1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

Join Us Each Week!
Morning Worship 11:00 AM
Bible Study Tuesdays at 1 & 7
2014
NOVEMBER
A JOINT NEWSLETTER OF THE EBENSBURG PRESBYTERIAN
AND THE COLVER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
T H E F E L LOW S H I P
CHURCH
At Pastor Laura’s House
 Ebensburg Presbyterian Church
 Colver Presbyterian Church
 200 North Center Street
 79 Reese Avenue
 P. O. Box 327
 P. O. Box 540
 Ebensburg, PA 15931 814 472-6920
 Colver, PA 15927 814 748-7253
 http://ebensburg-presbyterian.com
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
 www.colverpresbyterian.org
Join Us Each Week!
Morning Worship 9:00 AM
Sunday School 10:15 AM
Bible Study Tuesdays at 1 & 7
at Pastor Laura’s House
Earth Day
Dear Friends,
November is the season of thankfulness. It is the time where we say aloud the
things for which we are grateful. Some of my friends on Facebook take on the
practice of naming one thing they are thankful for every day, from members of
their family to the perfect cup of coffee. Many families have a tradition of saying
what they are thankful for as they gather around the Thanksgiving table.
But I think we Presbyterians are good at living out our gratitude throughout the
year. Charles Wiley from our denomination’s Office of Theology and Worship
loves to talk about this. He says that each Christian tradition has a gift to offer the
wider church. From Catholics, a reverence for the Lord’s Supper; from Pentecostals, an awareness of the power of the Holy Spirit; from the Holiness tradition, an
emphasis on the transformation of the human heart. So what is the gift that Presbyterians give to the wider church? Dr. Wiley says it is our emphasis on “grace
and gratitude”. We again and again emphasize our utter dependence upon God’s
grace. One of the criticisms of Reformed theology is that if everyone is so completely reliant upon God’s grace, why bother trying to live a good life? The short
answer is, well, you don’t. That’s the point of the gift of grace. But! Because we
have seen and experienced the power of God’s grace moving through our lives,
we are moved to respond with gratitude. Our lives become an outpouring of gratitude for God’s merciful and gracious actions towards us.
Therefore, when we pray a prayer of confession in worship, it is not because we
think we will not receive mercy unless we do so. We pray a prayer of confession
because we know we have already received God’s grace! And so we pour out our
hearts and recognize our flaws as we stand in awe of God’s mercy. When we give
our tithes and offerings in worship, it is not because there is some sort of transaction happening where we bring our pennies and God gives us blessings. And we
don’t bring our offerings because we know the church has a budget to be met. No!
We bring our offerings because when we recognize where our gifts come from
and “praise God from whom all blessings flow”, how else could we respond but
by joyfully offering up not just the spare change of our lives, but our very best?
When we serve our neighbors, it is not in an effort to boost our church rolls. We
reach out to our neighbors because we are so overjoyed at how God has graciously shaped our lives, we simply must let that joy spill over into acts of friendship and generosity for our brothers and sisters.
This is the rhythm to our worship and to our lives! This November, as we approach the harvest table, let us be thankful for our distinct Presbyterian “DNA”,
and remember that we are people of Grace and Gratitude!
Peace, Laura
Page 2
Services and Sermons:
(both Churches)
November 2 Psalm 103
Matthew 5:1-12
November 9 Amos 5:18-24
Matthew 25:1-13
November 16 Zechariah 1:7, 12-18
Matthew 25:14-30
November 23 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Matthew 25:31-46
November 30 Isaiah 64:1-9
Mark 13:24-37
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ebensburg Congregational Life Comm.
THE FELLOWSHIP
Confirmation Class
Pastor Laura will be teaching a
joint confirmation class in the
spring. The class, for middle
school-aged youth not yet confirmed, will run from April 12
(the Sunday after Easter) to
May 17, with confirmation occurring during worship on Pentecost (May 24). During the six
weeks of classes, we will gather for Sunday
lunch, work together on a group project, and learn
what it means to be a member of the church using
the six “Great Ends of the Church”:
 The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind
 The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship
of the children of God
 The maintenance of divine worship
 The preservation of the truth
 The promotion of social righteousness
The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the
world
Please mark your calendars NOW for these important classes!
