Volume 39, Number 10 November 2014

Good News According to John

November Sermons

November 2 “Giving In Order to Receive” Philippians 2:25-30

November 9 “Growing Up by Thinking of Heaven” Philippians 3:17-4:3

November 16 “Growing Up by Defeating Worry” Philippians 4:4-9

November 23 “Growing Up by Learning Contentment” Philippians 4:10-20

November 30 Heather Hellman Preaching

My Dad used to tell the story about a little boy who wrote a letter to God and sealed it in an envelope and put it in a postbox. At the Post Office, a carrier came across it, but it had no address or stamp, so he opened it and read,

“Dear God, my name is Jimmy. I am six years old. My father is dead and my mother is having a hard time raising me and my sis-ter. Would you please send us $500.00.” The postal carrier was touched and so he showed the letter to the other carriers and they took up a collection. They gathered $300.00 and mailed it to Jimmy and his mother. A couple of weeks later they received a sec-ond letter, like the first without address or stamp. In this one Jimmy thanked God, but then he ended the letter with this request: “Next time would you please de-liver the money directly to our home? If you send it through the post office they deduct $200.00.”

Sometimes I think we look at giving that way. We think that tithing to the church is God’s deduction on all that we have earned, just as Jimmy thought his money had a postal de-duction. We think that all the money we earn or receive should be ours as well. But in fact, according to Scrip-ture all our money and income be-longs to God. It is God’s gift of life and talents and opportunities and in-herited wealth and...living in America that enables us to have money at all. What God allows us to do is then

keep 90% of his money to use in wise ways. November is the month this year we will all be asked to consider what we are going to pledge financially to MPC in the year 2015. This really shouldn’t be difficult. If all our money is God’s money, and he has blessed us abundantly, then we begin by giv-ing a tithe, 10% of what we make, to the work of his kingdom. I have al-ways preached and practiced giving a tenth of our income because that is what Scripture teaches us. There is something new that struck me recently, though, that should moti-vate us even more. Did you realize that Jesus tithed his income? It was the Jewish faith that first taught about the tithe. At the very start of the Bi-ble, in the story of Abraham, we are given the example of giving the tithe or 10%. Abraham gave 10% to the “priest of God Most High” of all he had in gratitude to God’s provision and protection from his enemies. This pattern of giving then was put into the law of God for the nation.

(Leviticus 27:30) I don’t need to re-mind us that Jesus was Jewish; he lived under the law of God. And he was obedient and without sin. All those years that he worked as a car-penter, attending the local syna-gogue, he gave his tithe, he gave his 10% to the work of the kingdom. Jesus’ example is our calling. We follow him in all things, even in giv-ing. If Jesus calls us to do something we can trust in his provision and care. As the promise of the prophet Malachi reminds us, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse...Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” As we consider our giving for the coming year, let us remember Jesus’ exam-ple. We live to follow and serve him. Giving With You,

John

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Here it is November, the month with Thanksgiving. We were grateful and cel-ebrated Staff Appreciation in October. We are blessed with faithful, humble, serving staff. We also are thankful for concerned, sharing, supportive, loving, cheerful and dedicated volunteers or what the Bulletin calls ministers, the members of the Church. We all represent the Church to each other and oth-ers. It is good to see how much people enjoy each other's company in various formal and informal small groups. I am grateful for this Church Family as a whole. We are all unique and united in Christ. Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on what we are grateful for and give thanks. It is also an opportunity to spread our joy and share with others. The Westside Community Dinner is an opportunity to participate in a tradition started by Helen Hutchinson many years ago.

Session Activity

Approved a proposal for MPC to con-duct a new Sunday worship service in Spanish, led by Carlos and Olga Pe-ña.

Scheduled congregational meetings for Sunday, November 2, 2014 (election of officers) and Sunday, January 25, 2015 (annual meeting).

Received and discussed a Financial Review report with recommendations for handling MPC income and ex-penses and reporting our finances.

Approved an MPC sexual misconduct policy.

John, Sylvia, and eight elders partici-pated in a Fellowship Mission Affinity Group meeting with three other area churches.

A Congregational Meeting will be held on November 2 following the 10:30 worship service for the purpose of electing church officers for 2015.

Westside Dinner: Monday, November 24th,

5:30 p.m. For over 33 years, MPC has welcomed special guests to our church for a home-cooked Thanksgiving Dinner. These guests are members of “Westside Community Focus”. Each year our guests look forward to this evening with their friends from the com-munity and from the other group homes in Portland. Westside Community Fo-cus, Inc. is a non-profit which provides independent living, training, support and advocacy for individuals with devel-opmental disabilities.

