|
The Chronicle
is
Published by
First Presbyterian Church 49 South Portage Street Westfield, New York
2019 |
Church Office Hours 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
Office: (716) 326-2643 Fax: (716) 793-6019
Website:
E-Mail:
Administrative Assistant Polly M. Knopp
Custodian Daniel E. Dibble
Deacon of the Month May 2019 Sharon Humphrey May Greeters Jane McMaster Marilynne Northrop |
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Love Is A Mother’s Gift
By Joanna Fuchs
When God made mothers, He took great care
To fill their hearts with love so rare.
Their children are their greatest prize;
You can see the great love in your mother’s eyes.
Love, love is a mother’s gift
To their precious children, their hearts to lift.
Warm, tender and giving love
That grows them up healthy and happy.
Thank you, mother for all you give
To help me grow and to help me live.
I will love you forevermore,
My mother, my mom, whom I adore.
Love, love is a mother’s gift
To their precious children, their hearts to lift.
Warm, tender and giving love
That grows us up healthy and happy.
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MAY Pulpit Supplies
Please join us in May for family worship at 11:00 a.m. - the pulpit supplies are:
May 5
Rev. Dr. Bruce Archibald
Bruce retired from the First Presbyterian Church in Glendale, OH in 2004. Bruce and his wife, Beth, moved to Chautauqua in 2010. They have 2 children, 5 grandchildren and one spoiled dog. Beth is an Elder at the First Presbyterian in Jamestown, and Bruce has led worship services in several churches in our presbytery and served as co-transitional pastor for the Jamestown Church. He is active in the Presbyterian Association in Chautauqua.
May 12
Patricia Townsend
Pat is a lay preacher trained in the Presbytery’s Lay Academy. She served as pastor of North Park Presbyterian Church for three and a half years and as Executive Director of Journey’s End Refugee Services in Buffalo for four years, but most of her career has been spent doing research, writing, and teaching as a medical and environmental anthropologist in Papua New Guinea and the United States. Her University of Michigan doctorate is in cultural anthropology. She and her husband Bill, a civil engineer, in their retirement, are active volunteers with a coalition working on nuclear issues at the West Valley Demonstration Project and with their congregation, North Presbyterian in Williamsville. They have one daughter, Alison, and a 13-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth.
As a high school student, Pat read the book of Revelation straight through at one sitting and was blown away by its vision of the majesty of God. She is looking forward to revisiting that experience with us, these many decades, later in a stretch of time when Revelation appears in the Revised Common Lectionary during Eastertide.
May 19
James Sanford
Jim is a Certified Lay Preacher. He believes that worship is a time not so much for learning, but a sacred moment dedicated to joyful sharing: the sharing of God’s love for us as expressed in His Son our Lord; a time for sharing and showing our love and respect for each other, in action and prayer; it is the sharing of one brief hour in a week to praise and thank our Lord and King for all His blessings. When a congregation invites him to preach, they give him the privilege of sharing his ever maturing faith in an unchanging God of love and grace. Jim is retired from Sears Roebuck where he worked for about forty years; he is an active member of the Brighton Volunteer Fire Co. and is a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan having been a season ticket holder for over fifty years. He loves golf and plays three times a week in good weather but, his scores never seem to improve. His home church is Faith United Presbyterian Church in Kenmore.
May 26
Mike Ricketts, Elder
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The Church office will be closed from Wednesday, May 1 through Friday, May 10. If you have a need or concern please contact Mike Ricketts at (716) 338-8864.
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Looking ahead...
The 2019 Chicken Barbecue ~ it's not too early to be thinking about the Chicken Barbecue. This year's BBQ is July 26 and 27. VOLUNTEERS for this event are NECESSARY for it to be successful!
The following are areas of opportunities for you to volunteer: kitchen, servers, corn huskers or cookers, chicken cookers, runners, parking lot or tickets sales. To have a convenient choice of the day or time you prefer, volunteering soon will
guarantee the day and time of your choosing. DON'T DELAY! You can volunteer by calling Mike Ricketts 753-7831 or the church office/326-2643.
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Mission/Outreach News....
Cinco de May Luncheon
Join the fun and come to the Mission Committee's fifth Mexican fiesta!! The event will take place immediately following worship on May 5. The menu includes Mexican Pizza, Enchiladas, Mexican Macaroni & Cheese, Taco Salad, Sangria Punch, desserts, Coffee and Tea. Please NOTE none of these items will be hot and spicy, so the luncheon may be enjoyed by all. A donation of $10 is suggested (no charge for children & Students). Proceeds will be used for various Mission Projects throughout the year. If you plan to attend please call the church office/326 2643
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Our thanks go out to everyone who made a gift to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on Easter. As of this date our gift of $347.00 has been sent to the Presbytery of WNY for distribution to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Hunger Programs and Self Development to serve people seeking to reclaim and restore their
lives.
