Good News May 2019

Artwork by Jacelynn Macias

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

“Easter” comes from an old English word related to dawn and shining. At

Easter we stand in light of the resurrection to see a new creation, trans-

formed by the grace and glory of God. We celebrate the presence and power

of the risen Christ in his church, proclaiming his good news through Word

and Sacrament. We rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is the “Lord and

giver of life.” In the fullest sense, Easter is a new way of life, in which we are

“dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11)

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Easter refers not only to a single day, but to a whole season of celebration in

the Christian year. The season of Easter spans the fifty days between the

Resurrection of the Lord and the Day of Pentecost. The seven weeks of the

Easter season make up a “week of weeks” (seven times seven): a symbol in

time of the fullness and abundance of God’s grace. In this most joyful sea-

son, we celebrate the great mystery of faith-that Jesus Christ is risen from

the dead.

(Excerpts from the Book of common Worship)

Church Easter Egg Hunt

An egg hunt was held on Easter Sunday after services and the atmosphere of celebra-

tion started during our joyful worship overflowed into the

church grounds as the young (and some young-at-heart)

members searched for treasures.

Breakfast Egg Hunt

Our Community Breakfast Program serves a free, hot, homemade breakfast each

Sunday morning to everyone who comes. Many families in our city attend this

meal regularly and have become a part of the FPC family. An egg hunt was held

on Easter for our breakfast community, and the joy on the

faces of the children made everyone smile!

Transitional Minister Search

With prayer and careful consideration the session, along with the Com-

mittee on Ministry from Presbytery, has discerned that God is leading

our church to search for a transitional minister. Please continue to pray

for our church and the session as they seek to discover the person of

God’s choosing to lead our congregation at this time.

Work Day Success!

The Property & Maintenance ministry would like to thank everyone who came to

the workday on April 20. We had about 10 people who helped with trimming

bushes and hedges, weeding flower beds, weed eating, cleaning the gutters, and

blowing debris off the roof. Some inside jobs got accomplished too. All of this

would not have been able to take place without the help of so many members

willing to sacrifice their Saturday to come help. Our church grounds look great

due to all of the hard work. If anyone sees an area of the church that is in need of

repair or cleaning up, please let Joe Pennington know so P&M can address the

problem. Thank you for your help.

Our Day of Service

As part of our Lenten Season Celebration, FPC sponsored a "Day of Service " on March 30th. We assembled hygiene kits for Church World Services-, which is affiliated with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and is one of the agencies supported by the One Great Hour of Sharing

Offering. Our church purchased hygiene items in bulk at discount from Ferncliff. The finished kits were shipped to locations that have suffered widespread disasters. Agencies that fight homelessness and poverty also have access to these free kits. Praise God for all the willing

souls who came to help as we shared God’s love with our neighbors in need!

Everyone is invited to a Cinco de Mayo lunch

after worship next Sunday, May 5th!

Come, celebrate the holiday with us and enjoy great food and fellowship. Its

not a potluck; You just need to bring yourself, your family, and friends! We'll

have a taco/taco salad bar, guacamole, salsa, cheese dip and more. The

Christian Education Ministry is raising funds for camp scholarships (see info

about one such camp below), so donations are welcome. We hope to see

you and your family there!

Ferncliff Family Camp

What a great way to strengthen families and build lifelong bonds between

Christians in a positive, welcoming atmosphere of worship and learning!

Activities include swimming, hiking, archery,

sling-shots, creek walk, family portraits, farm

and garden tour, service projects, arts and

crafts, carnival, square dance, campfires, night

swim, boating, fishing, sand volleyball, and fun

interactive worship. Go to https://ferncliff.org/

about-camp/summer-programs/family-camp/

for more information. Image: https://ferncliff.org/

Congratulations!

Sean Hacker, son of Maurita Hacker and grandson of

Melinda Hacker, will be graduating from Cabot High

School on May 17th at Verizon Arena. We will recognize

his accomplishment during worship on May 12th and will have a reception

for him after church. Join us for this celebration and speak a word of encour-

agement and guidance to Sean as he embarks on this new phase of life!

New Monday Night Book Study Begins May 13

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis will be the next book study. Everyone is wel-come to join in the fun, fellowship and great discussion. The group meets at church at 6:30 on Mondays. Here is a short summary of the book from BookRags.com: “Written in the form of letters, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis is an amusing and insightful correspondence between a sen-ior devil, Screwtape, and his obstreperous and incompetent nephew, Wormwood, a "young fiend." All of the letters are from Screwtape to Wormwood, and the subject of the correspondence is a human be-ing, newly converted to Christianity, whom Screwtape refers to as "the patient." Throughout the correspondence, Screwtape tries to help Wormwood tempt the patient away from Heaven and into Hell. He encourages his nephew's successes, suggests various and devious ways to enter the man's thoughts and influence

him, and berates Wormwood for his failures as the man begins attending church, goes through various ups and downs of faith, falls in love with a Christian girl, and is called to service in the War. All in all, the letters and "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," the last chapter of the book, are a witty and cautionary commentary on the state of the modern human soul.

An FPC Member Reaches Out to Those Behind Bars

On June 6-9, I will again be serving at another Kairos. This is a prison minis-

try at the McPherson Unit in Newport. I could use your help in several dif-

ferent areas. First of all, we deliver cookies to all the inmates at the prison so

I need to collect 35 dozen cookies. They must be store bought and cannot

contain fruit or be coated with powdered sugar. Secondly, prayer is a huge

part of Kairos. Our prayer chain is a group of people who sign up to spend ½

hour praying for the success of the weekend and the individuals attending.

