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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. Full details of all Lent, Holy Week, Easter worship and educational opportunities can be found at
http://bit.ly/Lent-Easter2020.

• Sunday, April 5 – Passion / Palm Sunday Passion/Palm Sunday Intergenerational Service @ 10:00 a.m. The beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final journey to the cross. An intergenerational service where music, scripture and story and pageantry are interwoven. This worship service begins with the procession of children waving palm branches. Parents, children and youth will be participating in worship.

 

•  April 9 – Tenebrae Maundy Thursday Service of the Shadows @7:30 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. Tenebrae is a prolonged meditation on Christ’s anguish. Readings trace the story of Christ’s passion, and the power of silence and darkness suggests the drama of this momentous day. Through word and music, this service dramatizes the suffering, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. As lights are extinguished, we ponder the depth of Christ’s suffering and death.

 

• April 10: Ecumenical Good Friday – The Service of the Nails @12 noon at FPCF. Farmington Area Interfaith Association, Ecumenical service @ FPCF. It is a series of readings, responses, extinguishing of the light, and silent reflection and prayer designed to help us enter more deeply into the meaning of the agony of Christ’s crucifixion. Everyone will be invited to approach the wooden cross in silence, take a nail from the baskets and with a hammer drive the nail into the wood as a sign of our own brokenness – our intolerance of one another…our indifference and apathy were the nails that were pounded and still we pound into Christ’s hands and feet.

 

• Sunday, April 12 – Easter/Resurrection Day and the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion @10:00 a.m., followed by Easter Breakfast/Brunch. For Christians the world over, the festival of Easter – the great day of resurrection – is not only the foundation of the faith but also the central event of the liturgical year. Join us for joyful worship followed by a time of fellowship and breakfast as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Daylight Saving Time Reminder

Don’t forget to spring ahead next weekend by setting your clock AHEAD one-hour before you go to sleep next Saturday evening, March 7 or you’ll be late for Sunday worship on March 8.

Lenten Study: He Chose the Nails, by Max Lucado

In “He Chose the Nails,” a five-session video Bible study, Max Lucado continues examining the gifts that Christ gave at his crucifixion. Every gift from God reveals God’s love, but no gift reveals God’s love more than the gift of the cross. These gifts came not wrapped in paper but in passion. They were not placed around a tree but around a cross. The cross is rich with God’s gifts of grace, and as we unwrap them, we will hear him whisper, “I did it just for you.” Join Pastor Eddie Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. from March 3 – 31. Books are available in the church office at a cost of $10 each. Write Lenten Study Book on your check memo line please.

April FYI Deadline is Tuesday, March 17

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 Sunday, April 19 at 11:30 a.m., in room 208/210 (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. Childcare will be available after the meal.

Stephen Ministry

Are you looking for a new ministry opportunity in our congregation? Stephen Ministry is our one-to-one caring ministry and right now, we are looking for members who are interested in becoming Stephen Ministers or Stephen Leaders.
When was the last time someone really listened to you? We’re talking about that undistracted, full-attention kind of listening. That’s one of the ways Stephen Ministers care for others. We need more Stephen Ministers to listen and care for others. Are you interested in teaching? We also are looking for Stephen Leaders. Stephen Ministers and Leaders share the warmth of God’s love with those who need it. Please prayerfully consider serving in this ministry. If you would like more information, please contact Pastor Eddie, Lois Caito or Helen Thomas.

Parliamentary Training March 7

Going to a Meeting? Want to know what a “quorum” is? Training will be held on tips to make meetings more effective and stay on track. This training will be provided by the Rev. Dr. Edward Koster, J.D., who is the Detroit Presbytery Stated Clerk, and be geared toward Session members and other committee members as well as any congregation members currently in or interested in a church leadership position. A brief overview of what will be covered is below: Theological foundation; Book of Order references; Meetings: Calls, Quorums; Making motions; Voting; Robert’s Rules for small meetings for sessions and committees; and Minutes. Join us on Saturday, March 7, from 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon in Room 208/210. A light continental breakfast will precede this free meeting. If interested, please contact Dorothy Tait at 248-231-1055 or [email protected].

