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The season brings with it a freshness, new beginnings, and new life. You can sense peoples excitement as the days get longer and warmer, we sense the coming of summer, and the earth begins to bear more and more beautiful colors as flowers begin to grow and bloom. This past Easter, as I enjoyed the lilies in the Sanctuary and the fresh new plants and flowers around our campus, I thought how fresh and welcoming they made this house of God appear. I was amazed how new plants and flowers made such a difference in the way I felt about entering our worship space. Our Easter faith needs to be like these flowers. These flowers are like Evangelism 101. A flowers beautiful colors draw people, and animals, to them to enjoy the color and nectar they provide. We may then go and tell others about how beautiful these flowers are, and they will come and see. Those people may come and bring others, and awed by their beauty they may wish to plant some of their own. Do you see how this can be seen as basic Christian evangelism? We are connecting people to God and to each other Maybe Evangelism is too uncomfortable of a word for some, how about Connections? To be true Easter people, and not let the Good News of Easter pass away with the season, you and I need to be like the beautiful flower. We need to bloom and join the Connections Ministry and figure out ways to draw people to Gods church and Gods Word. By doing so others will see the beauty of Gods Word and share that Good News with others and create the most beautiful garden ever seen. Come and Grow!
Pastor ........................................ Andy Gans Visitation Pastor (Ret.) ............ Tom McNeil Music Director .......................... Rick Roberts Executive Assistant................... Chris Muramatsu Nursery Attendant.................... Tammy Keeslar Proofreaders.............................. Susan M. Jensen and John Stewart
Contributors...............................Members of Ft. King Assembling ................................. Phyllis Altonn, Bobbie Burns, Sue Chancey, Kay Dahlen, Joyce Gauntt, Eleanor Hayesmore, Donna Johnson, Pat Merrill, Carol Primm, Roselle Pringle, Alice Reffner, Judith Simonin, Aileen Zimmerman Bulk Mail Handling...................John Stewart
CONGREGATIONAL CARE
Thank You
From the family of Ella Wagner, We would like to say a warm thank you for your faithful visits, cards, flowers and friendship so generously shared with our mother, and graciously extended to our family and caregivers. Her memorial service, and lovely reception provided by the Women of the Church, served as a warm reminder of the many (46!) years of love we have enjoyed at Fort King. We appreciate you more than words can say. Larry Wagner, Sharon Mai and Jennifer Wagner.
May Birthdays
CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS (continued)
DISCIPLESHIP
DISCIPLESHIP (continued)
Discipleship Adult A Look Ahead
May 4 May 11 May 18 What about Heaven? with Ray Ruark "The Cholesterol Myth" with Dr. Norm Anderson Caring for Creation: Saving our Springs with Buddy MacKay and guest speakers May 25 Review and Reflection with Buddy MacKay June 22-26 Family Vacation Bible School - Adult Study
GROUP ACTIVITIES
Sassy Seniors
All widows and single ladies are welcome to join Sassy Seniors on Wednesday, May 14th at 1:00 p.m. This months luncheon will be at The Olive Garden on College Road near Paddock Mall.
Crafty Ladies
Crafty Ladies will begin meeting again on Thursdays from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We hope to see all of you there. If you would like to join our group, come for a visit some Thursday and see what we are doing and how you can help. We welcome new people and new talents!
Picnic Time
The annual church picnic sponsored by Presbyterian Women will take place on May 4th, 4th at Coehadjoe Park immediately following worship. Presbyterian Women will provide the fried chicken and drinks and everyone that attends will bring a side dish (potato salad, beans, desserts, salads, etcjust good picnic food). This is a great day for fellowship, some games, good food and great fun. Rememberwe can wear our casual picnic clothes to church that day! Coehadjoe Park offers a great facility that PW has reserved that includes a covered pavilion with tables to accommodate a large crowd. From the church you drive north on 36th Avenue to 35th Street, turn right and go approximately a mile where you will see the entrance to the park on the left. See you on May 4th...Mark your calendars!!
MISSION
Give Blood - Save Lives
We had 10 units of blood donated on April 13th. The Mission Ministry thanks every one for their time and their prayers . The next donation date is August 24th.
