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he First Family February 2019

Dear Family,

Happy February to you all!

Because Valentine’s Day lands in the middle of February, I want to reflect on love in this

letter. To do so, let’s look at the book of 1 John to teach us about love. I’m only going to

scratch the surface with a few truths here, so I encourage you to read 1 John sometime (or

many times!) this month.

Love begins with God. 1 John gives us the famous, and perhaps simplest, description of

God: “God is love” (4:16). Love is not just something God speaks or does, it is God’s identity.

Every other characteristic of God: creative, just, mighty, redeeming, forgiving, etc. can all

be viewed and understood through the lens of love.

God loves us; indeed, God loves the world (John’s Gospel explains that in a verse you may

have memorized). The greatest sign of God’s love was shown in the loving actions of Jesus:

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that

we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). God’s love is shown in action.

Now, we love. We reciprocate God’s love to God and others. “Beloved, let us love one an-

other, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John

4:7). Did you notice the first word here? Beloved. Your most fundamental identity is rooted

in God’s love for you. God loves you, and God created you with the ability to love.

Love demands action. Like God’s love, our love is not limited to words: “Little children,

let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18). In fact, if our

words and actions do not line up, we are not loving well, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and

hate their brothers or sisters, are liars” (1 John 4:20). We must love those around us if we

want to claim that we love God.

Perfect love casts out fear. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear...We

love because he loved us first” (1 John 4:18-19). When we recognize God’s love for us, fear

begins to melt away. We see through the words of those who provoke fear. We live a life of

courage in the face of our own fears. God’s love - perfect love - casts out fear. While the love

we show one another is not perfect, our love can point others to God’s perfect love.

At First Presbyterian, let’s be a family that recognizes and dwells in God’s love, which calls

us to love others and casts out any fears that would keep us from loving others.

Love, Drew

Published Monthly

THE FIRST FAMILY PAGE 2 PUBLISHED

A Word from Session Martha McMahon

The Session held its first meeting of 2019

on Tuesday, January 22. Audrey Cum-

mings shared a devotion about trust. She

began by noting that people who walk out

on the Grand Canyon Skywalk [a glass

walkway that hangs over the Grand Can-

yon] are trusting those who designed and

built the Skywalk. Audrey said God is

calling us to take bold steps as we contin-

ue in a time of transition, and, citing Isai-

ah 41:10 and Romans 8:28, added that we

need to trust God and follow those calls.

The Session also: (1) reviewed First Pres-

byterian finances for 2018; (2) prepared for the annual Congregational meeting

scheduled for January 27, 2019 after Worship; and (3) discussed other activities

and events.

Sunday school is for K-5 grades.

The first two Sundays of the month are Sunday

school upstairs with Carolyn, Josh and David

following the children's message.

Weeks 3 and 4 are down in the youth room play-

ing games or learning memory verses.

If there is a fifth Sunday in a month, the children

will stay in church.

Monthly Themes for Winter

January Worship God Alone

February God First

March Have the Right Priorities

April Jesus’ Death Brings Life

THE FIRST FAMILY PUBLISHED

Sun 3 Communion Service—10:30 am

Sun 3 Coffee Hour in Horte Hall—11:30 am

Sun 3 Weighted Blankets Mission Planning—11:45 am

Sun 3 No Youth Group —Go Patriots!

Mon 4 Ladies Bible Study—7:30 pm at Michele Owens’ house

Tue 5 Worship Committee Meeting—7:00 pm

Wed 6 Children’s Choir Dessert and Rehearsal—6:00 pm

Wed 6 Bible Study—6:30 pm

Thu 7 Adult Choir Rehearsal—7:30 pm

Fri 8 First Ladies Fare—9:00 pm at Niko’s Restaurant, 948 Broad St.,

Weymouth

Sat 9 Rebecca Oji’s Memorial Service—1:00 pm at Conley Funeral Home,

138 Belmont Street, Brockton

Sat 9 Galentines Day—2:00 pm

Sun 10 Worship Service—10:30 am

Sun 10 Coffee Hour in the Parlor and in Horte Hall—11:30 am

Sun 10 John Adams HealthCare Center Worship Service - 2:00 pm

Sun 10 Youth Group —6:00 am

Mon 11 Property Committee Meeting—7:00 pm

Tue 12 CE Children’s Meeting—7:15 pm





FEBRUARY HAPPENINGS


Sun 17 Coffee Hour in Horte Hall—11:30 am

Sun 17 Nominating Committee Meeting —12:00 pm


Mon 18 Women’s Bible Study—7:30 pm at Liz Archambault’s hou

Tue 19 Deacons Meeting —7:00 pm




Sat 23 Kid’s Fun —3:00 pm


Sun 24 Coffee Hour in the Parlor and in Horte Hall—11:30 am


Mon 25 Handworkers’ Group—7:15 pm

Tue 26 Session Meeting —7:00 pm



Mon 28 Deadline for March First Family Articles


FEBRUARY HAPPENINGS continued

In order to help make our church the safest, friendliest

place for all our congregants, we have adopted a “nut free”

