT WEATHER PLAN

If winter weather (snow/ice) creates unsafe driving conditions, please tune in to either WAVE 3’s or WDRB 41’s list of closings and delays for any change in the First Presbyterian Church plans.

5th Sunday after the Epiphany—Feb. 5 Isaiah 58:1–9a [9b–12] Psalm 112:1–9 [10] 1 Corinthians 2:1–12 [13–16] Matthew 5:13–20 6th Sunday after the Epiphany—Feb. 12 Deuteronomy 30:15–20 or Sirach 15:15–20 Psalm 119:1–8 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 Matthew 5:21–37 7th Sunday after the Epiphany—Feb. 19 Leviticus 19:1–2, 9–18 Psalm 119:33–40 1 Corinthians 3:10–11, 16–23 Matthew 5:38–48 Transfiguration of the Lord—Feb. 26 Exodus 24:12–18 Psalm 2 or Psalm 99 2 Peter 1:16–21 Matthew 17:1–9

Christ Community Church members worked hard to assemble one of the beds donated by Hillsdale Furniture during January’s Love Shelbyville Mission Day. Thanks to volunteers like Christ Community, A Place to Sleep has helped 1,224 children.

Italian Dinner & a Movie Saturday, February 11

6:00 pm Presbyterian Church Proceeds to benefit our Love the Hungry Event, March 11

Adults—$10.00 Children—$5.00

Make your reservation today Email jwhit731@gmail.com

Call Lynn Whittaker 502-321-7116 Or at church on January 29 and February 5

Cash, check & credit card payments accepted.

Mark your calendars! We have several ways you can help feed and LOVE THE HUNGRY in our neighborhoods as well as in the larger world. You can help in any/all of the following ways:

~ Join us for an Italian Dinner and a Movie on Saturday, February 11 here at church! Bring a friend to enjoy a wonderful meal with fellowship followed by a private screening of Lady and the Tramp. All proceeds will go toward sponsoring teams to package food for the hungry on March 11. ~ Sign up in the Assembly Room before or after worship to buy your tickets for the dinner or to make a donation. ~ We are hoping for multi-generational teams to package the food to be shared, so PLEASE join a team if you can help on March 11. We will meet at Shelby Christian Church on Saturday, March 11th at 10:00 a.m. and will work for a couple of hours together to help with this crisis. You can sign up to join a team at the donation table.

So, remember these two dates and join us for both events if you can! Come February 11 for our Italian Dinner and a Movie plus March 11 for our Love the Hungry meal-packaging event at Shelby Christian Church, 2375 Frankfort Road, Shelbyville. Both of these activities are open to all. Invite family, friends and neighbors!

FINANCE REPORT DECEMBER 2016

In December, we collected $19,417.85. On the expense side, we spent $18,901.23. We brought in $516.62 more than we spent. Questions? Please call Fred Waits (502) 321-5128.

