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Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve services
- Worship on Christmas Eve morning will be Sunday, Dec. 24 at 10:00 a.m.
- A family service at 4:30 p.m. with carols and stories on Sunday, Dec. 24
- A candlelight service with lessons and carols at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 24
- A carol sing service will close out 2017 on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 10:00 a.m.
Hanging of the Greens on Dec. 2
Thanks to everyone who helped out in preparing our church building for Christmas. And a big thank you to those who decorated Christmas cookies and delivered them to our homebound members and friends. The church is ready for the joyous season of anticipating the arrival of our Lord!
Last chance to see the Christmas play
Our talented Presbyterian Players presented two entertaining performances of “The Mission,” a play about a group of search and rescue angels looking for the missing Jesus. It’s Christmas time and the team must find Jesus. If you didn’t have a chance to see the play during the Presbyterian Women’s “Joy, Hope and Peace” Christmas pageant or at the PWPD luncheon program we hosted earlier this week, there is one final opportunity for you to see it: The play will replace the pastor’s reflection this Sunday during our 10:00 a.m. worship service.
Congratulations to the cast of Manny Sharpe, Laura Hedgecock, Sally Kirsten, Irene Forbes, Shirley Kinsey, Sue Carlson, Tom Neal, Ruth France, Debra Hemmye and Matt Hedgecock, along with Director Pam Jusino and Prompter Leslie Moyna.
Consecration Sunday update
As of Nov. 29, 113 “pledging units” are making a financial commitment to faithful giving to First Pres in 2018. Of these, 41% have increased their commitment amount and 16% have made a commitment for the first time. Commitment cards continue to be returned to the church office, and we will share a final update in late December. We give thanks for faithful stewardship of all that God has provided!
Annual Meeting and Reports due date
Please turn in all reports to be included in the 2017 Annual Report by Friday, January 5, 2017. The 2017 Annual Report will be emailed to members who have signed up through the church website to receive the FYI newsletter, the annual report and other important church information ( www.farmington-pres.org ). A few hard copies of the 2017 Annual Report will be available at the welcome center. The Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, immediately following worship.
The deadline for articles for the January FYI is Wednesday, Dec. 13
Dec. 2017-Jan. 2018 Christian Education & Nurture News
Join us during Advent in the 2nd floor church library on Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. for Rise Up Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals. Books are available in the church office for purchase for $8.45.
Saturday, Dec. 2 Join us from 10 a.m. to 12 noon for Christmas cookie baking and decorating during Hanging of the Greens! Cookies will then be delivered on Saturday and Sunday afternoon to our homebound members and friends. If you would like to volunteer to help deliver cookies, please contact Jan Dennison, Leslie Moyna, or Josh Archey.
Wednesday, Dec. 20 Delivery of hygiene items, hats, mittens, and scarves for the children of Calvin East Presbyterian Church’s WORD Literacy Program in Detroit. Meet at church at 4 pm to carpool to the Calvin East Christmas party. RSVP to Josh Archey by Tuesday, Dec. 12 so we have an accurate head count for dinner.
Later in December A Christmas gathering is being explored for college-aged and young adults! Come re-connect with your church family and friends while you’re home for the holidays!
Thanks to your generous pledges to our church, the Mission Ministry Team is once again providing support to purchase items needed by the families in Calvin East Presbyterian Church’s WORD literacy program for their annual Christmas party and dinner. The children and youth of our church help to pack the assembled items into oversized gift bags that are then distributed at the Christmas party. Each bag contains a towel, washcloth, bottle of liquid laundry detergent, comb, shampoo, soap, and hand sanitizer.
Coming in Jan. 2018
SOS (South Oakland Shelter) is coming! Calling all strong young women and men! Please plan on joining us as our church once again hosts South Oakland Shelter! Help is especially needed for set up after church on Sunday, Jan. 14, and for tear down before and after church on Sunday, Jan. 21, beginning at 8 a.m.
Presbytery of Detroit MLK Weekend Service Opportunity Join youth and adults from across the Presbytery of Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for an intergenerational service project at Fort Street Presbyterian Church, including lunch and conversation.
