NON-PROFIT

U.S.POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 109

Peachtree City, GA

30269

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

206 Willow Bend Rd

Peachtree City, GA 30269

Telephone: 770-487-7757

FAX: 770-631-8886

Kindergarten/Preschool:

770-487-3699

www.firstpresptc.org

Serving Jesus Christ with a lively and loving faith,

in the strong tradition of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

SESSION

The Reverend Morgan Morse Hay, Moderator

Alice Hamilton, Clerk of Session

ELDERS

Beth Dawkins, dawkinsb@bellsouth.net * Iola Snow, imhsnow@bellsouth.net

Phil Hamilton, alicephilhamilton@msn.com

Dale Phenicie, dkphenicie@mindspring.com

Cliff Isaacson, ccisaacson@gmail.com * Adele Moore, adelemoore@comcast.net

DEACONS

Jim Stroup, Moderator, jestroup420@yahoo.com

Elyse Scholl, Secretary, elysemarie5@yahoo.com

Bob Rogers, rogersrobert@comcast.net * Ted Mack, pmack1437@yahoo.com

Bill Hawthorne, bhawthor@juno.com * Anne Perry, perry4@bellsouth.net

STAFF

Morgan Morse Hay, Pastor, morgan.h@firstpresptc.org, 404-213-3752

Alana Vines, Manager Church Operations, alana.v@firstpresptc.org, 678-300-6334

Pam Weir, Pastoral Secretary, pam.w@firstpresptc.org, 770-487-1061

Christy Utt, Children’s Ministry, cj.u@firstpresptc.org, 770-487-7757

Mary Dawkins, Youth Ministry, mary.d@firstpresptc.org, 404-804-4735

David Stivers, Choir Director, david.s@firstpresptc.org, 770-880-7693

Bill Pasch, Organist * Susan Scheuer, Choir Accompanist

If you would like to know about:

Preschool Ministry, Susan Gilbert, 770-487-3699

Education Ministries, Beth Dawkins, 770-487-7757

Stephen Ministry, Lorabeth Stroup, 770-486-8913

Worship Coordinator, Dale Phenicie, 770-487-7585

Weddings, Iola Snow, 770-486-6991

Library, Sally Lee, 770-487-7592

Missions, Susan Piraino, 770-487-7611

Shelvis & Nancy Smith-Mather, South Sudan

General Assembly Global Missions

General Assembly Disaster Relief

Presbyterian Homes; Calvin Center

Thornwell Children’s Home

Welcome House Newnan

Fayette Samaritans

Healing Bridge Clinic

Promise Place Fayetteville

Retired Clergy

The Reverend Donald W. Smith

The Reverend Robert E. Veley

The Reverend Richard A. Dodds

Volume 11 Issue 8

August 2014

www.f

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First

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Fir

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U.S

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Ser

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Jes

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with a

lively

and lov

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faith,

in t

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radition

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I have been to Honduras twice on mission trips, and have fallen in love with the beautiful country and beautiful people that live there. My visits to Honduras have taken me to the rural Agalta Valley in eastern Honduras. On these trips, we have partnered with villages to help construct latrines, pour concrete floors in houses, and add on rooms to homes. These houses have no electricity and no running water. Some do not even have a latrine. Experiencing life in these rural villages is an eye opener for anyone, but was especially formative for the North American teenagers on the trip. We soon learned how to communicate despite language barriers. A smile and shared laugh go a long way to forge friendships.

Right before our last trip to Honduras, NPR ran a news story on Hon-duras, naming it the murder capital of the world. I had to field phone calls from anxious parents, wondering if it was wise to send their children on this trip. I assured the parents that we were taking every precaution necessary, that we would never be on the roads after dark, that we would always have an armed guard with us, and that the ranch where we were staying was far from the violence of the drug lords.

I am so grateful for my experiences in Honduras; for the people that I have met, for the ways that my worldview has been expanded, and for the ways that I have experienced the presence of God. My hope is, that one day, First Presbyterian PTC will be able to send a group to Rancho Paradiso. My life has been changed by my experiences on these mission trips and I hope that more people will have the opportunity to go on mission trips and be changed as well. And my heart has ached to hear the recent news of chil-dren fleeing Honduras and the violent drug lords that are slowly trying to take over. I think about the children that I have met, and cannot imagine them having to leave their families and homeland, so desperate to escape the vio-lence that they risk their lives to walk all the way to the United States border.

