first presbyterian church harbor springs michigan 19jan 20 email fp .pages.pdf · as we say in...
TRANSCRIPT
Advent Rest “And there was evening and there was morning—the first day.”
Genesis 1:5As I write this in early November, the leaves are blowing on the ground and the snow has yet
to fly. It’s the kind of weather that fits with winding down and the year coming to an end. It has always seemed curious to me that Advent begins in this kind of weather with the first Sunday in December. Why curious? Because Advent is the beginning of the church year, not the end.
The idea of the Christian year starting in the dead of winter with Advent goes back at least to the fifth century. But the concept of beginnings starting in the stillness and quiet goes back even further. In the creation account in Genesis 1 we read that there was evening and there was morning for each day; the day begins with sunset, not sunrise. The Hebrew people have thought of time this way for millennia as is clear in many places in Scripture. It serves as a reminder that God is the beginner of all things. God is at work preparing things for the coming day even while we sleep.
I find that to be a helpful image for our life of faith. It doesn’t begin with us, but with God. We aren’t even aware of how God is preparing things, and preparing us, for our faith journey with him but we can be confident that he has been at work. Advent is a season for meditating on that reality, that God has been and is at work. Reflecting on God’s story in the Old Testament helps us see how God was preparing for the first coming of Christ in the incarnation. Significant passages in both the Old and New Testaments remind us that God is even now at work preparing for Christ’s second coming in which the Kingdom of God will be revealed in glory. The story of our own lives reminds us of how Christ continues to be coming to us right now through the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Advent is about coming, the coming of Christ at Bethlehem, his second coming, and his coming into our lives.
Advent is the evening during which God is doing his work while we rest, but Christmas is the morning in which the sun rises and we awake refreshed and ready for the joyous work God has prepared for us to do. Christmastide, the weeks following Christmas day, is a time to focus on living into the Kingdom life that has been inaugurated in Jesus’ birth and that will be fulfilled when he returns.
My prayer is that these seasons, Advent and Christmas, would be a time of refreshing, renewal, and awakening for each of us and that, as we become more and more aware of our part in God’s story, we would carry the joy of Christ’s birth in us as we do the Kingdom work that is the call of discipleship.Merry Christmas!
FIRST PRESS FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
HARBOR SPRINGS MICHIGAN 7940 CEMETERY RD • P.O. BOX 866
231-526-7332 • FPCHS.ORG
Dec.2019/Jan.2020
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Staff & Leadership at FPCHS Pastor Kip Murphy [email protected] Monica Pavel, Arts & Music Ministry Director [email protected] Linda O’Dell, Administrative Manager [email protected] Katie Flood, Children,Youth & Family Director [email protected]
Ruling Elders Class of 2019
Anne Becker [email protected] Boeckman [email protected]
Fran Borchers [email protected] Class of 2020
Shirley Anderson [email protected] Blevins [email protected] CasaSanta [email protected] Dykstra [email protected]
Class of 2021 Bill Borglin [email protected]
Tim Brubaker [email protected] Hall [email protected] Laporte [email protected]
Deacons Class of 2019
Drew Becker [email protected] CasaSanta [email protected] Elaine Horwath [email protected] Sharon Schurman [email protected]
Class of 2020 Dave Borchers [email protected]
James Coleman [email protected] Sue Stackhouse [email protected]
Ben Veling [email protected] Class of 2021
Jan Bishop [email protected] James [email protected] Kochensparger [email protected] Rice [email protected]
Looking Forward to Advent
Your worship team is preparing for the arrival of Advent on December 1st. We are requesting that the congregation (those willing and able) help with the greening of the church on November 24th. This seems early, because it comes before Thanksgiving. After fellowship time, we will gather to put up the “greens.” Thank you! ~ Shirley Anderson & Kris Hall, Worship Chairs
Hot Potato Lunch! Save the date: the Annual Hot Potato lunch will be held on Sunday,
Dec. 8, after church in the Gathering Place. Plan to enjoy a delicious baked potato lunch with all the usual fixings – sour cream, chives, bacon bits . . . and much more. Sign-up sheets will be available. You can bring baked potatoes or your favorite topping to share.
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Christmas Eve Services at FPCHS
5:00 pm - Intergenerational Worship Children’s Drama9:00pm - Traditional Worship Glorious Music, & Candles!