Faith Formation – Advent devotional studies
Come and join us Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. in the Library for four weeks and explore the sublime musical expression of the African American spirituals and their profound insights into the human condition and the Christian life. Many focus on an essential scene of the Christian drama: the coming of God as the child in Bethlehem and as the hope of the world and the liberator of God’s oppressed people. Rise Up, Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals written by Luke Powery leads the reader through the spirituals as they confront the mystery of incarnation and redemption. Each devotion features the lyrics of the spiritual, a reflection on the spiritual’s meaning, a Scripture verse, and a brief prayer. Save the Dates: Tuesday mornings through Dec. 19. Order your devotional for $8.45.
Mission & Fellowship Events and Opportunities
Second Mile Center opportunities
Thank you to all who donated food for the Second Mile Center Thanksgiving baskets. If you would like to help to provide perishable items for the baskets, please write a check to SMC or donate a gift card to Kroger, Walmart or Target. Ginny Hubble and Sue Carlson are collecting these. Also, Ruth Azar is preparing a list of SMC children who will be receiving Christmas gift bags. If individuals, families or groups would like to sponsor a child (suggested value of $65, with gift suggestions provided) or make a donation, please let Sue or Ginny know. The bags will include a shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and a toy requested by the child. 6
Giving Tree to help our adopted family
A little over a year ago, a mother and her five children came to Farmington as refugees from northeast Syria. The father had been killed and the family sought refuge in the U.S. This is the family that Farmington Public Schools is giving to our church in response to our request to adopt a family in need. The Mission Team invites you to choose an ornament from the Giving Tree in the narthex, purchase the item and return it by Dec. 17 with the ornament attached. Since the family is not Christian, please wrap the gift in “winter wrapping paper.” The children include a 2nd grade girl, twin boys in 6th grade, and 8th and 9th grade girls. From the Mission budget, we will supply two laptops and a winter coat for mom.
Hat and Mitten Tree giving
With cold weather just around the corner, it is time for our church’s Hat and Mitten Tree collection. Through Dec. 10, we’ll be collecting hats, mittens, underwear and socks (no scarves, please) for needy children right here in our own community. We will also be collecting adult sizes of hats, scarves and gloves as their need in our area is ever present during the colder months. Your new items should be placed on or below the dowel tree in the narthex. Please leave price tags on. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Last of the canned good request (for 2017)!
Please drop off some canned goods for Goodfellows and Second Mile Center by Dec. 10. Just place them in the clear container labeled “Food” and the Mission Team will make sure they find a good home for Christmas.
Men’s Group program
Heads up for this annual breakfast for men in our Presbytery on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 a.m. at Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church in Livonia. The guest speaker is Chris Lambert, executive director of Life Remodeled, a transformative citywide community rebuilding initiative in Detroit. See Tom Neal for details and carpooling plans.
SOS Is coming to First Presbyterian Jan. 14 – 21
It is hard to believe that this will be our 11th year hosting guests from South Oakland Shelter. We have learned so many things over the years about our guests. We have shared tears and laughter as we heard stories about their lives. We have shared our time and our hearts as we made our church a home for a week.
As always, there is an URGENT NEED for volunteers. Sign-up sheets for the many volunteer opportunities will soon be posted on the large bulletin board in the Narthex.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact anyone listed below. Please prayerfully consider how you can help make this ministry a success.
Thank you, Chris and Emily Davis, Rick Fuller, Leslie Black, Jan Dennison, Mary Carson, Mike Gidley, Laura Hedgecock
Christmas concerts at First Presbyterian Church
Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:00 p.m. – Lynda Wood, soloist, with First Presbyterian’s former organist Devon Hansen on piano perform An Evening of Music – Christmas Classics. Everyone is invited, and donations will be accepted at the door.
Sunday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. – Come enjoy Vox Lyrica, a women’s choral group with piano and flute accompaniment. Donations accepted at the door.
Friday, Dec. 8 at 3:00 p.m. – The Orchard Lake Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Norm Logan presents a one-hour holiday concert. This daytime concert is designed for seniors and those who don’t like driving at night. Tickets are $5 at the door.
Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 pm. – The Orchard Lake Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Norm Logan presents Music for the Holidays. Tickets are $5 at the door.
Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. – The Wayne State University Orchestra and Concert Chorale will present a special holiday concert on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 10. The works performed will include excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, chorale works by John Rutter and Mark Hayes, the third Symphony of Robert Schumann and the world premiere of a new work for chorus and orchestra based on English Christmas carols by our church’s own director of music, Dr. Gerald Custer. The event is open to the public at no charge; a free-will offering will be received during intermission.
