First Baptist Church
(315) 536-9821 e-mail: pyfbc@peoplepc.com
Rev. John R. Tharp,
Pastor
Our
Services of Worship and Praise
Each Sunday at 10 AM, followed
by Fellowship Hour and Church School
Mar. 1 “Who Are You?”
Matthew 16:13-20
Mar. 8 “The Promise of Peace”
John 14:26-31
Mar. 15 “Roots of Conspiracy”
Matthew 26:14-16
Mar. 22 “The Heart of God Revealed”
Matthew 26: 36-46
Matthew 26:57-67
March
Greeters Lay Readers
Mar. 1 Marge
Moulton & Margaret Mills Matt
Scutt
Mar. 8 Girl
Scout Sunday: Stephanie Fulkrod, Brittany Griffin,
Jayda Schroo, Elizabeth Ortiz, Pat Ames
Mar. 15 Bob & Mary Fullagar Necia Smith
Mar. 22 Charlie Miller & Matt Scutt John FM Tharp
Mar. 29 George & Joyce Slocum Stan Ovens
1~ Nancy Tharp 17 ~ Meghan
Fuqua
2~ Lisa Wood 18 ~
Charlie Miller
8 ~ Nancy Marion 21 ~ Kathleen
Bently
8 ~ Barbara Stewart 21 ~ Mark Scheel
8 ~ Sherry Jensen 23 ~ Old Rugged
Cross
11 ~ Tammy Miller 26 ~ Tom Burke
“A Threefold Cord
Is Not Easily Broken”
These
words are from Ecclesiastes 4:12. Even though they tell a truth about how to
make a strong rope, their real intent is to tell us about the value of people
working together. When we work with someone else, we tend to stay on task; we
come up with better ideas; and we usually enjoy the work more. So powerful is
this reality, Jesus taught that where two or three are gathered in His name, he
would be in their midst. And he said that if only two agree about what they
ask, God will hear and do what they ask. (Matthew 18:18-20)
Some
time ago, at a Midwestern county fair, a contest was held to see which draft
horse could pull the heaviest load. One horse pulled a sled with a load of 4500
pounds. It was the winner and champion. The second horse managed to drag a load
of about 4000 pounds. When the contest was over, one horse owner suggested that
it would be interesting to see how many pounds the top two horses could pull
together. When the animals were harnessed together they were able to pull
12,000 pounds! Together they had pulled 3500 more pounds that the total of
their individual best pulls.
Sometimes,
it just seems easier to do things by ourselves. We have our system down pat.
Other people might not do it like we do it. It takes a while to train someone
else. There are lots of reasons why we go it alone. It may not be our style to
“bond” with other people. When we think about it, it might have been easier for
Jesus to be a “do it yourselfer.” After all, when the cards were down, his
disciples abandoned him. They never seemed to understand him. They were
frequently at odds over who was the greatest. I wonder if Jesus’ words on the
cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing,” might have
been addressed to his followers on any number of occasions. Never the less,
Jesus called us to work together.
·
He spoke of himself
as the vine and us the branches. (John 15:5)
·
He said that the love
with which the Father has loved me will be in my followers. (John 17:26
paraphrased)
·
Following his
resurrection, when Jesus talked with Peter on the shore, he asked him to “feed
his sheep.” (John 21:17)
The church cannot grow stronger unless its people grow deeper. Deeper means stronger in fellowship, wider in service, richer in love, and more eager to share the Word with others. Doing this with others creates a strong cord which cannot be easily broken.
Pastor John
American Red Cross
Needs~n~Things
hand soap laundry soap paper towels Diapers sizes 4,5,6
kleenex toothpaste feminine products
Items for donation
may be left in the box marked “Red Cross Needs-n-Things” in the front of the
sanctuary.
Mary & Martha Circle
Tuesday, March 10 10:30 am
Dessert: Milly
Bloomquist
Devotional: Erma
Mullins
The Mary & Martha
Circle is comprised of a group of women of the church that get together on the
2nd Wednesday of the month. The meetings are comprised of a
devotional (everyone is invited to take a turn in leading), time devoted to a
mission project, and lunch (bring your own sandwich, share a turn in bringing
dessert for the group). For the next few months they will be tearing sheets
into bandages that measure 5 inches by 10 yards. They are sewn together,
rolled, and sent out to various 3rd world countries. The bandages
are used for medical use as well as hung in the windows/doorways of operating
rooms to keep out flies. The goal is to have 50 of these bandages to send out
through the American Baptist International Ministries. All women of the church are
invited to join!
Fellowship Class
Wednesday, March 25 @
12 Noon
Dessert: TBD
Devotional: TBD
The Fellowship Class is
a Women’s Sunday School Class. They meet the 4th Wednesday of the
month. Like the Mary & Martha Circle, everyone is invited to take a turn
bringing a dessert for the group and to lead a short devotional.
Finger Lakes Association Meeting
Sunday, March 29 at PYFBC
The theme of the Association meeting this month will
be “Spiritual Formations”. The speaker will be Dr. James Kerr, of United Church
of Canandaigua.
Registration begins at 2:30 pm, the program at 3 pm,
and a dish to pass supper will begin at 5 pm. PYFBC is the host and we are
responsible for beverages and dessert.
News from Your Bd. of Missions!
As many of you know, we
made 195 Super Subs on Jan. 31, to support Yates County Habitat. We cleared
$1116 for Habitat. We thank you so much for your support in this project.
