PASTORS LETTER

Summer greetings,
Although we have entered the slower summer
months, plans for our churchs 50th Anniversary
celebration have picked up. The Session has approved October 24-25, 2015 to be the weekend
of our celebration. We still have a lot of planning to do to make this a celebration worthy of
our fifty years of ministry in Ocala. We would
love your help in many different areas. We
need people to help organize a special worship
service, a church-wide mission project, and an
exceptional reception. We also need your stories
and photos that tell the journey of our church,
its family and its mission. If you would like to
help in any way or have a story or photos to
share please bring them to the church office.
Fifty years is an incredible milestone in the life
of a church, and especially this one. Our church
was birthed at a very challenging time in our
countrys history. Many thought that an integrated church with social justice issues as its cornerstone would never succeed. Well, we have,
thanks to the hard work, foresight, and strong
faith of many courageous saints. This church
continues to stand on the high ground of seeking peace and justice for all of Gods creation.
This reason is why I was attracted to this
church. I wanted to be a part of a group of faithful Christians who were putting treads on their
feet of faith, and gloves on their outward
stretched hands of grace and welcome.
I look forward to all those who will gather on
these grounds to celebrate the mighty works of
God, our faith in Jesus the Christ and the works
of the faithful over these past fifty years.
With excitement!

Pastor ........................................ Andy Gans

Visitation Pastor (Ret.) ............ Tom McNeil
Music Director .......................... Rick Roberts
Executive Assistant................... Pat Brown
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,
Donna Johnson, Pat Merrill, Roselle Pringle,
Alice Reffner
Bulk Mail Handling...................John Stewart

Worship: Sundays 10:00 a.m. through August 23, 2015

Office: (352) 694694-4121
FAX: (352) 694694-5226

13 NE 36TH AVENUE
OCALA, FLORIDA 34470

www.fortking.org
fortking@earthlink.net

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

April 2015 Financial Results
Operating Income
Actual = $25,655.91
Budget = $23,427.17
Variance = $ 2,228.74
Expenses
Actual
Budgeted
Variance

= $22,116.38
= $23,418.41
= <$ 1,302.03>

Year-to-Date as of 4/30/15: our income is $4,038.59 ahead of budget. Our expenses are $10,347.89
under budget. We fully expect our expense line to catch up with the budget by year end. It is most impressive that our income exceeds our budget. FKPC is a most generous congregation! Praise the Lord!
The Finance Ministry is still in need of new members. If you have elementary school math skills and a
desire to keep your church relevant in the upcoming years, we would be thrilled to have you join us.
We meet on the second Tuesday of each month and I promise to bring chocolate! Please contact Steve
Layendecker if interested.
Steve Layendecker
Chairperson

CONGREGATIONAL CARE
Happy Birthday
A birthday is a special time
as everyone should know.
It means living another year,
another year to grow.
A birthday is a special time
for each to then reflect,
on the past and on the present
and what the future might expect.
A birthday is a special time
for each to start anew,
for setting goals and striving to make
every wish and dream come true.

