THE RED DOOR FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH – BIG FLATS, NY --- MARCH 2011

Founded 1827 ------ “Pride In Our Past – Faith In Our Future”

(607) 562-8048 ----- /www.bigflatsfirstpres.org/

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the

things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

Discover.” Mark Twain

Dear Friends,

Lent invites us to explore, dream, and discover. Sometimes we walk through life weighted down by all the things we should be doing. Yet, we forget that we have the ability to do what is truly needed. Mark Twain calls it the bowlines – the anxieties of the past and the future that keep us from experiencing the gift of the present moment.

Lent welcomes us to explore the place in our lives where we feel so preoccupied by things that we cannot control. Lent welcomes us to dream about how we can seek God’s love in new ways. Lent welcomes us to discover new paths and directions in our lives that will help to keep God’s reign in our world.

During this 40 day process allow yourself some time to explore, dream and discover.

May God bless and guide us all as we courageously sail away from our comfortable shores into life’s waters this Lenten Season.

Peace,

JOYS AND CONCERNS

February brought us a true dose of winter's beauty and power. A number of snowstorms showed us all that winter is not yet over, and we had to hold services in our Church House on one

Sunday morning when the heating system decided to act up! But even winter's worst could not dampen the warm spirit of our busy church.

February's highlights included:

Our church family showed its generous nature during the month of February. Thanks to all for the successful drive for soup and money to help fight hunger on Souper Bowl Sunday, on February 6, and then on Blanket Sunday on February 20, as we donated to Church World Services for blankets for people around the world in disaster areas. What a wonderfully generous response to God’s generosity to us!

Congratulations to Ed Rhodes and Katie Drake, who recently announced their engagement to be married on July 9!

Led by Sam Dean, our Garden Club members have begun to make plans for record harvests in 2011.

Thank you to the members of the "Sunday Morning Shoveling Society" for their hard work. Led by Scott French, this group is composed of volunteers who meet when needed on Sunday mornings at 8:00 AM to clear the walks and shovel areas of the parking lot that the snowplow is unable to get reach. They also spread salt to minimize the danger of slipping on the ice. We are all very grateful for the group's stewardship and to all those who work behind the scenes at our church. We are truly blessed!

The sympathy of our church family is extended to Bev Hendrickson and her family on the passing of Bev's father, Fred C. Davis, on January 29. Please remember Roberta Luce (sister of Dottie Hoos), Sally Howells, Jesse Compton, Art Devenport, Lee West, Lydia Middaugh, Charles and Lucile Easterbrook, Florence Luppold, Dick and Peg Shockner, Ruth Price (Rev. Rick's mother), and Marge Larocque (Gigi's mother), and their families in your prayers, along with others who are dealing with poor health, loss, and other challenges. Please continue to pray for our servicemen and women and for wisdom for our world’s leaders.

Do you have a special joy or concern that you would like to share with our Big Flats Presbyterian Church community? See Rev. Rick or Bill Howells, and we will include your news in our Joys/Concerns column.

The Big Flats Food Pantry wishes to thank everyone who participated in the Souper Bowl Sunday collection for us.

That you for your donations of cash ($63) and food items (85). We will put both the food items and the cash to good use.

Thank you all !!!

Big Flats Community Food Pantry

From the Director of Music ..............

Music provides the perfect opportunity to prepare our minds and hearts for the Lenten and Easter seasons which are rapidly approaching. Come and join the choir as we begin our journey through the very meaningful music of this season. We rehearse at 9:30 on Sunday mornings in the church. Just come - or see Nancy Compton, the Director of Music, or any choir member. You will be more than welcome. We'll save you a seat.

GIRL SCOUTS TO MARK 99TH BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY, MARCH 6

Girl Scout Sunday is March 6th. Any Scouts (current or former) in the congregation are invited to wear their uniform or pins in honor of our 99th Birthday. Pat Silvernail will be doing coffee hour if anyone wishes to help.

