Good Tidings - FPCWilloughbyfpcwilloughby.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AUG-19-Good-Tidings... ·...
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1 First Presbyterian Church—Willoughby — PC(USA) AUGUST 2019 "Christ's Servants: Open minds, Loving hearts, Serving hands." Good Tidings Jesus said: "Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you." Luke 6:38 Ever seen or had a boomerang? As a kid I had a small one. It took some doing but eventually I was able to make it do what it was intended to do. Return from where it came. A boomerang is a flat, curved piece of wood and when properly thrown it curves around in the air and comes right back from where it was thrown. As amazing as that boomerang experience was to learn to throw the boomerang correctly, I've also amazingly learned that most of our life is like that boomerang. Whatever we "throw out there," tends to come back in one way or another. Try smiling at a stranger --- more oſten than not --- a big smile is returned. If I'm kind toward someone --- they will usually be kind in return. An angry snap at someone --- expect immediate and total retaliaon. Need I go on? The fact is, whatever I decide to "throw out" into the world will usually circle around and land right back at me. Oh yeah --- much like the boomerang! So, it boils down to a choice. I have a choice about what I decide to "throw out" into my world. Want joy --- throw it out there and watch your return. Want happiness --- throw some happiness out there and watch it miraculously come back to you. It's Biblical, and it just plain works. When we give something away --- when we "throw" it out there, it boomerangs back. And the miraculous part --- we get more back than what we throw out. Plant a seed of corn and you don't just get one seed back . . . you get hundreds --- maybe even thousands! It's clear to me whatever is "thrown out" will come back many mes over. Prayer: Father thank you for the meless teachings of the Bible and how when I walk in the faith of it --- it returns to me many mes over. In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen! Shane Nanney
Transcript of Good Tidings - FPCWilloughbyfpcwilloughby.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AUG-19-Good-Tidings... ·...
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First Presbyterian Church—Willoughby — PC(USA) AUGUST 2019
"Christ's Servants: Open minds, Loving hearts, Serving hands."
Good Tidings
Jesus said: "Give, and you will receive. You will be given much.
Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap.
The way you give to others is the way God will give to you."
Luke 6:38
Ever seen or had a boomerang? As a kid I had a small one. It took some doing but eventually I was able to make it do what
it was intended to do. Return from where it came.
A boomerang is a flat, curved piece of wood and when properly thrown it curves around in the air and comes right back
from where it was thrown. As amazing as that boomerang experience was to learn to throw the boomerang correctly, I've
also amazingly learned that most of our life is like that boomerang. Whatever we "throw out there," tends to come back in
one way or another.
Try smiling at a stranger --- more often than not --- a big smile is returned.
If I'm kind toward someone --- they will usually be kind in return.
An angry snap at someone --- expect immediate and total retaliation.
Need I go on? The fact is, whatever I decide to "throw out" into the world will usually circle around and land right back at
me. Oh yeah --- much like the boomerang! So, it boils down to a choice. I have a choice about what I decide to "throw
out" into my world.
Want joy --- throw it out there and watch your return.
Want happiness --- throw some happiness out there and watch it miraculously come back to you.
It's Biblical, and it just plain works. When we give something away --- when we "throw" it out there, it boomerangs back.
And the miraculous part --- we get more back than what we throw out. Plant a seed of corn and you don't just get one
seed back . . . you get hundreds --- maybe even thousands! It's clear to me whatever is "thrown out" will come back many
times over.
Prayer: Father thank you for the timeless teachings of the Bible and how when I walk in the faith of it --- it returns to me
many times over. In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Shane Nanney
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Jami Bell, Cheryl Creter, Christian, Dave, Dral, Lily Decker,
the Ruth Eble family, Betty Hitchcock, Nancy (Hitchcock)
Harvey, Frank Lay, the Michael Luther family, Gary Menkie,
Mark, Paula Neuer, Christa Oksiloff, Ken Peck, Charles &
Elsie Plautz, Jim Robbins, Art Roniger, the Mildred Schemm
family, and all of our homebound friends.
Our homebound members & friends . . . Anna Maria of Aurora— Betty Boyce, Martha Dus BV Fairmount— Christa Oksiloff, Mina Van Dusen, Lois Armington, Rose Marie Smith BV Nason Center — Lois Hann, Nancy Radak
Clare Bridge at Brookdale (Wickliffe) - Mary Houze Mentor Ridge Health & Rehab—Betty Hitchcock, Nancy (Hitchcock) Harvey Homebound— Donna Rinaldi, Priscilla Mazich, Tom Lewis
Due to the federal law mandating privacy of medical information, hospitals will not notify the church if a loved one is
hospitalized. PLEASE, call the church office if a member of your family is in the hospital or having surgery, and you
would like for the pastor to visit.
