THE Penn Street LETTER First Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth JANUARY 2019 | Volume 19, Number 1 PENN STREET ARTS Westminster Choir Friday, January 18, 2019 Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive sing- ing,” the Westminster Choir from Princeton, NJ is coming to FPC as part of their Texas-Oklahoma tour in January 2019. Please come and enjoy the concert on Friday, January 18, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. We also have a chance to show our FPC generosity by hosng choir students in our homes and being a part of their homestay experience. We will be pairing 2 students to a home and will need about 21 volunteers for homestay. What you need to provide: • Transportaon and ample room in your vehicle aſter the concert. Each student will have a suitcase and a personal item • Clean bedding, linens, and towels • Breakfast in the morning • Transportaon to First Pres on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. for departure If you are able to volunteer a homestay, please contact Director of Music/ Organist Ahreum Han Congdon at [email protected]or call 817-335-1231 ex. 240. Winter Organ and Choir Concert Sunday, January 27, 2019 The Fellowship Choir, The Chancel Choir, and Organist, Ahreum Han Congdon will present a joint concert on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. This concert is free and open to the public. This concert will showcase our own Organist and Director of Music. The combined choirs will present the following pieces: Chancel Choir Cantante Domino I Will Arise Angel Band Fellowship Choir Uyai mose Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck arr. Alice Parker and Robert Shaw arr. Shawn Kirchner Alexander Gondo, (Come, All you People) arr. Kevin B. Holland O Magnify Order My Steps Combined Choirs I Was Glad Glenn Burleigh Glenn Burleigh, arr. Jack Schrader C. Hubert H. Parry
Transcript
THEPenn Street LETTERFirst Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth JANUARY 2019 | Volume 19, Number 1
PENN STREET ARTS Westminster Choir
Friday, January 18, 2019
Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive sing-ing,” the Westminster Choir from Princeton, NJ is coming to FPC as part of their Texas-Oklahoma tour in January 2019.
Please come and enjoy the concert on Friday, January 18, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
We also have a chance to show our FPC generosity by hosting choir students in our homes and being a part of their homestay experience. We will be pairing 2 students to a home and will need about 21 volunteers for homestay.
What you need to provide: • Transportation and ample room in your vehicle after the concert. Each student will have a suitcase and a personal item• Clean bedding, linens, and towels• Breakfast in the morning• Transportation to First Pres on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at
9:30 a.m. for departure
If you are able to volunteer a homestay, please contact Director of Music/ Organist Ahreum Han Congdon at [email protected] or call 817-335-1231 ex. 240.
Winter Organ and Choir Concert
Sunday, January 27, 2019
The Fellowship Choir, The Chancel Choir, and Organist, Ahreum Han Congdon will present a joint concert on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. This concert is free and open to the public. This concert will showcase our own Organist and Director of Music. The combined choirs will present the following pieces:
Chancel Choir Cantante Domino
I Will Arise Angel Band
Fellowship Choir Uyai mose
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck arr. Alice Parker and Robert Shaw arr. Shawn Kirchner
Alexander Gondo, (Come, All you People) arr. Kevin B. Holland
O Magnify Order My Steps
Combined Choirs I Was Glad
Glenn Burleigh Glenn Burleigh, arr. Jack Schrader
C. Hubert H. Parry
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2 penn street LETTER2 penn street LETTER
Dear Friends,
Did you know that the famous Christmas song “Silent Night, Holy Night” is now 200 years old? The song turned 200 a few days ago on Christmas Eve, first performed on this day in 1818 during midnight mass at the Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria. Isn’t that cool? Cathy Kerrigan, the chair of our youth committee, recently highlighted one of the
lines in this simple song to me. I’ve heard “Silent Night” countless times, but I was caught off guard by the sheer power of its poetry. The line Cathy shared with me?
“The dawn of redeeming grace.”
Read it slowly, then read it again. I don’t know about you, but I still feel as if I’m hearing it again for the first time. “The dawn of redeeming grace” is a powerful reminder of what this season is all about. Even in tough times, maybe especially in tough times, we trust God is holding us close and whispering promises of the dawn of day when all the pain and tears will cease. In other words, as Anne Lamott writes, “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.”
