First Presbyterian Church

5 Court St., Towanda PA 18848

570-265-5575

Email - fpchurch@comcast.net

Website - www.fpctowanda.com

Facebook - Fans of First Presbyterian

FROM PASTOR RACHEL….

A few months ago, I decided to sign up for ancestry.com to compile a genealogy as a gift for a

relative. I’ve always been interested in history and had a few blank spaces in my knowledge of my family.

There have been some surprises and a few dead ends, which themselves often raise questions. I’ve

discovered a few relatives (still living) I’d never heard of, and an adopted great aunt I never knew existed.

A great uncle signed up to serve in WWI, but died of influenza while in boot camp. There was a suicide, a

mother who died in childbirth, and several veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the

Civil War. One of my great-grandfathers emigrated on the ship Planter in 1635 and first resided in Ips-

wich, Massachusetts, where I lived for 4 years during graduate school. He went on to found Flushing, New

York. Another relative was one of the first settlers of New Jersey. Nearly all of my relatives first came to

Philadelphia in the early 1700s, settled in the York area or surrounding counties, and never left.

Aside from learning all this, studying their birth, death, and marriage dates

has made them seem much more like real people to me. I’ve learned their stories

of emigration, loss, illness, and struggles in what was once a frontier. I’ve won-

dered how many times I walked where one of them walked, or drove on a road

that once was for them a horse path. I’ve also realized that many of them are bur-

ied in the same cemeteries where relatives I’ve personally known were laid to

rest. There were Lutherans, Episcopalians, Mennonites, and a few Catholics.

There were pastors, farmers, soldiers, laborers, silk workers, cigar makers, and

mill workers-- so many people I’ve never met or even knew of who contributed

to me being me, today, here in Pennsylvania.

You and I have a genealogical legacy, but we also have a spiritual legacy that can be traced. We

know the people who told us about the Lord Jesus, and maybe we know who told them. We can look to

church records to learn of people who came before us in this place. We can imagine how they dealt with

logging in the canal on our church doorstep, or smallpox or influenza epidemics, or the wars that touched

even this rural area.

(Continued on next page)

Thankfully, we also have a sure record of our spiritual legacy in the very pages of Scripture. We can

read about people much like us who trusted in God (or not), and who’ve left us precious examples. Since

this “spiritual genealogy” was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can be certain of learning from its people and

their experiences. As valuable and interesting as ancestry.com may be, God’s Word is immeasurably more

valuable as a resource for understanding who we are as Christians, knowing and loving the God who created

us, and confirming hope for our future. As Jesus’ followers and children of God, faith, hope, and love are in

our spiritual DNA.

Monthly Day of Prayer: October 3

1) Continue in prayer for our students, teachers, coaches and administrators to have a safe,

productive school year.

2) Take a moment to list at least 3 ways the Lord is blessing you on Oct. 3.

3) For the Presbytery gathering in Cohoes, NY, on Oct. 5-6 to be spiritually successful with safe

travels and blessed fellowship for those attending.

4) For the Lord to be with our homebound friends through special comfort and encouragement.

Send them a card, give them a call, or stop by for a visit!

5) For the Lord to inspire and bless our church’s leaders. May He give them vision, perseverance,

passion, and humility as they lead.

October Scripture Readers

7 - Jody Stroud

14 - Claudia Mehalchick

21 - Rhea Johnston

28 - Jerry Young

October Greeters

7 - Cynthia Young

14 - Lois Smith

21 - Jean Hall-Kafes

28 - Cathy & Dave Guffey

October Birthdays

5 - Ryland Carey

8 - Art Spengler, Dorothy Scott

11 - Marguerite Fox Picou

14 - Nancy Hughey

15 - Brenda Webster-Houck

17 - Sue Gore

21 - Elizabeth Lightbourn

25 - Baylee Clark

29 - Janice McConnell, Karl Tewksbury

30 - Shaylee Greenland

Join the Praise Team!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, my soul! I want to praise the Lord throughout my life. I want to make music to praise my God as long as I live. Psalm 146: 1-2

There are many ways to be a part of the Team. Can you sing or play an instrument? If you can carry a beat, try your hands on the cajon box. If singing/playing are not for you, select music to sing or videos, prepare Power Point slides for songs, or operate the computer during worship. Talk with Pastor Rachel or a Praise Team member or contact Cathy Guffey (570-265-7518 or cdjm@frontiernet.net) to discuss how you could be involved.

LIBRARY NEWS!

“Hillbilly Elegy, A Memoir of a Family and Culture in

Crisis,” by J. D. Vance has been added to the church

library.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP? Every Tuesday at 10 at the Personal Care

Home there is a short worship and prayer time. Helpers are needed to

transport residents to it, and return them. If you would like to help, please

call Bob Pzynar at 570.297.2586.