Hospitality is a central tenet of our faith. The Bible is full of com-mands to welcome and love the stranger, for we were once strangers in the land of Egypt. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

Of course, there is no easy answer to this humanitarian crisis, or any other. I won’t even try to state one. The issues are complex and varied. But, as Christians, erring on the side of welcome and love is always a good response. Our own Lord and Savior also had to flee his homeland as a child to avoid the murderous rampage of King Herod. My prayer is, that we can find a way to practice radical hospitality and care to the strangers in our midst, knowing that when we welcome these children, we also welcome Christ.

Grace and Peace,

The backdrop picture on my computer is of our two kids standing in the driveway, hug-ging each other, one recent Sunday after church. In the picture, Anderson is wearing one of her favorite dresses, a beautiful blue embroi-dered dress that Robert and I bought for her last summer while in Honduras on a mission trip.

Another exciting Saturday workday is coming — August 9,

from 9:00 am until noon. We have a number of bushes to trim, walls to paint, gutters to

clean, and holes to patch in some of our soffits. Whether your desire is to work inside or

out, we’ll find something where your effort and skills will be used and appreciated.

In celebration of his first anniversary as FPC Organist, Bill Pasch will be offering a special series of preludes during the month of August.

Many people know of George Shearing (1919-2011) as a jazz pianist and composer. Many also know that he was blind from birth.

Less well known is the fact that he also wrote a series of highly-regarded organ compositions, frequently based on American folk hymn tunes. Several of these will be the August preludes.

Born in England, Shearing eventually came to live in the U.S. and became a natural-ized U. S. citizen. His worldwide reputation, however, led to his being knighted into the Order of the British Empire (thus acquiring the title “Sir”) by the country of his birth in 2007.

(The idea for presenting the organ music of George Shearing comes thanks to a sug-gestion from FPC Choir Director David Stivers, who heard one of the Shearing pieces played in a recital at the recent Montreat conference.)

To make room for these Shearing preludes, J. S. Bach will be taking the month of Au-gust off. But he will be back soon enough.

Wanted: LARGE PRINT editions of Jan Karon’s “Mitford” series books. Needed are books nos. 2, 3, and 4. These are hard to find; some are out of print. If you have copies and would like to donate them to the library, we would appreciate them. Thanks for your help in securing

these items. If you haven't read the “Mitford” books, you are in for a treat. The library has the complete series in

regular print. Come check them out!

Library

NEWs

New Pasch Anthem Published

In early July, Saint James Music Press (www.sjmp.com) released an anthem on a text by FPC Organist Bill Pasch and in a musical setting by Bill and his frequent composing partner Bob Weaver. Bill originally wrote the lyric of the hymn for the baptism of his granddaughter in 2010. This recent release “completes the set” with another St. James Music Press anthem (This Baptizing Day) written for his grandson’s baptism in 2008. The latest release is Bill’s sixth publication at St. James Music Press (including two in collaboration with Bob Weaver).

Do you sometimes

see someone at

church whose name

you can’t remem-

ber, but you don’t

want to ask?

Problem solved!

Just look at the photo board

at the bottom of the stair-

well. Shutterfly, a web ser-

vice for sharing pictures, is

another place to see terrific

photos of First Pres.

http://1stprespeachtreecity.

shutterfly.com. Another way

to get to the Shutterfly pic-

tures is to click on First

Presbyterian's website and

go to CONNECT, then PIC-

TURES. You’ll have fun look-

ing at the wonderful one and

a half year history of our

"new" church.

We are selling the blue hymnals.

They are only $5 each and are in excel-

lent condition. If you would like a hym-

nal or know a congregation or group that

needs them, please tell Carolyn Gulick,

770-487-5934.

All proceeds from the sale of the old hymnals will go

towards the purchase of new Glory to God hymnals.

Newsletter moves from Monthly to Quarterly Publication

The Session has approved that the First Presbyterian newsletter will be published quarterly beginning with the fall quarter (October through December). Quarterly publishing not only saves the church time and money, it also pro-vides for more depth of coverage, while our website and weekly bulletin will keep us informed of weekly activities. We would like each of the committees to include information relative to the past quarter’s successes, as well as

what is planned for the next quarter. Please note the following schedule for news articles.

