the fpc newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
The FPC Newsletter 601 Pine Street Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601
December 2017
Advent is now!
We have begun one of the greatest seasons of the year. It is the coming of the
Christ child. This child is none other than the very savior of our world. His coming
is a one-of-a-kind moment where God wants us to know how much he loves and
cares for us. We frequently speak about his “coming” but often find ourselves ill
prepared to fully receive him.
If we are not very careful the commercialism of “Black Friday” and the “Christmas
Season” distract and even alienate us from the reason for this season. We fall prey
to the commotion and chaos of buying presents, preparing our homes inside and
out, hosting parties and attending gatherings. We barely have time and energy to
say “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. We spend all this time preparing in the name of the
One who is coming, even though “all this doing” has very little in common with
Him.
Advent is the time to prepare for God’s coming to be with us. Advent speaks of the
waiting and the hoping of what has been promised. From the writings of the
prophet Isaiah, chapters 7-9, we receive a pretty clear picture of God’s promise that
He will join us. In Isaiah 7:14 and again in Matthew 1:23, we read these words:
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel” — which means, ‘God with us.’”
We are going to be using an “advent guide” as one of the ways to help prepare our
hearts. It’s entitled “Christmas at Grandma’s House”. (This guide can be found in
our church foyer.) The four sermons of Advent will be based on this booklet. We
will be thinking through the “four grandmas” in Christ’s genealogy. Though each
of these grandmas have a different story, each one points to the need for the saving
grace their grandson Jesus offers.
I want to invite you to make the weeks of Advent preparation for receiving Jesus.
There is no getting around the hustle and bustle, but let us take time to breathe in
deep the true hope, peace, joy and love that
comes pouring forth from our God.
In God’s grip, as His is the strong one…
Pastor John
Christmas Eve Morning: One Service 10:00 a.m. Christmas Eve Evening: 4:30 p.m. (contemporary) 6:00 p.m. (traditional)
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Teachers – We Appreciate You!
To our faithful and dedicated Sunday School Teachers,
Thank you so much for your commitment to teaching our kids about God! You are help-
ing to equip the next generation with their knowledge and love for God which will be the
strength of their years to come. The importance of teaching our kids how to use a Bible,
what’s in the Bible, how to pray, and just how much God loves them can’t be emphasized
enough.
As a gift to our teachers during the Advent season we have some special Advent devo-
tionals. Please look for your gift downstairs on the table next to the Christmas tree by the
check-out desk (December 3rd). This gift is to encourage your heart during the Advent
season and to thank you for your dedication to FPC’s children. We truly couldn’t have
such a wonderful Sunday School program without you!
Written by Belinda Scalas
Sunday School - Change of Curriculum for Advent
Now that December has arrived, we will be taking a break from our “What’s In The
Bible?” curriculum and changing to a curriculum for the month of December by the
same makers called; “Why Do We Call It Christmas?”. This curriculum is in the same
format; watching a short video as a group to begin and then learn a lesson and do a
craft related to the video theme of the week. Here are the themes:
December 3rd
: The BIG Questions of Christmas
December 10th: Jesus’ Birth
December 17th: The Origins of Hanukkah
December 24th: Emmanuel and The Christmas Story
We are also rehearsing a Christmas Program to be performed on the
morning of December 24th during Sunday worship. For the kids who
are involved in the Christmas Program, they will be going to the Fel-
lowship Hall to practice each Sunday leading up to Christmas Eve day. For the kids
whose families will be out of town on Christmas Eve, we will provide a lesson and craft
with the aforementioned curriculum.
Following the kids Christmas program on Christmas Eve morning we will have a final
lesson and craft for the kids while the sermon is delivered upstairs.
Written by Belinda Scalas
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Which worship service is for you?
Worship is both a very personal and yet communal experience of offering praise, hon-
or and glory to God. We come to worship to have our hearts fed spiritual food. We
come to worship to celebrate our good God who loves us more than we can or could
ever imagine. Worship is singing, praying, confessing, preaching and responding to
God.
We have two worship services: one traditional and one contemporary.
They have all of the components I just mentioned above and yet are distinctly
different in expression.
Which worship service is for you?
It is based on what speaks more fully to your heart.
If you enjoy traditional hymns led by piano or organ, choir anthems and more for-
mal prayers of confession, our 11:00 a.m. service is for you.
If you enjoy praise songs led by our praise band, less formal and a
little more expressive worship, our 9:00 a.m. service is for you.
