focus First Presbyterian Christians Serving, Learning and Loving Sunday In This Issue November 4 Volume 20, Issue 43 Reflections Page 2 Coming Up in Worship Page 3-4 Trunk or Treat Page 4 Congregational Meeting Page 5 PYA Activities Page 6 New Members Page 6 Information @ Church Page 7-11 In November Page 12 Prayers and Praises Page 12 November Calendar Page 13-14 Contact Us Page 15 Social Media & Website Page 15 1225 Fourth Street Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935 Voice 920.922.0425 Email fdloffice@fdlpresbyterian.org 1st November
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focus First Presbyterian Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
Sun
day
In This Issue
November 4 Volume 20, Issue 43
Reflections Page 2
Coming Up in Worship Page 3-4
Trunk or Treat Page 4
Congregational Meeting Page 5
PYA Activities Page 6
New Members Page 6
Information @ Church Page 7-11
In November Page 12
Prayers and Praises Page 12
November Calendar Page 13-14
Contact Us Page 15
Social Media & Website Page 15
1225 Fourth Street Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935 Voice 920.922.0425 Email [email protected]
1st November
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
Reflections
Speak with Love, or Practice Silence 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to
be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12Can
a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water
yield fresh.
James 3:10-12
Our lives have been overwhelmed with hostile and destructive language. The elections have cer-
tainly pulled this to the surface, but it is much more than just our politics. We live in a time when
disrespect, animosity, and bitterness are a common part of communication. The problem is that
this is upsetting, and we do not recognize the kind of damage that it does.
James speaks about people teaching as a form of “duplicating” themselves. Specifically, he felt that
very few individuals were demonstrating a type of faith that should be repeated or spread. In es-
sence, he said: “Don’t make more of you.” The source of their words was from selfish ambition,
bitter envy, and hostility. Words spoken in that fashion cannot accomplish anything positive. What
we don’t recognize, is that the animosity those words spread does not just harm us but harms our
children. It creates an environment of ongoing resentment and unforgiveness. The words that
come from people’s mouths continue to impact the world long after we’ve forgotten them.
Very few people are happy with the current climate of fear and hostility. It becomes increasingly
hard to speak words of love and forgiveness and to avoid our own defensiveness in the face of the
animosity. People are demanding to be heard but refusing to listen. There are many who want to
see their adversaries suffer but are unprepared for the same suffering coming back to them.
After the election, there will be a little less hostility in commercials. However, if we don’t commit
to making the source of all our conversations as coming from the knowledge of God, there won’t
be much improvement in the rest of the world. We can’t do anything about other people’s choices,
but we can decide to love Christ more than fighting and being reactive. We can decide to align our
hearts and words with the peace of Christ before we speak, or say nothing at all. We may end up
having a lot less to say, but it’s not like there’s a lot of listening right now anyway. When we do
speak, it will be something that can make a difference.
Peace,
Pastor Jack
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
Coming Up in Worship
11/4/2018 Love Abides. Communion
Sermon: "Where You Go..."
Theme: Real love commits to staying, abiding, and consistency rather than being condition-
al or based on appetites.
Purpose: The congregation will seek to develop consistency in commitments.
Scriptures: Ruth 1:1-18 Ruth promises to never abandon her mother-in-law in spite of loss
and hardship.
Mark 12:28-34 We love God and others with our whole selves.
Questions:
What does it mean to us to have meaningful and committed relationships? In what ways does our
commitment to Christ’s love affect the relationships of the people who are closest to us? How does
Jesus enable us to be healthier and stronger in our relationships with the people who are nearest
to us? What does it mean to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength? In what ways does
dedicating all of our love to God give us so much more love to give to the people who are near us?
11/11/2018
Sermon: "The Gift of Yourself"
Theme: In Christ we choose to be the gift of God, not for other people's benefit, but because
that is fulfilling for our lives.
Purpose: The congregation will consider their motivations behind being generous and seek
to know Christ more fully through their giving.
Scriptures: Hebrews 9:24-28 Christ offered the sacrifice of himself, which brings salva-
tion to all who are eagerly waiting on him.
