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Philipsburg First Presbyterian Church |
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Easter Our History Activities
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MAY
2006 A
LITTLE BOOK WITH A LOT OF TRUTH
For the Easter
Season, which is the 50 days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost, our
worship texts will be coming from First John.
From this short book of just five chapters, we’ll move through
the weeks together seeing again who God is, who we are in light of God,
how God has initiated relationship with us through his love, and what
our lives look like because of God’s love to us.
I look forward to
sharing these texts with the congregation, as John has some wonderful
nuggets of God’s truth for us to hold onto, especially as the gift of
new life on Easter blossoms through the Spring season.
In our Christian lives, we always start with God, then find
ourselves in him and are able to live in this world through his examples
and sustaining Spirit. Plus,
in the middle of our book study, the youth will be leading us in worship
on our annual Youth Sunday, which is always an enriching time of seeing
God’s work in our younger generation.
May we find,
together this Easter Season, the gift of life in Jesus Christ is not
just for eternity, but for transformed lives here and now.
Grace
and Peace, NOTE:
If this newsletter has been passed to you by one of our members
as an introduction to
our church, we welcome the opportunity to get to know you better through
coming to worship with us. Our
Sunday worship service begins every Sunday at 10:30 AM, with Sunday
School for all ages at 9:30 AM. Our
church is located on Presqueisle Street between 5th and 6th
Streets, with parking behind the building or on the street. OFFICER MEETINGS for MAY (in the
parlor) Deacons:
Tuesday, May 2nd @ 7:00 p.m.
Session:
Tuesday, May 9th @ 7:00 p.m.
Trustees:
Tuesday, May 16th @ 7:00 p.m. Presbyterian Women:
Monday, May 22nd @ 7:00 p.m. SESSION HIGHLIGHTS –
APRIL 11 MEETING During its April meeting, Session, as usual, spent
some of its time looking inward and some of its time looking outward. Looking inward, Session made plans to attend to
some of its late spring and summer “usuals.” Session …
Looking
outward to the community, Session discussed plans for Philipsburg’s
Heritage Days participation, and continued to investigate an evolving
community service project that is to be held in conjunction with the
United Methodist Church Shoe Bank. Looking toward the community at
large, Session is still working on a mission trip to the New
Orleans/Gulf Coast area, hopefully in conjunction
with another church from Huntingdon Presbytery. Session also looked at some
fundraising concerns – again, some looking inward, and some outward. It finalized plans for a ham
and cheese sandwich sale to be held May 18 for the purpose of supporting
the Session Designated Mission Fund.
And it also began to consider our church’s participation in
fundraising campaigns sponsored by two organizations that have been
major benefactors of our church’s mission giving in the past.
Windy Hill Village has recently begun a 3 year/$250,000 campaign
to benefit resident services. And Krislund is kicking off a 3
year/$2,000,000 capital improvement campaign this fall. Session is
seeking to prayerfully work with the other boards to develop our church’s response to these
valuable mission projects as we seek to serve God, you, and God’s community to the
best of our abilities. MAY BIRTHDAYS
1st – Joe Millward
20th
– Winnie Eckley
4th – Jennifer Johnston
20th
– Jim Gearhart
5th – Lindsey Bordas
22nd
– Scott Test
6th – Ely Mantz
23rd
– Lisa Chorle 6th – Jordan Harris
24th
– Dan Nelson
7th – Don Branstetter
24th
– Doug Nelson
8th – Ray Davidsen
24th
– Hannah Chorle
10th – Steve Starner
25th
– Sarah Chorle
14th – Leona Good
27th
– Scott Laux
14th – Melissa Millward
30th
– Bill Moore
17th – Amy (Herman) Beltz MAY ANNIVERSARIES 4th
– Jeff and Mary Beth Eyet – 32 years 14th
– Ed and Jackie Jones – 30 years 15th
– Jeff and Amy Beltz – 13 years 21st
– Doug and Sharon Goss – 12 years 23rd
– Tom and Susan Harris – 19 years 27th
– Tom and Barb Little – 34 years FAVORITE
HYMNS FOR SUMMER The Month of May
is your chance to select hymns for the summer worship months of July and
August. You can call in,
email, mail, or drop in the offering plate a list of your favorites and
we’ll try to work them into worship. A NOTE OF THANKS "Thank you for all the thoughts,
cards, calls, visits and mostly the prayers.
They are appreciated more than you know and
much more than I could ever say. "
--Marie DeAngelo-Smith THANKS AGAIN! To Ethel Cipollini and Jim Gearhart and their helpful crews for their flower arrangements during Holy Week … Thanks! For the guys - behind-the-scenes – that blessed Sound
Team (Gary Barnett, Scott Laux, Steve Starner,
Matt Johnson, and Tom Sayers), who work sound and copy
our tapes to send out … Thanks! To Sally Laux and the fabulous Senior Choir
for a wondrous Easter Cantata … Thanks!
To Marty Bullis, Gary Barnett, and Mouse Dixon for moving Fran
Tepsic into her new room at Windy Hill … Thanks!
To the Deacons and that Easter Breakfast gang for providing our
first resurrection morning feast and eggs for the Sunday School … Thanks!
