Headlines
Easter Worship Services and Activities
The Worship Ministry Team wants to remind you of our upcoming Holy Week and Easter Sunday Worship Services and welcomes you to invite family and friends to join us:
- Sunday, April 14 – Passion / Palm Sunday Drama @ 10:00 a.m. The beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final journey to the cross. The English word passion comes from the Latin word that means “to suffer,” the same word from which we derive the English word patient.
- April 18 – Taizé Maundy Thursday Service – Ritual of Hand Washing and The Sacrament of Holy Communion @ 7:00 p.m. Designed to help us remember the Last Supper-The Passover Meal as an expression of Christ’s love for us through short songs followed by scripture readings and silence. Taizé is a contemplative service that encourages people to “rest in God,” with candles and dimmed lights, moments for meditation and unique music.
- Friday, April 19 – Good Friday Service @ 12 noon. An ecumenical service with our sister churches of the Farmington Area Interfaith Association, hosted by First United Methodist Church, 33112 Grand River, west of Farmington Road in downtown Farmington.
- Sunday, April 21 – Easter/Resurrection Day and the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion @10:00 a.m., followed by Easter Breakfast/Brunch. Join us for breakfast and an Easter egg hunt following worship. Join us for this family-focused Easter celebration.
Note: Easter Flower form is at the bottom of this FYI edition.
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, April 14 and Easter Sunday, April 21. 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 and/or envelope. Your generosity can make a real difference!
Youth United launches three projects at C.A.R.E.S.
Youth United is off and running, or at least planning! Our new Faith in Action grant for $20,000+ covering a two-year period will involve teens from a host of faith communities in Farmington/Farmington Hills who want to live their faith by serving our community at C.A.R.E.S.
The major projects this summer include a community garden to grow herbs and vegetables that can produce food for the pantry. We will invite the neighbors by CARES to tend their own plot or help in the larger one. With the help of a landscape architect, the teens will provide input to design a reflection garden on the grounds. The third project is to improve the facilities at CARES to allow for additional services on campus by building offices and meeting room and expand the grocery store that Youth United created last summer.
Youth United will spend a few days in late April and Memorial weekend readying the garden before the actual camp on July 29-August 2. There are all sorts of ways you can be involved — just talk to Laura Hedgecock or Karen Linnell.
May FYI Deadline is Thursday, April 18
Mission Opportunities & Upcoming Events
Welcome to the Mission Cove
Cove: small sheltered part of an ocean’s coast
Have you noticed the new structure near the kiosk? It’s the Mission Cove, a perfectly organized place for an array of mission activities. There are clear tubs for items to donate to Freedom House, C.A.R.E.S., and Neighborhood House. There are baskets to collect eye glasses, pop tops, box labels and greeting cards. There’s a place to hang clothes for Fort Street Open Door.
Special thanks to Rick Fuller who built it, Emily Davis who painted it and Chris Davis who designed the logo. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Mission Cove, please check it out. Guided tours by the Mission Team are available upon request.
In the month of March, Mission contributions went to C.A.R.E.S., Crop Walk and Rebuilding Together Southeastern Michigan.
Help rebuild our community with Rebuilding Together
This year we will be working on multiple houses to help low-income homeowners in the Farmington Hills area update their homes. The workday this year will be Saturday, April 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can sign-up at https://sforce.co/2V8j4NG. Our Tri-Captains are Tom Neal, Dan Cressman and Emily Davis, who have already gone through RTSEM House Captain training. First Pres will be working in cooperation with three other groups on the houses: Muslim Community Association; Northville First Presbyterian Church; and New Hope of Michigan, Southfield Korean Presbyterian.
2019 Crop Hunger Walk is coming on May 5!
Eggs, veggies and a side of hope are a winning combination for families in need. You can help end hunger and poverty around the block and around the world by supporting the Farmington/Farmington Hills/West Bloomfield CROP Hunger Walk.
