Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda

Viewpoint The Newsletter o f First Presbyterian Church

of Port Jef ferson, New York

September 2007

We here at First Presbyterian know something of the between times. By the time you read this I will have begun my work at Old First Presbyterian in Huntington and you will await the arrival of your next installed pastor. The in-between times are not easy to live through. Waiting is difficult, our expectan-cies, real and imagined, are always present and we fear what we don’t yet know. Jesus understood the between times. To His disciples and to us He shares how we might move through such a moment in life: “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered each one to his own home…& you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have con-quered the world!” (vss. 32, 33)

How many moments of interlude does life present? It would appear to be seemingly many and many more than ever before for our health care has been revolutionized. In an article in the Wall Street Jour-nal, Jeffrey Laslow poses such a question when he lifts before us a subject that is not often spoken about: the toll of living in limbo. A loved one is missing, as we witnessed in the bridge collapse in Mn. We can’t forget the numbers of families affected by serious brain trauma, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkin-son’s etc. We’re prolonging life, but we’re also “prolonging dying” says Mercedes Bern–Klug, an end-of-life researcher at the University of Iowa. Thousands of people are surviving long in these serious states. Bern-Klug calls such an interlude between fullness of life and death “ambiguous dying syn-drome”. For their loved ones, coping with the ambiguity creates a unique kind of stress. We don’t even have a name in our culture to describe the “yet” & “not yet” of caring about such a friend or fam-ily member and surviving ourselves through the process. Even ABC News was unprepared when Bob Woodruff suffered a near-fatal head wound in Iraq.

We move on fitfully and the toll on those involved can be excruciating. It takes a special kind of wait-ing for the “not yet” to arrive during the in-between. Jesus’ words cont’d page 2

As Christians we are always living “between the times,” the “yet” and the “not yet”. Jesus’ earthly life was lived in such a way. He predicted His leave-taking in Jn 16: “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” (vs. 16) and in vs. 28 we read “I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and going to the Fa-ther.” Jesus’ birth, death, rising and future Second Coming are the yets and not yets of His life.

PAGE 2 VIEWPOINT September 2007

PEACEMAKING OFFERING FOR 2007 “And the leaves of the tree

are for healing of the nations…” (Revelation 22:2)

This image of healing comes from the Book of Revelation. Peacemaking as healing – this one of many translations for the biblical understanding of peace – not just the absence of conflict, but a res-toration of wholeness. What is your image of peace? How can our con-gregation offer “leaves of healing” to people in our church, our community, and around our world that will help create a peaceful world? The Presbyterian Peacemaking Offering that we take every World Communion Sunday supports the efforts of Presbyterians to share God’s healing and peace. It is received on World Communion Sunday in recognition that God’s healing is of-fered to all people and nations. In taking the bread and cup of Communion, we are united with Christ and one another in the work of healing.

The Peacemaking Offering is divided in three ways: 50% goes to the General Assembly Peacemaking Program to facilitate such pro-grams as the International Peacemaker Program. We had such a person in our Presbytery three years ago. Among many other activities is the annual Peacemaking Conference. Linda Blum from our congregation attended a few years ago. 25% goes to Synod and Presbytery Peacemaking Workgroups. This last year our Presbytery’s workgroup has put special attention on support-ing the peacemaking activities of youth in vari-ous churches. 25% stays in the local congrega-tion. Last year’s share supported a program in Lebanon following the terrible war there. Yousef Makdesi helped us understand something of what that meant. This year World Communion Sunday comes on October 7th. There will be further interpre-tation from our Mission Committee as we get closer to the time.

cont’d from page 1

help us to remember we are not alone; God is with us all the while, as decisions are made and wishes respected. Peace and courage are given to those who wait. We are promised the status of conqueror through Him who loved us. May your wait over this month be blessed with Christ’s strong presence and my continuing love for you.

Peace and courage be unto you.

Pastor Barbara

Deacons, Elders, and Members

Thank you for the wonderful and unexpected coffee hour in my honor; for the reflections on our time together, the magnificent cross neck-lace for worship, the cake, flowers, cards and gifts, and most especially all of your love and care that I have been blessed to experience. God bless you in many and wondrous ways. Together we move into God’s future, bound by Christ’s loving heart. For such a gift of know-ing you and being privileged to be your pastor, I am indeed grateful.

