First Things First February 20, 2012 I love snow! In fact, winter is my favorite season of the year (it is the Eeyore in me). Lisa and Jacob are summer people, so they do not understand my appreciation of skeletal trees and cold weather. But we all enjoy snow – the beauty of it, and even the challenge of driving in it. Even if the little snowfall we had last night is all we get this year, it has been a good winter. Thank You, Lord!
Ash Wednesday Service this Wednesday, February 22 at 6:15 pm We will observe the beginning of Lent (a Christian season of introspection and contrition preceding Holy Week) with a Service of Repentance on Ash Wednesday (February 22) at 6:15 pm. Join us for dinner at 5:15, then stay for a short worship service in the sanctuary. We will not use ashes this year, but we will focus on confession and contrition. Everyone is welcome!
Guest Mission Speaker this Sunday, February 26 Steve Robinson will preach at both worship services this coming Sunday. He leads Exciting Word Ministry, a Christian evangelistic outreach to India (only 2 to 4% Christian population). His associate in India is not able to be here because he could not get a visa to visit the United States. But Steve will tell us all about his work in India, where the need is great, an share the Gospel at the same time. I look forward to meeting him, and hearing his message!
Wednesday Night Bible Study Our Wednesday night Bible study will resume February 29 at 6:15 pm, right after our fellowship dinner at 5:15 pm. We have been talking about what I call “The Other Ten Commandments,” some of Jesus Christ’s New Testament imperatives. Next week we will examine what Jesus meant when He told us NOT TO JUDGE (Matthew 7:1-6). Other topics include: March 7 – forgive in order to be forgiven March 14 – pray March 21 – rejoice, and bear good fruit March 28 – give April 4 – evangelize, make new disciples April 11 – be holy
Children’s Sunday, March 4 (11:00 am) I am planning a short series of three sermons on truth or epistemology – what we know, and how we know it – beginning March 4 (Children’s Sunday) with a focus on Psalm 8: God receives praise from the lips of children and infants. Each sermon will ask a different question: “What Is Man?” (March 4) “What Is Sure?” (March 11) “What Is Truth?” (March 18), with the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
Mission Trip Meeting Our next mission trip meeting will be Sunday, February 26 at 9:45 am in room D-09. We have ruled out a trip to the Dominican Republic this year, and are concentrating instead on a Native American reservation out west (perhaps Arizona), or something closer in Appalachia, perhaps the week of July 22. Anyone is free to join us! We have agreed that rising ninth graders and above are eligible to go on this trip. Younger children would have to be accompanied by a parent. Everyone is welcome!
Strategic Planning Volunteers Session has approved a strategic planning process for this spring that will result in a set of goals for all of us to work toward over the next three years. The same process will help us envision future staffing needs and more efficient committee structures as we continue to move forward together. Now we need volunteers representing all the constituencies and ministry interests in the church – i.e., youth, parents of children, senior citizens, recent new members, etc. Please let me know in writing if you want to help. The Strategic Planning Team will be expected to meet at least once a week for eight weeks or more, so it is a major commitment. I look forward to working with you!
Habitat for Humanity Work Day Saturday, March 10 Meet at the church at 8:00 am for a scheduled FPC work day to help finish the Habitat for Humanity house currently under construction. We are expecting to paint the inside of the house, so come prepared! Habitat for Humanity is an excellent Christian ministry committed to providing quality, low cost homes to people who otherwise cannot afford to buy a house. Nothing is given away! Low income buyers are expected to help build the house along with volunteers from the community, and assume a very low-interest loan to help pay for it. Everyone is welcome to come and help!
Newsletter by Joy Toms Thank you to Joy Toms for volunteering to edit a new monthly newsletter for First Presbyterian Church. The first issue came out at the end of January. Most of us will receive it electronically through the master e-mail list. If you are not on the list already, please send me your preferred e-mail address (pnsmithrev@embarqmail.com) right away. At the end of each month, you will receive a link to the newsletter (probably on the church website), which you can open and read on your computer or print out at home. This will enable us to send it out quickly and efficiently at no cost to the church. Of course, we will print a few paper copies for those of us who do not have internet access. You can help by giving me or Joy or Beth Chandler the names of church members who do not use a computer. Any information for the newsletter should be submitted to Joy Toms in writing by the fifteenth of every month.
Presbyterian Pilgrimage I would love to see members of First Presbyterian Church attend a Pilgrimage retreat, and then keep going back on future leadership teams as Lisa and I have done many times since 1996. The next North Carolina Presbyterian Pilgrimage weekend at Camp Hanes will be May 17-20. Lisa and I will be on the leadership team for a South Carolina Presbyterian Pilgrimage weekend retreat at Camp St. Christopher (Seabrook Island, near Kiawah Island and Charleston) May 3-6. Several couples from FPC Eden have already told us they would like to attend that weekend with us. I will be glad to let you know how to sign up. Give me a call or send me an e-mail (pnsmithrev@embarqmail.com).
Pastoral Visits Every now and then I get word that a church member has been in and out of the hospital before we ever hear about it in the church office. You can help me be more responsive to immediate needs by calling me or sending me a text message or e-mail about church members, friends, family members whom you would like me to visit right away. I am immensely grateful to Pam Cundiff for all that she does in managing our prayer chain. What a great help to us all! But since I am still pretty new in the area, I do not always recognize connections between the names on the prayer chain and our church family. Please let me know about people who need a visit from me. I promise to respond as quickly as I can – often right away, and usually before the end of the day. Thank you for your help!
See you Sunday, February 26, 2012 Peter N. Smith First Presbyterian Church 582 Southwood Drive Eden, NC 27288 (336) 623-3962 office (336) 520-0459 cell
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