Poverty Simulation March 8 – Walking in Their Shoes

Next Sunday afternoon the staff at COTS (Coalition on Temporary Shelters/Creating Opportunities to Succeed) will come to our church to lead us in an exercise to better understand the plight of those who live in poverty. This 2-1/2-hour Poverty Simulation will reveal how many families and individuals struggle to gain self-sufficiency. Participants assume the roles of different families facing poverty. Each “family” must provide for basic necessities and shelter while interacting with volunteers playing the roles of bill collectors, school administrators, social services personnel and more. We need a minimum number of people for this event and hope not to cancel this opportunity. When you leave the sanctuary today, please let a member of the Mission Committee know you would like to join us on Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m. We will take a free will offering to offset some of the expense.

Annual PW Women’s Retreat on March 14

“Deeper into the Heart of God” features Sharon Garlough Brown, author of “Sensible Shoes, A Story about the Spiritual Journey,” as our Keynote Speaker! Presbyterian Women of Detroit invites you to a day of fun and fellowship on Saturday, March 14, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. hosted here at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington. There is a $30 registration fee, which includes a hot, catered lunch. Contact Nancy Cook, Sally Kirsten or Sue Carlson or pick up a brochure from the PW bulletin board or the welcome table. All women are welcome!

Enjoy Game Night on March 20

We’ll meet at the church for an evening of food, fun and games. Join us on Friday, March 20 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in Knox Hall for Game Night. All ages welcome!

Less Stuff, More Life: Decluttering seminar on March 22

The average American home contains approximately 300,000 items (Source: LA Times). The average size of the American home has nearly tripled over the past 50 years (Source: NPR). Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods — in other words, items they do not need (Source: The Wall Street Journal). Over the course of our lifetime, we will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items (Source: The Daily Mail). Do you know that 25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park cars inside them and 32% only have room for one vehicle (Source: U.S. Department of Energy).

Despite all of the statistics showing that we, as Americans, have bigger homes and more stuff, what exactly are all of these possessions doing for us? In 2019, The New York Times noted “Americans reported feeling stress, anger, and worry at the highest levels in a decade…” While there are many factors contributing to this statistic, all of the wonderful things we own are not helping. A growing body of research is showing that clutter can negatively impact mental wellbeing, particularly among women. Feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, life dissatisfaction, and failure have been tied to an abundance of things on our homes.

There are plenty of experts like Marie Kondo, Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin and Joshua Becker writing gorgeous books, blogs, newspaper articles, and starring in TV shows showing us how to downsize and declutter. The storage industry supplies us with options such as bins, bags and boxes to organize our things and will grow to nearly $20 billion by 2021. And yet many of us cannot seem to fit or part with all of the things we own. Where do we start? How do we start?  ow much time is it going to take? What happens when we get stuck? Where does all this stuff we don’t want go? Decluttering and downsizing is just plain HARD.

Join us on Sunday, March 22 when Heidi Roed, Business Owner of Life Easier and a Senior Move Manager with the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), will discuss how to get more life out of life through the act of decluttering, organizing and continued minimalism. Heidi is the daughter of our own Georgia Roed. The focus of this one-hour seminar will be to demonstrate the steps for how to start and continue to tackle the daunting project of paring down while dealing with our emotional attachment. She will discuss how to slow the inbound flow of items into the house, how to attack what you have now and how best to dispose, donate or recycle the items you are ready to part with. Find out how to decluttering and downsize and what that means when it comes to getting more life out of life. This is a free seminar so plan to attend and bring a friend.

Philharmonic presents “Overtures to Spring”

Under the direction of Norman A. Logan, Orchard Lake Philharmonic will offer two performances of “Overtures to Spring” on Friday, March 6 — at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington. OLP opens the concert with von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture, the Concertino for Trumpet by Hummel with Erik Nieman performing the solo, Beethoven’s Fur Elise for Orchestra, and ending with Howard Hanson’s Symphony #2, “Romantic.” Definitely an enjoyable concert of music. Tickets are $5 for the afternoon and by donation for the evening concert. For more info visit: www://orchardlakephil.org.