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Soles Healing Souls
Chosen International Medical Assistance
"A Christ ministry dedicated to improving the quality of life to all God's
people for His glory."
Chosen International Medical Assistance needs your shoes! Everyone has shoes they are no longer wearing, and don't know what to with, right? Chosen International Medical Assistance partners with funds2org to collect your used shoes. The shoes (including sneakers, boots, sandals, etc.) will be used to create and sustain micro-enterprise opportunities for low income entrepreneurs in developing nations. They will also stay out of landfills, AND, the more shoes collected, the more money Chosen IMA receives to continue its ministries! It's a Win, Win, Win! You can drop off your shoes at the church office or drop in a box located at the Portage Street entrance. Please rubber band each pair of shoes together. Thank you!
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The Mission Committee will host a yard sale at the home of Marjory Fritz on the weekend of July 26 and 27 to raise funds for on-going mission causes throughout the year. All members and friends are asked to donate one or two nice items for the sale. If you need assistance in getting your item(s) to the church, please contact the church office at 326-2643. We also ask that no clothing be donated for this particular sale. (If you have clothing you wish to donate, please consider using the St. Pauly clothing drop-off shed located at the Lakeshore Assembly of God Church on East Main Street). Items for the yard sale will be accepted beginning July 1. Volunteers are needed for the following times each day of the sale: 10 a.m. - 12 Noon, 12 Noon - 2 p.m., 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. If you would like to volunteer please contact Marjory Fritz/326-4277.
Medical Benevolence - Haiti Nursing Student
The Mission Committee has begun a campaign to raise funds for a scholarship to support the education of a nusring student in Haiti. This program is under the auspicious of the Medical Benevolence Foundation.
Fundraising projects will be undertaken throughout 2019 in support of the nursing student. There are specially marked envelopes in the pews for donations or you can send your donation to the church earmarked "Haiti Nursing Student". MISSION IS THE HEART OF THE CHURCH SO LET’S KEEP THE HEART HEALTHY!
Westfield Community Kitchen
~ Needs and Wish List ~
For the month of May, we will be collecting some much-needed items for the Community Kitchen. The "Wish List" is as follows: small dessert plates, napkins, paper towels, individual sugar
packets, salad dressings, decaf and regular coffee, dry soup mixes, Jello, puddings, powdered creamer, canned carrots, chicken broth, biscuit mix, cake mixes, aluminum foil (wide), Sweet n' Lo, liquid dish soap and bleach. The Community Kitchen greatly appreciates our help!
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Thursday, May 2, 2019
7:00 p.m.
Eason Hall
The theme of the 2019 National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May, 2 will be "Love One Another," based upon the words of Jesus in John 13: 34, which says, "Love one another. Just as I have loved you."
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress,
and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In 1988, the law was unanimously amended by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on Thursday, May 5, 1988, designating the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer.
Please join the Westfield Ministerial Association on Thursday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. at Eason Hall - Everyone is welcome!
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Stop To Salute On Memorial Day
EAGLE BASE, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- It was raining "cats and dogs" and I was late for physical training.
Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, KY, and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient.
The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier's memorial plaque.
My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck, getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time.
All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car in front of me stopped.
A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove.
I couldn't believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking.
I waited to see the butt-chewing that I wanted him to get for making me late.
He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDUs were plastered to his frame. I watched-as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain, and set it upright again.
Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off.
I'll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred books or a thousand lectures.
That simple salute -- that single act of honoring his fallen brother and his flag -- encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me. It said, "I will never forget. I will keep the faith. I will finish the mission. I am an American soldier."
I thank God for examples like that.
And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them.
~ Captain John Rasmussen ~
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Clerk's Pen(cil) II
Following the call to order by Moderator Rev. Cynthia Wicker-Lundquist, and devotions and prayer by Marjory Fritz the Session took up the work of the church on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.
Actions taken at the meeting are summarized as follows:
~ Received the Deacon and Treasurer's report for March.
~ The following requested to be non-members of the church: Patty Benton, Heather Guido, Heidi McGuinn Duncombe, Brenda Steele.
Other business:
~ Pulpit supplies are scheduled through September 2019.
~ Plans are underway for a Cinco de Mayo luncheon on May 5 following worship.
Copies of the Session minutes for January, February, March are NOW available on the bulletin board outside the church office. There is only one copy of each month - so please read and leave for others. If you wish your own copy or are interested in other minutes from previous months please contact the church office.
