By the Linda PirtleThe month of May at First Presbyte-rian Church is always a bittersweet month, and this year was no exception. Bitter because we know that come the fall semester, we will miss seeing some of our youth each Sunday. Sweet be-cause we are so proud of the academic and extracurricular accomplishments they have achieved throughout their high school years. We know they will continue to enjoy success in their fu-ture endeavors. May 17 was designat-ed as Senior Recognition Day. During the reception to honor these outstand-ing students, members of the congre-gation had an opportunity to view the senior displays set up in the Fellow-ship Hall and write a congratulatory note in the students’ notebooks.

As a congregation, we send these stu-dents away to college with our bless-ings. We want to let them know that each of us will pray for them as they

begin this next phase of their educa-tion and preparation for life.

Our First Presbyterian graduates for 2015 include:

Katherine Virginia Beall, daughter of Virginia and Charles Beall. Katherine is a graduate of All Saints Episcopal School. She is an artist and a sculptor who has won numerous awards. Kath-erine also served in the homecoming court of her alma mater. She has been accepted by Sewanee: University of the South.

Emily Hannah Dahlgren, daughter of Julia and Mark Dahlgren and Mi-chelle and Roman Cline, is a graduate of Whitehouse. She has been an active member of FFA and received its De-gree of Achievement. She also received the Smith County Junior Livestock Reserve Grand Champion award. Em-ily has been accepted by Stephen F. Austin.

First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas 230 West Rusk Street, Tyler, Texas 75701-1696

(903) 597-6317 | www.fpctyler.com

FPC Tyler Honors Its Seniors

M o n t h l y N e w s f r o m F P C Ty l e r • Vo l u m e 1 0 , I s s u e 6 : J u n e 2 01 5

On Mission for Haiti | pages 2 & 3Help the Sewing Bees send kids clothes to Haiti (p. 2) or join the next mission team to Haiti (p. 3).

Send Cards to Mission Team | page 3Your short note of encouragement or card to students will help keep spirits high as they serve in Deerwood, MN.

Service Honored | page 4Learn who received the prestigious 2015 Presbyterian Women’s Lifetime Membership award.

i n t h i s i s s u e | H I G H L I G H T S & F E AT U R E S

Continued on page 2.

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Patrick Ian Finlay, son of Leslie Couch and David Finlay, is a graduate of All Saints’ Episcopal School as an AP schol-ar with Honors. He has been active in the Boy Scouts of America and earned the organization’s highest degree of Eagle Scout. Ian has received many awards for his musical abilities. He has been accepted to the Case Western Reserve University.

Mary Birdsong Gabriel, daughter of Pam and Matt Gabri-el, is a graduate of Grace Community High School. She has received recognition, awards, and many blue ribbons for her equestrian abilities including: 2015 High Point Rider in the P.J.C.P. Horse Show and the 2014 Circuit Champion in the Southwest Classics. She has been accepted to Oklahoma State University.

Congratulations to our 2015 seniors!

“FPC Tyler Honors Its Seniors,” continued from page 1.

Katherine Beall Emily Dahlgren Ian Finlay Mary Birdsong Gabriel

Class of 2015

E V E N T H I G H L I G H T S

Sewing for Haitian ChildrenJune 3 & 17, 10 am | F101/102

Join the Sewing Bees and help them meet their goal of sew-ing 50 dresses and shorts for the children of St. Etienne, Haiti by September! Simple patterns and guidance provid-ed.

Drop any of the following sewing supply donations in the bin located in the church office: 100% cotton fabrics, woven or knit, ½ -3-yds, girl & boy prints; cotton knit fabrics, boy prints & solids; cotton scraps min. 5" square for pockets; thread; ¾" elastic; ribbons, 3-yd lengths; packaged folded bias tape; trims, laces, rickrack, braid, buttons, cute appliques. Visit fpctyler.com/events/sewingbees or contact Mollie Bobo (903-530-2772, molliebobo@gmail.com).

Annual Patriotic ConcertJuly 4, 4 pm | Sanctuary

Fine Arts @ FPC presents its spectacular annual 4th of July concert at 4 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Free admission. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Visit fpctyler.com/events/july4.

College Mission TripJuly 6-11 | Austin, TX

Attention college-age students! Let’s help those in need during the summer break in Austin, TX where you’ll work with several organizations. Serve God in the Music Capital of the World! Visit fpctyler.com/events/collegemission.

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PATH, People Attempting to HelpVolunteers & donations

During the summer months, PATH is collecting box fans for families living through the heat without air condition-ing. At Home Depot, simply tell a cashier you’d like to buy a fan for PATH. You will be charged a discounted price of $10, and the fan will be set aside for a PATH representative to pick up. It’s that easy!

