sermon series on prayer from the pastor: inside friday ......feb 10, 2020  · jesus welcomed...

12
and (often surprising!) direction of the Holy Spirit. As you might imagine, steady prayerfulness is central to being caught by the wind! I am excited to see what God does in our midst as the leader- ship reads through this book and discerns how God is moving among us, and certainly you are more than welcome to read the book alongside the leadership. Who knows what conversations, insights and prayers might be generated among us! You can order a copy of Sailboat Church on your own, or you can contact the church office by February 10, and we will place a bulk order. Copies through the church will cost $10, payable to First Presbyterian Church. Inside 2 Ash Wednesday Financial Report FPC Podcast February Celebrations 3 Prayer During Lent Flowers in Worship Head Deacon 8 All-Church Retreat 10 Mister Rogers 12 February Calendar Christian Education 4 LOGOS Sunday Jaime’s Column LOGOS February Themes 5 Adult Sunday School Other Education Opportunities 6 VBS 2020 “LEGO Kids” Youth Ministry 3 Souper Bowl Challenge 6 DL’s Column: DNOW February Youth Calendar Mission 7 Amplify Austin 8 The Caring Place Mission Sewing Fellowship 8 Men’s Fellowship Dinner Presbyterian Women Compassionate Care 2 Among Our People 9 Points from Parish Nurse Penny Workshop: Holistic Self Care for Caregivers Senior Seminar Save the Date February 2020 R R R OO OO OO OO OO TED. TED. TED. TED. TED. REF REF REF REF REF ORMED. ORMED. ORMED. ORMED. ORMED. RELEV RELEV RELEV RELEV RELEV ANT ANT ANT ANT ANT . . . G E O R G E T O W N , T E X A S FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FIRST WORD TV station WQED in Pitts- burgh, where “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was taped, spent 2018 hon- oring Fred Rogers’ legacy of 50 years of television. One TV spot, produced by Presbyterian Media Mis- sion, explained a side of Fred Rogers not as well known as his famous children’s tele- vision show—the fact that he was also an ordained Presbyterian minister. (page 10) From the Pastor: Sermon Series on Prayer Dear First Presbyterian Church Family, Earlier in January, the officers, trustees and church staff took time at the annual leaders’ retreat to pray and plan together. Truly, it was invigora- ting to see the energy, joy and creativity your leadership has! I also deeply appreciate the prayer- fulness of this group. The retreat began in a space of extended prayer as Joy Bedford, Dawn Bookert, Susan Isenhour, Penny Leone, Deb Pilcher and Kelly Ann Seaman creatively shepherded the leaders through a series of prayer stations. The retreat ended the following day in prayer— and that same theme will continue into the life of the church for much of this year. As you can read about it on page 3, there will be a sermon series on prayer during Lent (March 1 - April 5). As well, the leadership will be reading through Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice by Joan Gray (one chapter at a time, which will have us finishing in the fall). It explores the difference between what Gray calls “rowboat churches” that muscle their way forward and “sailboat churches” that harness the wind Blessings in Christ, F E B R U A R Y W O R S H I P 8:30 a.m., Sanctuary 11 a.m., Worship Center-Fellowship Hall Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert Preaching February 2: “The Foolishness of God” Communion/Home Communion Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Micah 6:6-8 February 9: “Repairer of the Breach” Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-16 February 16: “Coloring Outside the Lines” Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-26 February 23: “Champions of the Faith” LOGOS Sunday: Both services in WCFH February 26: “Blow the Trumpet” Ash Wednesday: 6:30 p.m., Sanctuary Scripture: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:1

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Page 1: Sermon Series on Prayer From the Pastor: Inside FRIDAY ......Feb 10, 2020  · Jesus welcomed children and so should the church, Fred believed. In fact, he said, “I think Jesus de-lighted

and (often surprising!) direction of theHoly Spirit. As you might imagine, steadyprayerfulness is central to being caught by

the wind!I am excited to see what God

does in our midst as the leader-ship reads through this book anddiscerns how God is movingamong us, and certainly you aremore than welcome to read thebook alongside the leadership.Who knows what conversations,insights and prayers might begenerated among us! You can

order a copy of Sailboat Church on yourown, or you can contact the church officeby February 10, and we will place a bulkorder. Copies through the church will cost$10, payable to First Presbyterian Church.

Inside2 Ash Wednesday

Financial ReportFPC PodcastFebruary Celebrations

3 Prayer During LentFlowers in WorshipHead Deacon

8 All-Church Retreat10 Mister Rogers12 February Calendar

Christian Education4 LOGOS Sunday

Jaime’s ColumnLOGOS February Themes

5 Adult Sunday SchoolOther Education

Opportunities6 VBS 2020

“LEGO Kids”

Youth Ministry3 Souper Bowl Challenge6 DL’s Column: DNOW

February Youth Calendar

Mission7 Amplify Austin8 The Caring Place

Mission Sewing

Fellowship8 Men’s Fellowship Dinner

Presbyterian Women

Compassionate Care2 Among Our People9 Points from Parish

Nurse PennyWorkshop: Holistic Self

Care for CaregiversSenior SeminarSave the Date

February 2020

RRRRR O OO OO OO OO O T E D .T E D .T E D .T E D .T E D . R E FR E FR E FR E FR E F O R M E D .O R M E D .O R M E D .O R M E D .O R M E D . R E L E VR E L E VR E L E VR E L E VR E L E VA N TA N TA N TA N TA N T.....

G E O R G E T O W N , T E X A S

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

FIRSTWORD

TV station WQED in Pitts-burgh, where “MisterRogers’ Neighborhood”was taped, spent 2018 hon-oring Fred Rogers’ legacyof 50 years of television.One TV spot, produced byPresbyterian Media Mis-

sion, explained a side of Fred Rogers not aswell known as his famous children’s tele-vision show—the fact that he was also anordained Presbyterian minister. (page 10)

From the Pastor: Sermon Series on PrayerDear First Presbyterian Church Family,Earlier in January, the officers, trustees andchurch staff took time at the annualleaders’ retreat to pray and plantogether. Truly, it was invigora-ting to see the energy, joy andcreativity your leadership has! Ialso deeply appreciate the prayer-fulness of this group. The retreatbegan in a space of extended prayeras Joy Bedford, Dawn Bookert,Susan Isenhour, Penny Leone,Deb Pilcher and Kelly Ann Seamancreatively shepherded the leadersthrough a series of prayer stations. Theretreat ended the following day in prayer—and that same theme will continue into thelife of the church for much of this year.

As you can read about it on page 3,there will be a sermon series on prayerduring Lent (March 1 - April 5). As well,the leadership will be reading throughSailboat Church: Helping Your Church RethinkIts Mission and Practice byJoan Gray (one chapter ata time, which will have usfinishing in the fall). Itexplores the differencebetween what Gray calls“rowboat churches” thatmuscle their way forwardand “sailboat churches”that harness the wind

—Blessings in Christ,

F E B R U A R Y W O R S H I P

8:30 a.m., Sanctuary

11 a.m., Worship Center-Fellowship Hall

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February 2: “The Foolishness of God”Communion/Home CommunionScripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31;

Micah 6:6-8

February 9: “Repairer of the Breach”Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-16

February 16: “Coloring Outside the Lines”Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-26

February 23: “Champions of the Faith”LOGOS Sunday: Both services in WCFH

February 26: “Blow the Trumpet”Ash Wednesday: 6:30 p.m., SanctuaryScripture: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17;

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:1

Page 2: Sermon Series on Prayer From the Pastor: Inside FRIDAY ......Feb 10, 2020  · Jesus welcomed children and so should the church, Fred believed. In fact, he said, “I think Jesus de-lighted

2 F I R S T W O R D

Income Pledges $883,428 $857,928 103% Other $82,035 $82,072 100% TOTAL $965,463 $940,000 103% Expenses Validated Mission $59,028 $58,771 100% Local/Other Mission $25,604 $25,992 99% Ministry of the Word $161,202 $154,072 105% Program/Support Staff $446,640 $436,538 102% Christian Education $33,407 $33,350 100% Music and Worship $19,717 $19,927 99% Evangelism/Care $5,050 $7,700 66% Property $104,743 $84,800 124% Stewardship/Finance $18,069 $18,000 100% Other Oper Expenses $39,202 $42,820 92% Debt Retirement $92,765 $90,370 103% TOTAL $1,005,427 $972,340 103%

2 Katie Bradford & Keith Brainard4 Radona & Jason Wagner14 Karen & Ray Rayburn18 Peggy & Tim Taylor19 Jaime & David Cowan27 Nancy & Bill Stramler29 Terri & Dennis Boroczk

2 Cindy ShanerDavid SiekmeierJoyce Walden

3 Leo Hulme-Lippert4 Collin Jones

Parker LittletonAmy PrattTanner Walden

5 Ramona Kissner6 Keith Smith

Judy Thomson8 Lou Brown

Elaine Caskey10 Kathy Jones11 Dana Hall

Anne Hoke12 Carole Alsup

Ruth McEntireCarolyn Stubblefield

13 Rob FullinwiderCheryl Jenkines

14 Bob AlbersDave HarrisonJack Smithwick

15 Vivian DavisWillie GibsonSarah HulseyJoe PorchChristina UngerLinda Walke

17 Margie Copsey18 Chris Spruiell20 Philip Smith21 Marty Brown22 Gail Butler

Chessa Rizzotto23 Chrystal O’Rourke

Nancy RobohnJudy Turnbull

24 Jeremy BaileyBridget Chapman

25 Jerri JonesAustin MorenoBen Pilcher

26 Lynn Azuma27 Nolan Pratt

Courtney Root28 Bob Duncan

Jim Root, Sr.Patrick Tolbert

In the hospital last month: Bob Albers(surgery), Bryan Bell, Gladys Brooking,Fred Cowen (surgery), Angie Harris (sur-gery), Bernie Lovejoy (surgery), DonnaNichols (surgery) & Joe Porch.

In memoriam: Sally Fortney joined the Church Trium-phant December 22. Services were heldJanuary 30. Sally had been a member ofour congregation since October 1987. Jay Shiffler joined the Church Trium-phant December 26. Services were heldDecember 29. Jay had been a member ofFPC since October 1996 and served as adeacon (1998-2000). Sakkie Goss joined the Church Trium-phant December 31. Services will be heldat a later date. Sakkie had been a memberof FPC since October 2014. Helen Douglass joined the Church Tri-umphant January 11. Services were Janu-ary 17. She had been a member of FPCsince June 1985, serving as an elder (1990-92) and many years as Mission Advocate.

