May 2017 Page 1

Inside This Issue…

Youth Sunday 1 Seeking Wisdom 1 Summer Hours 1 Gnagy Gnews 2 Confirmation 3 Calendar 4 Caring Ministry 5 Connecting with Presbytery 6-7 Christian Education 8-9 Blankets+ 10 Cake Walk 10 Presbyterian Women 10 Food Pantry Hours: Tuesday 11AM-12PM and 6:30-7:30 PM

Newsletter of the Marcellus First Presbyterian Church Main & North Streets, Marcellus, NY 13108

315-673-2201 May 2017

SEEKING WISDOM We Make the Road By Walking

A Bible Study for Those Seeking to Deepen Their Relationship with God

Saturday, May 6, 2017 - 10:00 - 11:30 AM - Fireside

Room Led by Dr. Ginny Smith

On Saturday, May 6, 2017, Seeking Wisdom will contin-ue its spiritual journey using Brian D. McLaren's book entitled We Make the Road By Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation. This month we're on to chapter 22, "JESUS THE TEACH-ER." The Scripture readings for this chapter are taken from Proverbs 3:1-26 and the prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34 in the Old Testament and from the New Testament gospel Mark 4:1-34. At the beginning of the chapter we'll be discussing, McLaren writes: "Who was Jesus? People in his day would have given many answers - a healer, a troublemaker, a lib-erator, a threat to law and order, a heretic, a prophet, a community organizer. His friends and foes would have agreed on this: he was a powerful teacher. When we scan the pages of the gospel, we find Jesus teaching in many dif-ferent ways." The last gathering until September 9 will be June 10.

We hope to see you!

Morning worship service begins at 9:30 am starting Memorial Day weekend (May 28th) through Labor Day weekend (September 3th)

YOUTH SUNDAY-MAY 21ST We are looking forward to celebrating our youth on Sunday, May 21st, as we close out another Sunday School year. It’s hard to believe that summer is approaching so swiftly and that classes will be wrapping up at the end of May! We have had a wonderful year with all of the children at MFPC and are eager to involve them once again in our worship service as we celebrate all the energy and talent that they bring to our congregation. Please plan to join us for what promises to be a lovely morning.

May 2017 Page 2

Gnagy Gnews

What a joy to receive the members of the confirmation class as active members of the church! Sandy Manciocchi and Pastor Pam have met with them over the past weeks, exploring faith, the church, and what it means to join a Presbyterian church. It is good for all of us to be reminded of what this means! From our Book of Order, section G-1.03: “In Jesus Christ, God calls people to faith and to membership in the Church, the body of Christ.” There is only one requirement to become a member: “A congregation shall wel-come all persons who trust in God’s grace in Jesus Christ and desire to be-come part of the fellowship and ministry of his Church” – and to extend the fellowship of Christ to all persons. “Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is a joy and a privilege. It is also a commitment to participate in Christ’s mission. A faithful member bears witness to God’s love and grace and promises to be in-volved responsibly in the ministry of Christ’s Church.” Specifically, this includes:

• proclaiming the good news in word and deed, • taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation, • lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support, • studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life, • supporting the ministry of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents, • demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church, • responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others, • living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of

life, • working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment, • participating in the governing responsibilities of the church, and • reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one’s membership, and considering ways in

which one’s participating in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful.

As we welcome our new members: Colin Arnett, Abby Ray, Rob Seeley, and Aiden Stasik, may we also renew our commitment to the church and to one another, sharing the fellowship of Christ. Grace and peace, Pastor Pam

May 2017 Page 3

Confirmation Sunday This Sunday, April 30th, our confirmation students will have the oppor-tunity to spend a little time with members of Session in the morning, then be confirmed in front of the congregation during the regular service. Sandy Man-ciocchi has done a wonderful job with these students over the last several months and we are extremely grateful for her dedication and service to our youth! Thank you, Sandy, and congratulations to Colin Arnett, Aiden Stasik, Rob Seeley and Abby Ray on completing your confirmation course and exploring your personal faith journeys.

