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July/August 2013 The First Word

Vol. July/August 2013

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.)

205 EAST LAKE STREET - PO BOX 123 - SOUTH LYON, MICHIGAN

48178 - 248-437-2875

A Time to Celebrate

I realized as I was gathering my thoughts in preparation to writing this

month’s article that I often quote Ecclesiastes 3. You know the famous verses, “For

everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...” As I approach

the one year anniversary of my ordination and installation as your installed pastor, I

can’t help but to look back at this past year and think of this beautiful poem written so

many years ago:

…a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn; and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

For our congregation, now is a time to celebrate. It’s time to celebrate the new

life and energy that is once again emerging from our congregation. A month ago, I

approached our Session about sponsoring a Capital Campaign to eliminate our debt

from our renovation. A sub-committee was formed and we were ready to go, when out

of the blue, ten minutes before starting a worship service, I was told the good news that

our mortgage had been paid off.

The First Word July/August 2013

It took time to process this amazing news and I was excited to finally be able to

share the news with the congregation on Sunday, June 23rd, when over 100 members,

guests, and visitors gathered for worship. It was a glorious day as we also celebrated the

success of our VBS program, honored our high school graduates, thanked our Sunday

school teachers with new books for our library, and dedicated a banner made by our

Sunday school children. It dawned on me in those special moments just how special our

ministry together is.

It is time to celebrate, not only our mortgage elimination, but all those special

moments that were celebrated on June 23rd, and throughout the past year. I hope you

will join me for a very special dinner celebration on Sunday, September 8th, following

our worship service so that we can celebrate the many milestones we’ve achieved so far.

There will be other events planned in the next year, including a dinner at Big Boy in

South Lyon, in early October to remind us the of the importance of taking time out to

celebrate.

Friends, this is a joyous time in the life of our church. As we celebrate all that

God has done for us, may God’s Spirit continue to guide us and lead us as we pray the

following questions together:

Who is God calling us to be?

Where is God leading us?

Who is our Neighbor? See you Sunday!

Pastor Mike

Pictures from

Youth Sunday

on June 23, 2013


REMEMBER, WE COLLECT CLEAN EMPTY BOTTLES AND CANS AND THE DEPOSIT MONEY GOES TO THE BUILDING FUND. HOWEVER, WE CANNOT ACCEPT SAM’S CLUB

BOTTLES & CANS

Rebekah Circle

Wednesday, June 13 11:00 a.m.

Meet at Riffles No Lesson

Mary Stephen

Circle will resume

on September 11

at 12:15 p.m.

Vonda Boatman

10056 Arlington Circle

South Lyon, MI 48178

Did you know . . .

there is a baby

changing station in

the restroom outside

of the sanctuary, next

to the Parlor entrance. Parents,

please feel free to use this

restroom at any time for your

little ones.

THE GOOD NEWS AT 6:00

Please join us for a special VBS program

sponsored by First Presbyterian Church South

Lyon and held at South Lyon Woods Park

Clubhouse. Children in grades K-5 are invited to

join us at the South Lyon Woods Park on five

consecutive Friday nights for a program which

includes:

6:00-6:45 Registration/Dinner/Welcome

6:45-7:30 Bible Storytelling

7:30-7:50 Crafts

7:50-8:30 Games & Dessert Break

8:30-9:00 Music & Closing

9:00 Pick-up

While the children are enjoying the program,

parents are free to enjoy some time on their own.

Unlike our regular VBS program, where each

person does the same activity for different

groups of children, THE GOOD NEWS AT

6:00 will have each activity led by a leader, but

all the volunteers will help with the activity at

the same time. (This will allow us to be more

flexible with the number of students we can serve!)

We will also need people to prepare the dinner

ahead of time and serve it at the clubhouse, so if you

have enjoyed our ministry with Action by Presence,

the food ministry for our VBS

program may be a wonderful

opportunity for you!

We look forward to this

exciting new ministry, and

for your participation in it.

