The Prairie Light First Presbyterian Church ◦ P.O. Box 236 Liberal, KS 67901 ◦ presby@swko.net (620) 624-5487 Office August 2015 edition

From the Pastor by Rev. Kitty Lum

Serving the Church, Faithfully

The themes for me in the month of July and in the Common Lectionary seemed to focus on serving the Church faithfully and God’s faithful provision. Philippians1:6, which says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you, will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ,” and the story in 2 Kings 4:42-44, where God enables Elisha to multiply 20 loaves of bread, to feed 100 people, are the scriptures, which seemed to characterize this last month for me. In light of this inspiring passage of scripture and story, I was able to help Megan launch our new church website this month! July 9, 2015 was another milestone day in the 127 year history of this wonderful church! Megan took the lead on this formidable project about 5 months ago, as the resident “web designer”, while I provided her with the content and consulted with her on the design of the site, and 3 weeks ago, we finally completed it and launched it! We used the website of my home church, First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo, as a model, so we are grateful that their website is so well-organized, thorough and creative. We feel that the website is pretty user-friendly, has much information on our church and Child Care Center, and

is very Presbyterian. We are very grateful to God, for providing us with the grace, wisdom and creativity to create the website! Since July 9, 2015, I have written up a “Pastor History Corner” page, about the rich and long history of pastors in our church, in the last 127 years, and Megan proof-read it for me and posted it onto the website. This was the one part of our church’s history, which had been missing on the website, and thanks to much help from long-time members and officers, Julia Thompson and Jill Pittman, I was able to research the history of the pastors a little and write a piece on the pastors. Acting as an amateur “church historian”, delving into this history and writing the Pastor History Corner was really a highlight of my experiences this month, and was by far, the most encouraging experience. As I interviewed Julia and Jill informally, studied the church history book, and looked at old black and white photos of the pastors, I learned so much about the pastors. I found myself feeling more and more excited and happy, as I uncovered wonderful stories of so many faithful and amazing pastors and men and women of God! I learned that Pastor Lucas Krebs was probably the most beloved pastor, of all the 30 or so pastors this church has had in the last century. I was inspired by Luc’s story, especially by the fact that Luc remembered this church as his “happiest ministry” of all the churches he had served, and he kept in touch and

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prayed for this church, until the end of his life. I also found that Luc tapped into the power of prayer, to give him the grace to lead this church, and prayer was his “constant companion”. Luc had many other admirable gifts as a pastor, but these were the 2 things, which Luc did, which inspired me most and which resonated most with me. These are high bars for me to emulate, but I too place a high priority on being loyal and faithful to the people I serve, and I believe that prayer is one of our most powerful resources we have as children of God. I could really see how God has worked hard to provide so many deep-faithed and wonderful pastors for this church, and I believe, that just as Philippians 1:6 reminds us, God is continuing to carry out his work through me and this faithful congregation, and God will not waiver in doing it, until God completes it “by the day of Jesus Christ.” Just as God provided bread, amazingly and abundantly for the crowd that Elisha fed, God will continue to provide this church with faithful leaders. Through constant prayer and God’s grace, I hope to serve as a faithful pastor, to help this congregation and the child care center find “the yellow brick road of God’s plan for them, and lead them to continue being that “Light Across the Prairie,” for another 127 years and – forever. Last week, Megan also helped me add a blog page, Pastor Kitty’s Korner to the website, and I made my first blog post yesterday, July 29, 2015! I plan to make a variety of posts to the blog, regarding matters of interest to our congregation, issues in the PCUSA denomination, theological issues, etc., and I hope to engage many in our church in dialogue on

this page! Consider it a “virtual way” to have a conversation with your pastor! I am so grateful, for how God has provided, abundantly for this church, in every way, but especially in the way of an exciting and helpful new website this month, and a rich history of wonderful spiritual leaders! While it was important for God to provide bread for the needy crowd, which Elisha helped feed, it was even more challenging for God to provide faithful pastors for this church – but God did, and graciously blessed us! I am confident, just as Paul was, that God will continue to give us grace to carry out our work for the church and child care center, faithfully, until God completes it “by the day of Jesus Christ.”

