April 15, 2016

In This Issue

Children's Art Project

Season of Easter

York Connection

Clean Water Project

Diaper Bank

Green Team News

In the Life of Our Congregation

Attendance

March 6     166
March 13   152
March 20   206
March 27   295

Visitors
Scott Beaudry;
Jessica & June Benson;
BobTromley;
Deborah Housholder;
Renee Weathers;
Nolan Makison;
Dave Paducha;
Randy Wiseman;
Alison Drzinski;
Sean, Devan, & Harrison McCaroll;
Buzz & Carolyn Waggoner;
Dick & Sara Zwolinski;
Anna Schweickart;
Michael Nawocki;
Rita Krug;
John & Denise Morton;

Stephen Ministry

April 17
Colossians 3:13
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

April 24
Philippians 2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the tings of others.

Please contact a pastor or Grace Iglehart for more information.

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

Children's

"Empty Tomb

Garden"

Art Project

Season of Easter

   Easter isn't just a Sunday ~ it's a season. One day out of 365 is hardly sufficient to celebrate the great mystery of our faith ~ that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Accordingly, the season of Easter lasts seven weeks (a "week of weeks"), spanning the 50 days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday and encompassing the festival of the Ascension of the Lord.
    For seven weeks, a week of Sundays, we acclaim the resurrection of Christ by the power of God. The period of seven weeks of jubilation can be traced back to its Jewish roots of the fifty days celebrated from the day after Passover to Shavuot (Feast of Weeks, Exodus 23:16). For Jews, the Feast of Weeks closed the season of harvest, which had been initiated by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In a similar manner, early Christians observed a fifty-day period of celebration from Easter to the Day of Pentecost. To underscore the uninterrupted rejoicing of these fifty days, fasting and kneeling in prayer were forbidden at least as early as the end of the second century. On the pentecoste ("fiftieth") day, not only was the fifty-day period concluded, but a festival with its own proper content was celebrated. The Jews observed a feast of covenant renewal and eventually commemorated the giving of the Law.    Christians celebrated the gift of the Spirit as preparing the way for the day of the Lord. What Moses and the Law did for the Jewish community, the Holy Spirit now does for the community of Christ.
     - An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 117)

York Connection

Tips For Seniors

God said: "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life." Genesis 1:20

The water (or hydrologic) cycle is major driving force on our planet. Water is in constant motion, evaporating into the atmosphere from oceans, lakes, rivers and streams. When the atmosphere is saturated, precipitation occurs. Some water forms ice at the polar caps or in glaciers. Rain and melting ice produces runoff that percolates through the Earth as groundwater or weathers rock, forming new soil, as it makes its way back to the sea. The heating and cooling of the oceans creates currents which, reacting with the atmosphere, produce our weather patterns. Remarkably, without this knowledge, the ancient author of Genesis 1 actually got it right; it is water that gives Earth the capacity to support life, for within water's wide span of temperatures, from freezing to boiling, there is a range where all forms of life exist.

Living organisms are unique in that they can extract energy from their environments and use it to accomplish reproduction, movement, growth, and development. Considered to be the solvent of the body, water regulates all functions, including the activity of everything it dissolves and circulates. Its properties allow it to maintain body temperature; metabolize body fat; play a role in digestion; lubricate and cushion organs; transport nutrients to the cells and flush toxins out of the body. Without water there is no life yet the water we drink is so readily available that most of us scarcely give it a second thought when opening the spigot. Sadly there are parts of the world where safe drinking water is not so readily available and untold suffering and death are the norm. Like the air we breathe, every human deserves access to clean water. So, why are Presbyterians, a people so focused on Justice, not more concerned? I suspect it is lack of awareness that prevents us taking action. Please go to:

http://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org

to discover what our denomination has been doing to remedy this gross inequity.

- Chief Runamuck

Clean Water Project

   Two years ago, at the Presbyterian (USA) General Assembly in Detroit, Toni Mann was drawn to a display sponsored by Living Waters for the World (LWW). This is a mission of the Synod of Living Waters (Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee).
    LWW provides simple water filtration systems to villages, schools and other institutions in countries where the the local water supply is contaminated. Impressed by LWW's approach and the enthusiasm of the volunteers in the display booth, Toni gave a report at the next GIPC Mission and Stewardship committee meeting. In subsequent meetings, M&S researched LWW and conducted a conference call with leaders of the group in Mississippi.
   In the Spring of 2015, the M&S Committee voted to help support the cost for training three GIPC members at the LWW facility near Oxford, Mississippi. Toni Mann, Gene Swift and Steve Benton traveled to Mississippi in October 2015 and took training that prepared them to initiate a water filtration project in a country where LWW has a network. After discussion in the M&S Committee, we voted to request that GIPC's Session approve the mission. The Session approved the request in early 2016.
   The Mission and Stewardship Committee will host an informational meeting on the mission following the second worship service on May 1st in Fellowship Hall. The committee has not committed to a specific country for our mission. We welcome input from the congregation about potential sites based on your travel or other experiences with LWW's networked countries. They are: Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; El Salvador; Nicaragua; Dominican Republic; Cuba; Ghana.
   Please contact Toni Mann, Gene Swift or Steve Benton if you have questions or suggestions. We appreciate your help!

GIPC Diaper Drive

The "Bottoms Up" Diaper Bank is growing by leaps and bounds. Partially due to a large anonymous donation, we have collected 19,480 diapers from last November through the end of March. As many low-income families struggle to pay for rent, food, and other essentials, money to purchase an adequate monthly supply of diapers is frequently not there. I remember when my son was a teenager and obtained his first job, he had big plans to buy a car, rent an apartment, and all of the other "grown up" things he thought were within his grasp with his $7.00 an hour job. It was sad to see his enthusiasm fade as he realized that a minimum paying job was not his ticket to adulthood. We laugh about it now, but he was so sure that he could make it on his own. He did achieve it, but it wasn't until a college education, and a few years passed by, that he made it! Many working families have the same problem with low wages and trying to live within their means. The diapers obtained by qualified low-income families allow parents to take their baby to free or subsidized daycare, so they can go to work and provide for their families.

Here are some photos of volunteers "bundling" diapers to be distributed at Fish and Loaves on April 4th. We received so many words of encouragement and thanks for the many diapers you have provided. Thank you so much for your generous support! Please remember that the next Diaper Sunday is on April 24th. Monetary donations are utilized to purchase bulk supplies of diapers at a deep discount.

Green Team

It's SPRING!
   Before you know it we'll be tidying up the church grounds and planting flowers.
The annual Spring cleanup will be on Sunday, May 1st from Noon-1:30. Won't you help us to spruce up our yard? Depending on conditions, we'll meet for an hour or two on a Saturday morning in late April or early May to pick up sticks and leaves.
   Sign up for Adopt a Plot. What is Adopt a Plot?? It is a way to keep our church grounds looking their "Sunday Best" all summer long. The planted areas around the church are divided into manageable sized plots and people sign up to care for one. Light weeding can be completed on your time, usually just an hour every couple of weeks.
   The Adopt a Plot sign up is at the Crossroads. There are still plots that need care. We need YOU to sign up! Questions? Call Leigh Krauss 671-5355.

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.

Contributions are invited and encouraged. The Communications Commission reserves the right to accept or reject submissions and to edit to fit available space or for style and consistency.

Material is due six business days before the first or the fifteenth of the month. Emailed submissions should be sent to spire@gipc.org.

Please contact the church office or a member of the Communications Commission if you have any questions. Communications Commission: Sue Ashley, Marta Kramer, Ray Kramer, Carl Krohn, Nancy Morrison