This year the dinner will be Monday, November 24. Forty guests are ex-pected to arrive between 5:30-6 pm.

Help is needed for set-up, cooking, serving and clean-up. Contact Nancy Trullinger at (503 245-4388) for more information or to volunteer.

Pledge Sunday is November 23

Please prayerfully consider your giving to the Church budget for the 2015 campaign, "The Heart of Giv-ing". It is very important that all pledges be turned in on November 23 to assist the Finance & Admin-istration Ministry team as they prepare the final budget to be presented at the January 25 Con-gregational meeting.

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Poinsettias Needed

for Advent In the month of December we will be decorating the sanctuary with live poinsettias for Christmas. If you would like to donate a poinsettia in memory of, or in honor of a loved one, please contact Office Manager Edith Alben 503.246.5459,

info@multpreschurch.org by December 7, with the name to print in the bulletin, or use the form in the bulletin beginning November 16. You can also bring a plant to church on any Sunday in December. Questions? Contact Karen Black 503.977.0409.

You are invited to the “Hanging of the Greens” and 5th Sunday Potluck on November 30! With your help, we will decorate the sanctuary and fellowship hall for Christmas after the 10:30 service (and lunch) on Sunday November 30, the first Sunday of Advent. For lunch MPC is providing a main dish and drinks. You are invited to bring a side, salad or dessert to share. This is a family affair—for kids of all ages! Come for lunch! Come for dec-orating! Or just come to hang out!

Questions? Contact Karen Black

at 503-977-0409,

Courtney Tomastik cjtomastik@msn.com,

or Dave Tomastik

d_tomastik@hotemail.com,

or come to the next Fellowship Com-mittee meeting Wednesday, Novem-ber 5, at 6 p.m. in the chapel room.

Are You a

Crafty Person? Do you have the gift, skill, or desire to make holiday decorating bows? In preparation for Hanging of the Greens when we’ll decorate the church for Advent, those interested are invited to stay after church on November 16 to make bows, led by Amy Clements. Where are they going you ask? Some might go on the wreaths we hang on the walls. Some might go on evergreen swags. Who knows? Questions? Contact Karen Black 503.977.0409.

Gifts that Give Back Saturday, December 6th and Sunday, December 7th we hope to host The Gifts that Give Back Fair along with the Christmas Cof-fee House. The goal of the fair is to bring you the opportunity to purchase holiday gifts that will not only delight the receiver, but also benefit those who produced the gifts. In the past we have had house wares, apparel, food items, decorative items and more.

If you know of a local vendor whose proceeds benefit a charity, please pass their info to Heather Hellman at

heather.hellman.mpc@gmail.com

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Mission Committee Report

The Mission Committee met in Sept., and these things were discussed:

1. We talked about the Faith in Action Survey comments and suggestions, hoping to use many of them.

2. We prepared a motion for Session to accept the Pena plan for a Spanish Worship and Fellowship Service at our Church as an added worship ser-vice . This motion was accepted a week later at Session meeting, and the first service will be on Nov. 16 at 4:00 p.m. Join us!

3. We decided to inform the congre-gation about the Habitat for Humanity project in our area and whom to con-tact.

4. We decided to continue to provide activities at Slavin Ct. The next activi-ty of food, fun and games with our friends at Slavin Ct. will be on Oct. 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. If you are inter-ested please join us. Call Sylvia at the church (503 246-5459) for more information.

Ann Lemon Missions Elder

Operation Christmas Child

Please start buying the following items and bring them to the church be-fore Nov. 16th. On Sunday Nov. 23rd, 12:00 noon, we will have an as-sembly line set up here at MPC of all the toys, school supplies and gifts you have donated. Together we will pack 85 shoes boxes for needy chil-dren overseas. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Our shoe boxes filled with gifts will be sent to war torn or poverty stricken nations where local churches will distribute them to children before Christmas. Some of these children have never held a new toy or stuffed animal before. Some are in need of school supplies. Think of little boys and little girls ages 2 years old to older children 14 years old; what might delight them? Have fun!

Small NEW toys such as: Mini cars & trucks, Play Dough, small baby dolls (especially ethnic dolls), a deflat-ed soccer ball with a pump, toy jewelry, yo-yos, Slinky, small stuffed animals, small Etch-a-Sketch, harmonicas, musical instruments, etc. (We already have enough jump ropes and puzzles.)

No toy soldiers, toy guns or war toys of any kind are allowed. No out of date hard candy. Please no “Dollar Store” toys. Please no liquid

items, lotions, chocolate, or snow globes.