The Congregational Life Committee is
happy to report that the initial “Porch
Chats” went quite well and will be continued when the mild weather returns
next spring and summer. During the
month of September, members of the
committee (joined by Judy Carl and
Laura Blank) enjoyed visits to 9 house~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
holds. All of us on the committee agree
that these visits were a pleasant and rewarding way to connect with various Ebensburg Personnel Committee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
members of the congregation in a re~~~~~~
laxed and informal way. We hope that
The Personnel Committee extends
the experience was equally positive for
thanks and congratulations to all
The
first
Game
sponsored by the
those
whom
weNight
visited!
involved in the 2014 Potato Fest
Women’s
proved
fun. in
Our planPost
is toCard
haveGroup
visited
everyone
activities at the church. Many
Games
played included
checkers
and 21.
the congregation
by this
time next
year.
positive comments have been reIf anyone in the congregation is interceived and deservedly so!
ested in joining committee members as
visitors, please tell Martha O’Brien—
we are very interested in having you
~~~~~~~~~~
join us as we continue to reach out to
all members.
THE FELLOWSHIP
Page 3
Youth Mission Project
Jared Boxes
The youth will be collecting donations for “Jared Boxes” throughout the months of November
and December. From their website (www.thejaredbox.com):
“The goal of the Jared Box Project is to lift the spirits of chronically ill children. The boxes
symbolize the importance of play and are filled with well wishes, hope, and love.
A Jared Box is a shoebox size plastic storage box filled with small gifts, toys, cards, and
games. Each box contains items selected for a specific age and gender. The boxes are delivered to hospitals and are given to chronically ill children. The Jared Boxes provide a special
diversion for young patients as they receive chemotherapy and other medical treatments.”
Please see the attached list of recommended toys and gifts to donate for the boxes. You can
also donate shoebox-sized plastic containers that we will fill with all the goodies!
The youth will then take all donated items, sort and pack them into age and gender specific
boxes and deliver them to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh in January.
Youth will be providing updates on the progress of their project during worship, so stay
tuned!
Suggested Items to be Placed in Jared Boxes
Children's Ages with Appropriate Toys/Items
Under 2 Bibs, rattles, soft books, teething rings, booties, pacifier, sippy cup or bottle. (No tiny toys that could cause choking)
2-4 Dolls, Matchbox® cars, Play-Doh®, crayons, coloring book, bubbles, card games, soft
balls, paint set, books, puppets, poseable figurines, costume jewelry, soft animals.
(No tiny toys that could cause choking)
4-8 Silly Putty®. or Play-Doh®, paints, books, art supplies, bubbles, card games-UNO®, Old
Maid, Go Fish etc… puzzles, travel-size board games, plastic animals (dinosaurs, farm animals, etc.), cars, dress-up toys, stuffed animals, stickers, Nerf® balls.
8-11 Card games, paints, Silly Putty®, calculator, Silly String, gel pens, yo-yo,
craft kits, brainteasers, books, art supplies, travel-size games, word search puzzles, small toys, Nerf® balls.
11 & Up Electronic games, word search/crossword puzzles, books, playing cards,
craft kits, brain teaser games, journals, art supplies, nail polish, stress balls, travel size board
games.
Page 4
THE FELLOWSHIP
Upcoming Youth Events
Sunday, Nov 2nd
HAS BEEN CANCELLED
***
Johnstown Tomahawks
Faith and Family Night
Friday, Nov 7th, carpool at 6 PM
Adults $8, Kids $6.
Please RSVP to Laura by Fri (10/31)
BIBLE STUDY at Laura’s House
(844 8th Street, Colver)
Nov. 4
1:00 & 7:00
Nov. 11
7:00 Only
Nov. 18
No Bible Study
Nov. 25
1:00 & 7:00
Fifth Sunday Worship
You are invited to participate in a new worship experience!
As the sessions have worked through questions of how to strengthen
the friendship between our congregations and how to renew excitement for our worship, we have decided to embark on an experiment.
