white-flowers-header.jpg
Focus on Faith

Faith United Presbyterian Church Newsletter

August 14, 2014 

Phone:   734-5129     Hours:  M-F   8 AM - Noon  and 1 -4 PM   

   

Pastor:  Rev. Dr. Kathy Stoner-Lasala

revkathysl@gmail.com (609) 319-4030

 

Church Email: faithup@maplecity.com      

Website: www.faithpresmonmouth.org

This Sunday - 10th Sunday after Pentecost 

 August 17, 2014 

   9:30 a.m. 

 

Sermon Title: "Kin-dom" 

Genesis 45:1-15                                       Psalm 133
Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32                   Matthew 15: (10-20) 21-28
              
Pastor:  Rev. Dr. Kathy Stoner-Lasala
Liturgist: Vicki Briscoe
Ushers:  Buff Hottle, Dalton Hottle, Mark McVey, Brenda Runge
Greeters:  Jill McClintock, Addison Anderson, Ava Anderson, Alexis Anderson; 
Jeanne Robeson
Children's Church:  Lorna Blackford
Nursery:  Lolla Ballard  
Coffee Hour:  Gary & Jonalyn Heaton
CD Recording:  Ted Briscoe
Special Music:  Lucas Wood, vocalist
 

Upcoming Meetings/Events 

 

Today, August 14 - Christian Education Committee Meeting - 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 19 - Mission Committee Meeting - FUPC Library - 7 p.m. 

Wednesday, August 20 - Focus 
 deadline - 12 Noon

Wednesday, August 20 - Community Cares Meeting - FUPC Social Hall - 7 p.m. 

Ice Cream Social - Sunday, August 24  
Ice Cream Social - Apple Pie

 

 

The Faith ice cream social is just a week away. Ticket sellers are asked to make their contacts and turn in their money on Sunday to Martha Whiteman if possible so that the 

committee will have an idea of approximately how many tickets will be sold. Tickets still need to be sold in the com-munity and additional tickets are available 

 from individuals and at the church office.  

 

Thank you all for your support of this important mission project. 

 

Wednesday Night Live  

 

 
It is time to start signing up for Wednesday Night Live.   Our theme this year is the Parables of Jesus. I am also very excited to announce it is the 25th year of WNL.

 

WNL is sponsored by our church and is a program for children in grades 1st through 6th grade.  It is held on Wednesday nights from 3:20 to 6 starting on Sept. 24th.  The "WNL family picnic" is September 10th at 5:15. Food and table service are provided and all WNL children and their families as well as volunteers are welcome to attend. A short informational meeting will be held after dinner and WNL booklets will be available. 

 

Sign up soon.  The sooner I know how many children we will have, the easier it will be to arrange the carpools and prepare for what we need to run this very important program. Registration forms are being sent in the mail this week and are also available in the church office and in the Social Hall after church on Sundays. 

 

We have a good list started of volunteers but we also need more! See me if interested or sign up in the Social Hall as well.  Volunteering opportunities include being on the kitchen team to wash dishes, providing snacks for a week, or desserts for a few of the dinners. We need drivers, table parents, teachers or teacher helpers, or help with recreation, crafts, and music, We can also use monetary donations for scholarships or supplies used at WNL.  Finally, we need your weekly prayers for the success of this program.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or know of someone who hasn't come before so I can get them the information.  Thank You! 

 

Debbie Dingman - WNL Director 2014-2015  

Community Cares Committee - Meets Wednesday, August 20 at Faith United Presbyterian Church

 

 

Faith Church will host a meeting of the organizing committee of the five local churches who are members of the Community Cares organization on

Wednesday, August 20 at 7 pm. The group will meet in the Social Hall. Plans will be approved for work to be done for local residents on Friday and Saturday, September 26 & 27.

 

Persons wanting to request work on their property may obtain an application in the church office. Additional information may be obtained from Bob Wells or Ralph Whiteman, members of Faith Church,  who serve on the planning committee. 

