Headlines
New Pictorial Directory has arrived
We’ve had new members and a new pastor since our last pictorial directory was published in 2011 so we are delighted to announce that the new pictorial directory is finished and is being distributed. If you participated by having your photo taken by Universal Church Directories or submitted a photo for the pictorial directory, your family’s copy is ready for pick up. A limited number of directories are available for purchase for $20. Stay tuned for the availability of an app to have the pictorial directory accessible on your smart phone and a PDF version that can be emailed to you. And soon we will be receiving the smaller annual directory that will be provided to all First Pres members and friends. Please contact the church office with updates or corrections or to receive a PDF of the pictorial directory.
Founder Festival Parade Float planned
Calling all volunteers! Eddie Matteson is again heading up a crew for the First Pres float for the Farmington & Farmington Hills Founders Festival Parade. The project will also entail assembling a cadre of volunteers to ride in or march alongside the float to had out First Pre frisbees as our float winds its way through downtown Farmington on Saturday, July 21. To join in the fun and find out how you can help, contact Eddie Matteson.
Looking for First Pres Golfers
Men and Women: Ready for some fun and laughs together? Then join us for the inaugural First Farmington nine-hole golf scramble is set for Saturday, September 8 at the Farmington Hills Golf Course, with a 10:00 a.m. start. The cost is only $24 per golfer (cart included) for this “best ball” fun event. All church golfers and their friends, regardless of handicap or ability level, are invited to just be together enjoying each other’s company! Even if you haven’t played golf for a long time, all you need to remember is you hold the club at the thin end! This is a great way to introduce some of your neighbors and friends to a church event. There’s a sign-up sheet posted in the Narthex to help us with our planning so please plan on taking in the fun on September 8 even if you aren’t certain right now. Questions? Feel free to contact either Karen Spica (248-474-6170; [email protected]), or Larry Gage. Remember: God loves the cheerful golfer as well as the cheerful giver! (Cor 2: 9.7).
3rd Annual Craft Show & Bake Sale
Our 3rd annual craft show and bake sale will be held Saturday, Nov. 10 from 10 :00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Knox Hall. Spaces will be 8 X 8 and are open to all members and to the community. We are known for being a welcoming church and what better way to reach out to the community than by inviting them to share their talents. Now that we have longer days we can spend time creating our crafts. Please join us. For more information contact Deborah Dunn Draper.
Welcoming Youth Group from Cartagena Presbyterian Church
On July 13-15, we will serve as the host site for Youth Choir / Band from Cartagena PC, in Cartagena, Columbia. We will serve Friday and Saturday evening meals as well as Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast. They will participate in our worship service on Sunday and then join us for some fellowship time before departing. Volunteers are needed to lead and support the hosting effort; Spanish speaking skill will be most welcome.
Vespers on Wednesday evenings
Enjoy a mid-week spiritual boost at Vespers this summer on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month through August 23. This 30-minute, informal service starts at 7:00 p.m. and includes a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Please join us in the sanctuary for this time of worship and fellowship.
Summer Music has started for singers and musicians
Summer Music continues through Sunday, September 2 and you are invited to join in. Here’s how Summer Choir works: show up in the chancel at 9:15 on Sunday morning to rehearse an anthem (either an easy one or one we’ve sung before, or both). Sing it at the 10 a.m. service, and then join your family and friends in the pews. ALL are welcome! No long-term commitment required. Drop in and sing as you wish when you wish.
We’re also looking for anyone who’d like to offer their gifts as a soloist or duet partner for summer worship as well. Or do you play an instrument and want to play it in church? Do you have a duet or trio to enhance our time together? Just let Dr. Jerry know, so that we can schedule time to rehearse it and share it in worship.
***Deadline for articles for the September FYI is Thursday, Aug. 16!
From the Nurture (Christian Education) Ministry Team
Adult Bible Study, Sunday morning 9:00 am to 9:50 am.
This group discusses weekly lessons from The Wired Word, an easy and automatic way to confront current news with Scripture and hope. Class members receive an email on Thursdays with a news topic and relevant Bible readings, as well as a few questions to help spark conversation. Drop by on a Sunday morning and join the discussion! If you’d like to start receiving the weekly lesson by email, please contact the Nurture Team ([email protected]).
