Outreach newsletter August 2015

16
The First Presbyterian Church of Naples IN THIS ISSUE From Dr. Browne 2 Finance 3 Music 4 Congregational Care 6 Missions 7 Calendar 9 Children and Youth 10 News & Events 12 AUGUST 2015 Katelynn Boot in Haiti on a medical mission trip

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News and events for First Presbyterian Church of Naples, FL

Transcript of Outreach newsletter August 2015

The First Presbyterian Church of Naples

IN THIS ISSUE

From Dr. Browne 2

Finance 3

Music 4

Congregational Care 6

Missions 7

Calendar 9

Children and Youth 10

News & Events 12

AUGUST 2015

Katelynn Boot in Haiti on a medical mission trip

2 Rev. Dr. Will Browne, Interim Pastor/Head of Staff [email protected]

I have been thinking about the strange nature of Florida churches. Many things that are almost universal among churches in other parts of the country are opposite with us. I don’t think

there is anything wrong with this, it is just the reality of being one of the churches established in a land of paradise and retirement and partial year residents. I find comfort in this situation from a poem by a lady I respected greatly named Vera Grace Frances. We called her “Miss Frances” and admired her. She taught in the school I attended in India and published this poem in a book entitled, “I Have Loved Beauty”.

One work have I

To know within my inmost hour,

That God is all, - the very whole

Of this my life; that radiant, bright,

He fills all space, for God is Light.

One work have I

To know that there is not a place

But images of God’s glorious face.

At every pins point He is there

in all His beauty passing fair.

One work have I

To know where’er my feet are led,

Whatever spot on earth I tread,

Just there will God be ever found,

And every place is holy ground.

Almost all of us are from somewhere else – often somewhere else we loved and with which we still have deep connection and for which we have deep affection. We love it there and we love it here. Miss Frances’ point is that everyplace is God’s place and we are to love each place not in comparison to other places, but for the grace given in that place. I think that is wise advice. So I love FPCN for itself and always will.

Finance Richard Green, Finance Committee Chair 3

Endowment Committee

Have you considered having your legacy continue at First Presbyterian Church after your lifetime? If so, please consider a current gift, a gift in your will or trust, or a gift by a beneficiary designation in a life insurance policy, a retirement account, or a bank or investment account. If you are interested in learning more about how you can help First Presbyterian Church of Naples, please contact Dr. Will Browne at 239.262.1311 or Endowment Committee members Linda Gadkowski at 508.778.6126 or Fred Garner at 239.434.2438. Remember please, these thoughts are general in nature and are not meant to be specific as to your personal situation or to take the place of your professional advisors.

Online Giving Did you know you can make your gifts online? You can pay for Chancel flowers, make a donation to the Benevolence Fund, Feed the 5000, Wish List, Birthday Fund, Stewardship Tithe, Season of Music and more. Visit our website at www.fpcnaples.org and look for the “GIVE online” link at the bottom of the home page. Here you will be able to establish a secure online account. For those who pay their pledge online PLEASE NOTE: Although you may have set up an account last year with a recurring gift, you will need set to up a new gift for 2015. For more information or if you need help setting up your account, please contact Sharman Pfaus at 239.262.1311 ext. 236 or at [email protected].

4 Music Dr. Brice Gerlaach, Director of Music Ministries, [email protected]

Our family has just returned from a two week

musical adventure in Poland! We were part of a 32 voice all professional choir and we presented concerts in several cities in Poland as well as participating in two choral festivals. We became involved in this project through Richard Zielinski. He is the director of the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria (the festival we have been attending for many years) and also directs a professional choir called the Zielinski Singers. He invited Michele to sing and for me to be the accompanist.

We began our trip in the town of Miedzyzdroje, a beautiful resort city on the Baltic Sea where we were invited to be a part of the 50th anniversary of the International Choral Song Festival.

Choirs from around the world came to be a part of this festival and it was an honor to be a part of it. We performed an a cappella program of music by American composers on one evening and on another evening we performed a concert of popular American music with a band. All the concerts were filled to capacity and the audiences were so appreciative of our music. Our son, Colin, had the opportunity to sing with the choir in the second concert. He had a great time being a part of the choir!

