W h i d b e y P...

Whidbey Presbyterian Church
V O LU M E 1 1 I S S U E 1 1
November, 2014
Special points of interest:
• Members in Action
• Stewardship Campaign
• PNC’s Latest
• Holiday Boutique
Michelle is our volunteer
Youth Leader and serves as
a Commander in the US
Navy. Her husband, Doug
assists as male chaperone
on weekend trips. He primarily takes care of their
property in Oregon
• Soup Fundraiser
Megan and Sam Daniel,
have been gracious volunteers for the last year.
Thank you for your friendship and love for our students. Now, that you are
parents, we are excited
about your new role. Your
continuing involvement in
your Life Group is such a
blessing for them and enriching for you.
COUNTLESS COUNTING
CASH & CHECKS
COUPLED TALENTS
Inside this issue
Pastor’s Pen
2
Pastor’s Pen (cont)
3
PW/DF
4
PNC Latest
5
Fellowship/DC
6
b/LOG
7
FF/Stewardship
8
Christian Ed
9
Staff
10
.YOUTH VOLUNTEERS
TALL TIMBER TASKS
SINGELY & IN GROUPS
LOGGERS
Thank You
For Your
Service
WPC
VOLUNTEERS
Page 2
Pastor’s Pen
By Hallack Greider
For years I have been a fan of Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio show. Garrison Keillor is a
storytelling genius, and those of us
who love to listen to his stories feel
drawn into them, sometimes identifying with the characters and their antics, sometimes reflecting on the
earthiness of the events and the utter
humanness of the Lake Wobegon
folks in all their folly and all their
glory. And always with laughter.
changes.
We work hard to keep things normal,
but as I like to say, “normal” is a setting on a washing machine and that’s
about it. God is always on the move,
and wind of the Spirit is always blowing. And grace is present, through
Christ, to redeem any situation if we
allow it. “Behold, I am doing a new
thing; now it springs forth, do you not
perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
Well, this has not been a quiet week
Garrison Keillor began all of his stoat Whidbey Presbyterian! One of the
ries with, “Well, it has been a quiet
“new things” that Session was made
week in Lake Wobegon…” and then
aware of in late October is that Sarah
would proceed to tell a story that reRussell has decided to transition out
vealed it was anything but a quiet
week! What I sometimes think Garri- of her position as Music Director, effective early this winter (specific date
son Keillor is telling us through his
t.b.a.). She and JR will continue to
stories is: Life is not boring. People
are not boring. Beauty is everywhere, worship with us and their continuing
presence and involvement will be
God is in everything, and grace rewonderful, as it has been.
deems any situation if we allow it.
The extraordinary is seen in the ordi- Sarah has graciously given us plenty
nary. So, people, open your eyes!
of lead time to think and plan for the
Look around you, and in you, and ap- music ministry. Session has begun to
prehend the wonder of it all.
discuss it and would like to be deliberMy experience in almost all the
churches I have served for over 25
years is that we in the church long to
say “It was a quiet week at
__________” (fill in church name here).
We like things to stay the same, we
like the comfort of predictability and
routine, and we like our relationships
to remain constant. As someone once
said to me about their hopes for
church life: boring is good. My reply:
have you read the gospels lately?!?
You can use all kinds of adjectives to
describe Jesus, but boring is not one
of them.
ate in praying and planning, seeing
how God may lead us. We believe this
is an opportunity to think through the
staffing plan of the worship ministry,
and also an opportunity for several
WPC members and friends to become
involved in the worship life of the
church, not only musically but in
other ways.
We will be communicating more specifically about these opportunities as
we work on the transition, but right
now we are in the process of recruiting ‘interim’ accompanists for both
services, and we would like to find
those accompanists here within WPC!
Perhaps we long to say, “It was a
quiet week at Whidbey Presbyterian...” We know there are many talented
musicians in the congregation and we
Yet if we pay attention to the stories
would like to create a regular rotation
of our lives and each other’s’ lives—
of accompanists through January
especially the God-story being lived
2015, at least. Playing both services
through our lives—what we find is
that it’s anything but a “quiet week.” is not required.