policy for foods served at First Presbyterian events. If you

bake or bring a treat to church - either for yourself or to

share with others - please just make sure it does not in-

clude nuts or nut products.

THE FIRST FAMILY THE FIRST FAMILY PUBLISHED PAGE 5

Mark Your Calendars!

Saturday, March 30, plan to attend our silent auction & concert fundraiser for the capital

campaign. It will be held in Horte Hall and will feature performers from our congregation

and the surrounding area. We are excited to welcome new friends to our stage as well as

familiar faces/voices.

We will also need items for the silent auction. In the coming weeks, we will have a table in

Horte Hall where you can stop and get ideas and sign up to donate things. Theme baskets

like garden, tea, Italian dinner, children’s game, relaxation, or craft are welcome. (Check out

Pinterest for ideas!). Handmade items, jewelry, crafts, gift cards, kitchen gadgets, plants,

beauty supplies, hostess items, decorative items, children’s toys or clothes, and games are

just a few ideas to get you thinking. All items should be new; but, it’s also a great time to

regift an item you’ve been storing in your closet. Or perhaps you want to start downsiz-

ing...or you’ve been reading Marie Kondo’s book on decluttering! If you have a question

about something, just ask us about it!

For those of you who feel you just aren’t sure what you can donate, we will have index

cards of things we need, and you can pick up a couple of those. We will also be having a

bake sale that evening, so we will need lots of homemade goodies to sell.

This will also be an excellent opportunity to invite your friends to come to Horte Hall. Our

goal is to fill the hall with people who will enjoy the concert and bid on the items! Please

be watching for information about the silent auction and concert the next few weeks so

you can get involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Allen Thomas,

Vicki Karns, or Martha McMahon.

Karen will be warming up in Florida the week of March 2—9.

She will be back in the church office on Monday morning, March

11.

If you need to speak with Pastor Drew, please call ahead to

check his availability.


December 31, 2018 TREASURER'S REPORT

Dec-18 YTD 2018

Tithes $53,636.50 $259,616.34 Regular Monies

Manse Rent $3,200.00 $17,600.00

Church Rent $3,500.00 $25,150.00

Designated Budgetary Giving $1,062.23 $15,009.50

Other $200.00 $6,948.00

Operating Revenue $61,598.73 $324,323.84

Designated Non-Budgetary Giving $26,357.38 $33,627.38 Special Monies In

Deacons Fund $759.00 $2,722.00

CE Youth Fund Raising $240.00 $5,724.09

Capital Campaign $1,220.00 $12,299.00

Investment Income -$14,226.95 -$8,217.86

Total Revenues $75,948.16 $370,478.45 Net YTD Exp.

Dec-18 YTD 18 Expense Annual Budget as % Budget

Committee Expenditures

CE Adult $0.00 $30.00 $200.00 15%

CE Children $207.39 $417.64 $2,250.00 19%

CE Youth $144.47 $3,168.62 $5,000.00 63%

Fellowship $231.51 $351.51 $300.00 117%

Missions $1,975.00 $24,125.00 $26,800.00 90%

Property $10,362.79 $92,889.82 $91,900.00 101%

Worship $300.00 $3,689.42 $4,500.00 82%

Personnel $12,580.99 $137,602.29 $153,895.00 89%

Stewardship $0.00 $374.63 $566.00 66%

Presbytery (Per Capita) $947.34 $11,368.06 $11,368.00 100%

Session $0.00 $93.00 $100.00 93%

Women/Men's Ministries $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 0%

JOY $100.00 $100.00 $100.00 100%

Outreach $0.00 $0.00 $100.00 0%

Marketing/Publicity $0.00 $0.00 $100.00 0%

PNC $0.00 $6,176.87 $7,500.00 82%

Total Operating Expenditures $26,849.49 $280,386.86 $304,679.00

Net Inflow/Outflow $34,749.24 $43,936.98

Designated Non-Budgetary Expense

Restricted Funds: Special Monies Out

Deacons $2,724.42 $4,294.55

Capital Campaign Expense $1,368.94 $27,138.05

Youth Funds Raised $0.00 $7,125.58

Other $0.00 $33,796.80 (Malawi wells, Building, etc.)