Stars in the Park Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. through August 16 in Heritage Park
Meet up with friends from our faith family and enjoy great music in the outdoor amphitheater at Heritage Park! Bring folding chairs or a blanket for seating and some snacks and beverages to share and enjoy. We’ll meet at the top of the hill facing the amphitheater OR, for those who prefer a handicap accessible route, at the bottom of the hill in front of the amphitheater. Please see the attached brochure for information regarding the performers and the ‘inclement weather’ alternative venue. Contact Deb Jackson Lum if you have questions or need additional information.
Sandusky Mission Trip, July 16-21
Join other Presbytery of Detroit youth for a week of service projects, with a bonus day at Cedar Point. Contact Deb Jackson Lum if you have questions or would like to participate.
Interfaith Youth United: Faith in Action, August 13-17
Save the Date! Our church received a grant from the Presbytery of Detroit to help fund this week of interfaith youth service at C.A.R.E.S. (formerly St. Alexander’s Church). Middle school youth, together with high school and adult leaders, will invest a week completing much-needed projects at the site while building relationships and discovering the common values shared by churches, synagogues and mosques in our community. Details will be coming soon.
Vacation Bible School, August 20-24
Save the Date! Our church will be the host site for Vacation Bible School 2018 during the mornings of Aug. 20-24, welcoming children from Farmington Presbyterian, Antioch Lutheran, North Congregation and our community. “Big Heart Farms VBS, Where God’s Fruit of the Spirit Grows” is the theme and will focus on the fruit of the Spirit, learning to grow through love, kindness, patience, peace, joy and more. Registration for ages 4-11 years is $25 per child or $60 per family. An optional field trip on Friday from 12:30-4:00 p.m. is $10 per person and includes lunch and a trip to Belle Isle, urban farm and organ tour. Contact Pam Jusino or Leslie Moyna If you’d like to help plan and prepare for this wonderful faith-building week for children and their families.
Mission Opportunities and News
Cereal for Summer
Sharon Cressman barely had room to drive her car to the June Presbytery meeting as she transported 76 boxes of cereal from First Pres! The Cereal for Summer campaign that the Detroit Presbytery sponsored was highly successful, collecting 1,416 boxes of cereal and still counting. They disperse it to ten sites to feed children (and their families) who receive meals at school during the school year but are hungry year-round. The remaining cereal donated was delivered to C.A.R.E.S. to meet local needs.
C.A.R.E.S.
We are supporting C.A.R.E.S. in another way, too. In July, we gave them $500 to be used to meet operational needs. You probably remember that St. Al’s Food Pantry morphed into this special site in our community. The food pantry is there — bigger than ever — joined by a clothing closet and plans to include Rebuilding Together, counseling, tutoring, health care, and so much more.
C.A.R.E.S. is also the location of our Faith in Action grant! For the past few months youth and adults from 10 houses of worship in the area have gathered to plan a week long (Aug.13-17) experience for middle and high schoolers. It’s really inspiring to watch the group come together!
The youth have named the “camp” Youth United and are full of ideas to help C.A.R.E.S. with a variety of projects. Faith communities represented include Adat Shalom, Burhani Masjid, Hope Lutheran, Muslim Community Mosque, Nardin Park, Orchard Methodist, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Gerald’s, Trinity in the Woods and us!
Back to School Sneaker Drive
It seems as if school just got out, but we’re about to kick off our back-to-school Sneaker Drive at the end of the month! Elementary school children in Farmington Public Schools are asked to leave a pair of tennis shoes at school for gym class. For many families, that is simply not possible. Some children are lucky if they have one pair of shoes that fit properly, let alone a pair to only wear for gym class and then leave at school! At the end of this past school year there were 165 students under the program run by the school’s homeless coordinators. While they may not be homeless in a way we might define it (living in their car), these students do not have a permanent residence — they may be living temporarily in a hotel, staying with friends or relatives or in a shelter. As we did last fall, we invite our congregation to donate money to purchase sneakers. Just make your check out to FPCF with a notation “Sneakers” in the memo line. Or write Sneakers and your name in a pew envelope with your contribution.
Other Mission News
Farther away from home, we will be supporting the Upper Peninsula recovery from the June floods. With a firsthand assessment from Lauren Van Hamme Koshak and advice from Portage United Presbyterian Church in Houghton, we will be sending $500. Presbyterian Disaster Relief also paid a visit to Houghton.
