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Philipsburg First Presbyterian Church |
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Our History Activities
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Building Matters
for Ministry Matters
In the next few months (as indicated with our boarded windows),
projects at the Church will go into full swing!
For almost 10 years, regular building maintenance has had to take
a back burner on the “to do” list as the church worked with
financial pressures, a 3-year Interim period, leave-taking from the last
pastorate and learning-curve work for my pastorate.
But with our good stewardship of about $125,000 in Reserve
Investments, a successful $20,000 Furnace Drive last year, and the
better management of our $40,000 Trust under way, finances have availed
themselves to the necessary projects around the church.
Below, I will give a thumbnail sketch of what is going on for
this year, but please read the next few sentences
before you look ahead. For,
the most important piece of 2005 is not that we are putting important
and necessary resources into our building.
The most important part of the church is the community who
worship in it, and then go out into the community in our mission and
ministry. We are the
church because of God’s great call to us through Jesus Christ and
enabled by the Holy Spirit to love God and to love others (not just each
other, but all others).
What we do with our building is for the purpose of opening our
arms to God, to God’s work, and to God’s ministry to the world.
Because you’ll read somewhere else in our newsletter that the
financial picture of our General Fund is not in the greatest of shape, I
want to pause for a moment and assure you that the projects listed below
are planned and paid for with adequate resources.
The Reserve Investments the Trustees have worked on over the last
18 months have been put under good management and yielded excellent
returns. The Trustees fully
intend to end 2005 with a good cushion in the Reserve Fund, and a fairly
clear plate of needed maintenance to allow a few years of growth and
rebuilding for future projects. Spring and Summer
Building Projects for 2005: Stained
Glass Window Refurbishment:
This began in February with a generous, anonymous $5,000 donation to
sponsor the Balcony Window. At
the end of April, the Lexan was removed from the Balcony Window and the
6 small windows (all paid for by sponsorships) were returned in their
refurbished state. Sponsorship
of the Gethsemane window was given by the Tobias family, and will take
place next. The final large window (the Good Shepherd Window) will be
worked on at the end of the summer.
The window behind the choir loft will be thoroughly cleaned, as
the lead is good for another 20-40 years.
Bell Tower Repair: Lightening damaged our Bell Tower, and
Insurance has covered all of this expense except for our $1,000
deductible. In order to
capitalize on the Masons on site, the Trustees are also doing some minor
masonry repair on the capstones, which is needed to prevent damage to
the stonework over time.
Parking Lot: The
property behind the church was purchased in the 1970s to open up a space
for parking. After
reworking drains in previous years, the paving is finally underway, as
the church seeks to grow with the changing community where folks drive
to church more than they walk to church.
Visitors who can’t find a place to park will simply keep
driving …
Manse Garage Roof: Roof
concerns have reached the point of beginning to damage underlying
woodwork, and so the new garage roof was installed at the end of April.
This work included covering woodwork to prevent future painting
needs.
Sanctuary Painting: Ask Susan Harris when she was married (almost
18 years ago), and you’ll have the date of the last Sanctuary
painting! Plaster work and
care for the walls have necessitated a fresh coat, to be done sometime
this summer with a Monday through Friday contracted crew.
As our building turns 100 years old in 2008, may we prepare well
to celebrate the ways the building has supported ministry, and continues
to lead us into a future of vibrant, Christ-centered ministry in the
Philipsburg community!
Grace and Peace,
OFFICER MEETINGS for MAY
(in the parlor)
Deacons:
Tuesday, May 10th @ 7:00 p.m.
Session:
Tuesday, May 17th @ 7:00 p.m. Trustees:
Tuesday, May 24th @ 7:00 p.m. Presbyterian Women:
Monday, May 30th @ 7:00 p.m.
MAY BIRTHDAYS
1st – Joseph Millward
20th
– Jim Gearhart 4th
– Jennifer Johnston
22nd – Jim Guelich 5th
– Lindsay 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
26th – Bob Clyde 14th
– Melissa Millward
27th – Scott Laux 17th
– Amy (Herman) Beltz
30th – Bill Moore 19th
– Alice Beatty
MAY ANNIVERSARIES May
4th – Jeff and Mary Beth Eyet – 31 years May
14th – Ed and Jackie Jones – 29 years May
15th – Jeff and Amy Beltz – 12 years May
21st – Doug and Sharon Goss – 11 years May
23rd – Tom and Susan Harris – 18 years Thanks
Again! To
Ethel Cipollini and Jim Gearhart and their helpful crews for the lovely
Holy Week flower arrangements and plywood window decorations … Thanks!
For the energetic folks (led by Gertie Clyde) pulling together
these wonderful “Young at Heart” luncheons … Thanks!
For the guys-behind-the-scenes – that blessed Sound Team (Gary
Barnett, Scott Laux, Steve Starner, Matt Johnson, and Tom Sayers), who
now copy our tapes to send out … Thanks!
To the Holden gang, Ed and Lora Storck, Sally Nelson, and Amy
Rodgers for keeping the Thailand fundraising rolling … Thanks!
To Sally Nelson and Amy Rodgers for finding a way to immunize Tom
and Hannah Holden … Thanks! To
Sally Laux and the fabulous Westminster Bells for their ringing hands
… Thanks! To Barbara
Mosch for her preached word among us … Thanks! A
Financial Update Pastor
Tracie described the many ways in which we are seeking
to have good stewardship of our building in her lead
article. An important part
of our good stewardship is
not to get caught up in projects and, thus, lose sight of the
regular, day-to-day ministry needs in our church.