Join us for this wonderful celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Children, Youth & Family Ministry Katie Flood, Director
Incarnational Discipleship and the Power of Presence “ The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”(John 14:1, The Message)
From the beginning, the Lord desired to be in right relationship with His people. The story of the Garden of Eden gives us an image of what right relationship amongst humanity, God, and the rest of the created world is supposed to look like. When the fall occurred, that whole and healthy relationship was broken and from then on, the Lord began His rescue plan to restore humanity fully to Himself.
God could have gotten mad at humanity and decided to just scrap the whole thing and move on, but God has a deep, trustworthy, steadfast love for His people. So, He came up with a way to make things right again. God chose to enter into the lives of His people and to take on flesh himself.
God remains present and active within the lives of His people throughout all of scripture. However, one of the first times that scripture reveals the Lord taking on flesh was in the building of the Tabernacle in Exodus.
The Tabernacle was a place of worship for the Israelites. It was the place where God met His people and God did so by taking on the flesh. The Israelites were given very specific instructions for building the Lord’s dwelling place. In the Holy Place and Holy of Holies were covered with an outer layer of animal skins. The Lord dwelled amongst the people by taking on flesh.
When we fast forward to the New Testament, we see God take on flesh in an even more intimate way. The Lord of the universe came down to earth to be with His people through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God fully “moving into the neighborhood” to dwell with His people. God took on the flesh of man in order to be closer to His people. He lead them further down the path towards a fully restored relationship between God and humankind.
As disciples of Christ, we know this story. Our hearts and our lives have been changed because of this story. This is God’s story. This is our story. Part of our call as disciples and as the Church is to go out and make more disciples. We are all called to bring others into the story of God, to remind them they are called to be a part of a people whose lives and hearts are changed by a God who has the audacity to show up. We are called to do so by showing up in the lives of others. We do this by meeting people where they are at. We visit people in hospitals when they are sick, we take them meals when they are in a rough season, we go to their musical showings and their volleyball games. We are called to sit with people in coffee shops to listen to their stories. We laugh and celebrate with them when life is good and we grieve and cry with them when life is not.
To be a disciple is to be changed by the incarnate God who sits and dwells with us even though He doesn’t have to. To make disciples is to demonstrate that love of God by being present and by inviting others to be a part of the community of faith who places their trust in a God who loves them so much that He chose to humble himself to be like them.
We worship a God full of love and compassion who chose to dwell amongst His people. This God calls us to do the same.
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Arts & Music Ministry Monica Pavel Kissinger, Director The excitement and anticipation of the celebratory events around the holidays each year
contribute to the beauty of the season. I personally wish that this special time of the year was not commercialized and geared towards consuming and buying. Many Thanksgiving dinners are interrupted or rescheduled because of the early Black Friday deals that people must get to, and the amount of time people spend shopping either in stores or online is used at the expense of spending time with family and friends. The music that we’re bombarded with in stores and media that uses bad taste and poor quality, transforming the theme of Christmas from a pure, heavenly miracle, to sensual winter fantasies. Regardless, I am so glad that I have a choice of what I listen to at home.
I always look forward to Christmas time when I legitimately can listen to my CD’s with Romanian carols (I do listen to them throughout the year). I especially like to sing along and teach them to my little girls. I thought that this year I should share some of my heritage music with our congregation. Our Chancel Choir will sing a Romanian carol on December 8. This carol called “Iata, vin colindatori” is a folk religious carol that announces the coming of the carolers proclaiming the coming of the Lord. In Romania, the tradition of caroling is still practiced today especially in rural villages. The act of going through the village, or from house to house, singing carols dates to pre-Christian times, and therefore some pagan practices carried over and juxtaposed the religious nature of caroling. Today, Romanian carolers are most often children who may carry a staff topped with a representation of the Christmas star. For the best effect, carolers traveling in groups carry noisemakers such as bells and whips to scare away evil spirits. Another pagan practice is the use of costumes such as shaggy beasts that faintly represent bears or goats. Carolers may expect a small gift of money or food in return for their singing and performance/dances, a little like when trick-or-treaters visit neighborhood houses during Halloween in return for candy. Caroling is also not limited to Christmas and may be done during other times of the year, such as New Year's Eve.
I want to share with you some Romanian choral Christmas carols that you can enjoy this season. You can find them on youtube if you type ‘Corul Madrigal colinde.’ You can listen to any of them, especially the ones that are not from live performances, but rather from recordings.
