February - Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
Transcription
February - Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
! February 2016 — Volume 59, Issue 2 Fixing roofs and budgets A Message from Maynard Repairing a roof is not the most exciting thing we do in a church. It is not like working on projects to provide clean drinking water in a school in Haiti. It is not like listening to a Christmas Cantata from our choir. It is, however, still the Lord’s work. Our facilities are not just for us, but also for our community. Three Presbyterian congregations worship here at Grace Covenant. Besides GCPC, we have Orlando Presbyterian Church and a Hispanic church named Restoration and Hope. Here is just a sampling of the organizations that use our facilities: • Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts meet on our campus. • We have several support groups that help with alcoholism, drug addiction, and grief counseling. • Boone High School uses our gym for basketball practice and color guard practice. • Share the Care is a company that provides elderly day care for families in our community, and we provide the entire first floor of John Calvin Memorial Hall for one of their five locations. • In the mornings you can see Meals on Wheels organizing their food distributions out of our campus. The community feels welcome to use our facilities for various meetings, such as home owners groups. And, of course, we have our own groups – Small Blessings Child Care, Bible Studies, circles, youth groups, committee meetings, and more! Caring for our facility is an important part of our mission and ministry for our church members AND for those in the community. I’ve had some good questions about the roofing project. It was approved by the elders in the August Session meeting. The Building and Grounds Committee worked hard to bring us a good bid from a trustworthy company. The approved bid was about $40,000, with another $10,000 approved for repairing the damaged wood that we expected to be discovered after the work began. This was to be paid for by using $1,714 from a designated Building and Grounds fund, $22,870 from a reserve fund, both of which were in a money market fund. But that’s still very much short of the actual expense incurred! As a result, the roof project has reduced our reserves considerably, and we certainly welcome anyone who would like to contribute a little extra to help restore these reserves. One suggestion made was for each family Continued on Page 7 2! February 2016 Scout Sunday Assist the Pastor in Worship On February 7, scouts of all ages are encouraged to wear their uniforms to church! The Worship Committee invites you to be a liturgist on Sunday morning. The liturgist leads the Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, and Scriptures. All the information you need will be provided by the pastor. If you are interested, please contact Nick Pazar for a list of available dates. Family Fun Nite There will be no Fun Nite in February or March because of the Wednesday Lenten Dinners. Fun Nites will resume on April 21, the third Tuesday, at 6:29 p.m. Fourth Thursday at the Garden Thursday, February 25, 6 p.m. at the Olive Garden on East Colonial. Please call “M” at 407-843-3493 or sign up on the kiosk if you plan to attend. It helps Olive Garden plan on seating and staff when we can give them a more accurate number. Hope you’ll join us for some Great Food, Fellowship and Fun! Harp Workshop On Saturday, March 5, the Central Florida Harp Society will host a workshop in Conway Hall featuring former Royal Harpist Claire Jones. Our congregation is invited to come and watch the workshops from 10:30 a.m.–noon. and/or 1 p.m.–2:30 p.m. Chili Cook-Off/Cookie Bake-Off Mark your calendars now for March 13. Enter your favorite chili or cookies in the GCPC Chili and Cookie Challenge. If you aren’t a fan of cooking or baking, but like to sample good food, plan on bringing your appetite to church! A recommended $5 per person donation will give you a chance to sample everyone’s recipes, a full bowl of your favorite chili, and a chance to vote for the best dishes. Watch for a registration form and more information in your bulletin. Proceeds will go toward the Youth Group Summer Trips. Health Ministry Did you know? On the first and third Sundays of each month following the 10:45 service, you can have your blood pressure checked. Stop by the table at the back of the sanctuary…just one way you can keep tabs on this important number in your life. COOKIE SUNDAY …is February 28! On the fourth Sunday of each month we accept donations from the congregation. These cookies are served at hospitality time after the second worship service each week. Thank you for all your contributions. See the church calendar online: http://www.grace.to/announcements/ weekly-calendar/ Send your Grace Notes items to Kristen Stieffel. Next deadline: February 15. Please put “Grace Notes” in the subject line of your message. Inside this issue: Small Blessings Report!.......... 4 Youth Calendar!....................... 5 Report from Session!............... 6 Preaching for February !............ 7 February 2016! 