There are unexpected events, surThe reason for recruiting interim acprises, unforeseen decisions made by companists for the next few months is
loved ones, tragedies, windfalls,
twofold. One, it gives Session time to
dream and pray and imagine possibilities for the future music and worship ministry, especially as we work
on the 2015 budget. Second, remember the mission study? The #1 strategic objective was: “create a culture of
ministry involving all.” Here is an
opportunity to act on that strategic
objective!
Over the next few weeks you may be
hearing about opportunities to participate in various worship-related
ministries. Would you consider praying and asking if God may be calling
to you serve? Perhaps this is part of
the God-story that he wants to live
through you.
Excellence in worship is a high priority and as Session works to sustain
that, we look forward to the ways we
all can participate in sustaining that
as well. As always, your elders and I
are available to listen to your questions.
Garrison Keillor ended all of his stories with, “And that’s the news from
Lake Wobegon, where all the women
are strong, the men are good looking,
and the children are all above average.” That wasn’t really true, but it
was a way of saying that everybody
matters, and when all is said and
done this is a good place to live. In
God’s Kingdom, and in the local expression of the Kingdom we call a congregation, everybody does matter, and
being a part of what God is doing is a
privilege. What will our story be?
Providing photos for this issue
were photographers: Noreen
Warnock & Bethany Popkes.
PAGE 3
Island of Faith-Sea of Grace
A History of Whidbey Presbyterian Church
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Whidbey Presbyterian Church, a book of our history was published. Authors Lois Edstrom and Janis Lussmyer spent countless hours recapturing memories, collecting photos and inter-viewing charter members. The result was
a beautiful book for present and former members, pastors and friends of WPC. What a
great holiday gift the book would be!
Copies are available for a $20 donation. May be picked up at the church office.
Island of Faith
Sea of Grace
A heartfelt thank you to Burkhard Paetzold for
sharing his mission and ministry with us here
at WPC! A few folks asked for his address and
account number to forward a donation:
Presbyterian World Mission
100 Witherspoon
A History of Whidbey
Presbyterian Church
1964-2014
Louisville, KY 40202
Acct # D506900
We bid a fond farewell to long-time
member and volunteer—Peggy Carl.
This month, Peggy is moving to Colorado
to be closer to family.
Know her friends at Harbor Tower and
here at the church will really miss her.
She was a welcoming neighbor to me,
when I moved to Oak Harbor.
Peggy was an office assistant and every
month proofed the LOG for me. Thanks
for your care and love of this church.
V O LU M E 1 1 , I S S U E 1 1
PAGE 4
PW Reporting In…
By Suzanne McCrea
PP
Thank you to all our helpers for PW’s
gathering on October 15th:
Thurlow Powell Terry Smith
Larry Porter
Claude Dilly
Jean Allen
Lois LaBarge
And our luncheon CHEF,
Laverne Dorman. Many guests
wanted your chicken casserole recipe.
The yearly boutique is coming, November 15th. Please tell and/or remind
a friend or 10. Table setup and decorating is the 13th, starting at 10 am in
Heritage Hall. Please bring priced,
sale items in on Friday the 14th. The
boutique starts at 9 am on Saturday
the 15th and ends at 2 pm.
November 5
International Day of Prayer
For Persecuted Christians
Remember among others: North
Korea, Nigeria, the Sudan and
South Sudan, also Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and China, plus many,
many more.
Pray for: Safety in Danger
Peace in Suffering
To be filled with the Holy
Spirit.
Remember: “To live is Christ to die
is gain”. Apostle Paul
Our Bible study in Corinthians is going along fine. We’re meeting with
Bethany (our leader) every 1st Thursday of the month. The lesson this
month is Lesson #2.
May God bless you & keep you.
