| - - - NEWSLETTER FOR OCTOBER, 2009 - - - |
First Baptist Church
224 Main St. Penn Yan, NY 14527
(315) 536-9821 e-mail: pyfbc224@gmail.com
Rev. John R. Tharp, Pastor
Services of Worship and Praise
Sundays at 10 AM
Sermons for October
Oct. 4 “Leading Your Heart”
I Corinthians 13:4-7
Oct. 11 “African Perspective”
Acts 8:26-40
Featuring a dialogue with Dauda Abubakar
Oct. 18 “Living Biblically”
Mark 12:28-34
Featuring Jonathan Lawrence
Oct. 25 “You Are a Missionary”
Mark6:7-13
World Mission Offering - Featuring an Interview with a Missionary
Greeter’s Lay Readers
Oct. 4 Janice Knecht & Marion Perry Diane DeLooza
Oct. 11 Jeanette O’Brien & Pat Ames Stan Ovens
Oct. 18 Eva Dillon & Erma Mullins Barb Stewart
Oct. 25 Bob & Mary Fullagar Tammy Miller
In This Month’s Newsletter: Our Email Address has changed!
Ÿ Festival of Faith Schedule Our new address is:
Ÿ Green Lake Report pyfbc224@gmail.com
Ÿ World Mission Offering Letter
BIRTHDAY Gad-Abouts
1 ~ Margaret Mills 16 ~ Doug Passage
7 ~ Polly Logan 25 ~ Pam Scutt Will be going to Atlanta
8 ~ Jean Brewer 25 ~ Bob Fullagar on Sunday, Oct. 25, for
16 ~ Greg Marion 25 ~ Scott Robbins Chicken & Biscuits!
FESTIVAL OF FAITH WEEKEND, OCT 16 - 18
For as long as I can remember, the “Holy Land” has been a hot spot. The small nations in that part of the world command the attention and the resources of the large nations across the world. From this region - the birth place of three major religions - there radiates both hope and tensions. For many of us there is also great mystery that shrouds the happenings in that place.
Jonathan Lawrence, son of our own Don & Kathie Lawrence, will be with us for our Festival of Faith Weekend, to shed some light on the past and present events in the Middle East.
Jonathan will speak to us throughout the weekend about the Lands of the Bible - their geography and environment and how that has influenced the life of people there in the past and now, and the modern political situation and how it relates to ancient history.
Friday, Oct. 16 6 pm Dinner in the Great Room hosted by the Hospitality
Committee. Baked Lasagna, salad, garlic bread and
caramel apple dessert.
7 pm Worship with “Common Ground” Bluegrass Christian Band
Message by Jonathan Lawrence: “Exploring the Holy Land”
Saturday. Oct. 17 1-3 pm Christian Education “Kids Fest” in the Great Room
Bounce House, cotton candy, popcorn, indoor campfire,
fun & games. All kids invited. Bring your friends!!
7 pm Dessert Fellowship “Living in the Holy Land -
Daily Life and Festivals” with Jonathan Lawrence.
Sunday, Oct. 18 10 am Worship with our guest speaker, Jonathan Lawrence.
His message to us will be: “Living Biblically”
11 am Adult Sunday School - “Modern Life in the Holy Land”
with Jonathan Lawrence.
Jonathan Lawrence is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theology at Canisius College and is also Co-Pastor of First Baptist Church in Niagara Falls, NY and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Network of Religious Communities in Buffalo, NY. He is a graduate of Haverford College, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and the University of Notre Dame, and was a Raoul Wallenberg Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After many years away from Western New York, he and his family now live in Kenmore, NY.
Hey Kids!
Exciting things are being planned! Be sure to keep watch in the bulletins because there are new activities in the works JUST FOR YOU! Once a month we will plan an activity with the Presbyterian Church. We want to do fun and interesting activities that YOU want to be involved in. So keep your ears and eyes open. Do you want to help plan? Contact Barbara Burke at 536-7020 if you have some ideas.
