IN THIS ISSUE: 1 Pastor’s Message 2 Session Notes 3 Calendar 4-7 Photo Gallery 8 Christian Education 9 Parish Nurse 10-11Announcements FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SCHOOLCRAFT, MICHIGAN 224 East Cass Street PO Box 635 Schoolcraft, MI 49087 (269) 679-4062 office@fpcos.org PA S T O R Rev. Carol Pierson ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Kristi Eiden ORGANIST/ PIANIST Cherie Ericks CHOIR DIRECTOR Roger Ericks CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Kim Maxam PARISH NURSES Sherrie Anderson, Nikki Hulinek TREASURER John Barnett WEB DESIGNER Michelle Romstadt CUSTODIAN Marion Compton A PUBLICATION OF FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SCHOOLCRAFT, MI Vol. 23 Issue 2 FEBRUARY 2020 www.schoolcraftfirst.wordpress.com The Prairie Pres PASTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Congregation, Thank you so much for your incredible Christmas gift. I have applied it toward the cost of tuition for my final course in the Master of Arts in Christian Education degree at Union Presbyterian Seminary. I have been very fortunate to work toward that degree through the generosity of the seminary and the congregations that I have most recently served. It has been a joy to study again at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA, which is where I completed the Master of Divinity degree. After I complete the degree and place a framed declaration of it upon my wall, I will be reminded of you and my time in Schoolcraft as your temporary Contract Pastor. Thanks again! Blessings, Pastor Carol PNC Update What an amazing candidacy weekend for Rev Annamarie on Saturday, January 11th and Sunday, January 12th. The committee would like to thank everyone for their warm and wonderful welcome of both her and her husband, Mitch. We appreciated your attendance at the meet-and-greet on Saturday and the worship service on Sunday, despite the iffy weather. Annamarie and Mitch were very grateful for your hospitality and kindness. Her beaming acceptance of our call was delightful! FYI, they will be moving into the manse on Monday, April 20th, Rev Annamarie will start serving as our pastor on Monday, April 27th and her first service will be on Sunday, May 3. It was a long search, but we put ourselves in God’s hands, and feel we were guided in finding the right pastor to lead our church into the future! God bless, Linda B
A P U B L I C A T I O N O F F I R S T P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U R C H , S C H O O L C R A F T , M I
Vol . 23 I ssue 2 FEBRUARY 2020 www.schoolcraftfirst.wordpress.com
The Prairie Pres
PASTOR’S MESSAGE
Dear Congregation, Thank you so much for your incredible Christmas gift. I have
applied it toward the cost of tuition for my final course in the Master of Arts in Christian Education degree at Union Presbyterian Seminary. I have been very fortunate to work toward that degree through the generosity of the seminary and the congregations that I have most recently served. It has been a joy to study again at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA, which is where I completed the Master of Divinity degree. After I complete the degree and place a framed declaration of it upon my wall, I will be reminded of you and my time in Schoolcraft as your temporary Contract Pastor. Thanks again!
Blessings, Pastor Carol
PNC Update
What an amazing candidacy weekend for Rev Annamarie on Saturday, January 11th and Sunday, January 12th. The committee would like to thank everyone for their warm and wonderful welcome of both her and her husband, Mitch. We appreciated your attendance at the meet-and-greet on Saturday and the worship service on Sunday, despite the iffy weather. Annamarie and Mitch were very grateful for your hospitality and kindness. Her beaming acceptance of our call was delightful!
FYI, they will be moving into the manse on Monday, April 20th, Rev Annamarie will start serving as our pastor on Monday, April 27th and her first service will be on Sunday, May 3.
It was a long search, but we put ourselves in God’s hands, and feel we were guided in finding the right pastor to lead our church into the future! God bless, Linda B
FEBRUARY SE SSI ON N OTES
The January Session meeting was held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at Westminster Hall, with Rev. Carol Pierson serving as Moderator.
“How do we see God working in our Congregation?”
The Installation and Ordination Service for our new Deacons and Elder held on January 19, 2020.
Buildings & Grounds Meeting on January 21, 2020 with lots of great information shared.
Welcomed the Class of 2022 Elders - Jon Pridgeon and Clyde Springer.
Elected Clerk of Session (Michelle Romstadt) and Treasurer (John Barnett).
