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Easter Worship Services and Activities
The Worship Ministry Team wants to remind you of our upcoming Easter Sunday Worship Services and welcomes you to invite family and friends to join us:
Sunday, April 1 – Easter / Resurrection Day @ 10:00 a.m. Our Chancel Choir and instrumentalists lead us into our celebration our Lord’s defeat of life over death in song, drama and the Word proclaimed. Join us afterwards for an Easter brunch prepared by our own Matteson family and an Easter Egg Hunt for our children!
Sunday, April 1- Easter Taizé Prayer Service @ 6:30 p.m. Relax in the glow of candlelight and the meditative songs of Taizé as we contemplate our Lord’s greatest gift to us.
Join us for Easter brunch and an Easter Egg hunt
A buffet brunch will be served following the 10:00 a.m. worship service and everyone is invited! Brunch will consist of egg casseroles, pancakes, sausage and fruit. There will also be an Easter egg hunt for children and youth after worship. If you can help with set-up or clean-up, please contact Eddie Matteson. Join us for this family-focused Easter celebration and feel free to invite a neighbor or friend.
One Great Hour of Sharing
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) donations support ministries for disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people in our country and throughout the world find safe refuge, start new lives, and work together to strengthen their families and communities.
The OGHS offering will be received on Palm Sunday, March 25 and Easter Sunday, April 1. Please use the designated envelope in your offering envelopes box or in the pew racks, or simply write OGHS on the memo line of your check.
New Member Orientation
What does it mean to be in relationship with one another at our church? How do you take the next step in becoming an active member of our family of faith? Join Pastor Eddie and other church leaders for lunch and conversation immediately following worship on April 15 in room 207 (upstairs). Get familiar with our church’s DNA – our history, its mission, vision, core values – and learn why being a member of our covenant of faith is so important to your spiritual and faith formation. This is a family-friendly event where children are welcome. Child care will be available after the meal. Please email the Nurture Team ([email protected]) or call the church office (248-474-6170) to let us know if you plan to attend, so that we can prepare enough materials and food.
College Students, Military Personnel Contact Info Requested
The Deacons would like to maintain contact with our college students and military personnel. Parents, friends, please contact Charlene Diehl with addresses, email or any other information available.
May FYI Deadline is Thursday, April 19
From the Pen of the Pastor
Simply Grace
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this is not from yourselves,
it is the Gift of God.” – (Ephesians 2:8, NIV)
Grace, a gift undeserved. Grace comes free of charge, no strings attached, on the house. But everything about the American way of life teaches us a simple truth. Let me clarify. See how many of these common phrases we hear so often you can complete:
- If it sounds too good to be true …
- We make money the old-fashioned way, we … (Smith & Barney 1980s campaign slogan)
- Get what you …
- There is no such thing as a free …
- No pain, no …
- God helps those who …
In life you get what you earn. You get what you work for. You get what you pay for. There is nothing wrong with that at all. After all, isn’t that the American way. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The problem is many people think the same way you relate to your paycheck or to your possessions is the way you relate to God, “We earned it.”
In “What’s So Amazing About Grace”, author Philip Yancey wrote, “Grace cannot be reduced to generally accepted accounting principles” of pluses and minuses. Grace is not about counting … it’s not about math. The Apostle Peter tried to distilled grace into a mathematical formula when trying to be generous with forgiveness when he was taken aback by Jesus’s reply “forgiveness is not a thing you count on an abacus.”
Sadly, we live in a world of “ungrace” where earning, “the old-fashioned way”, deserving, and merit results in judgment (not good enough, try harder). “How thickly the veil of ‘ungrace’ obscures our view of God.” That is why everyone wants and needs grace. Judgment kills. Only grace makes alive. Without grace the world wastes away.
The Good News of Easter is that God does not relate to us on the basis of tit-for-tats, nor on our goodness. God relates to us on the basis of simply God’s grace. Grace does not depend on what we have done for God (works), or something we deserved (God’s kindness), but rather what God has been doing for us. On Easter, God redeems you and I, from our mountainous debt. God has gone the full length to get you and I back into the fold by giving up God’s only son, Jesus Christ, rather than giving up on you and me … on humanity.