Serving in the military: Col. Brian Burk,Larry Burk’s son; Maj. Josh Daleiden,Betty Bradford’s grandson-in-law; JohnDecker; Jared A. Gross, Robert Bedford’snephew; Brian Hall; Capt. DanielHammond, Keith & Sue Renard’s grand-son-in-law; Garrett Herbst; 1st Staff Sgt.Matthew L. Johnson, son of Glen & AnnKaiser; Brandon Keith, Phil & JeanneSmith’s son-in-law; Nicolaas Leloux; Tech.Sgt. Robert McClanahan, grandson ofMinta McIntosh and nephew of Lee McIn-tosh; Sgt. 1st Class Paul Rayburn; Nicho-las Stamos, Larry & Helen Burk’s grand-son; and Christian Winckel, grandson ofSandy Hayes.

ANNIVERSARIES

Boldface indicatesa member of

First PresbyterianChurch

BIRTHDAYS

Among Our People ASHWEDNESDAY

SERVICESanctuary6:30 p.m.

February 26

As we begin the Season of Lentin prayer, penitence and relianceon God’s grace, you are invitedto join us for a special serviceof scripture, meditation and

the imposition of ashes.

Income and Expense ReportYear to Date - December 2019

General Operating Fund

ActualAnnualBudget

YTD %AnnualBudget

FPC has started a podcast! It allows us to share audio recordings of weeklysermons and special services such as the cantata. We will also occasionally share specialmusic recorded in worship. These audio recordings can be accessed from your computer,smart phone or personal device such as iPad or tablet. Find and subscribe to our podcastat fpcgeorgetown.buzzsprout.com or by searching for FPC Georgetown, TX on ApplePodcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. These are also available under the Worship “Ser-mons” tab on the church website. If you have questions or need help accessing, contactJaime Cowan at the church office.

F I R S T W O R D 11

The most important thingthe church can offer chil-dren, Fred Rogers said, is“a place where they knowit’s OK to be a child.” Thismeans allowing time in theworship service to “appreci-ate what children mighthave to give.”

Jesus welcomed childrenand so should the church,Fred believed. In fact, hesaid, “I think Jesus de-lighted in the presence ofchildren.”

He based his work withchildren on the maxim,“Attitudes are caught, nottaught.” The best way tocultivate faith in children, hebelieved, is to “share ourown enthusiasm about whatwe believe.”

Instead of going to seminary after col-lege as planned, Fred got a job in the early1950s at a New York City TV station asfloor manager for network music pro-grams. Two years later in Pittsburgh heco-produced and was the organist andpuppeteer for a daily TV program “TheChildren’s Corner.” The experience con-vinced Fred he had a future in children’stelevision. “I realized that’s where my tal-ents were,” he believed.

In 1968 ”Mister Rogers’ Neighbor-hood” was born and it ran for 32 yearson PBS, until 2001. It became the longest-running program on public televisionuntil “Sesame Street” overtook it.

In the early 1960s, media staff at theUnited Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.began talking to Fred about developing achildren’s TV program as an outreach for

Email:[email protected]

Website:www.fpcgeorgetown.org

First Presbyterian ChurchDr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert

Pastor703 S. Church Street

Georgetown, TX 78626

FIRSTWORDpublished monthly by

Phone: 512-863-3381Fax: 512-868-1226

Presbyterian Historical Societyarchived article on Fred Rogers—https://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/remembering-mr-rogers

the denomination. But priorities shiftedand money for the project evaporated.

Reflecting the personality of its creator,Fred’s TV show was a stark contrast tothe quick-cut, MTV-style of other TV farefor children. Feelings—anger, fear, sadness,love and satisfaction—were the center-pieces of the program. While otherchildren’s shows focused on building cog-nitive ability, Fred tried to encouragechildren’s healthy emotional development.

Nurturing children in the Christianfaith is a challenge in today’s world, Rogersacknowledged. “There are so many forcesagainst it.” He was appalled by many ofthe things kids were exposed to in themedia. Particularly annoying to him weresituation comedies in which the lines spo-ken by child actors were “smart-aleckremarks and put-downs.”

“The connections we make in the course of alife: Maybe that’s what heaven is.”

“Discovering the truth about ourselves is alifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.”

“Anyone who does anything to help a child inhis life is a hero to me.”

“Little by little we human beings are confrontedwith situations that give us more and more cluesthat we are not perfect.“

“You rarely have time for everything you wantin this life, so you need to make choices. Andhopefully your choices can come from a deepsense of who you are. “

“Often when you think you’re at the end of some-thing, you’re at the beginning of something else.”

“When I was a boy and I would see scary thingsin the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Lookfor the helpers. You will always find people whoare helping’.”

“I’m fairly convinced that the Kingdom of Godis for the broken-hearted. You write of ‘power-lessness.’ Join the club; we are not in control.God is.”

“It’s a mistake to think that we have to be lovelyto be loved by human beings or by God.”

“In the external scheme of things, shining mo-ments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye,yet such twinklings are what eternity is made

of—moments when we human beings can say‘I love you,’ ‘I’m proud of you,’ ‘I forgive you,’‘I’m grateful for you.’ That’s what eternity ismade of: invisible, imperishable, good stuff.”

“One of my wise teachers, Dr. Orr, told me,‘There is only one thing evil cannot stand, andthat is forgiveness’.”

“If you could only sense how important youare to the lives of those you meet; how impor-tant you can be to the people you may nevereven dream of. There is something of yourselfthat you leave at every meeting with anotherperson.”

Wisdom from Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers:on children andthe church

Page 3: Sermon Series on Prayer From the Pastor: Inside FRIDAY ......Feb 10, 2020  · Jesus welcomed children and so should the church, Fred believed. In fact, he said, “I think Jesus de-lighted

F I R S T W O R D 3

follow how the Holy Spirit is leading us.Certainly we are in just such a season!

To this end, we will have a sermonseries focused on prayer during the sixSundays of Lent. Each week we willexplore a scripture that helps us appre-ciate a different aspect of prayer, andmost truly, a different aspect of Christand his call on our lives. March 1—Prayer as Seeing

(Ephesians 1:15-19) March 8—Prayer as Listening

(Ecclesiastes 5:1-3; 7) March 15—Prayer as Lament

(Mark 15:33-39) March 22—Prayer as Mission

(Luke 10:1-11) March 29—Prayer as Petition

(Matthew 7:7-11) April 5—Prayer as Praise

(Luke 19:37-40)

Notably, each Sunday a member ofthe congregation is providing an artis-tic interpretation of that week’s scripture-and-theme via the medium of theirchoice. I am grateful for Kelly Ann Sea-man, Robert Cravens, Eric Seaman, theSewing Ladies, Rachel Bondesen andBetty Smith for their creative offerings,and you can look forward to their artbeing shared in the church lobby areaduring the season of Lent!

Finally, know that throughout theseries we will have ways for you andyour family to grow in the practice ofprayer—both in worship and through-out the week. Some of those options in-clude weekly take-home bulletin insertsto guide you through prayer each week,a prayer labyrinth and musical offeringsthat invite prayerful openness and reflec-tion. More details will follow as we getcloser to the series!

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginningof an uprising against the disorder of theworld. —Karl Barth I am always impressed by the fact that it isrecorded that the only thing that the disciplesasked Jesus to teach them how to do was topray. —Howard Thurman Prayer is taking a chance that against all oddsand past history, we are loved and chosen,and do not have to get it together before weshow up. —Anne Lamott These three insightful quotes on prayer,taken together, tell me this: Prayer ispowerful, prayer is mysterious, andprayer is full of grace. Or, perhaps moreprecisely, prayer is all those things be-cause God is all of those things. And yet,as remarkable a gift as communicationwith our Lord and Savior Jesus is, weare ever-like the disciples: in need oflearning and growing in it. This is espe-cially true in seasons of active discern-ment when we seek to discern and

Flowers in Worship/February

Sgn up to donate flowersfor worship in 2020!Most people donate their arrangementafter the service to be used in ourFlower Ministry, which divides the ar-rangement into bud bases and re-giftsthem to our shut-ins and members inthe hospital. If you intend to takeyour arrangement home, pleasecontact either Kathy Jones (512-863-3012) or Betty Smith (512-869-6925).

Prayer During Lent

2 Katie Bradford & KeithBrainard

9 Karen & Ray Rayburn16 Jaime & David Cowan23 Marcia Ness

Sunday, February 2,is the last day for you

to bring your food itemsand monetary dona-

tions to helpour youth compete inMission Presbytery’s

Souper BowlSmackdown—a contest

to see which churchcollects the most by theday of the Super Bowl,

February 2.

10 F I R S T W O R D

In the March 1998 edition of Presbyte-rians Today, editor Eva Stimson wroteabout an interview she did with Fred,then 71, after his show had been on TVfor some 30 years. The information in thisstory is based on her article.

Three generations of children grew upwith “Mister Rogers.” What they mightnot have known is that, during his lunchbreak for eight years while working onchildren’s television programs, he tookBible and theology courses in the 1950s

As the film, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” plays in theaters around thecountry, audiences are celebrating the life of Fred Rogers (1928-2003). The belovedtelevision personality, puppeteer, author and musician—dressed in a red sweaterand sneakers—was best known for his program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”and asking, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” He talked frankly about feelings andinvited children to be part of his TV “neighborhood.” Less known about Fred is hisassociation with the Presbyterian Church. He was even approached by the churchat one time about developing children’s TV programming for the denomination.

at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Thiswas while working at WQED in Pitts-burgh, the nation’s first community-supported public television station.

He planned to go to seminary aftercollege but got sidetracked by a call towork in TV. A few years later seminarywas a way of undergirding his call to min-ister to children and their familiesthrough TV. ”I never in a million yearsthought I’d be on TV—that that wouldbe part of what I was supposed to do.”

In 1962 the PittsburghPresbytery ordainedFred Rogers with acharge to continue hiswork with children andfamilies through themedia. He never servedin the traditional roleof pastor, but throughtelevision he broughthis simple message ofaffirmation and accep-tance to a “congrega-tion” of millions.

Before taping a TVshow, he alwaysprayed to God: “Letsome word that is saidbe yours.” He firmlybelieved in “holyground,” which hedescribed as “the spacebetween the personwho is offering his orher best and how theHoly Spirit translatesthat to help anotherperson in need.”

Fred Rogers, the Presbyterian Churchand his unusual “ministry” to us all

Fred Rogers:nontraditionalminister

Head Deacon/February

8:30 Thomas IsenhourJudy Willett

11:00 Betty Anne PoeCheryl Dorothy

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4 F I R S T W O R D

C H R I S T I A N E D U C A T I O N

LOGOS Sunday features music and children“Champions of Faith” is the theme for thisyear’s LOGOS Sunday, February 23, whenLOGOS children will lead in the 8:30 and11 a.m. services, both of whichwill be held in the WorshipCenter-Fellowship Hall.