News Letter Final Date for Submission of Articles Publishing Date

Fall September 17 October 1

Winter December 17 January 7

Spring March 25 April 8

Summer June 24 July 8

In order to get ready for the fall edition, we will not publish a September newsletter.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WED THURS FRIDAY SAT

1 2

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CHARLES

CARTER

LARRY H

AYNES

RANDY H

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ANNE P

ERRY

BOB VELEY

JOHN F

IELDS

JOHN D

AW

KINS

BOB M

UDRINICH

ROB L

EARNARD

ERIC B

ECKSTROM

DAN A

LLGEIER

TOM

RICKERT

MARILYN V

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Greater Atlanta Presbytery

Meeting 8-1:30 Ad

min

Co

mm

4 p

m

Sept 1 – Labor Day - Church office closed

Sept 3 – Wednesday night suppers resume

Sept 7 – Retreat and revival with Tom Tewell at the Calvin Center

Sept 12-13 - MOMS Club of PTC Fall Consignment Sale

Sept 20 - Church workday

Sept 22-26 - Preschool Scholastic Book Fair

Sept 28 - Playground equipment dedication

Mis

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We are hosting the Greater Atlanta Presbytery meeting on August 16, and we need your help to make it a success! From 8:00am until

1:30pm, we’ll need volunteers to direct traffic, shuttle people on golf carts, help with registration, welcome people, help with coffee breaks, and more. You don’t need to commit to the whole day, just

an hour or so. You may also want to participate in some of the workshops, one of which will be presented by our own Robert Hay. Box lunches will be provided for our volunteers. Childcare with reservations will be available during the entire day. Let’s show the Atlanta Presbytery how

strong First Presbyterian Church is now and how we are growing for the future.

There is a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Center, and Pam Greene will be in touch with you, or contact Pam at pamuleaj@yahoo.com, 770-845-1149.

Coram Deo Classical School is gearing up for the 2014-15 school year at First Pres. We are elat-ed to report that our parents and students are ready to come back! (Well, we

could be exaggerating a bit!) We have been working during the summer months preparing for our classes, registering new families, and getting the rooms ready. We are so grateful for the space we have and are even more

grateful to work with Pam and Alana. They are amazing! We were thankful for the opportunity to help out this summer getting the playground ready for tree removal and new mulch. Guess how many bags of old, trashy mulch we hauled

out of the playground? 160 large yard bags! We are planning another workday on August 1 to get tables and chairs washed and rooms organized. We want to take good care of the things we use and do our part! Thank you, First Pres, for an awesome 2013-14 year!

We are looking forward to 2014-15!

To God be the Glory alone, Sarah, Cynthia and Toni, Coram Deo Administrative Staff

Outside

Swimsuit and shorts season will soon be over. Cooler temps, Halloween, and Christmas are

just around the corner. It's time to clean out your closets and consign, volunteer, or shop

the MOMS Club of Peachtree City - South Fall/Winter Kids Consignment Sale! Known as

one of the best consignment sales in the region, we're thrilled to hold our event again at

First Presbyterian Church. Proceeds and donations from the sale go to a local women's or

children's charity. The pre-sale for consignors and volunteers will be Thursday, September 11, with the

public sale on Friday, September 12, and half-off on Saturday, Sept. 13. For details on the sale, consign-

ing, or volunteering, please go to www.momsclubptcsouth.org.

Moms Offering Moms Support

Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church in PTC is hosting its 9th annual benefit yard sale for Ranch on Jesus

Orphanage in Uganda, East Africa, on August 8 and 9. Last year’s sale raised over $13,000! Donations

can be dropped off Monday through Wednesday from 9 am to 7 pm the week of the sale. The sale runs

from 7 am to 2 pm on Friday, August 8, and from 8 am to 1 pm on Saturday, August 9.

Carriage Lane is located on the corner of Walt Banks and Hwy 54.

For more information on the orphan ministry in Uganda,

visit www.pearlministries.org.

Have you noticed the new carpet on the lower level by the library? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Due to a generous gift from Coram Deo, we were able to have the carpet in this area upgraded and updated. If you haven’t seen it yet, go take a look. Walk barefoot on it, but, please, keep the lid on your coffee cup. Thank you, Coram Deo, for caring so much about First Pres.