There is a sign-up sheet on the

Welcome Table, as well as a

sheet to donate food and

supplies. If you have questions or need more

information, please contact Jo Morgan or Mike

Horlocker.


VISIT OUR LIBRARY

Thanks to Barbara Donley, our church library is back in business. We hope you will

wander down to the library from time to time and check out books that may interest you.

We have several new additions, including:

Heaven, Gaither, Bill; In memory of Eileen and Melvin McClintock.

Something Beautiful: The Stories Behind a Half-century of the Songs of Bill and

Gloria Gaither, Gaither, Gloria; In memory of Sally Beckstein.

The following books have been given in honor of and in thanksgiving for our Sunday

School teachers: Ann Clifton, Nicole Fergusson, Stephanie Horlocker, Sue Loweke,

Barbara Morgan, Jo Morgan, Matt Mueller, and our church librarian, Barbara Donley:

Heretics for Armchair Theologians, Gonzalez, Justo L.

The Reformation for Armchair Theologians, Sunshine, Glenn S.

Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians, Haynes, Stephen R.

Augustine for Armchair Theologians, Cooper, Stephen A.

John Knox for Armchair Theologians, McDonald, Suzanne

Barth for Armchair Theologians, Franke, John R.

Luther for Armchair Theologians, Paulson, Steven D.

Martin Luther King, Jr. for Armchair Theologians, Burrow Jr., Rufus

The following children’s books have been given in honor of and in thanksgiving for our

VBS 2013 volunteers: Jim Allen, Vonda Boatman, Shirley Brooks, Betty Chapman,

Kenny Chapman, Ann Clifton, Nicole Fergusson, Nancy Geiger, Peggy Hart, Mike

Horlocker, Barbara Johanningsmeier, Joyce Johnson, Sue Loweke, Anne Lyke, Barbara

Morgan, Jo Morgan, Donna Rae, Kathy Schultz, and Josh Voisard:

Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks, Bucchino, John

The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale, Hunt, Angela Elwell

To Everything There Is a Season, Daly, Jude

Santa’s Favorite Story: Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas, Aoki, Hisako

If you would like to donate a book in memory of or honor of someone special, contact

Pastor Mike or the church office. A list of books that we would like to have in our library

is being put together and will be available soon.


JUNE 2013 SESSION

Present: Moderator M. Horlocker; Clerk-

Elder A. Lyke; Treasurer-Deacon R.

Weinburger; Elders S. Brooks, T. Goodman,

R. McClintock, J. Morgan, D. Rae, J.

Schaffer; Deacons V. Breen, D. Esbrook, B.

Morgan, M. Mueller, M. Mulligan, J. Rae.

Excused: Elder K. Colley: Deacon Gwyn

McClintock.

Actions Approved:

*Vacation time for Pastor: Sunday 30

June 2013 to Saturday 6 July 2013,

inclusive.

*Extra hours for the Administrative

Assistant for training and additional

help for the Pastor: 60 hours

consisting of 6 hours on Tuesdays

for 10 weeks, 25 June 2013 to 27

August 2013, inclusive.

*Plans for renovating the gardens in

front of the Sanctuary provided by

the Beautification Committee.

*Regular Session meetings will be on

the third Saturday of August,

October, November, January,

March, and April at 8am to 10am

(extension of hours will be voted on

at the meeting) and the third

Tuesday of June and December at

6pm to 9pm will be a joint meeting

with the Deacons.

Discussion Topics:

* The Pastor joyfully informed the

meeting that a generous donor family

has provided the money to pay the

mortgage in full this month. Many

thanks to them; their generosity is

greatly appreciated.

* Additional hours for the Administrative

Assistant rational: the job description

used to hire her did not include

knowing our computer system.

Training her in this and the web site

will free the Pastor from clerical work.

* Work on the steeple will precede the

front gardens work because of the

heavy equipment needed.

* Water backed up into the basement

after recent rains. The cause will be

investigated and corrected.

* Visioning and planning breakout

groups discussed what it means to be an

invitational church and what can we do

to be one.

* This was a joint meeting of Elders and

Deacons that began with the fellowship

of a meal (Mike’s potluck).

