THE PATHFINDER "Making disciples who make a difference." June 2015 The View From the Manse This month I reviewed our financial philosophy and procedures for our New Members’ Class and thought it might be helpful to review this with the whole congregation. In terms of our philosophy we have two goals – to be Biblical & transparent. We encourage the congregation to study what the Bible has to say about money in general and giving in particular, and the Bible has a lot to say about both of these. A good place to start is II Corinthians 8 and 9. We understand that how we manage our money is an important part of our Christian discipleship. We encourage people to give according to Biblical standards. Our goal as a church leadership is to be transparent with the congregation about how we handle the money entrusted to us. So we give a monthly summary of our receipts and expenses in the Pathfinder and a more complete report in the Annual Report. If you ever have a question about anything regarding our finances, please contact me or a member of Session. We will be glad to answer your questions if we can, or to find out the answer if we can’t. We want you to know as much as you want to know about our finances. In terms of procedures, we also have two goals – confidentiality and accountability. We have three counters who collect, count and record the offering each week. They are the only ones who know how much we give and only for the purpose of receipting contributions for IRS purposes. That information is never shared with anyone else including me. Having three counters who double check each other’s work ensures that the money is counted and recorded correctly. They have no responsibility for disbursing the money. That is all done by our Treasurer who has nothing to do with receipt side of our finances. So there is division between the receipt side and the expense side as recommended for churches and other nonprofits. Once a year, our finances are audited by a Session committee. For folks who use checks or offering envelopes, receipts are issued at the end of the year for tax purposes. So that is our philosophy and procedures regarding finances. If there is anything else you would like to know about this or anything else in the church please email or call me. Steve McLean, Pastor ([email protected]) P.S. I am excited that a couple of folks from the church will be joining Kim and me in volunteering at Young Lives Camp at Lake Champion, August 7-13. Young Lives is Young Life’s ministry to teen moms. If this is something you would be interested in doing, let us know right away. There is still a need for childcare workers. P.O. Box 66, Argyle, New York 12809 * (518) 638-8072 * www.argylepresbyterian.org WOMEN'S MINISTRY TRUSTEE TALK Mission Accomplished! That was the sentiment on Saturday, 5/16. A group of Trustees and a couple of helpers worked all morning to get some big jobs done. The roof over the Yellow House entrance is new and larger, in order to keep ice off the porch. There is a new cellar door outside the office, to replace the badly deteriorated one. Lots of leaves at the YH were raked and carted away; driveway holes were filled; and the high smoke detectors in the Lobby and Fellowship Hall were cleaned and one replaced. My sincere THANKS to all! It was a productive work session. A new grinder motor was recently installed in the downstairs bathroom. Paper towels easily plug that system. Previously when it plugged, we could clean it out; but this time it burned out the motor, teaching us a $600 lesson. In an effort to diminish the problem, we will move the paper towel dispenser and waste paper basket just outside the door and into the hall. We apologize for any inconvenience. There are some areas in front of the church that need re-seeding. This summer the parking lot will be sealed and striped. Some smaller jobs are on our "to do" list, as well. Discussion is continuing on the Tower doors. Please keep us in your prayers for guidance and safety. Thank you. Eileen Jackson, Chairperson Hello Ladies! Summer is the perfect time to try something new, to be spontaneous! Our Women Ministry events this summer are intended to fit into anyone's vacation or gardening schedule. Do you have a free morning? Are you looking for something special on a hot evening? Come as you are, come when you can! Drop in anytime!! Here are a few opportunities to meet up with your Christian Sisters: Women's Bible Study Body & Soul Monday Mornings with Nursery Childcare 9am workout: a brisk walk followed by calisthenics & stretching 10am Bible study: Philippians ***Begins Monday, July 6th*** 4 Groceries Coffee b Do you shop at Hannaford in Greenwich? Why not drop in for coffee and devotions while you're in town? 10 am @ Gabe's House - 249 Cty Rt. 52 Wednesday mornings in July (begins 7/8) Wednesday Nights at 7pm Mocktails on the Church Lawn Devotions and a cold drink! Watermelon Basil "Loved" July 8 "Let it Go" Lemongrass Cooler July 15 "Stand Your Ground" Strawberritini August 5 Jamaican'Me Generous August 12 2 ASSOCIATE PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE The Associate Pastor Search Committee is excited to begin the process of posting the job description and accepting job applications for the Associate Pastor position. We have continued to read and discuss articles, read the book Staff Your Church for Growth by Gary L. McIntosh. We've reviewed and updated our Church Information Form as we prepare for the next steps in this process. Steve McLean and Linda Clark also spoke with other EPC churches and their Associate Pastors at the Presbytery of the East meeting which gave us more insight to the process. Please feel free to contact any member of the committee with any questions or comments you may have. Please keep the committee and the applicants in your prayers! Beth Cook, Secretary for the Associate Pastor Search Committee Committee members: Marty Butterfield, Rick Dennis, Liz McQueen, Linda Clark, Linda Burch, Bob Black, Karen Lohret, Chris Copeland, Steve McLean DON’T MISS OUR ANNUAL CHURCH PICNIC ON JUNE 7 One of the highlights of the year is our Annual Church Picnic. This year it will be on Sunday, June 7 following worship, in Fellowship Hall and on the lawn. You need to bring a dish to pass. There will be coolers in the kitchen to keep cold dishes cool. The Fellowship Committee will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, rolls, beverages and plates, cups, etc. There will be games for the kids. There will be inside seating and outside seating under the tent. Everyone is invited, so put this on your calendar and start making the potato salad. Feel free to dress casually for worship. NEWS OF NOTE We are in need of several tablets to use for viewing videos in one of our vacation Bible School stations. If you have a iPad, Kindle Fire or other tablet we can borrow for the week, get in touch with Kim McLean ([email protected]) If you are interested in working on a float for the 4th of July Parade, contact the office. 3 WHAT GOES ON AT A “PRESBYTERY MEETING”? Three times a year, one church from our Presbytery is the host church for a two day Presbytery meeting. The Presbytery of the East (POTE) is our Presbytery. It includes churches on the east coast from New England to Virginia, so meetings can be as close as Argyle (we hosted here last April!) or as far away as Virginia. Each church is encouraged to send delegates to the meeting- both Teaching Elders (pastors) and, based on the size of the church, a certain number of Ruling Elders (current or past Session members). The most recent Presbytery meeting was held on April 24 and 25 in Philadelphia, at the Bethany Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Steve attended as our Teaching Elder. Ruling Elder delegates were Jereme Randles and Wes and Linda Clark. Kim McLean and Deb Randles attended as visitors. Steve, Kim and Wes were all delighted to be back in their hometown, and were particularly excited to see a variety of Tastycakes, a Philly tradition, on the snack table. Presbytery meetings begin at 2:00 on Friday afternoon, opening with prayer and a welcome from the host church. Delegates and visitors who have never attended a meeting are introduced. These often include visitors from churches that are thinking of joining the EPC, and are “checking us out”. The business meeting then begins. This is the real purpose of the Presbytery meeting, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning; the chairmen of the various committees give reports on what they have been doing since the last meeting and their plans for the future. Sounds boring, right? WRONG! These committees are doing God’s work, and it is very exciting to hear what God is doing. My favorite report is that of the Ministerial Committee. This committee has a BIG job. One of their tasks is to work with churches who are investigating joining the EPC and help them through the whole process. Another is to work with churches (like us) who are seeking a pastor. We had dinner Friday night with Frank Rotella, the Ministerial Committee member who is working with our Search Committee. He seems like a great guy. At every Presbytery meeting, the Ministerial Committee has seminary students and pastors who they have been working with give their testimonies (and in some cases a sermon) and answer questions from the folks present. The stories these people tell about how God is and has been working in their lives is absolutely awesome. Friday evening always ends with a great worship service. These people are singers!! Saturday morning begins with another short time of