-Kitty Lum

Men’s Group Survey Pastor Kitty would like to know if there is an interest among the men in our church to re-start the Men's Group in our church, which was introduced with great success by Pastor George Patterson. This group would meet about once/month for breakfast or lunch, chat about church matters, and delve into an interesting bible study. The men and Pastor Kitty would take turns leading the studies each month. She realizes she is of course, not a male pastor, but in the interest of serving this part of the congregation, she would even be willing to put on a mustache and dress up like a cowboy, in order to put the men more at ease, and lead the group! Please let us know if you would be interested in this group.

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Community Cooking Class The Community Cooking Class has been officially started! The first class was Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the family room. Pastor Kitty made pudding and Megan and her mother made a sweet fruit dip. The Cooking Class will take place every the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The next class is August 27. If you are interested in teaching attendees how to cook a dish or if you’d like to request a dish to be taught, please contact either Pastor Kitty or Megan at the church. You can call (620) 624-5487 or e-mail presby@swko.net.

PW Women’s Group Pastor Kitty has emailed the women, who have expressed interest in this group to discern about the best day/time to have it, and so far the 4th WEDNESDAY of the month at 12:00 p.m. seems to be the best day/time. Please talk with Pastor Kitty if this day/time does not work for you, and she will try to alternate meeting times to accommodate everyone, who wants to come. Pastor Kitty is working on getting the PW/Horizons bible study books for the group. We are excited, as it has been years since the church has had a PW Group! Please help spread the word and invite your friends from church and town!

Lunchtime Prayer & Discussion Group Information

Please join us on Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. in the Family Room for a lunchtime prayer and time for visiting and discussion of faith/theology. You are welcome to bring your lunch and a friend – or many friends!

New Members Class! Pastor Kitty has developed a brief class which will inform people who are interested in joining our church as a new member about what it means to be Presbyterian, what we believe, and the interesting and long history of our Liberal church, etc. She has invited families, who are new to the church, to the class and is waiting to hear from them. She and all the leaders and members of this church are so excited about folks, who have expressed interest in joining our church family!

Starting a Nursery The church is hoping to start a nursery for infants/toddlers, to help mothers focus on worship, and encourage mothers who currently do not attend church, but would like to. Please let us know if you would you like to volunteer to serve in a church nursery for about 30 minutes during the second half of worship, caring for infants/toddlers. If you are interested in volunteering, please let us also know how many Sundays per month you would be able to volunteer.

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August Birthdays

August 6 Lindsay Hall

11 Devon Hall

11 Sarah Thompson

13 Leon Onions

14 Gene Jones

16 Carrie Priest

20 Marcy Birner

29 Luke Hennes

30 Johnna Black

31 Thurman Brown

Are we missing your birthday or

anniversary? E-mail presby@swko.net or call 620-624-5487 to have your date added.

August Anniversaries

August 9 – Bob & Mary Houck August 25 – Marvin & Judy Chance

30 – Ken & Julia Thompson

Church Shirts Be on the lookout for a fantastic polo shirt to purchase and wear at all community activities to let folks know about our church. The shirt has been designed and we are in the process of ordering them, so we will soon have them available for purchase.

Connect with us on Facebook!

We invited you all to join us on our Facebook page in October. Since then, we have increased our ‘likes’ from 24 to 71. Thank you for adding our additional way to stay in touch! We are keeping it filled with local church news as well as news from the PCUSA denomination and our community, not to mention current and past photos. You can find us as “First Presbyterian Church of Liberal.”

The Upper Room Megan and Pastor Kitty sent out a survey asking members what they thought about our devotional magazine. Because most of the members responded saying they’d like to try a new magazine, the church is switching from These Days to the Upper Room, which features authors from around the world.

We have ordered the Upper Room and they will soon be available in the narthex to help you in your spiritual practices.

Church Website We have launched our church website! After a few months of hard work and information gathering, the First Presbyterian Church of Liberal now has its own corner on the web! Visit us at:

http://www.fpcliberal.org

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First Presbyterian Church Daycare/Preschool

The month of July at the preschool and daycare was not so different than the month of June. We pressed on without Esperanza (who was spending the month visiting with family) and offered a few new summer activities for the children. The children were lucky enough to be able to enjoy what we like to call “water days” where they are able to go outside and play in pools. This year we were happy to have an inflatable water park, complete with climbing wall, a slide, a basketball hoop with an inflatable basketball, and a squirt gun! The children were barely able to contain their excitement as they walked outside in their swimming suits and flip flops. Several overcast and rainy days postponed a second water day, but so far the children have been able to enjoy their pools at least once a week. On August 20, Megan and Esperanza will be attending training in Wichita in order to begin implementing the Kansas Food Program. This food program will allow us to save a lot of money on our food costs, letting us put that money elsewhere.