To the Presbyterian Women for being attentive to the Kitchen
needs, and to the congregation for the April Shower donations …
Thanks! To Joy Branstetter,
Barry Raker, Holly and Dick Kithcart, and Paul Springer for designing
our first church brochure … Thanks!
To Susan Harris for planning a Slinky’s trip TWICE … Thanks!
To Darrell Hollis for being the Lenten Lunch host … Thanks!
To the youth for leading the Easter Sunrise
service … Thanks! To
those who gave financial gifts in memory of Ned Holdren so the choir
could purchase new stoles … Thanks! NATIONAL
DAY OF PRAYER Thursday,
May 4, is the National Day of Prayer.
While no special service
is being planned, it does not keep any of us from prayer!
Take
many opportunities during the day to join Christians all over America
to pray for local, national and world needs.
Remember the many
ways we can give thanks to God. Enter
into confession and receive
the mercy of God. Join
hands as family, as friends, as
brothers and sisters to pray. 3W MOVED The 3W (Women Who Work) Bible Study has been moved from May 1, to Monday, May 8, at 7 PM.
Come and join in our last study of the year, especially as we talk about possible fun for the summer and ideas for next year’s study. MOTHER/CHILD
BANQUET The
annual Mother/Child Banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 17 beginning
at 6:00 p.m. with a covered dish dinner, sponsored by Presbyterian
Women. Bring a covered dish
and table service. Ham and
dessert will be provided. The entertainment
for the evening will be a magic show by Dave Houser.
There will be a sign-up sheet at both the Presqueisle St. and
Fifth St. entrances so that we may be prepared with enough tables, meat,
dessert, coffee and kool-aid. This
is NOT mandatory, so if you find you can attend and haven't signed up,
come anyway! We hope to see you there! KRISLUND
CAMP OPEN HOUSE
Reserve Saturday, May 20 NOW for a church trip
to Krislund Camp’s Open House!
If your child is
of camping age, this is a wonderful time to join
with other church families and visit the camp.
This
introduction will hopefully help our
children to make a decision about camp this summer.
The church is partnering in camp this summer as a result of Sunday School
attendance, and a number of our children have earned their way to camp!
The Open House starts at 1 PM and lasts until 5 PM, offering a
camp tour, a chance to meet the staff, camp activities and a picnic dinner.
The dinner costs $5 per adult, $2.50 for kids aged 6-12, and is
free for kids under 6. Please
RSVP to the camp (422-8878) so they have a count for dinner. YOUTH
SUNDAY A
Sunday Service where our youth lead us, including Seniors preaching
the sermon, will be held this year on May 21.
Don’t miss this
opportunity to come and to see how you have fulfilled your baptismal
vows to the youth who have grown up in the church. You
will be blessed! BLOODMOBILE Tuesday, May 23 is the Bloodmobile at Trinity United Methodist Church from 1-7 PM.
We need refreshments, volunteers and blood donors!
Call David Dixon, check the 5th Street Board for sign-ups,
or show up at Trinity to find out how you can help! YOUNG
AT HEART LUNCHEON The monthly
“Young at Heart” luncheon will be held on Wednesday, May 24th
at 12:00 p.m. in Westminster Hall.
Please join in the fun and fellowship by reserving your seat now.
Call 342-4371. SPAGHETTI SAUCE FOR PENTECOST Stock up in May on the Spaghetti Sauce sales, as Pentecost Sunday’s communion offering on June 4 is Spaghetti Sauce for the Community Action Food Bank. A
PRISONER TEAM IS COMING The
church has received the gift of a prisoner work team for the weekdays
between June 5-16 at the church. The
trustees are preparing all
kinds of labor-intensive projects around the church to effectively use
their skills well. As we
get closer to the dates, needed supplies
from the congregation will be made known.
WORK CAMP REMINDER Philipsburg is
getting a work camp of about 325 youth and their leaders from June
11-17. They will be staying
at the Junior High School and traveling to work sites around the
area. Our church is offering our parking lot during the week
for their vans, as well as coordinating hospitality for the week.
Keep your eyes peeled in church for the opportunity to sign up
for donating bottles of water and bags of cookies! FELLOWSHIP
TIME It’s
time to run away and join the circus! Starting Sunday, July 9, and
running for
8 weeks, First Presbyterian Church will once again be putting up the
“big top” out front. You remember from last summer. A family or
group sponsored a fellowship time after the worship service. The canopy
was erected and a snack and beverage item was served. It worked well and
we would like to do it again. The one important thing to remember here
is not to elaborate. This is not the Tavern On The Green! A
cookie and some punch are fine. The main point is to have a time to
fellowship together. If
you are interested in signing up to sponsor one of the 8 Sunday
fellowship times,
please contact Paul Springer (342-2480, granite@pennswoods.net). These
sponsorships are going fast, so don’t delay in signing up today! MARK
YOUR CALENDAR NOW!
Just a reminder to all helpers and kids – Vacation
Bible School dates will be the
week of August 7-10. Please
note the date in your home
schedules! INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR THE GENERAL FUND
FOR MARCH, 2006
Total Offering and Income: $8,821.33
Total Expenses:
9,617.63
Deficit ($796.30) The
Deficit was covered by a surplus balance in
the checking account, so no transfers from the
Reserve and Investment Fund were needed. MAY
2006 CHURCH CALENDAR
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