The success of just about any endeavor depends on those who support it. We had over-whelming support for the Summer Lunch Program. Elizabeth Hiatt and Jo Ann Wright give a

great big to everyone who donated supplies, food, books, and money; to every-

one who came to help prepare and pack; and to everyone who delivered 118 lunches to 44 homes every week for nine weeks. That means supplies and food for 1,062 lunches prepared,

packed, and delivered 396 times. That is a great big endeavor, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Calling all Women of the Church – The 2014-15 Presbyterian Women program will begin with

a Kick-off Dinner soon. The dinner was originally scheduled for August 26, but that has

changed. We will let you know the new date as soon as possible. At the dinner you will have

the opportunity to sign up for a Circle. Most Circles will be studying 2nd Corinthians from the

Horizons study book. There is a PW circle for everyone:

PBJ (named in memory of Barbara Jean Phenicie) meets the 2nd Thursday evening at the home of Iola Snow at

7:00 with Beth Dawkins and Iola Snow leading.

Sisters Growing in Faith meets at the church and is led by Elizabeth Hiatt at a time to be determined.

A co-leader is needed.

Elizabeth Circle is a young mothers’ group that meets at the church on the 2nd Monday at 6:00 p.m. and is led

by Amanda DeBuc. A co-leader is needed. Babysitting is provided.

New Day Circle meets at the church on the 4th Monday at 9:30 a.m., led by Judy Rogers and Cathy Olson.

In case you haven’t heard . . .

Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather, our PCUSA missionaries to South Sudan, had a baby girl! Shelvis, Nancy, and big brother, Jordan, welcomed Adalyn Ann on June 1. The family plans to continue their mission in South Sudan for an additional three-year term, and they ask for our prayers and support.

It’s time for our Mission Committee to return to work after having the summer off. All current committee members and anyone who would like to serve are asked to meet at the church on Wednesday, August 20, at 6:30 p.m.

If you have a heart for missions, please contact Susan Piraino, 770-487-7611, supir89@att.net, to join this committee.

Get to know our church family by joining a

Dinner Group!

These small groups will meet once a month to share a meal. If you would like to participate, please sign up on the bulletin board near the Welcome Center. You can choose to meet at a home or in a restaurant, and then the groups will be formed from these lists. Contact Anne Perry, perryr@bellsouth.net, or Elyse Scholl, elysemarie5@yahoo.com, if you would like to be a Group Coordinator.

Things You May or May Not Know about the Fayette CARE Clinic. Have you heard of the Fayette CARE (Compassion and Respect for Everyone) Clinic? It’s a 501c3 providing healthcare to low income, uninsured residents of Fayette County. The clinic is located across the street from Piedmont Fayette Hospital: 1260 Hwy 54 W, Suite 204, Fayetteville GA 30214. All funding comes from fundraisers, grants, local business-

es, civic groups, and individual donations. No government funding is provided. Myth1: There are no poor people in Fayette County. Twenty percent of our county is either uninsured or underinsured. Yes, Fayette County is listed as the second healthiest in the state, but did you know that ranking is based on the number of healthcare providers and facility ratio to our population? It doesn’t mean we are number 2 in providing access to healthcare for our residents. Myth 2: Fayette CARE Clinic is only for the undocumented residents of our county. Our patient population is 5% undocumented, 54% Caucasian, and 41% African American. Myth 3: With the implementation of Healthcare Reform and the Affordable Care Act, there is no longer a need for Fayette CARE Clinic. Communi-ty Needs Assessments projects that the needs of clinics, such as FCC, will increase patient visits by 30-50%. Even if Governor Deal decided to expand Medicaid, these patients may still not have access to healthcare. Why? Very few physicians accept Medicaid patients and more and more are not accepting new Medicare patients. Fayette CARE Clinic is in need of volunteer healthcare providers (especially those with access to EPIC), dental and other specialty providers, grant writers, and funding. Please contact the clinic at 770-719-4619 to get in-volved. First Presbyterian member Sheryl Watford is the executive director of the Fayette CARE Clinic. Contact her to find out about the 2014 Charity Golf Tournament on September 19. Info forms are at the Welcome Center.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It’s Back to School We Go!

Hard to believe but August is here. Where has the summer

gone? Our final summer luncheon will be August 10 in Smith Hall

immediately following worship. Let’s try a new menu—healthy foods for school lunch boxes. Everyone think of some type of

food in your assigned category that could be included in a lunch

box for kids to eat at school (Google “Healthy School Lunch Box”

for ideas). This should get your creative juices flowing and give

all our lunch-packing moms some new ideas. Just make enough

for 15 lunches!!