Mary & Martha Circle
Tuesday, October 13 @ 10:30 am. Marge Cornell will provide dessert for the group and will bring a devotion to reflect on. Remember to bring your own sandwich. We will be planning our calendar for the year.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
The next meeting of the Advisory Council will be on Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm.
All Boards and Committees MUST have a representative there with their budget figures for the year 2010.
From the Board of Missions -
Dear Followers of Christ, You and I follow Jesus because God used someone to share the Good News. We have continued and grown as followers of Jesus because God has used others to celebrate with us in achievements, encourage us in setbacks and call us forward in faith. You can help us make the same things happen in the lives of people half a world away! That’s why we are asking you to both pray for and give to the
2009 WORLD MISSION OFFERING.
Our denomination uses the WMO to support more than 2500 short and long term missionaries annually in over 70 countries. They promote cutting edge ministries that tell the Good News of Jesus Christ while meeting human needs.
Our giving to the World Mission Offering helps people to:
Accept Christ and to start new churches
Train future church leaders
Abolish human trafficking
Promote health in a HIV/AIDS world
Create economic opportunity and build futures
Open the mind, empowering the heart
Seek peace and offer refuge
“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus…he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant.” Philippians 2:5,7 NCV.
We believe God is able and wants us to provide support to global missions this year. Our 2009 goal is $1,000. We will receive the WORLD MISSION OFFERING on October 25.
Yours because of the always-surprising love of Jesus.
Your Bd. Of Mission
Board Of Mission Report
Lots of good things have happened since our last report to you. You have helped serve others by giving:
$250 to Friendship House - Hamtramck, MI
$224 to Church World Service Blanket Offering
$441 to the One Great Hour of Sharing
$109.39 to the $1 and A Prayer (camping for unchurched youth)
$450 to Colgate Rochester Divinity School
$350 to Fairport Baptist Home
$150 to Bacone College (Native American College)
Of Special Note: $950 was given to support our missionaries in Japan (Roberta Stephens), Mexico (Richard & Mercedes Barnes and Tim & Patti Long). This means $1900 went directly to missionary support thanks to you! Thank You! Thank You!
Bd of Mission Report continued…
Once again the World Mission Offering will be received on Oct . 25. This years goal is $1,000. This money goes directly to missionary support. You will be pleased to learn that in spite of the terrible economic situation, it is expected that ALL OF OUR MISSIONARIES WILL BE RETURNING TO THEIR ASSIGNMENTS in September!!!
A CHANCE TO SERVE: Knitters are needed for CHRISTMAS FOR THE NEEDY. All kinds of yarn is available at the Once-Again-Shoppe. Call Joyce Vail at 536-6788 if you can help in this way. Also call if you’d like to volunteer as a bell ringer, walker, sorter, packer, mover or shopper.
A reminder: Please keep up with your pledges and contributions. We have $6,820 budgeted to spend over the rest of the year. Our balance has shrunk from $1,900 on May 31, to $900 on August 31.
One Last Appeal: Please continue to bring in Campbell Lables, General Mills “Boxtops for Education” and cancelled stamps.
Your Bd. Of Mission
Report of the Board of Trustees for September
Trustees met on Sept. 8, 2009. Highlights of the meeting are as follows:
Ÿ We made $1,360.75 with our hot dog and hamburg sales before the Wednesday night concerts.
Ÿ The Yates Concert Committee gave us $400 for the use of our bathrooms and building during the concerts.
Ÿ We also received a thank you from the Yates Concert Committee for the use of our building during the concerts.
Ÿ A new Dell computer has been purchased for the church office.
Ÿ Time Warner is hooking us up for Road Runner high speed internet and phone services on Sept. 9.
Ÿ We are still trying to get our steeple inspected by a steeple jack,
Ÿ The dead tree on the edge of our parking lot is to be taken down by the Fischer Tree Service. The County will pay half the expense.
Ÿ The Stewardship drive is being planned. Watch for announcements in the newsletter and bulletins.
Ÿ We are looking for a Man-Lift to install the heater tape over the ramp before winter sets in. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Ÿ The Red Cross is having a progressive dinner here on the 25th of this month.
Ÿ The Trustees will be in charge of the coffee hour for the month of October.
