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| This 'n' That | July Calendar |
| Worship Schedule | August Calendar |
| Previous Newsletters |
| Monday, June 25 8:00 a.m. - PBJ/ Room 100 Tuesday, July 26 9:00 a.m. - Worship Team & Staff 11:30 a.m. - The Bridge Worship Team/ Office Wednesday, July 27 8:00 a.m. - Men's Prayer Breakfast/ Perkin's 7:00 p.m.- Bridge Band Rehearsal/ Lower Level Friday, July 29 4:00 p.m.- James Eastman Interment Sunday, July 31 8:00 a.m.- Worship/ Chapel 9:15 a.m.- The Bridge Worship/ Lower Level 10:30 a.m. - Worship/ Sanctuary 6:00 p.m.-Parenting for Life/Reception Room  | Monday, August 1 8:00 a.m. - PBJ/Room 100 6:00 p.m.- Vacation Bible School Tuesday, August 2 9:00 a.m.- Worship Team & Staff/ Office 11:30 a.m. - The Bridge Worship Team/ Office 6:30 p.m.- PW Coordinating Team 7:00 p.m.- Bridge Planning Team/Lower Level Wednesday, August 3 8:00 a.m. - Men's Prayer Breakfast/ Perkin's 7:00 p.m.- Bridge Band Rehearsal/ Lower Level Thursday, August 4 7:30 a.m.- Fellowship Commission/ Mel’s Diner Friday, August 5 11:00 a.m.- Ruth Ash Memorial Service/ Chapel Sunday, August 7 Communion 8:00 a.m.- Worship/ Chapel 9:15 a.m.- The Bridge Worship/ Lower Level 10:30 a.m. - Worship/ Sanctuary PYF Car Wash after first service |
The Times, They Are A-Changin’! Our fall worship schedule will be different this year. Starting August 21, our worship services will be: 8:30 a.m. Chapel Service 9:30 a.m. Bridge Service 10:30 a.m. Sanctuary Service The changes in The Bridge and sanctuary service times are a result of feedback from both worshipers and staff favorable to these earlier times. We’ll try them out and see how they work! Please note the date of the change – August 21! We’re changing directions, tooHaving refinished the Beardsley Avenue parking lot after drywell and curb work for the new sign, we have angled the parking slots so that traffic moves from east to west. The trustees and session believe this will better serve those who approach the church from the east, which seems to be the majority. The Yearly (non-pictorial) Directory Available soon!!!The 2005 FPC telephone directory will be available for you to pick up at the church by the end of the month. If you are unable to attend church and would like a directory, please call the office and we will mail one to you. |
A few thoughts on Faith, Facilities, Worship, and Mission:
It’s likely that you’ll be hearing quite a bit about our building over the next few months, so I want to give a few preliminary reflections.
First Presbyterian is, at its heart, a group of faithful Christians who love their Lord and gather to worship and serve Him. It is housed in a unique and beautiful building, in a unique and beautiful setting. Unfortunately, both the building and the setting have problems that are not so unique – like many another downtown church, the building has a failing HVAC system in a highly energy inefficient structure, while the site is off the major travel routes, practically invisible to the suburbs.
As you probably know, we’re facing a potentially major building expense for HVAC: not only is our primary boiler dead, but the 45-year-old piping and valve system has become very leak-prone, and will only get worse. Hence we are investigating the possibility of an entirely new system. Its cost may require that we undertake a capital campaign, which will undoubtedly include other facilities needs as well.
However, as much as many of us love the building, we need to never lose sight of the fact that the church is not the building – it is the gathered people seeking to love and serve Christ. Ultimately, the building is important insofar as it helps us fulfill Christ’s mission. And if we decide to raise funds for the building, I hope and pray that we will also include funds for mission beyond ourselves – mission to our community and to the wider church.
As to the church as a gathered community, our church is, in fact, several gathered communities. We have long had two worshiping communities – the chapel folks and the sanctuary folks. We have now added a third, the Bridge folks. For those of us who have come from churches where everybody knows everybody and sees everyone on Sunday morning, it’s a bit disturbing to have several different worshiping communities. We’d like to know everyone! But, the truth is, we will remain a church of several communities – as is almost every large and growing church. We will try to foster getting to know one another through intergenerational fellowship events and small groups. But we will remain a multiple-worship-community church.
On yet another topic, part of our Presbyterian heritage is an understanding that serving Jesus Christ includes making our community a better place for others. Our congregation has long had a commitment to community service. Members live out this commitment in a wide variety of ways through involvement with a multitude of service agencies and programs – Church Community Services / Soup of Success, the Samaritan Center, Beardsley School, Susanna’s Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, the Community Foundation, service clubs and sororities, and on and on.
