Good Tidings "Christ's Servants: Open minds, Loving hearts, Serving hands."

The First Presbyterian Church—Willoughby 4785 Shankland Rd.—Willoughby, OH 44094

PEACE As you all know, First Presbyterian Church is closed until further notice. All activities except for live-streamed Worship services have been cancelled until the danger of gathering in groups has passed.

Please stay connected with your church family via phone calls, email messages, cards through the mail, our Facebook page and our website.

If anyone has information they would like to share with the congregation—Joys or Concerns—please contact Gail at office@fpcwilloughby.org or at 440-897-8109 and she can help spread the news for you.

Please continue to keep yourselves safe, don’t touch your face, and WASH YOUR HANDS, and REPEAT!

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find

refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

Psalm 91:4

From the Pastor

“The LORD is near to those who are discouraged;

he saves those who have lost all hope.” (Psalm 34:18)

Life is filled with unexpected circumstances. Some of these knock you flat on

your back. They make it feel like the roof of your life has caved in. What do

you do when your world collapses? When the dreaded phone call comes? When

the divorce papers arrive? When the bankruptcy is filed? The first question

most people ask is, “Who cares?”

After Jesus was killed, his disciples met together but locked the doors because

they were afraid of the Jewish leaders who had sent Jesus to the cross. The disci-

ples felt like they were alone, and because of that, they were afraid and expected

the worst.

But then something happened that changed everything: “Jesus came and stood

among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them

his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the

Lord.” (John 20:19-20)

The difference was immediate. The presence of Christ turned their panic into a

party, their fear into good cheer.

During every moment of your life, from the very best to the very worst, God is

with you. He cares for you. You will never walk through something hard alone.

In fact, God is never closer than when you are in pain.

He tells you, “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with

you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you

walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will

not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Are you hurting today? Are you asking, “Who cares about me?” Are you afraid

that no one does? You can rest more easily today knowing that God cares. He

has never left you. He is with you now. He has been with you all along. You

are not alone.

Believe that today, and experience the peace that Christ brings.

Shane Nanney

April 2020 Volume 1, Issue 4

April Birthdays

2 Tricia Galvin

4 Nancy Stack

8 Charlotte Ammon

11 Melynie Kohn

14 Kathy Sidhu

17 Julia Spangler

19 Nancy Radak

20 Arleen Evans

26 Joyce Bronkall

26 Al Skrabski

28 Debra Baxter

28 Bill Henrich

Pat Anderson, Lois Armington, Peggy Bell, Bruce, Jim Boyd, Marva Brackenrich, Christian, Dave, Dral, Lily Decker, Gina, Nancy Hatch, Betty Hitchcock, Nancy Jeffries, Kathleen Kelly, Kathy & Jim, John & Mardel, Larry, Patricia Lawson, Dorothy Lawyer, Frances Manzanares, Dennis McAvoy, Natalie McWilliams, Gary Menkie, Mark, Beulah Nanney, Paula Neuer, Christa Oksiloff, Pete, Charles & Elsie Plautz, Rachelle, Tim Rosian, Nancy Stack, all of our homebound friends, and those affected by the flu, COVID-19, and other crises around the world. Please notify us of additions or changes to the ongoing Prayer

Requests list.

PRAYER CHAIN – For those who may not be aware, we have an

email prayer chain here at FPCW. If you have prayer requests –

concern or thanksgiving – and would like to share them with

your church family, please send them to the church office at

office@fpcwilloughby.org and indicate whether the request is

for sending out on the prayer chain, listing in the bulletin, or

both. Also, if you would like to be included with those who pray

for these indulgences, please indicate that you’d like to be add-

ed to the list of those who will pray.

Continuing our Worship

In our prayers . . .

Since we are all told to stay at home because of the COVID-19 virus, we are

having to do a lot of things differently. The one thing we are still doing is

WORSHIP. I will continue to livestream the services and have them on our

website. That means the services will not be as polished as we do in the

church setting and we will forgo the music at this time.

