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during this wonderful season. Advent Wednesdays are a wonderful occasion to come and bring
friends (Wednesdays 6:00 -7:00 p.m. in the Session room). Another opportunity is the Annual
Christmas Pageant and Dinner on December 7th
at 5:30 p.m. The choir Christmas Cantata will be
during worship Sunday, December 21st. This
beautiful music will surely be uplifting and a great
reminder of the One true hope we all have. I also
encourage you to invite all you know to our
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services at 4:00, 7:00
and 11:00 p.m.
I pray this season brings you abundant hope and
that you can share that hope with others!
Merry Christmas,
13 NE 36TH AVENUE
OCALA, FLORIDA 34470
www.fortking.org
fortking@earthlink.net
Total Offerings
$222,187.30
Total Expense
$228,511.83
Variance
$ 324.53
We have spent $324.53 more than we have taken in. We still have two months to go before the end of the year.
As long as we watch what we spend, and there are no unexpected costs, we should be fine.
Stewardship 2014: it is not too late to turn in your Commitment Card for 2015. You can mail them to the
church or drop them off at worship or the Church Office. We are still behind in our funding for 2015 so, if you
haven't already, please, please turn your card in as soon as possible.
A great big thank you to those who have already turned their cards in!
CONGREGATIONAL CARE
CONNECTIONS
Dinners For Eight
It is time to begin thinking about joining our Dinners for Eight Program
Dinners for Eight is a fun way to get to know your church family. Each month from January through April, 4
couples (8 people) join together for dinner. Single people are welcomed and will be matched up with another
participant to form a couple. Each month you and your partner meet as part of four different couples. Each
month you provide a different portion of the meal as described below.
Couple A - Hostprovides meat and beveragecalls others in your group to confirm date and time. Dinner
is held in the home of the host (in some instances hosts may use the home of another member with more
space)
Couple B Provides vegetable
Couple C Provides salad and bread
Couple D Provides dessert
A sign- up sheet is located in the Narthex so that you may indicate your interest in participating. A schedule
will be designed to mix up the groups each month and you will be provided a schedule for the entire four
months. In May we will have a special event to include everyone that has participated.
If you have any questions, or want to register by phone, please call Bernice Henry at 694-6798.
DISCIPLESHIP
Sunday Adult Classes in December
Coffee 9:00 a.m.
Happy
Birthday
esus
Happy
Birthday
esus
Our Sunday School children are invited to a Birthday Party for Jesus during the worship Sunday School time
on December 14th. The party will include advent activities, games, a birthday cake, and the construction of
fruit baskets to be given to our shut-ins as a gift to Jesus. The fruit baskets will be filled with fruit provided
by the Adult Sunday School Class. Crafts constructed by the Sunday School will also be placed in the baskets with seasonal treats. They will be delivered by the High Tide and Youth Group when they go caroling
that night.
DISCIPLESHIP (continued)
Advent Wednesdays
Advent Wednesdays starts on December 3rd at 6:00 p.m. and continue through December 17th. We will be
meeting in the Session Room. The discussion for Advent Wednesdays will be about the First Christmas and
discovering the actual literary story the Gospel of Mark and Luke tell about the Nativity. Join us and invite
your friends and neighbors for this Advent exploration.
GROUP ACTIVITIES
Sassy Seniors
All widows and single ladies are welcome to join Sassy Seniors on Wednesday, December 10th at 1:00 p.m. Decembers luncheon will take place at Gator Joes, 12431 135th
Ave (just off Hwy 25) in Okalawaha 352-288-3100.
Crafty Ladies
Crafty Ladies will start meeting again on Thursday, January 8, 2015 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
and see what we are doing and how you can help. We welcome new people and new talents!
DICIPLESHIP (continued)
MISSION
Blood Drive - December 7th
The Big Red Bus will be at Ft. King on December 7th. If it is possible, please donate. This time of year, blood is in short supply and the demand is great. If you donate, remember to bring a valid ID. Thank you.
MISSION (continued)
Below is a summary of how the kindness and generosity of Ft. King Presbyterian
Church has impacted families, many times allowing them to have a place to live
when they were so close to being out on the street with their children. I only
approach your church for help as a last resort after all the other agencies that
help those in dire situations have been approached and the family is still in a
situation of need. One thing that makes this so wonderful is that every family
you helped is still doing well after receiving your assistance. For many, your donation was truly the difference on that very fine line of survival that allowed
these families to move forward and sustain their lives. Please share these stories
with your church members so they can see how their giving has touched the
lives of so many. Pastor Gans, you and your church members are truly a blessing.