Treasurer & Finance:
Received, reviewed and approved the 2019 Year-end Report.
Buildings & Grounds:
Church Carpets were cleaned by Camelot on January 6, 2020.
Several projects are being looked into for our buildings and grounds.
Worship:
Holy Communion was served on Sunday, January 5, 2020 by Rev. Carol Pierson.
At this time no Ash Wednesday Service will be planned.
Other Business:
The next Lake Michigan Presbytery Meeting is March 14, 2020 at First Presbyterian Church Three Rivers/Centreville.
Session will be meeting on Tuesday evenings beginning at 6:00 PM.
The next Session meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 6:00 PM at Westminster Hall.
10 biblical ways to love
1. Listen without interrupting. “To answer before listening — that is folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13). 2. Speak without accusing. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). 3. Give without selfishness. “The righteous give without sparing” (Proverbs 21:26). 4. Pray without ceasing. “We have not stopped praying for you” (Colossians 1:9). 5. Answer without arguing. “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife” (Proverbs 17:1). 6. Share without pretending. “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of … Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). 7. Enjoy without complaining. “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:14). 8. Trust without wavering. “[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthi-ans 13:7). 9. Forgive without punishing. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). 10. Promise without forgetting. “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
SAT FEB 1 Jack Parsons
SUN FEBRUARY 2 Congregat ional Meet ing
MON FEB 3 8:00am Men’s Breakfast 3:00pm Girl Scouts Lee McNally
TUES FEB 4 Zac Shaw
FRI FEB 7 Nancy Bambacht, Cherie Ericks
SUN FEBRUARY 9
Thorne Angell
MON FEB 10 8:00am Men’s Breakfast 5:30pm Girl Scouts / Westminster Lower Level 7:00pm Organ Recital
THURS FEB 13
7:00 pm Cho ir Harper Musselman
FRI FEB 14 Valent ine ’s Day 11:00am Cedar Park Bible Study Harper Musselman
SAT FEB 15 Jan McNally
SUN FEBRUARY 16
Parish Nurse’s Blood Pressure Screenings
MON FEB 17 8:00am Men’s Breakfast 5:30pm Girl Scouts / Westminster Lower Level John Skinner
TUES FEB 18 6:00pm Session Meeting Kelly Bergland
WED FEB 19 6:00pm Pre-School Open House Vicki Bell
SAT FEB 22 Leslie Parker Hickey
SUN FEBRUARY 23
MON FEB 24 8:00am Men’s Breakfast 5:30pm Girl Scouts / Westminster Lower Level Gordon Shaw
Elizabeth Shearer Rafferty Family Jim & Rita Parker Clyde Springer, Michelle Romstadt Communion Sunday Team B: Jon Pridgeon(P), Judy Linders, Toni Rafferty, Clyde Springer Candy Shearer
Toni Rafferty Jan McNally, Dave Krum Peg Crissman Barbara Barnett, Skip Fox Kim Maxam N/A Marguerite Clay
Judy Linders Eric & Darcy Bolles Jan McNally, Dave Krum Jon Pridgeon, Michelle Romstadt Jozie Rafferty, Abby Hulinek N/A
Michelle Romstadt
Jozie Rafferty Skip & Jackie Fox Elizabeth Shearer, Candy Shearer Clyde Springer, Marguerite Clay Darcy Bolles N/A Jan McNally
Celebrating a birthday!
Pho to Galler y
Christmas Bazaar
December
2019
Pho to Galler y
Installation of Elder, John Prigeon and Deacons, Judy Linders and Toni Rafferty
Pho to Galler y
Men’s Monday morning breakfast gathering.
Christmas Eve Service
Pho to Galler y
Luminaria Set-Up
A huge "Thank You" to the 30 fantastic volunteers who helped with the luminaria set up, lighting and pick up. It couldn't have gone any better. The weather was great and the luminarias were beautiful. It's really a cool thing that our church family does for the community on Christmas Eve and it wouldn't happen without your help!