PASTOR RACHEL will be presenting a paper at a pastors’ conference

in Chicago in October. The topic is Puritan Jonathan Edwards’ views

about spiritual transformation. It is 13 pages long. Please see her if

you’d like a copy.

A BRIEF CONGREGATIONAL MEETING will take place on

Sunday, October 14, at the conclusion of worship. We will

elect officers to serve in 2019. Please be sure to attend!

WE WILL CELEBRATE FOUNDERS’ DAY on

Sunday, October 21, immediately following

morning worship. Please bring a dish to pass.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOX DEADLINE—

Sunday, November 4 if you are packing your own shoebox. Please pick up a packing

box from the display in the Narthex. When you finish packing your box, tape your

completed label to the lid of the box, enclose the required postage and secure with a

rubber band. Drop off your box at the CE office.

Suggested Items to include in your own box: toys, pens, crayons, hair bows, head-

bands, socks, T-shirts, school supplies, kid's watches, flashlights with batteries, dolls,

and toy cars. Hygiene items including bars of soap, toothbrushes and washcloths are

also requested. Please put soap in a plastic bag.

Do NOT Include:

Candy; toothpaste; gum; used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns,

knives, or military figures; chocolate or food; seeds; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks;

drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable

items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans.

For more detailed information use this link:

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/what-goes-in-my-

shoebox-suggestions/

If you do not wish to pack a box but would like to be a part of this worthwhile

project, consider a monetary donation toward the items purchased for Kids Club

members to pack. We will be packing boxes on Wednesday, November 7.

“The Right Way To Pray” by Xochitl Dixon

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is un-

seen.” Matt. 6:6

I admire people who record prayer requests in journals tattered from daily handling,

those who keep track of every prayer and praise and then faithfully update their lists. I’m in-

spired by those who gather with others to pray and whose kneeling wears out the carpet at

their bedsides. For years, I tried to copy their styles, to emulate a perfect prayer life, and to

imitate the eloquence of the so-much-more-articulate-than-me folks. I strived to unravel what

I thought was a mystery, as I longed to learn the right way to pray.

Eventually, I learned that our Lord simply desires prayer that begins and ends with humil-

ity (Matthew 6:5). He invites us into an intimate exchange through which He promises to listen

(v. 6). He never requires fancy or memorized words or phrases (v. 7). He assures us that prayer

is a gift, an opportunity to honor His majesty (vv. 9–10), to display our confidence in His provi-

sion (v. 11), and to affirm our security in His forgiveness and guidance (vv. 12–13).

God assures us He hears and cares about every single spoken and unspoken prayer, as well

as the prayers that slip down our cheeks as silent tears. As we place our trust in God and His

perfect love for us, we can be sure praying with a humble heart that’s surrendered to and de-

pendent on Him is always the right way to pray. Calling on Jesus as our loving Savior and Lord

is the right way to pray.

Lord, thank You for reminding us that You hear every prayer.

From Our Daily Bread, Sept. 16, 2018.

Addiction Awareness Sunday

On Oct. 28, we will have a special time in worship devoted to learning how

we as individuals and as a church can support people with addiction and their

families. Our speaker in worship will be Keith Kinsman, who lost his son to the

disease and has been highly active in ministering to those impacted by addiction.

After worship, Todd and Amy Carr will join Keith in leading a discussion and

answering questions. There will also be time for prayer. Invite your friends and neighbors! Please

contact Pastor Rachel if you have any questions.

Monthly Community Dinners Coming

Our community dinner for October

will be held on the 16th. The menu will be

spaghetti and meatballs with salad and

bread. This is your chance to invite your

friends, co-workers, and neighbors to join

us for fun and fellowship. We can always

use help preparing the food, serving,

cleaning up, and providing desserts like

brownies and cookies. If you would like to

help, please see Pastor Rachel or Danise

Fairchild.

We are also planning to have our

yearly Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiv-

ing Day from noon-1. Check near the

secretary’s office to see what you can

donate to help clear out “Charlie Brown’s

pumpkin patch.” And we can always use

help the day before to prepare. Please see

Pastor Rachel or Danise Fairchild if you

can contribute. All are welcome!

All are invited to a spaghetti

dinner fundraiser held by our Knight

Life youth group. It will take place in

Patterson Hall on Saturday, Oct. 20,

from 5:30 to 6:30. Cost is your dona-

tion. No reservations are needed. All

proceeds will benefit the youth group’s

2019 summer mission trip to Toronto.