Respectfully submitted,

Anne Lyke


Gleaner’s Food Drive “Nourishing Communities by Feeding Hungry People” Once again, during the month of July, we will be collecting food for Gleaner’s of Southeast Michigan. This is part of a Presbytery-wide project to help Gleaner’s stock up its warehouses. Some may ask, “What about ActiveFaith?” Our Active Faith box remains in our main hallway sitting partially empty, waiting for food to be added, but one month out of the year, we can support both. In fact, I challenge you to support both. If you bring in a can or even a bag of groceries for one, do so for the other as well. Together we can help fight hunger in South Lyon, and beyond.

Celebrate Our Nation’s

Independence

Join us on Sunday, July 7 for a special

outdoor worship service. At our normal

worship time, we will gather on the front

lawn for worship, singing patriotic

hymns, celebrating the Lord’s Supper,

and enjoying special music by our guitar

trio. If there is any threat of bad weather

whatsoever, the service will be moved

into the Sanctuary.

THANK YOU…

To all of our VBS volun-

teers—those who were here

during the week; those who

donated money and foods;

those who helped decorate

and set up; those who helped

clean-up—thank you for a

wonderful week of VBS. We

couldn’t have done it without

you!


Please include the following in your prayers: � Bill Lintner � Kim MacNish’s cousin Reed � Tom Bozymowski � Kris Swanguarin � the White family on the passing of

Randy � the Bond family on the passing of Irene � Gordon Ross, Kathy Ross � for the survivors of the Oklahoma

tornados and hurricane Sandy � for our PDA teams responding to

disasters � James Ross Gentilia � Anne Lyke’s neighbors � Joan Otto’s mother � Barbara Ricks � Sally Jacobs � Shirley Brooks � the Town

family on the loss of Grandpa

� the family of Shirley Vale

� Gwyn McClintock

Joy and Praise for . . . � our benefactor - that God will bless

them all their days for their generosity to our church!

Thank you to . . . � to the staff, kids, and parents, who

made VBS 2013 a huge success.

Request prayer by calling the church office at (248) 437-2875 or online at www.fpcsouthlyon.org/prayer-requests. Please let your Deacon know how your prayer is being answered. If you do not know who your Deacon is, contact the church office. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” -James 5:1

Our ShutOur ShutOur ShutOur Shut----ins and Homeboundins and Homeboundins and Homeboundins and Homebound � Hildreth Bakhaus

� Jane Beckstein

� Joan Borsh

� Rita Chenoweth

� Bill & Glenna Clogg

� Eleanor Donley

� Barbara Ricks

� Betty Ross

� Jim Stephen

� Shirley Westacott

Our ServicemenOur ServicemenOur ServicemenOur Servicemen � Dante Panicacci

� Kenny Bond

� Ben Bond

Our Friends in Ministry & SeminaryOur Friends in Ministry & SeminaryOur Friends in Ministry & SeminaryOur Friends in Ministry & Seminary � Anne Lyke

� Jo Morgan


by Barbara Morgan What a comfort it is to sink into your

bed at the end of a hard day and relax in

your favorite chair when you want to de-

stress. What about when you’re walking

in the rain and you feel protected by your

umbrella? Do you ever ponder the fact

that you don’t have to think about

breathing or make your heart beat?

We believe and have confidence that

our furniture will hold us up and that the

umbrella will not leak. We don’t have to

stop and make our heart beat or think

about taking our next breath.

The definition of faith is the substance

of things hoped for, the evidence of

things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) I believe

that it’s this SIMPLE kind of faith that

God calls us to have. God doesn’t want

us to fear anything, only believe that HIS

eye is on us at all times and that we can

place our cares in the palm of his hand

(Isaiah 49:16)

I believe that God is calling us back to

child-like faith, where fear and doubt

aren’t able to penetrate our belief but that

we have a simple knowing that He loves

us.