Gather some friends, neighbors or co-workers to ready a PATH Community Home for a family in need. Painting, light repairs and yardwork top the honey-do list for this short-term commitment to help create a home in a day! More info at pathhelps.org.

Camper at GilmontIt’s not too late to give the gift of Camp Gilmont’s summer camp to a child by donating to the Camp Scholarship Fund. Contact Camp Gilmont (903-797-6400/info@gilmont.org).

Presbyterian Disaster AssistanceSince late March 2015, the United States has experienced several series of severe storms, including Van, TX, which have caused significant property damage and at least six deaths. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has reached out to all mid-councils in storm-affected areas to offer the care of the broader church and assistance as needed and re-quested. Visit pda.pcusa.org to learn how you can stand in the GAP—Give. Act. Pray.—to help those in need.

FROG: Friend of GilmontJune 12-14, 2015 | Camp Gilmont, Gilmer, TX

Become a FROG—Friend of Gilmont—and come help us spruce up the camp! Families can sign or, even better, bring a group from the church! Visit campgilmont.org or contact Camp Gilmont (903-797-6400/info@gilmont.org)

T H E M I S S I O N S TO R E

Yo u r m i s s i o n H Q a t F P C • M a t c h y o u r t a l e n t w i t h o u r c o m m u n i t y ’ s n e e d s

By Sally Smith-GarmonLast year this congregation sent repre-sentatives to St. Etienne, Haiti where we formed a partnership with their community to help provide solar pow-er and safe drinking water. Sometimes we take it for granted that we have cer-tain things like food, clothing, shel-ter, and clean water, which are fairly abundant here, but even less so in de-

veloping countries, such as Haiti.

On September 29-October 5, 2015, this congregation will help sponsor another team and trip to St. Etienne, Haiti, continuing to build on our re-lationship with our covenant partners there, and begin to build a new cove-nant with people in need in Lavallée, Haiti.

People there, who are in need of ba-sic support, hope to build a better fu-ture for their children. Our hope is to build with them another solar pow-ered clean water filtration system at a school where these necessities are lacking.

If anyone has an interest in going on this next mission trip, contact Sally Smith (slsmith01@hotmail.com).

Join the Haiti Mission Team

On June 13, 15 students and adult sponsors from FPC Tyler will join five other churches to embark on the annual East Texas Youth Mission Trip–this year to the Clearwater For-est Camp and Retreat Center in Deer-

wood, MN. The camp will put them to work clearing trails and helping on construction projects.

Help keep their spirits high by mailing cards and notes of encouragement by

June 8 in order to reach the camp be-fore our team heads home.

Mail cards to 16595 Crooked Lake Road, Deerwood, MN 56444. Contact Lynn (lmcollyer@fpctyler.com) to re-quest a group roster.

Encourage the Student Mission Team

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By Martha OatesThis year’s Honorary Life Member-ship in Presbyterian Women was awarded to Lynn Davis during the 11:00 a.m. worship service on May 10. This award is given to recognize an individual’s faithful service in some area of church work. Men, women,

moderators, leaders, teachers, officers, pastors, missionaries, and staff have received this honor. Lynn’s longtime service to our FPC members and pro-grams include many areas of church work. Each week she arranges flowers to be taken to homebound members, is always available for kitchen duty at

church functions, serves as PW histo-rian and photographer, and compiles wonderful scrapbooks of PW activi-ties. Lynn was presented a certificate and commemorative pin. Congratula-tions to a most deserving recipient!

Presbyterian Women Confer Lifetime Award

By Karen NovyThe Presbyterian Women are looking forward to an exciting and interest-ing year beginning in September. The two weekday circles merged and will meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. The Sunday Circle will continue to meet monthly on the second Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Each circle will use Come to the Waters–the 2015

study–to explore the many ways water is described in the Bible.

Leading us in this new adventure are: Priscilla Maxfield, Moderator; Pat Cryer, Vice Moderator; Alice Stjer-strom, Secretary; Sherry Skorkowsky, Leader of World Missions, and Mar-tha Oates, Search Committee. Dean Morton, Lynn Davis, and Gene Archer will continue as Treasurer, Historian,

and Leader of Community Missions respectively.

Not presently involved in our month-ly Bible study group and would like to be? Call Prissy Maxfield (972-965-9703). We’ll be looking for YOU in September.