Left: Abby Ray Below, Left to right: Colin Arnett, Aiden Stasik; Rob Seeley

May 2017 Page 4

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

7 pm Mission

Interpretation

Meeting

2

10 am—Noon

Open Office

Hours

3

8 pm AA Meeting

4

7:30 pm Choir

Rehearsal

5 6

9 am Zumba

10 am Seeking

Wisdom

7-Communion

10 am Worship

10:30 am Sunday School

8

7 pm Board of

Deacons Meeting

7 pm Building &

Grounds Meeting

9

10 am—Noon

Open Office

Hours

10

11:30 am PW

Luncheon

8 pm AA Meeting

11

7:30 pm Choir

Rehearsal

12

13

9 am Zumba

14—Happy Mother’s Day

Blankets+ Sunday

10 am Worship

10:30 am Sunday School

15

7 pm Fellowship

and Outreach

Meeting

16

10 am—Noon

Open Office

Hours

17

8 pm AA Meeting

18

7:30 pm Choir

Rehearsal

19

20

9 am Zumba

21—Youth Sunday

Food Pantry Sunday

10 am Worship Led By

Our Youth

22

7 pm Session

Meeting

23

10 am—Noon

Open Office

Hours

24

8 pm AA Meeting

25—Ascension

of the Lord

7:30 pm Choir

Rehearsal

26

27

9 am Zumba

28—Summer Hours Begin

9:30 am Worship

29 - Happy

Memorial Day

Office Closed

30

10 am—Noon

Open Office

Hours

31

8 pm AA Meeting

May 2017

May 2017 Page 5

Communion To Shut-Ins

The Deacons coordinate the offering of the Sacrament of Holy Communion to the homebound on Sundays that we celebrate the Sacrament in worship.

If you are homebound and would like to receive Communion, please call the Church Office, 673-2201, or Deb Swankey, Moderator of the Deacons, at 673-1403.

CONNECTIONS

Connections is published the first of each month by the Marcellus First Presbyterian Church. Deadline for materials is the 23th of the month preceding the month of publication. Submit materials and address changes to Church Office.

Marcellus First Presbyterian Church

PO Box 147, 1 East Main St. Marcellus, NY 13108 Phone: 315-673-2201

e-mail: office@marcelluspc.com website:

www.marcelluspresbyterian.com Worship: 10:00 AM Church School: 10:30 AM Views expressed are those of the authors and not official positions of the Session, unless noted.

Food Pantry Hours Tuesdays

11 am - 12 noon & 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Caring Ministry

IN OUR PRAYERS…

...Jean Reichard

...Lynn Rice

...Hank Bartholomew and family

...Gwenn Rice

...Jan Linderman

...Tony Lombardo

...Roger Hakes

...Mike Caster

...Vicky Clark

...June Gnagy

...Betty Olley

...Our Armed forces worldwide

...Victims of natural disasters

...Our friends & loved ones in need The Deacons

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Bob Farrell 5/01 Bob Laird 5/02 Amanda DeSantis 5/04 Don Kral 5/05 Sonya Muncy 5/08 Lisa Baker 5/09 Peter Hakes 5/09 Emily O’Neil 5/11 Jack Rice 5/11 Kristin Horyl 5/11 Lucas Edmond 5/11 Harriet Stalker 5/13 Joyce Norris 5/16 Carol O’Brien 5/18 Sarah Hohl 5/19 Diana Brown 5/19 Trevor Costa 5/20 Ruth Oliver 5/21 Sarah Raite 5/23 Carol Goodno 5/23 Tim Sweet 5/24 Philip Gooden 5/26 Rob Beyel 5/26 Sandy Redzikowski 5/27 Roxana Novak 5/28 Daphne Goldacker 5/29 William Cole 5/29 Kailyn Winoski 5/30 Phyllis Palmer 5/31

Worship Attendance

April 2 76 April 9 92 April 13--Maundy Thursday 9 April 14--Good Friday 50 April 16-Easter 133 April 23 61 April 30

Easter Breakfast

Thank you to everyone how helped with the East-er Breakfast. We were able to donate $175 to the Marcellus Food Pantry.