I am glad when we can include our facilities as part of our faith-driven community service. We have always housed the Samaritan Center (we own the house in which they are located and maintain its exterior), and now we will be helping them expand their operations by letting them use one of our offices. We continue to help support CCS’s Soup of Success women’s job training program through the use of one of our classrooms for their computer lab. And we make our building available for an Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous groups, as well as a variety of other service and non-profit groups.
And, on a completely unrelated topic, I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful job Jennifer Pitcher has done in her 5+ years as our children’s coordinator. Jennifer has touched many of our lives in many ways, as well as touching the lives of our children, and she has truly been a blessing to me, to the rest of the staff, and to the church. I am grateful that she stayed on as long as she did (far longer than she had intended to stay when first hired as an “interim”), and that she has been such a positive influence.
Andy & Sara Chrobot  Andy and Sara join by reaffirmation of faith. They attend The Bridge worship. Andy is a police officer and Sara is a teacher. |
Chad & Nicole Gernand Chad transfers from Yorktown United Methodist Church in Yorktown, Indiana. Nicole transfers from First Presbyterian Church in New Castle, Indiana. They have a daughter, Laura who is 1 1/2 years old. They actively attend The Bridge. |
Adam Hoffer  Adam attends The Bridge worship and is our Coordinator of Bridge Music. Adam transfers his membership from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Elkhart. He has a wife Beth Ann, who is also active at The Bridge and a son, Devon. |
Susan Kendell  Susan grew up at First Presbyterian Church, Elkhart. She moved back to the area a few years ago. She was our nursery attendant until recently. Susan transfers her membership from First Presbyterian Church Frankfort, Kentucky. |
Frank DeFord – Friday, October 7 The Samaritan Center is bringing nationally-known author and sports commentator Frank DeFord to town. On Friday evening, October 7, DeFord will speak at the Matterhorn as a fund-raiser for the Center. DeFord is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, author of fourteen books including, "An American Summer," "Everybody's All-American," and "Alex: The Life of a Child," and commentator on ESPN, NPR's Morning Edition, & HBO's RealSports. Watch for details. |
Although Vacation Bible School 2005 is now past, the seeds of peace were sown in many children and adults during our fast-paced, fun-filled, faithful journey of peace for ourselves, peace in our families, peace in our homes, and peace in our world. As this was the last program for my 5 1/2 years as Children’s Coordinator, I was especially grateful for all of the many adults and youth who really stepped up and helped in so many ways. I’ll try to share with you a few of the great moments as well as the names of everyone I’d like to thank.
Light Your World! On our last night, the song leaders, Deb Wright-Hughes, Chris Hughes, and Katie and Andy Wright, continued to lead the group in the special version of The Lord’s Prayer, but also encouraged the Peacemakers to Go and Light Your World! Pastor Steve Braden accompanied on his guitar both downstairs and up in the chapel every night. Thank you singers and musicians! I’ve Got Peace Like a River! Everyone enjoyed the suppers each night; already prepared, very kid-friendly, light and quick! Anita Gorden and crew fixed up some great choices! Gladys Cone, Ruth Eraybar, Richard Fair, and our St. Paul’s friends, Diane Poplawski and Donna Hemmig all served up some yummy fixing's! Thank you Kitchen Crew! Seeds of Peace were sown through stories by Pastor Steve Braden and Betty Rice, Games with Elizabeth and Fred Hohman, Peace Poles from Diane Evans, God’s Eyes from Cheryl Ann and Todd Miller, as well as in openings and closings with Jennifer Pitcher. Thank you teachers and helpers! Todd also created two videos from Sunday workshops on Peace I’d done in June. We used them as starters during our openings. Thanks to all of church members who answered the Question, “What is Peace?” The Jam Time kids did a great job, too! Some of our children came from St. Paul’s, some from First Pres, some were friends of those, some were new friends! We welcomed all! Even the adults had a “class” by Kathy Ritchie-Fair on the closing night sharing ideas on Taking Peace home and how parents could extend the theme of Peacemaking beyond VBS 2005. Thank you Kathy for the many photos and presentation! Donations for Helping Hands Kid’s Kits for Church World Service were brought each night. By the end of week we had collected money or supplies for about 12 complete kits, valued at $24 each. It will be a wonderful way to share peace with children around the world! My thanks to Carol Steede who volunteered to arrange for the completion of the kits and for getting them to CWS for distribution!