The theme is based on He-brews 12:1-2: “Therefore, sincewe are surrounded by so greata cloud of witnesses, let us alsolay aside every weight and thesin that clings so closely, and letus run with perseverance therace that is set before us, look-ing to Jesus the pioneer and per-fecter of our faith, who for the sake of thejoy that was set before him endured thecross, disregarding its shame, and hastaken his seat at the right hand of thethrone of God.”

Amy Pratt, Children’s Choir Director,said LOGOS has been studying eight Biblechampions: David, Joseph, Samuel, Debo-

rah, Esther, Daniel, Mary andMartha, and Barnabas.

Through songs and musicalactivities during the service, thechildren will help the congrega-tion experience the rich spirituallegacy of these championswhose lives of obedience provideworthy examples for children tofollow.

“This year, instead of pre-senting a musical, the kinder-

garten through 6th graders are using theirunique talents to lead in a more normalservice of worship,” she said. Pastor Bobbywill preach as usual, and the LOGOS 6thgraders will be liturgists.

LOGOS has started our spring semesterwith a bang! We’re having tons of funduring our regular Wednesday eveningprogramming, as well as planning forLOGOS Sunday on February 23. Be sureto read the article above from Amy Pratt,our Worship Skills Coordinator, to learna bit more about this day.

For those who aren’t as familiar withthis program, LOGOS is a midweek min-istry open to preschool through 6th gradechildren. Every Wednesday night, the kidsparticipate in four parts offering a “whole

child” approach to Christian nurture: BibleStudy, Recreation, Family Time (dinnerwith the church “family”) and WorshipArts. The goal of the program is to bringChrist to children, bridge the gap betweenchurch and community, and bridge the gapbetween children and adults (all while hav-ing tons of fun). Remember, you do notneed to have a child in the LOGOS pro-gram to help; you need only to love Godand love children! If this sounds like some-thing you would like to be a part of, pleasecontact me at [email protected].

—Jaime Cowan

LOGOS: FPC’s midweek ministry for children

“We have prepared andare rehearsing songs,some hand chime andinstrumental accompa-niment for hymns, askit, a ‘sound story,’photos and art for theservice,” said AmyPratt.

LOGOS Themes for February

2/05* Sports Night Sports Attire Sports Games(5th Wednesday)

2/12 Valentine’s Night Red & Pink Make Valentine Cards2/19* Stuffed Animal Night Bright Colors Stuffed Animal Portraits 2/26 Ash Wednesday LOGOS T-Shirts Ash Wednesday Service

*Youth eating with LOGOS

Date Theme Attire Game/Activity

Roscoe Seaman (below)was among the LOGOSkids and volunteers whoenjoyed exploring theirsuperpowers at LEGOSuperhero Night in January.

F I R S T W O R D 9

Points from Parish Nurse PennyPenny Leone, RN

Parish [email protected]

C O M P A S S I O N A T E C A R E M I N I S T R Y

Some thoughts about February,Heart MonthMost people know that February is HeartMonth because of love, cupids and theHeart Association naming it “HeartMonth.” Heart disease is the leading causeof death for men and women in the U.S.Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused byheart disease. Have you had a check-uprecently? Are you exercising?

Did you know that February 7th, theFirst Friday of February, is National WearRed Day®? On this day, men and womenare encouraged to wear red as a symbolof their support of women’s heart health.

And February 17-22 is Random Actsof Kindness Week (www.randomactsofkindness.org). “The positive effects ofkindness are experienced in the brain ofeveryone who witnessed the act, improv-ing their mood and making them signifi-cantly more likely to ‘pay it forward.’ Thismeans one good deed in a crowded areacan create a domino effect and improve theday of dozens of people!” This is from JamilZaki, Assistant Professor of Psychology,Stanford University, for Scientific American.

So this February, wear red, exerciseyour body, your soul and your spirit tospread God’s love!

Those of us whohelp others need totake excellent careof ourselves so wecan keep being in agood place to careand to be who Godis calling us to bein His world.

Eileen Priya, MS,MA, CAMQ, willpresent a mini-workshop at 7 p.m. Monday, February 17,in Room 101. This will focus on ways tocare for ourselves through a variety of ho-listic techniques that can be used in mul-tiple ways. Handouts will be provided andthere will be time to address other issueswith caregiving.

Eileen is passionate about supportinghelping professionals and caregivers intaking care of themselves so they can serveothers. She also has worked in the area ofbereavement for many years, developingholistic healing techniques for traumaticgrief. She has master’s degrees in educa-tion and counseling and certifications in

Workshop on holisticself care for caregiversis set for February 17

yoga, chi gong and several types of en-ergy healing. If you would like to readmore about Eileen, go to her website,www.glowenergyhealing.com.

While this free event is sponsored bythe Stephen Ministry program, everyonein the congregation and their friends areinvited to this workshop that will lastabout an hour.

Senior Seminar

Friends

For help with routinehome maintenace

& repairs,call the church office

to schedule a visitfrom one of

FPC’s Friends in Deed.

in Deed

The topic in February is“How Much Freedom DoYou Give up with Indepen-dent Living Facilities?” It isset for 10 - 11:30 p.m.Thursday, February 20, inthe sanctuary. Purpose ofthe Senior Seminars is toequip, educate and inspireseniors to make informedchoices and empowereddecisions concerning theirlifestyle goals.

The event is free but youare asked to call 512-818-0988 to pre-register so therewill be sufficient handouts.

Save the DateApril 20 is the SecondAnnual Senior VibrantLiving Conference here inGeorgetown. It is a one-dayopportunity to find outeverything you need to knowabout living a vibrant life inGeorgetown as a senior.

Last year there werespeakers, break-out ses-sions, booths, food and fun.More information will becoming next month!

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F I R S T W O R D 5

Surveyors “Soul Keeping” by John OrtbergThrough February 9, Room 207Bill StanleyThis video-based study explores the soulfrom the perspective of someone who hasstruggled to understand and care for hisown. Ortberg shares his honest, funny,moving, insightful and tender journey sothat we can better care for our souls. Theauthor has helped many Christians redis-cover their soul—the best connection toGod there is—and find out why it’s hurt-ing and why neglecting it has set back somany believers spiritually.

“Hosea & God’s Love”February 16 - March 8, Room 207Phil SmithIn Hosea’s message to Israel, we see God’samazing mercy, grace and love for hispeople, even in the face of constantunfaithfulness. We will consider the rel-evance that the prophet’s message has forus and our nation today.

Homebuilders“All the Places to Go” by John OrtbergThrough February 16, Room 112Karen JonesThe author opens our eyes to the count-less doors God places before us every day,teaches us how to recognize them, andgives us the encouragement to step out infaith and embrace all of the extraordinaryopportunities that await. (On the 23rd,Homebuilders will have fellowship time.)

Adult Elective “Three Influential Places in EarlyChristianity”February 2 - 16, Room 113Dr. Andy Dearman Feb. 2: Caesarea Maritima. A magnifi-cent port built on the Mediterranean coastby Herod the Great, the city was the pri-mary setting for Roman administration inPalestine, the place of Paul’s two-year im-prisonment, and the home of two of themost influential early Christians (Origenand Eusebius). Feb. 9: The Temple Complex in Jerusalem.Herod the Great refurbished and expandedthe sacred precinct in Jerusalem, makingit the largest sacred complex in the knownworld. It is central to the ministry of Jesusin Jerusalem and a primary institutionthrough which early churches understoodhis death and their corporate identity. Feb. 16: Masada and the First JewishRevolt against Rome. Not only was therevolt against Rome decisive for Jewishidentity, the tensions between Rome andJudaism influenced how the early churchspread and was itself persecuted by politi-cal authorities. The last stand againstRoman soldiers at Masada illustrates thepolitical and theological issues facing bothJews and Christians in the 1stcentury.

“Three 20th Century Confessions”February 23 - March 22, Room 113Guy & Cynthia GuidiciOn many Sundays, we stand together asa congregation to confess what we believe,using excerpts from the Book of Confessions.The confessions, Jack Rogers writes, “pointus to Christ and to the great themes ofthe Christian faith.” Join us to explorethree recent Confessions. What do theysay? What is their relevance for us? We’lllook at the history, content and interpre-tation of the Confession of 1967, a BriefStatement of Faith, and the Confession ofBelhar.Week 1: Overview of the ConfessionsWeek 2: The Confession of 1967Week 3: A Brief Statement of Faith (1991)Week 4: A Brief Statement of FaithWeek 5: The Confession of Belhar (1986/

2016)

Adult Sunday School: 9:40 - 10:40 a.m.Other Education

Opportunities

Men’s BreakfastBible StudyMeets every third Friday tostudy and reflect on thescripture readings for thecoming Sunday sermon.RSVP to David Lee Hulsey(512-863-3381, [email protected]) or CliffSnyder (512-468-2877,[email protected]).Time and place will be e-mailed to you.

Men’s LunchBible StudyMeets at 12 noon eachWednesday in Room 101 tostudy scripture and eatlunch together. They arestudying Jeremiah, led bySam Matthews.

Women’s LunchBible StudyBring your lunch and meeton Wednesday at noon inRoom 207 as we studyLent in Plain Sight, ADevotion Through TenObjects by Jill Duffield,beginning February 26.

God is often at workthrough the ordinary:ordinary people, ordinaryobjects, ordinary grace. Inthis devotional for theseason of Lent, Duffielddraws readers’ attention to10 ordinary objects thatJesus would have encoun-tered on his way to Jerusa-lem: dust, bread, the cross,coins, shoes, oil, coats,towels, thorns and stones.In each object, we will findmeaning in the biblicalaccount of Jesus’ finaldays.

Let Joy know if you arecoming by calling her at512-863-3381.

Crossroads, Room 107“Wired Word”Amanda & Patrick TolbertFrom Nobel Prize winners and governmentsurveillance to rock and roll, no week isever the same! The Crossroads class usesstories from the headlines to make God’swork in our lives more apparent. Eachweek brings a different discussion topic de-signed to confront the news with Scrip-ture and hope so that we may identify theintersection of faith in our daily lives.Whether you’re at the crossroads of an ex-panding family, new career or just won-dering what’s next in God’s plan for you,Crossroads is the place for you.

8 F I R S T W O R D

Greetings to all of youwonderful PW ladies.

As I write this, theweather has been a littlecooler, but spring is justaround the corner. ThePW board has begunplanning for our localPW Spring Gathering.Mark your calendar forSunday, April 19. Theboard is still workingon details, but we hopeyou will save the date. Iwill share an update onour progress nextmonth.