CONNECTIONS
Oklawaha, Divided - a poem by Lola Haskins
Between here and the Silver Run are trees drowned for the sakes
of men and women who fish not for food but trophies, who don't see
the point of anything that can't be hung gape-mouthed from a hook.
Between here and the Silver Run lie the ghosts of dozens of
green-and-russet curves lined with laurel oak and palm,
and cypresses at whose feet spider lilies gleam like stars.
Here below the dam, water thunders into the river whose
body it spread. This is the roar of the beast called money and
it believes it will always win. But not yet, for soon enough
the thunder fades, and is replaced by a pair of late owls
seeking each other through the trees-- call and throb,
call and throb, until one takes flight. Rhythmically across
the tangled bank a kingfisher rises, dips, and disappears
into cypress and switch cane. So much beauty, I think,
lies in vanishment. I pass a thickly-vined arch and this
is how I would like to be married-- to take this river
as a nun takes Christ, understanding that its water will
always fall through my cupped hands. A great blue
stands sentry in the spatterdock. It should never
have let me pass, nor the two men casting from
their jonboat with the radio turned up. What kind
of bird do they think they are? Twelve thousand
years ago, our elders hunted these shores. We
paddle by one of their mounds where looters
with lanterns picked through the dirt, looking for
something to sell. Perhaps when the night is full,
the bones they missed slide into the river, to spear
what the moon reveals, swimming over white sand.
We can't see beneath us any more, but there
are still people who remember when this water
ran as transparent as if it were not there,
good people raised in the woods, who
lived by poaching, who knew how to blind
the boats of the law that came in chase. A cooter
slips off an algaed log. There are only a few now,
but come summer, they will line up by size again
to plop into the dark, as they should, at the sound
of one of us. Now, slowly, the river widens.
It is dreaming of the St. Johns, magnificent to it

as the sea. Not yet, we tell it, don't end yet,

as on our left ibis after ibis lifts away until
there are eight, flying in close formation.
Two meanders, and there are twenty. One
more, and I feel what I felt when I was a child
and turned a page of talk and suddenly saw
antelopes, thousands of them, spread across
an African plain-- for suddenly too many
ibises to count swirl into the blue air and
settle at the top of an oak whose limbs
spread to receive them. It's a celebration!
It makes everyone in the sky so happy
they shred their poems and drop them out
their windows without a thought! But soon,
as moments do, this one evanesces and
we join the wide St. Johns, where
fish camps and houses gleam in the sun.
Some day we will follow it north to a place
we cannot see across. But not today.
Today, we have to face again what we
drowned so people who take reservoirs
for nature can pull their trophies and go
home, people who, if they happen to pass
the mucky river above the dam, will not see
the connection. But it's there: a moth in Brazil,
a clutch of gator eggs in tangled grass, we
who claim to love freedom but fold our hands.
Reprinted with written permission from the author,
Lola Haskins, Executive Committee Secretary and
Trustee for the Florida Defenders of the Environment.

ADULT DISCIPLESHIP
Letter From a Birmingham Jail
Written by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963

How do Kings words challenge us today in Ocala?

The focus of the adult portion of Vacation Bible School this year will be to examine how Dr. Kings profound
letter speaks to us in Ocala in 2015, and how we might act to help transform our own communitys challenges
regarding racial, ethnic and religious differences.

Be a part of the discussion 6:00 7:40 each evening, June 28 July 2

Sunday, June 28 An introduction to Letter From a Birmingham Jail John Moxley
Monday, June 29 Issues of the Latino community in Ocala Reina Mendez and Gilbert Malave
*Tuesday, June 30 Our relationship with the Jewish community in Ocala
*Wednesday, July 1 Our relationship with the Islamic community in Ocala
*Thursday, July 2 - Issues related to the African American community in Ocala
*Speakers have yet to be determined.

CHILDRENS DISCIPLESHIP
Send your kids on an icy expedition!
At Everest VBS, kids embark on the coolest adventure of the summer! Everest VBS is
Filled with incredible Bible-learning experiences kids see, hear, touch and even taste!
Sciency-Fun Gizmos, team-building games, cool Bible songs, and tasty treats are just a few of the standout
activities that help faith flow into real life. (Since everything is hands-on, kids might get a little messy. Be
sure to send them in play clothes and safe shoes.) Plus, well help kids discover how to see evidence of
God in everyday lifesomething we call God Sightings. Get ready to hear that phrase a lot!
Your kids will also participate in a hands-on mission project to help with the earthquake disaster in Nepal.
Parents, grandparents, and friends are invited to join us at the end of each evening at 7:30 p.m. for Summit Celebration, a daily exploration of Gods mighty power you wont want to miss.
So mark these dates on your calendar: June 28 July 2. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with a covered dish meal; at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; and at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday for a potato and salad bar. We will end at 8:00 p.m. each night.
Call the church at 694-4121 to register your children, grandchildren, or children of
friends for this life-changing adventure! You may also see Cate Martin after church each
Sunday beginning May 31st. The total cost for the week is $5 to cover food.
Sincerely,
Cate Martin, Your Everest VBS Director

YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP
50th Anniversary Coee Mug
On Sale Now
Celebrate 50 years of Fort King with your very own 50th Anniversary
Coee Mug. The Youth Group is selling these beau ful collector
mugs; one for $8 or two for $15. All proceeds from the mug sale will
help our youth a(end Montreat in June and
other mission trips. If you reside outside Ocala
and want to purchase a mug or two, please
contact the church oce at (352) 694-4121.

GROUP ACTIVITIES
Crafty Ladies
Crafty Ladies meet every Thursday 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!

Mens Night Out

The next Mens Night Out is in September. Stay tuned for more details later this
summer.

Sassy Seniors
The Sassy Seniors will not be going out for lunch during the summer months of June,
July, August, or September. Lunches will resume in on October 13th.

Tai Chi Classes

Tai Chi will not meet during June, July and August. We will resume classes in September. Hope to see you then!
Mary Beth Neely and Donna Lavery

MISSION MINISTRY
Nepal Earthquake
Sisters and Brothers in Faith,
The recent earthquake centered in Nepal has been devastating to tens of thousands of
peoplenot just in Nepal, but India and Bangladesh too. At the time of this publication, its known that more than 8,000 are dead and 17,000 have been injured. And the
needs of survivors and those affected by this terrible tragedy will be great for months
even years to come.
As people of faith we know you will pray for those who are suffering greatly. Our Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance (PDA) ministry is working with our partners to provide financial and other support on the
ground. Visit our PDA web site (http://pda.pcusa.org/) to learn how you can help in this time of great
need, and be the presence of God with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for the people of Nepal.
Faithfully in Christ,
Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness
Director, Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministry

Thank you to the Choir for serving the Interfaith Meal in May. The
Tripodi Family is scheduled to serve the June Interfaith Meal and
the Boy Scouts, Troop #196 will serve the July meal. We appreciate
all those who have signed up for this great mission.

PROPERTY MINISTRY

The Staff of Fort King and the Property Ministry wish to thank everyone who volunteered on
Church Clean-Up Day. The pews were polished, cobwebs were swept away, weeds were pulled,
trees were pruned, gutters were cleared of needles, floors were scrubbed and so much more. A lot
was accomplished because each of you worked tirelessly and efficiently. We could not have done
it without you. Thank you for your enthusiasm, hard work and dedication!

SESSION
At its May 19, 2015 meeting, the Session approved/heard from:
Approved the minutes of the May 17, 2015 congregational meeting.
Approved, after examination, to receive Bernice Henry as serving Ruling
Elder to complete the two-year term (Class of 2017) , vacated by the death
of Elder Jim Copeland, and to install her during the regular worship service on May 24, 2015.
Approved to tentatively set dates of October 24-25, 2015 for the 50th Anniversary celebration, pending any conflicts on the calendar.
Elder Margy Marshall reported as Commissioner to the spring stated Presbytery Meeting. She highlighted that:
Cheryl Gans was examined and welcomed to be a member of the Presbytery and will be ordained at Fort King Church on July 12, 2015.
Approval was made for the Belhar Confession to be added to the Book of Confessions, with
little discussion.
Summer hours (10:00 a.m. worship) will begin on June 7, 2015 and continue through August 23,
2015. Winter (regular) hours (10:30 a.m. worship) will resume on August 30, 2015, to coincide with
Rally Day.

WORSHIP MINISTRY
Sunday Worship
10:00 a.m.
beginning June 7, 2015
through August 23, 2015
Come a little early and stay a little late; get
to know everyone in your Church family.
No Adult Bible Classes during this time.

