THE PRESBYTERIAN

                                                    1719 Texas Street  Garden City, Kansas 67846 

ph: (620) 275-9141    

email: pcgardencity@sbcglobal.net    www.pcgardencity.org

November 14, 2007

 

Congregational Meeting

   Sunday, November 25, following worship we will be holding a Congregational Meeting for the purpose of electing Church Elders, Deacons, Memorial, Nominating and Review Committee members as well as Treasurer  and Recording Clerk.

 We will also be seeking to suspend the by-laws in order to elect a President of the Corporation who is not currently an active member of the session This will be a very important meeting.

For a quorum to be acknowledged and the meeting to proceed, 20% of our members must be in attendance. We ask that you mark this date on your calendar and plan to join us.

 

                                      Interim Search Update

     The Interim Search Committee has been very busy since our church information form was finally activated online on October 24th. Several interested pastors have contacted us and we have interviewed three of them by phone.  All of these people live some distance from here so it has not been practical to meet face-to-face. We have also called all of their references and have asked the Presbytery's Committee On Ministry to check references using their resources.  We are praying for guidance in making a recommendation to the Session and before the final decision is made we expect to have an onsite visit and interview.

 

Ann Hamlett, Matt Jones, Joy Anstaett,

Kathryn Ochampaugh

 

                                    Mission Study Report

     The Mission Study Committee met with Don Owens from the Presbytery in Wichita on Sunday, November 4th following the service and the Stewardship Dinner.  We presented him with the approximately 100 completed surveys received from members, non-members and friends of the Presbyterian Church.  He promised to begin and complete the tabulation as quickly as their work schedule will permit, and hopefully be back to us with a presentation of information gleaned from the survey sometime in December.  I feel it will realistically be sometime in early January of 2008, and hopefully we can have a presentation ready to show the congregation in the latter part of January. 

Bob Law , Chairman

 

 

Once again Hanging of the Greens will be a two-part event.

                        Sunday, November 25 we will placing the decorations in the

                        sanctuary and erecting the Christmas tree in the Atrium.

                        Wednesday, November 28 there will be an ornament workshop beginning at 5:00 pm, we will have a soup dinner at 6:00 pm

                 followed by worship and placing of the ornaments.

 

Presbyterian Church Choir

There will be Choir practice on Wednesday, November 21

at the regular time of 7:30 pm

 

Presbyterian Women

    Presbyterian Women will be having the annual Christmas Tea at 2:00 pm Sunday, December 2nd in the Fellowship Hall. All women are invited and encouraged to attend. The Thank Offering will be taken up and dedicated.

     The Thank Offering is one of two annual offerings of Presbyterian Women. It is collected each fall and disbursed in the spring. At least 30 percent of the offering goes to health related projects and the rest of the offering funds new creative approaches to mission that meet criteria established by the Churchwide Coordinating Team of Presbyterian Women.

     The 77 recipients provide a variety if aid - agricultural development, child care, community organization, criminal justice, drug counseling, economic justice, elderly care, employment training, homelessness, literacy, violence, and women’s concerns.

 

 

 

Holiday Food Baskets

The Emmaus House has begun to prepare food baskets for the Thanksgiving holiday. They have scheduled November 20 to hand out baskets but are still in need of the following items:   Turkeys, Soups, Evaporated Milk, Potatoes, Canned Pumpkin. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are…..

 

    and we always have a WISH LIST of things we would like to replace, fix, or improve, as they pertain to the maintenance and appearance of our beautiful place of worship and fellowship.

Items that appear on this list at this time: 

A/C and furnace replacement;

computers - both desktop & laptop;

Youth room remodel & equipment

  (e.g.: TV, stereo, foosball table, etc.);

Risograph; photocopier;

AV equipment for power-point presentations

one more octave of bells for bell choir;

replace the church bus with a 12 passenger van

(that would not require a CDL driver); 

finish the new garage project.

 

 

 

Cherry, Apple, Cinnamon, Cream Cheese or Original

Butter Braids that is!  Order by Nov. 28, for delivery Dec 18 or 19.  Proceeds go to our Youth Mission Fund.  See one of our youth to order, or there is an order form in the office.

 

Adult Advent Study from The Thoughtful Christian

November 25 – December 23 in the Parlor

     For at least 1,700 years, Christians have observed a season of prayer and preparation leading up to Christmas. Advent is a word that means “to come, to show up,” and in the chaos of the shopping and party frenzy, we Christians try to pull the shutters down on all that and do some soul searching, some praying, some repenting. Company is coming, and it’s a baby—and not just any baby, but Mary’s child, the Savior of the world. The question of Advent is “Will there be room?” Can we sweep out the clutter of our lives and leave a space into which God might become reality?

     Total pagans seem to know how to do Christmas—how to shop, string lights, throw parties, travel. Perhaps it is the Christian, oddly enough, who knows we need some help (beyond the busy-ness of December) to have a holy Advent.

     Advent is about waiting, and waiting is hard for us. We must be tutored in waiting. Wait for the Lord. Let your spirituality feel a bit awkward, for your primary goal for the ramp-up through December need not be to get your shopping done or to have your home ready for guests. Your goal is to grow close to God, to grow into a better person. Your deepest wish, your most fervent desire, even if it’s hidden from even yourself, is for the coming of the Lord into your life.