Bydgoszcz—Flags of all the countries performing

Miedzyzdroje—Culture House

Colin by the Baltic Sea in

Miedzyzdroje

Zielinski Singers—Szczecin Radio Concert

5 Music Dr. Brice Gerlach, Director of Music Ministries, [email protected]

Missions

We then traveled south to the town of Szczecin to perform a concert that would be broadcast live on Polish radio. It was a concert of mostly popular pieces and gospel pieces accompanied by a band. Our journey continued to the small city of Murowana Goslina where we sang for a Sunday morning Mass and performed an evening concert. Our final stop was in the city of Bydgoszcz (the third largest city in Poland) where we were a part of the 38th Annual Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions Festival. It is a festival that includes folk dancers, concert bands, and traditional folk music groups as well as choral singing. We were asked to be the “workshop choir” where we helped to teach three pieces to several choirs that were to be sung at the final

concert in the city Opera House. The choirs that attended the festival were all youth choirs from all over the world (South Africa, Ukraine, Turkey, and several other countries). These choirs were all in competition with one another during the week and our director, Richard Zielinski, was asked to be one of the judges. We performed a few pieces by ourselves and then combined with all of the youth choirs to perform the three pieces we taught them over the course of the week. Colin was also a part of this concert. It was a great trip and very busy. We found Poland to be a beautiful country filled with kind and genuine people who truly appreciated choral music. It was wonderful to be a part of such a great musical adventure! We leave again for Austria in a few weeks for our next European trip where we will perform the Mozart Requiem and the Lord Nelson Mass by Joseph Haydn.

Opera Nova—Bydgoszcz

Singing for Mass in the city of Murowana Goslina

Bydgoszcz—Dress rehearsal of combined youth choirs

STEPHEN MINISTRY by Gary Root The calling to be a Stephen Minister for me was like the calling to be a deacon. As I have learned, a deacon

is the eyes, ears, hands and feet of Jesus working through a lay person in today’s world. As a Christian, what could be a better calling?

A Stephen Minister has the opportunity to bring this same calling to an intimate relationship with another person, one-on-one, in a non-judgmental, supportive, and loving way. Equipped with the excellent 50 hours

of Stephen Ministry training at the beginning of this year, I truly believe I can have a positive effect on someone who might be going through a difficult time in his life. Plus, it is great to be a part of a group of people in our church who are amazingly committed to bringing comfort and care to our church members. This includes visitations to members who are home-bound and hospitalized. First Presbyterian Church is doing a great job in this outreach. As rookie deacons, Jeanie Weigel and I delivered communion to people who could not make it to church on Communion Sunday. I now do it with my wife, Janet, as Jeanie and others do as well. All along, we all have felt the gratitude of the recipients. And, all along, we have told them that the gratitude is all ours. What a privilege and a joy to uplift others! Thank you Marilyn Currier for asking me to heed the call to become a deacon back then…and, now, a Stephen Minister.

Bonswa from Haiti! I want to thank every single one of you for your continued support, prayers and love towards me

during my time in Haiti. I have now been living here for eight weeks, and it has been nothing less than amazing. I have been out in more than 20 villages setting up mobile clinics to needy Haitian citizens. I have witnessed some amazing events, conditions and people through the grace of God during my time here. I am so blessed to be living here, and can't wait to see what God has in plan for the rest of my stay. It is incredible to see the way God is using his people to transform this nation to become a nation of Christ! Thanks again for everything, In Christ, Katelynn Boot