H
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Saturday
November 15
9am-2pm
NOVEMBER 2
FRIDAY FRENZY
B
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BROWN BAGGERS
Deacons’ Fund Update...
As of October 27, the
balance was $2,688.98
in the Deacons’ Fund.
During the month of October $590.42 was distributed for Outreach.
Parishioners contributed a total of $655.00
to the fund in October. The
Sack Lunch expenditures
totaled $298.47. Food
Vouchers were purchased
from Saar’s for $300.00.
Deacon’s offering envelopes
are placed in the back of the
pews for your gifts. Thanks
to all who have answered
the call, enabling us to serve
those less fortunate.
This special outreach is another example of our involvement in the community –at–
large.
Volume 11, Issue 11
PAGE 5
PPAGE
A G E 45
PNC’S Latest...
The Pastor Nominating Committee is experiencing scheduling conflicts due to the
approaching holiday season.
Prayer Chain
We are now in the process of checking
references. At this time we anticipate our
face-to-face interviews to take place in
January 2015.
OFFICE HELPER
We ask for your continued prayers.
The Prayer Team is a large
group of volunteers who pray
for the needs of others: those
facing loss; with health scares;
family issues; pending surgeries and celebrations of life.
If you are seeking communal
prayers, just send your request
to [email protected]
Volunteers are also needed to
offer these prayers up to Our
Heavenly Father that’s what is
known as our Prayer Chain.
November Birthdays
Birthdays removed prior to publishing. Please call the church office at
679-3579 for information.
H
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CHANCEL CHICKS
This newly formed subcommittee of the Worship
Team is tasked with the beautification of our sanctuary,
enhancing our worship experience—-volunteers, each and
every one!
VOLUME 11, ISSUE 11
PAGE 6
From the Fellowship Team…
Have you been considering how you might give back, get involved and serve your worshipping community (your church)? Are you a member or a regular attender and feel an urging to invest your
time or talent or both? Do any of the following opportunities sound like fun to you? Then maybe
God is nudging you to get involved!
~ Baking healthy goodies (or organizing a team of bakers?) for Coffee Hour
~ Decorating the tables in Heritage Hall for Coffee Hour each week
~ Purchasing the fruit each week
~ Shopping for healthy cracker alternatives/options
~ Setting up the non-food items each week
~ Organize the sign-up sheet for volunteers
~ Volunteer one Sunday a month to set out the food items
~ An idea you have that we haven’t thought of???
Pick one and do only that one thing; no more (unless you really want to), no less. If so, then email,
text or call Nancy Collins at
[email protected]
360.632.0855
and tell her how you want to help!
DivorceCare Matters...
On October 11th,, following our regular DivorceCare session, three of us met at a nearby restaurant for some delightful
social time. We are strong in the faith that God's holy, precious and faithful spirit of love and healing is guiding us
through the process of healing from the separation or divorce.
Each week offers a different subject video and workbook exercise, from: “What's Happening to Me;” The Road to Healing/Finding Hope;” “Facing My Anger;” “Facing My Depression;” “Facing My Loneliness;” “What Does the Owner's
Manual Say?;” “New Relationships;” “Financial Survival;” “KidCare;” “Single Sexuality;” “Forgiveness;” and
“Reconciliation” to the final class, “Moving On, Growing Closer to God.”
On November 8th, a special DivorceCare class, “Surviving the Holidays,” will be held in the blue house conference room
from 10AM to noon. The cost of the class is just $10, which covers the video seminar as well as the workbook, which has
a section of 30 days of study and planning. We offer scholarships, so please don't let the fee keep you away. I invite anyone who is struggling with loneliness from separation or divorce to attend this class. It is designed for those who are going
through divorce, but is applicable to anyone who is experiencing loneliness during the Thanksgiving, Christmas or New
Year's holidays.