Memorial Luncheon Volunteers Needed

The Deacons are building a data base of church members and friends who can be called on to set up, clean up or provide a salad or dessert for memorial luncheons. Please let Marcia Van Hamme know if you are interested in being included in that data base.

Spreading Joy!

Thank you for the Joy you gave in December. We are proud to report $1,289.00 was collected for our Christmas Joy offering.

Congregational Matters

2020 Per Capita Apportionment

The Presbyterian Church is a “connectional” church where we interact through the Presbytery of Detroit, the Synod of the Covenant and the General Assembly. These councils are funded by the “Per Capita” on each of our active members. For 2020, the Per Capita amount is $30.55. (Of that, $8.95 supports the General Assembly; $3.25 supports the Synod of the Covenant; and $16.35 is for the Presbytery of Detroit.) As a church, we will be paying a total of $9,678.45. We ask that you contribute $30.55 for each member of your household confirmation age and above to help offset this amount. Checks may be made payable to the First Presbyterian Church of Farmington with memo line “Per Capita.”

Arts & Archives “Did You Know?”

The beautiful Reuter/Rogers organ combines the Reuters pipe and digital organ with the Rogers console. The pipes, totaling over 1,600, feature 34 flamed copper pipes in the façade arranged to focus visual attention on the central stained-glass window. The console has three tiered keyboards and 72 stops and can be moved around the stage. The organ was dedicated in 2004 at a concert featuring world famous concert organist Fred Swann.

The Boston Concert Grand Piano was dedicated in 2009. It was purchased by the Memorials and Tributes Committee. The gifts given toward the purchase of this piano were in memory of the many departed saints of this congregation and in tribute to members upon weddings, anniversaries, graduations, ordinations and thanksgiving for the sharing of particular talents.

Taking Facebook “Likes” to the Next Level

Thank you! Thank you!  You have helped our Facebook presence grow during the past year by “Liking” our First Pres page.  On top of that many of you have shared our page with others.  This has increased the number of people following us.
Does it help the church grow?  Has anyone visited because of FB?  Do we have a single new member because of FB?  We simply cannot know unless we ask every visitor how they came to our door.  But we are seeing engagement by many community residents and businesses.  We have gained followers all over the US and beyond. The fun we have celebrating our faith with picnics, bonfires, painting plays, liturgical dance, music, sermons, gardening and reaching out to others like CARES, Lighthouse, Freedom House and Youth United is heard and seen around the world.
Fabulous you say?  What more could we do?  Well even if you cannot physically participate in some of these things you can spread the word even more.  You can:

• • 1. Keep SHARING:Share to your page or to another organization or business if you think the post from our page is likely to be interesting to others.
    2. ASK FOR HELP:If you take a picture you think is great and would like to share send it, email or attached to a text message to Lorrie McVey with some information to explain it to her and she will post for you.  If you take this course, please remember to COMMENT when you see the post.

Doing these things will help you spread the Good News through First Pres ministries!  Who would have thought reaching out to others would be so easy? If you would like a little class on how to use FB better, let us know and Lorrie has agreed to set a Getting to Know FB moment in the near future.

Operation Nametag Update

New nametags were created during Lighthouse Week, but the job isn’t finished. See a nametag that needs an update or needs to be removed? Is there a nametag missing? Are you first aid or CPR-trained? Get in touch with Chris Davis so we can keep the tags current and so we can identify those in the pews who have lifesaving skills. (Also — please wear your nametags during worship!)

Winter weather reminder

The church office and building, as well as the Preschool, are closed when the Farmington Public Schools District cancels school due to weather emergencies. If you are in doubt, please call the church office before venturing out. Safety first!

