1054 West Clinton Street U.S. Postage PAID
Elmira, NY 14905 Permit No. 470
July 7, 2010 Elmira, NY
Return Service Requested
PRES CLIPPINGS
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life – not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving – not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness – not by our seeming greatness.” – William Arthur Ward
Dr. Betsey R. Crimmins, Pastor Robert Dumas, Music Director
Barbara Squires, Clerk of Session Gary Tucker, Organist
Jane Tucker, Financial Secretary Scott Kelley, Instrumental Director
Susan Weaver, Asst. Financial Secretary Joan Ostrander, Director of Child Care
Dawn Thomas, Church Secretary Paul Kirschke, Church Sexton
Church Office (607) 734-1614
Visit our website: www.firstpreselmira.org
PRES CLIPPINGS – July 7, 2010Dear Friends in Christ,
Holy Word Vacation Bible School and Kidshine Performing Arts Day Camp were a smashing success! Praise God! Thank you, God!
Remember, we haven’t had a VBS in several years, so in many respects we were starting from scratch. In addition, we had never worked with Kidshine before, so there was no positive reputation in our community on which to draw. Furthermore, we went out on a limb with Kidshine. To fulfill the contract with Kidshine, we had to register at least 35 kids in the camp; otherwise it would be a breach of contract. Without the 35 kids, the camp would be cancelled; we would have to pay the Kidshine organization the $3500 contract fee and still refund parents their fees – all of which was a very unhappy prospect in the year of a major budget deficit. Fortunately, there was no breach of contract! There was no additional pressure put on the budget. We stepped out in faith and made it!
I believe that God uses the work of those who step out in faith. God steps toward us when we step bravely and boldly toward God. In the end, we did what we set out in faith to do: to give kids an experience of the gospel and the love of God, and thereby to help them grow in faith as followers of Jesus.
To me one clear sign of the growth in faith happened Friday evening just before the final performance. The campers were in the Great Room, waiting for the three Kidshine staffers to come. When the Kidshine staff appeared, the 42 campers swarmed around the three adults, trying to give them hugs. When there weren’t enough adults for all the campers to hug, the kids started to hug each other. Love, joy and kindness are all fruits of the Spirit; those fruit were quite evident in that moment.
In total we had almost 60 kids involved: 42 Kidshine campers and 15 Holy Word kids. That’s quite an impressive number. In the days of preparation and in the course of the week, we had over 46 adult volunteers doing everything from donating snacks, teaching in VBS to supervising the lunch recess and a whole lot more. There were two churches involved: ours and The Park Church. There were also three organizations in town that lent their support. Talk about partnership! Jesus didn’t try to do his ministry all alone. Initially he called the 12 and later on he appointed 70. Likewise, we shouldn’t try to do ministry alone. Developing and expanding partnerships and teams is key to ministry in all areas of church life.
There’s another thing that we learned that needs to be applied in all areas of the church. We didn’t wait for people to step forward. We made a lot of personal contacts in order to invite kids to sign up for VBS and the Camp, and to invite adults to help out. The movie “Field of Dreams,” put the phrase, “built it and they shall come” into our culture. The truth of the matter is that the days of building it and they shall come are over. It takes personal contact in order to build the relationships whereby people will choose to be involved. There is no short cut around making the personal contacts. If we want to increase involvement in all areas of the church, we need to step up those personal contacts. After all, Jesus used nothing but personal contact to preach, teach and heal.
Another key to the success was that everything was laced with fun. I believe that fun and laughter bespeak the presence of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, it was hard, hard work; it would have been easy to get discouraged, especially in the weeks when registrations were slow to come in and some of the details were hard to nail down. Yet, the team kept encouraging one another. I believe that discouragement blocks the work of the Spirit. We need to keep up fun and to keep encouraging one another.
God’s power is made manifest and magnified in the challenges we face. I hope that you celebrate the magnificent way that God’s power and presence was so obvious.
Something really important happened in the life of our church last week. It was bold and brave. We can’t go back to business as usual. I hope and pray that we can continue to be bold and brave in everything that we do as a church.
Love and peace,
Betsey
THANK YOU to all who participated in Sunday’s worship service on June 27th, 2010, especially to…Karen, Adam & Emma Paro and Dawn Thomas for greeting and ushering…Sharon Gublo for being the lay reader…Patti Tucker for playing the French horn on the Anthem & Offertory…John Stanley and Ron Tunison for helping with the Children’s Sermon…and the Chancel flowers were provided “in Loving Memory of Elwin and Muriel Canis” from their children and grandchildren.
THANK YOU to all who participated in Sunday’s worship service on July 4th, 2010, especially to…Barb Cacciotti and Barb Furniss for greeting and ushering…Paul Hornbuckle for being the lay reader…Tom McCloskey for singing the Anthem & Offertory…Susan Stapleton for preparing the Communion elements…Elders Paul Hornbuckle, Barb Squires, Ron Tunison and Rob Stanton for serving Communion… and Joanne Tunison for setting up the coffee hour…and the Horton family for providing the Chancel flowers “in Loving Memory of Glen Horton”.
CHURCH OFFICE NEWS
Rev. Dr. Betsey Crimmins will be on vacation Saturday, July 11th through Saturday, July 17th. If you are in need of pastoral services during this time, please contact Rev. Ross Raymond, Pastor of Lake Street Presbyterian Church, at (607) 732-2680 (church) or (607) 733-6190 (home) or First Pres. church office at (607) 734-1614.