SOUP HELPS BEAT THE COLD!

Mm-Mm-Good! Delicious and nutritious homemade soup will be available after church each Sunday, through the end of March. A donation of just $3.00 will bring a quart of our world-famous Big Flats goodness right

to your table. Find out what good is – you won’t be sorry! Sign-up sheets for those willing to serve as “Soup Chefs” are posted on the Church House bulletin board. Volunteers would be most appreciated.

Questions? See Barb Horn

BUTTON CLUB TO MEET AT OUR CHURCH

A new/old group will be holding its meetings in our Church Hall beginning with its first 2011 get-together on March 16th. This is a new meeting location for The Elmira Button Club, which was founded in 1941. We will be meeting at the church from 11-2 usually the 2nd Wednesday of every month except January, February and March. All are welcome to attend. We bring our own lunch, share a dessert, have a brief meeting, learn about buttons, buy and sell them and have a wonderful time.

Our members, including men, come from Addison, Bath, Spencer and as far away as Roscoe, NY. We will be making an annual monetary donation to the church as well as food donations to the pantry.

At our March meeting, we will be planning a celebration--Our 70th Birthday Party/Open House will be Saturday, April 9th at the church from 10-3. We will have exhibits, craft projects with buttons, refreshments, maybe a button dealer and information about our shows and other events involving buttons. We are the oldest club in New York State and yes, there are state clubs, a National Button Society and button collectors in many other countries. If you have a collection to sell or want to buy some really beautiful buttons, we can give you information about the Page Button Auction. For further information about our events, contact Pat Silvernail or Barbara Rhodes.

NEWS NOTES Sign-up Sheets Posted: A number of sign-up sheets have been posted on the bulletin board in our

Church House. Please consider pitching in to prepare soup, host coffee hour, provide bulletins or flowers for Sunday services, volunteer to work on a church dinner, etc.

Rummage Sale Coming! Spring is just around the corner! That means that our Spring Rummage

Sale will soon be held. Ann Hayes, our Rummage Sale chairperson, has announced that this spring’s sale will be held on Saturday, May 14. Start saving your items and watch (and listen) for details to come!

It’s Per Capita Time! Each year the church must pay a fee to our Presbytery for each member.

This year that individual member fee is $43.00. Our total per capita amount for 2011 is $6,149. These monies are used to fund outreach programs, disaster relief, the resource center for the churches, and Camp Whitman programs. In your offering envelopes box, you will find a ”Per Capita” envelope. It would be great if we could all pay our individual per capita assessment and, if possible, a little more. Just ten cents a day would really help to meet our budgeted goal.

Garden Club News: Dave Silvernail reports that we still have two unclaimed plots in the garden. We

will most likely till all the plots (except those that prefer us not to) in April as soon as it dries enough. Sam Dean, our garden mentor, said he may start the greenhouse in March. Club members will then be able to start seeds, transplant, etc., under Sam's guidance. The club has been meeting in the church office and

has been getting a great deal of valuable knowledge from Sam.

FROM OUR PASTOR -- Membership: Everyone is welcome to our church, whether they be

friends or members. But, if you would like to become a member, please tell Rev. Rick. If you would like to learn about membership and what it means, Rev. Rick will plan to have a class in April. If you are

interested, please make him aware.

TROOP #87 NEWS – KLONDIKE!

February’s big event was the Klondike Derby held at Park Station. This is an Indian Waters District event where numerous Scout Troops from around the region compete in several challenging, “Wintery” events. Seven of our boys participated in the 2.5 mile course on Saturday, with five of them camping out on the eve of the event and braving temperatures in the 12 degree range. If you’ve ever been in the basement of our Church you’ve probably seen our wooden Troop sled. The signature challenge at the Klondike is to hoist this sled across a ravine without it or any of the team members touching the bottom. Also pictured is the timed challenge where the boys had to build a fire to a certain height, so as to burn a string suspended above it. They managed to do this in windy / whiteout conditions! Later in February the boys met at the Elmira College pool to work on their water safety merit badges. Coming up in March, the Troop will be camping at either Camp Cutler (near Rochester) or Camp Tuscarora (south of Binghamton), and there will be fishing on Catherine Creek in April. The Troop is looking at a trip in May to the River Fest at Wysox, where we can hopefully combine canoeing and kayaking with two nights of camping. Plans for June include whitewater rafting on the Black River, and then it's summer camp at Tuscarora in July. The Troop calendar is filling up quickly!