Real friends can go on vacation! Mindy Suhr helped me plan this VBS from the start of 2005. She helped get the food at Sam’s the prior week and then had previous arrangements to travel the week of VBS. We missed her smiling face, but know that she was thinking of us and will wear her VBS tie-dyed t-shirt knowing the work that went into it! Thanks for walks and talks, Mindy! Even our PYF youth were involved in various roles during VBS week. Lauren Pitcher created The Bridge slide ads and then each night created power point slides from the prior night’s pictures, taken by Karen Evans (with some from Kathy Ritchie-Fair), so that during the meal, peacemakers could see themselves and others from previous nights! On the last night, we had even more pictures to share! Hopefully, we’ll have a viewing opportunity soon for you during a gathering time! There were a lot of smiles, colorful t-shirts, fun games and chalk drawings captured in beautiful photos! Thank you Lauren and Karen! Thank you also to Julia Evans, Chris Seddon, Emma LaLone and Karen Renkiewicz for sharing your smiles and hugs!
Extra cookies and dessert bars were donated by church members (thanks Coke Goode!) and especially the St. Paul’s cookie crew! Pam Duncan and Harriet Sloop each had a group to escort, and although they didn’t have teaching duties, they were kept might busy sharing each night’s activities with their group! Thanks ladies for saying yes so quickly! Fastest jobs filled ever! Each peacemaker not only has a t-shirt to remember VBS 2005 by, but also received a packet of Seeds of Peace with a bookmark attached. I doubt the lima beans which spelled P-E-A-C-E will grow, but the flower seeds in each bag might bring some beauty if planted and cared for! Approximately 60 people attended each night, many of them teens and adults to help the 20-34 younger peacemakers! It takes a lot of people to complete something as extensive as VBS, but the goal of a relaxed five nights was achieved by spreading out the tasks to many! Thanks to anyone and everyone who played a part in that! Some are spouses who often work in the background so others can go and serve. Thanks! Colors of the rainbow were our groups for the week. The Orange group of Kindergarteners filled our lives with joy! Even the Yellow group of first graders had energy left by the end of the day to wave the parachute in the courtyard! Maybe the Green group of second graders enjoyed the God’s Eyes the most? They added prayers to the craft sticks before weaving the year. All of the Blue group of third graders were intrigued with the Peace Poles. May Peace Prevail on Earth, written in several languages on the sides of the poles wasn’t as easy as it looked! They did a great job! Kids will be kids, and the Purple group astounded all! Who would have thought that the fourth/fifth grade group was our largest! They took the origami making of paper cranes very seriously, but didn’t want to leave very many of their creations for the October peacemaking offering. Sorry Connie! Maybe they’ll make some more over the summer! Thanks Betty Rice for teaching them how! Even littlest Luke Greising (with mom, Leslie close by) enjoyed the Peaceful, easy feeling of VBS openings and chapel closings! Leslie also coordinated some extra Panera bread twice! Thanks for thinking of us! Rarely have I coordinated something that year-after-year, I enjoy it so much, but hate to see it end! It’s a LOT of work to pull off, but it’s such a blessing to have others pitching in everywhere and such a joy to watch faces of those singing, playing, learning, and becoming peacemakers! Sayonara! I’ve enjoyed the six VBS’s that I’ve either led, coordinated, or participated in as the Children’s Coordinator. No two VBS’s are alike, nor should they be. No two coordinators run them the same, either. My continued best wishes for future VBS and Workshop Rotation programs. I've truly enjoyed working with and leading so many wonderful peacemakers over these years! Peace and Blessings Always, |
Our church is seeking to fill two positions:
Half-time Coordinator of Children’s Ministries, to plan and coordinate Christian Education for children through grade 6, including workshop rotation Sunday School. Salaried position with pay commensurate with training and experience. Part-time Nursery Caregiver for Sunday mornings and occasional mid-week or evening activities. For further information on either position, please see the information on the information table or call the church office. |  |
 | Come enjoy a relaxing summer afternoon with old and new friends . It’s time for a Couples’ Afternoon Out (mostly for couples in that mid-20’s to mid-40’s age group, but we’re flexible!) |
Doug and Diane Evans are hosting. Pack the swimsuit and towel, if you’d like a dip in the pool. Kids are welcome, if you want to bring them. Call the church (264-3109) or email Kathleen if you’d like to come along! |
F.E.A.S.T. groups are a wonderful opportunity to make friends, build relationships and strengthen our shared church community! Sign up through August. You’ll be placed in a F.E.A.S.T. group of 7-10 people. Each group will choose their own time to gather for several meals – meeting three or four times between September and December! Look for the F.E.A.S.T. sign-up table by the Gathering Place on Sunday mornings, or call the church office. Come to the F.E.A.S.T. – and join other Friends Enjoying A Shared Table.
