St. John’s United Church of Christ
501 East Main Street
Evans City, PA 16033
October 2017 Messenger
Dated Material: please deliver promptly
October 1 World Communion Sunday
October 14 Trunk or Treat
Rev. Jane Duffield - Interim Pastor Worship Service 10:00 A.M.
[email protected] Children’s Sunday School 10:00 A.M.
Office – 724-538-8124
Office email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.stjohnsevanscity.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsevanscity
2017
St. John’s United Church of Christ of Evans City
October Newsletter
THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE- Keep on with Keeping on
At the Monday September 11 meeting, consistory approved a revised policy on funeral and memorial
services and one on better defining the work of the church secretary. This is a continuing process be-
gun last year where consistory is attempting to revise all job descriptions and all policies regarding use
of church facilities for funerals, weddings, and use of Naftzinger Hall. Earlier, consistory approved re-
vised minister’s job description and treasurer’s job description and an electronic use policy. Consistory
has also worked to make sure our church office is as up to date as possible. In the end, consistory
hopes to compile a consistory member’s manual which will provide our lay leaders with handy refer-
ence to all policies and work expectations for church employees. We are also attempting to have all of
this work digitally saved for easy replication. All of the hard work this consistory and our interim pastor
have put in will make the job of succeeding consistories much easier.
Some church events you might like to participate in are upcoming, starting with the Trunk or Treat in
downtown Evans City Saturday October 14 from 10 a.m. to noon. We are planning a Thanksgiving
Breakfast for 9 a.m. Saturday November 18. We are making this a community breakfast and anyone in
the community is welcome to come and dine with us. This continues a pattern of your church leader-
ship trying to make more connections between St. John’s and the wider Evans City community. And
we couldn’t start the Advent season without our Cookies From The Heart, set for Saturday December
2. We hope to be welcoming our new stated pastor about that time as well.
I would be remiss in closing without mentioning our annual Congregational Meeting set for Sunday No-
vember 12 immediately after the worship service ends. We will meet to discuss and approve the 2018
budget and select two new members to take their seats on consistory as deacons in January. Anyone
who would like to serve on consistory starting in January should speak with me as soon as possible.
October brings autumn colors, shortening daylight, and colder temps. I hope it brings you a sense of
peace and order as one season progresses to another. I also request your prayers for those souls who
were greatly impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. We are stronger together. Peace.
Don Princeler, Consistory President
News Around the Church
Consistory regretfully accepted the resigna-tion of Diana Miller as Church Secretary and is grateful for her service to St. John’s. Diana has graciously agreed to continue as the St. John’s Webmaster. Paula Purvis was approved as the new Church Secretary for St. Johns.
Consistory has begun work on the 2018 Budget which will be finalized at the October meeting.
Weekly sponsors for Sunday Bulletins and Altar flowers are needed. The cost for bulletins is $15.00 and Altar flowers are $25.00 - if or-dered thru the Church.
The carpets in the Narthex and Pastor’s of-fice were cleaned by Chem-Dry of Mars on Sep-tember 1. The cleaning made a huge improve-ment in both areas.
Amy Rubinosky looked into how to start a Diaper Bank. She is in contact with Marilyn McElhaney of the Evans City Food Cupboard to assess the need for our area. Consistory felt that St. John’s is not ready to apply for the “Reaching Out” grant for a Diaper Bank at this time, but would consider it for next year as more information regarding the community’s need is analyzed.
Upcoming dates to remember:
Trunk or Treat:
Saturday, October 14
10:00 am – Noon
Community Thanksgiving Breakfast
Saturday, November 18
9:00 – 11:00 am
Blessings to All,
Diane Iman
Worship Information
October 1
World Communion Sunday
Sermon: Action-Packed Faith
Scriptures: Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21: 23-32
The Sacrament of Holy Communion will be
Celebrated
October 8
Sermon: The Family of Faith
Scriptures: Philippians 3:4b-14
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-17
October 22
Sermon: Faith vs. Fear: Theological
Musings on “Night of the Living Dead”
Scriptures: Exodus 33: 12-23
1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10
10/08 Benjamin Miller
10/08 Kory Jones
10/13 Joel Pretz
10/21 Shirley Iman
10/21 Barb Iman
10/25 Kathy Umpirowicz
10/25 Craig Iman
10/30 Bruce Kingsbury
10/31 Nancy Thomas
10/10 Dan & Donna Sailer
10/12 Brad & Amy Rubinosky
October 15
Sermon: Keep on, keeping on!
