July 2014
Fabulous Fellowship at the FPC Summer Picnic
Our church family knows how to celebrate the summer! This year’s gathering at the Hiawatha
Community Park Pavilion allowed for the sharing of good food, tall tales and great times.
Thanks to the Fellowship Committee and the volunteers who made the event possible.
Check FPC’s Facebook
page for more photos!
Great Grads
Join in congratulating and praying for our brothers and sisters who are part of the Class of 2014!
Benjamin Cochran – MVHS,
will attend Messiah College
Clay Eutsey (left) with Nick
Camillo – MVHS, will attend
Bowling Green
Kylie McLaughlin –
ECOT, will attend COTC
Zachary Merrilees – MVHS,
will attend Univ of Cincinnati
Leah Paxton – MVHS, will
attend Ashland University
Wesley Reitsma –
Home School, will attend
COTC
Clint Eutsey – MVNU, B.A. in
Theological Studies
Micah Ralston – MVNU, B.A.
in Pastoral Ministry
Kim Reitsma – Cedarville Univ, B.A. in Music
Lauren Shriver – Westminster Choir College, M.A.
Vocal Performance &
Pedagogy
Kyle Peters – Ashland Theological Seminary, Master of
Divinity
Jeff Bergeson –
Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary, Master of
Divinity
Not pictured: James Carhart – MVHS, will attend Ashland University; Chelsea Menke –
Otterbein University, B.A. degree in Environmental Science; Tory Waters, MVHS.
Congratulations also to Abbey Craig who will attend Fuller University in the fall to pursue
a Psy.D. Fuller is the only APA accredited Christian Psy.D in the nation.
Their Vows Go Unbroken
Congratulations to our friends, Kathy & Larry Daubenspeck
and Al & Jackie Craigo, who recently celebrated 25 years
and 55 years of marriage, respectively!
25
years!
55
years!
Church
Directory
Update
Continues
Plans to update the
FPC church directory
(including pictures)
are underway. To
schedule your/your
family’s photo, contact
the church office at
740-393-1326 or
[email protected].
FPC Collection Makes a Difference for Those Facing
Unplanned Pregnancies
The FPC Baby Bottle Campaign for CareNet/Starting Point has raised more than $1,100 to
support families with unplanned pregnancies!
Caught in the “Act”
The Bible’s book of Acts records the "Acts of the Apostles through the work of
the Holy Spirit". Luke wrote the book of Acts (Acts of the Apostles) to record how
believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit, worked to spread the Gospel of
Christ and are a model for the future church.
On Sunday, July 6, brothers and sisters at FPC embodied the concepts of this book and took
to the streets to serve, pray and generally brighten the lives of others in the community – all in
the name of Jesus.
Community
beautification and home
repairs, check!
Car washing
and visiting
at-home
congregation
and other
friends in the
community,
check!
Find many more photos on
the FPC Facebook page!
Thanks to Greg Hyatt for stepping in to man FPC’s First Friday table on Friday, June 6
when the regular hosts were unavailable.
Is Compassion One of Your Spiritual Gifts?
FPC heeds Christ’s call to extend compassion and love by bringing care where the need is
greatest. In doing so, part of our ministry involves coordinating refreshments for funeral
receptions at the church. The call is going out to invite additional involvement in this ministry.
Volunteers within this ministry are notified by the church office when there is a request for
food at a funeral or memorial service at church. If you would like to be called up for such
service, contact the church office at 740-393-1326 or [email protected].
Boy Scout Update
At the beginning of May, Troop 339 took 18 Scouts and eight leaders to Camp Birch in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. They spent the night at the camp, which is owned by the Tecumseh Council of
the Boy Scouts of America. The next day, the Scouts visited the U.S. Air
Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. During the visit, they
had the opportunity to go aboard the retired Air Force One. The plane
had been used by every president from Kennedy to Clinton. It brought
President Kennedy home from Dallas and took President Nixon to China.