June Attendance and Gifts
2 9 16 23 30 TOTAL/AVG
Christian Education 5 6 5 4 7 27/5
Contemporary Worship 24 34 35 24 37 154/31
Traditional Worship 107 93 90 64 84 438/88
TOTAL 136 133 130 92 128 619/124
General Offerings, Pledges
and Special Offerings
$ 3,109 $ 8,256 $ 2,715 $1,474 $ 3,124 $ 18,678/3,736
Special Offerings include: Willoughby Food Pantry, Project Hope, Building Use, Flowers, PDA, Pentecost Offering, Agape Feast, Free-Food Distribution, Per Capita
August 20 is the deadline for the SEPTEMBER
Good Tidings.
Please submit your articles early!
Thanks!
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The summer has flown by and we are gearing up for the Fall
season of music. Thanks to all who have shared their musical gifts and
talents with our church family the past two months.
Choir members who are traveling to North Church to sing on
August 18 – pick up music and rehearse on either Sunday, August 4
or Sunday, August 11 at 10:15 in the sanctuary. Check your email for the names of all who are
going to North Church and arrange carpooling.
Choir practice will resume on Thursday, August 22 at 7:30 pm so the choir can prepare
to sing for Pastor Shane’s 30th Anniversary of Ordination celebration on August 25.
The Chancel Choir sings most Sundays at the 11:00 Traditional Service, and we are always
looking for new members. If you would like to join us, even for just the fall season, please know
that you are welcome. Call or email Don Brickman 216-319-4965 or [email protected],
or stop by the organ any Sunday after worship.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
~ Don Brickman, Organist and Choir Director
The Lectionary for Sundays in August
August 4 — 8th Sunday after Pentecost Colossians 3:1-11 and Luke 12:13-21
August 11 — 9th Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 and Luke 12:32-40
August 18 — 10th Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 11:29-12:2 and Luke 12:49-56
August 25 — 11th Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 12:18-29 and Luke 13:10-17
07 Kathy Glick 17 Sandi Knapp
09 Rhoda Fennell Dale Ralph
Priscilla Mazich 24 Tracey Gockel
10 Ken Reeves 25 Anne Kimani
13 Todd Hillegass 29 Tamara Davis
16 Viann Wallace 30 Vanessa Plautz
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Celebration!
Our pastor, the Rev. S. Shane Nanney, reached the 30th Anniversary of his
Ordination on July 30! And, we’re throwing a party to celebrate and honor him!
Invitations have gone out in the mail. (Contact the church office if you did not
receive one.)
Do plan to join friends, associates, and members of Pastor Shane’s personal and
faith families for our celebration of this occasion on Sunday, August 25, 2019 at
St. Noel’s Party Center from 5-8:30 pm. Supper (family style) will be served at
5:30 pm, Plaid Sabbath will play music, and there will be some surprises.
Please return your acknowledgment to the church by Sunday, August 18.
There is no cost to you for the dinner, but if you wish to assist, your free-will
donation to the William P. Gross Fund would be most thoughtful.
Kingdom Growth
So, let’s talk about growth. Not church growth, but kingdom growth. There is a difference. The
issue is not increasing the seating capacity or improving the slickness of the promotional material.
It is not about numbers, statistics and increased income. The kingdom does not focus on demo-
graphic information. Nor does it dumb down the message so that people with consumer appetites
can be spoon-fed Gospel McNuggets in a place that is hip and cool and a little bit creepy.
No, let me tell you how the kingdom grows. It grows friend-by-friend, in an invitation to authentic
holiness. It is not flashy. It is down to earth and it is real.
Do Not Be Afraid
If one were pressed to come up with one phrase that best expresses the gospel, one could hardly do better than
“Do not be afraid.” The gospel is the banishment of fear, not in the sense of some temporal announcement that
things are not as bleak as they seem or that tomorrow is a new day, but the revealing of the secret that all that is
rests upon the deep eternal peace of God. In the words of Julian of Norwich’s famous declaration of confident
hope, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
~ Thomas Long
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Mission News—August Thank you all for your continuing support of Mission Activities
Thank you to all who are helping with our August North Church Partnership. We have enough vol-unteers to make the needed Health Care Kits. Our Choir is going to share their music with them, too. We are still looking for more volunteers to come help prepare and serve lunch meals on all Sundays and dinners the last two Thursdays of August. We also could use donations of cookies to take with us for Sunday meals. Just bake and label them for North Church and put in freezer at church.
We are excited that our Annual Charity Auction which is to be Sunday, October 6, 2019, and will benefit our Food Ministries – Agape Feast!, Monday Food Distribution, and the Willoughby Food Pantry. Please donate an item or create a basket. Consider donating gift cards for us to put in the Silent Auction or add to a Raffle Tree. We also encourage all of you creative people to donate handmade items. Just bring your items to church any day on or before September 15. Any Mis-sion Committee Member can help you to put it in the Christian Education Office. Please attach your name and an estimated value.