The staff has been receiving requests for more hymns in our contempo-
rary service. My response is to say; you will find that in our 2nd service.
I want to encourage you to attend our traditional worship service.
I asked a few folks attending the contemporary service, who expressed to me that they
enjoy the more traditional forms of worship, why they miss the opportunity to wor-
ship in a way that speaks more deeply to them. They responded, “More of their
friends attend the first service.” I (in all the wisdom of Solomon) said why not invite
them to join you in the second service?
So… I’m inviting you to worship.
Worship in the way that more fully fills your heart with joy and more fully enables
God to encounter you. And… take your friends with you.
I’m not telling you which service to attend, but I would love our second service to
grow, to flourish, and to help meet the spiritual needs of a number of you.
In all of God’s love,
Pastor John
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Views from the Church Office
Return Pledge Cards January Newsletter deadline for
submitting articles December 18 Poinsettia orders due Dec. 17 Church office will be closed on
Monday, December 25 and Tuesday, December 26
Merry Christmas!
Community, NW Farm Credit, & FPC preparing food boxes for LOCAL KLAMATH FALLS CHILDREN for during the Christmas school break.
The last day to donate money or food for these local food boxes is this Sunday, December 3rd. Mitch Stokes is your contact for this project. His phone number is (541) 891-8771 and he will be picking up the food barrels Monday the 4th and then his group will finish purchasing what is needed and put together the boxes. Thank you FPC for jumping in and helping whole-heartedly! We are so blessed!
See the list below for the Christmas Food Boxes (needed for each box)
Item Description Quantity Item Description Quantity Peanut Butter 1 Jar Chicken Noodle Soup 2 Cans Grape Jelly 1 Jar Tomato Soup 2 Cans Tuna Fish 3 Cans Fruit Snacks 1 Box Beef Stew 2 Cans Milk 2 Boxes Mayonnaise 1 Jar Meals (Chef Boyardee Fruit Cups 2 - 4 Pack or Spaghetti O’s) 1 Can Granola Bars 1 Box Top Ramen 1 Package Cereal 1 Box Macaroni & Cheese 1 Box Nalley’s Chili 2 Cans 6-Pack Microwave Cup-O-Noodles 2 Cups popcorn 1 Box Pop Tarts 1 Box Bread 2 Loaves Ritz Cheese & Crackers 1 Pkg Potatoes 1 5lb. Bag Cool-Aid Juice Pouches 1 Case
Physical Resource Committee (a group of 7 workers) thanks those in the
church family who see a need and work to fill it (without having to attend a
meeting!). There are volunteer painters in the church who have painted the
Fireside Room and Annex, a balcony office and Pastor John’s office (Suzanne
B., Thelma C., Kelsey H., Deanna G., Sherrill B., Maggie H., Heather B. and
Austyn W.). There are flower planters as well, (Belinda S., Don B., and Nan-
cy B.). The committee welcomes help and coordination from Belinda R. and the
church family in maintaining our facility.
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FPC,
We again wanted to thank everyone who
took a tag or two from our Angel Tree.
Your simple act of kindness touches many
lives. We will be hosting a Christmas
Party for the kids on December 16th,
so please have your gifts turned in by
Friday, December 8th.
This is who you are helping: Children with at least one
parent who is incarcerated and in some cases both par-
ents. Children who feel abandoned, lonely and ashamed
from having a mom or dad in prison. Your gift is so much
more than a present to the child but to the incarcerated
parent also. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
~Acts 20:35
Merry Christmas,
Barb Keeney and
Coral Blind
T hank you! Many people volunteer their time and talent to help FPC in many ways. While some get recognition and are "up front" in many ways, others work behind the scenes and might be taken for granted. T his is a BIG thank you to Sandy Nyback-Smith for providing the beautiful seasonal floral arrange-ments on the sanctuary stage. You are appreciated for sharing your time and talents with the congregation.
T hank you! More giving of themselves! From mowing the lawns, fixing broken sprinklers, planting beautiful bushes and shrubs, Charlie and Rosanne Short and their crew (Brian, Reggie, T im, and Michael) at Horizon Nursery, keep our Memorial Garden and Lawns in beautiful shape.
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Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them -
1 Peter 5:2a
Our shepherd, Pastor John Geiter, would like to get to know his flock. We have
scheduled many opportunities for you to get to know him, and he to know you.
