Issue 43 Volume 12 - Week of October 26, 2014

From Dr. Jim Weldon, Jr.

Dear FIPC Church Family,

Halloween is coming! How do I know that? Because Walmart has their Christmas decorations for sale already! I know that some churches do not like to talk about Halloween. They associate it with evil, etc. I have read all about it. But what if you and I took this "pagan celebration" and used it for good? Below are 12 simple ways to show people Christ's love and hospitality on Halloween. Enjoy!

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On Mission This Halloween

By Jeff Vanderstelt

This coming Halloween offers a great opportunity for many to engage in new relationships with those around us or to revisit some old relationships. Regardless of what you think of the holiday and its roots, we have been sent by Jesus to reach out and show Christ's love. We have in front of us a wide open door for ministry in our neighborhoods. I want to encourage you not to miss out on the opportunity.

If you are looking to be more intentionally engaged this year, I want to present you with a few ideas for how you can more effectively walk through the open door that Halloween presents to us as Jesus' missionaries.

BE HOSPITABLE. Don't just give out candy:

1. Give out the best Candy. Please, don't give out tracks or toothbrushes or pennies...kids are looking for the master loot of candy. Put yourself in their shoes.

2. Think of the Parents. Consider having some Hot Apple Cider and pumpkin bread or muffins (or bottles of water) out for the parents who are bringing their little kiddos around the block. Make your entry-way inviting so they want to come closer and hang for a bit if possible.

3. Be Present. Don't hide out all night. Come out to the door or hang out on the porch and if they stop to have some cider, get to know their names and where they live in the neighborhood.

4. Be Encouraging. Tell the kids you love their costumes and to have a great night. Practice building others up with words.

5. Party. If you're really into it, you may want to throw a pre-Trick or Treating party. Provide dinner and drinks or do a "pot luck." Then, send the moms out trick or treating with the kids while the dads continue hanging with some hot apple cider, coffee or tea. Then reconvene with the parents and kids together to examine all of the loot (kids love to show their parents and other kids the loot).

6. Learn the Stories. If you are out Trick or Treating with the kiddos or staying back with the other parents, ask questions...get to know their stories. Pay attention to their hearts and their felt needs. Look for opportunities to serve them later. This is how I first got to know Clay (while Jayne was hanging with Kristi and the other moms). I learned his story while we were with the kids and Jayne got to know hers. This led to both of them eventually coming to faith in Jesus.

GO TO THEIR PLACE. Join what is happening elsewhere:

7. Attend the Party. If others are throwing parties, you may want to join them. If so, bring drinks, food or whatever is needed. Then, serve by helping to clean up.

8. Join the Community. If your community has key events, join them and invite some neighbors to go with you (then get to know their stories along the way). Our area has a trick or treating event on a main street where all the businesses give out candy, the firemen give tours of the fire engines, etc. We go with a group of friends to this each year and consistently meet more people to reach out to.

9. Head to the "Watering Holes." If you do not have kids or are not going to engage in the Trick or Treating activities or events, consider going to the local pubs, restaurants or clubs near you for their events and get to know the people there. Make it your goal to learn the story of at least one person who needs Jesus and walk away with some next steps on how to serve them. You will want to do this with others so that you don't go it alone.

BE PRAYERFUL. Ask for the Spirit to lead, guide and work:

10. Pay Attention. Ask the Spirit to open your eyes and ears to the real needs around you.

11. Stay Dependent. Ask the Spirit to help you listen, care and serve those around you.

12. Open Doors. Ask the Spirit for open doors for new relationships and gospel conversations.

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These are all great ways to share the love and hospitality of Christ with others this Halloween. Jennifer and I are leaning towards doing #5!

If you do one of these (or something else) I would love to know about it! God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!

Grace and Peace,

Jim Weldon

Church Celebrations

ROCK Room Redecorated

Have you seen the ROCK Room (old Fellowship Hall) lately? If you haven't, you should stop by and see what the Children's Ministry Team has been up to in there. A special thank you to Carissa Hogan, Kristina Duncan, and Duke Duncan for all of their hard work!

New Class of Elders and Deacons Elected

Congratulations to the following Elders and Deacons who were elected at Sunday's congregational meeting:

Elders

Paul Bedsole (re-elect)

Kathy Brooks
Candy Cafcules
Jason Like
Diane Poidevant (re-elect)

Deacons

Carlos Brooks
Dale Capito
Melissa Perry
Don Roos
Jennifer Weldon

They will begin their intensive training soon and be ordained and installed in late December.

Church Announcements

Daylight Savings Time Change

November 2 @ 2:00 am

Fall Back One Hour

Don't be late to church on Sunday! Remember to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night. We challenge you to do something to further God's kingdom with that extra hour.

All Church Potluck Lunch

November 16 @ 11:15 am

Gathering Area

Join in the celebration,

fellowship, and conversation.