FPC Shelbyville Budget Summary as of December 2016

Last Month Year to Date

Pledges Received $19,740.50 $155,341.21

Kroger Gift Card $547.11 $1,947.61

From Savings $0.00 $23,000.00

Other Income -$869.76 $93,675.28

Designated Funds $239.00 $4,500.80

Total Income $19,656.85 $278,464.90

OPERATING INCOME $19,417.85 $273,964.10

Personnel Expense $14,519.40 $163,739.73

Utilities $1,675.22 $17,925.17

Building Maintenance $183.58 $15,337.48

Youth & Education $106.61 $1,393.69

Music $0.00 $919.67

Office $662.12 $6,116.77

Shared Mission $0.00 $0.00

Per Capita $0.00 $4,561.16

Other $1,754.30 -$496.65

Designated Expenses $250.00 $3,318.14

Total Expenses $19,151.23 $212,815.16

OPERATING EXPENSES $18,901.23 $209,497.02

Summary 2016 Income Expense Difference

December $19,417.85 $18,901.23 $516.62

November $11,233.09 $19,379.34 -$8,146.25

October $16,794.94 $17,895.56 -$1,100.62

September $85,394.62 $16,186.35 $69,208.27

August $17,528.36 $20,209.81 -$2,681.45

July $12,251.07 $12,469.84 -$218.77

June $15,482.83 $15,374.69 $108.14

May $20,528.35 $18,033.38 $2,494.97

April $19,692.16 $16,053.57 $3,638.59

March $12,240.16 $16,791.25 -$4,551.09

February $11,157.22 $22,058.31 -$10,901.09

January $14,377.00 $18,608.50 -$4,231.50

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FEBRUARY 12 Remember

Love Sunday

Funds collected on Love Sunday are used to help many individuals in the community. Make your checks payable to First Presbyterian Church and mark it for LOVE SUNDAY.

JOIN US ON Wednesday, FEBRUARY 1

Anytime between 12:00 noon & 4:00 p.m. At the Serenity Center

98 7th Street Bring plastic bags

(Kroger, Walmart, etc.)

COME GET YOUR

“GOD HANDS” ON!

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE RANKS!

VOLUNTEER TO SERVE LUNCH AT

GOD’S KITCHEN

715 Main Street

Downtown Shelbyville

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9

10:30 A.M.

INTERESTED? Talk to Boyd or Susie Phillips about how you

can help. Desserts are always needed.

OUTREACH

MINISTRIES

It’s that time again when we have our annual Souper Bowl of Caring Competition between the NFC and the AFC. We are collecting items for the Backpack Project in the boxes in the Assembly Room. Place items in the box of the conference you support for the Super Bowl which is February 5. Not a football fan? That’s okay, there’s also a Neutral Zone box. We’ll be making the donations to help feed the children in Shelby County.

The Outreach Committee Report from the January 8, 2017 Meeting

One family was helped with gas this month. A Place to Sleep—The raffle concluded on December 17. The first bed for 2017 has been delivered. Give a Kid a Brighter Day—A total of 80 children were given pajamas, a book, a blanket and a toy which were placed in each of the Christmas food boxes. $185.26 was donated to the local Salvation Army which was collected in the Salvation Army kettle. We are again sponsoring the Souper Bowl where all the food will be donated to the Backpack project. This church is volunteering at the Serenity Center on 7th Street the first Wednesday of each month. An age limit has been placed on volunteers. Carlen Pippin has been sharing extra food with God’s Kitchen, Colonial Hall, and the Renaissance Center. We are pairing with Shelby Christian Church to raise money and awareness for those who are hungry. A meal packaging event will occur on March 11. This church will host a dinner and movie on February 11. 75 instruments have been placed in the schools. Gary Steinhilber has placed a notice on the Community page of the Sentinel News. 50 Food Boxes were assembled and delivered on December 17. Farrier Product Distribution, thanks to Jason Collins, donated the boxes; Norma Beasey and Mary Ann Soergel fixed breakfast; and many volun-teers helped with all the little jobs. Coupons are being collected for the military. Shoes are being collected for the water project. Donations for the Backpack Project and Boo Boo Buddies are being collected. Donations of anything Maree Colllins can use in her Art classes and Matt Pippin can use for Odyssey of the Mind are being accepted . The next meeting will be February 12.

Thank you to everyone who has collected plastic caps over the last 2 years for Painted Stone Elementary.

WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR TWO BENCHES!!!! Also thanks to Carlen Pippin and Mark Whittaker for hauling all of them

(over 600 pounds!)

to Evansville, Indiana, and picking up the benches.

So, you can stop bringing plastic caps to church.

Go out and preach the Gospel, using words if you have to.

Updated Church Directories If you’d like the latest copy of the church directory, please contact Donna Wilson in the church office (502-633-2693 or 1pchurch@bellsouth.net) and let her know which format you would like. Please make the following updates to your church directory:

Steve & Alaine Shepard 16510C Howard Street

Ft. Polk, LA 71459

Email Update: Ann Kalmey, kalmey2800@gmail.com

Please review your information in the latest edition of the directory and let us know of any corrections or additions that need to be made.