We are also busy withplans to host the PWAustin Cluster FallGathering here at FPCGeorgetown onSaturday, September 12.There is a planningcommittee for the eventheaded up by PW Co-Moderator BeverlyJones. It’s still open toanyone who isinterested in serving onthe committee with us.Just contact Beverly at956-873-2641 or [email protected].

—Blessings!Becky Hesson-Smith

Bradley to speak at Men’s Fellowship Dinner

F E L L O W S H I P

Address

Elizabeth 2/4 6:30 p.m. Theresa McKenna 512-930-3751 3601 Brangus RoadSarah-Ruth 2/10 10:00 a.m. Marietta Mugford 512-865-3954 1409 Olive StreetLydia 2/12 1:00 p.m. Alison Harrison 512-388-1812 3506 Citrine Place, RRMartha 2/19 9:30 p.m. Babs Cape 512-635-5431 104 Chickadee CoveRachel 2/19 9:30 p.m. Mary Jean Thorp 512-948-5460 115 Daisy PathHannah-Esther 2/19 11:00 a.m. Judy Bond 512-868-3487 402 South Ridge Circle

Circle Date Time Hostess Phone

PW Circle Meetings for February

“The Fine Tuning of the Universe: Evi-dence for the Existence of God?” is the titleof the presentation for this month’s Men’sFellowship Dinner. The group will meetthe fourth Monday (February 24) becauseof President’s Day being observed on thethird Monday. All men are invited to at-tend the meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.in Fellowship Hall, with dinner at 6:30,followed by the program at 7.

Speaker is Dr. Walter Bradley, and hispresentation addresses the very interest-ing question that a December 1992 Timemagazine cover story asked: “What doesscience tell us about the existence ofGod?” Data presented in the article seemedto support the idea that the more scien-tists learn through their scientific inves-tigations, the more their results seem tosupport belief in a creator God. Dr. Brad-ley believes that the second half of the 20th

century is full of scientific surprises oftenreferred to as the “fine tuning” of theuniverse. He will highlight the scientificdiscoveries that constitute the “fine tun-ing” and the contemporary implicationsof a “finely tuned universe.”

Dr. Bradley has a B.S. degree in engi-neering physics and a Ph.D. degree inmaterials science and engineering from theUniversity of Texas. He has taught at theColorado School of Mines, Texas A&MUniversity and Baylor University. He haspublished many articles and received morethan $6 million for government-fundedresearch projects. He co-authored The Mys-tery of Life’s Origin, Reassessing Current Theo-ries in 1984 and it was republished as asecond edition update on the origin of life.

If you plan to eat at the dinner, con-tact me (512-818-2094 or [email protected]) no later than February 22 to makea dinner reservation. Cost of dinner is $10per person. —Marv Hulshizer

September 18 - 20Mo-Ranch Hunt, Tx

Dr. Cindy RigbyGuest Speaker & Worship Leader

We hope you will go with us.Registration begins April 15.

All-ChurchRetreat - 2020

Visit moranch.org for more informationabout the Conference Center.

Would you like to help plan the retreat?Contact Joy Bedford, 512-863-3381

or [email protected].

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6 F I R S T W O R D

FPC youth set their sights on DNOW

Y O U T H M I N I S T R Y

for DNOW

Before the new year even began, a groupof youth leaders (including myself) wereworking on the vision for DNOW 2020.You might call it 2020 vision (I only havethis year to use the “vision” pun as manytimes as possible!). And it seemed all tooeasy to use the theme of vision for thisyear’s DNOW. So of course, we had im-ages of eye charts, clip art of glasses andplenty of Scripture referencing “sight.”

But we kept getting drawn away fromthe “perfect vision” idea. Instead, we weredrawn to the message of 2 Corinthians4:16-18, which focuses on what Paul de-scribes as the “unseen, which is eternal.”And so we now have our theme for thisyear’s DNOW, “Seeing Beyond,” where wewill focus on how we see ourselves, howGod calls us to see Him, and how we arecalled to see beyond this material world infront of us.

I look forward to this event every yearbecause it allows our students a chance toexperience an event they can recall as a step-

ping stone in their faith. It is an experiencethat encompasses worship, service, Biblestudy, fellowship and fun, and it crams itall into one weekend. Is it a ton ofwork? You bet! Is it worth it? Absolutely!I look forward to seeing beyond DNOWand how God will use this event to impactthe faith of our students and continue tobring about His Kingdom.

—God bless, David Lee

DNOW 2020 Theme: Seeing Beyond2 Corinthians 4:16-18

February 21 - 23FUMC, Round Rock

February YouthCalendar

2Last day to donate forSouper Bowl Challenge;Super Bowl Party at thePratts’

16BreadBreakers:Mac&Cheese Bar &Dodgeball

19DNOW Kick-Off

21 - 23DNOW Weekend

26Ash Wednesday Service

Drivers, meal providersand prayer partners

are needed.If you're interested

in helping,contact David Lee,

[email protected].

Come with us on aQuest for the King’s Armor!

Vacation Bible SchoolKinder - 6th Grade

June 8 - 12, 9 a.m. - 12 noon

Contact Joy Bedford for information: 512-863-3381, [email protected].

Registration begins April 1.

Be Be Be Be Be strongstrongstrongstrongstrong in thein thein thein thein the Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord andandandandandin the in the in the in the in the strength strength strength strength strength ofofofofof his powerhis powerhis powerhis powerhis power.....

—Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10

We had an amazing Leader Retreat. OnFriday evening, we participated in severaldifferent prayer stations. At my station, Ihad LEGOs—86 of them. On each LEGOwas the name of a child or youth on ourroster here at FPC. Each leader was givena LEGO and a guided prayer card so theycould continue to pray for their “LEGOKid.” I have 34 more LEGO kids to beprayed for. A basket in the lobby has enve-lopes that each contains a LEGO Kid andguided prayer.

If you would like to pray for a child oryouth, stop by and pick up an envelope. Ipray that the children and youth areblessed through your prayers. I know youwill be blessed for lifting them up in prayer.I told the leaders there is no ending: TheirLEGO Kid will need prayers for the rest oftheir lives. Thank you for taking good careof your LEGO Kid.

(LEGO kids should not be confused withDNOW Prayer Partners: they are two differentthings.) —Mrs. Joy

Your opportunityto pray fora “LEGO Kid”

F I R S T W O R D 7

M I S S I O N

Thanks for Hunger Free Holidays donationsWell, friends, we are now in a brand newyear and a brand new decade. So I want tomention a couple of things. First, you aredue thanks for helping with the HungerFree Holidays at The Caring Place. The goalwas 300,00 pounds of food, and the actualamount received was 421,263 pounds. Thatis spectacular! However, we must not sitback and enjoy it since there are many moremonths to go in this new year. As I havesaid before: As this community grows sodo the needs, so keep up the good work,please.

Here’s a little bit of information that Ithought was interesting: 1,860 or 25% ofdispatched calls are to homes of individu-als age 65 and older. And the calls pertainto falls and helping them up off the floor.We have a lot of people in that age categoryin our community. With this in mind, TheCaring Place is offering "A Matter of Bal-ance" class in the spring and fall for peopleage 60 and older. Many in our congrega-

tion have taken the class and found it help-ful. The thing to remember is that you needto keep practicing at home what is taughtin the class.

You might have heard that St. David'sFoundation has given $200,000 to TheCaring Place for the third year in a row,demonstrating that this is a well runorganization that fulfills its mission.

Volunteering is a worthwhile use ofyour time not only because it fills a needbut also because research has shown thatvolunteering impacts positively on yourmind and body. Why not try it. Call TheCaring Place at 512-869-4735, talk to RitaTurner and offer your free time. You willmeet many wonderful people there.

—Jenny Carswell

Food Pantry Needs: Canned pasta, rice/pasta mixes, baking mixes, juices, ketchup/mustard/mayo, shampoo/deodorant, laun-dry/dish soap and feminine hygiene items.

Amplify Austin Day is March 5-6, whenit’s possible for you to make a donation toyour favorite cause, charity and/or FPC-supported mission.

Amplify Austin provides an easy-to-usedigital marketplace connecting localdonors with area nonprofits all year longat AmplifyATX.org. It inspires people incommunities surrounding Austin to makea difference by connecting them withcauses they’re passionate about.

As we have done in recent years, ourchurch hopes to schedule some donationsto eligible charitable organi-zations that FPC supports.This will be during the Am-plify Austin fundraising day,from 6 p.m. March 5 to 6 p.m.March 6. In this way, wehope to take advantage ofthe partial matching funds

from the St. David’s Foundation and cor-porate sponsors.

Local organizations supported by ourchurch that can be found on the AmplifyAustin website include Austin Seminary,Brookwood in Georgetown (BiG), CASAof Williamson County, Faith in ActionGeorgetown, Hospice Austin, The CaringPlace, Manos de Cristo, Meals on Wheels(WBCO), and Presbyterian Children’sHomes and Services.

Individuals can donate to one or moreof these and many other worthwhile

causes by going to theAmplifyATX.org website,using the Search Box to findthe desired organization,and following the menus topay by Credit Card, ApplePay, Google Pay or Micro-soft Pay.

March 5 - 624 hours to crank up the giving

2020

Amplify Austin: Support FPC missions

Special guest Cindy Bauschlast month accepted ourdonation of four crochetedafghans for C.U.P.S., anecumenical Christianministry that strives toimprove the educational andhealth environment in ruralcommunities along theMexico-U.S. border.

Thank you to: Betty Smith for the stuffedanimals Linette Harwell, BarbaraCaudle and Lenice Smith-wick for the stuffed animals,blankets, and hats.

Ten sets of stuffed ani-mals, blankets and bookswere donated to the William-son County Children'sAdvocacy Center.

Special thanks to Mari-anne Welch for her generousfinancial contribution toMission Sewing. It will helpprovide many weightedblankets to residents at thePresbyterian Children’sHomes and Services.

Our next meeting will beat 10 a.m. Friday, February14, in Room 111.

Mission Sewing

Page 7: Sermon Series on Prayer From the Pastor: Inside FRIDAY ......Feb 10, 2020  · Jesus welcomed children and so should the church, Fred believed. In fact, he said, “I think Jesus de-lighted

6 F I R S T W O R D

FPC youth set their sights on DNOW

Y O U T H M I N I S T R Y

for DNOW

Before the new year even began, a groupof youth leaders (including myself) wereworking on the vision for DNOW 2020.You might call it 2020 vision (I only havethis year to use the “vision” pun as manytimes as possible!). And it seemed all tooeasy to use the theme of vision for thisyear’s DNOW. So of course, we had im-ages of eye charts, clip art of glasses andplenty of Scripture referencing “sight.”