Everyone's coming,

so you should be there.

Bring your whole family,

plus a yummy dish to share!

Christmas Eve Family Service

December 24

4:00 pm

Sanctuary

Looking for Hams, Divas, and SuperStars for our Family Christmas Eve Service! We have speaking, as well as non-speaking, roles for Children, Youth, and Adults! Practices will be for one hour on Sundays after church beginning December 9th. Don't like the spotlight? We need volunteers for set decoration, costumes, and stage hands (community service hours for youth volunteers!). Contact Carissa Hogan at 449-0703 for more information.

Operation Christmas Child

Shoebox Packing Party

November 5 @ 6:30 pm

Worship Building

Join us in helping children of the world experience the joy of Christmas. Items to be placed in the shoe boxes will be collected through November 4th!

We need the following items:

Toothbrushes/toothpaste
Coloring books/crayons
Hair brushes/combs/hair clips
Pencils/pens/sharpeners
Writing pads
Socks
Sunglasses
Ball caps
Toy jewelry
Small stuffed animals (new)
Small toys (new): cars, dolls, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, slinkies, etc.

Please no war related items, food, liquids/lotions, medications/vitamins, or breakable items.

Bring your items to church and drop them in one of the collection bins, or bring them by the church office. Contact Sara Dryden or Mike Horst for more details.

Blackboard writings A good example is the best sermon

Upcoming Messages

Don't miss out on the important messages that FIPC has planned:

November 2 - Pastor Jim - Daniel Series, Part 4: True Faith In The God Who Saves.

Daniel 3:1-30

November 9 - Pastor Jim - Daniel Series, Part 5: Am I Crazy? Daniel 4

November 16 - Pastor Jim - Daniel Series, Part 6: The Writing On The Wall. Daniel 5:1-31

November 23 - Pastor Jim - Daniel Series, Part 7: In The Lions' Den. Daniel 6

November 30 - Mike Horst - To Be Announced

Pastor Jim invites conversation on the topics before the scheduled Sunday. Dates and topics are subject to change.

Adult Ministries

Raising Kingdom Kids

New Small Group

November 2 @ 11:15 am

Worship Building Room #2

"It is far easier to shape a child

than repair an adult"

Who: Parents with Small Children

What: New Small Group

When: 1st and 3rd Sundays right after church, 11:15 am to 12:15 am-ish.

Where: FIPC's Worship Building. The children will meet in the Nursery and the adults will meet in Room #2.

Other: Child care will be provided! All who want to use the child care will pitch in to help cover the cost. (Suggested paying between $3 to $5 per child per meeting.)

Food/Snacks: On your own.

Will be reading and discussing the book "Raising Kingdom Kids" by Tony Evans. This group is OPEN to anyone who would like to attend. You can drop in any time and do not have to be at all the meetings. For more information, contact Jim Weldon at 543-8893.

Great Banquet

Mandarin Presbyterian Church

Women's

November 6-9

Men's

November 20-23

72 hour spiritual retreat held at Mandarin Presbyterian Church. Sign up on your yellow welcome card during worship or contact Elder Iris Cruice.

Christian Growth Classes

November 2 @ 1:00 pm

Worship Building

We would love for you to join the church and continue your discipleship journey by partaking in one of these classes. If you are interested in joining the church or attending one of the classes, please contact Director of Membership Sara Dryden. 1st Base, please sign up ahead of time in order to receive information to be discussed at the meeting.

Youth & Children's Ministries

ROCK Wednesday Nights

5:30-7:00 pm

ROCK Room

ROCK stands for "Reaching Out for Christ's Kingdom" and is a youth group for 5th and 6th graders. Check out the fun that is planned this Fall:

November 5: Dinner TBA--Study: What is in Heaven?

November 12: Dinner TBA--Study: Who is in Heaven?

November 19: Dinner TBA--Study: Who is the God of Heaven?

November 26: Thanksgiving holiday--No ROCK.

In This Issue

Church Celebrations

Church Announcements

Adult Ministries

Youth & Children Ministries

Thank You

Thanks and Prayer Requests

This Week's Funny

This Week's Devotional

FIPC Calendar

A Record of Our Faithfulness

FIPC is a member supported church.

We do not receive any outside funding. Everything we do is made possible through your faithful giving.

New Members This Year: 21

Attendance:

10/26/14 = 130

Ministry & Building Fund Offerings:

10/26/14 = $7,261.11

(2014 weekly need = $10,048)

Offering envelopes are available in the church bulletin for cash offerings. The envelopes are not necessary for checks. If you ever have any questions about FIPC finances, please contact our CFO & Church Administrator, Dawn Vanderpool, at the church office at (904) 269-2412 ext. 701.

Sunday Worship

Worship Service is held every Sunday morning
10:00 AM

Attire is casual. It is an uplifting, come as you are service.