WORSHIP (continued)

The Chancel Choir Invites You to an

Evening of Music
Wednesday July 15, 2015
5:45 PM Fellowship Hall
Bring your Favorite Covered Dish to Share and Invite a Friend
Music from Broadway to Gospel
Show Tunes to Patriotic
And
A Load of FUN!

REMEMBER THE SABBATH TO KEEP IT SEPARATE (HOLY)

EXODUS 20:8
Compare wording Deuteronomy 5:12: the difference between Remember and Observe.
Shirley Turkle, an MIT sociologist, recently called into question the almost universal use
of electronic technologies for communication which is accompanied by the contemporary inability to be alone, to engage in solitude, which, she says, is the bedrock of development as a person! Because of our use of those technologies, no one is ever truly alone; were on call
24/7, and weve become dependent upon the IPhone, etc., which enables communication at any time,
day or night (see Shirley Turkle, The Networked Primate in Scientific American vol. 311, NO. 3, pp. 8385). The question she raises is this: where are we as a species going? Why? What does it mean?
She calls into question our dominant culture of more, better, faster! And, she asks us, as human beings, to
create sacred spaces- without technology - so that I can encounter and critique my own self and confront/meet others, face-to-face, as human beings, as persons, rather than either as biological or social
functions, i.e. as things!

WORSHIP (continued)
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1951, 2003 The Sabbath) commented:
Technical civilization is the product of labor, of mans exerting of power for the sake of gain, for the
sake of producing goods the Sabbath is the day on which we learn the art of surpassing civilization (p. 17).
The seventh day is the exodus from tension, the liberation of man from his own muddiness, the installation of man as a sovereign in the world of time (p. 20; my emphases).
Indeed, says Heschel, the Sabbath is the place in time in which each person is at home with the divine and with ones neighbor and family (p. 4). When Sabbath is vulgarized to become just another day for exploitation and acquisition, then our humanity is degraded, and we each become another thing among things, something to be used, absorbed, consumed by the Frankensteins of spatial things (p. xii).
Ben Franklin said in his 1778 Ways to Wealth: Lost time is never found again - especially when it
comes to making money! And it is precisely such an orientation to mind and life - centered acquisition that T. S. Eliot wrote:
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpieces filled with straw. Alas!
(T. S. Eliot The Hollow Men 1925 lines 1 -4)
So, there has been considerable historical and scientific response to the materialization and the
networking of human beings, their persons/souls. This was precisely the point to Remember
the Sabbath: the concern is not just with setting aside a day apart from work. To remember Sabbath is to become a witness, as a person and as a community of persons, to the Creator of all life,
to celebrate life, not only with prayers and worship, but in sharing with one another as a community (recall the table-fellowships of early Christianity) our common humanity and the ingenuity of
our differences.
We have become entrapped and enslaved by our own creations and imaginings. Sabbath offers us a
golden opportunity to be liberated from them, to be human again rather than to be led and
dominated. It is time for a new Exodus, for us to reflect on our relationships with one another
as human beings and with God, our Creator, and to choose a new direction of life when our ways
of doing things create alienation rather than reconciliation.
Something to think about.
Shalom,
Tom

WORSHIP (continued)
Flower Calendar
Thank you to these people as they share in donating flowers for the following worship services:
June 7, 2015

In memory of our parents, Aleta, Max, and Robert, from the Repp family.

June 14, 2015

From Bernice and Bob Henry in celebration of their 55th wedding anniversary.

June 21, 2015

In celebration for three June anniversaries and four June birthdays in our family,
and in celebration of the life of my father, Gwynn Skelton, from Gwynn and
Cash Pealer.

June 28, 2015

In honor of our 53rd wedding anniversary from Charles and Mary Ellen Vowinkel.