6 Congregational Care Shirley Hagerson, [email protected]

Missions Betty Mangos, Mission Committee Chair, [email protected] 7

At first I believed that three weeks in Jamaica was going to be an extremely long trip, but it turned out to be

some of the fastest weeks of my life. It’s hard for me to put into words my experience while in their culture, but it was so extremely amazing on all counts. There were only five of us who ended up being part of the Navigator team, which allowed us to grow extremely close and to experience true fellowship in our time together. I’ll begin by summarizing what I witnessed God do among the locals that we had the privilege of meeting and ministering to. The first two weeks were full of trial and error, and composed mostly of walking around university campuses and evangelizing using Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. The Jamaican students were all very open to conversation with us, and many showed genuine interest in hearing about Christ. One student summarized Jamaica as, “Everyone here has heard the Bible from the time they were born, and could probably tell you many quotes from it. However, we are a culture that is unwilling to turn from the world and commit to living for Christ.” This was apparent when evangelizing, with some students going so far as to tell us directly that they would rather enjoy what is called sin for most of their lives before turning to Christ, in order to have more fun. There were some discouraging times when I felt as if we weren’t making a difference in any lives, that there was no fruit for our labor, but

God knew otherwise. In the third week, students were coming to hear about Christ and our new friend Jamie accepted the Gospel. At one point when hearing about Christ for the first real time, Jamie exclaimed, “Wow, this is good news!” Little did he know that the Gospel is literally translated as just that. By the end of the trip, I had written a list of about 30 men that had become interested in the Gospel in some capacity, and we are still praying for them all.

In the midst of going and preaching, I was also

inspired by our senior missionary, Mark Boggart. He

renewed my desire to read the Word, and got me

into the practice of reading scripture for fun and in

large doses. He would often state, “When reading

the Bible, we often get too focused on a few

leaves when there is a whole forest in front of

us to experience!” With this attitude, I am

constantly reminded to take God’s word as a whole,

and not to focus on just a few out of context

verses. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All

Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for

teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training

in righteousness, that the man of God may be

complete, equipped for every good work.”

We studied Paul’s missionary journey, and I was

shown how fortunate I am to be a messenger of the

Gospel to others, and to have such freedom to do

so. I hope that the friendships formed in Jamaica

last a lifetime, and know that any seeds planted in

our time there will be watered in their own time. All

in all, I now trust the Word when it claims that the

harvest is plentiful, it just requires laborers to be

sent.

Thank you all for aiding in giving me such an

incredible opportunity.

Collin Weigel

Feed the 5,000

Luke 9:10-17

Grace Place is a faith based community center which teaches literacy, language, and

life skills to children at risk and impoverished families. This month we gather food for that agency. Most needed items are: dried rice dried beans cans of chicken, tuna, meat canned fruit canned vegetables powdered milk dry children's cereal peanut butter jam or jelly Ushers will have a Publix bag with a list of desired food items available as you leave the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of the month. Please bring your food to the 6th Street church entrance before the service on the second Sunday. If you prefer, checks may be made payable to "First Presbyterian Church" with the memo marked "Feed the 5,000."

As our mission work here at FPC continues, please add these dates to your calendar:

August 9 and 16 Undy Sunday

October 16

October 20.

October 27

take our church outside

“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.” St. Theresa of Avila.

know

Betty Mangos Mission Committee Chair

8 Missions Betty Mangos, Mission Committee Chair, [email protected]

9 Sandy Poore, Director of Facilities, [email protected] Calendar

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 Communion prep

2 9:30 Communion Worship 9:45 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 12 p.m. Cumberland Church

3

4

7 a.m. Breakfast Bible Study (separate

location)

11 a.m. Alzheimer’s Support Group

5 10 a.m. Photo directory meeting 12 p.m. Women’s luncheon 4:30 p.m. PNC Committee

6

9:30 a.m Stephen Ministry 7 p.m. Cumberland Church

7 9:30 a.m. Cookie Baking

8

9 UNDY SUNDAY

9:30 Worship 9:45 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 11 a.m. Deacon’s Brunch 12 p.m. Cumberland Church

10 9 a.m. Preschool teacher orientation

11 7 a.m. Breakfast Bible Study (separate

location)

8 a.m. Facilities Committee 2:30 p.m. Missions Committee

12 4:30 p.m. PNC Committee

13 10:30 a.m. Preschool Open House 10 a.m. Sew & Sews 7 p.m. Cumberland Church

14 9:30 a.m. Cookie Baking 10:30 a.m. Preschool Open House

15 OUTREACH DEADLINE

16 UNDY SUNDAY 9:30 Worship 9 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 12 p.m. Cumberland Church

17 Preschool begins

18 7 a.m. Breakfast Bible Study (separate

location)