As we say in Romanian, I wish you a “Craciun Fericit si Un An Nou Binecuvantat” (Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year.) ~Monica Pavel Kissinger
Ecumenical Community Brunch First Presbyterian Church is co-hosting the fourth ecumenical Community Brunch, 10:00-11:30, Monday December 9, at Holy Childhood of Jesus Parish Hall. These are wonderful times that provide fellowship and food for our community. Menu will include: soups, breads and desserts. If you would like to provide food or service for this event, please contact [email protected].
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Christmas Wish List CHANGES, CHANGES … this helps us grow and improve our mission work. We need to keep reflecting, asking questions and adapting our programs as needed to meet the needs of our community while working effectively with our partners. So you will see some changes in our Christmas Wishlist procedures this year. What’s the same…. • We will continue to partner with the school to receive names from interested
families.• We as a church will continue to adopt families and provide clothes and food for Christmas. • We will continue to partner with “Toys for Tots”.• We will continue to partner with “American Legion Auxiliary Unit 281”• Toys will be provided by the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 281 through a grant/generous donor
that they have received.What’s different…..• Distribution of the gifts will be done at First Presbyterian Church. December 17th, families will be
invited to go to our church, to choose gifts for their children which will be provided by purchases made by the American Legion Auxiliary and Toys for Tots. We hope that this will empower families as they actively participate in selecting their child’s Christmas gifts. While at our church, they will wrap their gifts. They will also receive the remainder of their children’s gifts, purchased by their adoptive church family. They will leave our church with their wrapped clothes gifts, chosen toys as well as their food voucher. This will be a “pilot program.” It will be assessed at the end of the season to determine the success of it. We are hoping these changes will empower families, help them feel comfortable and supported by their community as well as our church. Your feedback will be necessary and appreciated as we assess the success of this change.
• In the past, our church has given each family a voucher to buy Christmas dinner. We will provide this again this year. Depending upon monetary donations received from our congregation, a family will be given a voucher for $50.00 to $75.00 depending on family size.
DATES to REMEMBER:Dec. 1 & 8 – Congregation will adopt child/children from the Christmas Wishlist Board.On or before December 15 – Return wrapped and labeled gifts of clothing to the Gathering Place.December 16 – Volunteers will gather at the church to organize toys given by Toys for Tots and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 281.December 17 – Volunteers will help set up for the Toy Open House at our church. December 17 – Volunteers will bring their baked cookies to the church for our adopted families when families come to the church to pick up their wrapped clothing gifts.VOLUNTEER NEEDS: (Volunteer boards will be set up Dec. 1st for sign-up)Volunteers will be needed to bake cookies for December 17th event.Volunteers needed December 17 at the church to prepare the room and to welcome and assist families with their gifts.
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2020 Giving If you would like any of these services for 2020 please either return this to the office or email [email protected] to let us know. Thanks!
I/We would like giving envelopes yes no Please mail the envelopes OR I/We will pick up the envelopes in December or January Please send information on monthly automatic withdrawal for 2020(must be renewed each year)
Name(s)
Address
City State Zip
Phone E-mail
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2019 Christmas Greening Would you like to contribute to the Flower Fund for Christmas decorations? Your donations cover the cost of poinsettias, ribbon, candles and lights. Please fill out this coupon and return it, by Dec. 15 to the church office with your check in any amount. Donations may be “in honor of” or “in memory of” a loved one, or to commemorate anything you wish. Dedications will be listed in the Christmas Eve bulletins. For more info contact [email protected].
Your Name:____________________________________________________ ___I wish to remain anonymous
Amount of donation:____________In honor of: _____________________________________________________
In memory of:___________________________________________________ In the event funds received exceed the needs of this project, the excess
may be used as specified by the Session of FPCHS.