Mark your Calendar!!! February 27, 2017

6:30 pm TUTOR WORKSHOP

First Christian Church 1000 Eminence Pike, Shelbyville

If you are interested in tutoring or helping in another way, please make every effort to attend. Potluck Dinner Served

Chicken and Beverages Provided Bring a dish to share.

Please RSVP to Diann Cook, 25diann@gmail.com Arriba Ninos is experiencing a facelift. The workshop will explain the new look. Spring session will be a short 4 weeks using our new model as a prototype for Fall session. Arriba Ninos started as a literacy program with a concentration on reading and writing. It morphed into a tutoring, homework program. Chromebooks have changed homework and classroom teaching. Arriba Ninos has struggled with “How Do We Remain Relevant?” Soooo, we have decided to go back to our roots...old school...Reading! Reading! Reading! Students never have enough reading time. No matter how advanced Chromebooks are, if our kids can read, they will be able to achieve anything.

Spring Arriba Ninos Schedule — Monday evenings, March 6-27 Can we count on you??? It would be helpful to the overall success if you are able to commit to the four weeks. With that said, we welcome your available time. Please attend the workshop so we are all on the same page. We’re hoping to have fun!!! Looking forward to a great session. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Since our last issue, we’ve lifted up the following in our prayers:

Bill Logan Bob Lier Duke Owens Emily Swigert & Family Emily Wexler John Seplack Juanita Ruth Hodge Sarah Hall & family Teresa Robson The family & friends of Alton Webb The family & friends of Louise Van Slyke The Garbat-Welch Family as they return to serve in Africa The Moberly & Dotson Families

We give thanks to God for:

All those celebrating birthdays, including Amelia White, Sam Lafferty, Joyce Dotson, Jason Collins, Fred Waits & Frances Hall Alix Schmidt's participation in the DC March Christ Community Church members volunteering for A Place to Sleep Linda Shepard's receiving her 50-year Eastern Star membership pin Our Sunday School Teachers Robert Sherrod receiving his Eagle Scout rank Teresa Soergel not being hurt in a car accident West Middle School Academic Team

We continue to lift up:

All our family & friends at Crescent Place, Crestview, Amber Oaks, the Masonic Home and other assisted living care centers Bill & Cecie Adams Bob & Nancy Pearce Gary Collins Jim & Jan Bonner

MISSING ANOTHER FRIEND

Frances Louise Hammond Downs Van Slyke left us on January 12, 2017, at the age of 87. She was born on March 5, 1929, in Spencer County, Kentucky, the daughter of the late Thomas D. and Elzie Pearl Fishback Hammond. She married Felix Collings Downs, Jr., and they had a daughter, Sandra Downs of Lexington, a grandson, Mathew T. Arnold (Donna), and a great-grandson, Connor Felix Arnold. Following Felix’s passing, Louise married Bob Van Slyke, who also preceded her in death. From her marriage to Bob, she received the gift of the children of her heart, Kay Hagan (Wayne), Larry Van Slyke (Gayle), Wayne Van Slyke (Jo), and Barbara Van Slyke; six grandchildren, Scott Duncan (Julie), Steve Duncan (Lori), Mark Duncan (Mandy), Jason Cartee (Ashley), Shelley Dailey (Mark), and Pam Sommers (Marty); fifteen great-grandchildren, Brooks, Abe, Kayla, Lucas, Cazen, Mackins, Zack, Brittany, Courtney, Tanner, Kendra, Trenton, Porter, and Ryban; and three great-great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by a great-grandson Trey Carroll. Louise stayed active in the church and enjoyed gardening, entertaining friends and family, traveling, and dancing. She was a member of the Caring & Sharing Sunday School Class and volunteered regularly with A Place to Sleep, God’s Kitchen, the Serenity Center and all church dinners/lunches. In addition to her family, she is survived by her friends too numerous to mention. Her friends were chosen by the character of their hearts, and included all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and socioeconomic groups. She lived and walked with them all with the same dignity, grace, and love. She was always present when they needed her love, help, support, and prayers. Funeral services were conducted at the Hall-Taylor Funeral Home with Reverend Sandy Lacey officiating. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the First Presbyterian Church or to the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital.