But we kept getting drawn away fromthe “perfect vision” idea. Instead, we weredrawn to the message of 2 Corinthians4:16-18, which focuses on what Paul de-scribes as the “unseen, which is eternal.”And so we now have our theme for thisyear’s DNOW, “Seeing Beyond,” where wewill focus on how we see ourselves, howGod calls us to see Him, and how we arecalled to see beyond this material world infront of us.

I look forward to this event every yearbecause it allows our students a chance toexperience an event they can recall as a step-

ping stone in their faith. It is an experiencethat encompasses worship, service, Biblestudy, fellowship and fun, and it crams itall into one weekend. Is it a ton ofwork? You bet! Is it worth it? Absolutely!I look forward to seeing beyond DNOWand how God will use this event to impactthe faith of our students and continue tobring about His Kingdom.

—God bless, David Lee

DNOW 2020 Theme: Seeing Beyond2 Corinthians 4:16-18

February 21 - 23FUMC, Round Rock

February YouthCalendar

2Last day to donate forSouper Bowl Challenge;Super Bowl Party at thePratts’

16BreadBreakers:Mac&Cheese Bar &Dodgeball

19DNOW Kick-Off

21 - 23DNOW Weekend

26Ash Wednesday Service

Drivers, meal providersand prayer partners

are needed.If you're interested

in helping,contact David Lee,

[email protected].

Come with us on aQuest for the King’s Armor!

Vacation Bible SchoolKinder - 6th Grade

June 8 - 12, 9 a.m. - 12 noon

Contact Joy Bedford for information: 512-863-3381, [email protected].

Registration begins April 1.

Be Be Be Be Be strongstrongstrongstrongstrong in thein thein thein thein the Lord Lord Lord Lord Lord andandandandandin the in the in the in the in the strength strength strength strength strength ofofofofof his powerhis powerhis powerhis powerhis power.....

—Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10Ephesians 6:10

We had an amazing Leader Retreat. OnFriday evening, we participated in severaldifferent prayer stations. At my station, Ihad LEGOs—86 of them. On each LEGOwas the name of a child or youth on ourroster here at FPC. Each leader was givena LEGO and a guided prayer card so theycould continue to pray for their “LEGOKid.” I have 34 more LEGO kids to beprayed for. A basket in the lobby has enve-lopes that each contains a LEGO Kid andguided prayer.

If you would like to pray for a child oryouth, stop by and pick up an envelope. Ipray that the children and youth areblessed through your prayers. I know youwill be blessed for lifting them up in prayer.I told the leaders there is no ending: TheirLEGO Kid will need prayers for the rest oftheir lives. Thank you for taking good careof your LEGO Kid.

(LEGO kids should not be confused withDNOW Prayer Partners: they are two differentthings.) —Mrs. Joy

Your opportunityto pray fora “LEGO Kid”

F I R S T W O R D 7

M I S S I O N

Thanks for Hunger Free Holidays donationsWell, friends, we are now in a brand newyear and a brand new decade. So I want tomention a couple of things. First, you aredue thanks for helping with the HungerFree Holidays at The Caring Place. The goalwas 300,00 pounds of food, and the actualamount received was 421,263 pounds. Thatis spectacular! However, we must not sitback and enjoy it since there are many moremonths to go in this new year. As I havesaid before: As this community grows sodo the needs, so keep up the good work,please.

Here’s a little bit of information that Ithought was interesting: 1,860 or 25% ofdispatched calls are to homes of individu-als age 65 and older. And the calls pertainto falls and helping them up off the floor.We have a lot of people in that age categoryin our community. With this in mind, TheCaring Place is offering "A Matter of Bal-ance" class in the spring and fall for peopleage 60 and older. Many in our congrega-

tion have taken the class and found it help-ful. The thing to remember is that you needto keep practicing at home what is taughtin the class.

You might have heard that St. David'sFoundation has given $200,000 to TheCaring Place for the third year in a row,demonstrating that this is a well runorganization that fulfills its mission.

Volunteering is a worthwhile use ofyour time not only because it fills a needbut also because research has shown thatvolunteering impacts positively on yourmind and body. Why not try it. Call TheCaring Place at 512-869-4735, talk to RitaTurner and offer your free time. You willmeet many wonderful people there.

—Jenny Carswell

Food Pantry Needs: Canned pasta, rice/pasta mixes, baking mixes, juices, ketchup/mustard/mayo, shampoo/deodorant, laun-dry/dish soap and feminine hygiene items.

Amplify Austin Day is March 5-6, whenit’s possible for you to make a donation toyour favorite cause, charity and/or FPC-supported mission.

Amplify Austin provides an easy-to-usedigital marketplace connecting localdonors with area nonprofits all year longat AmplifyATX.org. It inspires people incommunities surrounding Austin to makea difference by connecting them withcauses they’re passionate about.

As we have done in recent years, ourchurch hopes to schedule some donationsto eligible charitable organi-zations that FPC supports.This will be during the Am-plify Austin fundraising day,from 6 p.m. March 5 to 6 p.m.March 6. In this way, wehope to take advantage ofthe partial matching funds

from the St. David’s Foundation and cor-porate sponsors.

Local organizations supported by ourchurch that can be found on the AmplifyAustin website include Austin Seminary,Brookwood in Georgetown (BiG), CASAof Williamson County, Faith in ActionGeorgetown, Hospice Austin, The CaringPlace, Manos de Cristo, Meals on Wheels(WBCO), and Presbyterian Children’sHomes and Services.

Individuals can donate to one or moreof these and many other worthwhile

causes by going to theAmplifyATX.org website,using the Search Box to findthe desired organization,and following the menus topay by Credit Card, ApplePay, Google Pay or Micro-soft Pay.

March 5 - 624 hours to crank up the giving

2020

Amplify Austin: Support FPC missions

Special guest Cindy Bauschlast month accepted ourdonation of four crochetedafghans for C.U.P.S., anecumenical Christianministry that strives toimprove the educational andhealth environment in ruralcommunities along theMexico-U.S. border.

Thank you to: Betty Smith for the stuffedanimals Linette Harwell, BarbaraCaudle and Lenice Smith-wick for the stuffed animals,blankets, and hats.

Ten sets of stuffed ani-mals, blankets and bookswere donated to the William-son County Children'sAdvocacy Center.

Special thanks to Mari-anne Welch for her generousfinancial contribution toMission Sewing. It will helpprovide many weightedblankets to residents at thePresbyterian Children’sHomes and Services.

Our next meeting will beat 10 a.m. Friday, February14, in Room 111.

Mission Sewing

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F I R S T W O R D 5

Surveyors “Soul Keeping” by John OrtbergThrough February 9, Room 207Bill StanleyThis video-based study explores the soulfrom the perspective of someone who hasstruggled to understand and care for hisown. Ortberg shares his honest, funny,moving, insightful and tender journey sothat we can better care for our souls. Theauthor has helped many Christians redis-cover their soul—the best connection toGod there is—and find out why it’s hurt-ing and why neglecting it has set back somany believers spiritually.

“Hosea & God’s Love”February 16 - March 8, Room 207Phil SmithIn Hosea’s message to Israel, we see God’samazing mercy, grace and love for hispeople, even in the face of constantunfaithfulness. We will consider the rel-evance that the prophet’s message has forus and our nation today.

Homebuilders“All the Places to Go” by John OrtbergThrough February 16, Room 112Karen JonesThe author opens our eyes to the count-less doors God places before us every day,teaches us how to recognize them, andgives us the encouragement to step out infaith and embrace all of the extraordinaryopportunities that await. (On the 23rd,Homebuilders will have fellowship time.)

Adult Elective “Three Influential Places in EarlyChristianity”February 2 - 16, Room 113Dr. Andy Dearman Feb. 2: Caesarea Maritima. A magnifi-cent port built on the Mediterranean coastby Herod the Great, the city was the pri-mary setting for Roman administration inPalestine, the place of Paul’s two-year im-prisonment, and the home of two of themost influential early Christians (Origenand Eusebius). Feb. 9: The Temple Complex in Jerusalem.Herod the Great refurbished and expandedthe sacred precinct in Jerusalem, makingit the largest sacred complex in the knownworld. It is central to the ministry of Jesusin Jerusalem and a primary institutionthrough which early churches understoodhis death and their corporate identity. Feb. 16: Masada and the First JewishRevolt against Rome. Not only was therevolt against Rome decisive for Jewishidentity, the tensions between Rome andJudaism influenced how the early churchspread and was itself persecuted by politi-cal authorities. The last stand againstRoman soldiers at Masada illustrates thepolitical and theological issues facing bothJews and Christians in the 1stcentury.

“Three 20th Century Confessions”February 23 - March 22, Room 113Guy & Cynthia GuidiciOn many Sundays, we stand together asa congregation to confess what we believe,using excerpts from the Book of Confessions.The confessions, Jack Rogers writes, “pointus to Christ and to the great themes ofthe Christian faith.” Join us to explorethree recent Confessions. What do theysay? What is their relevance for us? We’lllook at the history, content and interpre-tation of the Confession of 1967, a BriefStatement of Faith, and the Confession ofBelhar.Week 1: Overview of the ConfessionsWeek 2: The Confession of 1967Week 3: A Brief Statement of Faith (1991)Week 4: A Brief Statement of FaithWeek 5: The Confession of Belhar (1986/

2016)

Adult Sunday School: 9:40 - 10:40 a.m.Other Education

Opportunities

Men’s BreakfastBible StudyMeets every third Friday tostudy and reflect on thescripture readings for thecoming Sunday sermon.RSVP to David Lee Hulsey(512-863-3381, [email protected]) or CliffSnyder (512-468-2877,[email protected]).Time and place will be e-mailed to you.

Men’s LunchBible StudyMeets at 12 noon eachWednesday in Room 101 tostudy scripture and eatlunch together. They arestudying Jeremiah, led bySam Matthews.

Women’s LunchBible StudyBring your lunch and meeton Wednesday at noon inRoom 207 as we studyLent in Plain Sight, ADevotion Through TenObjects by Jill Duffield,beginning February 26.

God is often at workthrough the ordinary:ordinary people, ordinaryobjects, ordinary grace. Inthis devotional for theseason of Lent, Duffielddraws readers’ attention to10 ordinary objects thatJesus would have encoun-tered on his way to Jerusa-lem: dust, bread, the cross,coins, shoes, oil, coats,towels, thorns and stones.In each object, we will findmeaning in the biblicalaccount of Jesus’ finaldays.

Let Joy know if you arecoming by calling her at512-863-3381.