PICTURES WANTED !!

We are seeking pictures, preferably digital photos, of children/families/friends in our church that can be scanned for a Power Point presentation during our next Children/Youth Sunday. Although this special Sunday is three or four months away, it will really make the planning process much more efficient if pictures are submitted throughout the year. Pictures can be given to Gigi Price on a disc or may be e-mailed to her at gprice@stny.rr.com. Thanks, in advance, for your help.

NEWS FROM OUR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE

We are looking for a few good people to teach in the coming months. PLEASE consider this rewarding opportunity to help ourmost precious resource - the youth of our church. Talk to Stacie Belosky to volunteer or for more information.

We are also looking toward Easter and would like to ask for donations of items to be given out. We will be doing things a bit differently this year. There will be tokens in some of the eggs and kids will get to turn them

in for items - candy, small prizes or toys, school supplies, etc. Part of it will also include a bin for the kids to donate items that they do not need to kids who are in need (hospital, food pantry, etc.) Anyone with questions can see Stacie Belosky or Barb Rhodes -- We will have a list to share shortly.

ONLINE DIRECTORY AVAILABLE

As part of our arrangement with Olan Mills, producers of our Church Pictorial Directory, a "First Presbyterian Church of BigFlats Online Directory" has been established. At this website, you can view pictures of those who posed during the photo sessions last fall, as well as member information.

The URL for the site is http://om264316.onlineolanmills.com. After entering the site, choose "PHOTO DIRECTORY." A password is needed to view the site (if you do not know the password, please refer to the email version of the Red Door, or contact Bill Howells or John Farr).

We are also developing a link to the directory site from our church website (www.bigflatsfirstpres.org). See our website for more details.

NOTE: The information on the site came from Olan Mills -- we will be making corrections and additions as soon as possible.

POT LUCK DINNER TO BEGIN OUR OBSERVANCE OF LENT -- MARCH 9

On Ash Wednesday, March 9, at 6:00 PM, our church will mark the beginning of the season of Lent in a special way. We will have an informal gathering and pot luck supper. Please bring a dish to pass -- place settings will be provided. Those attending will be asked to come with either a favorite scripture or a story of a time of personal or faith crisis and how they dealt with it. Following the dinner, Rick will distribute oil/ashes to those who wish. Don’t have time to prepare a dish? Decide to come at the last minute? No problem! All are welcome!

PROPERTY COMMITTEE UPDATE

HELPING HANDS PROGRAM -- Our Property Committee would like to offer its expertise to members of our

church family (and friends). We would be happy to help out with small repairs, painting, moving projects, etc. In addition, there are often larger repair jobs that crop up in the course of owning a home, and advice is needed as to how to proceed (do-it-yourself, hire a contractor, etc.). Our committee's "Helping Hands" are willing to help you appraise these problems and suggest options for you. If you (or someone you know) need a "Helping Hand," or for more information, contact Tom Rhodes, or any member of the Property Committee.

REFRIGERATOR FUND-RAISER -- The refrigerator in our kitchen needs to be replaced. The current unit

(manufactured in 1989) is very inefficient in its use of energy and storage capacity, and we will benefit greatly from a newer, more efficient model. The Property Committee is researching various options in terms of brands, specifications, prices, etc. and will soon have a recommendation as to a unit that will best serve our needs. Donation boxes have been placed in the rear of our

sanctuary and on the counter in the Church House. Please help us to meet our goal of paying for this important item without impacting our church budget.