Mark 12:38-44 The widow in her offering gives sacrificially.
Questions:
What does it mean for us to be faithful in generosity? What is the difference between giving out of
obligation and giving out of the joy of Christ’s love? What are the ways in which our religiosity
robs us of our enjoyment of the good things that God has given us? How has focusing on religiosity
and guilt caused us to be resentful and angry in our giving? What does it mean to give with joy and
celebration of the abundance in which God has blessed us? How is it that those who give freely are
the happiest and feel best about what they have received?
11/18/2018 Congregational Meeting to act on changing by-laws.
Sermon: "The Things that Will Last"
Theme: Our relationship with Christ and the kingdom of God will outlast anything else we
invest our time, energy, or life into.
Purpose: The congregation will evaluate how they use their time and energy.
Scriptures: Hebrews 10:11-25 In response to Jesus' sacrificial love, we gather to encourage
one another in love.
Mark 13:1-8 The disciples are warned that the grand buildings will fall, but the
Kingdom of God will stand.
Questions:
What are the things that we focus upon in order to feel stable and secure? In what ways do we de-
pend upon things that at times leave us feeling worried and unsure about the future? How do we
come to terms with our dependence on God for our safety and strength? In what ways can we
come to be confident and sure in God’s love for us? How do we come to draw strength and our
identity from the knowledge of God’s love for us and promise to care for us? How do we live in the
joy of knowing God’s constant care is our strength? How do we allow God to write the law on our
hearts and minds so that we may enjoy the blessings of God’s constant care?
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
11/25/2018
Sermon: "The Kingdom Without End"
Theme: God calls us to be in a relationship which is based on lasting through eternity and
with power beyond this world.
Purpose: The congregation will be committed to Christ's reign of peace rather than earthly
powers.
Scriptures: Revelation 1:4b-8 We live in the now-and-not-yet kingdom of God.
John 18:33-37 Jesus' kingdom is not of this world, but he is an everlasting
King.
Questions:
What does it mean for us to acknowledge Jesus as the supreme authority in our lives? Do we actu-
ally submit our lives to Christ’s direction or just want God to do things our way and prevent the
things we fear? What does it mean that Jesus is the source, beginning, and end of our lives? What
conflicts do we experience between submitting to Christ’s direction over our choices, and craving
to receive the benefits and pleasures of the world? Are we willing to trust God with giving direc-
tion and meaning to our lives?
Coming Up in Worship
We had a wonderful evening
sharing hospitability with our
community at the Trunk or Treat
on Halloween Night. It was an
amazing opportunity to have two
churches combine their efforts to
benefit the community.
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints Fond du Lac
is expanding and is under con-
struction until March 2019. As a
result, the LDS church turned to us
– the “church across the street” to
have a combined Trunk or Treat. It
was the first time, with many more
to come, hopefully, that the annual
Trunk or Treat was hosted by both
churches. Adults and kids, in
costume, had fun, played games ,
followed by the best part - trunk or
treating! We had many elaborately
decorated vehicle "trunks" and
shared the candy, you so gener-
ously donated.
Thank you to everyone who made
this event an enormous success.
Trunk or Treat
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
November 18 – Congregational Meeting 9:15am
We will have a congregational meeting Sunday, November 18th, at 9:15am. The meeting
will have two items of business: to vote on the changes in the by-laws, and to elect
members for the Nominating Committee for 2019.
The changes proposed will be formally mailed and will have the following items:
1. Paragraph 4 - we will move the annual meeting from January to June. This will allow
our congregation to look ahead, to what Christ is calling us to do in the coming year,
rather than looking backwards, focusing on what has already been accomplished. This
also frees us from having to prepare for the annual meeting in the middle of the many
other end-of-year activities.
Paragraph 5 - will be changed to reflect our election of Elders and Deacons. New
officer terms will now begin in July, rather that being aligned with the calendar year
(January – December). This will move elections from the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays, so that we will have better time for officers to be trained and prepared to
take their place in service to the church.