Sixteen Scouts and five leaders marched in Mount Vernon’s Memorial
Day Parade. The Cub Scout Pack had approximately the same numbers.
The Scouts recently had a Board of Review. Three Scouts passed all the
requirements for Tenderfoot, one passed the requirements for Star and one passed the
requirements for Life.
In May, three Scouts went through the Ordeal to become members of the Order of the Arrow.
This is a society of Honor Scouts, and it is also a service organization. Shortly thereafter, two
of these Scouts attended an Order of the Arrow Conclave in West Virginia.
Assistant Scoutmaster Preston Moore has started a program with the entire troop to earn the
Personal Fitness merit badge. This is a badge required for Eagle. It will also give these young
men a chance to improve in the area of physical fitness, which is one of the points of the
Scout Oath.
On June 6 -7, eight Scouts participated in an overnight camping experience at Trent & Missy
Kaufman’s. These Scouts worked on the God and Church award – that is the God and
Country award segment that is appropriate for their age group. Sixteen Cub Scouts worked
on the award for their age group at the same time. Chuck Waugh, Deb Paxton, Missy
Kaufman, Trent Kaufman, Mike Conway and Bill Shriver helped teach the program.
There was a Court of Honor in the sanctuary on Monday, June 16. Six Scouts were
recognized for rank advancement and 18 merit badges were awarded.
Youth Ministry Update
The Youth Ministry has several events planned in July. Mark your calendar and plan to join us:
July 17
July 27
July 31
Grill N’ Chill at Sutton Beach
ENVISION at FPC*
Grill N’ Chill at the Peters’ House**
6-8 pm
6-7:30 pm
5-7 pm
*Must be a regular attender of Youth Fellowship
**Last Thursday Worship follows at 7 p.m. at FPC
What is ENVISION?
FPC’s youth fellowship will bid farewell to some of our own this summer. Seniors have
graduated and are readying for what is ahead. At the same time, a few of our beloved leaders
will end their season with our ministry and head in new directions. Whenever a sizable group
departs from the youth fellowship, major shifts take place. Often, there is sadness and
apprehension as we see our close friends move on. But these shifts are inevitable and allow
for opportunities to reevaluate and ENVISION what the Lord has for us as a community.
Proverbs 29:18 tells us that where people lack vision - or revelation from God - there is
disregard or neglect, which drains life from the community. In other words, without awareness
to God’s leading and speaking, we become apathetic and aimless. The goal of ENVISION is
simply to pray and discuss the direction we feel that the Lord is taking our fellowship as we
head into a new school year. If you are a student who has been attending our fellowship or if
you are an adult who senses a call to our youth fellowship, contact Kyle Peters,
[email protected] ,about ENVISION.
Youth Mission 2014 – Serve Our City
FPC’s teens are an amazing group of young people. This year, nine of them set off on a
mission trip like none that FPC has recently seen. In 2014, the youth had a chance to make a
difference in their own community by volunteering and serving Mount Vernon residents.
The teens
showed
love to
members
of our
church
family
through
personal
visitations, served community members by offering a free car wash, and lent some helping
hands at The Winter Sanctuary Homeless Shelter, Interchurch and Salvation Army. Finally,
they assisted the Heritage Center with set-up and tear down for First Friday.
There was even some down
time when the kids could just
chill and have fun. They
enjoyed swimming and
playing paint ball during their
leisure time.
Special thanks to the adult
chaperones who were
devoted to making this closeto-home mission trip a
valuable experience!
An Update from Session
Session met on Tuesday, June 10. During the meeting, we:







Received Doug and Malani Wheeler as new members, by Statement of Faith.
Had a devotion on spiritual growth of the elderly, led by Jeanne Poland.