School Supplies: Pens, pencils with sharpeners, color markers, watercolor sets, stamp and ink pad sets, small writing pads, scissors, small coloring and picture books. (We already have enough crayons.)

Other: child size t-shirts, sunglasses, sewing kits.

The Mission Team will be purchasing hygiene items, solar calculators, tape measures and flash lights. If you would like to donate $7 per box to cover the shipping of each box overseas, please make checks out to MPC with a note on the Memo line for “Operation Christmas Child”.

MPC Facilities Maintenance Committee

The first meeting of the MPC Facili-ties Maintenance Committee was held on October 7th. The committee members are Amy Clements, Clay Morgan, Dick Eyberg and Dennis Zerba. A plan of how to address all the maintenance needs of the church is being developed along with a com-munications plan to present infor-mation to the congregation over the next few weeks. Please feel free to discuss any questions you may have with any of the committee members.

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Tuesday, November 18th is our 2nd-5th grade youth group. We meet at the Open Door for games in the gym and then head over to the main building for dinner, art projects, a short lesson and more games. It runs from 6-7:30 and dinner is free!

First Sunday is Kids Sunday On the first Sunday of every month we want to allow the kids to have an oppor-tunity to be a bigger part of the worship service. Kids can help with jobs like ush-ering and scripture reading. The youth will stay in the service the entire time in-stead of leaving for youth Alpha, and the kids will be brought back up to the ser-vice for communion time, so that they can see and participate with parent permis-sion in the sacrament. If your child would like to help in the service, please con-tact Heather Hellman.

Youth Group Schedule Wednesdays at 7:00 pm Middle School Youth

Thursdays at 7:00 pm High School Youth Junior and Senior High School Sunday School

during the 10:30 Worship Service Each Sunday, except Communion Sundays

Kids’ Christmas Play

It’s time to get ready for the chil-dren’s Christmas play. This year the play is going to be super, with some amazing super heroes. Kids of all ages are invited to be a part of the play and last year we had a great time putting it together. Re-hearsals will begin on Wednesday, November 5th from 5-6:15 in the sanctuary. The play will be per-formed during the worship service on Sunday, December 14.

Christmas All Nighter December 19th is the Christmas All nighter for middle school and high school stu-dents. That night we will celebrate Christmas together, with a mall scavenger hunt, broomball, a white elephant gift exchange and more. This is one of the youth group’s favorite events, so put it on your calendar now so you don’t miss it.

Alaska 2015 It may be getting close to winter, but we are already focused on summer, the summer mission trip to Skagway, Alaska for high school and college students. This will be our 6th year partnering with First Presbyterian Church of Skagway to work with the kids and youth, and our 5th trip to Skagway. We have such an amazing connection not just with the church, but with the whole town. The trip is an amazing opportunity for our Portland youth to get off their screens, and connect with others as they have to initiate conversation, get to know others and share God’s love with them through our programs and relationships. Forms to register for the trip will be available starting this month and the deadline to sign up is January 22nd. It may seem early, but there are a lot of logistical and financial things that have to be set up months before we go. The cost is $500 per student; adult volunteers do not have to pay as we appreciate the sacrifice of their vacation time, and everyone is required to participate in our auction fundraiser. If more than one student per family are going, or scholarship help is needed, other arrangements can be made for the $500 fee. Adults can participate if they have a student going on the trip, or they are already a volunteer with the youth groups. The dates for the trip are July 3-13.

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Petie Biehler Eleanor Caufield

Oneita Friese Ron Hendricks Bonnie Larson

Presbyterian Women's Fellowship

As we enter into November, it is time for one of our favorite things; the Presbyterian Women's Thank Offer-ing. The Thank Offering is a national campaign which yearly gives to thirty projects, both domestic and interna-tional. On the 16th, there will be a special offering envelope in your bul-letin for you to assist in this amazing program. If you would like more infor-mation on the Thank Offering, please visit

www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/pw/thank/

to get an overview as well as specif-ics on all the 2014 charities.

Last month we met for some great fellowship as well as our Bible study, Ready or Not: Following God's Call, which focuses on the books of Ruth and Jonah. If you have not been to our group before, we urge you to give us a try. We meet the second Wednesday of each month in the downstairs fellowship hall at 11:45 for a bite to eat, (bring a sack lunch, bev-erages are provided) a bible study, and some fabulous fellowship. If you cannot make it to the meetings, but would still like to participate in our other goings-ons, or just find out what we're up to, please contact

Kathleen Loomis (503 245-7452) or Shannon McKenzie

shannon.mckenzie02@gmail.com) We would love to have every woman at MPC part of our group in some way.