May 2017 Page 6

MFPC and Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery Need You

Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery has determined that Marcellus is eligible to elect three commissioners to Presbytery. This came about because the goal is to have equal numbers of Teaching Elders (TEs) and Ruling Elders (REs) in the council. Marcellus First has 3 Teaching Elders in the Presbytery: Pastor Pam, Ginny and Richard Smith. Presently we are short of Ruling Elders from our church, and we are hoping that some of you would step up and be our commissioners.

In case you do not know what is involved, here is information about what the Presbytery is and does:

* The Presbytery covers Onondaga, Cayuga, Oswego and part of Madison counties.

* There are presently 38 worshipping communities, including 37 church congregations and Isaiah's Table.

* This Presbytery does not have an Executive Presbyter (EP) and that work now falls upon the Leader-ship Team which meets up to 12 times per year, various committees or working groups, and our Stated Clerk/Communicator (the Rev. Steve Plank).

* There are Presbytery meetings 4 times per year alternating between late Tuesday afternoons and Saturdays.

* The Presbytery receives reports from the officers and from working groups; accepts new TEs or retire-ments; votes on overtures and concerns relating to the whole Presbytery or individual churches.

* The Presbytery is not so much a regulating council as it is a body of all the churches to support and assist each other to make sure that we are all witnessing, and preaching the word of Christ properly and to assure that our churches are truly communities of faith, hope and love.

* The other half of Presbytery responsibilities is to forward our concerns to higher councils such as the Synod of the Northeast or General Assembly if appropriate.

What would be required of you as a Ruling Elder Commissioner (not necessarily presently active) is to let Pastor Pam know that you are interested and to ask further questions. It would be best to volunteer for at least a year, review the papers that you would receive before each of the 4 meetings, attend as many of the 4 meetings as you can and be prepared to vote on actions that might require your vote. It is important to remember that you are a commissioner from our church, not a representative. The Session does not tell you how to vote. You vote as your conscience tells you to vote as a representative of God.

Being a Commissioner to Presbytery will help you understand what our greater church is doing and ex-periencing. Maybe more importantly, you will meet many people from other churches, and realize that our sister churches are doing similar things as our church, facing similar problems, and working in ways that we may not have thought about, but could. This is an opportunity that would be good for you to take advantage of, and we hope you do.

May 2017 Page 7

Are you interested in being connected with people from other Presbyterian churches? According to our Book of Order, the “mutual interconnection of the church through its councils is a sign of the unity of the church” (G-3.0101). We are all called to share the task of bearing witness to Jesus Christ – it is the call of all believers. We do that in our own church, but we also do so in the large circle of churches – presby-tery, Synod of the Northeast and the national General Assembly. We are all members of the church of Jesus Christ, and we support one another and celebrate with one another, nurturing a “covenant com-munity of disciples of Christ, living in the strength of God’s promise, and giving itself in service to God’s mission” (G-3.0101). We are seeking Ruling Elder Commissioners to be involved at the Presbytery level, attending meetings, interacting with others from churches both large and small, and helping to live out our task of being Christ’s church together. Anyone who has been ordained as a Ruling Elder is eligible – you do not need to be currently serving on the Session. Charlie Smith, who has been active in several councils of the church, has written an article explaining what is involved and inviting you to consider this. Talk to Pas-tor Pam if you are interested! You do not need to be commissioner to attend Presbytery meeting; (only to vote.) All are invited to attend! Our next meeting on Saturday, May 20, at First Presbyterian Church of Auburn will include:

• Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.; Call to Order at 9:30 a.m. • Noon: Chicken Bar-B-Q lunch with sweet corn and a salad buffet ($7) • 1-3:00 p.m. An opportunity to meet Doug Pagitt, the author of the book “Flipped” and have a con-

versation about seeing new possibilities of God’s action in the world and our own ways of living as communities of faith. (See Pastor Pam for a copy of the book.)

• Tours of Willard Chapel ($5) and Seward House ($8) at 4:00 p.m. • Evening gathering from 7-9:00 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church for anyone interested in

an interactive, multimedia conversation with Doug Pagitt about the changing spiritual landscape of the United States and how people of faith can create pathways of connection, belonging and change.