We pray for our military family & friends:

Alaine Shepard, medic US Army, wife of Steve Shepard, daughter-in-law of Linda Shepard Brandon Pettyjohn Brandon Brouillet, father of Tyler Brouillet Carmen Aragon Corum, sister of our childcare workers Daniel Ehrichs, nephew of Joanne Burke David Luebke Frank Renner, US Navy, Leslee Bottorff's son Hunter Moore, US Marine Corps, Tom & Brenda Seacat’s nephew Jack Walters Jared Bentley, US Marine Corps, Tom & Brenda Seacat’s nephew Jonathan Bowman Major Marshall MacClellan, chaplain, currently stationed at Air Force base in Ohio after time in Afghanistan, nephew of Nancy Sears Matthew Harper, Alaine Shepard’s son, US Army Ryan Donaldson, grandson of Joanne Burke Spencer Goetzinger, US Army, husband of Bobbie Renner Goetzinger, son-in-law of Leslee Bottorff Todd Dillon, US Army, friend of the Whittakers

(If you have additional information regarding any of the folks listed above or have someone else to add to the list, please contact Lynn Whittaker or leave with the church office.)

If you know of someone whose

birthday or anniversary

aren’t included, please contact

the church office so we can add

their information to our records.

02/02 Bill Evans 02/02 Renee Shepard 02/03 Jon Henson 02/04 Bridget Green 02/04 Alexander Delgado 02/07 Chris Kremer 02/12 Sara Callaway 02/13 Brad Harris 02/14 John Davis 02/17 Katy Rupert 02/18 Mary Ann Soergel 02/19 Judy Schostkewitz 02/22 Katie Hodge 02/25 Norma Beasey 02/27 Brent McCarthy

KNITWITS

Knitwits will meet on Saturday, February 4

at 10:00 a.m.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN BIBLE STUDY GROUPS

Wednesday, February 8

Morning Group 10:00 AM at the church

Evening Group

6:00 PM at the church

All women are invited to participate.

First Presbyterian Church Non-Profit Org. 629 Main Street U.S. Postage PAID Shelbyville, KY 40065 Shelbyville, KY Permit No. 19

THE FIRST WORD RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Articles for March’s

First Word are due by

12:00 noon, February 15.

Norma Beasey, better known as the self-proclaimed “Bag Lady”, is still collecting~~~ Plastic bags (Kroger, Walmart, etc.) for Operation Care & The Serenity Center Box tops for Education for local schools Coupons current or expired for military personnel Old cell phones for military personnel Ink cartridges from ink jet printers Pull tabs from cans (soda, soup, etc.) Postage stamps cancelled Shoes any condition for Water Step Magazines for Second Time Around Eye glasses, cases, etc. **We are no longer collecting hearing aid batteries or plastic caps.

For several years, you have been instrumental in donating supplies for Painted Stone Elementary’s Art Night. Thanks to you, hundreds of children, their parents and grandparents have been able to participate in hands-on art experiences together. Here is the list of what is needed for this year’s Art Night, March 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Please leave your donations in the Assembly Room for Maree Collins.

Volunteers needed: Volunteers to help create student displays

Volunteers needed to sort and prep stations

Sturdy paper plates Fun duct tape, any color or pattern Fly swatters Cheese graters Colorful silly straws (the curvy ones) Playdoh Index cards, any color or size Spray bottles Safety pins Masking tape

Empty & dry clear water bottles Sharpies, any color and size Low temp glue sticks Large beads, plastic or wood - looking for large holes Wax paper Mod podge or liquid glue Clear packing tape Mini hot glue sticks Balloon animal balloons & air pump