Mission Committee is busy planning for our International Mission Partnership (IMP) which is an exciting program of our Synod of the Covenant. We will pick up our visitor from the Synod offices in Maumee, Ohio on Oct 11. Our partner will be a Christian minister from an African country, and we will learn a lot about each other’s ministries during the three-week visit. He will be taking part in our church activities and stay one week each at the homes of Jeff and Cyndi Oviatt, Beth and Bruce Hutton, and Gloria and Jim Lane. We hope that many congregants will also invite them to their homes and to activities that will enrich understanding of life in the USA. Stay tuned, as we learn more about plans for sharing in this unique partnership.
Is your Financial Pledge to the church paid to-date?
During the summer months, weekly financial giving drops off while expenses remain the same.
If your financial pledge to the church for 2019 is not current, would you please bring it
up to date? First Presbyterian Church is counting on you!
If your pledge is paid to-date, we would like to give you a big thank you!
May we believe deeply without despising difference; hope extravagantly without being crushed by
failure; take our shortcomings seriously without being discouraged by them; do good for others without
calculation and may we love: love without fear, love without narrowness, love without limit.
Dear God, help our world to heal and our hearts to grow. Amen.
~ Rabbi David Wolpe
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“What if God Made Up Your ‘To Do’ List?”
--- Mary Sanders
As one of the co-chairs of the Membership Committee, I do a lot of thinking about our ministry which is not
only to attract new members to our church, but also how to encourage and nurture the Christian lives of our
existing members. While on vacation, I noticed a book with the above title and I felt that I would like to use it
to formulate some ideas about how to expand on the “To Do” lists we construct to remind us of everyday
chores and think in terms of how each of us might easily adapt them into something deeper and more
meaningful in an effort to serve our church family members.
Go to the grocery and buy cereal, peanut butter, jelly, and toilet paper.
God’s addition: Look at the church bulletin and add one item that the Mission Committee is requesting
for its Food Ministry this month. “Feed the hungry…”
Send my son a birthday card.
God’s addition: Check the bulletin for the prayer list or list of shut-ins. Send a brief message on a
“thinking of you” card or a blank note card to one of our church members who would appreciate knowing
that you were really thinking of them! “Heal the sick…”
Take the dog for a walk.
God’s addition: Don’t walk alone. Invite a friend or neighbor to go with you. Talk about the beauty of
God’s Earth, your love of animals, and the joy of your friendship. Discuss how to recycle, reduce your
carbon footprints, or how being environmentally friendly helps you be a good steward of God’s gift of
nature. “Whenever two or three are gathered…”
Call Mom!
God’s addition: Call one of your church friends just to check in and see how they are doing today. Let
them know that you care about them. See if they are able to meet you for coffee, tea, or lunch (after
church?) They might be lonely and wishing that someone would reach out. “Do unto others…”
Read the newspaper.
God’s addition: Read the monthly Good Tidings newsletter. Figure out which of the monthly events
you can participate in. Call the church member in charge and tell them that you are available to help.
Participate in the life of your church. “On this rock, I will build my church.”
Bake cookies for dessert.
God’s addition: Prepare a small plate of your bakery and take some to a neighbor or friend in need of
a little cheer. Maybe they are old, maybe their child just left for college or camp, or maybe they are
sick or widowed or grieving over the loss of a loved one, but whatever their need, your small gift of
personal attention will help. Remember, you are an extension of God’s Love to your neighbor. “Love
your neighbor as I have loved you.”
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OFFICE HOURS
Monday–Friday - 9 am—5 pm
Website: www.fpcwilloughby.org
Pastor Rev. Shane Nanney — [email protected]
Office Manager Gail Schemm — [email protected]
CE Director Lisa Hillegass — [email protected]
Organist/Choir Dir. Don Brickman — [email protected]
Bell Choir Dir. Shanti Blatnik — [email protected]
Contemp. Music Ldr. Denny Carleton — [email protected]
Youth Leader Alyssa Lane— [email protected]
Young Adults Ldr. Aaron & Mandy Caunter—[email protected]
Custodian Kathy Sidhu — [email protected]
Office phone number – 440-946-0070 Pastor Shane — Ext. 201, Gail Schemm, Office Mgr. – Ext. 200
Lisa Hillegass, CE Dir. – Ext. 202, Choir Room/Parlor – Ext. 204
Good Tidings is the newsletter of First Presbyterian Church, PC(USA)
Editor: Gail Schemm—Church Office: 4785 Shankland Road, Willoughby, OH 44094—440-946-0070
The First Presbyterian Church
4785 Shankland Road
Willoughby, OH 44094
Address Service Requested
“Christ’s Servants: Open minds, Loving hearts, Serving hands.”
We are a community of faith that celebrates diverse opinions,
the warmth of Christian love,
and the opportunity to serve others in many ways.
There’s room for you here!
We invite you to join us in worship, fellowship, and mission.