Come to the Waters with Presbyterian Women

Minutes recorded by Robyn FilesThe Session met on April 21 and con-ducted the following business:

The consent agenda was approved, in-cluding the receipt into membership of Richard and Rebecca Ruediger by transfer; and the baptism of Lucinda Grace Lindsay; and a request from the Worship Committee to have one worship service at 10 a.m. during July. There will be no Sunday School in July.

As moderator of the Session, Stuart Baskin reported on the Presbyteri-an Core Education leadership series taught by him and Pam Leach. He also encouraged the Session to continue developing the church’s mission and purpose.

Budget and Finance noted that the church finances are in the black for the year to date.

Wayne Babin reported that $119,187 has been transferred from the Youth House Construction Fund to reduce the debt from the last capital cam-paign.

On behalf of the mission committee, Lynne Wagoner motioned to invite Veda Gill to speak with an adult Sun-day school class and to speak briefly at the 2016 Palm Sunday worship ser-vice; the motion passed.

Bullet Points from April’s Session Meeting

Steeple Times is a publication of First Presbyterian Church, 230 W. Rusk St., Tyler, TX 75701. Acting editor: Stuart Baskin. FPC reserves the right to edit and/or exclude all submissions. Submit content to Lynn Collyer by the 15th of the month prior to publication: lmcollyer@fpctyler.com, fax (903) 597-6326, or mail. An archive of the Steeple Times can be found online at www.fpctyler.com/archive.

Stay in the know about news and events by connecting with FPC online.

Subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter, and you’ll receive stories, event reminders, and mission updates. You’ll even get a

sneak peek into what Stuart has planned for Sunday’s pul-pit! Follow the QR code above or find the e-newsletter sign-up link on the website at fpctyler.com.

Stay in touch with us on social media, too:

/fpctyler @fpctyler @fpctyler

Stay in the Know

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Summer Sunday SchoolThe month of June brings our two preschool classes—ages 2-kindergarten—together on Sunday mornings to experi-ence God’s love through Bible stories and fun-filled activi-ties. Students in grades 1-5 continue to meet together.

Vacation Bible SchoolThursday, August 6–Saturday, August 8This year at VBS, we will learn more about the Living Wa-ters for the World mission that is one our church supports in conjunction with Solar Under the Sun. The event will include Bible stories, games, and crafts for the children—age 3-grade 5—and information classes for the adults. Kids

meet August 6 & 7, 9-noon. Community festivities and cookout from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Please mark your calendars and plan to join in the fun.

Pray for Our Teachers and StudentsTake a minute to pray for the spirits of our teachers and students as they learn to share God’s love with one another.

Summer Camp at GilmontAs you are making your summer plans, don’t forget about Camp Gilmont, which offers Discovery Camp (age 7–10) and Explorer’s Camp (age 11–14). There are even two mini camps for children age 6-8. For more information visit gilmontsummercamps.weebly.com.

C H I L D R E N ’ S M I N I S T R Y N E W S & E V E N T S

Analysis of Revenues & ExpensesApril 2015 Summary

mtd actual ytd actual ytd budget

Revenues $94,459 $974,542 $946,583expenses $112,455 $990,283 $1,056,047net total ($17,996) ($15,741) ($109,464)

S U N DAY S C H O O L / S M A L L G R O U P L I S T I N G

Sunday School @ 9:45 amfaith buildeRs | Lecture & discussion M 202 / Study: The book of Acts / Contact: Susan Bennett (903) 343-7025

the foRum | Lecture & discussion M 102 / Study: Judaism / Contact: Chris Bunt (903) 531-3535

the 209eRs | Young adults M 209 / Study: The book of James / Contact: Debbie Pitts (debbiepitts@gmail.com)

westminsteR | Book & discussion M 207 / Study: The Present Word / Contact: Linda Pirtle (903) 881-9000

Small Group Scheduleknit wits | Knitting Ministry Monday, June 1, at 1:30 pm at TBA / Contact: Pat Cryer (903) 561-5242

men | Sermon texts 2nd/4th Mondays 10 am in homes / Contact: Bill Myers (903) 825-7323

midweek oasis foR moms **On hiatus until September**

men | Lectionary Tuesdays 6:30 am at Premier Flexipac / Contact: Skip Womack (903) 533-9433 or Bob Schmoker (903) 714-5746

women | Book & discussion Thursdays 9:30 am in Conf. Room / Study: TBA /Contact: Jan Carpenter (903) 566-8533

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8:30 AM | Worship 9:30 AM | Youth Fellowship 9:45 AM | Sunday school 11 AM | Worship 3-7:30 PM | Youth group (gr. 6-12)

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 8:30 AM | Worship 9:30 AM | Youth Fellowship 9:45 AM | Sunday school 11 AM | Worship

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

8:30 AM | Worship 9:30 AM | Youth Fellowship 9:45 AM | Sunday school 11 AM | Worship

28 29 30 8:30 AM | Worship 9:30 AM | Youth Fellowship 9:45 AM | Sunday school 11 AM | Worship

Youth Group: Movie Marathon6 PM- 6 PM | The Well (FPC Tyler)

Youth Fellowship (grades 6-12) in lieu of Sunday School in June.

