Harbor Light

Creating Connections Through Christ

Pcph.org Presbyterian Church of Palm Harbor January 2018

A Safe Harbor where

the Light of Christ Jesus directs all who are adrift to anchor themselves in Him.

Creating Connections

Through Christ

Reflections from Pastor Bruce

Dear Friends,

I hope your Christmas and holiday season was filled with joy and all

good things from our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I mentioned a few times, we began a new calendar year for

the Church on Sunday, December 3. That was our New Year’s Day,

and now through Pentecost Sunday on May 20, we will listen to the

gospel story of Jesus’ life, his teaching, and of course his death and

resurrection. So for the first five months of 2018: What does that

mean for us as followers of Jesus Christ? Who are we as the Body

of Christ? Who is God calling us to be and how is God equipping us

to act and serve?

To sharpen your prayer life, read this quote from Frederick Buech-

ner about who and what a disciple is. “Furthermore, in being

called to take up our crosses and follow Jesus Christ, we are called

to participate in his suffering. Christianity affirms this love that suf-

fers, and what is more, affirms it, not in spite of the fact that it suf-

fers, but because of it. It affirms it for the reason that to love others

to the point of suffering with them and for them in their own suffer-

ing is the only way to ultimately heal them, redeem them. It is

God’s way in Christ, and as we are called to participate with Christ

in his suffering, so we are called to be partners with him in his work

of redemption. For our own sakes, as well as

for theirs, we are called to be Christs to all

humankind, in other words, and that is close

to the heart of our faith and of our lives to-

gether as Christians.” Now and Then: A

Memoir of Vocation, (p. 104).

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be

with you all.

Bruce

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 2

As a reminder of the PCPH Women's Missions, the Coordinating Team is once again ask-

ing your support for greatly needed non-food items for F.E.A.S.T. Many of the requested

items are those that cannot be purchased with food stamps.

As previously suggested, you can purchase many of these items at Dollar General or Dol-

lar Tree at a nominal cost. For the month of January we are asking for body wash and any shampoo

Quilting continues at 10:00am on Tuesdays in the create and share room (104). We welcome everyone to come join us as we begin to plan for the 2018 graduating class. Expe-rience or no experience, come join the fun.

Quilting for Comfort

PCPH Women’s Missions

Valentine’s Dinner

Mark your calendar for Wednesday,

February 14th for the Annual Valentine’s

Dinner sponsored by the Presbyterian

Church. This dinner is for the whole

congregation. Please join us for food

and special entertainment.

Fun for everyone! More details to follow.

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 3

January

For the 795 million people who are hungry today, the world is a challenging place, both in the cities and in the country-

side. The urban poor face high prices and low incomes, making nutritious food unattainable. Rural families are often

malnourished because of a lack of diverse nutrients in their diets, if they have enough to eat at all. In both cases, chil-

dren suffer the most.

ECHO is an information hub for development practitioners around the world. We gather solutions from around the

world that are solving hunger problems and disseminate them to our active network. These solutions promote sustaina-

ble farming techniques, nutritional plants, and appropriate technologies. They are well tested and proven to be success-

ful over and over again.

Our purpose is to help those who are teaching farmers around the world know how to be more effective in producing

enough to meet the needs of their families and their communities. They in turn teach others and the ECHO effect con-

tinues!

In 35 years of assisting development workers around the world, ECHO has become the “go-to” organization for challeng-

es faced by individuals and organizations.

Amazing Potential in Appropriate Technology (AT)

Biogas digesters using manure, food scraps, and/or plant residues to create methane gas

which can be used for cooking, and the digester also creates a high quality compost to be used for

agriculture.

Improved Cookstoves can be very simply made clay or metal structures which can improve

the efficiency of burning solid fuels for cooking and reduce the possibility of smoke inhalation and

related diseases.

Household water filters can be purchased or constructed from local materials and used for treating dirty, contami-

nated water to make it safe for drinking. This reduces the num-

ber of water-borne diseases which is a leading cause of death in

developing countries.

ECHO is using Appropriate Technology at the Global Farm in Florida

for processing and preserving the crops we grow, to improve our soil,

feed our animals through the dry season, and generate renewable

energy.

ECHO does this as part of our responsibility as stewards of creation, but also as part of our responsibility to serve oth-

ers. The AT used at ECHO serves largely as a demonstration and teaching tool, so people are more knowledgeable and

prepared when they go to work in international agricultural development. This is also true at ECHO's regional impact

centers, where the AT can be more focused to the needs and resources of that particular region.

*Irma Note: We are actively working to restore the farm after the hurricane. Please be patient while we recover and

replant many areas of the farm. http://www.echonet.org

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 4

January 15th November Year to Date

Income and Expenses

Income: $221,554.14

Expenses: $252,291.07

Net Loss: $30,736.93

Harbor Light

Deadlines

January 17

February 21

March 21

Bulletin Deadline

Please submit your bulletin announce-

ment by 1:00pm on Tuesday afternoon. If

not received by then, your announce-

ment may not appear in the Sunday bul-

letin.

Wednesday, January 10th

Chili Cook-off

6:00pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This was a great event last year and hope even better this year. We hear Malissa and the Youth have been working on some recipes too! So bring your chili and your appetite and be ready for a fun night.