PROPERTY
SESSION
The Seder service/meal was attended by far more than expected 154 persons and a loaves and fishes miracle was not needed all were fed with the supplies at hand. The five Lenten Wednesday services focusing on reflections, through differing methodologies, were well received and were led by various people in the congregation. The gifts (boxes) to 13 college students were sent out recently. The Easter egg hunt scheduled for Saturday April, 19th has drawn lots of interest and is open to not only church children but those of friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.
The Treasurers report for March 31, 2014 shows Income: YTD Actual as: $83,933 versus YTD budgeted of: $74,033 and Expenses as YTD Actual of $65,184 versus budgeted $ 76,221. That left a temporary overage of $16,561 at the end of March 2014. Expenses are anticipated for A/C and other repairs soon. The Session voted to receive the Treasurers report. After some discussion, the Session voted to have the Sunday worship service starting time moved to 10:00 a. m. on an experimental basis, during the summer, June 8th through August 31, 2014. PW will present worship on May 18th. The PW will also host the annual church picnic at Coehadjoe Park on May 4th necessitating optional casual clothes. In addition to Pastor Gans, Elder Schlegel has been selected to be a Presbytery commissioner to the 2014 PCUSA General Assembly (GA) -- in June, in Detroit.
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WOSHIP
Flower Calendar
Please note: I am trying to work ahead on the flowers, so if you would like to provide flowers to commemorate a special event/occasion/memory etc. for a specific date, please call me as soon as possible. Thank you. Please also note: It is never too early to call me to select your chosen date. Dates in late 2014 are already being selected, so please dont hesitate to call me if there is a Sunday you would like to commemorate by sharing with the church some type of flowers or plant of your choice. (It could be fresh, silk, dried, etc. from your yard, a supermarket, a florist, etc.) As of this mailing, the following people will be providing flowers in May, June, July and August 2014. If you would like to provide flowers on a date of your choice, please call Nancy Hall at 694-3221. Thank you. Thank you to these people as they share in donating the flowers for the following worship services: May 4, 2014---Celebrating the life of my dear wife, Nel, from Charles Kirk May 11, 2014---To my loving wife, the mother of my three children from Charles Kirk May 18, 2014---From John and Jean Stewart in celebration of their 59th wedding anniversary May 25, 2014---From Pat and Jerry Merrill in recognition of our 59th wedding anniversary June 1, 2014---From Nancy Stephenson in loving memory of her parents, Ted and Violet Wikary June 8, 2014---In memory of our parents, Aleta, Max, and Robert, from the Repp family June 15, 2014---From Bernice and Bob Henry in celebration of their 54th wedding anniversary June 22, 2014---OPEN June 29, 2014---In honor of our 52nd wedding anniversary from Charles and Mary Ellen Vowinkel July 6, 2014---In loving memory of my mother, Ann Patnode, and my brother, Edward, from Kay Dahlen July 13, 2014---OPEN July 20, 2014---OPEN July 27, 2014---OPEN August 3, 2014---from the Ruarks August 10, 2014---OPEN August 17, 2014---OPEN August 24, 2014---From the Clegornes in honor of the Clegorne family birthdays, sons Nicholas and Patrick, and Anthonys mother and father August 31, 2014---OPEN
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WORSHIP (continued)
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WORSHIP (continued)
The rose can be had but in one season of the year; you cannot find a rose in the winter. Jesus may be had at any time of the year - in winter as well as summer; in spring as well as in fall. And we can meet with Jesus in times of adversity and prosperity. The rose is a very fading flower. Some seem to wither in their budding. All their beauty and sweet smell passes away. Jesus Christ is a rose that never fades. He remains in his full beauty and glory throughout all generations. He never loses his savour: if He does not smell so sweet to our senses, it is because our spiritual senses are fading. The cause lies in us, not in Him. Hebrews tell us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. The rose may be taken, presented, given and received by a human hand. Jesus Christ is taken, presented and given by a divine hand. The hand of God himself. John tells us For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He