Bell Choir A Bell Choir will soon be started by Pastor Kitty and assisted by office manager, Megan! Pastor Kitty and Megan had researched various bell sets and ordered a set of copper bells which came all the way from Seoul, South Korea! The choir is for children and adults, so if your child or you are interested in joining, please let Pastor Kitty or Megan know what days/times work best for you for the bell class. Please spread the word, as the choir is not limited to church members, but anyone from the community can join, including children/parents from our daycare/preschool. We are excited and think it will be much fun to make music together and put a smile on everyone's face!

The Five State Fair The Five State Fair is coming to Liberal! Fair events, such as various 4-H competitions, the Heart of America Carnival, vendor booths, car races, and more are upon us! This year, the First Presbyterian Church of Liberal will have its own booth set up at the fair. Make sure to come stop by and see us! Pastor Kitty, Elder Bob Oblander and a Child Care Center staff member will manage the booth on SATURDAY August 22, and if you’d like to volunteer to help watch the booth for an hour at a time, please let Pastor Kitty/Megan know!

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Share your Skills and Passions

We have three committees led by our Session and you are invited to contribute to any of these committees. Listed are those who have already signed-up. Please contact the italicized Elder to visit about how you can participate. *Note that you do not have to be a member of the church to serve on a committee. Congregational Life led by Lester Caldwell – lestercaldwell@gmail.com This committee includes Worship, Fellowship, and Christian Education Worship (special music, flowers, liturgical decor, etc.) – Kathy Bloom Fellowship (coffee time, potluck dinners, etc.) – Jonice Oblander, Veronica Zainali, Martha Darnell, Janet Lewis Christian Education (Sunday School, Bible Study, Children’s Church, etc.) – Lester Caldwell Congregational Outreach led by Fred Bloom – fbloom@swko.net This committee includes Moments for Mission, Child Care Center, outside groups such as 4-H, PCUSA activities, community projects, etc. – Amy Thompson Congregational Resources led by Bob Oblander – obbob@swko.net This committee includes building and grounds involving both the church and the Child Care Center (mowing, snow removal, AC/heat, locks, etc.) – Ken Thompson, Jenny Melton, Alun Melton

A Place for Moms to Connect Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) is an international organization providing moms the opportunity to meet together for Bible study and fellowship. The Liberal MOPS group meets bimonthly at FSBC. If you are interested in participating in this Bible study, contact Raygan Caballero at 480-307-4727 for more information. The Liberal MOPS group is looking for volunteers to care for children during their bimonthly meetings. If you could bless this ministry by being a volunteer childcare provider and would like more information, please contact Raygan Caballero at 480-307-4727

Hour-Long Book Club You are invited to the Hour-Long Book Club at Liberal Memorial Library. The Book Club meets the third Thursday of every month from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. An article or short story will be read and then discussed. It’s a fun way to be involved in the community!

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August 2015 Gatekeepers: Aug. 2: Marvin Jr.; Aug. 9: Fred Bloom; Aug. 16 & 23:

Bob Oblander; Aug. 30: Ken Thompson GR = Greeter WL = Worship Leader FR = Family Room SM = Special Music

Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.

Kitty’s office hours: Monday: off

Tuesday: 1 - 5 p.m. Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Thursday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Megan’s hours: Mon. - Thurs.: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

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2 GR: Lester Caldwell WL: Bob Houck

3 4 5 6 7 Craft Night @ 7:00 p.m. in FR

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9 GR: Cathy Buddenhagen WL: Bob Oblander

10 11 12 13 14 15

16 GR: Dan & Janet Lewis WL: Marvin Chance, Jr.

17 First Day of FPCCC Preschool

18 19 Session Meeting @ 7:00 p.m. in FR

20 21 22

23 GR: Thurman Brown & family WL: Fred Bloom

24 25 26 27 Cooking Class @ 7:00 p.m. in FR

28 29

30 GR: Jeff Chance WL: Ken Thompson

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First Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 236 Liberal, KS 67905-0236

Did you know that you can reduce our paper usage and cut down on costs for the church by

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If you have e-mail, you can also use our e-mail to notify the Church Office on any changes to

your address, births, deaths, to add your name to the Prayer Chain e-mail list, or other questions.

Of course, we always love to visit with you on the phone or in person!