Together in Christ, Pastor Barbara

PAGE 3 VIEWPOINT September 2007

Pastoral Appreciation

A pastor was near a group of his church mem-bers when he overheard them talking about vari-ous ministers who had served the congregation. His ears perked up when he heard an older man say, "Whenever someone asks me, 'Which of our pastors did you like best?' my answer is always, 'The pastor we have at any given time is my fa-vorite.'"

The pastor who was listening in breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

God sends each pastor to us with his or her own set of spiritual gifts, and God works through each pastor's gifts to bring us God's blessings.

Annual Membership Committee

Beach Picnic

Beautiful weather…great fun and fellowship! A wonderful family day was enjoyed by the fifty-four members and friends who attended our An-nual Beach Picnic on Saturday July 21st. Every-one, ages six months to over eighty years young, had a glorious day.

A special thank you goes to John and Pam Heide for graciously hosting this event at the Belle Terre beach and for their efforts in organizing and con-ducting the children’s games. Pam engaged the children all afternoon in creative and active events. The friendly competition was invigorating and the prizes exciting. Special thanks also to the day’s grill chef, Gonzi Pardo, and assistant, Tom Makros. And thanks also to church family mem-bers who each contributed to the feast with a deli-cious dish to share. The fruit ambrosia made by Lauren and David Agnew made quite a hit and they promise to share the much-requested recipe with us.

Check the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall for photos and additional information. If you were unable to attend this year, be sure to save the date as soon as it is announced for next July!

Double duty

When the church custodian quit, the pastor asked the organist if she would be able to also clean the church sanctuary. The organist replied, “Do you mean that now I have to mind my keys and pews?”

ROSA MARINA FRUIT SALAD (ORZO SALAD DESSERT) By popular request, Lauren Agnew shares this recipe with us. It made a big hit at the Annual Beach Picnic and a re-cent Coffee Hour.

Ingredients:

½ box (1 cup) Orzo macaroni, cooked until tender; rinse and drain. 1 (20 oz.) Can pineapple chunks or tidbits. Drain well and reserve juice. 1 large Can or 2 small cans mandarin oranges. Drain and reserve juice. 2 Eggs ½ cup Sugar ½ tsp. Salt 2 Tbsp. Flour 1 8 0z. Tub light whipped topping Directions:

1. Beat eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and juices together. Cook over medium heat until thick. 2. Watch that it doesn’t bubble over. 3. Pour warm dressing over macaroni and mix. Refrigerate overnight. 4. Place fruit in covered container or ziplock bag and store in refrigerator overnight. 5. Next day: Add fruit and whipped topping to pasta. 6. Garnish with cherries, if desired.

PAGE 4 VIEWPOINT September 2007

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.

The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kit-ten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his pro-gress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air -out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?"

She replied, "You won't believe this," and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it. "She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten sud-denly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."

Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor!

SPIRITUAL LIFE

Have you ever wondered what “The Spiritual Life Committee” does?

Following is a list of just some of the things our committee does to make it possible for the congrega-tion to worship each Sunday:

We schedule Worship Assistants.

We schedule Usher Teams.

We schedule Communion Teams.

We oversee Music Ministry.

We put up the weekly Sunday hymn numbers on the wall racks.

We set up the sanctuary for baptisms and Commun-ion services.

We oversee sanctuary guests – those who use our facility for rehearsals and concerts.

We schedule substitute organists, when necessary.

We see to the maintenance of the organ and the pi-ano.

We see that the Sunday services are taped and available to shut-ins.

We put weekly offering envelopes in the pew racks.

We put Deacons’ quarterly offering envelopes in the pew racks.

We put oil in the upper Communion Table candles.

We hang banners.

We put candles in the wall sconces.

We provide the Advent Wreath and candles.

We put The Stations of the Cross in the sanctuary windows for the Lenten season.

We provide items needed for Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday services.

We set up the Easter cross and items used in Lenten and Easter services.

PAGE 5 VIEWPOINT September 2007

If you’ve been around the Church in any way through the Spring and Summer, you know about the exciting plans for Church School starting in September. The CE Committee decided that, to start the new process off right, we’d use the summer to freshen up and re-model our classroom space. What were we ever thinking? How could we possibly hope to get so much accomplished in a few short months? Well, WE didn’t, but YOU did. We scheduled two work days and a dozen or more people came on those days. Then we tried an evening and even more people, in-cluding youth, showed up. But what really amazed us was that workers came on their own time! Weekdays, evenings, at almost any time you could find someone here painting, sorting, sawing and building. Some of the work was not meant for AARP members, so we’re especially grateful to the Youth for doing the heavy work. As of this writing, the Great Room is com-plete, the CE closet is cleaned out, Room 3 is so beautiful and ready for a new floor. We’re ready for the CHILDREN! Thank you all so much.