3 Support College Students through Scholarships The holidays are over and we need your help to start rebuilding the balance in our Scholarship Fund. These monies help meet the needs of our college students. In 2015 we were able to award scholarships to five students with a total of $3850 from the scholarship fund. The fund is not part of the church budget, but relies solely on contributions from individual members, Sunday school classes, Presbyterian Women’s Circles, and other groups within the church. These monies are so needed by some very worthy students and are so appreciated. To contribute, please make your check payable to the church and indicate “Scholarship Fund” in the memo field. Thank you for helping these youth with their educational endeavors. June 1 is the deadline for our undergraduate college students to apply for financial assistance from the Scholarship Fund for next year’s expenses. There IS a “U” in oUtreach! Lenten Fellowship and Reflection Your Outreach Committee has the responsibility of disbursing funds from our tithes and offerings (as well as from the Foundation Endowment) to various organizations that change lives, both locally and around the world. We also help organize outreach activities and encourage all members to participate. In 2016 there are some exciting events coming up! Watch for announcements about volunteer days at Community Food and Outreach Center, our annual Hoops for Haiti and Small Blessings Hops for Haiti, and Interested in a much more. mission trip to There are many opportunities Haiti in early for service! For example, we are June? Contact active with Family Promise of Trudy Phelps Orlando, which provides places for more to live for homeless families. information. Training for new volunteers is coming up, so contact Diana Ibarra to find out more. Our MentoReach program for primary school students always needs more volunteers. Contact Tom Everly. The coordinators for Community Food and Outreach are Rich and Kristi McCarey. For Share the Care, it’s Anne Eyerly and for Christian Service Center, contact Lynn and Rance Ellis. There is an Outreach activity for everybody! Beginning Ash Wednesday, February 10, we will again share in weekly Lenten Dinners, Worship and Study. Each Wednesday evening in Lent, a meal will be served in Conway Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. The meals are prepared for you; baskets will be on the tables for donations to cover the cost of the meals. Participants are asked to bring a dessert to share. There will be a place on the reservation form for you to sign up to bring something. On February 10, following the meal, there will be a special worship service at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. You are encouraged to come for worship even if you do not come for the meal. For the remaining weeks, February 17 and 24 and March 2, 9, and 16, following the meal, there will be a chance for you to join in a study of your choosing. There are four classes for you to choose from. Classes will meet from 6:30–7:15 p.m. A nursery and a class for children will be offered. Youth may attend one of the four classes or be a helper/participant in the Children’s class. Registration forms and class information will be available in the bulletin and on the kiosk. We hope you will join us to share in the time together as we reflect on the season of Lent. 4! February 2016 Ruth Circle continues to fulfill its mission of learning about the Bible through study, serving our church by seeking members and friends who would like to join us and serving our local community. Our community mission is to help Servant’s Heart, a Christian organization that survives on donations. Their goal is to ensure that children and seniors have enough to eat. They also assist families in crisis to help them get back on their feet. Each month Ruth Circle gives a small donation to help feed a family, distributes Christian literature to be included in the food bags, and contributes to special funds such as turkeys for the holidays. If these goals match yours, please join us and bring a friend. We meet the second Monday of each month at 10 a.m. in Room 16 on the second floor of John Calvin Memorial Hall. Our next meeting is February 8! See you then. Any questions, contact Barbara Hart. Take Me Out To the Ball Game! March 5, Spring Training Baseball Game—Watch for more details soon regarding cost and location. The 6th Annual “Hoops for Haiti” basketball game will be Tuesday, March 29. This year will be even more fun because the Hoops game will be preceded by a game between Small Blessings players and GCPC players. More details to follow. Florida Presbyterian Pilgrimage will be April 21– 24. Pilgrimage demonstrates God’s abundant grace, makes you more aware of His presence, and helps you be a better leader in your church and community. Our annual All-Church Retreat at Cedarkirk is May 27–29. New Year Begins at Small Blessings Bright and shiny faces welcomed in the 2016 New Year at Small Blessings Child Care. Exploring and playing with some of the gifts given by parents, chosen from each class’s wish list, made it even more exciting. Children began 2016 