The Amen Almanac
July 2015
First Presbyterian Church, 721 Church St., Jefferson City, TN 37760
Phone/Fax: 865-475-2761 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.fpcjeffcity.org
Rev. Andrew C. Whaley, Pastor
From the Pastor’s Desk...
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always
in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer
with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now” Philippians 1:3-5
First Presbyterian Church
721 Church St.
Jefferson City, TN 37760
21ST ANNUAL YARD SALE FOR MISSIONS
Around the bend! Please mark your calendars for the 21st Annual Yard Sale for Missions, October
3, 2015. The recipients for this year’s sale are 1) Ruth Brown, mission co-worker in the Congo, 2)
Hope Unlimited for Children (see more about this organization on inside page) and 3) Recovery
House. Please give prayerful consideration for the ways…large or small…you can serve in FPC
efforts to support missions. Trucks, drivers, crews (especially “lifters”) are much needed.
Big Ticket Items: Please consider donating your vehicle, boat, motorcycle, camper, lawnmower,
furniture, or other “big ticket” items you are planning to get rid of. These items contribute greatly to the success of our sale each year.
Storage for Yard Sale: Collection of donated items for the yard sale will begin in August. Dates and times for receiving items in August and September will be announced. However, storage space is available before August if early
pickup or delivery of large items and/or estates is needed. Please call Linda Noonkesser, 865-216-0715, or Del
Deaton, 423-353-4186, if you have questions.
Silent Auction Items: Donations of special items for the Silent Auction are welcome anytime. Unique or special baskets or containers are also helpful for displaying the Silent Auction items. Please contact Susan Clouser, 423-839
-1331, if you have questions.
Clothing for the Yard Sale: As you reorganize your closets and shelves, please sort clean, useable clothing into white
kitchen garbage bags to stash away until August. Label bags…Children, Women, Men…using permanent markers; tie
bags in “bow” for easy/quick opening at yard sale time.
Books: Please note that cookbooks, novels and children’s books sell especially well.
Flower Pots: As you plant your spring flowers, please save the pots for the Plant Store. Plastic pots or liners can
be used for repotting for the yard sale. Please contact Eva Zirkle if you have any questions.
It is clear in the reading of Paul’s letters that
the Philippians were his favorite church. They responded so quickly and so wholeheartedly to the Gospel he proclaimed that his heart remains filled with joy
as he prays for them each day, even as time apart
grows greater and greater.
What I appreciate so much about the two
verses quoted above was how Paul identifies that his
joy comes from the fact that these saints in Philippi
were “partners in the gospel.” They weren’t robotic
underlings who jumped at Paul’s every whim. They
weren’t curmudgeons who resisted his every idea.
They accepted his leadership, but they sought to
serve with him. I’m sure they shared their ministry ideas, tweaked some of Paul’s ideas to fit their context,
and individually and communally looked for how they
could serve their risen Lord best.
The Reformers of the sixteenth century valued this notion that in the church we are “partners in
the gospel.” In an age when the hierarchy of the clergy
had grown so far away from the teachings of the Bible, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and others sought to return us to a more biblical model of
church leadership. The Reformers made a slogan we
still call the “priesthood of all believers,” emphasizing
that our relationship with God is mediated only by Jesus Christ and not a human being. It also emphasized
that we each are servants of a call as part of the
church, not mere spectators in someone else’s drama.
As I consider God’s work with us over the past
four years, what I am most grateful for is that First
Presbyterian Church in Jefferson City is a “partner”
church. You are not a “pastor dependent” congregation. You take seriously your pastor’s input, but you
encourage reflection, you tweak ideas, and you take
on responsibility yourselves for ministry. I see this in
mission work and projects where I have served just as
another participant. I see it in committees who work
and carry out ministry without the pastor’s monthly
presence. I see it in the care that members exhibit
toward one another, not relying on the pastor to visit the sick, hospitalized, or lonely but stepping out in
love to all people in the congregation.
You are “partners in the gospel,” and what a
joy it is to be a church that knows how to serve God
well together. It is that marker that will guide you in
the interim between pastors and will bless the next
person God calls to serve His saints here.
And wherever we go and however infrequently
we see or speak with one another into the future, I
hope you know that Paul’s words to the Philippians
are my words to you. You are a people who bring my
heart joy each and every day, and I am grateful for
you.
Gratefully,
Andrew
APPALACHIAN OUTREACH WEEK
Appalachian Outreach Week is fast approaching! Our week is Monday, July 6 Friday, July 11. We need several VOLUNTEERS to help us cook, serve and cleanup. For Breakfast (Monday-Friday)
times are 6:00 a.m. preparation and 7:00 a.m.
serve and Dinner (Monday-Thursday) with a 4:30
p.m. preparation time and a 5:30 p.m. serve. Sign-up
sheets for those who wish to help are located on the
desk in the back hallway, next to the Church Office.
We will have at least 90 AO workers to feed. Thanks
in advance for your help to make this Mission Project
a success. If you have any questions, see JoAnne
Vest at 865-680-4416 or [email protected].
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
1
2
Friday
3
Saturday
4
MISSION COM.
6:30 P.M.
SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING GROUP
The Smoky Mountain Hiking Club will
meet on Saturday, July 18, at 8:00
a.m. and hike Grapeyard Ridge Trail.
We’ll do a 6.6 mile round trip to campsite #32 and
back on this trail out of Greenbrier. Just before the
campsite, we’ll come to Injun Creek, (a misspelling of
Engine), named for a steam engine which fell into the
creek in 1920; some large parts of the engine are still
readily visible. Don’t forget to pack a lunch and some
water and join us!
Mike & Sherri Van Bruggen
5
Communion
Sunday School
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
10:45-11:45 a.m.