Second Mile Center is a favorite non-profit of our church to support. We were pleased to learn that Ruth Azar (director of Second Mile) was commissioned as a ruling elder at Second Mile Center at the June Presbytery meeting. She is working under a covenant made with Grosse Pointe Memorial Church who can authorize her to conduct baptisms and communion at Second Mile. We donated $3,000 to Second Mile this summer. We also contributed $3,300 to FPCF PW for their mission activities.
Congregational News and Concerns
Stephen Minister Commissioning
Pam Jusino and Josh Archey have completed the Stephen Minister’s Training with flying colors!! While they both wear many hats in our Family of Faith, they now are able to wear a new hat—Stephen Minister. They join others ready to work with people one-to-one who are dealing with some transition in their lives. Please join us during Worship on Sept. 23 are they are commissioned, and our Stephen Ministers and Leaders are recommissioned in this important ministry in our church.
Even if you are not a Stephen Leader or a Stephen Minister, did you know that we need you to play an important role in our Stephen Ministry? Our Stephen Ministers need your prayerful support as they confidentially meet with their care receivers. Our Stephen Leaders also need your help in identifying people who might benefit from a Stephen Minister relationship. If you see a friend, coworker, neighbor, relative or someone else who could use some extra Christian care, tell that person about our Stephen Ministry program. If you have any questions, please call one of our pastors, Helen Thomas or Lois Caito.
Thoughts from outgoing PW Moderator Sally Kirsten
I have been pleased to serve as Moderator of Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington this past year. It has been a rewarding and encouraging year, with significant changes made. This was a year of listening to the opinions and needs of women in circles and women not in circles. After receiving and reviewing questionnaires from the survey PW conducted in the spring of 2017, we have made changes to support our membership, to encourage new members to join our circles and to make the organizational aspects of PW (the “busy-ness” of doing business) easier for members to become involved.
I especially want to reach out to those women who are not currently part of Presbyterian Women. Whether you are new to this congregation or a long-time member who is not in a circle, please consider joining us in any of our activities. Monthly circle meetings will reconvene in September, after a summer hiatus. The hospitality, the fellowship, the friendships and the support that circles give their members are truly the heart of Presbyterian women. Circles are inclusive, and everyone matters.
We have five circles: three daytime circles and two evening circles. All welcome visitors and new members of all ages. When circle meetings resume in the fall please consider checking out one or more of them. You may talk to our new PW Moderator Nancy Cook, or any of the PW members, including me, for help in deciding which circle might be the right fit for you. All you need do is show up for a meeting once a month or whenever you are able. All circles offer fellowship, Bible study, and opportunities for outreach into our community and the world. Here are our five circles with circle leaders are in parentheses:
ACTS (Marcia Van Hamme) meets the second Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the Parlor. Babysitting is available.
BETH (Ruth France) meets the second Tuesday at noon in the Library.
Deborah (Anne Fuller) meets the second Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in Knox Fellowship Hall.
Lydia (Kathy Brown) meets the third Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. in the Parlor.
Phoenix (Nancy Cook) meets the second Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. in homes.
Presbyterian Women Leaders for 2018 – 2019 are: Nancy Cook – Moderator; Deborah Draper – PW Vice Moderator; Jean Winterbottom – Secretary; Kathy Brown – Treasurer; Sally Kirsten – Vice Moderator for Justice and Peace; Colleen Tavor – Vice Moderator for Mission; and Ruth McKinnon – Vice Moderator for Study and Spiritual Development.
In addition, Pam Jusino and Sue Carlson will assist with the PW Christmas Gathering on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, Ardis Scott will continue the PW Card Ministry and Sue Carlson will continue as Publicity Chair. The PW Search Committee is comprised of Sally Kirsten, Ruth France, Anne Fuller and Laura Hedgecock.
Sally Kirsten, Outgoing PW Moderator
Congregational Concerns
We keep in our prayers
Details withheld from the web-version of our FYI.
Conversations with the Pastor is July 29
Following worship on Sunday, July 29, we will gather for “Conversations with the Pastor.” Join Pastor Eddie in the sanctuary following service for an opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues of importance to our church. “Let’s be good companions of The Way and together discover what the fruit of the Spirit looks like.” (Galatians 5:22-23). We will do this on the fifth Sunday of each month throughout 2018.
