All of Kansas City has gone Chiefs crazy – and rightly so. This historic trip to the Super Bowl has been long awaited and eagerly anticipated. Next week’s game will be fantastic to watch and the win will be joyfully celebrated. (Not a prophecy, just a fond hope!)
In February, I’m thinking about some other great team work as well – even closer to home. We will have our annual congregational meeting on February 9. This is a wonderful time to celebrate our church team. It’s all about togetherness – worshiping, working and serving God together. The church at our best is about connecting to one another, connecting to God, and connecting other people to God. It’s a winning combination.
That same weekend our wonderful session will be meeting for our annual planning retreat. We have high hopes for another outstanding year. We will be considering several ways of expanding our mission and ministry in the year ahead. As usual, it will take the gifts of everyone – the entire church – to succeed and to move forward in faith.
For now, keep us in your prayers. Please pray this month for your session, your deacons, your volunteers, your members, your guests and the people in Gardner whom we might serve in 2020. As we work together to plan for the future God has for us, session will share ideas and ask for your further input. For now, pray for inspiration and guidance as we continue our planning to live into God’s purpose for First Presbyterian Church of Gardner.
Scripture
Outreach, Mission and Evangelism
Do you have an idea for a mission project you would like to be involved in? Are you looking for opportunities to reach out into the community? Do you want to spread the word about all the great things happening here at First Presbyterian of Gardner? You’re just the people we are looking for!
The mission pillar is looking for people to join our team. We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm.
If social media is your thing or you are a great communicator. The communication team might be a good fit for you. They are a subcommittee of the mission team. They meet the third Thursday of the month at 6:30.
If you are interested in joining either group, reach out to Larry Atwater, Jo Lynn Clark, Karen Elliott, Cindy Rollf or Tracy McCabe.
Christmas Eve Worship Service
Christmas Eve Service, Tuesday, December 24, 4:30 p.m. – Candlelight Communion Worship
Join us for worship on Christmas eve just as the sun goes down at 4:30 p.m.
Thank You Retiring Officers
Our elders and deacons at First Presbyterian Church serve faithfully during their term of office. Often this is a thankless job, putting in hours that are not seen by most of the congregation.
Ruling elders are the decision making body, working together for the good of the church. Elders take the long view, planning and casting a vision for our life together.
Deacons are the care giving wing of the congregation, offering service in the form of meals, gatherings, visits, communion set up, coffee preparation and any other helping needs that arise.
This month we recognize those who are rotating off of active service. Thank you to Joyce Scarlett, and Eldonna Chesnut who have served on session. Thank you to Jessica Brunker, Linda Wolf, Denise Bockus, Vern Knabe, and Tom Corwin who have served as deacons. Thank you to all who have served so tirelessly in these offices through the years.
Women’s Fellowship Group November 2019
Women Fellowship Group will meet on Wednesday November 6, 2019, 10:00 A.M. Paula Waters will lead us in devotions, refreshments will be provided by Leone Knabe. We will assemble sewing kits to be used for Samaritan Purse. We are continuing to collect donations of needles, pins, safety pins, thread (any color) very small scissors, thimbles and hard side glasses cases. You may bring items to the meeting or leave in the basket at the OCC table in the Narthex. Thank you to everyone is donating for this project. This group meets on the first Wednesday of each month from March through November in Fellowship Hall, and is open to all women of the church. Our purpose is to care and support through fellowship, and to support mission and service projects of the church.
Women’s Happenings November 2019
Ladies Night (Ladies Fall Gathering), Thursday, November 14, 6:30, Fellowship Hall
Ladies of First Presbyterian Church Gardner and of neighboring churches will gather for a salad supper, devotions and wreath making for shut-ins. Rev. Jane Flora Swick of Compass Ministries will lead us in devotions followed by JoLynn Clark directing fall wreath design.
Come join the sharing and fun. Bring a salad for sharing, a hot glue gun with glue sticks (if you have one), and a small cash donation to assist with the cost of wreath supplies. Wreath making supplies will be provided so just bring your craftiness.
If you are unable to attend but would like to donate to the wreath fund, there will be a container for donations with the poster announcing the event in the narthex. After the wreaths are constructed they will be delivered to shut-ins at a later date to be announced.
Why Worship – by Pastor Kimby
I had a revelation this month, so I thought I’d share it. A year and two months ago we started our second worship service. From the beginning, we chose to use more contemporary music and style for many reasons. Frankly, we have struggled to develop a consistent “character” in that worship service, and we are still tweaking details. We do have a consistent congregation of about 35-40 people with attendance as low as 20 and as high as 60. Our first worship service attendance varies from 60 to about 110, usually in the 80s. As session and worship pillar have struggled to make decisions, we have had some deep discussions and even disagreements. We aren’t arguing, we all want what is best, and we have always come to consensus. But we are still trying to discern exactly what that “best” is. In order to help with some of those decisions, we offered a worship survey last spring and got a wonderful diverse response from you. Thank you. While many of the answers clarified priorities and preferences and were very helpful, I still found myself struggling with clarity even about the survey results.