3 p.m. Finance Committee 5:30 p.m. Deacons

19 4:30 p.m. PNC Committee

20 7 p.m. Cumberland Church

21 9:30 a.m. Cookie Baking

22

23 9:30 Worship 9 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 12 p.m. Cumberland Church

24

25 7 a.m. Breakfast Bible Study (separate

location)

2 p.m. High School Youth Group 4 p.m. Session

26 4:30 p.m. PNC Committee

27 10 a.m. Sew & Sews 4 p.m. Middle School Youth Group 7 p.m. Cumberland Church

28 9:30 a.m. Cookie Baking

29 FGCU retreat

30 9:30 Worship 9 a.m. Children’s Sunday School 12 p.m. Cumberland Church

31 Contact Director of Facilities, Sandy Poore at 239.262.1311 ext. 228 or [email protected] to reserve a room for your meeting. Please do not assume that if a room is vacant that it is available for use. This will alleviate any awkward situations from occurring. This calendar does not necessarily include all events that are scheduled at the church. For additional information, call 239.262.1311 or visit the website www.fpcnaples.org.

10 Christian Education Shana Dublan, Director of Children and Family Ministries

[email protected]

Sunday, August 16 Christian Education will be launching a completely NEW Sunday Morning Education time for EVERYONE. We would like to move towards whole congregational education. This means on Sunday morning everyone from nursery to adults will be learning the same lectionary text on an age appropriate level. Drop off for children will begin at 8:45 a.m. and all educational opportunities will begin at 9:00 a.m. Classes will conclude at 9:25 a.m. giving parents time to pick up their children and worship together. Following the Children's Moment, children in grades 5 and under will be dismissed for lectionary lesson extras. This will be a structured hands on activity time for kids revolving around the Sunday lesson. They will enjoy many different activities to help reinforce the scripture. The idea behind this is continuity and unity. Christian Education believes giving parents an extra tool throughout the week to help guide their children in the way of Christ, what we are all called to do.

For more information, please contact Shana Dublan at 239.262.1311 ext. 229.

Beginning in September we will offer our Family Fun Sunday events...and we are all family here. We will gather following the worship service and visit different places around town to get to know each other better, have some family fun and enjoy ourselves. Trips vary from bowling, to the zoo, to a boat ride to see local marine life and many others. Pre–registration is required and prices vary. These are meant to be a family event so all family members are encouraged to attend. Children must have a parent/grandparent with them to participate. Ask our Education Department how you can receive an even larger savings on these trips.

Middle School Youth Group will begin on Thursday, August 27. All Middle School students are welcome to join us each Thursday from 4 - 5:30 p.m. High School Youth Group will begin on Tuesday, August 25. High School students will meet from 2 - 4:30 p.m. Each Tuesday. The church bus will pick up at Naples High School at 2 p.m.

11 Children and Youth Shana Dublan, Director of Children and Family Ministries

[email protected]

12 News and Events Kathleen Law, Coordinator of Communications, [email protected]

Sunday, August 16

is going to be AMAZING!

Parents and children are invited to meet the

Sunday School teachers

at 9 a.m. in the Youth Room.

Worship will be bursting with excitement

when we:

Welcome New Members

Celebrate a Baptism

Commission Teachers

Bless Backpacks

Following worship Christian

Education will host a delicious

PANCAKE BREAKFAST.

The Chamber Choir of the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast will be

featured in our worship service on Sunday, August 30. Several of our soloists are members of this choir and we are excited to have them join us for worship. The ensemble performed in Austria and Czech Republic in 2014 including a concert at St. Stephen's in Vienna as part of the church's "Art & Culture" series. They were the featured collegiate choral ensemble at the 2013 Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) conference. Locally the choir has appeared on several artist series concerts, in collaborations with established organizations including Opera Naples, Fort Myers Symphonic Mastersingers and Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and in community events like the City of Ft. Myers Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service.