A-H—desserts; I-Q—sandwiches, wraps, or finger food; R-Z—

salads or sides

This is also the final Sunday to participate in the collection of

school supplies for Oak Grove Elementary School. The VBS kids

contributed generously to kick off our campaign. Let’s stock the

teachers’ shelves so that every child in OGES has all the items

needed for a great learning experience. Now is the best time to

head to local stores like Walmart, Kmart, Target, and Dollar Tree

to find great deals on school supplies. So every time you are out

shopping in the next few days, pick up some regular and mechani-

cal pencils, glue sticks, children's scissors, marble composition

books, binders, loose leaf wide-ruled notebook paper, pens, cray-

ons, color pencils, markers, pencil boxes, pocket folders, dry-

erase markers, Kleenex tissue boxes, and pairs of ear buds since

the school is working towards increasing their technology use in

the classroom. We are also collecting new or gently used back-

packs to send with the supplies.

Children’s

Sunday School News

We will begin children's

Sunday school with multiple

classes after Labor Day and

will be asking for volunteer

assistance. Watch for more

information coming soon.

PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT

A cool time was had by all as

the children of the church had

some “Frozen” Summer Fun to-

gether at Parents’ Night Out on

July 11. While parents enjoyed

an evening out, the kids built

(and ate) snowman pancakes,

made some “cool crafts” and en-

joyed popcorn while singing

along to some of their favorite

Frozen tunes.

A great big to all

the helpers who gave their time

and talents to spend the

“evening in” in order to make

this Night

Out event

possible: Mrs.

CJ, Catherine

Perry and

Anne Perry,

Sara DeLuca,

Gary Utt, and

Jenna Utt.

School

We hope everyone had a restful and eventful

summer! Now that school is almost back in

session, we are planning some fun events and

get-togethers.

August 17: Pizza Outing to Partners II Pizza 5:00-6:30.

Meet at the church.

August 24: Bible Study and planning for our events this year,

5:00-6:00 in the Youth Room. Bring a snack to share.

Drinks will be provided.

August 31: No gathering - Labor Day Weekend

If you have questions about school supplies or youth news, con-

tact Mary Dawkins, dawkinsmary@bellsouth.net, 404-804-4735.

First Presbyterian Kindergarten

We’ve had a busy summer at FPK. We enjoyed two weeks of

Summer Fundays with approximately 80 children attending

each sessions. The money we receive from the Fundays helps

our Scholarship Fund. This fund allows children whose families are financially unable to pay

tuition to attend our program. Each year we scholarship about 10 children at FPK.

Get ready for happy faces and decorated classrooms because school will be starting soon!

Our new school year begins on August 25. We have classes for Toddlers through Kindergar-

ten, and we still have a few openings, so tell your friends and neighbors to check us out!

In memory of our dear Barbara Phenicie, we are purchasing a new piece of playground equip-

ment using the generous memorial donations we received. We plan to have it in place for the

beginning of school. On September 28, our school will be invited to join us in morning worship

for Kindergarten Sunday. At the conclusion of worship, we will dedicate the new playground

equipment to the glory of God and in loving memory of Barb.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer. Thank you for your continued support of our school.

preschool

Tuesday Morning Mothers’ Group

will resume our regular meetings

starting on August 26,

from 9:00-10:00 a.m.,

in the preschool wing, room 5.

We will continue to meet every

second and fourth Tuesday

of the month.

To reserve child care,

please contact Michelle Spears

mlspears1@gmail.com or

404-431-8057.

“THE PTO of our awesome

preschool is going to be

busy this year!”

We will begin the school year with a “Back to School”

ice cream social on Saturday, September 6, 3:00 p.m.

We would love to have our church family attend to

welcome our preschool families.

We’re kicking off our fundraising efforts with a

“Kids Can Help, Too” campaign. The kids will receive

mite boxes to collect change with the goal of giving

each class money to buy something special.

We will have one additional fundraiser. Our goal for

this year is to buy a new climbing dome for the play-

ground to replace the tiered tire pile.

(Say that fast three times!)

We are excited to see our school grow and improve!

If you have any questions or would like to contribute

to this important mission, contact Pam Greene, PTO

President, pamuleaj@yahoo.com.

and we will bless

them during the

Children’s Time

and have a back-to-school party

during Children’s Church!

Bring your backpack

to church on

August 24