In the Christmas season, we celebrate that the dawn of redeeming grace arrived 2000+ years ago in a lowly cattle stall in the backwater town of Bethlehem.
And now, I am wondering where God is going to dawn in my life and yours in the year ahead. Remember, it begins in the dark...
Keep on keeping on,
PASTORS’ LETTER
PUBLISHER INFOThe Penn Street Letter is published monthly by First Presbyterian Church, 1000 Penn Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102-3496. Periodicals postage is paid at Fort Worth, TX and at additional offices.Editor: Kathryn BreitbarthManaging Editor: Pam BurkholderPOSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Penn Street Letter at 1000 Penn Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102-3496.
SUBMISSIONSSubmissions for the FEBRUARYissue of the Penn Street Letter are due Wednesday, January 16. Submissions for the weekly Penn Street Online emailed newsletters are due the Wednesday prior to each week’s issue.
Please send to Kathryn Breitbarth at [email protected] or bring by the church office.
FOLLOW US Do you follow First Presbyterian on social
media? If not, find us on the following sites and follow along for photos, reminders, encouragement, and more.
@firstpresfw
@firstpres_fw
@firstpres_fw
@firstpres_fw
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PW Tuesdays Together
Tuesday, January 15 at 10:30 a.m.Speaker: Robyn MichaloveTopic: “Engaging the World: Thoughtful Reflection in Congregational Mission and Outreach”
How do we have generative conversations about class (and race) when it pertains to mission outreach in our congregation? How can we allow space for theological reflection that informs thoughtful action and engagement in our ministries of outreach? For example, what theological preparation and/or reflection is instrumental to increased empathy and compassion in relational ministries that lift up both aid and justice (both interpersonal and institutional) as paradigmatic of Jesus’ social ethic of incarnational ministry?
Program in the Great Hall. Lunch to follow at 12 noon.
PW CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS
Presbyterian Women held their annual Celebration of Christmason December 11 in the Sanctuary. It was a beautiful service of worship with scripture readings, hymns and arias sung byChancel Choir soloists Allison Stanford and Devyn Woodruff.
The service also included the presentation of Honorary Life Memberships to Nancy Knight, Jean Patterson and Julie Henry.Following the worship service, a holiday luncheon was served in the Great Hall.
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
Below are some highlights of special events happening in January. For a complete calendar, visit fpcfw.org.
SUNDAYS IN JANUARY8 a.m. 9 a.m. 10 a.m. 11 a.m.
Worship in ChapelWorship in Great HallChurch School for All Ages Worship in Sanctuary
WEDNESDAYS IN JANUARY5:30 p.m. Dinner & WOW at Community Crossroads
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1Church Office Closed - Happy New Year!
SUNDAY, JANUARY 610 a.m. Bible in Depth Sunday Study Begins
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 910:45 a.m. Bible in Depth Wednesday Study Begins
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1510:30 a.m. Presbyterian Women's Tuesdays Together
THURSDAY, JANUARY 177 a.m. Men's Monthly Breakfast
FRIDAY, JANUARY 187:30 p.m. Westminster Choir Concert
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JANUARY 18-20Men's Retreat in Denton
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20All Day Peanut Butter Sunday (donations collected)6:30 p.m. Taize Worship in Chapel
THURSDAY, JANUARY 247 p.m. Homeless Count
SUNDAY, JANUARY 273:30 p.m. Winter Organ & Choir Concert
IF YOU ARE A MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEER, IN ANYCAPACITY, PLEASE COME AND JOIN US ONTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH AT 6 P.M.THE GREAT HALL MALT SHOP!TO REGISTER - CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 817.335.1231QUESTIONS - CONTACT MARY KAY ROBERTO AT [email protected] CALL 817.946.1125MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEERS ROCK!
IF YOU ARE A MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEER, IN ANYCAPACITY, PLEASE COME AND JOIN US ONTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH AT 6 P.M.THE GREAT HALL MALT SHOP!TO REGISTER - CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 817.335.1231QUESTIONS - CONTACT MARY KAY ROBERTO AT [email protected] CALL 817.946.1125MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEERS ROCK!
