First Presbyterian Church 1169 Clark Street, SW Covington, GA 30014
Nonprofit Organi-zation
U.S. POSTAGE P A I D
Covington, GA 30014
Permit No. 32
The deadline for the February “First Press” January 15, 2015. Please submit your articles and information to the church office by email: [email protected] or by dropping
off your copy to the church office, neatly printed or typed or on a flash drive. Thanks!
Time Sensitive Church News Please Do Not Delay
1 Hilda Patrick
Laura Hillman
2 Rick Gunter
3 Barbara Martin
5 Janet Burtts
6 Julia Brubaker
8 Betty Goins
9 Brenda Howell
Brad LeSassier
10 Betty Robinson
See our website at: www.fpccov.org
11 Paige Boston
Anne Cranford
Lynda Patrick
Alex Jones
12 Gene Wallace
18 Becky Wade
23 Agnes Campbell
Dylan Jessup
24 Nina Giles
25 Liz Stillerman
January Birthdays
If your birthday has not appeared on our monthly list, please notify us of the full date and we will add it to our data base so that when your
next birthday rolls around, we will be able to help you celebrate!
First Presbyterian Church, Covington January 2016
First Presbyterian
Church
1169 Clark Street, SW,
Covington, GA 30014
(770)786-7321
Fax (770)786-6596
www.fpccov.org
FIRST PRESS
First Presbyterian Church Staff
William B. Wade, Jr. Pastor
Dan Walden Director of Youth and
Children’s Ministry [email protected]
Peni Haug Secretary-Treasurer
Alan Bunn Choir Director
[email protected]. ga.us
Alice Walker Organist
awalker.organist@ gmail.com
Aubrey Evans Maria Serrato
Nursery
Kara Sugg Interim Director
Early Learning Center fpelcdirector @gmail.com
Ordination of Elders and Installation of Session Members
New session members will be ordained and installed dur-ing worship on Sunday, January 10. Scarlett McCurry and Jake McCarthy (youth elder) will be ordained. Stephanie Scarborough and Tom Stillerman are elders who will be returning to the session. Gary Boteler and Billy Fortson will be installed for a second consecutive term.
Meeting Announced
The congregation will meet on Sunday, January 10, 2016 at the conclusion of the 11:00 am worship service for its annual meeting. The session will present the 2016 budget. The con-gregation will vote on changes in the call to the minister.
King Day The annual King Day Program will be held in the Newton High School auditorium at 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 17. The congregation is invited and encouraged to attend.
On Sunday, January 24, the Oxford Singing Children will sing during the worship service at 11:00. This is a yearly treat for our congregation!
Oxford Singing Children is an auditioned choir for students 4th through 7th grades. This choir provides basic music skills, performance experience and other musical opportunities, while building friendships and learning the bene-fit of teamwork. The choir rehearses weekly at FPC and is under the direc-tion of Mary Lynn Luke, Jay Tryall and Eva Bone. The group operates under the auspices of the Arts Association of Newton County.
The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated on Sunday, January 10, during the worship service. That day commemorates the Baptism of Jesus. Prepare your hearts.
Page 2 First Presbyterian Church
Session & Administrative Notes
Please let us know your
new address
phone number or
e-mail address
whenever you have a change. Thanks!
Pledge Arrears for 2015 November: $-20,476
Monthly Financial Reports
Nursery Volunteers 1/3: Jessup Family 1/10: Ardis Family 1/17: Moss Family
1/24: Weesner Family 1/31: Rob/Kerry Jones Family
January Usher Chair:
Jean Wolverton
Sound Engineer: Ken Walker
Hospital Visitors:
New Schedule to be Announced
Class of 2015 Gary Boteler Billy Fortson
Jan Giles Jim Stillerman
Bob Tabb Fletcher Stamps Jack Weesner
Class of 2016 Charles Ardis
Joyce Ashworth Betty Bailey
Patrick Carmichael Perri Walden
Class of 2017
Baxter Bouchillon Adriane Ivey
Michael Thompson Danny Vining
Jean Wolverton
MEMBERS OF SESSION
December 2015 Session Highlights
Stan & Dana Hall were received into member-ship.
