August 15, 2013

In This Issue

Adult Picnic Fun!

York Connection

Presbyterian Women of Detroit

Thank You

GIPC Newsbits

"Feeling Fit"

Mary/Martha Circle

God Never Forgets

Choir Potluck

In the Life of Our Congregation

Attendance

July 14 160

July 21 139

July 28 159

August 4 162

Visitors

Bob Taylor, Reese Thomas, Karen Williams, Elaine and Emily Evans, Lois and Paul Klenholz, John Powell Hastings, Mohamed Mattor, Phyllis and Larry LeBlanc, Adeline and Paloma Johnson, Sean Teague, John Morton.

Births

Noah Haven Salyers, born to 'Grace House' residents Amanda and Curtis Salyers; Bryan and Cyndi Jenkins welcome August Henry; Nora Lynn Reynolds, born to Jamie and Josh, granddaughter to Mike and Debby Reynolds.

Concerns

Stacy McGowan

Jack Richardson

Death

Reid Ledbetter

Stephen Ministry

August 18
Psalm 80:19
Turn us again to yourself, O God of the armies of heaven. Look down on us, your face aglow with joy and Love - only then shall we be saved.

August 25
Psalm 71:1
Lord, you are my refuge! Don't let me down!

Stephen Ministry Hours

June

31 hours, 45 minutes

July

26 hours

GIPC is a Stephen Ministry congregation. Contact a pastor or Julie Gloor for more information about this ministry.

GIPC Connections

Our Website:
www.gipc.org

GIPC Church Calendar

Visit us on Facebook!

Follow Us on Twitter: GIPresbyChurch

Subscribe to our sermon podcast on iTunes: "Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church Sermons"

Check out what's happening nationally:

www.pcusa.org

Annual Adult Picnic

We hope you will join us for this fun event on Saturday, August 17, at the home of Greg and Shannon Gentner, 21344 East River Road (5th house north of Church Road) for our Summer Adult Fellowship Picnic. We will gather at 4:00 pm. and eat around 5:00. (If rain spoils our outdoor plans we will meet at the church instead.)

Parking is available at GIPC, where you will be shuttled to the picnic. You may also park in the St. Ann's Chapel lot, in the Gentner's driveway or along the edge of East River Road.

The cost is $10 per person which includes baked chicken, water, lemonade, and iced tea. Bring an appetizer, salad, or dessert along with your own plates, utensils, and preferred beverage.

If you have not already signed up, you may call the church office at 734-676-8811 to make reservations. Be sure to let them know if you need childcare.

OR if you find at the last minute that you would like to attend, come without a reservation for the fellowship and good food!

York Connection

Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services is a business that matches seniors who need in-home support with other kind and compassionate, volunteer-minded seniors. It was co-founded by Kiran and Philip Yocom in 1998, based on the belief that seniors help each other age well and the conviction that givers benefit equally with receivers. They offer experienced and credible resources for older adults who wish to remain at home and a full-range of home care, companion and home maintenance support services, provided by seniors who enjoy helping others. The closest franchise to Grosse Ile serves eastern Washtenaw and western Wayne Counties but Seniors Helping Seniors continues to grow. You may visit their website at

http://www.seniorshelpingseniors.com or e-mail directly to info@seniorshelpingseniors.com

GIPC does not endorse this enterprise but the York Connection heartily supports the concept of seniors helping other seniors. To facilitate this, we have installed a "Barter Board," at the crossroads, where congregants are encouraged to post any needs or services they may have to offer. Hopefully, the York Connection's Barter Board will become a valuable resource for our parishioners, enabling givers and receivers to connect. The Barter Board is open to all generations. Typical Barter Board posts might describe:

*A teen-ager looking for work, to raise money for a mission trip.

*Lightly-used medical equipment that could be useful to another.
*Someone willing to substitute for a care-giver who needs time away.
*Someone needing a baby-sitter or a teen-ager, available for babysitting.
*Volunteers needed or volunteers willing to care for a shut-in's pet.
*A person seeking a companion and a person willing to be a companion.
*A person needing a ride and a person able to drive others.
*A person needing a shopper and a person willing to shop for shut-ins.
*An elderly person needing a young person to do yard work.
*Handyman services needed and persons offering handyman services.
Check the Barter Board frequently to see posts that may be of interest to you!