When you plant a seed do you doubt

its ability will grow? Do you worry that

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

"A Nation's Strength"

Not gold but only

men can make

A people great and

strong;

Men who for truth

and honor’s sake

Stand fast and suffer

long.

Brave men who

work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly ...

They build a nation’s pillars

deep

the leaves on a tree will never return in

the spring? And really, have you ever

seen a bird sitting on a branch having an

anxiety attack about where its next meal

will be? (Matthew 6:25-34).

So the next time you start to worry

about if God is faithful; just take a deep

breath and look all around you and I bet

you can find something to remind you

how SIMPLE it is to have faith.

Grace and Blessings,

Barbara Morgan


by Jeff Burke

It’s hard to believe summer is already

here. What happened to spring? They

say this is what happens when one gets

older. Older? I don’t remember getting

older. All I know is the year really

seemed to fly by more quickly than it

used to.

I am exceedingly grateful to the many

individuals who give freely of time and

talents to our music program on a weekly

basis. This is a big commitment! Please

realize your attendance does not go

unnoticed and how very much I

appreciate each of you. Thank you ALL

for sharing YOUR outstanding musical

gifts in making beautiful music together.

We officially completed our music

rehearsal season on Wednesday evening,

June 19th, which culminated with our

traditional picnic/pot-luck for the Chancel

Choir and the Celebration Ringers. This

year was a little different because it was

hosted by Pastor Mike and Stephanie at

the manse. The weather was perfect for

the occasion and all seemed to have a

great time together and left with full

bellies and smiles on their faces. Thank

you Pastor Mike and Stephanie for all

you did to make this a fantastic event!

We are ALL very blessed by your

presence in our lives and as our Pastor.

On Sunday, June 23rd, we celebrated

Youth Sunday, honoring our graduates,

and listening to our VBS share some of

the music they learned throughout the

week. I was duly impressed with the

piece utilizing the tone chimes and

singing “We Are Marching in the Light

of God”. Fantastic job, Miss Jo!

As far as I know at this particular time,

we will only have one person in the

Celebration Ringers that will not be

ringing with us in the fall. That being

Nicole Fergusson, who will be attending

Ohio State University. Nicole has rung

with the ensemble during the past 3

years and has definitely been an asset.

Nicole also plays piano, flute and sings.

We will miss you, Nicole, along with

your sweet and bubbly personality.

Wishing you the very best of luck to

you in your future endeavors. Please

know there is always a place for you,

should you want to ring.

Please enjoy your summer!

Peace & blessings,

Jeff


WORSHIP 10:00 AM

FELLOWSHIP TIME 11:00 AM

Rev. Michael Horlocker, Pastor Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: T, W, TH, F

Laura Goode, Administrative Assistant

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: M, T W, F 9-3

Jeff Burke, Director of Music

and Organist Email: [email protected]

Bob Weinburger, Treasurer

Peggy Hart, Custodian

Office: 248.437.2875 Fax: 248.437.4434

www.fpcsouthlyon.org

COMING THIS FALL…

THE YOUTH CONNECTION

Calling all youth, 5th—9th grade!!!

Join us this fall on Sunday evenings at

6:30p.m. for a new program called the

Youth Connection. Our first meeting will

be on Sunday, September 9th.

Attention adults!!! We are still looking

for one or two more youth leaders to as-

sist us with the Youth Connection. If you

are interested in working with our youth,

please contact Pastor Mike or Ann Clif-

ton.

AMERICAN RED CROSS

BLOOD DRIVE IS COMING

SOON…

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

2:00 p.m.— 8:00p.m.

Mark your calendar and give the

gift of life.


RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL

Please deliver promptly

Thank You ☺☺☺☺

First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 205 East Lake Street PO Box 123 South Lyon, MI 48178-0123

The First Word is the newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

of South Lyon, published monthly. The deadline for submission of articles is noon on the third Monday of each month.

Check us out on the web at www.fpcsouthlyon.org

Our Mission

We are called to J oyfully E xalt our S avior by U sing our talents to S erve God and others daily.

Our Vision

We strive to be

the Image of Christ in the world: a place where the Son always shines.

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