2. Paragraph 17 - the second change, will reduce the number of Elders on Session from
12 to 9. This will allow us to develop stronger leadership in other areas of the church. The
role of Elders will be to focus on developing the mission and direction of the church, ena-
bling others to use their gifts more fully. To accommodate these changes, the quorum of
Session Meetings will be set at 50% of the current members of session, so that there will
be no confusion moving forward.
We will have a Session Forum on November 11th, 2018 at 9:15 in the Parlor to review
these changes and answer any questions. We look forward to seeing these changes bring
about improvements in our work and ministry together as Christians – Serving, Learning
and Loving.
Pastor Jack
Moderator of Session
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
Basic info: PYA is for students in the 5th-12th grade
Purpose: To get to know Jesus Christ and have lots of fun!
Saturday November 3 1:00-3:30pm PYA SPIN (Serving People in Need)
Come and help some of our community by
raking leaves for individuals who need our help.
Sunday November 4 11:45-12:15pm Mission Trip Meeting
Click here to see more information on the trip.
Saturday November 10 10:45-11:45am PYA at the Woodlands Thanksgiving Jingo
Wednesday November 14 4:00-7:00pm Loaves and Fishes at Church of Peace
Saturday November 17 10:00-11:00am Doves Rehearsal
Sunday November 18 10:30-11:30 Doves Teen Praise Band will lead Worship
Sunday November 25 PYA Games and Happy Birthday Jesus Planning
PYA = Presbyterian Youth Association
Margaret King Margaret lives in Fond du Lac. She has an older brother and his wife, who live in Fond du Lac, also. Margaret moved back to Fond du Lac in 2008, after living in Milwaukee and the Sparta areas. Margaret worked at the Milwaukee County Department of Corrections for 24 years. She was in the Dietary Department. Once she was back in Fond du Lac, she worked for Bob and Bonnie’s Donuts and Cakes, for five years. Margaret likes to color, play Bingo and many other games.
Patty LeBeau Patty lives in Fond du Lac. She is retired after having her own house-keeping business from 1990-2016. She has a niece who lives in North Carolina. Patty keeps in touch with her and her family, on a regular basis. She is a BASEBALL fanatic and a football fan, as well. Don’t plan on Patty being at your house when the Brewers play, as she will have her eyes glued to her TV at home!
Where Grace Christian Church 1596 4th Street Fond du Lac, WI 920.923.5292 When Thursday, November 8 Open 4:30pm Distribution 5:30pm Donation $20.00 (Cash Only) Preregistration
rubyspantry.org
We encourage your church groups to come and volunteer. The cut-off time for new volunteers to sign in will be 5:30pm. For more information, email: [email protected] You can preregister on the website using a credit card, debit card or PayPal. (A $1.00 processing fee applies.) All online transactions are processed through PayPal. All guests are required to bring 6 grocery-size reusable bags. (Reusable bags are available at Walmart for $.50.) Doubled paper bags, with handles, will be availa-ble on-site, the night of the distri-bution, if they don’t have the reus-able bags. If you have any questions contact Grace Christian Church at:
Morning Bible Study Wednesday Mornings 10:30 – Noon
The Epistle of James
November 8 - Blood Drive
The BloodCenter of Wisconsin will
conduct a blood drive at church on
Thursday, November 8.
Appointment times are available
from 2 :00– 6:00pm. You can
schedule your appointment online:
bit.ly/FPNov2018
For those unable to sign up via the
internet, a sign-up sheet will
also be available in the Nar-
thex. Walk-ins are welcome but
you may experience a short wait.
The BloodCenter is always grateful
for those who are able to donate
blood. It is truly a life-saving gift.
November 11 - Session Forum We are discussing the new By-Laws
that will be adopted at our next
congregational meeting.
Please join us at 9:15am.
November 8
11.7 James 4:1-17
Humility and Faith
11.14 James 5:1-12
The Rich and the Suffering
11.21 James 5:13-20
Praying in Faith
COMMUNITY SHOPPING EVENT
November 8 5:00-7:00pm
Please support our church, PDA and Just Fare. This partnership helps us to make a difference in the lives of people - near and far.
N7645 N. Peebles Lane, Ste. 2 Fond du Lac 920.322.3334
Fifteen per cent of proceeds over $500 are returned to our church for the PDA program and the emergency and refu-gee program of PCUSA. Thank you for participating!