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The Mission Committee donated $300 to the Boiler Fund for the Bethel Presbyterian Church in Lackawanna, NY. They received the following thank you:
"On Thursday, January 10th the Bethel session members were gathered for our regular stated meeting. We spent a good amount of time discussing the budget for 2019. We all agreed that the finances for the year ahead looked a bit shaky but as long as nothing major occurred we would be OK. At the back of our minds was the fact that the boiler had been turned off just minutes before because it was making loud, scary sounds. By the end of the evening, the emergency repairman gave us the grim news that the boiler was not repairable and would need to be replaced. The estimate for the replacement was $14,000. With a window of only a few days before the temperatures were predicted to fall into the teens a speedy decision was made to schedule the replacement. For 6 days we held our breath and Bethel was kept above freezing with electric heaters. On January 16th the installation was completed and heat was restored!"
"The financing of the new boiler took almost all of our savings and has left just enough in our checking account to pay the upcoming utility bills and insurance. We are truly facing the year ahead on faith alone! We know that there are 3 Girl Scout troops, 2 AA groups and those who depend on the Soup Kitchen and the Thrift Shop depending on us to be there for them."
"Your donation for the new boiler is greatly appreciated. It lets us know that you care about Bethel Church and the mission it provides in our community."
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the simple solution to community fundraising
As a church we continue to participate in TOPS Markets "Cash for Causes" program. We have purchased TOPS "Cash for Causes" gift cards that are available to church members and friends. You pay the cash value of the card and the church earns 5% on each card sold. We all buy groceries! There is no additional cost to you; you simply use the gift card. Cards are available in $50 and $100 denominations. Please call (326-2643) or stop in the church office to purchase a gift card.
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'Donate Now' button
The church has a "Donate Now" button on our website ~ steeplesinthepark.com. To donate to our church and ministry simply click on the donate tab located on the right hand side of the website. You will be directed to a secure Pay-Pal site to complete your donation. The Church greatly appreciates any and all contributions.
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Prayer Concerns
A special prayer that you'll be blessed with tender care and needed rest, warm thoughts of friends that mean so much and most of all, God's healing touch.
REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR....
Members of Our Congregation
Sharon Bane, Barb Lynn, Dorothy Near, Betty Reid, Ople Gollnitz, Lillian Saunders, Mark Robbins, Pat Hayes, Pat Sciarrino, Jim Eversole and Elaine Hall.
Family and Friends of our Congregation
Darrell Colgrove, Mary Grygier (Sister of Elaine Parker), Mike Strada (Brother of Elaine Parker), Abigail Jopek, The Pandolph/Peary Families (Friends of John Daily), John Belcher.
Our Servicemen
Chief Petty Officer, James "JD" Watkins (Grandson of Betty Reid)
Lt. Victgor Gutirrez, U.S. Army Rangers (Grandson of Jack Beckman)
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Income through March 31, 2019: $23,117.04
(Pledges Paid to Date: $13,917.00 ~ 100% pledges paid to date as of March month end)
Expenses through March 31, 2019: $27,709.85
Investment Funds used through March 31, 2019: $1,000.00
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MAY BIRTHDAYS
We all join in extending Greetings
and Best Wishes for a Happy Birthday.
May this day be Richly Blessed
With Peace and Joy and
Everything that makes for Happiness
5th
Mary Ann Buettner
Melanie Ricketts
7th
Tina Neal
9th
Andrew Riforgiato
Jodi Wilson
12th
Will Northrop
14th
Jim Boyle
Marion Eno
Destine Rogers
19th
Terri MacCubbin
Pat Sciarrino
21st
John Wysard
24th
Sue Gross
25th
Art Webster
27th
Candy Hamilton
30th
Julie Travis
MAY ANNIVERSARIES
A special Anniversary Prayer...
That God's Eternal love
Will fill your heart this day
With joy and blessings from above
14th
Ramona & Dave Luder
15th
Polly & Jake Knopp
25th
Nancy & Mark Smith
Thursday, May 2
7:00 p.m.
National Day of Prayer
~ Eason Hall ~
Sunday, May 5
10:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
Christian Nurture ~ Adult Education
11:00 a.m.
Family Worship
12:00 Noon
Cinco de Mayo Lunch
Sunday, May 12
10:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
Christian Nurture ~ Adult Education
11:00 a.m.
Family Worship
Tuesday, May 14
6:15 p.m.
Meeting with Session and Presbyterian Foundation
Wednesday, May 15
9:00 a.m.
Property & Finance
Sunday, May 19
10:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
Christian Nurture - Adult Educaiton
11:00 a.m.
Family Worship
Monday, May 20
7:00 p.m.
Deacon Meeting
Tuesday, May 21
Session Meeting
Sunday, May 26
10:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
Christian Nurture - Adult Education
11:00 a.m.
Family Worship
Monday, May 27,
Memorial Day
~ Church Office Closed ~
7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Pancake Breakfast
~ Hosted by Westfield School's 7th Grade Class ~
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6 Ethics of Life
Before you Pray ~ Believe
Before you Speak ~ Listen
Before you Spend ~ Earn
Before you Write ~ Think
Before you Quit ~ Try
Before you Die ~ Live