Whenever there is a fifth Sunday in a month (about four times a year), we will worship together in a location outside of our church buildings. This will serve multiple purposes:
*Give us a time to grow in Christian community by worshiping together
*Allow us to think “outside the box” about how we worship
*Call to mind the people of faith in other parts of the world who do not have a safe place to
worship
*Remind us that “the Church is not a building, the Church is not a steeple, the Church is not a
resting place, the Church is the PEOPLE”
November 30th will be our first opportunity to try this out! Instead of our normal morning
worship, please join us for worship at 1 PM at the Young Peoples Community Center (300
Prave Street, Ebensburg). We will be meeting in the Community Room. Come ready to experience worship in both familiar and new ways!
THE FELLOWSHIP
Page 5
About members of our Church Families…
From The Mountaineer Herald…
Ed Huttenhower, director of the Small Business Development Center at St. Francis Univ. was pictured with a staff
member on behalf of Rep. Frank Burns who offered a citation
in recognition of the SBDC’s 35th anniversary. As one of 18
centers in the state, this SBDC works with business owners in
Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset
counties to help them maintain a competitive edge. Ed was also
shown honoring this year’s region’s entrepreneurs
and small business advocates at their annual awards luncheon.
In the Good Old Days…
40 Years Ago, in 1974, John P. Fedora was elected president of the Cambria County Bankers
Association. At that time he was assistant vice president of the Laurel National Bank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hillary Huttenhower, daughter of Ed and
Donna Huttenhower and a 2001 graduate of
Central Cambria High School, is scheduled
to appear as a contestant on the TV show
"Jeopardy" Wednesday, November 5th.
Hillary obtained her PhD in Chemistry
from Georgia Tech and is currently a materials engineer living in Manchester, CT.
Jeopardy! Productions, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ebensburg Presbyterian Church
THE FELLOWSHIP
November 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1All Saints Day
Turn Clocks
Back
3
Happy
Anniversary!
Jim & Suzie
Link
4Happy Birthday
9 Morning
Worship 11:00
Food Pantry
Collection
Cub Scouts 4:00
Girl Scouts 6:00
Happy Birthday!
David Feath
10
11 Bible Study
7:00
16
17
2 Morning
Worship 11:00
Communion
Cub Scouts 4:00
Girl Scouts 6:00
Youth Bonfire
5:00
Morning
Worship
11:00
Dedication
Sunday
23 Morning
Worship 11:00
Communion
Cub Scouts 4:00
Girl Scouts 6:00
30 Joint Worship @ YPCC
1:00
Deacons’ 5th
Sun. Offering
1st Sunday of
Advent
Happy Birthday!
Deb Dixon
Anne Makosy
Ebensburg Area
Clergy 10:00
Bible Study
1:00 & 7:00
Point of Freedom
N.A. Group 6:00
Point of Freedom
N.A. Group 6:00
5
6
7
Johnstown
Tomahawks
Faith & Family
Night
Carpool at 6:00
8
13
14
15
21
22
Counselor
Noon
20
Happy
Anniversary!
John & Joy
Robbins
26
27
28
Happy Birthday!
Sally Tiracave
12
Counselor
9:30
Narcotics
Anon. Bus.
Mtg. 10:45
Session Meets
7:00
Veterans Day
Happy Birthday!
Cynthia Pugh
Dybeck
24
Happy Birthday!
Bill McKim
18
No Bible
Study
19
Point of Freedom
N.A. Group 6:00
25 Bible Study
1:00 & 7:00
Point of Freedom
N.A. Group 6:00
Happy
Anniversary!
Ken & Penny
Bussard
Thanksgiving
Happy Birthday!
Michele Rice
29 Counselor
9:30
Happy Birthday!
Blake Bussard
Happy
Anniversary
Bill & Mary Lou
Carlisle
THE FELLOWSHIP
Page 8
Ebensburg Presbyterian Church
200 North Center Street
PO Box 327
Ebensburg, PA 15931
The Great American Smokeout, held annually on the third Thursday in
November, is an annual event in the United States to encourage Americans
(of whom 45.8 million smoke) to quit tobacco smoking.
The American Cancer Society held it's first Smokeout in 1977.
The event challenges people not to smoke cigarettes for 24 hours,
hoping their decision to quit will last forever.