In order
to help all of us focus a bit more clearly on the daily faithfulness to
and from our church, the Trustees voted to give a monthly update of our
financial picture for our GENERAL FUND, meaning the Fund by which we
support the on-going work of the church.
Because of the special projects we’ve had over the last year
(which have been well supported), some support of our General Fund has
decreased. Thus, the
Trustees invite you to again consider your regular giving to the church
and remember that special projects are intended for above-and-beyond
giving only. Each month,
the Trustees will be giving a clear, written report in the newsletter to
help us see the income and expenses to our General Fund, as follows: Income and
Expenses for the General Fund for March, 2005: Total
Offering and Income to the General Fund
$8,847.49 Total
Expenses from the General Fund
$8,740.63
Surplus for March
$
106.86 Amount
Transferred from Reserve Fund for April Expenses: $1,500.00 Feeding the Hungry The
Operation Starfish and Quarter Cards during Lent yielded $362 for
the poor and hungry of our community and the world.
Half of that
offering went to our local Food Bank and the other half
went to needs in the world through the ministry of Food for the
Poor. Thank you for using
your spare change to make
a BIG difference! Westminster
Bells and the Senior Choir Bell
practice and Senior Choir practices have already begun their
summer break. Practices
will resume sometime in August. Please
watch the newsletter and bulletins for further information. Enjoy
the summer hiatus! Bloodmobile
May 3 is the Bloodmobile at Trinity United
Methodist Church from 1-7 PM.
We need refreshments, volunteers
and blood donors! Call David
Dixon or show up at Trinity to
find out how you can help! National
Day of Prayer Thursday,
May 5, 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. Mother-Child
Banquet The
Presbyterian Women are again marking Mother’s Day with
a Mother-Child Banquet on Thursday, May 12 at 6:15 PM.
Entertainment
will be cast members from the P-O Thespian Group performing
from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
The
meal is a covered dish dinner, with meat and dessert being provided.
There will also be door prizes!
Men who are willing to serve
on this evening are invited to let Bonnie Rodgers know. A
Sunday of Celebration, Communion, and Covenant Players! Pentecost
Sunday, on May 15, promises to be a day of celebrating the
gift of the Holy Spirit to the church.
As a unifying way to celebrate
together, please try to wear clothes that are red on that day.
We’ll have special “Holy Spirit” reminders for everyone,
and a special
service of dramatic presentation of the Word before sharing communion
together. Following
Worship, we’ll join together for a delicious
Deacon lunch. Be prepared
to come and to see the many ways
the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst! May 15 – Relay
for Life Day after Worship The
Deacons are continuing the Relay for Life Team with great enthusiasm,
and will focus the Church’s attention on this ministry on Sunday, May
15. We’ll do a Mission
Emphasis time on the Relay in worship, then
have a Soup and Sandwich Fellowship afterwards in Westminster Hall.
During this time, the sign-up sheets for various work
opportunities will be available. In
addition, baseball-themed raffle items will be show-cased under the
Relay raffle license, and the winner will be announced at the Relay on
June 25. May 15 will also
be the opportunity for individuals to make a contribution to our church
team’s fundraising efforts. So,
set aside some extra time on May 15 to worship together and then to
contribute to our Relay for Life Team! 3W
(Women Who Work), Last Chance to Gather! May
16 will be our last 3W meeting for the School year.
If you’ve been meaning to try this gathering, please
join us for our study together. We’ll
also be thinking
about summer fellowship times, including the
possibility of a trip to the Sight and Sound Theater. Krislund Camp Open
House Reserve
Saturday, May 21 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 7 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.
The Bullis family will be making
the trip over for some afternoon fun and dinner, leaving
Philipsburg around 3:30 PM and returning in the evening
about 8 PM. We’d be glad
to carpool or share rides. We
need to RSVP to the camp to let them know how many are
coming, so Pastor Tracie need to know who from your family
wants to attend. Please
either call (342-0812, office; 343-4571,
home) or email (1stprespburg@verizon.net) to let her
know by Sunday, May 15. We’re
looking forward to an
afternoon of play with you! Youth Sunday A
Sunday Service where our youth lead us, including two Seniors preaching
the sermon, will be repeated this year on May 22.
Two seniors will be sharing their faith
journey, and other youth will be leading in other ways.
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! Young
at Heart Are
you young at heart? If so,
join us for an area wide
“Seniors” luncheon (50 and over)
When: Wednesday,
May 25, 2005
Time: 12:00
p.m.
Where: First
Presbyterian Church
509 East Presqueisle Street
Philipsburg
Cost: $3.00
Donation A
speaker or some entertainment will accompany the meal. Please make reservations by calling Gertie Clyde at 342-4371. Memory
Stars and Moons Through
June until Father’s Day weekend, the
Deacons will be offering the Relay for Life
Moon and Stars Memory Cards for display
on Father’s Day Sunday, June 19, and
Relay for Life Sunday, June 26. These
simple
gifts cost only a $1 to remember or honor
someone with. Calling All
Collectors! Our
church's Heritage Days contribution will be a "Collections
Show" where those of you in the congregation can display your
collection for others to
view. Do you collect items as a hobby? Talk with Gertie Clyde
about the possibility of sharing your work during Heritage Days! Mark your Calendar
NOW! Just
a reminder to all helpers and kids – Vacation Bible School dates
will be the week of August 8-11. Please
note the date
in your home schedules! MAY
CALANDER OF EVENTS
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