is not otherwise received by faith, the spiritual hand of the soul. One person can but have one and the same rose entirely to himself at one and the same time. Jesus, the Rose of Sharon, is of such a nature, that thousands, millions may have him entirely to themselves, as if but one only had him, and this at one and the same time. Ponder the words of the song Daystar, Im sure you will want to make it a part of your inspirational collection. Steve Richardson, crippled, broken in body, and wheelchair bound, saw beyond his afflictions and wrote this beautiful song, among many others. I had the privilege of being his accompanist when he sang this in my former church in 2006. In January 2012, at the age of 64, this writer of moving, elegant music escaped the tether of earth, winging to that other world. It is the mysterious way of death. He is with the Rose of Sharon, perfect in His sight! Lilly of the valley, let Your sweet aroma fill my life. Rose of Sharon, show me how to grow in beauty in thy sight. Fairest of Ten Thousand, make me a reflection of Your light. Daystar shine down on me, let Your love shine through me in the night. Lord, I see a world's that dying, wounded by the master of deceit; Groping in the darkness, haunted by the years of past defeat. But then I see You standing near me, shining with compassion in your eyes. Jesus shine down on me, let Your love shine through me in the night. Lead me Lord, I'll follow anywhere you open up the door. Let me know Your wisdom, show me things I've never seen before. Lord, I want to be Your witness, You can take what's wrong and make it right. Jesus shine down on me, let Your love shine through me in the night. With a song in my heart, Rick
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WORSHIP (continued)
Something To Think About Lead Us Not Into Temptation - II
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18), but understand this: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)
We sometimes say: Oh, I dont want to think about this. I want my faith to be simple! We need to see exactly what this means. A. Dietrich Bonhffer, Bonhffer in a series of meditations in 1937 (see his Temptation in the FKPC library), said this about Jesus temptations:
The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, into solitude, into abandonment. God takes from his Son all the help of man and creature God leaves men alone in temptation Yes, God himself abandons man in the face of temptation.Such an understanding surely is incomprehensible to all human-ethical-religious thinking. God shows himself in temptation not as the gracious, the near-one, who furnishes (i.e., provides) us with all the gifts of the Spirit; on the contrary, he is quite distant from us; we are in the wilderness! (p. 17).
His understanding of Gods abandoning Jesus is based on II Chronicles 32:31, re King Hezekiah: God left him to himself, in order to try him and to know all that was in his heart; i.e. the heart of man is revealed in temptation (p. 29). Jesus absolutely decided how he would conduct his own life and for what purpose. And then Bonhffer admits this: It is human temptation which harasses us (32). No temptation is awful enough for us because God is faithful - words spoken well before Auschwitz, for it was a diabolical plan that snared an entire community in a web of death! (L.L. Langer in Greene and Kumar 2001 Witness: Voices from the Holocaust xvi). Consider this:The Holocaust (is) unredeemable evil in itself, yet it could be a grotesque beacon for us; unless we can use it as such a beacon, the Nazis have finally won. Every truth that shuts you in, that does not lead to others, is inhuman! (Robert MacAfee Brown The Holocaust as a Problem in Moral Choice in Elie Wiesel et al. 1977 Dimensions of the Holocaust 62). B. Temptation often leads us into a deeper self-centeredness or ego-centricity; we want escape or surrender to avoid the reality and meaning of my discomfort. Its so easy to become apathetic to the world outside of myself. In a world that has become an insane asylum, in a world that has gone quite mad, to which we find it so easy to surrender ourselves as human beings, Wiesel offered this:
In a world of hate and indifference moral madness expresses ones love, care, and concern for others. This is for oneself the beginning of moral responsibility for others (op cit. 87 fn. 53). All of which means this: we can no longer be spectators: The spectator by his lack of involvement casts his vote for those who are doing the dirty work (Browns comment op cit. 55).