Gift of the Heart School Kits 
 
We have received word from the Rapid Information Network (RIN) of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance that there is an urgent need for school kits.  In response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the number of School Kits in the New Windsor, MD warehouse is down to 60 cartons and in the Little Rock, AR warehouse is down to 120 cartons.  In November 2013 approximately 3,000 School Kits were shipped for distribution in Syria.  The Church World Service Gift of the Heart School Kits include basic necessities for learning, such as notebooks, pencils and crayons and help children return to normalcy faster, helping them avoid the long-term effects of trauma.  
 
The Mission Committee of Faith Church would like to help support this humanitarian aid effort by adding the Gift of the Heart School Kits project to its July-August mission focus and to ask the congregation for contributions of school kit items and/or monetary contributions toward the kits, valued at $15.  A complete list of the school supplies needed is posted on the office door. Thank you for the many donations we have already received, and especially thank you to Ruth Wright, Liz Nieman, and Marj Phelps  for the 36 beautifully crafted tote bags they sewed.  In mid-August we will schedule a "packing day" to fill the bags with all the supplies, in preparation for shipping. 
 
We will be collecting these items for the next few weeks.  There is a box marked "School Kits for Syria" outside the office where you can drop off any of these items. Checks for monetary donations may be made payable to Faith United Presbyterian Church - please write "PDA School Kits" on the memo line. There is also a poster on the office door listing the items that are needed for the kits.  In a world filled with chaos and suffering, many of us are looking for something that we can do.  These are very easy-to-obtain items and many are on sale right now. 
 
2014-2015 Horizons Bible Study Books Now Available
 
The 2014 - 2015 Horizons Bible Study is "Reconciling Paul:  A Contemporary Study of 2 Corinthians" by Elizabeth Hinson -Hasty. 

When the PW/Horizons Bible study committee selected 2 Corinthians for the topic, they requested that the study focus on the following aspects of faith: generosity, grace, forgiveness, living by faith, the image of God, funds development, ambassadors of reconciliation (peacemaking), reconciliation, the ways in which Paul's letters are a response to these themes, what was in the original letters, and Paul himself. 

The books are illustrated with traditional and contemporary stained glass designs that are truly beautiful. 

Copies may be purchased from Vicki at the church office 8 - noon and 1 - 4 p.m. M-F for $9.00.  Please make checks payable to Faith United Presbyterian Church and write "PW Horizons Study Guide" on the memo line. 
Prayer Concerns

Louise Roos;  Bill Smallwood; Rick Rountree;  Joyce Lantz; Irv Lipp; Etta Jane Pullen (now at Seminary Bounce Back);  Ed Strickler; Bobbi Cady (Sarah Torrance's mother);  Cathy Abernathy;  Greg Haning; Bill Hoover; Blaine Robinson; Vern Mettler; Cinda Stansbury; Mary Johnson; Lindsay Murdock; and Jim Paris. 

Louise Roos fell and broke her hip and had surgery on July 30. She is now recovering at Friendship Manor in Rock Island and will be there for about a month. Please keep her in your prayers.  The address for Friendship Manor is 1209 21st Avenue, Rock Island 61201 (309) 786-9667.
Meals on Wheels    

If you would like to help deliver Meals on Wheels, there are still openings on August 18, 19, 20, and 25.  Please arrive at Jamieson Center by 10:20 a.m. so that the delivery driver will not leave without you.  A sign-up sheet is on the church office door or call the church office at 734-5129 if you would like to be signed up. 

There are also opportunities to help serve congregate meals at Strom Center any weekday from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteer help with this helps keep down costs.  If you are interested in doing this, please contact Jamieson Center Director Nancy Mowen at 734-4251. 

Fifty Years Ago This Month...   
1964 - 2014
 

SESSION MINUTES - AUGUST 12, 1964

(part 2)


 

The regular meeting of the Session of Faith United Presbyterian Church, Monmouth, Illinois was held at 8 p.m. August 12, 1964 in the Faith Church building at 200 South Eighth Street.  Present were Elders Rhea, Kritzer, Allison, Marshall, Ebersole, Parsons, White, Wells, Connell, Armstrong, Keating, Jewell, Carlson, Lipes, Wallace, Hallam, Rankin and Simpson and the Moderator, the Rev. G. Robert Buttrick.  Also present was David Moffet, chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Elders absent were Manley, Beveridge, Thompson, Patterson, Royer and Morrill. 