“JUST A TASTE” -- COOKING CLUB FORMING

When you see great pictures in a cookbook or magazine do you want to reach in and have “Just a Taste”? A new group is forming around the concept of, “Just a Taste” to test and taste new recipes. The initial meeting will be sometime the third week in March, details will be announced in church on Sunday, March 13th. Help create the vision of this new group and bring a favorite cookbook or magazine. Questions?? -- see Cathy Neally

Everyone is invited to share their talents at this annual event. Registration forms are available at the church, or call Mary Ellen Rudnick (562-3757) to sign up.

Refreshments will be served following the evening's entertainment.

WEEKLY EVENTS

SUNDAY 9:30 AM Choir Rehearsal

10:30 AM Morning Worship with Sunday School and Nursery Care

TUESDAY 12:00 – 2:00 Food Pantry is open

6:30 Boy Scout Troop #87

THURSDAY 6:30 – 7:15 Praising Voices Rehearsal

SPECIAL EVENTS

March 6 Holy Communion

March 6 Girl Scout Sunday -- current or former Girl Scouts encouraged to wear uniforms or pins

March 6 Confirmation Class meets in Pastor's Office -- 9:30 AM

March 9 Ash Wednesday - Lent begins – Potluck dinner 6:00 PM

March 13 Daylight Savings time begins – set clocks ahead one hour before retiring on Saturday, March 12

March 16 (Wed) Elmira Button Club meets in Church House -- 11:00 AM

March 16 (Wed.) Lenten Ecumenical Dinner series begins (see full schedule of Lenten dinners below)

March 19 (Saturday) Talent Show – 7:00 PM

March 20 First day of Spring!

March 27 “Pennies from Heaven” collection during morning worship

March 27 Information due for the April RED DOOR

March 30 (Wednesday) Lenten Ecumenical Dinner at our church – 6:00 (see full schedule of Lenten dinners below)

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Garden Club Date and time to be announced

Membership Committee Date and time to be announced

Worship Committee Meets following church service on March 13

Property Committee Wednesday, March 16 – 6:30 PM

Session Wednesday, March 16 – 7:30 PM

LENTEN ECUMENICAL DINNER PROGRAMS ANNOUNCED

The Horseheads, Big Flats, Elmira Heights Ecumenical Council has announced plans for a series of Wednesday evening Lenten programs to be held at area churches. The program each evening will consist of dinner (cost will be $4.50), prayer, and presentation. Gatherings will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. and will end at 7:00 p.m. This year's theme is "Journey of Lent Through Hymns."

DATE PLACE SPEAKER 3/16 1st Presbyterian (Horseads) Rick Price

3/23 United Methodist (Horseheads) Beverly Davenport

3/30 1st Presbyterian (Big Flats) Rhonda Kouterick

4/6 United Methodist (Big Flats) Elizabeth Boesen

4/13 St. Matthews Episcopal (Horseheads) Rosemary Bloise

NOTE: Volunteers will be needed to help as we host the dinner on March 30. Sign-up sheets will be posted – please pitch in. Many hands make light work! Questions? – see Ann Slowik

NOTE: Schedule subject to change. Rev. Rick will announce any changes during Sunday worship services.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 13. BE SURE TO SET YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD BEFORE YOU GO TO BED ON SATURDAY NIGHT, MARCH 12 – WE KNOW THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO BE LATE FOR CHURCH!

FOOD PANTRY PARTICIPATES IN $1,000,000 GIVEAWAY

The Big Flats Community Food Pantry is conducting a food drive to participate in a national challenge to fight hunger. In this drive, the Big Flats Pantry will receive a portion of $1,000,000 proportional to every dollar and food item that is collected locally. The Feinstein Foundation is sponsoring the drive. Can you help? Contributions of money or food items will be gratefully accepted during the month of March and April. Watch for the upcoming collection during Sunday morning worship. Questions? - Julie Spangenberg-Jolley (524-6143).