God's blessings,
Cori Siggens
Volume 11, issue 11
PAGE 7
SOUP AND
b| LOG
CHEESY BUN
By Bethany Popkes
LUNCH
When: Sunday, Nov. 9
@ 11:45 AM
in Heritage Hall
Tall Timber Work Weekend
October 10-12 was an excellent opportunity for
our youth group students to give selflessly to
our Tall Timber family. We had four students
and three adults (including myself) attend our
Work Weekend and pour out amazing
amounts of energy on Saturday. We were able
to set up the store for winter and inventory it
all in record time. But our primary accomplishment took place in the pouring rain and
chilly winds. We chopped and stacked three
cords of firewood to be used throughout the
winter. With numb fingers and sap-coveredsoaking-wet clothing, our students exhibited a
strong work ethic , but more than that, they
maintained a Christ-like attitude throughout
the day.
In addition to the hard work and projects
around the camp, we practiced the ways God
sometimes speaks in the silence. We gathered
around 1 Kings 19 and then spent time simply
listening in the darkness and silence for God
to whisper to our hearts. Moments of tenderness and moments of ab-splitting laughter
rounded out this trip. What a gift it was to
watch as these relationships blossomed this
weekend. They cared for one another through
some deep conversations and pain and that is
not a skill that can be taught. They spoke lifegiving words to one another, offered hugs and
sat in silence, and they processed life together.
It was remarkable to see what God is doing in
them, even when they are unaware of God’s
movements. Thanks be to God for a weekend
of discipleship and promise.
Is there a better taste of fall than soup and cheesy buns?
Enjoy Sunday lunch with your church family and help
support Tall Timber camp scholarships by joining us for
a free-will-donation lunch of warm soup and delicious
cheesy buns!
EAGLE SCOUT
CHURCH GROUNDS
&
OAK HALL BEAUTIFICATION
Happy Anniversary
Mel & Lois Edstrom
November 7
PAGE 9
V O LU M E 1 1 , I S S U E 1 1
From the Faithfully Fit Life Group…
…from The Daniel Plan
If You Hate to Exercise: Play!
We encourage you to explore all the fun things you may enjoy and save exercise for those times when you just
can't find a way to play on your own or with someone else.
Action Item: Explore Play
Here are some favorite ways to play:
• Turn down the shades, turn up your favorite tunes and dance with abandon
• Play a game (tennis, squash, tag, capture the flag, basketball, soccer, volleyball)
• Join a sports league where you can do regular games with others of your skill level
• Find a friend to bike, walk, run, hike or dance with
• Do seasonal exercise – cross-country ski in winter, snow shoe, swim in a pond in the summer, walk on the
beach. Keep it varied and interesting
• Do classes. Group exercise makes it easier – spinning, dance, yoga etc.
Do something different every day or at least every week.
Stewardship...
The 2015 Stewardship Campaign makes up the focus for our committee during the months of October and November.
After careful review of our treasurer’s financial reports and accepting Session committee requests, a preliminary
budget has been created for the coming year. Final figures for the budget will depend on terms of call for our new
pastor, adjustments to the music program, and, as yet unknown factors, such as health care expenses. Pledge cards
will be distributed on Sunday, October 26. Those cards not picked up will be mailed to homes. The completed pledge
cards will be returned Sunday, November 9
Session has been addressing important issues as they relate to the chancel area of our church and the sanctuary in general. We have learned that there are significant safety and accessibility issues that need to be addressed.
The chancel area has several hazards that affect usability for handicapped and older members of our congregation.
We have also learned from fire experts that egress from the sanctuary has been obstructed at times by equipment and
instruments. To address these issues, Session passed a motion on Oct. 21 to commission an architectural feasibility
study to improve the usability and access to the chancel area; and, to obtain professional estimates for upgrading the
electrical system in the sanctuary, installation of a code required sprinkling system; and installation of fire retarding
insulation. In the past, any discussion of alterations to the sanctuary building has been stymied by code requirements.