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 5

1 Fred Kaufman 18 Jean Talmadge

2 Purita Villao 18 Claudia Sjostedt

3 Judi Kratz 19 Carol Dust

3 Jamison Ashe 20 Alex Sjostedt

3 Lee Lahr 22 Emily Wilkinson

3 Melanie Miner 24 Jeff Drain

4 Kim Zimmerman 24 Lynne Fieldson

7 Inge Werner 25 Jeff Haslam

7 Don Dust 25 Ruth Snyder

8 Kyla Ray 26 Mechelle Henley

9 Lois Dewitt 26 Eileen Zirk

9 Al Tallman 28 Pat Budlong

10 Eleanor Beaumont 28 Larry McKinley

13 Ginny Branchfield 29 Betsy Mapes

17 Barbara Borham 30 Kevin Boyer

17 Arlene Brady 30 Anna Saglimbeni

17 Collin Coyle 31 Rachelle Walton

17 Bob Beem

5 Charlotte & David Farrior

5 Julie & Carlos Lozano

6 Suse & David MacKay

9 Lindsey & Andrew Barnes

10 Jackie & Gary Payne

25 Betsy & Thomas Mapes

28 Carol & Don Dust

28 Carol & Everett White

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 6

Thursday, January 18th

7:00pm

ww.peggyos.com

1026 Florida Ave • Palm Harbor

Childcare Available!

Church Library News

Happy New Year 2018! We have added some new books on our shelves:

Ever after by Karen Kingsbury - Fiction - Large Print Hearts of Fire by Gracia Burnham – Non-Fiction The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges – Non-Fiction Jackie Robinson by Michael Long & Chris Lamb – Biography

A large number of books were donated to the library recently. We have to browse each of the books to see if the material is appropriate for our use. We also have to check our files to see if any of the books are duplicates of books we already have. Sometimes a donated book is in better shape than one we already own so we remove the first book from the records & put the other one in its place. This all takes time, but we try to get new or replacement books added as soon as we can. More volunteers are always welcome. Please contact Ginny Branchfield at 727-786-6480 if you can help.

Counting teams are being

created and volunteers

are needed for counting

the offering after Sunday

service. No experience

necessary; we will train

you. Takes approximate-

ly 15 – 30 minutes. If inter-

ested, please stop by the

church office any Sunday

after service or contact

the church office or Linda

Burton.

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 7

Thank you to the great people that

“De-decorated” the church on Monday,

January 8th. You are wonderful!

- Alan, Linda and Lyle

THANK YOU!

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 8

Presbyterian Church of Palm Harbor

Children’s Ministry

Pre-School - 5th Grade

Little Ones

Age 4-6

SparkHouse Lectionary Curriculum

Each week, kids, and their leaders gather together to explore their Bibles, enjoy fun activities, pray, and grow in faith. The cur-riculum follows the church lectionary in a

fun and exciting way to create a faith that is grounded in truth.

Nursery

Birth- Age 3

“Frolic”

A curriculum created for babies and tod-dlers that was developed by early child-hood experts, Frolic resources introduce

little ones to faith concepts in age–appropriate ways. Our hope at PCPH is to equip all families with children of any age

with the right materials to start their faith journey at a young age.

Teacher Schedule

January Children’s Ministry

Children’s Message

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, January 10th,

5:30pm—6:00pm

Children's’ Worship Experience

Jan 7th — Leslie

Jan 14th — Lori & Huiran

Jan 21st — Amanda & Malissa

Jan 28th — Leah & Huiran

Jan 7th — Huiran

Jan 14th — Malissa

Jan 21st — Bruce

Jan 28th — Lori

All kids ages 3-5th grade are welcome to join Miss Huiran for a fun God filled worship experience! This 30 minute service will feature praise songs, games, and a message to help children understand what God has in store for them for 2018! Children may be dropped off in the Sanctuary, and parents may wait in Fellowship Hall. Eve-ryone is encouraged to stay for dinner at 6:00 pm.

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 9

Thank you to the outgoing

Class of 2017 elders for

your hard work.

We really appreciate all you

have done.

Angela Ashe Arden Bradshaw Mary DeMersseman

Rick Whissel Huiran Xaxni

Class of 2020 Elders!

Betty Crisman

Carol Heath

Leah James

Victoria Miller

Carol Sanders

January 2018 Creating Connections Through Christ Page 10

YOUTH MINISTRY

Presbyterian Church of Palm Harbor

January Calendar

January 10th - 6pm - 8pm

Chili Cook-off and Youth Group

January 13th - 3pm - Midnight

Winter Jam - Amelie Arena

January 17th - 6pm - 8pm

Youth Group

January 19th - 1pm - 5pm

Open Youth Room

January 24th - 6pm - 8pm

Youth Group @ Escape Room

January 26th - 1pm - 5pm

Open Youth Room

January 31st - 6pm - 8pm

Youth Group and Compline

Middle/High School

Ministry

6th- 12th Grades

January 24th

6pm—8pm

Cost $10 per person

Mouse Trap Escape Palm Harbor

34254 US Hwy 19 N.

https://mousetrapescapepalmharbor.com/