But saying this, we will still celebrate Easter and Holy Week. We will still

have Maundy Thursday Service. And we will still have communion on both

Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday services. You are asked to use whatev-

er you have, wine, coffee, water, milk. You can use bread, cookies, chips.

God is in the service and the elements are a representation of his body and

blood. I know some traditionalists are rolling their eyes about this, but the

General Assembly is requesting churches that can have services like ours to

continue to celebrate communion in these extraordinary times.

So, when we worship on Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday, come pre-pared with the bread and wine of your choice.

~ Pastor Shane

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FPCW Response

Participating in the One Great

Hour of Sharing special offering

has been a practice of this

church for many years. In

partnership we reach out to

give assistance to others in

need. The money goes to a

variety of helpful programs

such as disasters and emergen-

cies, supplies and materials for

food, housing, education and

developing poor areas for

farming, services to refugees,

self-help development, and

public education.

The church has always taken

the stance of it being a crime

for anyone being denied the

basics of life—food, shelter,

clothing and education.

The One Great Hour of Sharing

offering will go to help correct

this injustice which we are

called by God to correct.

Please give online through our

app, through your own bank’s

bill paying option, or mail your

donation to the church.

Donations can also be made

directly to the Presbyterian

Mission Agency by texting

SHARING to 56512, or visit

their website at

www.pcusa.org/oghs.

One Great Hour of Sharing

Lent is traditionally a season of fasting and prayer. During this time, Chris-tians pay close attention to spiritual disciplines that deepen our understand-ing of what God is doing in our lives and in the world. As a church, we spend time together hearing about and praying for the ministries of compassion and justice done through our support of One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS). Jesus’ ministry was among those who were most vulnerable. He preached good news to the poor and release to the captives. One Great Hour of Shar-ing helps us share this same good news to those same vulnerable people in our world today: those who are hungry, those who are suffering from disaster and now this pandemic, and those who are dealing with oppression and injus-tice in society. You are invited to visit the OGHS website (www.presbyterianmission.org/oghs) to find out more information on how your gift helps people all over the world, and offer prayers for the people and projects who receive this support. While we trust our OGHS programs to respond to the needs of our most vul-nerable neighbors, those programs can only do so to the extent of our gener-osity. Please give strong consideration to making your gift to the offering — you’ll see how giving opens your heart to God’s work in your own life. So, even though we cannot gather together in one place this year, we hope that you’ll join Christians all across the country in opening their hearts to witness tangibly to the abundant love of God through One Great Hour of Sharing.

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The Beatitudes

Blessed are the

poor in spirit,

for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those

who mourn, for they

will be comforted.

Blessed are the

meek,

for they will

inherit the earth.

Blessed are those

who hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the

merciful, for they will

receive mercy.

Blessed are the

pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the

peacemakers,

for they will be called

children of God.

Blessed are those

who are persecuted for

righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3-10

Choir Notes Three weeks ago – when I wrote a first draft of this article – I didn’t think we would be experiencing wor-ship as livestream-only. But here we are. The psalms we have been sing-ing during Lent have reminded us of God’s mercy and fidelity. When we call from out of the depths, God will redeem us with steadfast love. God willing, and with the assistance of some very talented and generous members of this congregation, we will continue to have music as part of our weekly traditional worship service. I am hoping that everyone on the church’s email list will receive a copy of the Sunday bulletin so you can follow along and participate fully with the livestream. The anthem on Palm Sunday will be a setting of Psalm 31. Each of the Gospels recount the last words of Jesus on the cross a bit differently. “Into your hands I com-mend my spirit,” comes from Psalm 31:6. Hearing that phrase would have been enough for any pious Jew to recall the entire psalm – “a prayer in distress and thanksgiving for es-cape.” The verses of Psalm 31 will invite us to place our trust in God who is our strength forever.