Got an update on the church financials by Martina Gaughan, the secretary and church
bookkeeper. All finances are caught up and correct. Through help from Bob Meldrum
and George Stone, our accounts are being updated to be even more transparent. A big
thank you to all who have helped! The Annual Report has been corrected and is
available at the back of the sanctuary.
Accepted the resignation of Michael Grenier from the Treasurer position.
Approved the Mission Committee's suggestion to give $1,000 to the Youth Ministry for
the Serve Our City week.
Approved the support of Michael Ludwig as a Presbyterian Missionary in Niger at
$1800/year, and Mercy Ships at $2000/year. Mercy Ships is an actual "ship that
delivers hope and healing to people around the globe living in dire circumstances".
Mercyships.org
Attempted to answer Question 7 of the Narrative on the Health of Mission and Ministry
from the FOP: How is your congregation intentionally unleashing the ministries of
women, men, and people of different ethnic groups who are experiencing God's call?
We said the Women's association has done some of this, through their bi-annual
rummage sale and using those funds to support various mission projects, and maybe
some through the various mission we as a church support. However, our community is
not very diverse, so we have not been unleashing ministries of various ethnic groups.
We did say that we want to focus on Christians in general, more than specific groups.
To obtain a full copy of Session ministry reports, contact the church office. We are here for
you. If you have concerns or joys to share, talk to anyone on Session.
Respectfully submitted,
Elder Amanda Gebhardt
July 2014 Birthday & Event Calendar
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1 SERVE OUR CITY 2 SERVE OUR CITY 3 SERVE OUR CITY 4 SERVE OUR CITY 5 SERVE OUR CITY
Olivia Wiley
6
7
Debra Denzer
Jack Warden
9:30 a Carwash
6 p Prayer Partners
1:30 p Hirsch Small
Group
7 p Financial Peace
University
9:30 a Women's Bible
Study
12 p AA
1 p Bridge
6 p Praise Band
6 p Women's Study
2 p First Friday Set-Up
6 p First Friday
9 p First Friday Clean-Up
8
9
10
11
12
7 p Deacon's Meeting
7 p Financial Peace
University
9:30 a Women's Bible
Study
12 p AA
1 p Bridge
6 p Praise Band
6 p Women's Study
16
17
18
19
9 a Serve Our City
Service
11 a Serve Our City
Service
5:30 p Hot Meals
7 p Boy & Cub Scouts
12 p Men's Brownbag
Lunch
6 p Prayer Partners
6 p Session Meeting
13
14
15
Dora Hawthorne
Missy Kaufman
Ray Guajardo
9 a Contemporary
Worship
11 a Traditional Worship
5:30 p Hot Meals
7 p Boy & Cub Scouts
12 p Men's Brownbag
Lunch
6 p Prayer Partners
6:30 p Girl Scouts
1:30 p Hirsch Small
Group
7 p Financial Peace
University
20
21
22
23
Lydia McKenzie
Rachel Ruth
12 p Men's Brownbag
Lunch
6 p Prayer Partners
27
29
9 a Contemporary
Worship
11 a Traditional Worship
28
5:30 p Hot Meals
7 p Boy & Cub Scouts
9:30 a Women's Bible
Study
12 p AA
1 p Bridge
6 p Praise Band
24
Deb Curran
9 a Contemporary
Worship
10:30 a Directory Photos 5:30 p Hot Meals
11 a Traditional Worship 7 p Boy & Cub Scouts
Jacqueline Craigo
Dina Herald
Marilyn Wiel
12 p Men's Brownbag
Lunch
6 p Prayer Partners
Barbara Spearman
Marjorie Walcutt
25
26
Kathryn Sherman
7 p Financial Peace
University
30
7 p Financial Peace
University
9:30 a Women's Bible
Study
12 p AA
1 p Bridge
6 p Praise Band
31
Michael Noll
Heath Reynolds
9:30 a Women's Bible
Study
12 p AA
1 p Bridge
6 p Praise Band
7 p Last Thursday
9 a Men's Fellowship
Breakfast