This assessment will inform us of the costs involved. It is important to know that walls are not being moved. The choir
will continue to sing. And sacred music will continue to be an important part of our worship. Ultimately our goal is to
make upgrades to the sanctuary and chancel that will allow all of us to continue to worship together, safely and securely, for as long as we possibly can.
Our financial condition continues to be stable. We are receiving pledges current to date. Our expenses are
approximately $10,000 below income. However, a red-flag has appeared in utilities’ expenses. We are currently
spending approximately 30% more than we budgeted for gas. We need to continue to be mindful when heating the
buildings for use that we use only the heat that is needed, and turn the heat down upon leaving. If anyone is uncertain
how to operate the thermostats properly and efficiently, Dick Gholston is happy to provide a brief tutorial.
Rudy Knaack
V O LU M E 1 1 , I S S U E 1 1
PAGE 8
Christian Education…
Library Corner
This month the children considered
what Jesus meant by humility by
checking their attitudes. If they harbor bad ones, they realize they are
wasting energy. Instead, God wants
us be there for others and not just
think about ourselves.
They also thought about how long it
takes and the amount of focus it takes
to learn anything well. They thought
about what that means to their relationship with God and how the world
will try to steal their focus. Perhaps
they concluded that it is a life time
practice. Maybe. I hope so.
Another lesson was spent on worry
and the futility of it. The point of this
study was to learn to trust God’s
promises and realize that worry
changes nothing.
The last lesson in October is centered
around Paul’s admonition on being
content in all circumstances. Advertising teaches us to strive for the “Next
Big Thing” where as Jesus wants us to
be content so that we can understand
His way of living without giving in to
materialism or selfish desires. If
things crowd our time, we can sometimes forget about kindness and compassion.
This month, instead of a physical
meeting, we had a cyber meeting done
through a survey with the teachers.
Dear Teachers,
As always, I appreciate your dedication to the children & your commitment to the lessons.
Instead of an actual meeting this
month, here is a little survey to read
how your experience is going. Please
thoughtfully answer these questions
& return the E-mail at your earliest
convenience. If you all reply, we will
not need a physical meeting.
The response was very good. We
actually had more feedback than
with an actual meeting because
many people cannot always attend.
We are blessed with genuinely
committed volunteers.
Shirley A. Taft
CHILDREN’S
ENRICHMENT
1. Are you receiving the lessons
electronically each week?
2. Are you reading through each
lesson even though it is not
your week to teach?
( This helps with continuity as we
move through the year. )
PRE-K
3. Is there enough information so
that you are able to build your lesson? You remember you are not
bound to the provided lesson
plan as long as you help the children see the intent.
4. Are you coordinating with your
co-teacher each time before the class
for which you are responsible?
5. Are your supplies readily available?
6. Are there ways in which you believe this process could be more
helpful?
7. Do you find that the students are
benefitting from these sessions?
8. Are there suggestions for bringing about deeper student participation?
If I have not covered your concerns
with the survey questions, please
feel fee to add your own comments.
ADULTS
WHIDBEY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
The mission of the Whidbey Presbyterian Church is to be a
faithful witness to our Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal love.
We glorify God above all and trust the Holy Spirit for guidance in our service to
God.
1148 SE 8th Avenue
Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Phone: (360)679-3579
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.whidbeypres.org
Interim Pastor
Hallack Grieder / 679-3579 / [email protected]
Youth & Family Ministries Director
Bethany Popkes / 679-3579 / [email protected]
Music Director
Sarah Russell / 682-6648 /[email protected]
Pianist:
Instrumentalist: Vic Veltkamp
Custodian & Maintenance: Bob Hughes /
Treasurer: Gaye Litka
Webmaster: Marcia Townsend / [email protected]
Office Manager & LOG Editor: Connie Jones / [email protected]
Whidbey Presbyterian Church
1148 S.E. 8th Avenue
Oak Harbor, WA 98277
PRE-SORT STAND
NON-PROFIT ORG.
PERMIT #9
OAK HARBOR, WA 98277
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