Please keep those who can’t make it to church each Sunday in your prayers:

2 Rosemary Roser Lisa Shelley 5 Adrienne Gassaway 6 David Meyer 7 Andrew Hill Cindy Mullins 8 Claire Lawrence 9 Maeson Graff Charles Hill 10 Jennifer Kordosky 11 Florence Edwards Emily Gaston 12 Jaonna Morgan 15 Jeff McKenzie 18 Gene Roberts 19 Beulah Biehler 21 Edward Kuehnel 25 Carlos Pena-Cibrian 27 Melissa Ulum 28 Jeffrey Detlefsen 29 Anika Sukumar 30 Kathy Wheeler

Catherine Nevin Faye Quinn

Rosemary Roser

Lindy Sandstrom Vic Smith

Ruth Sundby Evelyn Walls

George Weidlich

Portland Winterhawks Game

December 7, 2014

Strap on your skates! Multnomah Presbyterian is hitting the ice at 2 pm on December 7th to cheer on the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks! Tickets are just $11.50 for kids 12 and under and $15.50 for everyone else. (tripping, elbowing, or slashing a fellow parishioner to get ahead at the concession line will re-sult in a fifteen minute "time out" in the cry room the following Sunday).

Contact Ed Kuehnel to reserve your tickets at edgkuehnel@gmail.com or (971) 409-0495

P.S. Donations of tickets for use by MPC staff and others are greatly appreciated.

Remember Those Who Mourn Please remember the family of Anna Dugan,

who passed away on October 19, 2014

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Spanish Worship and Fellowship at MPC

Multnomah Presbyterian Church together with Carlos and Olga Pena, want to prayerfully begin a Spanish Worship Service here at MPC. With the support of our Session, Spanish Worship & Fellowship will worship on Sundays, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the MPC Sanctuary. The goal is to begin worship services this month, on November 16th, 2014. MPC and the Penas have been in ministry together for over ten years. Our church has supported their minis-try and church in Siqueros, Mexico for a decade. Insti-gating a Spanish Worship Service and Fellowship here with the Penas is an exciting new opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with our Spanish neighbors and friends here in Portland. Our Session has agreed that the Spanish Worship & Fellowship will be a part of MPC; meaning it will be under the authority of the Session of MPC. Spanish Fellowship will not be a separate entity simply “renting space”. Rather it will be an integral part of MPC’s con-gregation, mission, budget, prayers and outreach. They will be under the direction of the Mission Commit-tee. There is so much to be grateful for as the Penas begin this new worship service here at MPC. Let us keep them in our prayers and join them in worship! Invite friends and neighbors to this new worship service! To God be the glory! Gloria a Dios!

Volunteers Needed!

Trillium Court Habitat for Humanity will be the first Habitat houses built in southwest Portland. These homes are scheduled for completion in the summer of 2015 and will provide stability and shel-ter for seven local families including 21 children. But between now and then many hours of volun-teer labor is needed! With your help we can make the dream of homeownership become a reality for seven families right here in our community. Building will begin on November 8th and 22nd be-ginning at 8:30 am. Volunteer at the building site and hammer nails, paint walls, haul bark dust and change the life of a local family. No previous con-struction experience necessary.

For more information please contact: tor@habitatportlandmetro.org

Habitat for Humanity helps to build affordable, not-for-profit houses so that families are freed up to pay for adequate food, child care, medicine and other necessities. Habitat is transforming the lives of more than 3 million people around the world! Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where eve-ryone has a decent place to live. Our mission is to put God’s love into action by bringing people to-gether to build homes, communities and hope. (All volunteers need to be 16 years of age or older. Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.)

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First Friday Book Group

November 7th, the First Friday Book Group will review, Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. This story published in 1969 depicts the jour-ney of a man living through WWII, as a prisoner of war, and after when he has had time to reflect on his experi-ences. Our group should have a thoughtful discussion centering on the book’s theme.

The potluck will be Thanksgiving food. Turkey and gravy will be pro-vided, so side dishes will be wel-comed. The meeting will be held in the downstairs fellowship room. Come at 6:15, and we will begin din-ner at 6:30 PM.

The book for December’s read will be, Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E.M. Forster.

The Book Group is an open group, welcoming visitors at each meeting. Please call Karen Beers, 503-799-8170, or email Nancy Trullinger at nancytru@mac.com, for more infor-mation. Happy Thanksgiving!

September Financial Recap

September 2014 Year to date 2014

Income $26,721.15 $268,127.70

Expenses 31,926.05 270,716.23

Overall Total -5,204.90 -2,588.53

Year to date income is slightly less than expenses. The Finance and Administra-tion Committee is following up on an independent financial review completed in August. Recommendations will be given to Session to improve financial reporting and controls, and include all church programs within the operating budget and financial reports in 2015. The new facilities committee is preparing a multi-year project schedule to maintain the building and property in good condition. Copies of monthly financial reports and/or the independent financial review are available via email or a paper copy from Edith in the office.