Dawn Thomas, Church Secretary, will be off on Fridays for the month of July and August. She will work Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
CHURCH FAMILY
Our prayers for healing extend to God on behalf of Paul Everson, Nancy Rehner and Marilyn Betschen who were recently hospitalized.
Congratulations to Lindsay Schamel and James Simmen, Jr. who were united in marriage on Saturday, July 3, 2010 at the Hector Presbyterian Church.
THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered their time, donated snacks or supported VBS or the KidShine program. The kids had a fantastic time! Last week the church was busy with giggles, laughter and a whole lot of fun!!
THIS WEEK’S SERVICE
Sunday, July 11th –9:30 a.m.
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost and Sacrament of Baptism
The Rev. Gilbert Mitchell will lead us in worship at 9:30 a.m. in the air-conditioned Hoffman Great Room. The Sacrament of Baptism will be celebrated. Katie Thweatt will play the flute. The greeters and ushers will be Barbara Horton and Paul Hornbuckle. The lay reader will be Jane Ivanick. The Chancel flowers will be provided by John Dytman. All are welcome to attend!! Childcare will be provided.
NEXT WEEK’S SERVICE
Sunday, July 18th– 9:30 a.m.
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and Two-Cents-A-Meal Sunday
The Rev. Dr. Betsey Crimmins will lead us in worship in the air-conditioned Hoffman Great Room. The Sacrament of Baptism will be celebrated as well as a Service of Member Recognition. The greeters and ushers will be Norm & Alida Schamel. The lay reader will be Robert Stanley. All are welcome to attend!! Childcare will be provided.
CALL TO A CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Elmira, NY will meet in the Hoffman Great Room on Sunday, July 18, 2010, immediately following the morning worship service. The purpose of the meeting is to elect one Deacon to the class of 2012 and three Elders to the class of 2012. ~ By order of Session, Barbara Squires, Clerk
TEA, TALK AND TREASURIES
The Finance Committee will meet with our endowment managers in late August. In anticipation of those two meetings, theFinance Committee will hold several discussion meetings for the congregation at large. The first one will be on Sunday service on July 25, 11:00 a.m. You are invited to join these discussions about the endowment, its use(s) and its investment strategy. Your questions will be gathered for presentation to the managers. You are also invited to attend the meetings with the managers. At the same time, the Finance Committee hopes to engage in dialogue with you about the 2010 budget, as a way of keeping you informed and hearing your ideas. Please join in for a review of the past, a report on the present, anda glimpse into the future.
CALLING ALL MUSICIANS!
You are invited to share your talent to the glory of God during worship on any of the summer Sundays between now and September 5. Please speak to Robert Dumas for further information or to sign up! ( or 315-719-5240).
SUMMER IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. That means that Pres Clippings goes on a summer schedule. Pres Clippings will be published every other week for the months of July and August. It will be published the weeks of July 19, August 2, 16 and 30. We will resume the every week publication schedule in September.
DIVORCE CARE and DIVORCE CARE FOR KIDS are a weekly Christian video-based seminars and support group for people who are separated or divorced and their children. These support programs are a 13 week seminar. The only cost is $12 for the workbook, which participants get to keep. The summer session has begun. Each session will be held on Monday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. A light dinner will be provided each week at 5:30 p.m. The Divorce Care topic on Monday, July 12th will be “Facing My Depression” and the topic on Monday, July 19th will be “Facing My Loneliness”. The Divorce Care for Kids will discuss similar topics. For more information or to register for DivorceCare, please call the church office at 607-734-1614. Pre-registration is not required. The group can accept participants at any time.
CIRCLE OF WOMEN will meet on Monday, July 12, at 11:40 a.m. at Charlie’s Café on Hoffman Street for lunch. If you’d like to join them, please RSVP to Eileen Kingsbury at (607) 732-7698.
FIRST PRES IS ATTENDING “SHARE YOUR FAITH NIGHT” on Friday, July 16th at Dunn Field to watch a Pioneers game (vs. Alfred) with fireworks after the game. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. (gates open at 6 p.m.) Tickets are only $3. To purchase tickets, please contact Barb Squires at or (607) 732-0202. All are welcome to attend!! Come join the fun!!
A new way for you to support First Presbyterian
TOPS Gift Cards are now available from the Church Office and from Paul Kingsbury. Why do you care? Because TOPS will give the church $5 for every $100 (5%) you spend atits stores - groceriesand gasoline.More good news: the giving costs you nothing. All you are asked to do is participate. Gift Cards are available in $100, $50 and $25 denominations. Checks and cash accepted. You are encouraged to participate in this substantial fund-raising program.
THE TWO-CENTS-A-MEAL OFFERING for the month of June 2010 was $71.32. Thank you, “The Penny Lady”.
FLOWER CHART HAS OPENINGS
Please consider this very special way of giving by signing up on the calendar posted opposite the kitchen. When it gets close to that week, Nancy Barr (732-7521) will contact you to see what you would like put in the bulletin and to discuss particular flowers and colors. The cost is $35 and your check should be made out to First Presbyterian Church. Available dates are July 18 & 25, August 1 & 8, and September 19.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT needs helpers and golfers. The date is Saturday, August 28 at 1:00 p.m. The place is Tomasso’s Golf Course. The cost is $60.00 per player (includes powered cart and supper). Sign up forms were in a previous issue of Pres Clippings. If you have any questions, please contact Mike or Rehana Stanley at (607) 732-6990.
CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES
Nicole Bujak graduated from Elmira College with a Master’s degree in Education.
Claire Metcalfe spent last year in Sweden as a Rotary Exchange student. She truly enjoyed her experience. She will be attending Corning Community College in the fall for graphic design and photography.