I have time slots from Saturday at midnight until Noon on Sunday. We create

a paper chain of brightly colored links with the first name of all the people

who are praying and the chain extends around the room. As the chain encir-

cles the room, the residents are quite literally enveloped in God’s love. This

is a big deal to the participants. They are amazed at all the people who care

to pray for them without even knowing them. It makes them feel special and

loved—some of the women have very little of this in their lives. Thirdly, it

costs around $7000 to fund a weekend. All the staff members contribute,

but additional funds are needed.

You have been so supportive of this mission in the past and I appreciate

it. Please let me know if you can help in any of these areas.

Karen Finney 501-605-7186

Image: http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/

Call for Housing for University of Ozarks Singers

The University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, will have its Chamber Singers choir touring near us! First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville has agreed to host the choir for a spring tour concert on Monday, May 20, at 7 p.m. in their sanctu-ary. The choir director, Dr. Jonathan Ledger, has contacted us asking if we have 2-3 families in our church that would be willing to attend the concert and host

a couple of our students overnight in their homes on that Monday night. This would greatly help ease the housing burden on the Methodist Church and would support our young brothers and sisters as they use and sharet heir God-given talents. If you can help, please contact Mary Jane or

leave a message on the office phone at 501-982-2876. Thank you!

Upcoming Guest Speakers

In May we will be welcoming The Rev. Dr. Leslie Belden, Mary Jane Fischer,

The Rev. Dr. Bill Branch, and Jeannie Price to the pulpit. Please pray for these

speakers as they bring us important messages from God’s word, and for our

congregation as we prepare our hearts to receive them.

April Offerings/Attendance

A p r i l 7 : $ 2 3 7 6 . 0 0 / 4 0 A p r i l 1 4 : $ 2 0 6 2 . 0 0 / 4 3 A p r i l 2 1 : $ 1 8 7 5 . 0 0 / 4 3 A p r i l 2 8 : $ 1 9 8 9 . 0 0 / 3 4

One Great Hour of Sharing Offering : $375.00!

Our New Website

An enormous THANK YOU to Amy (Matthews) McCann for working on a website

for the church! She will be continuing to finalize it. Check it out:

https://firstpresjax.com

Prayer Requests Please pray for Sue Long, sister-in-law of Barbara Monroe, who is undergoing treatments for cancer.

David Boyd has been experiencing intense vertigo. Please join us in praying for this to be correctly diagnosed and solved. Please also continue to pray for Cindy Forester, David’s niece.

We continue to pray that Jeannie Price’s experience with an irregular and rapid heartbeat won't reoccur.

Please pray for relief for Michael Scroggins from ongoing sinus problems. Pray also for Amie Scroggins’ parents, Lynette and Jim Sanders, who are both recover-ing from surgeries—Lynette for her back and Jim for his knee. Amie and Michael also recently lost their beloved dog, Limo.

Prayers have been requested for all those suffering in the wake of severe storms.

Please pray for Donna Ellis’ continued recovery from back surgery.

Please pray for Sean Hacker as he graduates this month and begins a new phase of life.

Christie Bartelt still needs prayer as she continues her recovery.

Remember to pray with us for Michael Kouri and all prison ministries.

Elizabeth Pollard has recently had back surgery and her son Steven experiences ongoing health challenges. Please continue to pray for them both!

Please pray for Karen Finney as she serves at a Kairos Prison Ministry in June, and for people to help provide cookies, prayer, and funding for the event.

Continue to pray for Toni Holder about her job situation and her parents' health.

Please pray for the Solar Under the Sun team that are traveling home from Hon-duras, and for the farmers in Honduras who are suffering following a sharp drop in prices for the coffee beans they grow for their livelihood.

Prayer Requests, continued…

Jack Stone and Nancy Delgman of New Zealand are both fighting cancer.

Please pray for veteran soldier Travis Kasper, who sustained serious injury while on duty.

Please continue to remember all those in Jacksonville in need, and for God’s blessings on our city as a whole.

Amy Mishler is having a difficult pregnancy and is requesting prayer for herself and the baby.

Thank you for your prayers for Dana Kay Duggar, friend of the Schultzs’ and vol-unteer at the Military Museum; she is recovering well.

Mike Wilcox is battling cancer. Please pray for him and his family.

A community member named Dwana requests prayer for her grandmother, who is struggling to make ends meet.

Marsha Shell, friend of Barbara Matthews, is grieving her son, who died of cancer Saturday. Please pray God’s peace for this family.

Prayer has been requested for Matt and Katie Fischer; Frank, Elizabeth, Selena, Terri and Keith Lothery; Clay Terry; and Sarah and Gene Knight.

Praises for Answered Prayer

We praise God for the good progress of Brittnee Lynch, grand-daughter of Duke and Barbara Monroe, as she continues to re-cover well. Praise God for his care!

We celebrate with the family as Baby Violet (shown at birth, right), a preemie who was born with complications and brain hemorrhaging, has been cleared to go home this week!

We are thankful for your prayers for Amie Scroggins, who has recovered steadily following her surgery.

PLACE STAMP HERE

Contact Us

1208 West Main St.

(501) 982-2876

firstpcjax@gmail.com

firstpresjax.com

First Presbyterian Church

1208 West Main Street

Jacksonville, AR 72076

If you are receiving this newsletter by mistake or would rather get one at the church in person, please let

us know. If you know of someone who would like to receive this newsletter in the mail, please call us at

501-982-2876. God Bless You!

May the Christ who walks on wounded feet walk with you. May the Christ who serves with wounded hands stretch out your hands to serve. May the Christ who loves with a wounded heart open your heart to love. And as you leave this place, may you see the face of Christ on everyone you meet, and may everyone you meet see the face of Christ on you.