July 5, 2015

God Bless America and a special Thank You to all those men and women who
serve or have served our country in any capacity! from Pat Brown

July 12, 2015

In loving memory of my mother, Ann Patnode, and my brother, Edward,

from Kay Dahlen.

July 19, 2015

OPEN

July 26, 2015

Praise the Lord for 50 years of marriage from Rhea and Keay Forman.

August 2, 2015

OPEN

August 9, 2015

From Jim and Donna Johnson

August 16, 2015 With love to my two daughters, Judith Bullen and Pam Lewin, from Lena Lewin.
August 23, 2015 From Marianne Fullarton, in loving memory of Dave on the anniversary of their
wedding.
August 30, 2015 OPEN
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. The flowers or plant could be from your yard, a supermarket, a florist, or etc.
Thank you.
Nancy Hall
694-3221

10

JUNE 2015

Italicized items are non-FKPC activities using FKPC facilities

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

1
7:30 Mens Bible
Study

2
3
9:30 Prayer Shawl
Ministry
5:00 Property
5:00 TOPS (FH)
Ministry
6:00 Mission
5:30 Connec ons
Ministry
Ministry
6:00-8:00 Marions 7:00 Boy Scouts
United (CE)
(YH)
9
8
7:30 Mens Bible
Study
9:30-11:30 Library 5:00 TOPS (FH)
6:00 Finance
9:30 Choir Prac ce 6:30 Children's
Ministry
Discipleship
10:00 Worship
4:00 Small Group 6:00-8:00 Marions 7:00 Boy Scouts
(YH)
Study (o-site)
United (CE)

10

14

17

Communion
by In#nc#on

Flag Day

15

16

Thursday
4
7:30-9:00 BNI
(FH)

Friday
5

Saturday
6

1:00 Adult
Discipleship
Ministry
1:00 Cra>s
7:00 AA (FH)
11
7:30-9:00 BNI
(FH)

12

10:00
Congrega on- 1:00 Cra>s
al Care
Ministry 7:00 AA (FH)
18

19

20

26

27

Turning
Point
Set up
(FH)

9:00 - 3:00
Turning
Point

Y O U T H AT M O N T R E AT
9:30-11:30 Library 7:30 Mens Bible
9:30 Choir Prac ce
Study
5:00 TOPS (FH)
10:00 Worship
4:00 Small Group 6:00-8:00 Marions 7:00 Boy Scouts
Study (o-site)
United (CE)
(YH)
21 Fathers Day
22
23
1st Day of Summer 7:30 Mens Bible
Study
9:30-11:30 Library
6:00 Session
9:30 Choir Prac ce 5:00 TOPS (FH)
10:00 Worship
6:00-8:00 Marions 7:00 Boy Scouts
United (CE)
(YH)
4:00 Small Group
Study (o-site)
28 Mission Sunday
2 Cents-A-Meal
Food 4 Kids
Equal Exchange

29
7:30 Mens Bible
Study

7:30-9:00 BNI
(FH)
1:00 Cra>s
7:00 AA (FH)
24

25
7:30-9:00 BNI
(FH)
1:00 Cra>s
7:00 AA (FH)

30

5:00 TOPS (FH)

9:30-11:30 Library
9:30 Choir Prac ce 6:00-8:00 Marions 7:00 Boy Scouts
10:00 Worship
United (CE)
(YH)
4:00 Small Group
Study (o-site)
5:30 Potluck & VBS 6:00 VBS
6:00 VBS

11

FORT KING PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

13 NE 36th Avenue
Ocala, Florida 34470

Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Ocala, FL 34478
Permit #100

RETURNED SERVICE REQUESTED

Label

Boy Scout Fundraiser

Ft. Kings Boy Scout Troop #196 is selling meat sticks as a fundraiser for their various scouting activities.
The meat sticks are made at Ocala based Country Meats, an FDA certified facility. The sticks sell for
$1.00 each. If interested, contact Bob Barton 425-8500. See a sample on the church bulletin board.