Note: Restricted Funds are not included in YTD totals above

Account Balances as of Report Date

Operations Accounts: $70,193.97

Charles Schwab Investment Account: $274,143.99

Campaign Accounts: $957.74

Total Assets $345,295.70

Presbytery Loan Balance: -$105,017.19

THE FIRST FAMILY PUBLISHED MONTHLY

Bible Study

Sermon on the Mount

“One cannot simply read the Bible, like other books. One must be prepared really to enquire

of it. Only thus will it reveal itself. Only if we expect from it the ultimate answer, shall we re-

ceive it. That is because in the Bible God speaks to us. And one cannot simply think about

God in one’s own strength, one has to enquire of him. Only if we seek him, will he answer us.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

At worship on Sundays from now until Easter, the sermons will explore the

Gospel of Matthew in its entirety. That means that some very important and

very rich passages will only have our focus one or two weeks. For the Sermon

on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), only a few sermons does not do justice to this cru-

cial passage. So, we’ve decided to use Wednesday nights to explore the depths

of Jesus’ important, and perhaps most famous, teaching.

Schedule:

Date: Topic (Spiritual Practices during Lent) Scripture:

January 16 Introduction and the Beatitudes, part 1 Matthew 5:1-5

January 23 Beatitudes, part 2 Matthew 5:6-12

January 30 Salt and Light Matthew 5:13-16

February 6 You have heard it said...Part 1 Matthew 5:17-30



February 27 Prayer Matthew 6:1-8

March 6 NO BIBLE STUDY ASH WEDNESDAY

March 13 Lord’s Prayer (Prayer and Forgiveness) Matthew 6:9-15

March 20 Wealth (Stewardship and Simplicity) Matthew 6:16-24

March 27 Do not worry (Examen and Mindfulness) Matthew 6:25-34

April 3 Don’ts (Confession and Fasting) Matthew 4:1-6

April 10 Dos (Intercessory Prayer and Service) Matthew 7:7-14

April 17 God’s Word (Lectio Divina and Meditation) Matthew 7:16-29

THE FIRST FAMILY PUBLISHED MONTHLY

Just a few notes from the Worship Committee for you to

put on your calendars for early March. Easter is late this

year, so Lent will begin on Wednesday March 6th with our

Ash Wednesday service at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. This is

a unique service of reflection and prayer, along with the

traditional ceremony of ashes. If you have never attend

this service, try it out – many find it to be very meaning-

ful. Please note, there will be no Children’s Choir or

study group that evening.

Also, rehearsals for Gospel Night will begin on Thurs-

day, March 14th, from 7:30 to 8:45pm in the Choir

Room. Gospel Night is our annual “fun” concert and a

great opportunity to reach out to our friends outside the

church. We haven’t settled on a date yet, but it will be

on a Sunday evening in May. We need extra singers

who may not be able to sing with the choir every Sun-

day for this event. Please join us if you can. Rehearsal for regular Sunday an-

thems will follow, from 8:15 until 9 pm.

Worship Notes

THE FIRST FAMILY PUBLISHED MONTHLY PAGE 9

Rev. Dave Thom with the Cambridge Roundtable

www.cambridgeroundtable.org

Rev. Dave Thom is an MIT Chaplain responsible for coordinating the Cambridge

Roundtable.

To date, hundreds of Harvard, MIT, BU and Tufts professors have engaged in Roundtable

faculty-seminar dinner-discussions. Roundtable seminars are dedicated to fostering dia-

logue that explores the intersection of academic and Christian thought on issues related to

science and religion. Scholars from a variety of departments and specially-selected clergy

are invited: the result has been that a diversity of academic and religious and non-

religious views are represented.