IF YOU ARE A MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEER, IN ANYCAPACITY, PLEASE COME AND JOIN US ONTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH AT 6 P.M.THE GREAT HALL MALT SHOP!TO REGISTER - CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE AT 817.335.1231QUESTIONS - CONTACT MARY KAY ROBERTO AT [email protected] CALL 817.946.1125MISSION OUTREACH VOLUNTEERS ROCK!
BE INSPIRED...Below are some upcoming opportunities for being inspired into a life of discipleship through church events in the coming weeks.
Join an Adult ChoirSing into 2019!With the beginning of the new year, now is a great time to join one of FPC’s two adult choirs! Both choirs welcome singers into an experience that is spiritually and musically rich and meaningful. Weekly rehearsals are a highlight of many choir members’ weeks as we engage in beautiful and exciting music, enjoy fellowship and community, and nurture our spirits. In the next several months, the choirs will sing regularly in Sunday morning worship, join for Kirkin’ Sunday, and lead the always moving and meaningful Holy Week services.
The Chancel Choir rehearses Wednesdays from 7.00 – 8.30 p.m. and sings weekly in the 11 a.m. service. The Fellowship Choir rehearses Wednesdays from 6.00 – 6.55 and sings 2-3 times per month at the 9 a.m. service. Childcare is provided during rehearsals.
Please speak with Michael Waschevski in the church office about your inter-est and/or questions about singing with either the Chancel or Fellowship Choirs. (817.335.1231 ext. 229)
Penn Street Arts FestivalSaturday, February 16, 2019
Art Show & Concert - FPC Sanctuary 5 - 6:30 p.m. - Visual Art Show - West Concourse 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Jazz & Organ Concert - Sanctuary
Bring your Paintings, Pottery, Watercolors, Sketches,Sculptures, Photography, Needlework, Woodwork, etc.
Submit artwork by signing up on our website at fpcfw.org/artsfestival2019. Deadline to sign up is January 31.
Bible in DepthBeginning Sunday, January 6 and Wednesday, January 9, Bible in Depth will continue a study of Exodus beginning with chapters 26-27. The Rev. Drs. Elizabeth (Betsy) Pense and Michael Waschevski will be leading the study. Meetings are on either Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. or Wednesday mornings at 10:45 a.m. in Room 237.
To register for this study email or call Celeste in the church office ([email protected] or 817-335-1231 ext. 261).
Men's RetreatThe annual Men's Retreat will be held Friday, January 18 (optional night) through Sunday, Janu-ary 20 in at the Hilton Garden Inn in Denton. Sign up at fpcfw.org/mensretreat or contact Patty O'Brien in the church office.
PW Women's RetreatPW of FPC invite you to a day of fun and relax-ation titled "Care for Others As You Care For Yourself". Come and learn to relax and reconnect with yourself spiritually, mentally and physically. The event will be held on Saturday, February 23 in the Great Hall.
TCT Sack Lunch Chuck Wagon Tarrant Churches Together, one of FPC’s mission partners, helps support local day laborers in Tarrant County who come to work at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Many of these residents are experiencing poverty and homelessness. TCT supports a program called the Sack Lunch Chuck Wagon. This simple program helps workers take more of their earnings home rather than spending it on lunch each day they are working. Through late January and into February the FPC youth, UKirk college students, young adults, and Boomers Fellowship will gather on four different occasions to pack more than 220 lunches for this program.
Thursday, January 17 – Boomers Fellow-shipSunday, January 27 – UKirk College MinistrySunday, January 27 – FPC YouthTuesday, February 5 – FPC Young Adults
If you have any questions, call or text Marcus Newman at 817.296.6055.
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ENGAGE THE WORLD...Below are some upcoming opportunities for engaging the world through church outreach mission efforts in the coming weeks.
Being Kind: In-Kind Giving through FPCThe phrase "in-kind gifts" refers to a kind of charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given. Below are several of the in-kind donations ac-cepted at FPC throughout the year for a variety of the church's mission outreach efforts. Thank you in advance for your generosity in 2019!
PEANUT BUTTEREvery 3rd Sunday of the month is Pea-nut Butter Sunday. Bring 15-16 ounce jars of peanut butter to church to help stock the shelves of the First HAND Food Pantry at Community Crossroads.