singing, followed by the conclusion of the business meeting. Mealtimes and breaks allow plenty of time over the course of the two days to talk with people from other churches. Everyone is very friendly, and more than happy to share what (and how) they are doing ministry. The meeting concludes with a box lunch on Saturday, and everyone heads home. Presbytery meetings are very uplifting. God is at work in our denomination. If you have a chance to attend a Presbytery meeting as a delegate or a visitor, I encourage you to do so! Linda Clark 4 CHILD SPONSORSHIP Last month I asked if anyone had stories about their experience of sponsoring a child through Compassion or World Vision that I could share with the congregation. I am still looking for stories, so please send them to me. Ryan and Bailey Charon shared the following their two children, Lukas and Ankta. We began sponsoring our first child, Lukas, in September of 2013. Lukas was born June 13th, 2012 in Chile to a single mother and has three siblings. It was hard to not pick him after seeing his picture, the fact that his birthday is the day after my brother’s and that his middle name is the same as my father’s. It seemed to us that God was saying that he was supposed to be our sponsored child. After supporting Lukas for a few months we felt that we were being called to support a second child so, in December of that same year, we began sponsoring a little girl, Ankta, from India. The same thing occurred with Ankta as it had with Lukas. Her photo was too hard to pass over and she shares a birthday with Lukas. We couldn’t pass over that sign. Ankta is from a two-parent household and has an older brother. Since we began supporting them we have received a few progress reports and updated photographs, they are both in good health and are turning three in June. We look forward to many more years with these two and cannot wait to watch them grow up. Great stuff! Keep those stories coming. Steve AAA ARGYLE THE JOPLIN PROMISE "Together we can do so much!" – and we did! – Our volunteers who painted, caulked, rakes, gardened, baked, sharpened saws, gathered goat food, stripped wall paper, etc. – along with those who hired workers, made donations and dropped coins raised $1,562.27 for the Joplin Promise. What an amazing generous congregation this is! Thank you so much! THANK YOU Many, many thanks to all of our church family for your thoughts, prayer, cards, calls and the dish garden during the time of Ralph's mother's passing. Much love to all of you and God Bless. We truly appreciate everything. Ralph, Janet & Kevin Pagano A huge thank you to all who called, visited, sent cards and flowers during both of our hospital stays. As Chuck remains in Albany Med we desire your continued prayers for a full recovery. Especially thanks to Wed Morning Bible Study and the Drama Team for their kindnesses. It has meant so much to our entire family. Debbie Bailey & family 5 PRIMETIMERS SCHEDULE (Plus 50’s Ministry) The purpose of the PrimeTimers is to provide programs for plus 50 adults that are ministry focused, study focused or fellowship focused. Primetimers’ events are open to anyone who is at least 50 years old and their spouses. Feel free to invite friends from outside the church. Please mark your calendars for... Our Annual Picnic on Saturday, July 25, 4 p.m. at Jan Cole’s. Bring a dish to pass and a lawn chair. Everything else will be provided. In August and September we will be going on trips with the whole congregation (see below). Watch for more details on plans to visit Hildene in October. The PrimeTimers’ Planning Team (Jan Cole, Paul & Faith McWhorter, Steve McLean, Betty & Bob Reynolds, Larry Reid, Alyce Linscott & Ed Dennis) TRIPS FOR THE WHOLE CONGREGATION (sponsored by the PrimeTimers) You are invited to join us for a trip to The Museum of Innovation and Science (formerly the Schenectady Museum) on Friday, August 7. We’ll be leaving the church at 8:30 a.m. General Admission is… o Adults - $9.50 o Children (3-12 years old) - $6.50 o Senior Citizens (65+) - $8.00 Add $5.00 for the Planetarium. Check out www.schenectadymuseum.org to see all that there is to do and see at The Museum of Innovation and Science. Join us Saturday, September 19 (rain date 9/26) to ride the Gore Mountain Gondola. Watch for more details. 6 CONGRATULATIONS MARTY AND RUBY! Did you know that Marty Butterfield and Ruby Komarony were selected as the two representatives of Washington County at the New York State Senior Citizens Day on May 5 in Albany? Marty and Ruby were selected by a committee of their peers to receive a “Certificate of Special Recognition for Outstanding Contribution by an Older New Yorker.” Susan Serino wrote in the Senior Citizen Day Commemorative Booklet… It is my incredible honor as Chair of the Senate’s Aging Committee to join with you today in celebration of your volunteerism and community service. As we recognize Older Americans’ Month this May, today’s awardees, and nominees, are shining examples of what makes New York so great. The booklet contained a picture and biography of each awardee. Congratulations to Marty and Ruby. Thanks for your service in the church and community. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Sawatdee! (pronounced saw-wat-Dee) This is a Thailand greeting that means “hello.” Vacation Bible School is next month July 20-24th! We are pleased to have volunteers and kids beginning to sign-up. However, we need more volunteers; especially crew leaders for both preschool and elementary school children. We will also need volunteers for set design, set-up, clean-up, and our always popular celebration BBQ!! Please see Joanna Redden, Beth Cook, and Bailey Charon if you’d like to sign up. It is never too late! Please continue to pray for this ministry and ask God to help us spread the word of his love to as many children in our community as we can! 7 FELLOWSHIP NEWS June is an exciting month for the Fellowship Committee. We are able to coordinate two very happy events that we hope you will be able to attend and enjoy. The first is the Church picnic on June 7th. In an effort to make it as easy & fun as we can for you, we provide the place settings, hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages. Please bring a dish to pass – we have lots of refrigeration space to keep things cold during service. If you decide during church that morning that it would be fun to eat with us, don’t let the lack of a dish to share stop you - there is always plenty of food for more! Hope to see you there! The 2nd event is Choir Recognition – Strawberry Shortcake Sunday on June 21sth. It is our pleasure on that day to honor those folks who share their gift of music with us each Sunday. They inspire, enhance and deepen our worship experience! Please plan on staying for a few minutes after worship to say thank you and to share in this social time with them (and you get to eat dessert for lunch!) Everything is provided by the fellowship committee for this event. Historically there has been a group of volunteers who serve as our Summer Fellowship Committee for the months of July, August and early September. This time to visit has been very popular with many people who have classes or other obligations during the Sunday School year. To offer this fellowship time we need 1 or 2 volunteers for each Sunday, July 5th through September 13th. This could be a time for your family to serve as a group or share with a friend that you would enjoy visiting & working with. It’s light duty and can be done by one person, but as with most things it is more fun with 2! Duties include making cold drinks prior to church and refrigerating them, putting packaged cookies in baskets, getting out paper cups and napkins. You would need to come out of service during the last hymn to get them on the counters and table. As the crowd dwindles you would need to clean up and put things away. This is a great way to explore a different ministry! A schedule and more details will be given to each volunteer when the list is complete. If you would like to volunteer for the summer fellowship group please see Pat Evans or call her at 638-8253. There will also be an opportunity to sign-up on the Fellowship & Worship form. Thank you so much! 8 CAN YOU NAME ALL EIGHT BUILDING BLOCKS? You may not even know what Building Blocks are, if you have joined our congregation since the fall of 2012. Three years ago we knew that there were several BIG projects that needed to be done; projects that were beyond the scope of our regular giving. The congregation voted on a long list of needs, selecting eight that we were willing to contribute extra funds to do. So began our Building Blocks Campaign and now we are in our final year, closing in on our goal of $330,000. Enough thinking time, now for the eight Building Blocks: Add an Associate Pastor New exterior doors New piano for Fellowship Hall A/C for FH and the Lobby Remodeling the office $10,000 brick repair Renovate for SS rooms 8,9,10 Disaster relief (currently for folks suffering from the cyclone in Vanautu; earthquake in Nepal; refugees from ISIS in Iraq) Our gratitude for the generosity of the congregation is HUGE! We need to receive $50,000 to meet our end of the year goal of $330,000. It is a staggering feat that was only accomplished through God. He touched hearts, grew our congregation in the area of giving, and demonstrated to us the blessings of being a cheerful giver. If you would like to become part of this, it is easy. Any gifts just need to be separated from regular giving and ear marked for Building Blocks in the memo line of checks