by reviewing colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and sounds. Now they are learning new concepts in reading, writing, and math. Having stories read to them and having books available to them are very important parts of their day, too. Of course, children say playtime is the most important. In chapel with Ms. Candy, children are learning about Jesus in his early years and singing songs related to that theme. Upcoming events include picture day and Valentine’s parties. More about that next time. Small Blessings will be closed on President’s Day. Grace Covenant wishes all Small Blessings families a very Happy New Year in watching the growth that each child makes. Berylene Edna Hoffman died January 9, 2016. Bea, as she was known to many of our members, celebrated her 101st birthday two weeks earlier. She joined our church in 1991 and in recent years was a resident of Westminster Towers. She was an active volunteer for many years with the Red Cross and with the Veterans Hospital. She and her husband, Edward, had been married for 61 years at the time of his death in 2003. We extend our Christian love and sympathy to Bea’s six nephews and their families. We extend our Christian love and sympathy to Bernadette Major, whose husband, Gary, died January 20, 2016. We extend our Christian love and sympathy to Pat Prestin whose son, John, died January 20, 2016. February 2016! 5 Rooted Youth serve at Give Kids the World Nineteen youth and seven adults from Grace Covenant focused on caring and serving others as we traveled to Kissimmee for our annual Winter Retreat. We spent four days serving in various capacities at the Give Kids The World Village. This is a wonderful opportunity to serve and learn. The youth look forward to sharing their experiences on this trip with you, and encourage you to volunteer like they did at Give Kids The World. We appreciate your continued support of our ministry. —Jimmy Steele, Director of Youth and Family Ministries Rooted Student Ministry Schedule Attention parents, members, and friends. Can you help? The Youth Group has fun opportunities for you to help this school year. We need volunteers in addition to parents to help keep our momentum moving in the right direction and would love for you to join us. If you see something that interests you, or would like to help us on Sunday evenings or behind the scenes, please contact Jimmy Steele. Thanks! Sunday Youth Group meetings are for all youth grades 6–12; 4:30–5:30 is hang time, 5:30–6 is Game Time, 6–6:30 is dinner, and 6:30–7:30 is worship and small group discussion. February 7 Super Bowl Party and Souper Bowl Sunday. Bring canned goods and a snack to share to youth group Super Bowl Party at Schlichenmaier’s house, 5:30 p.m.–half time. Chips and soda provided—bring your favorite appetizer to share. February 13 Parent Date Night Fundraiser, 5–10 p.m. February 15 Service Day at Give Kids The World. Meet at church 8 a.m., return around 7 p.m. Bring $ for lunch February 19–20 PYC Lead On Lock-In/ retreat. $10 for the event plus one fast food mealRSVP by Feb. 7. February 26 Mystery Trip. Cost $20 includes activity and dinner February 28 Leap Night Eve Party. Time TBA 6! February 2016 REPORT FROM SESSION In December the session received a status report about the roof repairs, which are approved for $50,000. The Designated Fund for Building and Grounds has $1,714.19 and the Restricted Reserve Fund has $22,870. The building committee asked the budget committee for $5,000 from general funds. That still means money will need to be drawn from investment principal to pay the rest. The Small Blessings Board moved that session approve Morgan Demarco as board chair for 2016-2018. Carried. Hello, I’m not sure to whom I should address this, but I’m praying that it will reach the right people. My name is Jennifer and in 2012 my precious 8-year-old daughter, Lily, was hospitalized. During our stay at Florida Hospital from February to June 2012 we were given one of your quilts. It was one of many, many hospitalizations for Lily as she was born very sick. It was also her last. She passed away during that hospital stay. However, still to this day I have her quilt. I keep it next to her picture beside my bed. On some of the harder nights I still sleep with it. I just want someone there to know how very much this quilt and the thought and love that I know went into sewing it meant and still means to this day. Please know that your “Still Stichin’ With Grace” program truly touches hearts and lives as I am sure that I am not the only that feels this way. May God bless every one of you for your kindness. With Warmest Regards and Sincere Thanks, —Jennifer, and always Lily too A motion was made from the floor directing the finance committee to prepare a framework for informing the congregation about our current financial situation, to be presented at the February session meeting. Seconded. Carried. The Outreach Committee moved that payments to its traditional beneficiaries be paid quarterly, not monthly, as funds are available. If full funds are not available, then the disbursement to each group will be reduced proportionally. The rationale is that it’s better to pay each account partially than to pay some in full and others not at all. Carried. A motion was made from the floor asking the session to instruct the finance director to pay all outstanding outreach budget accounts, totaling $17,825, by year end. Seconded. A motion to amend this to extend the deadline to February 29 was seconded but failed. Main motion carried. The session offered applause and appreciation to Reese Laughlin and the finance committee with thanks for their hard work in difficult times. Motions to adjourn were seconded multiple times and carried unanimously. Since the January session meeting occurred after the Grace Notes deadline, that report will appear in February. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the session, please see me. —Kristen Stieffel Clerk of Session Rooted Youth Group Golf Classic Are you a golfer? Do you know any golfers? Can you drive a golf cart? Do you know of anyone who would be willing to be a sponsor or donate a door prize for a tournament? Please join us on Saturday, April 16 for the inaugural Grace Covenant Rooted Youth Group Golf Classic. The scramble format tournament will have an 8 a.m. shotgun start and will take place at North Shore Country Club. The $75 cost includes breakfast, lunch, and a guaranteed prize for every golfer! Proceeds will go toward the youth group summer mission trip as well as Family Promise Orlando. February 2016! 7 8 percent higher than they were in 2015. We received 28 first-time pledges, and another 34 to donate $30 per person, as this was the price for a families reflected increases in giving. These are good and encouraging signs. What is bundle of shingles. of concern to us is that our church has been This leads me into adding some comments spending more than we have been bringing in. about the financial We’ve done this every year since 2008. For many health of our years we were approving a “balanced budget,” but church. A big we’ve had to admit that we were simply inflating thanks goes out to the income to unrealistic amounts so the income everyone who has and expense projections were the same. The returned pledge realities of the actual income and actual cards for 2016. If expenditures told a different story. we hold to In 2015 and 2016 we adopted deficit budgets to tradition, we will reflect a more accurate picture of our financial continue to receive health. Our Finance Committee is anticipating a few more for the proposing to an upcoming Session meeting a next two or three revised 2016 budget that will reflect an even more months. The 2016 accurate picture. pledge totals are We hosted a Stewardship workshop in 2014 led by Cliff Christopher, who is an expert in church finances and was Preaching For February on our church campus in 2014 to conduct a seminar for several churches. In February the sermons will continue with the We adopted many of his suggestions, Ten Commandment series: which we believe are reflected in the increases in pledges. Committees and February 7! Ten Commandments No. 5 — elders are also taking a harder and From Generation to Generation harder look at our spending. We are working on reversing this trend, but we February 14! Ten Commandments No. 6 — have more work to do. I am not only optimistic, but very The Skeleton at the Feast encouraged by two factors. First, we are continuing to do the work February 21! Ten Commandments No. 7 — of God and we are making a difference Love, Sex, and Life in the lives of people in our community. February 28! Ten Commandments No. 8 — Second, we’ve had the problem of Stop! Thief! outspending our income for almost a decade, but more and more I see our elders working with increased devotion to reversing that trend. We’ve had this situation for a number of years, and resolving it will take time —but it will happen! Message from Maynard, continued from Page 1 FEBRUARY 2016 GRACE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 10:45 a.m. Office Hours: Mon.–Thurs.: 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Fri.: 8:30 a.m.–noon 1655 Peel Ave., Orlando, FL 32806 Phone: 407.898.6571 E-mail: [email protected] WE’RE ON THE WEB! WWW.GRACE.TO Dr. Maynard Pittendreigh, Senior Pastor Candy Vander Weide, Commissioned Lay Pastor Plans Under Way for Vacation Bible School! Our annual Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 13–16, 9 a.m.–noon. The curriculum this year is “Surf Shack: Catch the Wave of God’s Amazing Love.” It is time to start plans for this amazing week which reaches out to many children in our community. Do you have some ideas you would like to explore? Would you like to share in giving children an awesome experience growing in faith and in making new friends? Please prayerfully consider how YOU might be involved this year. Is God calling you to oversee the planning and presentation? To work with others in a targeted area like music, art, recreation? To help with the family picnic at noon on Thursday? To help register and welcome the children when they arrive? Please contact Candy through the church office with any questions or ideas or to express your willingness to share God’s love in this fun and special way.