Featured Mission of the Month

Hello Ladies,

We've all heard of Valentines

Day...but who's ready for

"Galentines"?! Grab your BFFs

and join us for a fun and indul-

gent day of luxurious spa treat-

ments and fabulous food at our

Galentines celebration. All

women are invited to Horte Hall at First Presby to try some classic spa favorites

(like aromatherapy with essential oils, skin-softening treatments, and nail wraps,

to name but a few), chill out with a classic girl-power movie, and nibble on deli-

cious tea sandwiches, desserts, and a variety of hot teas to keep you warm and

toasty. If you like, wear your robe and slippers and come make-up free; we are

ready for fun with just the girlfriends this time around. The event is free, but some

items will be for sale if you try them out and would like to take more home.

ALL WOMEN ARE WELCOME, so invite your friends and family! SATURDAY,

FEB 9, from 2-4 PM. Any questions, please ask someone from the Membership

and Community Engagement Committee, or email [email protected]. Hello,

http://www.cambridgeroundtable.org/

mailto:[email protected]


February has arrived and with it brings

snow, cold, Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl.

January passed with just one snow storm and we still had Church

thanks to those who shoveled and salted the parking lot.

Kid’s day was January 5th and the games were led by Ashely

who did a great job. Who knew spaghetti, Vas-

eline, cotton balls and marshmallows could be so fun! The pizza and

cookies were a special treat and all agreed there should be another fun

game day so it’s scheduled for February 23rd.

I’ll be there for sure.


Have you had Coffee hour in the Parlor? There are quite a few people

enjoying having a cup of coffee and a treat after church in the parlor.

It’s a little quieter and no stairs for bad knees. Thank you for those peo-

ple who made it possible. I found I can visit both if I start in the parlor

and then scoot downstairs for a crumb or two, but hoping a cute little

guy did not use a cell phone to video me scooping up the cookie crumbs!

Speaking of thanks, do you know how those announcement slides are

done every Sunday? Well it’s Vicki who gathers all the information, and

creates the pictures and slides. Zeke and I catch up on the week’s news

while Vicki works on the slides. Thank Vicki!

Alison was telling Karen about the Galentine’s day

party and that it’s for ladies so I won’t be attending, but it sounds like

fun. There will be fabulous food, spa treatments to try, a chic flick, and

hot teas to sip. Too girly for a mouse like me.

So glad Allen and Janan are home from Lebanon and there’s a new

choir member, hello Sandra !


I went with Kaleb to Dave & Busters on January 27th for appetizers

and games with the youth group. Lots of arcades and good food. The

Hankinson brothers and other teens challenged

each other and some played a virtual reality game. Pastor Drew joined

the group and he plans to go to Berea in March too.

I hope I get to go to Berea with the group. Not everyone

is a Patriots fan, but for those who are

Send a Valentine to a friend, a soldier, a student or a senior.

Love, Franklin

Committee Chairs

CE Adult Sue Parker

CE Youth Brenda Fernandez/

Steve Fitzgerald

CE Children Sherry Dalton

Stewardship Com. Glo Murray &

Melissa Pillone

Fellowship Committee

Membership and Janan Thomas

Community Engagement

Missions Committee Don Murray

Nominating Committee Vicki Karns

Personnel Committee Dan Clarke

Property Committee Duncan Parker &

Fred Malczuk

Worship Committee Allen Thomas

BIRTHDAYS!

We are a Christian family of faith, empowered by the Holy

Spirit to glorify God, to proclaim His Word, and to grow

together in Christ.

Elders

2019 Vicki Karns

Linda Peterson

Martha McMahon (Clerk of Session)

2020 Ashley Lynch-Mahoney

Chukwu Oji

Carolyn Thompson

2021 Dan Clarke

Audrey Cummings

Alison MacDonald

Fred Malczuk

Deacons 2019 Minyanga/Pacharo Mede

Glo Murray

Melissa Pillone

2020 Patsy Lynch

Carol Maver

Duncan Parker

2021 Chris Barnett

Maureen Ryan (Chair)

PUBLISHED MONTHLY THE FIRST FAMILY PAGE 13

Rose Thackaray 1

Nanci Myers 3

Genji Barnett 4

Rebecca Dinsmore 9

Barb Hefler 10

Hanley Callahan 18

Lisa Krasinski 20

Minyanga Mede 21

Pam del Pino 22

Izadora Lenna 22

Liz Archambault 24

Timothy Cole 28

Nathaniel Kuchambi 1

Hazel MacDonald 5

Sam Luong 5

Michelle Riley 5

Mary Ann Fernandez 7

Jesse Southworth-

Mahoney 7

Early March

A Special

Thank You to

Don Murray

for sharing his

beautiful

photographs

with us.

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