A survey was completed and a report submit-ted to the city regarding our plan for a cov-ered walkway now under review.
More handicapped parking will be added on Hendricks Street.
Alice Walker will host an 8-hand organ and piano concert on May 22.
The retreat to Montreat was an excellent event with 51 participants.
Michael Thompson, Clerk of Session
January Session Meeting The session will meet after the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 10, 2016 in the fellowship hall for its regular monthly meeting.
SERVING US IN JANUARY 2016
2015 November
Numbers rounded
Monthly Budget
Monthly
Income/ Expenses
YTD Income
/Expenses
Pledged Income 33,942. 37,756 352,893
Non-Pledge Income 2,500 3,980 44,733
Other Income 333 1,135 7,410
Total income 36,984 42,871 405,036
Expenses 37,418 34,475 401,520
Net Totals 11/3/2015
(-434) 8,396 3,516
Thank You!
Pledge Update: To date we have received 82 pledges for a total of $365,042. Thanks
so much to those who made a written commitment to FPC. The session has been formulating the budget for 2016 and it would assist them in that effort by receiving your pledge if you have not already made a commitment for 2016. Just drop your commitment card in the offer-ing plate or mail it to the church. There are extra cards in the narthex if you need one. Or call the church office and Peni will be glad to mail one to you or take your pledge over the phone, 770-786-7321, or by email at: [email protected]
If unable to serve, please get a sub for your duties
See our website at: www.fpccov.org
Shopping? Remember the Food Pantry!
First Presbyterian Church Page 7
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2
3
10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship
4
5 Circle Meetings 10:00 #1 @ FPC 10:30 #2 @ P. Waetzig 7:00 #3 @ J. Wolverton
4:00 Exercise
6 Epiphany
4:00 Prayer Group 6:45 Sanctuary Choir
7 10:30 Ambassador Choir
8 9
10
9:00 Handbell Choir 9:30 Children’s Choir 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship with Communion; Ord. and Install. of Elders 12:00 Session Meeting
11
12
4:00 Exercise
13
4:00 Prayer Group 6:45 Sanctuary Choir
14 10:30 Ambassador Choir
15
16
17 9:00 Handbell Choir 9:30 Children’s Choir 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship 3:00 King Day Program
18
19
10:00 PW Coordi-nating Team at FPC Conference Room 4:00 Exercise
20 4:00 Prayer Group 4:00 Adventure Club 6:45 Sanctuary Choir
21 10:30 Ambassador
Choir
22
23
24 & 31
9:00 Handbell Choir 9:30 Children’s Choir 10:00 (24) Oxford Singers 10:00 Sunday School 11:00 Worship Service (24th) Oxford Sing-
ing Children 5:00 Youth Connection
25 26 4:00 Exercise
27 4:00 Prayer Group 4:00 Adventure Club 6:45 Sanctuary Choir
28 10:30 Ambassador Choir
29
30 8:00 Men’s Study & Breakfast 8:45 Meals on Wheels
Page 6 First Presbyterian Church
Epiphany Coloring Page
Read the gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, for the story of the
Wise Men who visited Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
First Presbyterian Church Page 3
News of the Congregation
Community Food Pantry
You may bring food donations to the church or drop them off at the Community Food Pantry from 9:00-12:00 Wednesday and Friday, except for holidays. Call (770) 784-0037 for directions. Any non-perishable food items are welcome. For January it is suggested that donations be: Soups, chili, chicken w/dumplings, spaghetti sauce
Circle Meetings for January 2016
Presbyterian Women’s Circles meet on the first Tuesday of the month. This month the cir-cles are meeting on January 5, at the following locations: Circle I meets at 10:00 in the Fellowship Hall. Circle II meets at 10:30 at the home of Pily Waetzig. Day Kennon will lead us in Lesson 5: Stormy Waters - Faith Circle III meets at 7:00 pm at the home of Jean Wolverton.
