First CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Presbyterian Weds./Thurs./Fri. Afternoons Church 405 S. Main St. Pataskala, OH 43062 WEBSITE: FPCpataskala.com EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE: 740-927-4796 Rev. Gary Brose, 513-260-8230 CHURCH DIRECTORY Interim Pastor . . . .The Rev. Gary Brose Clerk of Session . . . . . . . . . Mr. James H. Boggs Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Thomas J. Johnston Financial Secretaries . . . . . . Mrs. Linda Glenn & Mr. Charles Long Choir Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rev. Gary Brose Organist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Thomas Veregge Custodian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Tim Klinker Nursery Attendant . . . . . . . Ms. Linda Flowers Admin. Assistant . . . . . . . Mrs. Denise Kelling NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS 3 Daniel Beckner, Faye Hammond, 4 Roberta Gierhart 6 Linda Goldstein 8 Madelyn Gundler, Tom Johnston 9 Karen Johnston, Dr. Jennifer Turick 11 Brandy Schwab 12 Connie DeRose 15 Loren Kimble 20 Tami Conrad 23 Sue Gualtieri 24 Kelly Cruse, Tom Tykodi, Natalie Wildman 26 Doris Laughlin 29 Carol Baird NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 3 Trista & Robb Kosch 7 Chuck & Barb Long 14 Rob & Susan Baird 17 Curtis & Fran Hungerford FPC, Pataskala, Ohio November, 2017 Dear Christian family, I wanted to take a moment to formally introduce myself to you. At its October meeting, Session officially invited me to serve as Transitional Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, which I accepted. This past Sunday (as I write this), I shared about my background; and I’d like to share this again for those who might not have been at church. I am a native of Cincinnati; yes, a Reds and Bengals fan. But I have always cheered for the Buckeyes, so hopefully you will forgive my Cincinnati allegiances. I attended a small Presbyterian related college in the mountains of North Carolina and then studied for the ministry at Louisville Presbyterian Theological seminary. My first congregation was a small rural church just outside of Berea, Kentucky. As I shared Sunday, my immediate neighbors were beef cattle, fighting cocks, and peacocks. Country life does have its charm. But I remember how peaceful it was on Sunday mornings to walk across the country road to the church and turn the heat on for the Sunday morning service. I served this church for three years and then went to an inner city church in Saginaw, Michigan as an Associate Pastor. It was here that I had sort of a career crisis and suddenly felt out of synch with myself and God’s calling on my life. I went through some career counseling and began to explore teaching as a career. Returning to Cincinnati I attended Xavier University to work on a teaching certificate. I taught 4 th grade for 12 years. During this time I attended a new church development in Cincinnati and eventually became the choir director. Singing has always been a love for me, joining the church choir when I was in 1 st grade and singing throughout my school years. I also met my wife and began my family during this time. My family lives in Cincinnati. My wife and I recently separated, but having children, we still work with each other on family concerns. I have two daughters. My eldest recently was hired by Miami University at Hamilton, Ohio, as an admissions counselor. My youngest, who visited me in July, has been living in Florida and is about to move back to Cincinnati. I have two step children. My step daughter has two children, so I am a Papa. Back to my career path, after 12 years of teaching I began a business in home improvements. I love carpentry and focused on basements, decks, and general household repairs. This was 2001. As many of you may remember, 9/11 happened and as a result our national economy tanked. And suddenly home remodeling was not a priority for people. Through a variety of circumstances I felt God was calling me back into parish work. I accepted a call to a church in Carrollton, Ohio. This pastoral relationship failed for a number of reasons. We returned to Cincinnati. I was called to one church as a Transitional Pastor and then to another as a stated supply. This was a time of discernment for me. What I found is that the area of ministry that I feel particularly gifted in and most meaningful is working with elder folk and their families as they approach end of life issues and care. To sharpen my skills I began a residency program as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospice. To make a long story short, half way through this program I googled “hospice chaplain” over Thanksgiving weekend. A position at a hospice in Cincinnati had just been posted that day. I sent a resume and within a few days I had an interview and was offered the position. With the way the timing worked on this, I definitely felt this was a “God thing.” I served in this position for six years. During this time, I served as a Transitional Pastor and a Stated Supply pastor for two different churches. My move to Columbus was also a “God thing.” I had interviewed with a Columbus hospital and was turned down. An internet search for hospital chaplain turned up a few positions to which I applied. I then entered “hospice chaplain” and again, a position with Capital City Hospice had just been posted that day. I uploaded a resume at 10:00 PM. At 7:45 the next morning, with shaving cream on my hand, my cell phone rings. “Gary, This is Jim from Capital City Hospice. I found your resume in my inbox this morning and I have heard a lot of good things about you. My only question is, are you going to move to Columbus or commute like I do from Cincinnati?” The next morning I was officially interviewed and offered the position in which I now serve. So that’s a little about me. Hopefully Denise can fit all this in the church newsletter. I am passionate about hospice care. I find my work very meaningful and rewarding. And I feel very competent in what I do. But I also enjoy preaching and the worship life of the church has always been important to me. My gifts and the flexibility of my work schedule means that I can be available to serve Christ’s church in different ways, such as being a part time Transitional Pastor. As your Transitional Pastor I am available for pastoral care. I usually spend a few hours at the church on Sunday afternoons and most Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. And I can meet with people by appointment. My boss at Capital City is very flexible and understands my serving the church in this way. So if there are ever any emergency needs, please call. I look forward to sharing this transitional journey with you. Temporarily Yours, Gary Weekly Calendar of Events SUNDAYS Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship at 10:45 a.m. MONDAYS Clogging, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Cub Scout Pack #4021, 6-8 p.m. (2 nd & 4 th Mondays) TUESDAYS Session Meetings – 2 nd Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAYS Karate Classes, 6:30 – 8 p.m. Choir Practice, 7:30 p.m. Illumin8 & Adult Bible Study, 6-8 p.m. (every other week) THURSDAYS Girl Scout Troop #386, 6-9 p.m. Berean’s Meetings – 4 th Thursdays at NOON PLEASE KEEP THESE IN PRAYER Courtney Carroll Coldren Family John & June Conrad Dena Bruce DeHart Eileen Ronald Farioli Chris Farley Craig Howland Brenda Jenkins Karen Johnston Gayle Joyner Jerry Joyner Kayla W. Phil Kourim Bob Lutz Rev. Paul Meyers Wanda Neudorfer Pack Sylvia Page Jon Thom Jane Wildman REMEMBER OUR SHUT-INS Connie & Victor DeRose, Howard Efaw, Faye Hammond, Anna Jane Justice, Claudia Johnston, Anne Nixon