The next Trustees meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009.
News From Our Missionaries
Roberta Stephens
Roberta had cancer surgery in June and has returned to the USA for chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is done on a very limited scale in Japan.
Tim & Patti Long
Teresa Miranda, the first missionary to be sent out by the Baja Baptist Convention is directing a gross-cultural Missionary Training School in southern Mexico. Over 300 persons attended her commissioning service.
Mexican grade schools started August 24. Things are going very well in spite of the poor economic conditions. Most of Patti’s handicapped and disabled students returned to school.
Wayne & Kathy Niles
You ladies might be interested in reading about the delivery of a baby boy at the Kintambo Health Center. Very different from deliveries in the USA.
Wayne’s story of how $40 can supply a Congolese family with an annual $400-700 income is most interesting. Especially when the average family’s earnings is less than $300. Palm Oil trees produce after three years. A donor will match your $40. You can double your gift this way!
You can read the full stories by going to the readers table.
SUNDAY BULLETIN MEMORIAL COVERS
2009 dates still available: Nov. 1,8,15, Dec. 6,13,20
Now is the time to indicate your preference for a Memorial bulletin cover.
The cost is $10 for one Sunday. In purchasing Memorial Bulletin Covers, you will help defray some of the church’s operating costs and at the same time memorialize or recognize a loved one. Printed in the bulletin will be the information you provide below. Please send this form to the church office along with your payment.
Date Preferred _______________ From _______________________
In Honor of ______________________________________________
In Memory of _____________________________________________
Next month ......
STEWARDSHIP DRIVE POTLUCK LUNCHEON
Sunday, November 8
Hosted by the Board of Trustees
We will present the tentative budget and
Give out visitation pledge envelopes.
Watch for more information!
Green Lakes visit
Dear Penn Yan First Baptist Church,
On Saturday, June 27, Pastor John, his wife Nancy, their son Tom and his Fiance Katie were joined by Eileen Modafarri and Christian on a journey to Green Lake, Wisconsin. Starting out early in the morning the travelers drove all day till they reached Chicago. They stayed the night at a Holiday Inn and Sunday morning attended the Willow Creek Church. It was a wonderful service in which hundreds of people came to the front of the church to be baptized including a group of bikers wearing studded black leather. We drove off from there to reach Green Lake at around 5 pm. The evening service introduced us to the main speaker for the week, JP Moreland. Moreland’s speeches were wonderful and uplifting. He told about miracles happening around the world to people we had never met and to himself. His messages focused mainly on how we as Christians needed to be as smart as the people who sought to tear down religion. He showed how science could be used in arguments against anti-Christian rhetoric to help prove that our faith made logical sense as well as being supernatural. His messages coupled with the beautiful surroundings of the conference center and the lake front allowed us to feel the Holy Spirit with out all of the distractions of life in the “Real World” drawing our attention away from the creator. At night we witnessed miraculous healings and felt the Holy Spirit move during worship. During the day we did such things as take long walks, meditate in one of the may prayer rooms, go for bike rides, and climb the painfully tall Judson Tower (133 steps). On Thursday Pastor John left on his bicycle in order to reach Decatur, Illinois near the time that Nancy arrived by car on Friday. Tom, Katie, Eileen and Christian, left about midnight. All through the night we watched fire works as people along the road set them off for the 4th of July. It was a great week and I thank the Penn Yan First Baptist Church for their help in attending.
God Bless, Tom Tharp
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I determined to do whatever it took to keep my spirits up. I took God at His word - that he would be with me and take care of me; that He’d go before me and straighten out the crooked places; that He’d be my comforter, friend, and great physician. Something about that choice had a rush in it for me. And edge. And excitement. Each day I couldn’t wait to see what would happen.”
~ Luci Swindoll
“How do we find God? Sometimes we search for Him and sometimes He searches for us. Every time we think of God it is because He first had us on His mind. So know that once you have invited Him into your life, you are on His mind and He is in your heart.”
~Patsy Clairmont
(Taken from the Women of Faith small group study “Encouraging One Another.”)