And there is more. On Easter Sunday grace tears up all the mathematical principles and introduces the new math of simple grace; for there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.
May you see the Risen Christ everywhere and in everything! See you in worship! Joyful Easter!
Peace & Grace,
Pastor Eddie
Upcoming Events and Mission Opportunities
Presbyterian Women’s May Gathering
Welcome to “Saturday life in a Michigan small town” with Walt Gajewski.
Make plans to gather with us. Tell a friend or better yet bring one on Monday, May 21, at 7:00 p.m. to enjoy Walt Gajewski, market manager for the Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market. You will be delighted and surprised at the outreach programs serving the greater Farmington area through the Neighborhood House in affiliation with the Goodfellows. Also he has a list of fresh food Assistance Programs and Project Fresh through Michigan State Department of Human Services. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!!
From the Mission Team
The month of April begins not only with Easter but also with “Undie Sundays”! You may remember when Austin from SOS spoke to us about all the programs that South Oakland Shelter runs, he suggested Undie Sundays. SOS is always in need of new items for their clients — t-shirts, underwear and socks for men, women and children in all sizes. We invite you to help fill this need by bringing new “tops and bottoms” any Sunday in April. Please put them in the clear plastic bin in the narthex.
At the end of April, our church will participate in a community-wide event. On Saturday, April 28, Tom Neal and Dan Cressman will lead our Rebuilding Together Oakland County efforts. We will be given one or two homes in Farmington/Farmington Hills in need of repairs to allow the seniors living in them to safely remain in their homes. Please sign up via http://bit.ly/2oV2KkF or talk to Tom or Dan. Our church contributed $1,500 to RTOC for materials. We have invited the Muslim Community Mosque to join us again this year.
March contributions from the Mission budget went to C.A.R.E.S., Crop Walk and Freedom House. Formerly known as St. Al’s, C.A.R.E.S. not only has an expanded food pantry but has plans to become a Community Support Village, providing most every service someone in need might need. We donated $500 (with additional gifts to follow in July and October) to be used as they see fit, perhaps in their Easter dinner program.
Crop Walk is coming up the first Sunday in May. Dorothy Tait and Mary Carson are heading up our cohort. We provided $100 in seed money (pardon the pun) to the Crop Walk organization.
You may not be as familiar with Freedom House, the third non-profit we supported in March. Freedom House delivers a continuum of services free to indigent asylum seekers that guides them toward asylum, helps them heal from the traumas of persecution and teaches them the skills they need to be self-sufficient in the U.S. Freedom House is the only organization in the U.S. providing this unique model of care. We donated $1,000 to help them fulfill the Statue of Liberty’s promise: To give refuge to those who yearn to breathe free.
Printable April 2018 Calendar
A printable calendar is available at https://testing3.farmington-pres.org//wp-content/uploads/2018/03/04-2018-FYI-Calendar-1.pdf.
Congregational Concerns and Announcements
Sunday Morning Fellowship
Beginning April 8 Everybody Has a Chance to Help Host
Hospitality is the generous and friendly attention shown to all people. The Gospels are filled with stories of the boundless generosity of Jesus, who calls us to offer hospitality to one another.
On Sunday mornings after worship, we come together for a time of fellowship over food and beverages. The people who volunteer to serve as hosts report that it brings them great joy to serve as hospitality hosts, yet many of us are overwhelmed by the idea of being the only one to plan and prepare the food. So, we’re trying something new.
Beginning April 8, you are invited to bring ONE food item on ONE Sunday each month. Any food is fine, whether fancy or plain, homemade or purchased; it doesn’t matter. You are welcome to bring fruit, vegetables, cakes, cookies, bagels and cream cheese, pita bread and hummus, or other favorite items. Beverages are provided, as well as all the items needed for serving the food. Reimbursement of modest expense for ingredients or purchased food is available; see Deborah Draper or Deb Jackson Lum for details.