And after thanking you, we now ask for more!

Our theme for the year is “Journeys of Faith,” and during September we’ll prepare for “traveling.” Kids will get passports, traveling accessories, and “tickets” to some ancient places. We have a big map, but what would really be great would be a LARGE GLOBE. Do you happen to have one in your attic or basement? Wouldn’t you love to see it put to good use?

♦We plan to have a story tent. Instead of chairs, the kids will sit on huge cushions. If you have any of those, or if you have some ideas about how we can make little pillows into big ones, please let us know!

♦Stories are so much more fun when we can put our-selves into it so we’ll need a lot of costumes. Can you help us make them? A yard and a half of fabric and a little time on your part will make a child into Joseph,

or Moses, or Ruth, or maybe even a camel.

♦We also need a stand or cabinet for the large TV in the Great Room. It’s quite big - the stand needs to be about 32 X 27.

Please join us in our Journey of Faith. Talk to any member of the CE committee. We’ll tell you how you can help!

Sunday September 9

WHEW!

WE MADE IT!

PAGE 6 VIEWPOINT September 2007

The Stewardship Committee would like to share the following article about a special, but limited, method for individuals who would like to use some of their IRA accumulation to support the work of the First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson. If this opportunity is of interest, note the contact information at the end of the article.

A Limited Gift-Planning Opportunity*

The IRA Charitable Distribution Expires December 31, 2007

By: Pat Ohlmann, Assistant Vice President, Gift Planning, Pres-byterian Foundation.

Until recently, the only way to gift funds from your IRA to the Presbyterian Foundation, your church, or chosen ministry without incurring income tax was to name the charitable organization as a beneficiary of your IRA. There was no tax-favored charitable op-portunity during your lifetime. A recent tax law, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (“PPA”), provides those over age 70 ½ with an opportunity not previ-ously available. Through December 31, 2007, you will be able to exclude a qualifying gift through your IRA from your taxable income, which means you will not pay tax on the distribution.

The gift opportunity made possible by the PPA should be considered by all IRA owners in all tax brackets. In addition to the federal tax benefit, do-nors may be able to save on state taxes in many states that do not allow direct deductions. The gift from your IRA can also count as a portion or all of your minimum required distribution.

Your gift to the Foundation, which can be as much as $100,000, can be used to establish a new perma-nent endowment fund or added to one or more exist-ing funds to support your congregation or chosen ministry.

Qualified Charitable Distribution requirements in-clude:

· You must be at least 70 ½ years of age and own the IRA.

· You must direct your IRA administrator to send your gift directly to the Presbyte-rian Foundation or charitable organiza-tion; you may not receive the funds.

· Your gift must be made on or before De-cember 31, 2007.

· The maximum excluded 2007 distribution is $100,000 per taxpayer.

You should also consider the following when considering a gift from your IRA:

· Distributions can be made from a tradi-tional IRA or Roth IRA. You may also rollover funds tax free from another quali-fied plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b) to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA for a subse-quent gift.

· If you have both traditional and Roth IRA funds, utilizing your traditional IRA first will maximize your tax benefit.

· New Covenant Trust Company, a subsidi-ary of the Presbyterian Foundation, can assist you in rolling over your 401(k), 403(b), etc. to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA for a subsequent gift.

If you would like to discuss a gift to the Presbyte-rian Foundation, contact your local development officer or Pat Ohlmann, Assistant Vice President, Gift Planning, at jpo@fdn.pcusa.org or 800-858-6127. (For general questions or assistance in reaching the local development officer, contact John Harrington, through the church office.)

PAGE 7 VIEWPOINT September 2007

A granddaughter for

Valerie and Bob Johnson.

We are so happy to share with our church family at 1st Presbyterian. Our son Craig, wife Karen, along with brothers Brayton and Colin welcomed into the family Drew Heather Johnson, born on May 24, weighing in at 9lbs 2oz. 22 inches long.

We send to you our blessings and think of you often.