Friday Flix ~

Friday September 6, 2013 ~ 2pm

The Intouchables (2012)
All ages welcome! During the warm months, Friday Flix will be shown in the air conditioned fireside room. When the weather cools, we will be upstairs in the Cinema.
Driss (Omar Sy), a Senegalese man living in a Paris slum, applies for a job as caretaker to a wealthy quadriplegic, but all he wants is to get his paper stamped so he can get benefits. Despite his lack of qualifications, he lands the job because of his attitude: Philippe (Fran*ois Cluzet), the quadriplegic, wants a caretaker who will look at him without pity. As Driss reluctantly learns to move, feed, and clean Philippe, the two men discover a blunt but vital humor that not only bridges the cultural and class divide between them, but gives Philippe a renewed joy in life. It's easy to see what made The Intouchables such a massive success in France; the movie has the sweet sincerity and uplifting conclusion that make for a classic feel-good experience. The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable, and Sy--who won the French equivalent of the Oscar for his role--is a dynamic and charismatic performer, while Cluzet's understated performance conveys Philippe's frustrations. Based on the #1 international best-selling book: You Changed My Life by Abdel Sellou.

Game Day

Bring a friend or come alone. From September through May, we meet at GIPC from 4-6 pm (note time is different from summer hours) to play dominoes (Mexican Trains), Euchre, Bridge and other games. You can find us in Fellowship Hall. Bring a snack if you would like; we'll provide lemonade. Family dinners follow for $4 per person. Come for games...stay for dinner!

Questions, suggestions and comments about the York Connection can be sent to Ilona Macek at jimacek@aol.com

or call her at 734-675-2384.

Presbyterian Women of Detroit

   Rather than the traditional PWPD Gathering in September, the Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Detroit is inviting Renee Warman, a motivational speaker, to encourage more women to join this organization. Although GIPC doesn't have a traditional PW organization, I have served as our church's liaison to the PWPD since 1993 and have enjoyed every moment. Diane Bridges and Anita Teresko have also been regular attendees at these gatherings, but it would be great if we could fill our van with more women from our church!
   Please consider coming to the All-cluster Gathering on Wednesday, September 4th (clusters are churches in the same locale grouped together.) It will be at the Southfield Covenant Presbyterian Church beginning at 9:30 am. for a check-in, followed by a social time with light refreshments from 9:45 to 10 and the speaker from 10-11:30.
   The speaker's topic is "Girl Talk - the Power of Encouragement." Renee is an experienced motivational speaker who's going to speak and sing about how our words affect each other, what the Bible says about that, and how our attitudes can speak volumes if we speak negatively or encouragingly.
   No reservations are needed since no lunch will be served, but call me if you'd like to go: 734-671-0170. Our van seats seven comfortably!

-Pamela A. Frucci

A Special Thank You

Dear Church Family,

Your loving care of our family during this sad time is so appreciated. From the sprucing up of the Church grounds, the beautiful memorial service, to the loving support of prayers and cards, you have sustained us. Knowing that God's loving arms are around Reid and all of us is so reassuring. We see Jesus's face reflected in all of you. Thank you for holding us up in such precious ways.

With deep appreciation,

Diane for all the Ledbetters

GIPC Newsbits

100 of these!

WOW!

The Spire and all of GIPC extend heartfelt best wishes to Bob Briggs as he celebrates the 100th anniversary of his birth on August 22nd!!!

Sally Hawk and Bud McKay have sold their Grosse Ile home and will make permanent residence in Naples, Florida. Their attachment to GIPC and the fact that daughter Aimee VanDenberghe and her family are on the island will bring them back often for extended visits. If you would like to contact Sally or Bud, their address and phone number are available in the church office.

"Feeling Fit"

The York Connection invites everyone to be part of our newest program ~ this time an exercise class, "Feeling Fit". Introductory sessions will be on Thursday afternoons on September 12, 19, and 26. We will meet from 1:00 to 1:45 pm. in Fellowship Hall to be part of a program led by Connie Fedel, owner of Taylor Yoga. Connie will show us how to do exercises that help with strength and balance and exercises with moderate yoga influence. This class is appropriate for any age level and any level of mobility, and we hope to see as many men as women in the group.

Cost is $5 per person per session. Please sign up at the Crossroads so we are properly prepared for all attendees.