If you would like to help out with the

dinner, please see Pastor Rachel.

8 Steps to Forgiveness

Forgiving someone who hurt you is never easy. But with God, it

is possible. —Amber Penney

1. Acknowledge the pain. Sometimes it’s hard to admit you’ve

been hurt because doing so intensifies the feelings. But you

won’t be able to work through the pain until you admit you’re

hurting. Tears are a pretty good indicator that something’s

wrong. So are feelings of resentment.

2. Think through the pain. Be honest about how you feel, even if you think you shouldn’t feel that way.

Admit that you don’t like what happened or how you were treated and that it makes you sad or angry.

Try writing these feelings in a journal or sharing them with a trusted Christian friend.

3. Put yourself in the shoes of your offender. Think about a time when you have wronged another person,

maybe your parents, a sibling or a friend. You needed their forgiveness. Did that person extend for-

giveness to you, or withhold it? How did it make you feel? When it comes to forgiving others, remem-

ber these words from Jesus: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to

you…” (Matthew 7:12)

4. Remember that God forgave you. If you’re a Christian, you’ve admitted your need for God’s forgiveness.

Remembering how He forgave you, when you didn’t deserve it, can help you forgive others. You may

not be ready at this point to voice your forgiveness to your offender. IN fact, communication with that

person may be impossible if, for example, the person is no longer living. That’s OK. You can forgive

someone without having your offender accept your forgiveness.

5. Remember that God commands us to forgive. When Jesus taught about prayer, He stressed the im-

portance of forgiving others (Luke 11:14. And in Mark 11:25, He says, “If you hold anything against any-

one, forgive him…”

6. Let go of the pain. Once you’ve gone through the stages above, refuse to hold onto your hurt. Don’t

replay the offense over and over. Allowing yourself to get sad or angry again and again will only cause

you more pain. Determine that you are going to choose to forgive your offender. Your emotions might

not agree with this decision. This is where prayer comes in. Tell God you want to forgive, and ask Him

to change your heart toward the person who wronged you. You may want to consider voicing for-

giveness to your offender either vocally or through a letter. But again, if this isn’t possible, it doesn’t

mean you haven’t expressed forgiveness.

7. Continue to forgive. If the wound was deep, you’ll probably have to forgive more than once. When

memories of the wrong come to mind and you find yourself getting worked up over it, immediately go

to God in prayer.

8. Pray for the one who hurt you. It may be impossible to restore a relationship with your offender. For

example, you don’t know where the person lives or contacting this person could be a safety risk. But

you can pray for the one who hurt you. Ask God to reveal His love to your offender. Doing so will help

you to release any remaining resentment.

OCTOBER 2018

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1

1PM Worship Team

5PM Trustees

6:30PM Scouts

6:30PM Women’ s Bible Study

2

9AM BS/Prayer

Group

12PM Seekers

3 Day of Prayer

8AM HH at Cup

5:30PM Kid’s Club

7:30PM Choir

4 5 6

7 Holy Communion

10AM Worship

11:30AM SS Classes

6PM Youth Group

8 Columbus Day

6:30PM Scouts

6:30 PM Outreach

Team

6:30PM Women’ s Bible Study

9

9AM BS/Prayer

Group

12PM Seekers

1:30PM Christian

Ed team

10

5:30PM Kid’s Club

7:30PM Choir

11 12

1PM Fellowship

Team

5th Quarter

13

14

10AM Worship

Congregational Meeting

11:30AM SS Classes

5:30PM Girl Scouts

6PM Youth Group

15

6:30PM Scouts

6:30PM Women’ s Bible Study

Tidings Deadline

16

9AM BS/Prayer Group

12PM Seekers

5:30 Community Dinner

17

5:30PM Kid’s Club

7:30PM Choir

18 19

5th Quarter

20

5:30PM

Youth Group

Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser

21 Founder’s Day

10AM Worship

11:30AM Founder’s Day Lunch

5:30PM Girl Scouts

6PM Youth Group

TACO Collection

22

6:30PM Scouts

6:30PM Women’ s Bible Study

23

9AM BS/Prayer

Group

12PM Seekers

24

5:30PM Kid’s Club

7:30PM Choir

25 26

5th Quarter

27

Halloween Parade

28

10AM Worship

5:30PM Girl Scouts

6PM Youth Group

Pastor Rachel on study leave

29

6:30PM Scouts

6:30PM Women’ s Bible Study

30

9AM BS/Prayer

Group

12PM Seekers

6PM Session

31

Halloween

NO Kid’s Club

7:30PM Choir

Presbytery Meeting in Cohes NY

Pastor Rachel on study leave