Valerie and Bob

Most of the piping will be routed under the church building, which will eliminate the need for extensive trench digging usually associated with these projects. When the project is com-pleted, the "God-given" water will still be invad-ing our sump, but the water will evacuated through an underground village storm drain un-der South Street. Then we will be safe from sur-face ice in the winter.

I had expected that this work would have been completed by the first of August, but, unfortu-nately, the trenching company was hit with many emergency calls from the south shore after the July 18th storm, so we, rightfully so, were pushed down their priority list. Hopefully the rubber snake that is wriggling across our front entrance will be removed before the eagerly an-ticipated arrival of our permanent Pastor.

When the underground work has been com-pleted, we, as a church, will still have to wrestle with the question of what happens if there is an electrical power outage during a regional storm. To keep the sump pumps running, we may have to install a costly electrical generator that will automatically kick-in when it senses a power failure. That decision is still pending. In any case, the Building and Grounds committee, and all of the other committees doing the work of the church need your continued prayer support and financial support. Please help!

Yours, in Christ

Chuck Darling

To My Church Family:

I would like to thank each of you for your sympa-thy and your prayers on learning of the death of my daughter, Daryl. Your love and concern are helping me and my family to make it through some very difficult days. Your cards, your phone calls, your hugs, the flowers, and the presence of those who were able to attend Daryl’s funeral ser-vice were not only tangible evidence of your love and caring but also served to remind me of God’s love. I am truly grateful. As my family and I face life without Daryl, I ask that you continue to in-clude us in your prayers.

Sincerely, Louise Robbins

“Wholey Water Update”

As I write this article on Au-gust 7, the necessary plumbing work to evacuate the basement water that is leaching into our sump from an underground spring has begun.

VIEWPOINT PAGE 8 September 2007

HELP WANTED

The hot, humid days of summer are here and I've been trying very hard not to think about Decem-ber. I received a phone call a couple of weeks ago notifying me that the Dicken's Festival will be held the weekend of November 30 - Decem-ber 1 & 2. Ever since that conversation, images of our Victorian Tea keep invading my thoughts. The tea is so special for our church. We have the community come in that weekend and enjoy delicious scones, cookies, and tea while listening to beautiful music from the sanc-tuary. As I have said many times before, the vil-lage and the Dicken's committee are very appre-ciative of our tea and consider it to be an integral part of the festivities.

The tea is a wonderful occasion, but it requires a lot of people. As we approach our 12th year, we need to make a decision about continuing. At the conclusion of last year's tea, many of us felt it was our best yet. It was also our most successful fund raiser as we earned about $4200 for the church. It is important to keep in mind that it is our only fund raiser and the money received is mainly from people outside of the church, not members.

At the same time, after eleven years, many of us feel we need to take a break. Is there someone (or two or three) out there who has the slightest inclination to step in and bring new ideas? We will be more than happy to assist in any way. There are other groups in the village who would jump in immediately and take over the tea and we would probably never get it back to our church. The music schedule is already set up as that has to be take care of early. We need to get it to the newspaper for publication by the middle of September.

So now we have big decisions to make. I would like to have a meeting of all past and interested newcomers after church on September 9th. If you can't make that date and are interested, please give me a call (928-2715).

Nancy Darling

WELCOME INN TREASURER NEEDED:

The Welcome Inn Soup Kitchen’s long-time treasurer will be retiring in December. We are looking for someone to assume this responsibility beginning in Jan. 2008. The job entails picking up the mail from the post office box, depositing and writing checks, balancing accounts and generating monthly statements, working with the president by phone and mail, and working with the Inter-faith Nutrition Network (INN), our parent organi-zation, with grant monies. The current treasurer puts in about 4 hours per month.

If you feel called to serve in mission in this way please contact Paul Pratt at 698-2063.

MORE HELP WANTED

We need anyone who is able/interested in preparing the (already printed) Viewpoint for mailing, which involves folding, taping shut, and affix-ing name stickers. Viewpoint is published monthly, but it is

not generally ready the same date each month. If you can be available on short notice for a few hours a month, Women’s Fellowship would ap-preciate your help. Our numbers are fewer and often we are not able to come out on short no-tice. It would be good to have a few more names to work with.

Thanks!

Naomi Prach

PAGE 9 VIEWPOINT September 2007

May 20, 2007 Revisited

Those who were fortunate enough to attend church that Sunday in May when the Rev. Bill Edwards spoke heard a wonderful sermon (as always).