6
7
8
9
10
11
SESSION
6:30 P.M.
–———–—————–———–———————————————————————APPALACHIAN OUTREACH WEEK——————————————————–———————–———————————
Jake & Roxanne Moser
Bob and Sue Rhein
Mary Ellen Patton
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Sunday School
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
10:45-11:45 a.m.
Sunday School
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
10:45-11:45 a.m.
VBS
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Sunday School
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Worship Service
10:45-11:45 a.m.
HIKE
8:00 A.M.
SAVE THE DATE FOR VBS!!
This year our Vacation Bible School
will be from Sunday, July 19th,
through Wednesday, July 22nd,
from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Please check
your weekly Bulletins for more information as the date approaches. If
you have any questions or would like to volunteer to
help, please contact Kay Rutherford-Williams (865475-5057).
ESSENTIAL PRAYER
VBS
6:00-8:00 p.m.
VBS
6:00-8:00 p.m.
VBS
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Johan Koppier
Linda Noonkesser
26
DIRECTORY/CALENDAR UPDATE
I am in the process of updating our
address directory. Please let me
know if you have changes to your
phone/cell number, mailing address
or email address. In addition, if your birthday or anniversary is missing from our monthly calendar please let
me know by Thursday, July 2nd. Thanks, Heather (865475-2761 or [email protected])
27
28
29
30
31
Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life; and to say a man lives a life of faith and
yet lives a prayerless life is every whit as inconsistent
and incredible as to say that a man lives without
breathing. He that lives a prayerless life lives without
God in the world.
How can you expect to dwell with God forever if you so
neglect and forsake him here?
Johan & Ineke Koppier
Peggy Hypes
Scott Kustermann
Denny Pryor
Beth Folsom
—Jonathan Edwards
PRAYER CONCERNS
FAMILY and FRIENDS OF:
Joni Quaas, friend of Kay Williams and Ruth Meadows, passed
away
SPECIAL CONCERNS:
Those who are struggling with addictions
All members of the military and their families, especially those
stationed overseas
The unemployed
ILL AND RECOVERING:
Hannah Harper, Jennifer Cureton’s niece, who is undergoing eye
surgery on June 25th in Charleston, SC
Michelle Willson, friend of Sean Jolley, who is having her leg
amputated
Lynn Strange, Eva Zirkle’s cousin, who was involved in an
accident resulting in a broken leg
Linda Raines, friend of the Folsom's and Clouser's, who has
been diagnosed with cancer
Stephanie Hartman, friend of Eva Zirkle, who is a young mother
with chest wall cancer
Joanne Rogers, friend of Zee Troutman, who has been
diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer
Anthony Lamberton, Gail Twine’s 11 year-old great nephew, and
is undergoing neurological testing for seizures
Carolyn Armstrong, Arlene Peck’s sister
Lauren Drees, mother of Jeff Drees, who will be undergoing
chemotherapy for new cancer metastasis
Katie Bell, friend of Martha Sanders, who received new lungs six
years ago and will be undergoing 12 weeks of treatments for
“chronic rejection issues”
George Sanders, brother of Martha Sanders, who is facing a
job change
Trey Strand, friend of Zee Troutman and Kay Williams, who is
still recovering from a car accident from over a year ago
Terry Jaros, who has been diagnosed with cancer in his tongue
and lymph node
Tracy Davis, Joanne Vest’s niece, who is hospitalized awaiting
an intestine transplant
THOSE UNABLE TO BE WITH US: Lucille Tinsley
IN RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES:
JEFFERSON COUNTY NURSING HOME: Celeste Reneau
CHANDLER HOUSE: Argie Saylor
HERITAGE CENTER: Bonnie Young
HOPE UNLIMITED FOR CHILDREN
For over 1,000 children, Hope
Unlimited for Children’s two residential campuses, preschools,
and community-based homes are
places where lives are transformed. Hope’s awardwining vocational and academic programs provide a
foundation for the future for children who have had
no future. In the context of loving Christian homes,
the children learn what it is to be family. Children have
the chance—often for the first time in their lives—to
truly be children. As one young girl described her life,
“Here, finally, I am home.” And the transformation
works: after spending an average of four years inresidence, 85% of our graduates are meaningfully
employed, and 75% regularly attend their local
church.
Hope also provides training for orphan-care organizations in the United States and world-wide through
Hope Institute.
ANNOUNCING THE
PRESBYTERIAN PLATE!
Announcing The
Presbyterian Plate, the
sequel! Ten years ago we
published our first church
cookbook, and it was a
huge success! We would
like to begin gathering your
favorite, most requested, tried and true recipes
for our next edition! Recipe categories will include,
but are not limited to: appetizers, beverage, soups,
salads, breads, main dishes, desserts and a miscellaneous category that can include jam, jellies, and
marinades. So, while planning your 4th of July cookout, set aside your favorite crowd pleaser recipes
for the cookbook! Or when you bake a birthday cake
for that special someone, set aside the recipe! Or
when you’re preparing a dish for a potluck (or Family
Night Supper), set that recipe aside! Don’t leave
out your easy week night supers, weekend breakfasts, holiday traditions, or family favorites!
Please help us to fill our book with lots of
delicious recipes! We are asking for a minimum of 5
recipe submissions per family. Recipes must be submitted on the recipe form provided (included on the
back of this sheet), which are placed in several locations around the church. There will also be recipe
request forms if you would like to request a specific
recipe from someone in the church. Please text or
call Roxanne at 865-696-4004 with any questions.
ON PRAYER
Be not afraid to pray; to pray is right;
Pray if thou canst with hope, but ever pray,
Though hope be weak or sick with long delay;
Pray in the darkness if there be no light;
And if for any wish thou daren’t pray
Then pray to God to cast that wish away.
—E.M. Bounds