 

Request presented from First Methodist Church, Monmouth, Illinois for use of one of the sanctuaries of Faith Church during a redecorating program to be begun at First Methodist Church early in October and to continue for about six Sundays.  Motion made, seconded and carried that permission be granted as requested with the understanding that any expenses incurred in using the building, including the opening and closing of utilities in the building, be borne by the First Methodist Church.


 

Motion made, seconded and carried that an Every Member Visitation be conducted prior to World Wide Communion and that the Parish Life Committee work out details.  

In August 1964 there was only one Session meeting, so we will divide the minutes from that meeting into four parts for newsletter publication during August 2014. 

Flute Lessons   

One of our members, Sarah Torrance, is offering flute lessons for $15 for a half hour or $25 for a full hour.   

Sarah is a freelance flute performer and teacher in the Monmouth, IL area.  She has performed with the Washington Idaho Symphony and was a member of the University of Idaho Woodwind Quintet, Palouse Woodwind Trio, and Torrance Woodwind Duo.  

Sarah holds an M.M. and B.M. in flute performance from the University of Idaho. She has studied with Dr. Leonard Garrison and Ann Yasinitsky and currently studies with Dr. John McMurtery. 

Contact information:  sdtorrance@gmail.com     (208) 914-0391

Giving through August 10, 2014

Receipts
Actual Giving
Budgeted Amount Needed
August 03
$3,248.52
$3,808.42
August 10
$4,209.62
$3,808.42
August Total thru August 10$7,458.14
$7,617  (rounded)
Annual Total thru August 10
$96,124.06$121,857 (rounded)

Birthdays

 

August 10 - Pat Brown, Samara Baker

August 11 -  Jake Murdock, Russ Stanton
August 12 - Karen Gibson, Linda Baker
August 13 - Brittany Wilson
August 14 - Eilleen Spoerl
August 15 - Jessica Watson
August 16 - Dick Speer, Charles Cunningham
August 18 - Ralph Butler
August 20 - Jennifer Carrier, Maggie McVey
August 22 - Jeanne Freed, Evan Green
August 24 - Greg Gilliland, Ben Dingman, Betsy Akey, 
                             Brad Larson
August 25 - Ed Melvin
August 28 - Jim Andrews, Shirley Armstrong, Jarod                                             Spangler
August 30 - Robert Blackford
August 31 -  Zach Glasgow
 

Wedding Anniversaries

 

August 2 -  Gene & Donna Larson (61st) 

August 2 -  Jim & Kris Brown (17th) 

August 4 -  Mary & Gary Distin (41st)

August 10 - Les & Jo Ellen Dollinger (56th)

August 20 - Dale & Deb Dingman (37th) 

August 20 - Mike & Heather Fisher (21st)

August 27 - David & Eilleen Spoerl (12th)
August Mission Focus - Kandithankulam 
 

Last Sunday we had a Minute for Mission about Kandithankulam, our August mission focus.  The good work that is being done to help very needy people with their medical needs, home repairs, livelihood, and safety concerns continues to flourish, thanks to the generosity of God's caring people.  

 

 

At the free medical clinic held on July 13, 2014, more than 400 adults and children were provided free medicines and dental hygiene supplies and instruction by ten doctors, dentists, and eye specialists. Several cataract surgeries were scheduled. The cost of each of these medical camps, though completely staffed by volunteers giving of their professional services, is about $1200, including the cost of providing transportation for those unable to reach the camp any other way.  

 

In terms of computer education and job training skills, two computer centers are now being operated.  One is at the temporarily converted Light Eternal Medical Clinic and the other is located near four orphanages enabling the children there to learn computer skills which their schools do not provide. Three different courses are offered depending on age group which improve the career prospects of the village children, most of whom would otherwise end up as farm laborers. There are now six computers at the Kandithankulam Computer Center and five computers in the new branch. 

 

We recently sent out by email Raj and Saro Ambrose's update on activities at Kandithankulam as well as new photos of the ongoing work at the medical clinic, computer center, and toilet facilities.