Part of his message spoke to a situation that I’m sure has played out many times before for Bill. He told of answering the phone one day and hearing a pleading voice asking to fill a pulpit on very short notice. Estelle was pleading with him to decline. The call came at a very inconvenient time and didn’t fit into their busy schedule for that week-end.

Bill, however, followed the Lord’s leading and accepted the invitation. As it turned out, the church that needed Bill had just installed a new pastor who had died that week after what I believe Bill said was only three worship services.

Bill went on to tell about that service and how much grace and hope developed there.

How many times have I made plans only to have them disrupted? How many times have I said no, knowing that I should have said yes?

In my mind, the real hero of this story is Estelle. I wonder how many times she has been disap-pointed and has had to change plans or improvise. I know that she not only respects her husband’s decisions, but is very proud of him as well. Who wouldn’t be? Who wouldn’t applaud God’s servant for doing the right thing.

And as God’s people, give yourselves a hand, too, when, like Bill and Estelle, you become obedient servants.

Sharing in the love of Christ,

Jerry Sweet

Grapes Grapes are most often associated with the sacra-ment of Holy Communion. They also symbolize the fruitfulness of Christian life. Many Bible stories, includ-ing “Exploring Canaan” (Numbers 13), mention grapes.

COME REGISTER IN THE TENT

SEPTEMBER 9 Step right up to the Registration Tent at the Barbecue on September 9. Whether your child has been in our Sunday School before or this is a new experience for your family, come in and meet Darlene, Jane and the other leaders. Children aged 3 and up will be assigned to a group of either “Explorers” (younger) or “Nomads” (older.) Each group will have a Shepherd. There’ll be folks around to help newcomers get to know their classmates, as well as signup sheets for par-ents and others who’d like to get involved in our program. We’re looking forward to a wonderful day and the start of an exciting year!

PAGE 10 VIEWPOINT September 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Steven

Gavin

Brandon

Ryan

THE DEACONS’ FALL BARBECUE

will be held on September 9th. Please bring a salad or side dish to share. The cost is still $2/Adults $1/Children, not to ex-ceed $5/family. All are invited!

PAGE 11 VIEWPOINT September 2007

September 2007 — Schedule of Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

2 10:00 AM Worship/Communion 10:30 No Church School All children remain in worship

3 4 5 6

7 6:00 PM: Welcome INN

8

9 Intergenerational Service 9:00 Choir Rehearsal 10:00 AM Worship 10:30 No Church School All children remain in worship 11:00 AM Deacons BBQ 11:00 AM Church School Registration in tent at BBQ

10 11

12:30 Women’s Fellowship

12 7:00 B&G, CE, Personnel 7:15 Mission 7:30 Membship Stewardship Sp.Life

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

13

14 6:00 PM: Welcome INN

15

16 9:30 AM: Choir Rehearsal 10:00 AM: Worship/Baptism 10:30 AM: Church School 11:30 AM Choir Rehearsal

17 18 Elections

19 7:00 PM Session Meeting

20

21

6:00 PM: Welcome INN

22

Presbytery Meeting at Freeport

23

GUARDIAN ANGEL SUNDAY 9:30 Choir Rehearsal 10:00 AM: Worship 10:30 AM: Church School 11:30 AM Choir Rehearsal

24

25

12:30 Women’s Fellowship

26 7:30 PM Deacons Meeting

27

28

6:00 PM: Welcome INN

29

30 9:30 Choir Rehearsal 10:00 AM: Worship 10:30 AM: Church School 11:30 AM Choir Rehersal

The Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson, New York Box 397, Main & South Streets Port Jefferson, NY 11777

This issue of Viewpoint is copyright © 2006 by the First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this newsletter or portions thereof in any form whatsoever, including by photocopying or scanning, on audiotape or videotape, or electronically. For reprint permission or information, write to: Session, First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson, P.O. Box 397, Port Jefferson, NY 11777.

Permit 18 Port Jefferson NY 11777 U.S. Postage Paid Nonprofit

We’re on the web! www.pjpres.org

This Day Is a Gift

This beautiful day is a gift of love That’s given to us from God above. With twenty-four hours of time to use In ways God is hoping we’ll wisely choose. So why not ask God for both guidance and grace? Let God set the standards as well as the pace. Then when the day’s over, we’ll find we’ve been blessed With all that we needed in choosing what’s best! —Peggy Ferrell