You will need a an exercise mat. Bring your own if you have one; if not, Connie will have extras with her. Make certain you are properly hydrated.

The classes will begin with 45 minute sessions. If the group decides they want more, we'll go to hour sessions. If the group so decides, "Feeling Fit" will extend far beyond September.

Whether you can touch your toes or simply look at them longingly, Connie's exercises will work. Whether you're trying to improve your physical dexterity, decrease you stress levels or just feel better about yourself, this class will head you in the right direction!

Mary/Martha Circle

   Newly installed moderator of the Presbyterian Women of Detroit Joan Lockard, who resides in Clinton Twp., will visit Grosse Ile at Noon on Tuesday, September 17th to attend the first meeting of the Mary/Martha Circle for 2013-14. She will join us for Bible study and our business meeting. Although we traditionally bring a bag lunch, circle leader Judy Treadwell plans to provide dessert for our visitor. Joan has said she would like to visit as many of the churches that are part of the PWPD during her two-year service as moderator and we're the first on her list.
   Any women who would like to take part in our monthly meetings are invited to attend. It's a combination of fellowship and Bible study and a good way to get to know more personally the women of our church.
   Lay pastor Anita Teresko will lead us in the first lesson of this year's Bible study: Abiding Hope...The Presence of God in Exodus and Deuteronomy.

-Pamela A. Frucci

God Never Forgets

   This is an update of a story I wrote a couple of months ago. Yes God who knows all, never forgets and here is a perfect example.
   I joined the Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church in October of 2011. Ever since I have attended church services on a regular basis. I have also attended Sunday School on a regular basis. Albeit, my wife, Janet, is a shepherd at Sunday School and must attend each week. If I'm to go to the 10:30 service I must leave with her since Parkinson's prohibits my driving so I must sit through Sunday School prior to the service. That sounds like reason enough for my being there, but no, that is not the root of God's plan of assuring my presence. I am not an instructor nor am I a leader. I feel like I'm a Sunday School student and at the age of seventy four, I sit on the floor with the five to ten year old children.
   I learn something new each week. I feel so honored when I'm asked to play certain parts such as a raccoon or an octopus for Bible School or King David or even the ultimate which actually happened. That of course being Jesus himself. Now that Bible School is behind us, I take great pride in adding "a bird" to my resume. I might add that I do throw in an extra dollar into the collection basket each week.
   So what is God's plan? What is the real reason for my attending Sunday School and what is it that God has not forgotten? Let's go back to the year of 1949. I had just turned ten years old. My Mother had re-married and this was the first time in my memory our family was together. We were expected to and did go to Sunday School. One Sunday I decided to skip it. I took my twenty cent collection money and spent it on a comic book, an ice cream cone and a coke.
   The next week my brothers joined me. We did this about every other week. I very well remember cupping my hands together while my brother, Wayne, would step into them and reach the girlie magazines that were out of the reach of children. We'd spend our Sunday School time leafing through those magazines. I well remember the first Playboy magazine with Marilyn Monroe as the centerfold. What a keepsake that would have been.
   Today I figure the extra dollar I contribute to the collection basket is equal to the twenty cents I failed to give over sixty years ago. I am also learning today what I should been learning back in those days. Yes, God not only knows all, he never forgets.

-David Dyer

Adult Choir Potluck

Dear Singers: Those who sing regularly, those who sing irregularly [take that however you want], and those who just haven't gotten around to it yet:

It's time to plan to be a part of the GIPC Adult Choir. We gather at about 8:30 on Sunday mornings [and occasionally other times] to eat doughnuts, drink coffee, catch up on the latest news, and sing, usually in that order. We make joyful noises to the Lord at most 10:30 services, many 8:15 services, and on other special occasions, like Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, Interfaith events, etc.

This year's kick-off pot-luck will be at the home of Bill and Nancy Gruits, 8411 Hampton, Grosse Ile, on

Thursday, September 5, 2013, beginning at 6:00 pm. Please call Sue Quinn at 734-671-8399, e-mail: quinns@wowway.com to let her know what you would like to bring [hors d'oeuvre, salad, casserole, dessert]. Please bring your own beverage.

Looking forward to a wonderful year of music making.

Musically yours,

James Parker,

Music Director

The Spire is a publication of the Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, 7925 Horsemill Road, Grosse Ile, Michigan. The purpose of this newsletter is to share news and information about GIPC and our denomination.

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