FORMULA AND DIAPERSThe Formula and Diapers Ministry (FAD) operates out of Community Crossroads on the 3rd Wednesday of each month and provides these items to mothers and children in need. All sizes of diapers and powdered formula (Similac Advance Stage 1 Formula) are appreciated.
FOOD & CLOTHINGThe First HAND Food Pantry always needs non-perishable food items for grocery bags given to clients. The Cloth-ing Room takes ready to wear, seasonal clothing and shoes that are gently worn or new. Clients are served on Wednes-days and Thursdays. Donations can be left in collection bins throughout the church or at the following times at Community Crossroads (1516 Hemphill Street):Mondays, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays/Thursdays, 8:30-11 a.m.Wednesdays/Thursdays, 1:30-3 p.m.
Please watch for other opportunities for in-kind gifts throughout the year that benefit special projects. If you have questions, please contact Robyn Micha-love in the church office.
2019 Homeless CountOnce again, the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition (TCHC) will coordinate a point-in-time homeless count of our area on January 24, 2019 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. These counts are large scale, community efforts to locate, count, and survey everyone who is experi-encing homelessness at a particular point in time. The TCHC coordinates Count Night for Tarrant and Parker Counties. It takes over 500 volunteers to help pull it off!
Annual counts help TCHC and community leaders understand the changing trends, extent, and nature of homelessness in our community. The data is also used to mea-sure the progress we are making in ending homelessness. Homeless counts take place across the United States during the last 10 days of January to provide the nation with comparative and longitudinal information on the nature and extent of homelessness. It is easiest to locate people who are homeless when it is cold, late at night, and at the end of the month.
Sign up to help and learn more at http://ahomewithhope.org/2019-homeless-count/.
First ConnectionsThe First Connections class offers an op-portunity to learn about FPC, our mission and ministries, as well as our history and connections to the PCUSA. New members and visitors are encouraged to attend, but all are welcome! The First Connections class will meet on Sundays at 10 a.m. from February 10 to March 17, 2019.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Chris Bartley, Discipleship Coordinator, at [email protected] or 817.335.1231. This class series is spon-sored by the Evangelism Committee.
Christmas BoxesDue January 6Families are reminded to return their filled "12 Days of Christmas" boxes to the church on January 6. Bring your box to the collection areas outside worship spaces, or the church office any time. Items in your boxes will benefit many touched by FPC's many outreach efforts.
Room in the InnRoom in the Inn is a ministry of FPC that provides 14 men experiencing homeless-ness a warm, safe place to sleep and eat every Monday evening during the coldest months of the year. (A summer session is also held.) We especially need volunteers to visit with our guests and stay for dinner to extend hospitality. Several of the tasks are great for families to serve together.
Learn more or sign up to help through Robyn Michalove at [email protected] or 817.335.1231.
Christmas Toy Store VolunteersWe'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers who made the Christmas Toy Store so wonderfully suc-cessful on Saturday, December 8. Your holiday spirit and graciousness made the event a very positive experience for all of our neighbors from Community Cross-roads. WWW.FPCFW.ORG 5
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Book People Book ClubBOOK PEOPLE will begin its fifth year of reading and discussion on February 11 at 12 noon in Room 226. Book People meets eight times a year from noon-1 p.m. on second Mondays. Church members and friends are always welcome. Books are available in the Fort Worth Library and from Amazon in various forms. Here is the list of books for spring and summer, all stories of family and hopes for a good future.
February 11: The Rent Collector by Cameron WrightSet in the largest municipal waste dump in Cambodia, this is not a story of things thrown away as trash (as you might expect), but an amazing story of discovery and hope for an almost unimaginable future.
March 11: Ordinary Grace by William Kent KruegerComing of age in 1961 in a small Minnesota town, Frank learns a lot of things about life and death - and some amazing and unex-pected things about grace.
April 8: Another Part of the House by Winston M. EstesThis book is being made available for free by a friend of Book People. We have 20 copies and will be distributing them in February and March.
May 13: The Ice House by Laura Lee Smith
July 8: Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse by Alexander McCall SmithThis endearing story set during World War II will delight the group.