Crossroads, Room 107“Wired Word”Amanda & Patrick TolbertFrom Nobel Prize winners and governmentsurveillance to rock and roll, no week isever the same! The Crossroads class usesstories from the headlines to make God’swork in our lives more apparent. Eachweek brings a different discussion topic de-signed to confront the news with Scrip-ture and hope so that we may identify theintersection of faith in our daily lives.Whether you’re at the crossroads of an ex-panding family, new career or just won-dering what’s next in God’s plan for you,Crossroads is the place for you.

8 F I R S T W O R D

Greetings to all of youwonderful PW ladies.

As I write this, theweather has been a littlecooler, but spring is justaround the corner. ThePW board has begunplanning for our localPW Spring Gathering.Mark your calendar forSunday, April 19. Theboard is still workingon details, but we hopeyou will save the date. Iwill share an update onour progress nextmonth.

We are also busy withplans to host the PWAustin Cluster FallGathering here at FPCGeorgetown onSaturday, September 12.There is a planningcommittee for the eventheaded up by PW Co-Moderator BeverlyJones. It’s still open toanyone who isinterested in serving onthe committee with us.Just contact Beverly at956-873-2641 or [email protected].

—Blessings!Becky Hesson-Smith

Bradley to speak at Men’s Fellowship Dinner

F E L L O W S H I P

Address

Elizabeth 2/4 6:30 p.m. Theresa McKenna 512-930-3751 3601 Brangus RoadSarah-Ruth 2/10 10:00 a.m. Marietta Mugford 512-865-3954 1409 Olive StreetLydia 2/12 1:00 p.m. Alison Harrison 512-388-1812 3506 Citrine Place, RRMartha 2/19 9:30 p.m. Babs Cape 512-635-5431 104 Chickadee CoveRachel 2/19 9:30 p.m. Mary Jean Thorp 512-948-5460 115 Daisy PathHannah-Esther 2/19 11:00 a.m. Judy Bond 512-868-3487 402 South Ridge Circle

Circle Date Time Hostess Phone

PW Circle Meetings for February

“The Fine Tuning of the Universe: Evi-dence for the Existence of God?” is the titleof the presentation for this month’s Men’sFellowship Dinner. The group will meetthe fourth Monday (February 24) becauseof President’s Day being observed on thethird Monday. All men are invited to at-tend the meeting, which starts at 6 p.m.in Fellowship Hall, with dinner at 6:30,followed by the program at 7.

Speaker is Dr. Walter Bradley, and hispresentation addresses the very interest-ing question that a December 1992 Timemagazine cover story asked: “What doesscience tell us about the existence ofGod?” Data presented in the article seemedto support the idea that the more scien-tists learn through their scientific inves-tigations, the more their results seem tosupport belief in a creator God. Dr. Brad-ley believes that the second half of the 20th

century is full of scientific surprises oftenreferred to as the “fine tuning” of theuniverse. He will highlight the scientificdiscoveries that constitute the “fine tun-ing” and the contemporary implicationsof a “finely tuned universe.”

Dr. Bradley has a B.S. degree in engi-neering physics and a Ph.D. degree inmaterials science and engineering from theUniversity of Texas. He has taught at theColorado School of Mines, Texas A&MUniversity and Baylor University. He haspublished many articles and received morethan $6 million for government-fundedresearch projects. He co-authored The Mys-tery of Life’s Origin, Reassessing Current Theo-ries in 1984 and it was republished as asecond edition update on the origin of life.

If you plan to eat at the dinner, con-tact me (512-818-2094 or [email protected]) no later than February 22 to makea dinner reservation. Cost of dinner is $10per person. —Marv Hulshizer

September 18 - 20Mo-Ranch Hunt, Tx

Dr. Cindy RigbyGuest Speaker & Worship Leader

We hope you will go with us.Registration begins April 15.

All-ChurchRetreat - 2020

Visit moranch.org for more informationabout the Conference Center.

Would you like to help plan the retreat?Contact Joy Bedford, 512-863-3381

or [email protected].

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4 F I R S T W O R D

C H R I S T I A N E D U C A T I O N

LOGOS Sunday features music and children“Champions of Faith” is the theme for thisyear’s LOGOS Sunday, February 23, whenLOGOS children will lead in the 8:30 and11 a.m. services, both of whichwill be held in the WorshipCenter-Fellowship Hall.

The theme is based on He-brews 12:1-2: “Therefore, sincewe are surrounded by so greata cloud of witnesses, let us alsolay aside every weight and thesin that clings so closely, and letus run with perseverance therace that is set before us, look-ing to Jesus the pioneer and per-fecter of our faith, who for the sake of thejoy that was set before him endured thecross, disregarding its shame, and hastaken his seat at the right hand of thethrone of God.”

Amy Pratt, Children’s Choir Director,said LOGOS has been studying eight Biblechampions: David, Joseph, Samuel, Debo-

rah, Esther, Daniel, Mary andMartha, and Barnabas.

Through songs and musicalactivities during the service, thechildren will help the congrega-tion experience the rich spirituallegacy of these championswhose lives of obedience provideworthy examples for children tofollow.

“This year, instead of pre-senting a musical, the kinder-

garten through 6th graders are using theirunique talents to lead in a more normalservice of worship,” she said. Pastor Bobbywill preach as usual, and the LOGOS 6thgraders will be liturgists.

LOGOS has started our spring semesterwith a bang! We’re having tons of funduring our regular Wednesday eveningprogramming, as well as planning forLOGOS Sunday on February 23. Be sureto read the article above from Amy Pratt,our Worship Skills Coordinator, to learna bit more about this day.

For those who aren’t as familiar withthis program, LOGOS is a midweek min-istry open to preschool through 6th gradechildren. Every Wednesday night, the kidsparticipate in four parts offering a “whole

child” approach to Christian nurture: BibleStudy, Recreation, Family Time (dinnerwith the church “family”) and WorshipArts. The goal of the program is to bringChrist to children, bridge the gap betweenchurch and community, and bridge the gapbetween children and adults (all while hav-ing tons of fun). Remember, you do notneed to have a child in the LOGOS pro-gram to help; you need only to love Godand love children! If this sounds like some-thing you would like to be a part of, pleasecontact me at [email protected].

—Jaime Cowan

LOGOS: FPC’s midweek ministry for children

“We have prepared andare rehearsing songs,some hand chime andinstrumental accompa-niment for hymns, askit, a ‘sound story,’photos and art for theservice,” said AmyPratt.

LOGOS Themes for February

2/05* Sports Night Sports Attire Sports Games(5th Wednesday)

2/12 Valentine’s Night Red & Pink Make Valentine Cards2/19* Stuffed Animal Night Bright Colors Stuffed Animal Portraits 2/26 Ash Wednesday LOGOS T-Shirts Ash Wednesday Service

*Youth eating with LOGOS

Date Theme Attire Game/Activity

Roscoe Seaman (below)was among the LOGOSkids and volunteers whoenjoyed exploring theirsuperpowers at LEGOSuperhero Night in January.

F I R S T W O R D 9

Points from Parish Nurse PennyPenny Leone, RN

Parish [email protected]

C O M P A S S I O N A T E C A R E M I N I S T R Y

Some thoughts about February,Heart MonthMost people know that February is HeartMonth because of love, cupids and theHeart Association naming it “HeartMonth.” Heart disease is the leading causeof death for men and women in the U.S.Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused byheart disease. Have you had a check-uprecently? Are you exercising?

Did you know that February 7th, theFirst Friday of February, is National WearRed Day®? On this day, men and womenare encouraged to wear red as a symbolof their support of women’s heart health.

And February 17-22 is Random Actsof Kindness Week (www.randomactsofkindness.org). “The positive effects ofkindness are experienced in the brain ofeveryone who witnessed the act, improv-ing their mood and making them signifi-cantly more likely to ‘pay it forward.’ Thismeans one good deed in a crowded areacan create a domino effect and improve theday of dozens of people!” This is from JamilZaki, Assistant Professor of Psychology,Stanford University, for Scientific American.

So this February, wear red, exerciseyour body, your soul and your spirit tospread God’s love!

Those of us whohelp others need totake excellent careof ourselves so wecan keep being in agood place to careand to be who Godis calling us to bein His world.

Eileen Priya, MS,MA, CAMQ, willpresent a mini-workshop at 7 p.m. Monday, February 17,in Room 101. This will focus on ways tocare for ourselves through a variety of ho-listic techniques that can be used in mul-tiple ways. Handouts will be provided andthere will be time to address other issueswith caregiving.

Eileen is passionate about supportinghelping professionals and caregivers intaking care of themselves so they can serveothers. She also has worked in the area ofbereavement for many years, developingholistic healing techniques for traumaticgrief. She has master’s degrees in educa-tion and counseling and certifications in

Workshop on holisticself care for caregiversis set for February 17

yoga, chi gong and several types of en-ergy healing. If you would like to readmore about Eileen, go to her website,www.glowenergyhealing.com.

While this free event is sponsored bythe Stephen Ministry program, everyonein the congregation and their friends areinvited to this workshop that will lastabout an hour.

Senior Seminar

Friends

For help with routinehome maintenace

& repairs,call the church office

to schedule a visitfrom one of

FPC’s Friends in Deed.

in Deed

The topic in February is“How Much Freedom DoYou Give up with Indepen-dent Living Facilities?” It isset for 10 - 11:30 p.m.Thursday, February 20, inthe sanctuary. Purpose ofthe Senior Seminars is toequip, educate and inspireseniors to make informedchoices and empowereddecisions concerning theirlifestyle goals.

The event is free but youare asked to call 512-818-0988 to pre-register so therewill be sufficient handouts.

Save the DateApril 20 is the SecondAnnual Senior VibrantLiving Conference here inGeorgetown. It is a one-dayopportunity to find outeverything you need to knowabout living a vibrant life inGeorgetown as a senior.

Last year there werespeakers, break-out ses-sions, booths, food and fun.More information will becoming next month!

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F I R S T W O R D 3

follow how the Holy Spirit is leading us.Certainly we are in just such a season!

To this end, we will have a sermonseries focused on prayer during the sixSundays of Lent. Each week we willexplore a scripture that helps us appre-ciate a different aspect of prayer, andmost truly, a different aspect of Christand his call on our lives. March 1—Prayer as Seeing

(Ephesians 1:15-19) March 8—Prayer as Listening

(Ecclesiastes 5:1-3; 7) March 15—Prayer as Lament

(Mark 15:33-39) March 22—Prayer as Mission

(Luke 10:1-11) March 29—Prayer as Petition

(Matthew 7:7-11) April 5—Prayer as Praise

(Luke 19:37-40)

Notably, each Sunday a member ofthe congregation is providing an artis-tic interpretation of that week’s scripture-and-theme via the medium of theirchoice. I am grateful for Kelly Ann Sea-man, Robert Cravens, Eric Seaman, theSewing Ladies, Rachel Bondesen andBetty Smith for their creative offerings,and you can look forward to their artbeing shared in the church lobby areaduring the season of Lent!