Many Thanks
We are so grateful for your friendship and deeply appreciate your kin express of sympathy in our time of sorrow. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. With love and gratitude, The Family of Arnold Aue
Thank you for your generous donation of $600 to support Fort Street Open Door and our ministry to our guests. For 50 years now, Open Door has served some of the most vulnerable populations of Detroit. We are a place of substance and nurture – a good meal, warm clothing and clean bodies. It is place where people from all walks of life come together, in service, in hospitality, in appreciation of one another. Thank you again for your continued partnership with ministry to the least of these in Downtown Detroit. Rev. Anne and Eric Lange, Interim Co-Pastors, Fort Street Presbyterian Church
On behalf of all the lives changed by Freedom House Detroit, thank you for your generous donation of $1,000. Our mission is to uphold a fundamental American principle, one inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, of providing safety to those “yearning to breathe free.” The hope of this freedom is kept alive because of you. On behalf of the residents and staff, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Deborah A. Drennan, Executive Director Freedom House Detroit
Summer church office hours
Starting on Friday, July 6, the church office will be closing at 12 noon on Fridays during the months of July and August. Regular hours resume after Labor Day (Monday – Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.).
Community Needs
Host families needed for foreign exchange students
We have an urgent need to find host families for three young male Muslim AFS foreign exchange students. Two are YES students, which means they are on scholarships from the United States Department of State, Mohammed from Jordan and Mucahit from Turkey. Sencar is also from Turkey, but his parents are paying all the fees for him to participate in the program. There is a need for a family or families willing to open their homes and hearts to one of these young men. We need to place these young men as soon as possible so that their visa paperwork can be completed in time for their scheduled arrival dates in August. The host family requirements are to provide a bed (no air mattresses), access to bathroom with hot running water, a place to study, three meals a day, and a caring home environment. They may share a bedroom with a same-sex host sibling.
There is no financial compensation to the host family. Exchange students are to be treated as a member of the family, with assigned chores, etc. AFS does not discriminate in terms of make-up of host families, they can be empty-nesters, couples without children, families with host siblings, single parents or same-sex couples. If you’re interested in hosting one of these students or are interested in hosting a male or female AFS foreign exchange student from a different country, Ann Steglich at [email protected] or 248-540-0144. Thank you for your kind consideration of our urgent need to place these young men.
Homes needed for six high school students from Spain and Germany
Volunteer host families (with or without children) as well as single parents are needed to provide food, a bed and a loving home to one of six high school students for the coming school year starting in late August or early September. We have six students (girls) from Spain and Germany who would like to come for the 2018-2019 school year and are waiting for their match with a volunteer host family. They need to be placed by August 31st to be able to come. EMF students have medical insurance, spending money for their personal expenses and expect to share their host family’s daily life including household responsibilities. They speak English, are well-screened and eager to experience life in America. Their stay here is sponsored and supervised by EMF (Educational Merit Foundation), a non-profit, educational exchange program. It is not too late to apply. For more information on EMF students, please call Marie-Claude Dijoud at 1-800-467-8363 or visit the EMF web site at www.emfusa.org.
Looking for used books for teachers’ classrooms
If your bookcases are overflowing without room for the latest best seller, you can bring any books needing a good home to church. Then Karen Linnell will take the books to the AAUW (American Association of University Women) Book Sale where the proceeds are used for scholarships. AAUW accepts fiction and non-fiction but not textbooks or encyclopedias. Books need to be in good condition, with no highlighting or underlining. We invite teachers in the tri-county area to come to the book sale and pick out up to $75 worth of free books for their classrooms. We sort books all summer long and will display them by category (and age, for the children’s books), which makes it easier for everyone to find just what they love to read. The AAUW book sale will be held Sept. 7-9 at the Masonic Lodge on Woodward in Bloomfield Hills. You may leave donated books in the designated area under the coat racks through Aug. 5.
Samaritan Counseling Center News
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, Sept. 22, 2018 TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: First United Methodist Church of Birmingham, 1589 West Maple Road, Birmingham
FEE: $225 per couple. A $125 deposit is required at registration
Please contact SCC’s main office at (248) 474-4701 to register or for further information. For further information, please visit SCC’s website, www.sccmich.org.