Women who are not currently members of a circle are welcome to attend any one of these.
The PW Coordinating Team will meet Tuesday, January 19, at 10:00 am at FPC in the conference room.
Ambassador Choir
Rehearsals will resume on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 10:30 am in the Choir Room. We are planning another great year of new music, new friends, and ministry to our community.
Exciting News from the FPC Music Ministry
An Eight-Hand Piano and Organ Concert will be presented at First Presbyterian Church, Covington, on May 22, 2016, at 3:00 pm. The performers will be Becky Ramsey, Jim Ingram, Sylvia Looney, and Alice Walker. More details will be available soon. Please mark this unique event on your calendar!
Men’s Bible Study,
Breakfast
Men’s Bible Study will gather in the Martin Fellowship Hall on Sat-
urday morning, January 30, at 8:00 am. We will be studying The Doctrine of Atonement as we pre-pare for the season of Lent. Bring your breakfast and a friend.
Anyone interested in helping to serve Meals on Wheels at Covington Square (just behind the church) is invited to join us at 9:45 am on Saturday morning, January 30. We will meet in the fellowship hall.
The FPC Staff would like
to thank the members and friends of FPC for your generous love gifts to us for Christmas this year. We also appreciate the other gifts and goodies that ap-peared in our offices over the last few weeks! We feel loved and appreciated!
Merci! Gracias! Danke! Grazie!
Happy
New Yea
r!
Page 4 First Presbyterian Church
FAMILY CONNECTION
EARLY LEARNING CENTER NEWS
Dear FPC Family, We are excited to begin a new year! This year will begin with a teacher work day where we will work on some team building and preparefor the next semester. This month the students will be learning about Space while memorizing the verse, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” from Psalm 119:1. The wonders of space are awesome, and I am so excited to see and hear what the students learn from this unit. We are also going to be doing a Coat Drive in the month of January. If you have any gently used or new coats, hats, scarves or gloves, please send them in. We will be donating them to the Battered Women’s Shelter or to foster families, or per-haps to both.
Our Christmas program at the beginning of December helped set the mood for our month of learning about the reason for the season. The children were such a delight singing their songs, and I hope that their parents enjoyed the program as much as I did. We continued throughout December learning about the birth of baby Jesus. We had Pajama Day, Movie Day, and of course, Christmas cele-brations in our classrooms. The students were excited to give their par-ents the gifts they had prepared for them. I love the look in their faces as they present their gifts to their parents. It is such a blessing to get to work with these children each day!
January kicks off Art Affair as well. We are in full swing for our event on March 18 at 7:00 p.m. We will have our first meeting on January 7 at 7:00 p.m. We are working diligently on getting donations from local and metro vendors. We are thinking big, dreaming big, and praying that it becomes a reality. We are checking with metro vendors such as Zoo Atlanta (Family Pass $119), The World of Coca Cola (Adult Tickets $16, Youth Tickets $12), The Aquarium (Adult Ticket $31.95, Youth Ticket $25.95), and the like. This is such a crucial fundraiser for our school; in large part the success of our school depends upon the success of this event. Please let me know if you are interested or able to help us obtain any individual or family tickets to these attractions or any others. We are also accepting donations of old and new wooden items such as stools, benches, shelves, book cases, boxes, etc. to refinish with the children. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
I pray that your new year was happy, and as always, I thank you for your generous support of the ELC.
Blessings, Kara
Baby Love
The Food Pantry, Homeless Shelter and Salvation Ar-my received the final distribution of diapers for the year. The members of our church have generously provided these agencies with 3,313 diapers in 2015. Your sup-port is appreciated by many. Thank you!
Youth Connection and
Adventure Club
Since “Mr. Dan” is out on medical leave after his appendectomy, events for Youth Connection and Adventure Club will be announced when he is able to return to work. Watch your e-mail news and the Sunday bulletins for the dates when these activities will begin again.
First Presbyterian Church Page 5
Retreat for Women
Registr
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are ava
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round ta
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narthex
at FPC
Does God’s