What is the connection between our faith and our work? What difference does our faith make in the real world of the workplace? The Men's Breakfast begins exploring this topic this week. Join Steve Braden Wednesday mornings at 8:00 a.m. at Perkins at North Pointe Plaza (Cassopolis Street) for good food, good discussion, and prayer.
 The Brown Bag Book Bunch meets on the first Monday of each month at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the current book. The upcoming selection is: August- Bury Me Standing, The Gypsies and Their Journey by Isabel Fonseca Join us on Monday, August 1 in the Reception Room. |
It is the time of the year when Presbyterian Women are finishing this year’s mission opportunity projects. We need your help to finish personal health kits for men and women. We have pledged 10 kits for this year, but would send more with your help.
Health care kits contain the following items:
 | Women Comb and hairbrushToothbrush Toothpaste Emery boards Deodorant-lotion Tampons Hand Towels (new ones) | Men Comb and HairbrushToothbrush and Toothpaste Nail clippers Shaving Cream Razor blades Deodorant Hand towels (new ones) |  |
You may bring items to the church and leave them in the plastic container on the credenza in Room 100. Presbyterian Women are also doing book bags again this year. We will again need your help to fill 100 back packs for Elkhart Schools and 100 more school bags for Church World Service. School supplies needed are pencils, scissors (blunt), colored pencils, crayons, glue sticks, spiral bound notebooks, and erasers. Construction paper and rulers are also needed for the overseas kits. Back packs and book bags are filled the middle of August. Watch for the sales! Our mission work could not be done without your continued support.
The drywell project is complete, and the new church sign is being fabricated by U.S. Signcrafters of Goshen. The sign will not have the decorative top or the masonry unless private donations are made for those items. Drawings can be seen in the hallway near the main south entrance.
An engineering study of our HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) needs has been commissioned from M/E Design Services. The engineers will look at possible alternatives to our current system, which is in need of replacement.
The front office (Alice Morris’ former office) is being renovated for use by the Samaritan Center. The Samaritan Center is seeking to expand its staff, and is out of space. This office was one of the original offices used by the Center when it first started in our church some 30 years ago.
 | Come help us dedicate and bless the Children’s Backpacks and School Bags! The Fellowship Commission will provide a continental breakfast in the front courtyard from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., Sunday, August 28. We’d love to see all members from all three services join in the festivities and dedication of these school materials to help children get an excellent start with school. Betty Rice |  |
 | Do you have an old (good condition) sofa looking for a new home? The Bridge could use one or two additional sofas, and maybe even a rocking chair or two (for some new moms!) If you have such an item that you could donate, please contact Kathleen O’Connell Thanks! |  |
 Dear Church Family, We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers lifted up for us during this time of cancer treatments for me. Many nurses at Goshen General ICU Units thought the Caring Card was a wonderful outreach from the congregation. Dear Friends, May God bless you! His love is truly shone through you, his people! Thank you for your many expressions of concern and especially for your prayers during the times before and during my husband’s surgeries. He will be returning to work unrestricted on August 1 and according to his doctor 100% cancer free. In Christian love, The BG Chapter of P.E.O. would like to thank you for the use of your facility for our joint chapter Founder’s Day meeting in May. Sincerely, A big THANK YOU to the Miller Endowment Committee for the well planned Jazz Service again this year. Thanks a lot for letting me celebrate my graduation party at the church. Thanks for all you do! It was such a joy to be back in church service on the 10th after such a long time. Vivian and I want to thank the church members for their prayers, cards, visits to hospital and in home, delicious food and to those who furnished transportation for medical treatment. We have come a long way and improving as time passes. Congratulations to Betsy and Eric Semple on the birth of their new grandson born in July. Food Collection: To help the ongoing food shortage at the Church Community Services Food Pantry, please bring something each Sunday: |  Ruth Ash June 30, 1912—June 15, 2005 Mary Jo Mow October 18, 1922—June 27, 2005 The Condolences of the congregation go to: Beginning Experience of South Bend (Michiana) is having a weekend for people who have lost loved ones through death or divorce. It is a weekend of ministry of healing for those who are hurting. The next weekend will be September 16-18 at Ancilla College near Plymouth. You may contact your pastor or call (574) 271-1699 or www.beginningexperience.org for more information. Steve Braden will be out of the office until Monday, August 8, on vacation. Gift for Jennifer Pitcher: If anyone wishes to contribute toward a farewell gift for Jennifer Pitcher, it’s not too late! Please make checks out to the church, mark them “Jennifer,” and turn them in by the end of July. Unfortunately, these gifts are not tax-deductible. Stenburg Bequest: A generous bequest from the estate of long-time member Frances Stenburg has been received in the amount of $180,000. The bequest is undesignated as to purpose, and the session is considering the best use of the funds. We are very grateful to Fran Stenburg – and encourage you, if you have not already done so, to include our church in your will!