This year’s CROP Walk will be on Sunday, May 5. Join us for a beautiful walk through Farmington! Interested walkers can contact Mary Carson or Dorothy Tait for information. Donations can be made online at www.crophungerwalk.org by first registering your information and then Searching the Find Campaign, Walk or Team for “FirstPresFarmington” (in the upper right corner). We will also be collecting donations in the Church Narthex on April 28 and May 5.
Arts and Archives – “Did You Know?”
“Knox House” was built in1931 by Kirby White and was called “The White House.” The house had many owners over the years and by 1947 was called “Windy Hill.” The church purchased the house, carriage house and 5 acres in 1954, renaming the house, it was used as classrooms and offices until 1992 when it was removed from the property. It was relocated to the corner of Farmington and Ten Mile Roads as a residence. The carriage house was used as “Knox Chapel” until the sanctuary was built. Later it was torn down. The Biblical Herb Garden was built on this site.
Scouting at First Pres
Girls now part of Scouts! For the first time in its 100+ year history, the iconic program of the Boy Scouts of America, now called Scouts BSA, is open to young women as well as young men, all of whom will have the chance to earn Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout.
Troop 179 Update: With new WEBELOS joining the Troop there are now 57 youth, including six girls and seven Eagles plus 51 Venture Crew. The Troop also has 71 adult leaders.
Pack 179 Update: The Cub Scouts recently held their Pinewood Derby and Blue & Gold dinner where several Webelos moved over to Scout Troops, including our own Troop 179. In April they will be doing outdoor camping.
Pictorial Directory App available for iPhones
We can now offer access to the 2018 Pictorial Directory — including family photos and updated directory — through a special App just for First Pres members and friends. This App currently works only on iOS (Apple devices) and will allow you to send emails, text and make phone calls directly from the directory listing, as well as map to a specific address. Contact the church office to request the instruction sheet and your personal access code. A pdf version of the pictorial directory (including church activities pages, family photos and updated directory listings) also is available.
Save the date for our Craft Show & Bake Sale
Our 4th Annual Craft Show and Bake Sale it will be on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Knox Hall. We are known for being the church with open hands and what a wonderful outreach to the community it is to invite them to be crafters at our show! We already have four returning crafters but there’s room for any more. Space size is 8’ X 8’ and the event is open to all members of the church and community. Please spread the word! For applications or more information, contact Deborah Draper.
Candlelit Slow Flow Yoga
Soul Stretch Yoga begins a new session at First Pres Farmington on Monday evenings from 7:00-8:00 p.m. starting April 1. Refocus your week during this beautiful slow-flow hour with Jessica. Get centered with the day’s devotion and enjoy the connection of mind, body and spirit to your Creator. This therapeutic style of yoga takes joints through all range of motion, leaving you feeling mentally, physically and spiritually prepared to take on anything the week might throw at you. Stop by and try your first class here for free! For details and to register, http://soulstretch.org/classes/#candlelit-slow-flow2.
Congregational Matters
March Session Meeting Highlights
At its March 20, 2019 meeting, the Session:
- Called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, May 5, 2019, immediately following Worship for the purpose of electing Elders and Deacons.
- Scheduled the Ordination and Installation of new church officers on Sunday, May 19, 2019 during Worship.
- Changed the April Session meeting to April 24, 2019 to avoid meeting during Holy Week.
- Discussed the use of the Music Room by the Thistle Rose Academy of the Arts for the first quarter of 2019.More input will be sought before a recommendation on the collaboration is given.
We keep in our prayers
Names withheld from the online version of our newsletter.
We hold in our prayers, those who are sick. We also hold in prayer those impacted by the government shutdown, recent storms, natural disasters, gun violence and terrorism, as well as those who put themselves in harm’s way to assist them. We pray for the grieving, and remember members who are homebound, in nursing homes, and assisted living and those serving in the military or as first responders.
The Bests are coming!
Were you at First Pres in the 1990s? Then you may remember Maureen and Mike Best. They will be visiting our area in mid-May so we will be planning a time to get together with them. Would you like to join us? Please let Mary Carson or Nancy Prieskorn know of your interest. More details will be available once the Bests firm up their plans.