Here’s my revelation. Some of our preferences directly oppose other of our preferences. Specifically – We want to grow as a church and reach more people for Jesus Christ – clearly yes! And we want to know everyone in the church, see everyone every week, and be profoundly connected to each other – also, clearly, yes! At first glance these don’t seem to be opposites. However, if you want to reach more people, you offer more services at more times. If you want to be a closer community, you offer one service all together. The same is true of music style – do you offer what most people like best or do you offer more variety to reach more diverse people? Should our decisions prioritize pleasing the people who are here, or reaching out to new people? Further, exactly what would those imagined new people really need or want – in order to hear the word of God and share their gifts fully? We really have been wrestling with a lot of difficult ideas and no clear solutions.
Why I am sharing this with you now is not only to inform you about session conversations, but more importantly, to invite you into the struggle. Session read a book called “Raising the Roof” connected to a book called “The In-Between Church” both by Alice Mann for Alban Institute. The premise is that churches operate differently at different sizes, and that when moving from one size to another (growing or shrinking), a church will experience significant pressure. The pressure will manifest in little disagreements and differences of opinion, stretched resources (money and volunteers), and an uncomfortable sense of unrest or constant change. We are firmly an “in between” church – between pastoral size and program size. (If you want to know more, I will loan you the books.) So we will continue to experience pressure until we shrink down to a comfortable manageable size or until we use the pressure to push ourselves into growth up to the next size. If we choose to try to grow up to the next size we must continue to endure and utilize pressure – which may come out as discomfort, inconvenience, or challenge for our people. In other words, if we want to grow for the kingdom of God, it cannot be about our personal preferences, but must be about the greater good. Honestly, sometimes, it would be easier to give in and shrink down to the next size to keep happy those who remain. But your session has chosen to respond to God’s call to growth and to reach out into our community with the good news of Jesus Christ. Wondrously, your response to the worship survey on that question expressed the same desire – to grow and to reach out to others. That effort may require some changes and compromises along the way. We hope it will also lead to new life and energy and hope for our congregation and community.
This doesn’t answer a lot of my questions about exactly what to do next in worship. But it does remind me again that it’s really not about me anyway after all. Worship is all about giving glory to God – of course, always. May we be blessed as we find deeper and more passionate ways to praise God together in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One Worship Service – August 11 – at 10 a.m.
Youth Fellowship Mission Worship On August 11, we will hold combined Sunday worship services for the whole church family to gather together. PYF will present pictures and stories from their Mission Trip and will lead us in one wonderful worship service together. Please join us and invite friends and family.
Presbyterian Youth Fellowship
The PYF has returned from an awesome experience in Wyoming! We served on with the Youthworks organization on the Wind River Reservation and spent time exploring our faith. We also explored the beauty of the outdoors, making friends and memories that will last a lifetime. None of this would have been possible without the financial support and prayers from our church family. We look forward to sharing our stories with everyone as we lead worship on August 11th at 10am.
A Summer of Listening – 100 Conversations Campaign – by Pastor Kimby
We have started the 100 Conversations campaign that I talked about in the last newsletter. You are challenged – to talk to at least one person who does not attend our church. A handout is available with some prompting questions. Or you can contact me if you need some ideas. It’s time to think of someone who might benefit from a conversation about God, faith, church, life, and grace. You can talk to friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, or anyone else. The conversation does not have to be long – 30 minutes would be about average. Remember to report your conversations on the tote board bulletin board at church.
Meanwhile at worship in sermons, I’ll be talking about different experiences of God – how different people come to know God. Some grow up in the faith, some come by conversion, some have a dramatic life changing experience, some simply move deeper and deeper into faith. And throughout our lives, as we grow and change, so should our faith and our understanding of God. Changing faith does not mean losing faith. In fact often a change in our faith leads to new depth and discipleship. Throughout the summer I’ll be talking about different things you might hear as you talk to people about God, and how God can reach any of us at any time.
Wherever you are this summer, look for God. Listen for God. Talk to people about God. Ask people about their faith, and listen to all the different ways God reaches out to people in the world. The goal is to learn more about God, to learn more about other people, to support other people in their faith, and to perhaps grow in our own faith. May you be so blessed.
Scripture and sermon topics for July for Sunday Worship – Listening for Faith
July 7 – One Service at 10 a.m. – Luke 17:11-19; 2 Timothy 1:1-7 – Nurture and Grace.
July 14 – 8:45 and 11 a.m. – 2 Cor. 1:2-8; John 14:19-27; Isaiah 40:1 – Brokenness and Comfort
July 21 – 8:45 and 11 a.m. – Luke 7:36-50; 1 Cor. 13:9-13; 2 Cor. 5:16-21 – Separation and Redemption
July 28 – 8:45 and 11 a.m. – Mt.6:33; Mt. 7:7-8; Deut.26:5; Eccles 1 – Questions and Searching
August 4 – 8:45 and 11 a.m. – Ps. 139; Ps. 8; Job 38:4-7 – Mystery and Transparency
August 11 – One Worship Service at 10 a.m. – PYF Mission Trip Sharing Presentation.
August 18 and following – 8:45 and 11 a.m.