Do you shop at Fred Meyer?

MPC is registered with Fred Meyer Community Rewards. If you link the church to your Rewards card (Fred Meyer's loy-alty program), MPC gets a donation based on the purchase amount. You still get your personal account credits. Links to FAQs and a sign-up page are here: http://www.fredmeyer.com/company_information/FM_Community/Pages/community_rewards.aspx. MPC's organization number is 88436.

Experienced Volunteer Furniture

Finisher Needed

If you enjoy refinishing furniture the church office might have a project for you. We have a sturdy unfinished pine storage cart in our front office that currently has no finish . We would like someone to put a rich dark finish on this piece of furniture so that it will blend with the other furniture in the office. The cost of materials will be reimbursed. If you are interested, please contact Edith in the church office at 503 246-5459

or email info@multpreschurch.org.

A Soldier’s Thanks Thank you so much for your kind-ness and thoughtfulness. Your care packages mean so much. Please pass my sincere appreciation to eve-ry one at MPC. I sure miss seeing you guys on Sunday!

CPT Doug Sedwick, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Oregon Army National Guard

MPC Member and Elder

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We invite you to join us for prayer night, Tuesdays at 7 pm, upstairs in the Chapel. If you are in need of prayer or know someone who is, please let a prayer team member know. We also encourage you to come and be prayed for after worship on Sundays.

Our Depression Support Groups meet on the fourth Sunday of each month. (November 23) following the 10:30 worship service. Questions or comments?

Contact Dave Meyer at 971-271-7086

In August of 2013, MPC joined The Fel-lowship of Presbyterians. Many different reasons led us to join The Fellowship. But a main reason was the theological and scriptural affinity we felt we had in common with them. The Fellowship is an “umbrella” organization which sup-ports congregations which have decided to remain within the PC(USA) as well as congregations which have left the PC

(USA) for a different Presbyterian denomination. One of the main ways The Fellowship encourages local congregations is through Mission Affinity Groups. These groups are the elders from local congregations which meet twice a year. Our Mission Affinity Group includes MPC, Cooper Mountain Presbyterian Church, Saint John’s Presbyterian Church and Cedar Creek Church, Sherwood. The Purpose of our Mission Affinity Group is: “To provide support for our Sessions/Elders in order to build vital, growing churches which make disciples of Jesus.” Our Commitments will be: We will spend time in the Word of God every time we meet. We will pray for each other every time we meet. We will pray for one another’s Session at our own Session Meetings. We will encourage all our Session members to be at the MAG meetings. We will encourage relationships and accountability between Sessions/Elders. We will meet: We will meet twice a year on a Saturday from 9 am – 3 pm. We will rotate meetings amongst our church buildings. What we will do at our meetings: We will worship together in prayer, study, and song. We will eat together ☺ We will answer questions from the “Narrative on the Health of Mission and Ministry” for our church. We will share in similar “ministry teams” with other elders from the other churches in order to share ideas and prayer concerns. On Sept 20th we met at St. John’s Church. Several Elders from MPC as well as Elders and Pastors from the other three churches gathered and wor-shipped together and prayed for each other. We also spent time listening to each other. Through our sharing together we heard of ideas that other churches are doing to grow their church in depth and numbers. It was an en-couraging day for us all. For more information on The Fellowship of Presbyterian please visit: http://www.fellowship-pres.org/about/

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Hanging of the Greens Sunday, Nov. 30, following the 10:30 Worship Service

Christmas Coffee House

and Gifts that Give Back Fair Saturday, December 6 (Fair repeats Sunday, Dec. 7.)

Children’s Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 14th

Christmas Eve Worship Service

Wednesday, December 24, 7:30 pm

Other December Events Sunday, December 7 Church family trip

to see the Portland Winterhawks Details on page 8

Our Mission Statement: Loved by Christ, we love. Served by Christ, we serve.

Invited by Christ, we go, inviting others to Him.

Special Holiday Office Hours

The Church Office will be closed the day after Thanksgiving, November 28,

but open the previous Monday, November 24th.

In December the church office will be open

on Monday, December 22, but closed the day after Christmas, Decem-

ber 26th

Printed Sermons Available If you missed a recent sermon or would like to review a recent sermon, printed copies are available on the revolving rack outside the sanctuary door at the top of the stairs. Sermons are also avail-able on the church website www.multpreschurch.org in both audio and text (PDF) formats.