February
02-Communion Sunday
09 -Teach us to Pray
Kim Maxam
16 -Calming the Storm
Darcy Bolles
23 -Walking on Water
Jozie Rafferty &
Abby Hulinek
March
01-Communion Sunday
08 -Zacchaeus
Kim Maxaqm
15 -Water to Wine
Nikki Hulinek
22 -Jesus Feeds 5000
Darcy Bolles
29 -Palm Sunday
Kim Maxam
April
05-Communion Sunday
12 -Easter
Kim Maxam &
Nikki Hulinek
19 -Road to Emmaus
26 -Pentecost
Sherrie Anderson
Quest ions about our chi ldr en’s Sunday School? Ideas? Want to get involved? Emai l [email protected]
Our goal for Sunday School is the nurture and instruction of the children of this congre-gation, shaping them by the patterns of the gospel and providing them with a founda-tion of Biblical knowledge that will guide them to their own personal professions of faith in God’s time.
If these signs are present CALL 9-1-1
Heart Attack Symptoms
CHEST DISCOMFORT Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
DISCOMFORT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UPPER BODY Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
SHORTNESS OF BREATH with or without chest discomfort.
OTHER SIGNS may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Stroke Symptoms
Spot a stroke F.A.S.T.
FACE DROOPING Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
ARM WEAKNESS Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH DIFFICULTY Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "the sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly?
TIME TO CALL 9-1-1 If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital immediately.
Cardiac Arrest Symptoms
SUDDEN LOSS OF RESPONSIVENESS No response to tapping on shoulders.
NO NORMAL BREATHING The victim does not take a normal breath when you tilt the head up and check for at least five seconds
TIME TO CALL 9-1-1 (http://www.heart.org)
FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH
NEWS FOR YOU
FROM Par ish Nurse Sherr ie Anderson
February 14 Is National Donor Day
Make 2020 a year of kind accomplishment - sign up as an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Organs Most often, organ donors are de-ceased, but some organs can be donated by living donors.
Deceased organ donors can do-nate: kidneys (2), liver, lungs (2), heart, pancreas, and intestines. In 2014, hands and faces were added to the organ transplant list.
FYI---Trent will be playing the State Theater in Kalamazoo---- March 21, 2020.
Matt Giraud [from American Idol] will play a set at the end, with some of the KAR students.
Tickets are on sale now—it is reserved seating. The price for most seats is under $20.
The start time is 2pm, but the Varsity bands [like Trent’s band] will play later.
One ticket gets you in for the entire show—they are allowing people to go in and out until 7pm. The show will end approximately around 10pm.
There is a ticket selling contest for the KAR students [Trent]. You can help!!!!
You can buy tickets online or at the box-office—if it’s not too much trouble----send a picture of the receipt—either via email or text [269-744-6075] to me, then Trent can get credit for the sale and help his chances of winning!!!!
(When you send the receipt be sure to black-out any card numbers.)
MattGiraud. Digital Image. No copyright infringement is intended. https://concerts.eventful.com/Matt-Giraud
Organ Recital
Cherie Ericks is taking part in an organ recital at Kalamazoo First Presbyterian Church on Monday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m. This recital is part of a year-long celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the Casavant Freres Pipe Organ at the church. Featured at this event are Chapter members of the American Guild of Organists SW Michigan. Cherie is going to play “Prelude and toccata on Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” arranged by J. Wayne Kerr. Everyone is invited to come to this free event.
PHOTO GALLERY INVITATION
We invite all from our congregation to
submit photos from our church functions
and ministries to appear in our monthly
Prairie Pres newsletters.
Photos may be submitted to Kristi in the
church office. Please remember that
photos of children will appear in the Photo Gallery only if the parents
have submitted a Picture Release form.
All photos will only be sent out in the Prairie Pres to our members and
friends. We will be posting the Prairie Pres on our Website at
(www.schoolcraftfirst.wordpress.com) without the Photo Gallery.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SUBMISS ION DEADLINE FOR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS THIRD WEDNESDAY
PARISH NURSES’ BLOOD
PRESSURE SCREENING
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020
Offering Envelopes have arrived!
They are located on the pew in
the back of the church. Please
pick yours up today!
CELEBRATE AN EXTRA DAY
Are you looking for a fun time during the bleak midwinter...then please come to the Leap Year Party hosted by your Deacons on Saturday, February 29. You can expect pizza, games, prizes and lots of laughs! The party will be at Westminster Hall at 6:00. It is Leap Day so expect surprises!