Your Sunday depends on the first letter of your last name:
First Sunday of the month: last names beginning with A – D (e.g., May 6, June 3, July 1)
Second Sunday: last names beginning with E – K (e.g., April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8)
Third Sunday: last names beginning with L – R (e.g., April 15, May 20, June 17, July 15)
Fourth Sunday: last names beginning with S – Z (e.g., April 22, May 27, June 24)
If you’re not going to be in worship that day, no worries! If you can’t bring a food item that day, no worries! There are enough people who share your Sunday and who will bring food to share.
Deborah Draper is recruiting leaders from each of these teams, who will coordinate their team’s efforts to set up, serve and clean up. If you’re interested in one of these leadership roles, please contact Deborah.
Have questions or need additional information? Please contact Deborah Draper or Deb Jackson Lum.
March Session Meeting Highlights
At its March 21, 2018 meeting, the Session:
- Called a Congregational Meeting for May 6, 2018 immediately after Worship for the purpose of electing members to serve on the Session, Board of Deacons, Nominating Committee and the Financial Review Committee.
- Approved the part-time employment offer to Rev. Craig Aue as Chaplain/Parish Associate, effective April 1, 2018.
- Approved the part-time employment offer to Joshua Archey as Intern/Pastoral Care, effective April 1, 2018.
- Approved Tom Neal, Deb Jackson Lum, Dot Basmaji, Larry Gage, Sue Carlson, Paul McVey and Mary Carson as the Endowment Fund Committee
We keep in our prayers
Names withheld in our web version of the FYI.
We hold in our prayers:
Those who are ill, grieving, or are homebound, in nursing homes or in assisted living. We also pray for those serving in the military.
Congratulations and Thank You Messages
Thank you: We are eternally grateful to our dear church family for all of your prayers and expressions of care and concern. We are so blessed to have your support and we wanted you to know how appreciative we are to have you in our lives. Judy and Donn Denniston
Thanks for your gift of $500 to the Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center (SWIRC). We depend on your support to help people like Diawre Thiam, a young mother from Senegal struggling to remain in the United States. Though she lives in the United States for years, a series of shoplifting incidents go her in trouble with the law. She paid her fines, however, now our government wants to deport her — and separate her from her U.S. citizen husband and children. We helped her get treatment and have defended her in Immigration Court — which means her family will remain intract. Since her husband works in a low-income job, she only received professional legal counsel because SWIRC was there for her. The work is challenging — but thanks to your prayers and support, we continue. Kevin J. Piecuch, Esq., SWIRC Executive Director
Easter Greetings from India!
From our garden, where passion flowers are blooming every day, and spreading their fragrance.
What beauty to remind us of Jesus Christ! May the miracle of Easter bloom in all our hearts.
Ann D
Samaritan Counseling Center of Southeastern Michigan (SCC) invites you to two workshop opportunities:
Preparation for Marriage Workshop
This workshop, led by experienced leaders, provides opportunities for couples to identify and explore both strengths and areas of potential difficulties in their relationship. Couples will consider the complexity of marriage, recognize what each individual brings to this relationship, and clarify the expectations both have as they enter into this commitment.
DATE: Saturday, April 21, 2018 TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W. 11 Mile Road, Farmington Hills
FEE: $225 per couple. A $125 deposit is required at registration
Connections: Enriching Your Relationship Workshop
This workshop, led by experienced leaders, provides opportunities for couples to identify and explore both strengths and areas of potential difficulties in their relationships. Couples will consider the complexity of commitment, recognize what each individual brings to this relationship and clarify the expectations both have as they live into this commitment.
DATE: Saturday, April 28, 2018 TIME: 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Commerce United Methodist Church, 1155 N. Commerce Rd., Commerce
FEE: $185 per couple
Please contact SCC’s main office at (248) 474-4701 to register. For further information, please visit SCC’s website at www.sccmich.org.
The First Presbyterian Church of Farmington
wishes you a blessed Easter!