Scriptures: Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
October 29
Sermon: The Compassionate Life
Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8
Matthew 22: 34-46
Minister’s Reflections
Count Your Blessings
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 I am thankful for your patience and prayers for me during my recent bout with debilitating neck arthritis. I also am thankful that it seems that I am on the mend and can complete my interim ministry with you, a congregation I have grown to love. Because I have never before experienced a debilitating aliment, it taught me some valuable lessons. One, is that I have a new appreciation for what members of the congregation who suffer from chronic illnesses experience, and this knowledge will instruct and enhance the pastoral care I provide. Second, I learned that a patient must be patient, which is easier said than done. Even with the best medical technologies, although many things can be ruled out, an exact diagnosis may remain elusive. The third, and most important lesson I learned, is how much I take for granted the many blessings God has given me in my routine day-to-day life. I gained a new appreciation for going out to dinner with friends, the freedom of driving anywhere, whenever I want, and being able to carry-out my work unimpeded. I really missed the worship committee and consistory meetings, participating in the Community Worship Service, and teaching Bible study at the senior center. I never realized how much I truly enjoyed those activities until I was unable to do them. Unfortunately, it is human nature to take for granted the many blessings we have
been given and focus on our troubles; but that is not the way it is supposed to be. Paul tells the Thessalonians that we are to give thanks for everything. Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that gratitude is an important element of faithful discipleship. Gratitude promotes our well-being, and expressing gratitude reminds us that there is a force of love in the world more powerful than we are. Jesus has modeled a way for us to live that is true and life-affirming. A way to live with thankfulness for God’s guiding and loving presence in both good times and bad. Living as Jesus did, with gratitude, brings goodness and meaning to life. Page after page of this month’s Messenger provides details of the many blessings for which members of the congregation at St. John’s can be thankful. The hard work of the Consistory, the success of our fund-raisers, our spirit-filled worship services, our mission projects that greatly improve people’s lives, and our fun and fellowship, are among the lavish blessings God has bestowed on this congregation. Let us be thankful! And in your personal lives, do not wait, until illness or disability strikes, but take time now to smell the proverbial roses. Take a moment from the stress and strains and seeming monotony of your daily routine, to count all the everyday blessings God has given you, and give thanks. Blessings, Pastor Jane
Cookies from the Heart
The Holiday Season is approaching and you all
know what that means……It is time to prepare for
Cookies from the Heart. After the wonderful varie-
ty we had last year, I believe St. John’s has some of
the world’s best bakers.
This years’ event will be held on Saturday, December 2nd
We are asking each baker to provide at least 10 dozen holiday
cookies.
Helpers will also be needed on Saturday to assist with set-up,
selling, and support. Last year we were finished well before 1pm.
Signup sheets for bakers and helpers will be placed in the Nar-
thex.
Invite your family, friends and neighbors to this annual Holiday
Event.
Let’s make this year’s sale our best yet!
Happy Holidays, Beth Painter
The Discernment Process
What happens when a person believes s/he is being called by God to Ministry in the United Church
of Christ
The first step for that person is to express his/her feeling of call to the local church minister and con-
sistory/council.
The local church then forms a discernment committee to help the person clarify the call through
prayer, biblical reflection, and personal reflection. Discussions concerning the realities of the process
toward authorized ministry in the United Church of Christ, and any personal situations or relation-
ships that may be affected by this life changing decision are of importance in the discerning process.
When/if the committee discerns that the person in question may have the gifts and talents for minis-
try and the person in question understands the commitment they will be entering into, the committee
will recommend the person to the Association Committee on Ministry.
It is important for churches to know:
1. That the person in question must be a member in good standing of a local church for at least a
year before a church may recommend that person to the Association Committee on Ministry
as a possible candidate as a Member in Discernment in the United Church of Christ.
2. The Association Committee on Ministry will consider the person in question for the Member in
Discernment status.
3. The Association Committee on Ministry is the only entity that can grant the status of Member in
Discernment. As a Member in Discernment he/she will enter into another process of deeper
discernment for qualifications and fitness for ministry.
4. Member in Discernment status is not a guaranteed path to ordination.
5. During the Member in Discernment process, the local church discernment committee will con-
tinue to pray for the M.I.D. and meet with him/her a couple times a year to be a spiritual sup-
port, to the candidate during the Member in Discernment process.
6. There is no set time line for the M.I.D. process. Each situation is different.
7. At any time of discernment the candidate or the discerning body may discern to discontinue
the process.