      To get at this, we will explore various characters in the biblical story, and even a few others out of the annals of history, to think through how to “prepare him room” during Advent. We will structure their stories around four themes: repentance, faith, holiness, and love.

 

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events at

Westminster Woods Camp & Sterling College:

 

Winter Camps Theme “Caught in the Middle”

-College/Career— Young Adult Camp,

 Friday- Sunday, Jan. 4-6

-High School—Grades 9-12,

  Friday-Sunday, Jan. 25-27

-Middle School—Grades 6-8,

  Friday-Sunday, Feb. 8-10

 

 Summer Camp Dates  All camps are based on grade completed

-Family Camp for Younger Campers & same gender adult

 (3rd grade and younger)

 #1 May 30th—31st; #2 June 6th - 7th

-3rd 4th Grade Camp

 Sunday, June 1st—Wednesday June 4th

-5th & 6th Grade Camp

 Monday, June 9th - Friday, June 13th

-7th & 8th Grade Camp

  Monday, June 16th - Friday, June 20th

-High School Camp

 Sunday, June 22nd - Saturday, June 28th

 

Sleepless in Sterling@ Sterling College  

March 14-16, 2008

 

 

Overnight Mission Trip Opportunity for

 Youth &Adults

     We have a reservation to help process Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for shipment overseas. This is a great opportunity to be involved in this mission of showing Christ's love to children around the world. 
     Our reservation is for Dec 8, 12:00 - 4:00 pm for 10 people, at least 2 of them must be adults, others must be at least 13 years old. We are planning to take a group up, leaving Friday late afternoon, staying overnight, working 12-4, and returning home Sat. night. 

     We have openings for 3-5 more people.  Please email Mary at mrbuchele@hotmail.com or leave a message for her at the church office 275-9141.

 

Head’s Up for December: 

December 1 - 10:30 am

Birthday Party for Jesus

(for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners)

December 16

Worship - Cantata

December 19 - 6:45 pm

Children’s Christmas Program.

 

2008 Members Directory

     It’s that time of year again for us to start compiling addresses and phone numbers for the 2008 members directory.

     If we need to update the information we published in last year’s directory please submit the changes to the church office.

     We are still missing addresses for some of our college students. If you’d like your ‘college student’ to be able to keep up with what is happening within our church while they are away at school, please let the church office know their

address for this year.

 

The church office will be closed Thursday, November 22

and

Friday, November 23.

 

WORSHIP ASSISTANTS FOR SUNDAY  

     November 18, 2007   

Greeters - N/A at time of printing 

Lay Reader - High School Youth

Ushers - High School Youth

Fellowship - Carol Hodgkinson

Sound Technicians - Michael Heatwole and Mitchell Watson

 

Birthdays                                                               Anniversaries

Eva Lewis             11/18                     George & Debbie Wharton     11/20/1977

Nancy Sowers      11/20                     John & Julie Ford                  11/24/1976

Jayson Neff          11/21                     Bob & Melinda Hitz               11/26/1982

Abbie Wharton     11/22                     Bob & Audrey Law                 11/27/1960

Jessa York            11/25                    

Gary Shrader        11/26                     Have we missed your birthday?

John Frazier         11/28                              Anniversary?

Kathy Irvin           11/29                     Please let us know. Contact the church office

Doug Crotty III   12/01                with your information.

  

 

Church Family and Friends in Need of Special Prayers:

Ruth Richards, Bill Saunders, Jack Reeve, Gary Friesner, Greg Adams, Charles Ayers, Bob Whippo, Debbie Harden, Gladys Cripe, Dave Sweley, Yvonne Allman, Pat LeClerc, Susan Brookover, Dale Meadors, Marge Williams, Linda Friesner, Ayva & Camryn Guevara, Jay Unger, Doreen McDonald, Glen Woods, John Hoxie, Caroline Sundquist, Nancy Stegman, Belinda Fouse, Tim Woodard, Kim Eakes, Ruth Oliver, Pat Keeney.

(Please call the church with your personal prayer request).  God Bless All Of You.

The following families have recently lost loved ones.

Please pray for the family of Laramee and Raelee James.

 

This week’s prayer families:  Jeff, Mary, and Chase Sterling.

This week’s prayer church:  Presbyterian Church in Arlington, KS. 

 

 Activities

Sunday, November 18

Bell Choir @ 8:30 am, Sunday school @ 9:30 am, Worship @ 10:45 am   Church band practice

 Tuesday, November 20

Stewardship @ 6:30 pm, Praise Team rehearsal @ 7:00 pm

Wednesday, November 21

Choir @ 7:30 pm

Thursday, November 22

Thanksgiving

Friday, November 23

Office Closed

Saturday, November 24

Children’s Music practice @ 11:00 am

 

Christ the King Sunday, November 25

Bell Choir @ 8:30 am, Sunday school @ 9:30 am, Worship w/Communion @ 10:45 am

Congregational Meeting, Hanging of the Greens

Monday, November 26

Session @ 7:00 pm

 Tuesday, November 27

Praise Team rehearsal @ 7:00 pm

Wednesday, November 28

Celebrate Kids! @ 5:00 pm, Hanging of the Greens 6:00 pm, Choir @ 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 1

Birthday Party for Jesus @ 10:30 am