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  On Saturday, April 5, The Rev. Earl F. Palmer  will present a seminar on "C.S. Lewis: The Writer of Stories and Oxford Don"
   C. S. Lewis described his journey of faith in Jesus Christ by the phrase "Surprised By Joy". We will explore the reasons for his enduring influence on our lives.

April 4-6, 2014 Schedule

Friday, April 4, 6 pm: potluck, presentation 7-9 pm.
Saturday, April 5, 8:30 am: continental breakfast; seminar 9 am - 1 pm.
Sunday, April 6, 8:15 and 10:30, Rev. Palmer will preach at both services.
Sunday, April 4, 9:30 - 10:20 am, Rev. Palmer will reflect and answer questions about "Reading the Bible in One Year".

   There is no charge for Rev. Palmer's presentations. There will be a free will donation for breakfast. 

    Earl Palmer was senior pastor of University Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA from 1991-2006 when he retired. Prior to that he served as senior minister at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA, 1970-1991. Since his retirement, he has worked with Earl Palmer Ministries, which focuses on "promoting Christian Thought" and encouraging and "building up the Christian Faith." He and his wife, have three children and seven grandchildren.

   For Reservations: Call Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church, 734-676-8811 or email jholmes@gipc.org
Sign-up at the Crossroads begins on March 9th.

 -from Pamela A. Frucci, liaison

SNOW DAY
   Wednesday, February 5 was on my calendar to attend the PWPD gathering in Royal Oak. The program featured a speaker, Kimberly Simmons, whose great, great, great grandmother at age 16 journeyed on the Underground Railroad that took her from slavery in St. Louis to
freedom in Canada in 1842. I headed for our GIPC to pick up Dianne Bridges, who had signed up to attend the gathering. I drove 10 miles an hour down Meridian Rd. at 8:30 that morning, visibility was almost 0, and on Horsemill a wrecker was pulling a car out of the ditch ahead of me. Even though I've been faithfully attending gatherings for lo these
many years, I decided not to chance the drive to Royal Oak. Jan Slater was the only one at our church and helped me find the phone number of the Presbyterian church in Royal Oak. I called and said I wasn't going to make it. The receptionist agreed with me that the roads were
treacherous. Later I found out, the speaker had called and cancelled, our Justice & Peace member, who was scheduled to do the motion break, had cancelled due to all the snow, and our moderator arrived late taking 1-½ hours to go a distance that normally would take ½ hour. 
   About 35 women showed up, mostly from the Royal Oak church and they improvised a program based on experiences the women present had with Black History Month. One wife of a minister back during the Civil Rights days, said her husband marched in the South with the blacks seeking voting rights. When he got back to their church in Indiana, he was asked to leave as their pastor!  Hearing how the leaders
at the gathering adopted to the situation reminded me of a saying I once saw on a poster on the door of a minister: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape."
 
PW RETREAT
   Saturday, March 8th is planned as a time to be refreshed by the spirit.  A retreat from 8:30-4 pm. will be held at the Rosedale Gardens Church in Livonia. The brochure, announcing the retreat, asks if you are "tired?
Worn out?"  With work shops and a "pep" talk by the keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Lorolie Andrews, the Saturday retreat is planned to answer those concerns and provide a place where you can relax and re-group. 
   The cost is $30 which includes the luncheon. The deadline for registration was February 28. By calling Pam Gunderson at (734) 422-0494, I'm sure they can accommodate you if you miss the deadline. If you would like to go, I have a van that holds seven comfortably.
 

SAVE CAMPBELL SOUP BAR CODES
There's a container that looks like a Campbell Soup can in the kitchen to drop off the bar code from the labels. If you buy Campbell soup, snip it off and add to the collection. I present a bag of labels to the two elementary schools on Grosse Ile which they use to buy needed equipment. Mary/Martha Circle regularly brings the labels to our Tuesday Bible study sessions.

Be sure to come to the fourth annual Soup-tacular meal on Sunday, March 9, at 3 pm. in Fellowship Hall. Enter a pot of your own favorite soup or just come and enjoy a home-cooked meal. There will be a free will offering. All proceeds will go towards our youth 2014 Mission Trip to Ghost Ranch in New Mexico! Sign up at the Crossroads.

  High school graduates and older are going on a short mission trip from May 29th-June 1st to do home repair in Bethesda, Ohio. Contact Grace Iglehart by March 1st (immediately!) giglehart@gipc.org