This Spring your Consistory voted to support the request of Julia Hines to be taken into a discern-ment process with the United Church of Christ. As the process proceeds, St. John’s will be Julia’s sponsoring church. While members of St. John’s, Diane Iman, Don Hicks and Don Princeler, along with Rev. Jane Duffield, are members of the local discernment committee, the process itself is dictated the by rules and procedures of the Committee on Ministry. Rev. Linda Pretz represents the COM and takes the lead in overseeing the discernment process and the committee’s work. Because of this, Rev. Pretz was asked to write a brief article on discernment and the discerning process, so all of our members can better understand the process and what it means. That article follows below.
-Don Princeler
What a busy few months at St. John’s and I’ve been blessed to be a part of it!
First we had Vacation Bible School here at our church and it was a great week. I think it worked out well hav-ing it in the evening and having the parents in-volved. There were nights the parents came and ate
dinner with the kids, maybe something they don’t always have time to do. The adults did a great job at EDCO Park fixing up the volleyball court and that was not an easy job!!
This year’s Bible School was based on doing things for others, a work of wonderful missions! I am sure the kids are going to remember filling the birthday bags for the food cupboard and the care packages for VOICe. Families will have a chance to have a birthday cake now because the bags contained eve-rything they would need from the cake mix to the plates and napkins for a party! For the VOICe bag for kids, along with crayons, small books and various sundry items there was a little stuffed animal in each bag. Some thing to perhaps give a child comfort after being taken quickly from their home for various reasons.
Yes, we can say that VBS had another successful year. Thanks to all the workers and volunteers from St. John’s and the community!
And then along comes September and the Rummage Sale! Oh my! The one thing we certainly can be thankful for this week is the amount of ‘stuff’ people give us to sell. These gracious folks aren’t all from St. John’s either! The second thing we can be thankful for is the fact we have the HUGE Fellowship Hall that we can prepare without concern of the weather! Just imagine if we had this outside!! And the last, but definitely not the least thing we can be thankful for, is for all the folks who come out to help, starting two weeks before the sale! Amazing, people we are!
We were all tired, (I whined the most, though) but the reward at the end, the thing that gives us a chal-lenge to go forth next year, is the fact we made over $2400! This is a record for St. John’s rummage sales from when they started years ago! How are we going to break that record??? We’ve already started to gather things for next year so as you are cleaning out your homes please remember next September is right around the corner!!! Can we break the 2017 record? YES, we can with your help!!
I just wanted to share my thoughts on the things I personally was involved in at St. John’s the last few months. There are so many other mission things we do, so many other things we do around St. John’s and if you just take a few minutes to think about them all you will be totally amazed. We are a church united! We are small but we are mighty!
Thanks to everyone for stepping up when called upon!! It makes big projects much smaller!
Stella N
St. John’s Mission Updates and Opportunities!
Fall has arrived at St. John’s!! And…we made it through September…The Rummage Sale, Rally Day, Garden Club, Community Worship Service, Eastbrook Mission Barn, Packed the Food Cupboard, and Fished at White Oak Farm!!! Makes me tired just thinking about it all……but…..we now have October to look forward to with another month of Activities! St. John’s is always busy!! “That Hole” is history! The garden club spent September weeding the front bank, pulling hundreds of lily sticks, cleaning out the tomatoes that we all enjoyed, and after 3 loads of top soil…filled the hole in the side lot. Once the unseasonably warm weather breaks, Stuart Thompson from Reddi Green Sod Farm will bring us sod to complete the project. We will not have to worry about someone “falling in the hole” any longer. Many thanks to Tammy Herb, Roland Herb, Diane Iman, Kay Cumberledge, Donna Sailer, Don Hicks, and Dave Jones for working in our gardens this month. Without their help…that hole would still be there! We still have the back-entrance gardens to clean out and plant our fall Mums. Our last meeting will be October 7th. No experience necessary…..just the desire to keep St. John’s gardens beautiful! On September 16th Joel Pretz, Kirt Jones, Steve Umpirowicz, and Dave and Sue Ann Jones traveled to Eastbrook Mission Barn….and WORKED!!! We cut lumber and built 10 (4’ x 6’) modules, and 4 (4’ x 6’) end modules for the ramp. The barn had no modules left and a ramp was needed. The modules we built were used to build a ramp for a woman on dialysis. She needed extra help to get out of her home, and it was costing her $75.00 each time she had to travel for dialysis. She went 3 times each week. With the new ramp, she will save $40.00 each trip because she can now get out of her home without extra help. We were tired, but had a wonderful feeling of great accomplishment….job well done! October is also packed with Mission Opportunities and Fun Activities. Please join us! October 7, 2017 – Garden Club. Our last meeting. Meet in the Kitchen at 8:30 for donuts, coffee, a short devotion…then off to clean out the last gardens, and plant the Mums! October 14, 2017 – Trunk or Treat. Fill your trunk with treats for the children of the Evans City Area. Meet on the Jefferson St. side of the Evans City Library. From 10am – 12pm. October 17, 2017 – Neighborhood Academy. Look for the signup sheets in the Narthex. We will be leaving the church at 5:00. I need help serving. This is always a lot of fun for us…and the Academy. They love our Taco Salads! October 25, 2017 – Packing the Evans City Food Cupboard at 1:30 pm St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. October 29, 2017 – Jubilee Soup Kitchen. We will be collecting containers, and Dawn Dish Detergent. A collection box is in the Narthex. Come and join us we leave at 8:00am, and always have lunch at Arby’s!