Hopefully you will be able to cele-brate Maundy Thursday with us, even from a distance. We will re-member the mandate from Jesus to love one another as I have loved you. We will remember how Jesus hum-bled himself to wash the feet of his disciples; and we will celebrate the special meal that he shared with his closest friends. Easter won’t be quite the same, but we hope you will join us online. In addition to the organ and piano, we are hoping to have a small brass en-semble (and handbells too) to help us experience an uplifting celebra-tion of the Lord’s resurrection. The Easter celebration is so huge that it cannot be confined to a single day. So, the church celebrates Easter for 50 DAYS – right up to the Feast of Pentecost on May 31. There is no telling, at this time, what the music of the Easter season will look (and sound) like. But it is my hope that our small corps of musicians will inspire you and help you raise your minds and hearts to the Lord. May God bless you and keep you well! Don Brickman Organist and Choir Director

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The Lectionary for April

April 5—Palm Sunday Philippians 2:5-11 and Matthew 27:11-26

April 9—Maundy Thursday Exodus 12:1-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

April 10—Good Friday Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 10:16-25 and

John 18:1-19:42

April 12—Easter 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Acts 10:34-43 and

John 20:1-18

April 19—2nd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 22-32 and John 20:19-31

April 26—3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 36-41 and Luke 24:13-35

Anna Maria of Aurora— Betty Boyce, Martha Dus

BV Fairmount— Christa Oksiloff, Mina Van Dusen, Lois Armington,

Rose Marie Smith

BV Nason Center — Lois Hann, Nancy Radak

Mentor Ridge Health & Rehab—Betty Hitchcock

Homebound— Priscilla Mazich, Tom Lewis, Donna Rinaldi

At this time when personal visits are not possible, sending cards to our homebound would perhaps

brighten their days. Please consider dropping a note in the mail or giving them a call.

Due to the federal law mandating privacy of medical information, hospitals will not notify the church if

a loved one is hospitalized.

PLEASE, call the church office if a member of your family is in the hospital or having surgery.

We express our condolences to the family and friends of Melynie Kohn upon the passing of her husband George Kohn on March 3, 2020. We are unaware of any planned services. We too extend our sympathy to the family and friends of Nancy Hitchcock Harvey who passed away March 26, 2020 after a lengthy illness. Nancy was the daughter of our long-time member Betty Hitchcock. A memorial service will be planned at a later date. Anyone wishing to send cards to either of these families and needing addresses, please contact the church at office@fpcwilloughby.org

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Our homebound members & friends . .

Monday–Friday - 9 am—5 pm

Website: www.fpcwilloughby.org

Pastor Rev. Shane Nanney — shanenanney@gmail.com

Office Manager Gail Schemm — office@fpcwilloughby.org

CE Director Lisa Hillegass — ce@fpcwilloughby.org

Organist/Choir Dir. Don Brickman — don.brickman@gmail.com Bell Choir

Dir. Shanti Blatnik — sfblatnik@yahoo.com

Contemp. Music Ldr. Denny Carleton — dennycarleton@sbcglobal.net

Youth Leader Alyssa Lane— alyssalane13@yahoo.com

Young Adults Ldr. Aaron & Mandy Caunter—mandycaunter@yahoo.com

Custodian Kathy Sidhu — ksidhu@oh.rr.com

Office phone number – 440-946-0070

Pastor Shane — Ext. 201, Gail Schemm, Office Mgr. – Ext. 200

Lisa Hillegass, CE Dir. – Ext. 202, RSVP Line – Ext. 204

Office Hours The First Presbyterian Church

Phone: 440-946-0070

E-mail: office@fpcwilloughby.org

Website: www.fpcwilloughby.org

The First Presbyterian Church

4785 Shankland Rd.

Willoughby, OH 44094

Address Service Requested

Good Tidings is the newsletter of First Presbyterian Church, PC(USA) Editor: Gail Schemm—Church Office: 4785 Shankland Road, Willoughby, OH 44094—440-946-0070

“Christ’s Servants:

Open minds, Loving hearts,

Serving hands.”

We are a community of faith that

celebrates diverse opinions,

the warmth of Christian love,

and the opportunity to serve

others in many ways.

There’s room for you here!

We invite you to join us in worship,

fellowship, and mission.