Finally, know that throughout theseries we will have ways for you andyour family to grow in the practice ofprayer—both in worship and through-out the week. Some of those options in-clude weekly take-home bulletin insertsto guide you through prayer each week,a prayer labyrinth and musical offeringsthat invite prayerful openness and reflec-tion. More details will follow as we getcloser to the series!

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginningof an uprising against the disorder of theworld. —Karl Barth I am always impressed by the fact that it isrecorded that the only thing that the disciplesasked Jesus to teach them how to do was topray. —Howard Thurman Prayer is taking a chance that against all oddsand past history, we are loved and chosen,and do not have to get it together before weshow up. —Anne Lamott These three insightful quotes on prayer,taken together, tell me this: Prayer ispowerful, prayer is mysterious, andprayer is full of grace. Or, perhaps moreprecisely, prayer is all those things be-cause God is all of those things. And yet,as remarkable a gift as communicationwith our Lord and Savior Jesus is, weare ever-like the disciples: in need oflearning and growing in it. This is espe-cially true in seasons of active discern-ment when we seek to discern and

Flowers in Worship/February

Sgn up to donate flowersfor worship in 2020!Most people donate their arrangementafter the service to be used in ourFlower Ministry, which divides the ar-rangement into bud bases and re-giftsthem to our shut-ins and members inthe hospital. If you intend to takeyour arrangement home, pleasecontact either Kathy Jones (512-863-3012) or Betty Smith (512-869-6925).

Prayer During Lent

2 Katie Bradford & KeithBrainard

9 Karen & Ray Rayburn16 Jaime & David Cowan23 Marcia Ness

Sunday, February 2,is the last day for you

to bring your food itemsand monetary dona-

tions to helpour youth compete inMission Presbytery’s

Souper BowlSmackdown—a contest

to see which churchcollects the most by theday of the Super Bowl,

February 2.

10 F I R S T W O R D

In the March 1998 edition of Presbyte-rians Today, editor Eva Stimson wroteabout an interview she did with Fred,then 71, after his show had been on TVfor some 30 years. The information in thisstory is based on her article.

Three generations of children grew upwith “Mister Rogers.” What they mightnot have known is that, during his lunchbreak for eight years while working onchildren’s television programs, he tookBible and theology courses in the 1950s

As the film, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” plays in theaters around thecountry, audiences are celebrating the life of Fred Rogers (1928-2003). The belovedtelevision personality, puppeteer, author and musician—dressed in a red sweaterand sneakers—was best known for his program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”and asking, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” He talked frankly about feelings andinvited children to be part of his TV “neighborhood.” Less known about Fred is hisassociation with the Presbyterian Church. He was even approached by the churchat one time about developing children’s TV programming for the denomination.

at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Thiswas while working at WQED in Pitts-burgh, the nation’s first community-supported public television station.

He planned to go to seminary aftercollege but got sidetracked by a call towork in TV. A few years later seminarywas a way of undergirding his call to min-ister to children and their familiesthrough TV. ”I never in a million yearsthought I’d be on TV—that that wouldbe part of what I was supposed to do.”

In 1962 the PittsburghPresbytery ordainedFred Rogers with acharge to continue hiswork with children andfamilies through themedia. He never servedin the traditional roleof pastor, but throughtelevision he broughthis simple message ofaffirmation and accep-tance to a “congrega-tion” of millions.

Before taping a TVshow, he alwaysprayed to God: “Letsome word that is saidbe yours.” He firmlybelieved in “holyground,” which hedescribed as “the spacebetween the personwho is offering his orher best and how theHoly Spirit translatesthat to help anotherperson in need.”

Fred Rogers, the Presbyterian Churchand his unusual “ministry” to us all

Fred Rogers:nontraditionalminister

Head Deacon/February

8:30 Thomas IsenhourJudy Willett

11:00 Betty Anne PoeCheryl Dorothy

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2 F I R S T W O R D

Income Pledges $883,428 $857,928 103% Other $82,035 $82,072 100% TOTAL $965,463 $940,000 103% Expenses Validated Mission $59,028 $58,771 100% Local/Other Mission $25,604 $25,992 99% Ministry of the Word $161,202 $154,072 105% Program/Support Staff $446,640 $436,538 102% Christian Education $33,407 $33,350 100% Music and Worship $19,717 $19,927 99% Evangelism/Care $5,050 $7,700 66% Property $104,743 $84,800 124% Stewardship/Finance $18,069 $18,000 100% Other Oper Expenses $39,202 $42,820 92% Debt Retirement $92,765 $90,370 103% TOTAL $1,005,427 $972,340 103%

2 Katie Bradford & Keith Brainard4 Radona & Jason Wagner14 Karen & Ray Rayburn18 Peggy & Tim Taylor19 Jaime & David Cowan27 Nancy & Bill Stramler29 Terri & Dennis Boroczk

2 Cindy ShanerDavid SiekmeierJoyce Walden

3 Leo Hulme-Lippert4 Collin Jones

Parker LittletonAmy PrattTanner Walden

5 Ramona Kissner6 Keith Smith

Judy Thomson8 Lou Brown

Elaine Caskey10 Kathy Jones11 Dana Hall

Anne Hoke12 Carole Alsup

Ruth McEntireCarolyn Stubblefield

13 Rob FullinwiderCheryl Jenkines

14 Bob AlbersDave HarrisonJack Smithwick

15 Vivian DavisWillie GibsonSarah HulseyJoe PorchChristina UngerLinda Walke

17 Margie Copsey18 Chris Spruiell20 Philip Smith21 Marty Brown22 Gail Butler

Chessa Rizzotto23 Chrystal O’Rourke

Nancy RobohnJudy Turnbull

24 Jeremy BaileyBridget Chapman

25 Jerri JonesAustin MorenoBen Pilcher

26 Lynn Azuma27 Nolan Pratt

Courtney Root28 Bob Duncan

Jim Root, Sr.Patrick Tolbert

In the hospital last month: Bob Albers(surgery), Bryan Bell, Gladys Brooking,Fred Cowen (surgery), Angie Harris (sur-gery), Bernie Lovejoy (surgery), DonnaNichols (surgery) & Joe Porch.

In memoriam: Sally Fortney joined the Church Trium-phant December 22. Services were heldJanuary 30. Sally had been a member ofour congregation since October 1987. Jay Shiffler joined the Church Trium-phant December 26. Services were heldDecember 29. Jay had been a member ofFPC since October 1996 and served as adeacon (1998-2000). Sakkie Goss joined the Church Trium-phant December 31. Services will be heldat a later date. Sakkie had been a memberof FPC since October 2014. Helen Douglass joined the Church Tri-umphant January 11. Services were Janu-ary 17. She had been a member of FPCsince June 1985, serving as an elder (1990-92) and many years as Mission Advocate.

Serving in the military: Col. Brian Burk,Larry Burk’s son; Maj. Josh Daleiden,Betty Bradford’s grandson-in-law; JohnDecker; Jared A. Gross, Robert Bedford’snephew; Brian Hall; Capt. DanielHammond, Keith & Sue Renard’s grand-son-in-law; Garrett Herbst; 1st Staff Sgt.Matthew L. Johnson, son of Glen & AnnKaiser; Brandon Keith, Phil & JeanneSmith’s son-in-law; Nicolaas Leloux; Tech.Sgt. Robert McClanahan, grandson ofMinta McIntosh and nephew of Lee McIn-tosh; Sgt. 1st Class Paul Rayburn; Nicho-las Stamos, Larry & Helen Burk’s grand-son; and Christian Winckel, grandson ofSandy Hayes.

ANNIVERSARIES

Boldface indicatesa member of

First PresbyterianChurch

BIRTHDAYS

Among Our People ASHWEDNESDAY

SERVICESanctuary6:30 p.m.

February 26

As we begin the Season of Lentin prayer, penitence and relianceon God’s grace, you are invitedto join us for a special serviceof scripture, meditation and

the imposition of ashes.

Income and Expense ReportYear to Date - December 2019

General Operating Fund

ActualAnnualBudget

YTD %AnnualBudget

FPC has started a podcast! It allows us to share audio recordings of weeklysermons and special services such as the cantata. We will also occasionally share specialmusic recorded in worship. These audio recordings can be accessed from your computer,smart phone or personal device such as iPad or tablet. Find and subscribe to our podcastat fpcgeorgetown.buzzsprout.com or by searching for FPC Georgetown, TX on ApplePodcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. These are also available under the Worship “Ser-mons” tab on the church website. If you have questions or need help accessing, contactJaime Cowan at the church office.

F I R S T W O R D 11

The most important thingthe church can offer chil-dren, Fred Rogers said, is“a place where they knowit’s OK to be a child.” Thismeans allowing time in theworship service to “appreci-ate what children mighthave to give.”

Jesus welcomed childrenand so should the church,Fred believed. In fact, hesaid, “I think Jesus de-lighted in the presence ofchildren.”

He based his work withchildren on the maxim,“Attitudes are caught, nottaught.” The best way tocultivate faith in children, hebelieved, is to “share ourown enthusiasm about whatwe believe.”

Instead of going to seminary after col-lege as planned, Fred got a job in the early1950s at a New York City TV station asfloor manager for network music pro-grams. Two years later in Pittsburgh heco-produced and was the organist andpuppeteer for a daily TV program “TheChildren’s Corner.” The experience con-vinced Fred he had a future in children’stelevision. “I realized that’s where my tal-ents were,” he believed.

In 1968 ”Mister Rogers’ Neighbor-hood” was born and it ran for 32 yearson PBS, until 2001. It became the longest-running program on public televisionuntil “Sesame Street” overtook it.

In the early 1960s, media staff at theUnited Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.began talking to Fred about developing achildren’s TV program as an outreach for

Email:[email protected]

Website:www.fpcgeorgetown.org

First Presbyterian ChurchDr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert

Pastor703 S. Church Street

Georgetown, TX 78626

FIRSTWORDpublished monthly by

Phone: 512-863-3381Fax: 512-868-1226

Presbyterian Historical Societyarchived article on Fred Rogers—https://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/remembering-mr-rogers

the denomination. But priorities shiftedand money for the project evaporated.

Reflecting the personality of its creator,Fred’s TV show was a stark contrast tothe quick-cut, MTV-style of other TV farefor children. Feelings—anger, fear, sadness,love and satisfaction—were the center-pieces of the program. While otherchildren’s shows focused on building cog-nitive ability, Fred tried to encouragechildren’s healthy emotional development.