Tammy Herb
P O Box 507
Sanibel, FL 33957
724-822-2846
News from Christian Ed
We are getting ready for our fall activities in Christian Education.
Amber Iman is continuing to teach Sunday School this year but she would like some assistance with
the Children’s Message during the service. If you would like to participate, please let Amy Rubinosky
or Pastor Duffield know and we can put you on the schedule.
TRUNK OR TREAT is coming up on Saturday October 14, 2017 from 10 AM to
Noon. Thank you to all who have already donated the non-food items for our the
Teal Pumpkin Project.
There is a sign up sheet in the Narthex for food based treats as well as people to
participate in the event. The children really enjoy this event, and it is a nice way
to be visible and participate in the community at large. Please join us!
Thanksgiving Breakfast Save the date! This event has been scheduled for November 18, 2017. Historically this has been an event that has just been for our church members. This year we would like to open it up to the community and utilize this event as an additional fundraiser. We will need help with food prepara-tion and serving as well as clean up. A sign up sheet will be posted in the Narthex a little closer to the event.
St. John’s Quilters will begin meeting in October. We meet the 2nd and 4th
Tuesday of the month at 6:00 – Approx. 8:30 to work on service projects
for various organizations. Over the years we have made lap quilts, baby
blankets, cover-ups for patients receiving radiation, stockings, totes, single
bed quilts, you name it, and we have probably made it as a service project
over the last 23 years. If you like to sew, or would like to learn to quilt,
come and join us in October on the 10th and the 24th. We have the sewing
machines and the fabric, but would love to have you join us. Any questions about our projects? Cindy
Princeler, Donna Sailer, Judy Smith, or Sue Ann Jones would be happy to answer. We are a wonderful
group of ladies from Butler County that just love to sew things that make people SMILE!!!
Articles for the November
Messenger are due by
October 23!
Remember to bring in your dona-
tions for the Evans City Food
Cupboard!
St. John’s Strawberry Jelly is always available in the Narthex for $5.00. With the holidays coming we will be making the
jars……”Holiday Gifting Ready”! So, if you need a gift…pick up a jar of the “World Class” St. John’s Strawberry Jelly! And
don’t forget….you just may need some strawberry jelly! It goes great with peanut butter, and is perfect on toast!
SPREAD THE LOVE…………ST. JOHN’S STRAWBERRY JELLY
Oktoberfest Community Service
Eastbrook Mission Barn
Rummage Sale
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Worship/
Children’s S.S. 10:00 am
Consistory 7:00 pm
Musicians 6:00 pm
Praise Team 6:30 pm Choir
7:00 pm
Garden Club 8:30 am
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Worship/
Children’s S.S. 10:00 am
Quilters 6:00 pm
Musicians 6:00 pm
Praise Team 6:30 pm Choir
7:00 pm
Trunk or Treat EC Library
10:00 am-noon
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Worship/
Children’s S.S. 10:00 am
Christian Ed 6:30 pm
Neighborhood Academy 5:00 pm
Worship Committee
4:00 pm Musicians
6:00 pm Praise Team
6:30 pm Choir
7:00 pm
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Worship/
Children’s S.S. 10:00 am
Quilters 6:00 pm
EC Food Cupboard
1:30 pm Musicians
6:00 pm Praise Team
6:30 pm Choir
7:00 pm
29 30 31 Jubilee Soup
Kitchen 8:00 am
Worship/Children’s S.S.
10:00 am