Congratulations and Thank You Messages
Thank you very much for your generous contribution to Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan. Your support along with the support of over 1,000 volunteers helped RTSEM make a difference in the lives of 50 homeowners in communities across Oakland County and Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood in Detroit during our 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you for your support and thoughtfulness which will enable us to preserve homes for low-income, elderly, disabled and family with children. We are looking forward to working with you and your team on National Rebuild Day 2019! Halie Black, Executive Director, RTSEM
On behalf of all the lives changed by Freedom House Detroit, thank you for your generous donation of $1,867.50. With your generous support, we are able to provide courageous individuals with what they need to move forward. With your help Freedom House Detroit is more than just a shelter – it is a place of renewal, support, family & strength. With appreciation, Deb Dennan, Freedom House Detroit, a refuge for those yearning to breathe free
Community Dialogues
Farmington Public Schools and Youth Assistance Farmington are sponsoring two April workshops in wrapping up a series of opportunities for our community to examine privilege, prejudice, bias and “isms.” Upcoming workshops will discuss Privilege and Power on Wednesday, April 10 and Gender Spectrum on Wednesday, April 17, both from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at the Maxfield Education Center, 32789 West Ten Mile Road in Farmington. Time will be spent seeking to understand different perspectives and how our individual and collective experiences shape our thoughts and actions. Sign up at https://bit.ly/2D9VzPV.
Our Endowment Fund: Preserving our past and investing in our future
They were brought together sharing a denominational faith, starting lives in a new community that Fall of 1953 66 years ago. Mary and Bob Larson were among the 55 adults and 22 children who decided to form a family of faith as a mission church and named it First Presbyterian. Upon receiving a charter as a new church from the PCUSA in 1954, they got to work in earnest to build a community of faith with excitement, enthusiasm and sacrifice. Within a year they purchased a five-acre site at Eleven Mile and Farmington Road and six years later dedicated the first church building.
Several years ago, Mary Larson, one of the founding members of our church, reflected upon its meaning to her:
“Looking back over nearly 60 years of membership, I still see many wonderful things that haven’t changed through the years: a caring and compassionate congregation, a strong commitment to Christian education, and our church’s support of the community, sharing God’s Word. Our work will never be done, but I know our church will continue to provide blessings and spiritual enrichment to future generations.”
Mary’s belief in our church is the foundation upon which we enjoy our blessings as a family of faith. Your legacy gift to our Endowment Fund represents a gift for what you love and a foundation for future generations of our mission as a church and our ministries to others. In 2 Samuel, 24:24 King David declared “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.” He understood that the value of a gift presented to God is determined by its value to the giver.
In the coming months opportunities will be made available for you to learn about the ways in which you can make a legacy gift to invest in our future as a church family. It could be a direct gift of cash, a set amount in a Will or Trust, a gift of stock or mutual funds, or designating the Endowment as part beneficiary in a Life Insurance Policy, IRA or other asset. No matter the amount, your giving is an act of faith.
As Christians we share in the affirmation that all we have, all we are, and all we do, comes from God and the gift that would touch the heart of God must first touch the life of the giver. To discuss your interest in providing a legacy gift please contact the church office or a member of the Endowment Fund Committee for assistance. We prayerfully hope you will give it your consideration.
Your Endowment Fund Committee
Dot Basmaji, Mary Carson, Sue Carlson, Larry Gage (Chair),
Paul McVey, Tom Neal, and Pastor Eddie (ex officio)
Order Easter Flowers
Samaritan Counseling Center News
Samaritan Counseling Center of Southeastern Michigan (SCC) is offering a Preparation for Marriage Workshop. Led by experienced leaders, it 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 20, 2019 TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, 1589 W Maple Rd, Birmingham, MI 48009
FEE: $225 per couple. A $125 deposit is required at registration. To register, contact SCC’s main office at (248) 474-4701. For further information, please visit SCC’s website at www.sccmich.org.
The First Presbyterian Church of Farmington wishes you and yours a blessed Easter!