November 2013 A mother of two who works at Krystal at $7.79 per hour was
facing eviction from her apartment. An agreement was worked out with the
landlord that if paid an immediate $150 and then added $150 per month to every payment until she was caught up she would not be evicted. As she had just
started working she did not have the $150 which Ft. King Presbyterian provided. This mother kept her agreement and she and her family are still living in
their apartment. Your help prevented them from becoming homeless.
February 2014 A mother with an 18 and a 20 year old was living with a grandmother until the grandmother moved into senior housing. This family found a
place to stay but after paying all the deposits and first months rent had no funds
SESSION
Session Notes
At its November 19th meeting the Session heard/voted:
The Session voted to have the Annual Congregational Meeting in January include the election of the congregational member of the Nominating Committee for 2015, which will be finalized with that action. This
will have two benefits: the nominating committee will exist in case of a Session vacancy before June (when it
has traditionally been constituted) and it will eliminate a called Congregational Meeting around that time
solely for that purpose.
The Finance Ministry pointed out a large concern about a lack of pledging for 2015. While many families
pledging have responded to the request for a 10% increase in giving with an appropriate increase, a number
of families who pledged in 2014 have not done so for 2015. This leaves the budget for 2015 at flat or worse
as unavoidable increases in fixed cost items such as electricity, etc. will not allow for increases and require
decreases in mission and other programs..
The Worship Ministry has decided to purchase the new on-line hymnal with the hope that some of the music
will appeal to younger members.
The glutenfree bread used in communion is not satisfactory (falling apart) - other choices are being explored.
The Property Ministry is looking at an estimated $10,000 in roof repairs to various roofs.
Troop 196 camped at Silver River State Park on November 21-23. They are currently selling Ocala factory made sausage sticks for $1.00.
10
WORSHIP
The Chancel Choir Presents
Inspired by new music as well as traditional carols, The Spirit of Christmas retells the biblical account of Jesus
birth through music and the spoken word. And rather than simply being sung to, those in attendance will be
invited to fully participate in the celebration. Donna Johnson sings Marys song I Will Magnify the Lord joined
by Sheena Schlegel in a stunning duet. I Know Of A Name will be sung by Jim Johnson and later joined by
Martie McLean. The choir reflects with He Became Poor; rejoices with the exciting Good News! and offers
hope with When He Came. You join in singing O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard On High,
and the crowning triumphant, Joy To The World. And there is more as Andy dramatizes the Scriptures.
There is something for everyone. Please take the opportunity to invite a friend to share with us
Poinsettia Order
(Please Print)
_______ (Number of poinsettias) @ $10.00/each $_______________
given by____________________________________________________________________
in honor/memory of (circle one): __________________________________________
11
WORSHIP (continues)
Isaac Watts
12
WORSHIP (continues)
4
13
WORSHIP (continued)
Something To Think About
For Unto You A Child Is Born
Focus on Exodus 1:8-2:10
It has long been recognized that there is a connection between the birth-story of Moses (Exodus
Exodus 1:81:8-2:10)
2:10 and
that of Jesus as the promised messiah as given in Matthew 2 (see B.S. Childs 1974 Exodus 21ff). Because Matthew used contemporary Jewish writings and interpretations of Exodus 2, the Exodus text was not used as a
proof-text by Matthew, i.e., he did not quote from Exodus. Nevertheless, the connection is clear. So, lets look
at the story in Exodus, the birth story of Moses, and hear what it is saying to us.
The Pharaoh of Egypt (not specified in Exodus 2:1-10) was regarded as the physical son of the Sun-god of
Egypt (C. J. Bleeker The Religion of Ancient Egypt in C.J. Bleeker and Geo Widengren, editors, 1969 Historia
Religionum I 76). Why? Because a pharaoh was the product of the sacral marriage between the queen and
(the god) AmonAmon-Re.
Re. This is spelled out in texts and reliefs in the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (+/- 1525
BCE) at Deir el Bahri in Upper Egypt (near Thebes). Hatshepsut was called Gods wife!
Pharaoh was regarded as a son of the gods, in order that he might be elevated above ordinary mortals. In fact,
so elevated was he that he was regarded as Egypt, the common people as extensions of pharaoh, and Egypt
was the pharaoh who had power over the life and death of all other mortals.
In Exodus 1:8 ff., the pharaoh (Note: not named as such from a later Israelite point of view!) is regarded as a
clever despot (Childs op cit. 15), because he humbly identified himself with the people when he said: The
Israelite people are too numerous and strong for us.
us The Hebrews had done nothing at all threatening to
Egyptian power, yet the pharaoh created an alleged threat in order to obliterate a people! Sound familiar?
Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill a male child (Exo. 1:16); they didnt do what they were told because they feared God (Exo. 1:17). And to compound matters, even the daughter of the pharaoh didnt respond in accordance with pharaohs orders! No, she allowed her own motherly instincts to come into play:
she adopted the child as her own, and Moses birth-mother reared the child!
Just why was this infant so special? The story writer is looking back:
back this child, called Moses (to be born in
Egyptian) will be the agent of liberation from slavery in Egypt, from a social, religious, and political system that
can destroy the frail beginnings of human life because he has power over the world he is
invulnerable (Childs op cit. 24)! The child is a sign: the beginning of a new possibility, the opening of a new
future for human life. The child for pharaoh, instead, becomes an obsession, someone, something to kill. Childs
made this comment:
The grim reality is that even when redemption finally comes, it is accompanied, not by the heroic martyrdom of the brave partisan, but by the senseless murder of children. The salvation promised by God is
not greeted by a waiting world, but opposed with the hysterical fanaticism which borders on madness (op cit. 25).
14
WORSHIP (continued)
Elie Wiesel, as a child in Auschwitz, witnessed the hanging of a child, a child with the face of a sad angel.
Behind him he heard someone groan: Where is God? Where is He? Where can He be now? and a
voice within Elie answered: Where? Where is He? Here He is He is hanging on this gallows God
suffered with the victims and was Himself a victim of monstrous man made evil. (Elie Wiesel et al.
1977 Dimensions of the Holocaust 88 fn. 59)
Two questions have been asked, one for a Jew, the other for a Christian:
1.
A Jew asks: The world is so evil, why does the Messiah not come? What does it take to bring
him?
2.
For a Christian, the question is: The Messiah has come, why is the world so evil?
evil? (R. M.
Brown in Wiesel op cit. 60)
So, we celebrate the birth of the One whom we are told will save us from our sins. I hope this word includes
the horrors and monstrosities power-mad human beings have continuously unleashed on human life. As a foretaste of what was to come, Moses lived to fulfill his mission in spite of proposed atrocities by the pharaoh.
And if pharaoh had succeeded and not Moses?
The upshot of the story of Israel and of Jesus of Nazareth is this: The cross is the center of human existence.
Merry Christmas?
Something to think about.
Tom
15
WORSHIP (continues)
(continues)
WORSHIP
Flower Calendar
If you would like to provide flowers during 2015, please call Nancy Hall at 694-3221. Thank you.
Please note: If you would like to commemorate a special event/occasion/memory etc. for a specific date,
please call me as soon as possible. It is never too early to select your chosen date. 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.) Thank
you.
Thank you to these people as they share in donating the flowers for the following worship services:
November 30, 2014 through December 28, 2014---Poinsettias in the Sanctuary
January 4, 2015---From Jim and Donna Johnson in celebration of their 30th
wedding anniversary
January 11, 2015---OPEN
January 18, 2015---OPEN
January 25, 2015---From Marianne Fullarton
February 1, 2015---In memory of my dear friend, Peggy Wiechens, from Mary Ellen Vowinkel
February 8, 2015---In celebration of our 59th wedding anniversary on February the 11th
from Steve and Janet Mitchell
February 15, 2015---OPEN
February 22, 2015---OPEN
March 1, 2015---OPEN
March 8, 2015---OPEN
March 15, 2015---OPEN
March 22, 2015---From Jean Brown, Hal, Douglas, Bruce, and Lynn in loving memory of
husband and father, Halowell E. Brown
March 29, 2015---OPEN (Palm Sunday)
April 5, 2015---Easter (Easter lilies will be placed in the sanctuary)
April 12, 2015---OPEN
April 19, 2015---OPEN
April 26, 2015---OPEN
16
December 2014
Italicized items are non-FKPC activities using FKPC facilities
Sunday
Monday
1
7:30 Mens Bible
Study
Tuesday
Wednesday
3
10:00 PW
Coordinating
10:00 Prayer
Team
Shawl Ministry
1:00 Worship
5:30 Connections
Ministry
Ministry
Thursday
Friday Saturday
4
5
7:30 - 9:00 BNI
(FH)
11:00 Adult
Discipleship
Ministry
7:00 Choir
Practice
7:00 AA (FH)
11
12
19
18
7:30 - 9:00 BNI
(FH)
6
Set up
Fellowship
Hall
Christmas
Dinner
13
Noon - 4:00
Christmas
Fair &
Concert
20
7:00 Choir
Practice
7:00 AA (FH)
26
25
27
OFFICE
CLOSED
7:00 AA (FH)
17
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Ocala, FL 34478
Permit #100
Label