Presbyterian Women holiday food drive
Second Mile Center, PW’s mission in Detroit, serves many families in need. Presbyterian Women is coordinating a Thanksgiving and Christmas food basket drive. There are blue collection tubs in the foyer near the coat racks. The nonperishable items requested are 1 box elbow macaroni, 2 cans cranberry sauce, 1 large can yams, 1 box cake or brownie mix, 1 container frosting, 2 cans green beans or corn, and one box or bag of cornbread mix. For the nonperishable items (turkey, pie, etc.), please donate gift cards from Kroger, or write a check to PW with Second Mile Center in the memo line and give to Kathy Brown, Sue Carlson or Sally Kirsten by Dec. 5.
From the Mission Ministry Team
It’s been a busy November for the Mission Team. We’re still smiling about the success of the first-ever Mission Fair, having received great feedback from the congregation! Special thanks to Emily Davis and Linda Clew for making this event so successful!
November began with collecting food for C.A.R.E.S. (formerly known as St. Al’s Food Pantry). You probably noticed the new clear tubs that were quickly filled with all the items C.A.R.E.S. requested to provide a Thanksgiving meal for so many of their clients. The Mission Team is beginning to organize the collection area (near the kiosk next to the Narthex) so that it will be obvious where donations go. The clear tubs will be labeled with the items we are collecting, which the Mission Team will then sort and deliver to the appropriate organization.
Consecration Sunday, Nov. 5, was about looking forward to next year. But the Mission Team is still donating from your generous pledges for 2017. We sent $1,000 to Goodfellows for their drive to make sure no child or senior is without a Christmas. We also sent $750 to Alternatives for Girls to continue to support their mission to help homeless and high-risk girls and young women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation, and help them to explore and access the support, resources and opportunities necessary to be safe, to grow strong and to make positive choices in their lives. Both organizations participated in our Mission Fair.
We are also giving Pastor Eddie a check for $1,000 to share with a colleague of his, Rev. Jose Gonzalez, pastor at Iglesia Presbiteriana de Hato Rey. He has spoken with the minister who will be able to identify where our donation can do the greatest good to those still recovering the devastating hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico.
Freedom House volunteer Cheryl Willette met with the Mission Team in late October, giving us insight into the life of an asylum seeker at Freedom House. A few weeks later, Cheryl learned that the organization that has purchased fleeces for each child or adult at Freedom House would not be able to do so this year. She asked several Farmington area churches if they could step in at the last minute to help out. We are happy to contribute $100 to this cause. Cheryl says all their clothes are donations or Salvation Army purchases. “It’s a thrill for them to have something new for the winter season.” You may have met Cheryl at the Mission Fair when she represented Freedom House.
In December, we will collect food for Christmas baskets for Second Mile Center (PW heads this effort) and for the Goodfellows. We are also adopting a refugee family from northeast Syria via Operation Common Good (part of Farmington Public Schools). The father was killed about 6 years ago and the mother and her five children came to the U.S. as refugees a little over a year ago. The refugee organization provided a house in Farmington to live in for a while; then the owner was generous enough to allow them to stay in the same home for less-than-market-value rent. The mother struggles to make a living cleaning houses (in addition to welfare) to pay rent, utilities and to provide for the five children (2nd grade through 9th grade) and herself. We asked for their wish lists, which are on ornaments on the Giving Tree in the Narthex. We encourage you to select an ornament and purchase the gift written on the ornament for this family. Please return the gifts (wrapped in winter paper as the family is not Christian) by Sunday, Dec. 17 with the name on the gift.
We will join with all Presbyterians across the country to contribute to the Christmas Joy offering on Christmas Eve. This offering helps retired ministers and other church staff who are having difficulty making ends meet. Christmas Joy offering also helps to develop our future leaders at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges.
Congregational Concerns
Reflections from the Stephen Ministry
During one of our training classes, we were discussing the challenging times or crises that people go through in their lives. The Chinese word for crisis is made from the combination of two characters — one meaning “danger” and the other meaning “opportunity.” This means that with every crisis there is the opportunity to grow.
When these times occur in our lives we often turn to God, family, friends or support groups. We also need to remember what a wonderful gift our congregation is for a person in crisis.