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WORSHIP (continued)
C. In a speech given by Adolf Hitler in 1928:
In this struggle, the more able, win, while the less able, the weak, lose. Struggle is the father of all things It is not by the principles of humanity that man lives or is able to preserve himself above the animal world, but solely by means of the most brutal struggle! (Cited by Laurence Rees 2005 Auschwitz: A New History7)
Our greatest temptation as human beings is to project an idea outwardly with the belief/claim that all human life should submit uncritically and unconditionally to that belief because it provides the answer to all of our problems. When a spokesperson stands before us with an absolute truth within which we find the meaning of our human existence, indeed, the truth of our existence, then we have encountered the Tempter in human form! Whenever a community and its leadership becomes the arbiter of truth and meaning for our lives, we are not far from the Gulag of Russia, the Auschwitz of the Nazis, the Death Marches of Bataan. D. As Jesus of Nazareth we are told in the Temptation Story (Luke 4//Mt. 4) -made his decision, so must we in this age. As responsible persons, we may not go-with-the-flow; history has revealed the meaning of this nonsense. What is said about Jesus applies equally to the work of the church in this society as in any other: it is not just to provide succor and the comforting words of religion on a Sunday morning. It is to provide a critical focus on our attitudes and behavior as a society, not to become complicit in the policies and activities of this society that lead to dehumanization of our neighbor and ultimately of ourselves, and to decide our nature and destiny before God and one another. Lets ask Father Alfred Delp, S.J.:
We must know the truth about ourselves without equivocation; we must be brought to the point of absolute honesty before ourselves and before others. Again and again we will be tempted to stand on the pedestal of our own self-esteem, and this temptation must be overcome at all costs the truth shall set you free and freedom is all that matters. Father Delp, a Jesuit priest, was anti-Nazi, hung in
Tegel prison 2 February 1945; Dietrich Bonhffer was hung in Tegel prison 5 April 1945. Helen K., a prisoner in Majdanek and Auschwitz:
I dont know if it was worth it in the concentration camp after the war people will learn But did we really learn anything? I dont know! (J.M. Greene and S. Kumar 2001 Witness: Voices from the Holocaust250). For us not to care: our temptation?
Something to do about. Shalom, Tom
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May 2014
Italicized items are non-FKPC activities using FKPC facilities
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
Thursday
2 11:00 Adult Discipleship Ministry 1:00 - 3:00 Crafts
Friday Saturday
3
7:30 - 1:30 Boy Scout Yard Sale 9 10:00 Card Making Ministry (off-site) 10
5 9:00 - 11:45 Library 7:30 Mens Bible 9:15 Adult Ed & Study Youth 10:00 Choir Practice 10:30 Worship 5:00 TOPS (FH) 11:30 Discipleship Youth Ministry 5:30 Mission Ministry 11:30 Church Wide 6:00 - 8:00 Marions Picnic(off-site) United (CE) 5:00 PYC 12 11 9:00 - 11:45 Library 7:30 Mens Bible Study 9:15 Adult Ed. & 9:30 Small Group Youth 10:00 Choir Practice 5:00 TOPS (FH) 6:00 - 8:00 Marions 10:30 Worship United (CE) 11:30 Congregational Care Ministry 6:30 Mens Night Out (off-site) 5:00 PYC 6:30 Esther Circle 5:00 High Tide (off-site) 4
7:00 AA (FH) 8 6 7 9:00 Presbytery 10:00 PW Meeting (off-site) Coordinating Team 10:00 Prayer 1:00 - 3:00 Crafts Shawl Ministry 5:30 Connections 6:00 Worship Ministry Ministry 7:00 Boy Scouts 7:00 Choir Practice 7:00 AA (FH) (YH) 13 14 15
16
19 18 9:00 - 11:45 Library 7:30 Mens Bible 9:15 Adult Ed. & Study Youth 10:00 Choir Practice 9:30 Small Group Study 10:30 Worship 3:00 Spring Musi5:00 TOPS (FH) cale (off-site) 5:00 PYC 6:00 - 8:00 Marions United (CE) 25 Food4Kids & 2 Cents A Meal 26 OFFICE CLOSED
7:00 Discipleship 7:00 Choir Practice 7:00 AA (FH) Ministry Children 7:00 Boy Scouts (YH) 20 22 21
23
24
3:00 Pastoral Care 1:00 - 3:00 Crafts Team 7:00 Small Group Study (off-site) 7:00 AA (FH) 7:00 Choir Practice 28 29
30
31
9:00 - 11:45 Library 9:15 Adult Ed. & Youth 10:00 Choir Practice 10:30 Worship 5:00 TOPS (FH) 5:00 PYC 6:00 - 8:00 Marions 5:00 High Tide United (CE)