or put in an envelope, labeled, Building Blocks. Another amazing part of God’s work in our congregation, is that our regular giving has continued to grow during these three years; that is how evident the blessing has been to us that are currently contributing. Most of the BB have been accomplished. The most recent project was installing A/C in Fellowship Hall and the Lobby, just in time for us to reap the benefits this summer. Brick work is scheduled to start in June or July. The search for an Associate Pastor is underway and $70,000 is reserved to supplement that salary, until it can be covered by our regular giving. Expending the remainder of the $30,000 tithe (10%) for disaster relief will continue. Our kick-off for BB in November, 2012 began with a celebration meal after worship, so it seems only fitting to conclude the same way. On November 1, 2015, Harry Heintz, a retired pastor who was here for the kick-off, will join us again for worship. Following worship, our own Cook/Bromley team will provide a delicious BBQ dinner for everyone. Mark your calendars now! There are a couple of smaller projects that could be done, if there is still funding at the conclusion of this campaign. One recommendation is adding a TV monitor, so that the choir could see what is projected on the wall. It would not be expensive, but how to do it in an aesthetically pleasing way is problematic. If anyone has an idea, please share it with us. Again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your prayers, God’s leading, and your financial support for BB. Eileen Jackson for the Priority Planning group of Steve McLean, Brian Burch & Pat Evans 9 JUNE SCHEDULE OF VOLUNTEERS Infant /Todler Nursery Jenn Gonzales Jun 7 – Brooke Daley Jun 14 – Tina & Maddie McDougall Jun 21 – Sandy Hoffis, Bridget Fenton Jun 28 – Ken Bain, Katie Schneible Preschool Nursery Jenn Bushway Jun 7 – Judy Liddle Jun 14 – Marlene Reid Jun 21 – Gabe Johnson Jun 28 – Corinne Genovese Children’s Church Joh Benson Jun 7 – Janet Townsend Jun 14 – Kim McLean Jun 21 – Julie Steidle Jun 28 – Food Pantry Item of the Month Pasta Sauces, Canned Fruit Food Pantry - Saturday 10 a.m. Jun 6 – Sam & Marilyn Wicks, Tony & Lisa White Jun 13 – Carol McNeil, Sally Fish Jun 20 – Jenn & Rebecca Bushway, Noah Bourne Jun 27 – Dianna & Kermit Monroe Open Door Soup Kitchen – Lunch- Tuesday, June 9th Carol McNeil, Jan Cole Open Door Soup Kitchen – Lunch- Tuesday, June 23rd Bea Neron, Val McMurray Open Door Soup Kitchen – Dinner-Friday, June 19th Duane, Jen, Jacob & Caleb Flower Greeters Jun 7 – Diana Eggleston, Linda LaRock Jun 14 – Marge Randles, Barb Munger-Russell Jun 21 – Steidle Family Jun 28 – Flower Family 10 Ushers Jun 7 – Dean & Laurie McWhorter, Maryellen & Tina McDougall Jun 14 – Burch Family Jun 21 – Mike & Robin Bristol, Linda LaRock, Alyce Linscott Jun 28 – Connolly Family June 2015 Sunday Monday 1 10:00am-Women's Bible Tuesday Wednesday 2 3 6:30am-Missions Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 7:00pm-Praise Team 6:00pm-Women's Bible 7:00pm- Choir 7 Christian Education Sunday The Lord's Supper 9:30am-Cong Prayer 10:00am-Worship 11:30am-Church Picnic * 14 9:30am-Cong Prayer 10:00am-Worship Welcome New Members 8 10:00am-Women's Bible 6:00pm-Women's Bible 7:00pm- Choir 15 10:00am-Women's Bible 9 10 6:30am-Missions Prayer 7:15am-School Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 11:30am-Open Door Soup Kitchen 16 21 28 9:30am-Cong Prayer 10:00am-Worship 22 Pathfinder Deadline 11 7:00pm-Search Comm. 7:00pm-GriefShare 7:30pm-Women's Bible 17 23 24 6 7:00am-Men's Bible 7:00pm-Couple's Bible 12 8:15am-Morning Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 13 7:00am-Men's Bible 7:00pm-Couple's Bible 19 20 7:00am-Men's Bible 7:00pm-Session 7:00pm-GriefShare 7:30pm-Women's Bible 25 26 8:15am-Morning Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 7:00pm-Praise Team 30 5 8:15am-Morning Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters Saturday 8:15am-Morning Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 4:30pm-Open Door Soup Kitchen 7:00pm-Couple's Bible 9:30am-Osteobusters 11:30am-Open Door Soup Kitchen 9:30am-Osteobusters Friday 18 6:30am-Missions Prayer 9:30am-Osteobusters 6:00pm-Women's Bible 29 4 6:30am-Women's Bible 6:00pm-Caregivers' Prayer 6:30pm-Parents' Prayer 7:00pm-Session w/ New Members 7:00pm-GriefShare 7:30pm-Women's Bible 6:30am-Women's Bible 6:00pm-Women's Bible 7:00pm-Choir Pie Night Choir Recognition Sunday 9:30am-Cong Prayer 10:00am-Worship 11:15am-Choir Reception 7:00pm-Greenwich Baccalaureate @ Bottskill Baptist Church 7:00pm-Hartford Baccalaureate @ Hartford Methodist Church 7:30pm-Argyle Baccalaureate Thursday 7:00pm-Search Comm. 7:00pm-GriefShare 7:00pm-Couple's Bible 27 7:00am-Men's Bible
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