Quoted from the Stephen Ministry training: “People in crisis often feel out of control. Their congregation provides a place of stability and predictability. It can be an anchor to hold onto as they regain control of their lives. Here they can count on people caring for, listening to, and accepting them … People in crisis often feel hopeless and their fellow Christians have Christ’s message of hope and healing to share. The church is the place where people hear and respond to God’s call to ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ’ (Galatians 6:2 NRSV). More than anything else, people in crisis need caring Christian friends who will walk with them through their painful journey…Thank God for the gift of the church and for one another. There will be times when each of us needs to receive care during our own crises. God is so loving and caring to give us one another to turn to during our difficult times.”
Remember that Stephen Ministers are here for you. If you have a need or are interested in serving in this ministry, please contact Pastor Eddie, Helen Thomas or Lois Caito.
Craft Fair was a success
Thank you for all your support! The craft fair was another successful event in the life of our church. The event generated $1,696 in support for the music program. Some of the vendors have even asked when our spring show would be. Deborah Draper is thankful for her very hardworking group of helpers: Cathy Neal, Anna and Rick Fuller, Eddie Matteson, Mitchell Cressman, Pam Jusino, Lorrie McVey, Ardis Scott, Karen Spica, Jean Winterbottom and the Cub Scouts. And a thank you also to all our generous shoppers.
Have Box Tops for Education at home?
Please cut them out bring, them in and put them in the collection box for Hillside Elementary School. Each box top coupon is worth 10 cents for Hillside educational programs. With just a little effort, we can add significant financial to support our adopted school. Look for the plaid box in the Narthex and add your 10 cents! If you have any questions, please call Martha Countegan at 248-324-2686.
Bread bakers wanted
The Worship Ministry Team is seeking communion bread bakers. We have a good recipe that has been fine-tuned over many years by Marcia Howe. You don’t need to be a great baker to make it, as the bread recipe is easy. Now that we are serving communion on the first and third Sundays of each month, we have a greater need to add more bread bakers to the communion team. Please contact Pam Jusino for details.
Check out the church’s Facebook Page
For those of you who use Facebook, if you have not “liked” our church page, please start by looking up First Presbyterian Church of Farmington and clicking the “like” icon. Once you have “liked” the page you will receive interesting church news including notice of upcoming events and videos of anthems featuring our Chancel Choir sometimes with guest musicians. We need as many people as possible to “like” our page AND for those who are on Facebook to “like” and “share” events and happenings at the church on our timeline. Sharing is a great way to spread the good news about First Pres!
Important Year-End Information Regarding Contributions
Please be aware that the last bank deposit for contributions for tax year 2017 will be Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. This means contributions must be received in the church office before Monday, Dec. 26, 2016 or in the offering plate on Sunday, Dec. 24. Any monies received in the mail after these dates will not be counted or deposited until after the end of the year and will be counted as 2017 contributions. Please note these dates so that you will know in advance how to plan.
Important Information About 2017 Offering Envelopes
Those who have used numbered envelopes in 2017 will automatically receive envelopes for 2018. If you have NOT used envelopes this year, but DO wish to have them for next year, please do one of the following:
- Contact Jerry Scheel
- Contact the church office to make your request known.
Numbered envelopes facilitate the speed and accuracy of the data entry process, so we do encourage you to use envelopes if you contribute manually on a regular basis. We also encourage the use of electronic debit. If you wish to submit your pledge electronically from your account, please call Jerry Scheel, Financial Secretary, to have the forms mailed to you. If you have any questions, please contact Jerry Scheel or call the church office at (248) 474-6170.
November Session Highlights
At its November 15 meeting, the Session:
- Agreed to spend up to $1,000 from the Memorials fund for new tables for Knox Hall.
- Agreed to allow the Toastmaster’s group that currently meets at the Farmington Hills Wayne State University campus to meet in room 208/210 on Wednesday mornings after their current location closes.
- Agreed to participate in the Presbyterian Panel for 2018-2020. Agencies and councils across the denomination use the confidential results to find out what Presbyterians think and do, and want for the church. The “Go Figure” column in the Presbyterians Today magazine is one place where Presbyterian Panel results are published. If contacted to answer occasional mailed questionnaires, you are encouraged to provide your opinion.
We keep in our prayers
Names withheld in the web-version of our newsletter.
We hold in our prayers members who are ill,
And pray for the grieving,
We also remember members who are homebound, in nursing homes, and assisted living,
And those serving in the military.