Nurturing children in the Christianfaith is a challenge in today’s world, Rogersacknowledged. “There are so many forcesagainst it.” He was appalled by many ofthe things kids were exposed to in themedia. Particularly annoying to him weresituation comedies in which the lines spo-ken by child actors were “smart-aleckremarks and put-downs.”

“The connections we make in the course of alife: Maybe that’s what heaven is.”

“Discovering the truth about ourselves is alifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.”

“Anyone who does anything to help a child inhis life is a hero to me.”

“Little by little we human beings are confrontedwith situations that give us more and more cluesthat we are not perfect.“

“You rarely have time for everything you wantin this life, so you need to make choices. Andhopefully your choices can come from a deepsense of who you are. “

“Often when you think you’re at the end of some-thing, you’re at the beginning of something else.”

“When I was a boy and I would see scary thingsin the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Lookfor the helpers. You will always find people whoare helping’.”

“I’m fairly convinced that the Kingdom of Godis for the broken-hearted. You write of ‘power-lessness.’ Join the club; we are not in control.God is.”

“It’s a mistake to think that we have to be lovelyto be loved by human beings or by God.”

“In the external scheme of things, shining mo-ments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye,yet such twinklings are what eternity is made

of—moments when we human beings can say‘I love you,’ ‘I’m proud of you,’ ‘I forgive you,’‘I’m grateful for you.’ That’s what eternity ismade of: invisible, imperishable, good stuff.”

“One of my wise teachers, Dr. Orr, told me,‘There is only one thing evil cannot stand, andthat is forgiveness’.”

“If you could only sense how important youare to the lives of those you meet; how impor-tant you can be to the people you may nevereven dream of. There is something of yourselfthat you leave at every meeting with anotherperson.”

Wisdom from Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers:on children andthe church

Page 12: Sermon Series on Prayer From the Pastor: Inside FRIDAY ......Feb 10, 2020  · Jesus welcomed children and so should the church, Fred believed. In fact, he said, “I think Jesus de-lighted

an

d (o

ften

surp

rising

!) dire

ction

of th

eH

oly

Sp

irit. As y

ou

mig

ht im

agin

e, steady

pray

erfuln

ess is central to

bein

g cau

gh

t by

the w

ind

!I am

excited

to see w

hat G

od

do

es in o

ur m

idst a

s the lea

der-

ship

reads th

rou

gh

this b

oo

k an

dd

isce

rns h

ow

Go

d is m

ov

ing

amo

ng

us, an

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ly y

ou

arem

ore th

an

welco

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read

the

bo

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side

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lea

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kn

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nv

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eg

en

era

ted

am

on

g u

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u ca

no

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f Sailboat C

hu

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n y

ou

ro

wn

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ou

can co

ntact th

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fficeb

y F

ebru

ary 10, an

d w

e will p

lace a bu

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op

ies thro

ug

h th

e chu

rch w

ill cost

$10, pay

able to

First P

resby

terian C

hu

rch.

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Ash

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8T

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ission

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ate

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ry 2020

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G E

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FIR

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ES

BY

TE

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N C

HU

RC

H

FIRST WORDT

V statio

n W

QE

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Pitts-

bu

rgh

, w

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re

“M

ister

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ge

rs’ Ne

igh

bo

rho

od

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as taped

, spen

t 2018 ho

n-

orin

g F

red R

og

ers’ legacy

of 5

0 y

ears o

f televisio

n.

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e TV

spo

t, pro

du

ced b

yP

resby

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Med

ia M

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n, ex

plain

ed a sid

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red R

og

ers no

t asw

ell kn

ow

n as h

is famo

us ch

ildren

’s tele-v

ision

sho

w—

the fact th

at he w

as also an

ord

ained

Presb

yterian

min

ister. (page 10)

Fro

m th

e Pa

stor: S

ermo

n S

eries on

Pray

erD

ear First P

resby

terian C

hu

rch F

amily,

Earlier in

Janu

ary, the o

fficers, trustees an

dc

hu

rch

staff to

ok

time

at th

e a

nn

ua

llead

ers’ retreat to p

ray an

d p

lanto

geth

er. Tru

ly, it wa

s inv

igo

ra-

ting

to se

e th

e e

ne

rgy, jo

y a

nd

creativ

ity y

ou

r lead

ership

ha

s! Ialso

deep

ly ap

preciate th

e pray

er-fu

lness o

f this g

rou

p. T

he retreat

beg

an in

a space o

f extend

ed p

rayer

as Jo

y B

ed

ford

, Da

wn

Bo

ok

ert,

Su

san

Isen

ho

ur, P

en

ny

Le

on

e,

Deb

Pilch

er and

Kelly

An

n S

eaman

creatively

shep

herd

ed th

e leaders

thro

ug

h a

series of p

ray

er statio

ns. T

he

retreat end

ed th

e follo

win

g d

ay in

pray

er—an

d th

at same th

eme w

ill con

tinu

e into

the

life of th

e chu

rch fo

r mu

ch o

f this y

ear.A

s yo

u ca

n rea

d a

bo

ut it o

n p

ag

e 3,

there w

ill be a

sermo

n series o

n p

ray

erd

urin

g L

ent (M

arch 1 - A

pril 5). A

s well,

the

lea

de

rship

will b

e re

ad

ing

thro

ug

hS

ailboat Chu

rch: Helpin

g You

r Chu

rch Rethin

kIts M

ission an

d Practice b

yJo

an G

ray (o

ne ch

apter at

a time, w

hich

will h

ave u

sfin

ishin

g in

the

fall). It

ex

plo

res th

e d

iffere

nce

betw

een w

hat G

ray calls

“ro

wb

oa

t chu

rches”

tha

tm

uscle th

eir way

forw

arda

nd

“sa

ilbo

at ch

urch

es”th

at h

arn

ess th

e w

ind

—B

lessing

s in C

hrist,

F E

B R

U A

R Y

W O

R S

H I P

8:3

0 a.m

., San

ctuary

11 a.m

., Worsh

ip C

enter-F

ellowsh

ip H

all

Dr. B

obby H

ulm

e-Lip

pert P

reachin

g

12F

I R S

T W

O R

DF E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

12

SUNDAY

26Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert Preaching8:30am Worship-Sanctuary9:40am Sunday School11:00am Worship-WCFH12:00pm LOGOS Board Meeting12:00pm Handbell Choir5:00pm Congregational Dinner &

Meeting

2Communion/Home CommunionDr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert Preaching8:30am Worship-Sanctuary9:40am Sunday School9:40am New Member Class11:00am Worship-WCFH12:00pm Handbell Choir

9Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert Preaching8:30am Worship-Sanctuary9:40am Sunday School9:40am New Member Class11:00am Worship-WCFH12:00pm Handbell Choir

16Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert Preaching8:30am Worship-Sanctuary9:40am Sunday School11:00am Worship-WCFH12:00pm Handbell Choir

23LOGOS Sunday8:30am Worship-WCFH9:40am LOGOS Brunch9:40am DNOW Brunch11:00am Worship-WCFH12:00pm Handbell Choir12:00pm LOGOS Board Meeting

MONDAY

277:00pm PW Cluster

Planning Meeting

311:00am PW Board12:00pm Stephen Leaders

1010:00am Sarah-Ruth

Circle

17Church Office Closed –President’s Day

246:00pm Men’s Fellowship

Dinner

TUESDAY

2810:30am Pastoral Care11:00am Staff Meeting7:00pm Session

410:30am Pastoral Care11:00am Staff Meeting6:30pm Elizabeth Circle

1110:30am Pastoral Care11:00am Staff Meeting6:45pm Executive Committee7:30pm Committee Meetings

1810:30am Pastoral Care11:00am Staff Meeting4:30pm Newsletter

Deadline7:00pm Diaconate

2510:30am Pastoral Care11:00am Staff Meeting7:00pm Session

WEDNESDAY

2912:00pm Ladies’ Lunch Bible Study12:00pm Men’s Lunch Bible Study5:00pm LOGOS5:40pm Youth Bible Study6:15pm Sanctuary Choir7:15pm Chancel Choir

512:00pm Ladies’ Lunch Bible Study12:00pm Men’s Lunch Bible Study5:00pm LOGOS5:40pm Youth Bible Study6:15pm Sanctuary Choir7:15pm Chancel Choir

1212:00pm Ladies’ Lunch Bible Study12:00pm Men’s Lunch Bible Study1:00pm Lydia Circle5:00pm LOGOS5:40pm Youth Bible Study6:15pm Sanctuary Choir7:15pm Chancel Choir

199:30am Martha Circle9:30am Rachel Circle11:00a.m. Hannah-Esther Circle12:00pm Ladies’ Lunch Bible Study12:00pm Men’s Lunch Bible Study5:00pm LOGOS5:40pm DNOW Kick-Off6:15pm Sanctuary Choir7:15pm Chancel Choir

26Ash Wednesday12:00pm Ladies’ Lunch Bible Study12:00pm Men’s Lunch Bible Study5:00pm LOGOS5:40pm Youth Bible Study6:15pm Sanctuary Choir6:30pm Ash Wednesday Service7:15pm Chancel Choir

THURSDAY

302:00pm Sally Fortney’s

Memorial Service

6

139:00am P.E.O. Meeting

2010:00am Senior Seminar

27

FRIDAY

31Church Office Closesat noon

7Church Office Closesat noon

1410:00am Mission SewingChurch Office Closesat noon

21Church Office Closesat noon6:00pm DNOW weekend

begins

2811:00am PW Bible

Leaders MeetingChurch Office Closesat noon

SATURDAY

1

8

15

229:00am LOGOS Sunday

Rehearsal

29

Feb

ruary

2: “Th

e Fo

olish

ness o

f Go

d”

Co

mm

un

ion

/Ho

me C

om

mu

nio

nS

criptu

re: 1 C

orin

thia

ns 1

:18

-31

;M

icah 6:6-8

Feb

ruary

9: “Rep

airer o

f the B

reach

”S

criptu

re: Isaiah 58:1-12; M

atthew

5:13-16

Feb

ruary

16: “Co

lorin

g Ou

tside th

e Lin

es”S

criptu

re: Psalm

119:1-8; Matth

ew 5:21-26

Feb

ruary

23: “Ch

am

pio

ns o

f the F

aith

”L

OG

OS

Su

nd

ay: B

oth

services in

WC

FH

Feb

ruary

26: “Blo

w th

e Tru

mp

et”A

sh W

edn

esday

: 6:30 p.m

., San

ctuary

Scrip

ture: Jo

el 2:1-2, 12-17;2

Co

rinth

ian

s 5:2

0b

-6:1