Please contact Elizabeth Johnson Pense at [email protected] if you have questions.
R E M R E M I DN K L F K J L D K J F L K S
Reminders of ChristmasSome Christmas images we just had to share!
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JOYS & CONCERNS
Following are the joys and concerns shared as of December 19, 2018 (due to printing deadlines). To respect the privacy of those listed, names are included only when the individuals grant their permission.
Our loving sympathy to...Family and friends of Richard Sperry who died December 9.
Our loving thoughts and prayers are with...Bettye Kinard, Bob Wilson, Brent McCartney, Jerry Brownlee, David Nation, Paula Robertson, and Judy Gasch, who are recovering from surgery or injury.
Karl Travis, Marilyn Love, Roger Parsons, Jane Watson, Rush Hart, Marilyn Wilson, Vera Kendall, Phyllis Propes, Emma Coley, Marjorie Lewis, Corinna Nation, Lisa Shiner, Marge Shiner, Elizabeth Bean, Frances Blake, Nancy Nelson, and Dalia Scott, who are dealing with illness or undergoing treatment.
Our caring prayers for extended family include...Melba Matthews (mother of Paula Robertson); Bill Neil (brother of Marilyn Love), Janet Laminack (cousin of Julie Sphar and Vance Laminack), John DeMore (son-in-law of June Sprott), Lisa Koenig (niece of Clark Williams), Kathy Kline (Maxine Kruse’s daughter), Marty Kinard (Larry and Bettye Kinard’s daughter-in-law), and Susan Chenault (Frances Chenault’s daughter).
Prayers for peace in our world, for the safety of Nathan Gunter (Russell and Vivian Norment’s nephew) who is stationed in Korea. Also for the safety of Diego A. Saldivar, who is serving in the US Navy; Diego is the son of Becky and Rene Saldivar.
Our congratulations and best wishes to...Laura and Trevor Armstrong on the birth, November 26, and adoption, December 6, of Patrick Drake Hale. Patrick joins big brother James.
Alex and Sarah Simmons on the birth of a daughter Chloe Ann on November 18. Proud FPC family: grandparents, Mike and Ellen Peck; and great aunt Margaret Campbell.
Kevin and Laurel Bryan, who were married on October 13 in the Great Hall.
NEW MEMBERS WHO JOINED IN 2018A total of 79 people joined FPC this past year. We welcome them all into the life and ministry of this congregation. Welcome!
January - March Harlene SatterfieldJack FloydSusan WertenbergerAlexa WingoWesley WingoIrene HowardGoodwyn GambleSuzie AlmyAnna FarleyCheever FarleyKevin Bryan Laurel BryanDebbie Rohde Carrie GreenJason Green
Dori DavisAl ComeauxKatie ComeauxBobby MortonDietra MortonCelestine KepngaMedy KepngaWarren Kepnga
July - SeptemberFrankie HalcombHeather ShafferFrank MathisJane MathisCar o JacksonDon JacksonCarthell TateLuke BathurstNancy Bathurst
October - DecemberRebecca KielMary Lynne JonesChris d'AngeloDeb d'AngeloPat Dean Dick Dinsdale Drew DinsdaleAustin StubblefieldCourtney StubblefieldFran AskewPam TietzeSungeun KimCody WoodruffDevyn WoodruffGregg TillmanKelle TillmanCarter TillmanGracie TillmanIsaac GonzalesThomas ShelbyLisa McDanielPa trick McDaniel
First Presbyterian Church1000 Penn Street Fort Worth, TX 76102
PERIODICALSPOSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Penn Street Le�er, 1000 Penn StreetFort Worth, TX 76102
Church O��e Ph: 817.335.1231 Fax: 817.335.5663
WWW.FPCFW.ORG
Inspiring Disciples...Engaging the World
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KIRKIN' OF THE TARTANSFEBRUARY 3, 2019
Don't miss this annual service, celebrating the Presbyterian Church's Scottish heritage. The service will be held on Sunday, February 3, 2019 in the Sanctuary at 11 a.m.
A lunch featuring traditional Scottish fare will be held in the Great Hall following the service. The cost is $7. Entertainment will feature bagpipes and Scottish country dancers.