These gatherings will consist of no more than 8 people at a time. Pastor John will
have several questions he will ask and you can answer as you feel led. Pastor John
will answer too. The first dates have been scheduled, but if you can’t make any of
these, or they “fill up” before you have a chance to sign up, there will be more
scheduled until everyone has had a chance to attend. Please only sign up for one
gathering. The Tuesday gatherings will be in the evenings from 6:30 – 8:00pm and
the Wednesday gatherings will be in the afternoon from 2:30-4pm at FPC, in the
Library. The first dates will be December 12th & 13th, January 9th & 10th, 16th, 30th
and 31st. Sign-up sheets will be in the lobby every Sunday.
Come and get to know your shepherd.
Session Meeting Summary 11/16/17
Pastor John Geiter moderated the regular meeting of Session held November 16th from 7:00-
9:35 pm. He opened with prayer and a time of reflection on 2 Corinthians 9:6-9. John gave a
synopsis of his own story.
Elder of the day responsibilities were reviewed, including procedures to insure the safety of the
congregation as well as the securing of the building at the end of the morning worship.
The organization chart for managing the business and programs of the church was reviewed.
The major areas of responsibility and the elders assigned to provide support and oversight are:
Christian Education – Craig Rappe', Dave Pollard,
Leadership/Administration - Keith Stone, Heidi Biggs
Congregational Care - Gay Woods, Barb Dehlinger
Outreach - Rich Touslee, Mitch Stokes
Resources - Laura Stewart, Don Boyd
Worship – Andrew Smith, Steve Schultz
(continued on next page)
The nominating committee will meet on 11/19 to begin recruiting people to serve as deacons in
the open positions.
The following items were discussed and agreed upon
• Cease having children's sermons videotaped in order to avoid privacy concerns
The book Strength Finder will be ordered for all elders. Once received, each elder is to
read the book and complete the on-line survey for discussion at the December meeting
• Change start time for Session to 6:45 beginning in January
• Elders are to consider writing articles about their area of oversight
• Pastor John will be on vacation 12/25-1/2. Alan Jackson will be preaching 12/31
The position for a director of children's ministry has been posted. One resume has been
received. Other posting options will be explored including posting at seminaries
Finance
• Kris is setting up an electronic giving option
• Should end 2017 in black
• Will increase budget income projections for 2018 to $400,000
• Will increase budget expense projections to over $430,000 to support funding for a 30
hour/week children's ministry director and a 20 hour/week youth ministry director. If
necessary, deficit expenses will be funded from Children's Ministry Director vacancy sav
ings in restricted funds
• Committee to meet Dec 19 to finalize budget
Physical Resources
• Two more individuals volunteered to serve on the physical resources committee
• Received a contribution of $500 to replace some plantings – need $1000 (will use $500
from memorial fund)
Worship
Working on organization of ushers and recruiting a person for second service sound
system operation. More volunteers to usher are needed
• Concerns expressed about length of service on communion Sunday. In December will
pass trays
• Changes of opening service with a song and offering earlier in the service seem to have
been accepted
• A work group is being formed to set up Christmas decorations 12/2
• Only one method of attendance recording will be used (tear sheets from bulletin).
• An advent guide to use at home will be made available to all congregants for that season
• It is recommended that in January we go back to having two services every Sunday. The
parishes will be asked to provide light snacks between services one Sunday a month to
foster connections between the people in the 2 services
Prayer concerns were expressed and prayed for.
Next regular meeting is Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 pm. Meetings are open. If there are
items a person would like Session to address, please contact an elder in the week prior to have it
placed on the agenda.
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First Presbyterian Church
601 Pine Street
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601
(541) 884-7781
Return Service Requested
Contacts at First Presbyterian Church
Pastor John Geiter - [email protected]
Karli Fussell - Women’s Ministry
Sheryl O’Neal - MOPS
Kris Bienz - Financial Secretary
Susan Scrimsher - Choir Director
Mary Kern - Praise Team Director
Belinda Reno - Administrative Assistant
Prayer requests: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.KlamathFPC.com
601 Pine Street
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601
(541) 884-7781
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FPC Elders
Heidi Neel Biggs
Don Boyd
Barb Dehlinger
Dave Pollard
Craig Rappe’
Steve Schultz
Andrew Smith
Laura Stewart
Mitch Stokes
Keith Stone
Rich Touslee
Gay Woods
FPC Deacons
Randy Clark
Brian Coe
Charlie Dehlinger
Denny Fullerton
Janell Knutson
Terrie Mumford
Sharon Nelson
Judy Swan
Lee Woods