13 News and Events Kathleen Law, Coordinator of Communications, [email protected]

You’re invited to join us on

Sunday, August 9 in Spencer Hall following the worship service for an after church potluck luncheon.

If your last name begins with the following, please bring the following: A-I, main course; J-R, side dish; S-Z, dessert. Join your deacons for a great meal and good conversation in faith and commitment to FPCN.

14 News and Events Kathleen Law, Coordinator of Communications, [email protected]

Thank You

I am so grateful to the deacons and others at First

Presbyterian Church for their prayers and concern for

me during my recent illness. Shirley Hagerson

delivered lovely flowers to me while I was in the

hospital and Gary Root brought more beautiful flowers

when I returned home. I feel truly blessed to be a

member of this church.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Rustman

Thank you for the lovely flowers for my birthday. That

made it special coming from my church family.

Sincerely,

Robbie Heatherly

Dear Friends:

Thank you for your generous gift of canned goods,

pasta, peanut butter, jelly and other food items. Your

donation has solidified your commitment to assisting

our community to prevail over domestic violence in our

homes, schools, businesses and neighborhoods.

With your contribution, the Shelter will be able to

continue to provide over 45 innovative support groups,

access to our state-of-the art emergency shelter, and

24-hour counseling services.

In peace and gratitude,

Linda Oberhaus

Executive Director

Dear Presbyterian Women,

Thank you for your generous gift. You reduce hunger

with ECHO by equipping people with agricultural best

practices, resulting in better yields. With your help, we

are providing resources that improve lives to small-

scale farmers and the development workers and

missionaries who work with them.

Gratefully,

Ali Diaz

Donor Services Manager

In Memoriam

Ruth Palmer

June 29, 2015

Robert Tunstall July 16, 2015

Locked cabinet for audio/visual

equipment in the Youth Room—$600

Commercial grade office shredder—$1,000

5 drawer locking file cabinet for Preschool—

$1500

Donations for the above items would be

welcomed and appreciated.

Please contact Sharman Pfaus 239.262.1311

with any questions on the items for the wish list.

Presbyterian Women’s Summer Luncheon

Join us on Wednesday, August 5 at noon in Spencer Hall for our

“Bring a Piece of Salad Luncheon” All you need to do is

sign up in Spencer Hall and bring in some of your

favorite salad fixin’s.

15 News and Events Kathleen Law, Coordinator of Communications, [email protected]

BREAKFAST BIBLE STUDY

Each Tuesday morning we meet at

7 a.m. at Skillet’s on the north trail

(behind Wendy’s just north of

DeVoe Cadillac). Bring your

Bible and your appetite!

Everyone is welcome.

STROKE DIABETES

HEART DISEASE

EARLY DETECTION IS KEY TO PREVENTION

Wednesday, September 16

Pre-registration is required

Call 1.888.653.6450 to register for your

appointment and receive a special $10 discount.

Stroke/Carotid Artery Screening—$70

Heart Rhythm Screening—$70 Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening—$70 Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening—$60

Osteoporosis Risk Assessment—$60

Package 1 Stroke, Vascular Disease & Heart Rhythm

4 tests—$139

Package 2 Add an osteoporosis screening for only $10

5 tests—$149

ALL scheduling is done through LifeLine Screening,

not the church office.

Holy Paparazzi photo directory Have you smiled for the

camera yet? Stop in to Spencer Hall

any Sunday during the month of August

to have your picture taken for our new

Holy Paparazzi photo directory

Please remember that this in an “in-house” directory that we will print from our church

database. We do not have copies of the photographs available.

Non-Profit Org.

Postage PAID

Naples, FL

34102

Permit No. 8

First Presbyterian Church of Naples 250 Sixth Street South Naples, FL 34102 www.fpcnaples.org 239.262.1311

Undy Sunday

The 19th Annual Undy Sunday Campaign will be held on

Sunday, August 9 and Sunday, August 16.

Please bring your donations of new underwear and socks (sizes 2-12) to church on the above dates and help give low

income children a decent start in their new school year.