Synod Youth

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ETX

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ETX Mission Trip

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Mo Teen Leadership Conference

East Texas Youth Mission Trip (departs Saturday at 7 am from FPC / returns Sunday at 6:30 pm to FPC)

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JUNE 2015Children & Youth Calendar

Planned GivingHave you remembered the church and other charities in your will? If you need help, contact Nanci Pollard (903-597-6317) to request information, or visit the Texas Presbyterian Foundation at tpf.org. Assistance is confidential and free of charge.

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Youth Group: Bowling + PizzaSunday, June 7 | 3-7 pm, Green Acres Bowling/Cici’s Pizza

Come ready to knock around some pins and then go eat some pizza! Hint: ready means with socks in hand and $5 in your pocket (to help cover the cost). Friends are welcome to come, too. Meet at the church by 3 pm. Parents, please pick up your youth at Cici’s Pizza (near Green Acres) by 7 pm. Open to all youth, grades 6–12 and incoming 6th graders. RSVP at fpctyler.com/events/youth-group.

Sunday Mornings in JuneSunday, May 31 brings back Sunday morning fellowship–a time of music, prayer and games–to the Well. Bring your friends and game ideas. Things get rolling at 9:30 a.m. each week. For students grades 6–12, including incoming 6th graders.

Youth Group: Movie MarathonJune 24-25 | 6 pm-6 pm, The Well (FPC Tyler)

It’s movie mania for students at FPC Tyler in June. Twen-ty-four hours of movie magic–with dinner and lunch in be-tween. Parents pick up at 6 pm on Thursday, June 25. Movie ratings are for 13+. For students grades 6-12; parent must complete consent form for children under 13-years of age. RSVP at fpctyler.com/events/youth-group2.

Summer Events

Synod Youth WorkshopJuly 19–25 | University of Tulsa Deadline June 25 (fpctyler.com/events/syw)

S T U D E N T M I N I S T R I E S N E W S & E V E N T S

CO N G R E G AT I O N A L N E W SJuly Sunday Morning ScheduleDuring the month of July, please join the congregation for Lemonade on the Lawn each Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. for fellowship and treats. Sunday worship will be held at a sin¬gle service at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Children’s wor-ship will continue to meet in the Children’s Wing during this time. Sunday school classes will not meet. The normal worship schedule resumes August 3.

Membership UpdatesJoin us in extending a warm welcome to our newest mem-bers: Sylvia Adams and Gina Adams (joined April 26.)

We celebrate the baptism of Lucinda Grace Lindsay, daugh-ter of Jessie and Scott Lindsay (baptized Sunday, May 10.)

Staff VacationNeil McKown, director of student ministries, will be away from the office June 5-21 at Mo-Ranch Teen Leadership Conference and the ETX Youth Mission Trip. The Rev. Pa-mela Leach, parish associate, will be away from the office June 1-5. Nanci Pollard, financial assistant, will be away from the office June 10-17.

The Children’s Wing Needs Your Talent!If you have one Sunday to give this summer—we can match you with Sunday school or Children’s Church. Come learn more about our children and help them explore their faith,

and give our regular teachers a well-deserved break. Cur-riculum is provided. Contact Phyllis Kidwell (pkidwell@fpctyler.com) if you would like to pitch in!

One Great Hour of SharingThanks to your generosity, $1,161.20 was given to share God’s love with our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, pro-vide food to the hungry, and helping to empower the poor and oppressed. Visit specialofferings.pcusa.org/oghs.

Chancel Flower Donors Needed!

Please help us beautify our chancel and chapel for worship and honor a friend, celebrate a birthday, or memorialize a loved one by donating flowers for Sunday morning. We are in need of donors for July and August 2015. The arrange-ments are $80, and the church will take care of all the de-tails. Contact Margaret Hilliard (903-593-1494).

Prayers for Summer TravelersDuring the month of June, FPC is sending many delega-tions out into the world for conferences, camps, and mission trips. Please keep the following groups in your thoughts and prayers:

• Mo-Ranch Teen Leadership Conference (June 7–12)• East Texas Youth Mission Trip (June 13-21)• Junior High Jubilee (June 28–July 2)

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