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December 2019 - FPCHSSunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5 6 7: Communion -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -3:00 PM: Kids Club -10:00 AM: Grange -12:00 PM: Alanon
-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -11:30 AM: Personnel Team-All Ages -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir -4:00 PM: Praying -10:00 AM: Worship -Study -Presbyterians-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -7:00 PM: AA -8:00 PM: AA-11:15 AM: Stephen Ministry -8:00 PM: AA-Supervision-11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr-4:30 PM: Wyldlife8 9 10 11 12 13 14-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -1:00 PM: Card Ministry -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 AM: Building & -All Ages -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -2:00 PM: Community Bible -10:00 AM: Fellowship Team -Grounds Team-10:00 AM: Worship -9:00 AM: Finance Team -Study at Perry Farm -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding -12:00 PM: Alanon-11:00 AM: Hot Potato Lunch -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -3:00 PM: Kids Club -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -3:00 PM: Women's Bible Sty -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -Presbyterians-4:00 PM: Small Group -3:30 PM: Worship Team -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir -8:00 PM: AA-4:30 PM: Grange -4:00 PM: Deacons
-5:30 PM: Caregiver Support-6:15 PM: Mission Team-7:00 PM: AA & 8:00 PM AA
15 16 17 18 19 20 21-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for : Wish List : Wish List -1:00 PM: Stephen Ministry -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon-All Ages -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -Supervision -10:00 AM: Grange-10:00 AM: Worship -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -2:00 PM: Community Bible -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -Study at Perry Farm -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -3:00 PM: Kids Club -Presbyterians-3:00 PM: LTCS Concert -Study -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -8:00 PM: AA-4:00 PM: Small Group -6:30 PM: Session -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir
-7:00 PM: AA & 8:00 PM AA22 23 24 25 26 27 28-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -9:00 AM: Christmas Eve -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship : Merry Christimas -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon-All Ages -Rehearsal -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -10:00 AM: Grange-10:00 AM: Worship -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -5:00 PM: Christmas Eve -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -Service -Presbyterians-4:00 PM: Small Group -7:00 PM: AA & 8:00 PM AA -8:00 PM: AA-4:30 PM: Grange -9:00 PM: Christmas Eve
-Service29 30 31 1 2 3 4-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship-All Ages -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord-10:00 AM: Worship -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -Study-4:00 PM: Small Group -7:00 PM: AA
-8:00 PM: AA
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January 2020 - FPCHSSunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
29 30 31 1 2 3 4: Happy New Year -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon
-10:00 AM: Grange-11:30 AM: Personnel Team-1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-4:00 PM: Praying -Presbyterians-8:00 PM: AA
5 6 7 8 9 10 11: Communion -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -1:00 PM: Card Ministry -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon
-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -2:00 PM: Community Bible -10:00 AM: Fellowship Team-All Ages -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -Study at Perry Farm -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-10:00 AM: Worship -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -4:00 PM: Praying -11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -Study -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir -Presbyterians-11:15 AM: Stephen Ministry -4:00 PM: Deacons -8:00 PM: AA-Supervision -7:00 PM: AA-11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -8:00 PM: AA-4:00 PM: Small Group12 13 14 15 16 17 18-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -1:00 PM: Stephen Ministry -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon-All Ages -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -Supervision -10:00 AM: Grange-10:00 AM: Worship -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -2:00 PM: Community Bible -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -Study at Perry Farm -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -Study -3:00 PM: Kids Club -Presbyterians-4:00 PM: GLCO Recital -3:30 PM: Worship Team -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -8:00 PM: AA-4:00 PM: Small Group -4:00 PM: Finance Team -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir-4:30 PM: Grange -5:30 PM: Caregiver Support
-6:15 PM: Mission Team-7:00 PM: AA-8:00 PM: AA
19 20 21 22 23 24 25-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -10:00 AM: PEO Group -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -2:00 PM: Community Bible -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon-All Ages -7:00 PM: Emmet Co. Farm -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -Study at Perry Farm -10:00 AM: Grange-10:00 AM: Worship -Bureau -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -3:00 PM: Kids Club -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -Study -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir -Presbyterians-4:00 PM: Small Group -6:30 PM: Session -8:00 PM: AA
-7:00 PM: AA-8:00 PM: AA
26 27 28 29 30 31 1-9:00 AM: Discipleship Hr for -7:30 AM: Men's Fellowship -2:00 PM: Community Bible -8:30 AM: Men's Bible Study -12:00 PM: Alanon-All Ages -8:00 AM: Womenin theWord -Study at Perry Farm -10:00 AM: Grange-10:00 AM: Worship -1:00 PM: Staff Meeting -3:00 PM: Kids Club -1:00 PM: Bulletin Folding-11:00 AM: Coffee Fellowship -3:00 PM: Women's Bible -5:30 PM: Kirk Ringers -4:00 PM: Praying -11:15 AM: Youth Handbell Chr -Study -7:00 PM: Chancel Choir -Presbyterians-4:00 PM: Small Group -5:30 PM: Caregiver Support -8:00 PM: AA-4:30 PM: Grange -7:00 PM: AA
-8:00 PM: AA