Hospitality Time Schedule

You are invited to bring ONE food item on ONE Sunday each month. Your Sunday depends on the first letter of your last name. It would be greatly appreciated if you are also able to help with set-up or clean-up.  Here’s the upcoming schedule:

• • • Mar. 1:Last names beginning A – D; Deborah Draper, coordinator
    • Mar. 8: Last names beginning E-K; Pat & Mark Plamondon, coordinators
    • Mar. 15: Last names beginning L-R; seeking a volunteer coordinator
    • Mar. 22: Last names beginning S – Z; Sue & Don Schwartz, coordinators
    • March 29: 5th Sunday Potluck; Family & Children Ministry Open House

Session Meeting Highlights

The following are the highlights from the January 15, 2020 Session meeting:

• • • Approved the suggested 2020 Per Capita amount of $30.55.
    • Approved the Mission Ministry’s collection before and after the worship services during the Month of February for the purpose of purchasing feminine care products to be donated to HAVEN, Neighborhood House and CARES.
    • A training session will be held on February 22, 2020 on Parliamentary Procedures for Session members and other individuals interested in becoming church officers. Details will be published as they are available.

The following are highlights from the February Session Meeting:

• • • Approved the Nominating Committee’s motion that Session call a meeting of the congregation for May 3, 2020 for the purpose of electing leaders for the Session and Board of Deacons as well as other business that may come before the congregation.
    • Approved the Nominating Committee’s motion that the congregation vote to approve a change in the Bylaws to reduce the number of elders from twelve to nine.
    • A training session scheduled for March 7, 2020 on Meeting Procedures – Tips and tricks to help meetings be more effective and stay on track. This will be open to anyone in the congregation currently in or interested in a leadership position in the church. The training will be provided by the Rev. Dr. Edward Koster, the Presbytery Stated Clerk and be based from the book, Robert’s Rule of Order. Interested individuals can contact Dorothy Tait to sign up (248-231-1055, [email protected]).
    • Pastor Eddie will be participating in a silent retreat from March 26 – 29. Pastor Aue will be on call and will lead the worship on Sunday, March 29.

Congregational Concerns

For privacy reasons, we do not list names from our prayer lists on the web-version of our news letter.

We keep in our prayers, those

• who are grieving
• who are ill or are suffering
• who are home bound, in nursing homes, and assisted living
• who are serving in the military or as first responders

 

Expressions of Gratitude

To Children of First Presbyterian Church, Merry Christmas. May this season of beauty be joyful for you. Thank you for your beautiful Christmas card and your kind message. I hope you all have a memorable Christmas!    ~ Mary Kinney

Dear Partners in God’s Mission, We give thanks to you for your support of Special Offerings, our collective witness to the love of Jesus Christ. By participating in Special Offerings, your congregation joins other churches to change lives around the world through ministries of compassion, advocacy, development, peacekeeping, Christmas formation, education and witness. Thank you for giving to enable all people to know God’s live-giving welcome in Jesus Christ.  ~ With gratitude to God for our shared mission, Bryce Wiebe, Director Special Offerings an Appeals

Thank you or your generous contributions to support Fort Street Presbyterian Church’s Open Door Ministry. For more than 50 years, Open Door has served some of the most vulnerable populations of Detroit. We are a place where people come for sustenance and nurture – a hot meal, clean clothes and a shower, and a variety of other support services.  We hope you will continue to journey with us through your prayers, donations and volunteer time.
~Trish Hubbell, Open Door Director

Samaritan Counseling Center News

Samaritan Counseling Center (SCC) is excited to announce the following:
Andrea Logan, M.A., L.L.P.C., has recently joined our staff as a clinician in Samaritan Counseling Center’s Allen Park satellite office at Allen Park Presbyterian Church. Andie is an Art Therapist who focuses on multi-cultural counseling and trauma-informed art therapy.
Ariel Magidson, M.A., T.L.L.P., has also recently joined our staff as a clinician. Ariel’s focuses include trauma, futurism and universal psychology. She is currently working on her doctorate in psychology at Michigan School of Psychology.
PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE: Samaritan Counseling Center will now be offering Preparation for Marriage as private sessions on an as-needed basis.  The sessions will be led by experienced therapists who will provide 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. These sessions can be scheduled at most of our locations at any time and are two hours long. The fee is $275.00. Contact SCC’s main office at 248 474-4701 or visit our website, sccmich.org, for further information.