God never intended for us to go it alone!

We want to help you find the Small Group where you can you grow in your faith and have some fun doing it!

ChristLife - Senior High Youth

Fuel - Jr. High Youth Group

ROCK / Children

Thank You Notes

Thanks to:

The Hospitality Team for Sunday morning refreshments!

The counting team for your continued service to your church!

Our Awesome Worship Band!

Those who helped usher/greet last Sunday!

Our Children's Ministry Volunteers!

Our Youth Ministry Team!

Announcements

Announcements for the e-newsletter, power point slide show during worship, and web site should be emailed to Dawn Vanderpool by 9 am on Mondays.

Announcements for the bulletin should be emailed to Sara Dryden by 10 am on Tuesdays.

Christian Counseling Center

A ministry of Fleming Island Presbyterian Church, The Christian Counseling Center of FIPC is an outreach of the church to our community.

Church Staff

If you would like to contact a church staff member please go to our website.

Facebook

Check out our Facebook page! It's a great way to add photos of events and stay in contact with your church.

Quick Links

Register Now

News

Related Topics

More On Us

Thanks and Prayer Requests

Praise / Thanks:

To God for all the new families He is bringing to us.
To God for blessing us abundantly.
To God for His Word revealed to us in the Bible.
To God for all those who work so hard behind the scenes.
To God for our Hospitality Ministry.
To God for our Sunday School Team.
To God for our Youth Group Leaders.
To God for our Great Worship Band and AV Team.
To God for all those folks who pray each day for FIPC.

Praise from the Welcome Cards:

Great message series by Pastor Jim.
Praise God for giving me the strength to get through another day.
A successful physical move for Ruth to the Allegro. Prayers for a successful "settling in" in her new environment and new friends.
Our fabulous youth group. The amazing job Mike Horst has done to grow our 5th Quarter.
Thanks to all those who helped make this 5th Quarter season a huge success. You are awesome and amazing.
Great 5th Quarter.

Prayer Requests:

For our community.
For our church's growth in spirit, connections, and number.
For those who do not know Christ.
The grace to live out our faith.
For our FIPC Pastor, Staff, Elders, Deacons and their families.
For families and individuals who are hurting.
For the PCUSA and FIPC's response to the changes. For our Denominational Relations Committee.
Martha Williams, health.
Faircloth family.
Sydney Ward.
Betty Gedrottis

Prayers from the Welcome Cards:

Shannon, Lou, John, Lorraine, Bonnie, Pat, Ruth.
Uncle Chuck's cancer testing. Lena to let God back into her life.
For the sick and suffering. For all the disgruntled people in the world. For the new Elder and Deacon elects that are in training.
For Linda C. to continue to get better. Josh's MRI this week for shoulder separation. Our church to continue to grow.
Praise the Lord for the arrival of two new members of our family, 2 little girls.
Co-worker Linda, skin issues; church and gov't leaders.
Many unspoken. Also my son, Joseph (age 7) has had asthma attacks for the change of season.

This Week's Funny

Happy Halloween!

October 31 @ Dark

This Week's Devotional

"Sinful People Can Sin Less"

by Rick Warren

PurposeDriven.com

This Week's Devotional

"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth."

(1 John 1:8 NLT)

We're all defective. We all have parts of our lives that simply don't work. None of us measure up to a standard of perfection. To pretend like you've got it all together when everybody knows you don't is silly. In fact, the Bible tells us it's self-deception.

You will never be sinless on this planet, but it is possible to sin less. So why is it so hard to change stuff in us that we really don't like?

Because we've had our defects so long. Some of our destructive patterns were developed in childhood, perhaps in resistance to a pain or as a stress coping devise. These defects may be self-defeating, but at least they're familiar!

Because we identify with our defects. We often confuse our identity with our defects. When you see yourself connected to your defect, you set yourself up to perpetuate it.

Because our defects have a payoff. Whatever is rewarded gets repeated. the payoff for the defects you have in your life may be to mask your pain, cover up a fear, give you an excuse to fail, or compensate for guilt.

Because Satan discourages us. Once you start to work on something in your life that you want to change, Satan starts saying, "Who do you think you are? You're never going to change. You haven't been able to change in the past. Do you think you're going to be able to change now? It's hopeless. It's not going to work." Those fears arebeing planted in your mind by the Devil himself.

These things keep us from changing the hurts, habits, and hang-ups that we know are unhealthy.

So what does it take to change those deep patterns in my life that I really don't like about me?

"Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And 'don't sin by letting anger control you.' Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil" (Ephesians 4:21-27 NLT).

Fleming Island Presbyterian Church 1743 County Road 220 Fleming Island, FL 32003 904-269-2412 www.myfipc.org Directions

All Church Potluck Lunch November 16 @ 11:15 am Gathering Area

All Church Potluck Lunch

November 16 @ 11:15 am

Gathering Area