Information @ Church
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
November 14 -
Loaves and Fishes
We will be serving Loaves & Fishes:
Where Church of Peace
158 S. Military Rd.
Fond du Lac, WI
When November 14
Time 4:00 - 7:00pm
If you are available to help pre-pare, serve, or clean up after the meal, please contact Lisa Warntjes: 920.602.4691 or [email protected] so we can make sure we have enough volunteers.
Youth Triennium! Triennium is a gathering held every three years for high school age stu-dents in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Youth from churches all across the country come together for this life changing, faith growing gathering!
Event Information
Date: Tuesday, July 16- Saturday, July 20, 2019 Location: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Audience: High School age youth (entering freshmen through graduated seniors) Adult chaperones, contact the Winnebago Presbytery office if interested Registration Date: Winnebago Presbytery will register as a delegation on November 5th. Contact your Youth Leader or Pastor to register. Registration Fee: Cost is $555.00 for youth, $575.00 if 18 or older
Scholarships are available through the Presbytery!
*Winnebago Presbytery will pay $255 dollars of the registration fee for the first 15 youth who register with a paid deposit.
For more information, visit the Triennium website:
6 Election Day 1p-2p Ruth Circle - Parlor 6p-7p AA Meeting (Gathering Room)
7 8a-9a Breakfast - Pump & Pan-try 10:30a-12p Bible Study - Book of James 12p-1p Noon Prayer 5p-7:30p Christian Education Team 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 6:30p-8p Cantata Rehearsal 7:30p-8:30p Con-firmation Class
8 2p-6p Blood Drive 5p-7p Just Fare - Shopping Event 6:30p-8p Worship Team Mtg (Parlor)
9
10 9a-10a Tech Re-hearsal 10:45a-11:45a PYA at the Wood-lands
11 Veterans' Day Benson Memorial Service 8a-9a Worship 9:15a-10:15a Coffee Hour 9:15a-10:15a Education Hour 9:15a-10:15a Session Forum - Bylaws Discus-sion 9:15a-10:15a Talkback 10:30a-11:30a Worship 6p-8p Financial Peace University 6:30p-8p Boy Scout Troop 702 Meeting
12 10a-11:30a Staff Meeting 3p-4p Manage-ment Team 4p-5p Church Life 6:30p-7:30p Out-reach Team
13 6p-7p AA Meeting (Gathering Room)
14 8a-9a Breakfast - Pump & Pan-try 10:30a-12p Bible Study - Book of James 12p-1p Noon Prayer 4p-7p Loaves and Fishes 6p-8p Women in Faith 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 6:30p-8p Cantata Rehearsal
21 8a-9a Breakfast - Pump & Pan-try 10:30a-12p Bible Study - Book of James 12p-1p Noon Prayer 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 7p-8p Ecumenical Thanksgiving Ser-vice
22 Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day - Church Office is Closed
23 Church Office - Closed
24 9a-10a Tech Re-hearsal
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Christians Serving, Learning and Loving
9:15a-10:15a Session Forum - Bylaws Discus-sion 9:15a-10:15a Talkback 10:30a-11:30a Worship 6p-8p Financial Peace University 6:30p-8p Boy Scout Troop 702 Meeting
Prayer 4p-7p Loaves and Fishes 6p-8p Women in Faith 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 6:30p-8p Cantata Rehearsal
21 8a-9a Breakfast - Pump & Pan-try 10:30a-12p Bible Study - Book of James 12p-1p Noon Prayer 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 7p-8p Ecumenical Thanksgiving Ser-vice
22 Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Day - Church Office is Closed
28 8a-9a Breakfast - Pump & Pan-try 10:30a-12p Bible Study - Book of James 12p-1p Noon Prayer 6:30p-9p Table Tennis 6:30p-8p Cantata Rehearsal 7:30p-8:30p Con-firmation Class
Volunteer Staff Bell Choir Director Joanne Marchionda Custodian Assistant Dave Weber DOVE Praise Team Becky Frize Terri Wilke Financial Assistant Sheryl Brown