Dear Friends in Christ, A Note from St. Paul’s...Jennifer, I would be remiss if I did not take a few moments to thank you and your entire staff for your leadership with the VBS program this year. Please pass along my gratitude to all who helped make the program a success. Again, my deepest gratitude to all of you, and we look forward to hosting the program next year. Please know we keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers. Jennifer, I cannot imagine what First Presbyterian will do without you. God be with you in all you do. Do you have a prayer concern? Newsletter Deadline |
July 31 | August 7 | August 14 | August 21 | |
| Preacher (8:00 & 10:30) | Steve Braden | Kathleen O’Connell | Steve Braden | Steve Braden |
| Bridge Preacher (9:15) | Kathleen O’Connell | Kathleen O’Connell | Steve Braden | Terry Wood |
| Liturgist | Suzanne Wyatt | Nancy Zoller | Andy McCaskey | Nancy Stetz |
| Special | | Communion | ||
| Greeters | John Holdeman Paul Steward | Jan Hormer Al Haimbach | Betty Rice Mary Ann Graves | Sydney Rieckhoff Richard Griffen |
| 8:00 am Ushers | Pat & John Van Dyke | Kay & Dale South | Kay & Dale South | Evelyn & George White |
| 9:15 am Ushers | Debby Wright-Hughes Katie Wright | Phyllis Warrick Nancy Whalen | Jeanne & Dave Van Putten | Linda & Bill Loftus |
| 10:30 am Ushers | Barbara Harman Jackie McCoy Paul Randall | Mary Jan & Rob Blanken Debra & Jeff Kaufmann | Alice Duncan Mary Ann Graves Phyllis Warrick Nancy Whalen | Lynnette, Nico, Ashley, & Allison Valentijn |
| 10:30 a.m. Music | To be announced | Jill Stoll Bob Decker | Sarah Schubert Katie Wright Bob Decker | To be announced |
| Hospitality Host | Jean & Jim Baxter | Mindy Suhr | Terry McCaskey | Ruth Linton Leslie Greising |
| Counters | Nathan Sailor Terry Bishop Bill Loftus | Dave Rice Bob Huber Troy Scott | Dave Rice Bob Huber Troy Scott Sailor | Dave Rice Bob Huber Troy Scott |
Beautiful colors were the tie-dye project for Kathy Wall (and a lot of Bob Wall’s help too!), but the hornets nest waited until the last group on the last night of tie-dying before attacking Kathy’s toes and feet. Although she was the “only” one affected, it was a VBS memory not soon forgotten. St. Paul’s youth, Amber Roberts, and several of our youth, Kelli Davis, Heather Freed, and Kelli’s friend, Jamika Morgan, all helped little peacemakers squirt bright colors on white shirts! Wow! They were so colorful and beautiful! Thanks all, and especially to Kathy for many extra hours of rubber banding, soaking, dyeing, washing, and drying. It WAS worth it all! They are awesome shirts! Thank you!
A lot of my appreciation goes to the First Pres behind-the-scenes staff. Aside from the “usual,” Terry cleaned up after my spilled gallon of milk (on linoleum, thankfully) and Patti cleaned up too much water after my overflowing sink (long story). Need I say more? Cinda is, and was, always ready to help, as well. She also helped several nights with registration. You guys are the best!
The Nursery was wonderfully staffed by Mary Freed and Leslie Gilpin. They planted little seeds of peace in the very little ones! Thank you! Hugs to our new friends at St. Paul’s UMC. This was the first time we joined forces and it was new ground for many! Pastor Bill Hemmig, his wife, Donna, as well as Co-Coordinator Kelly Noland, her mom, Diane Poplawski, their youth director, Chris Ulery, and youth, Amber Roberts were among our adults and youth through it all! Thanks!
Bring a munchie, side dish or dessert to share, and whatever you’d like to grill for dinner. Soft drinks will be provided. If you want something special, feel free to bring it.
Faith Mission would like to invite you and your congregation to attend a Community Prayer Night every third Wednesday of the month from 7-8:00 p.m. in the chapel located at Faith Mission on 530 South Main Street downtown Elkhart. The purpose of the meeting is to pray for the residents of Faith Mission and those in our city who are homeless or destitute. The Wednesday evening gathering will be dedicated to singing, praises, fellowship, testimonies and prayer.