Left: Willard Chapel Above:Doug Pagitt and Flipped

Connecting with Presbytery

May 2017 Page 8

Christian Education

Youth Calendar April 30 Lesson/Confirmation May 7 Lessons/Children’s Sunday Prep 14 Children’s Sunday Prep 21 Children’s Sunday Service (Last day of formal Sunday school/youth group, but informal activities will be communicated to parents directly. Play room will be open for all kids from infant-4th grade and nursery care will continue until the end of June.) June 25 Graduation Sunday!

Baltimore Woods Service Project Our spring service event has been scheduled for SATURDAY, May 6th from 10:30am-3pm at Baltimore Woods. We will be working with the Executive Director, Whitney Lash-Marshall, on projects ranging from trail and garden maintenance to removal of invasive species at various locations on the property. If the weather is atrocious, we will try to find a rain date! Whitney will be there to direct our workers and help us as needed. Participants will just need to bring a bagged lunch and a water bottle, and we will plan to meet up for a picnic lunch together around 1pm. The Rays will bring extra drinks and snacks to share. Please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for outdoor work and the weather that day. If it’s not too hot, I’d suggest wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt to minimize the risk of bringing ticks home with you! Everyone should do a tick check when they get home, too. This service activity is appropriate for all ages and family members are invited to partici-pate, as well. The more hands we have, the more we can do for the folks at Baltimore Woods (who rely heavily on volunteers), and I know it will be very much appreciated. Let Allison Ray know if we can expect to see you there!

May 2017 Page 9

Easter Festivities Palm and Easter Sundays were wonderful once again this year at MFPC. On Palm Sunday, our youngest children processed through the church waving their palm fronds during the first hymn, getting us all into the spirit of that morning. Then the kids met in the Fireside Room to make palm crosses that were then distributed to the congregation members at coffee hour. Charlotte, in particular, impressed us all with how quickly she picked up on making the beautiful little palm crosses on her own! Easter was a blessed morning at our church, too. Many thanks go out to the volunteers who made it possible for the annual Easter breakfast to happen once again this year. In particu-lar, the Jirouseks went out of their way to help with organizing the event, preparing the food, and even setting up and decorating Shinaman Hall the day before Easter, despite their travel plans later that same day! Additionally, many other volunteers and bakers worked that Satur-day and on Easter Sunday to make sure that we all had a lovely breakfast and time for fellowship before our special Easter service. These things can’t happen without the work of many, and it was very much appreciated! During the breakfast, we had a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids throughout the sanctuary and the classrooms. Amazingly, EVERY egg was collected (along with one they found from last year)! Pictured are Abby and Joanna Ray, along with their cousins, Ellie and Timmy Yap, and Bella, Nicki Arnett-Burke and Mike Burke’s adorable granddaughter.

Christian Education

May 2017 Page 10

MARCELLUS FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH P.O. Box 147 Marcellus, NY 13108 Address Service Requested

Please use P.O. Box 147 when corresponding with the Church

Presbyterian Women

P.W. will meet in the Fireside Room at 11:30 am on May 10th. Bring your lunch. A bever-age will be provided. Jackie Davies

Cake Walk -- Olde Home Days

It's almost that time of year again. Please start thinking about making those cakes for our annual cake walk. Let's try and make it bigger and better this year. Remember, all proceeds go to the Marcellus Food Pantry. This year the Cake Walk will again be a part of the Marcellus Olde Home Days on June 3. More details will follow in the weekly bulletins.

ALL YOU GRADU-ATES!!!

We will be collecting pictures and a brief bio on all graduates again this year for our June newslet-ter. The bio can include where and when they are graduating, what they have accomplished and what their future plans are. The deadline will be May 22nd. Please call Sandy in the office if you need help or have any questions. 673-2201 or office@marcelluspc.com

Blanket Sunday In 2016, donations to the Church World Service Blankets+ program sup-ported over 3000 individuals who lost their homes to tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters in the United States alone. Worldwide, over 237,000 kits (hygiene, school, baby and clean-up) and blankets were distributed to areas as diverse as Honduras,Serbia, Syria and Angola. Our congregation received an Honor Certificate for our 2016 donations. This Mother's day, May 14, 2017, we will again be collecting money for the Blankets+ program. We hope you will give generously to help families who have lost everything rebuild their lives and support people struggling against crushing poverty and harsh climates.