We also wish to thank
the following for their help in assembling the subs: Shelly Hodge, Dave and Ashley
Tillman, Betty Johnson, Mary Fullagar, Greg and Tammy Miller, Lisa Wood, Nancy
Marion, Shelley Bicksler, Don and Kathi Lawrence, Ed and Rita Castillo.
We are starting to
promote the AMERICA FOR CHRIST offering which will be taken in March. You gave
$879 in “08. We have set a goal of
$1000 for 2009. This may seem foolish in light of the economy. However, many
more people are needing help in these difficult times. If one has shelter and
food to eat, one is well-enough off to be able to help others. Please pray and
consider giving as much as you can.
Our Advisory Council has
asked each Board and Committee of FBC to come up with a Fun Activity for
the congregation to participate in. Your Bd. of Missions came up with the idea
that we take as many members and children possible to participate in the Open
House at Camp Vick this Spring. More information will be provided.
Special dates for your
calendar:
March 7 ~ “Life
Cycles” A church development Conference at Marion, NY
March
21 ~ Mission Advocates meeting at FBC Syracuse.
Your Bd. of Missions
______________________________________________________________
Food for the Needy
Started some time around 1980, this program now
distributes twice a month; the 2nd Wednesday at 6 pm and the 4th
Friday at 9 am. In the beginning,
around 45 bags were given out for about 150 people. So far, in January alone
212 families were served.
In December 2008:
397 families were served (688 adults, 680 children and
59 elderly)
Year of 2008
2,786 families were served. This was an increase of
143 families over 2007.
All of this couldn’t be accomplished without you.
Those volunteers who donate your time to pack and distribute the food and those
who add a few items to your grocery cart each week. The need will always be
there.
Cereal in large boxes Tuna Macaroni n Cheese Canned Fruit
Cookies Crackers Canned Veggies Pasta & Sauce
The Backpack Program
Wednesdays at 5:45 pm FBC
This is a program that provides easy to prepare foods
to school children over the weekend. Currently 560 bags are distributed between
Penn Yan Elementary, Middle, Academy, Head Start, Keuka Lake School and Dundee
Schools. Volunteers pack the bags on Wednesday evenings at 5:45 pm here at FBC.
Farmers have been contacted about supplying fresh fruits and vegetables
starting in May and continuing through harvest season.
Donations of
money, plastic bags, mac & cheese, fruit cups and tuna are needed.
White Water Rafting
Trip!
Soon the snow will
melt and the
rivers and creeks
will rise.
This makes for an
awesome
rafting experience!
Our annual trip
down the PA Grand Canyon is scheduled for Saturday. April 4.
Cost: $14 per
person (includes lunch)
You will not be
counted as going until you have paid in full!
Space is limited
Your payment of cash
(no checks please) is due by March 29 to the Church office.
Available in the
office are copies of rafting information and rafting attire.
Be sure to pick yours up. Vital info is
included that will help you have a more pleasurable rafting experience.
A couple of weeks
ago, we had a visitor.
This person was so
taken with our many projects and missions,
that a contribution
was made to help continue with our work.
It is certainly
pleasing that our projects and missions work were admired.
Give yourselves a
pat on the back!
Bd. of Trustees Report
Trustees met on Feb. 10, 2009. Highlights of the
meeting are as follows:
·
We will provide a
letter to Milly’s Pantry that will enable them to get a 20C License, which will
allow them to buy in bulk and repackage foods for the Backpack Program.
·
We will again
participate in Celebrate Yates on April 19.
·
We looked at the list
of back-up treasurers and made recommendations for continuation or noted a need
for back-up.
·
Voted to accept a bid
from REALE FENCE to enclose the air conditioner unit to try to deter vandalism
to it.
·
Agreed to try Don
Lawrence’s idea of having Memorial Sunday Bulletin covers.
·
Discussed the van
route on Sunday mornings.
·
Discussed an action
plan for the Every Member Canvas.
·
Dates to remember:
Feb. 26: Lenten
Luncheons start at the Methodist Church
Feb. 28: Boy Scouts
Pinewood Derby Weigh-in in the Great Room
March 20:Finger Lakes
Association meeting here at 2:30 pm
March 23: Council of
Churches meeting at PYUMC at 7:30 pm
April 2: First Baptist
is responsible for serving the Lenten Luncheon.
The next Trustees meeting will be on Tuesday, March
10, 2009.
Is a warm, humorous and
common sense video curriculum based on Dr. James Dobson’s best selling book, Bringing
Up Boys. Boys are different than girls. Let’s embrace those differences
and give our sons the faith based and spiritual upbringing needed to see them
grow into strong, solid well rounded men.
Once again Eileen
Modaffari will lead the group and she has been very busy promoting this to the
schools and community. This video seminar is a 12-week series and is offered
free of charge. Classes will be offered
Sundays (beginning on 3/15), at 11 am following worship service and Friday evenings
from 6:30 - 8 pm beginning on 3/13. Space is limited. Please register by March
3, by calling Eileen at 759-3080 or call the church office at 536-9821.
The Board of Christian Education
The
Bd. of Christian Education is comprised of 8 persons of the church that meet
monthly to plan activities and themes for the church school year. Currently,
the children are learning about Jesus, His works, and disciples.
Our church is fortunate
to have a rotation of teachers so that no one person is missing service for
months at a time. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Cheryl
Stewart, Diane DeLooza, Pam Scutt, Tammy Miller, Sue Willson and Eileen
Modaffari for giving of their time and talents.
For the remainder of
this school year there will be a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Easter Egg Hunt
and to finish off the year in June there will be Children’s day and Vacation
Bible School. There is much preparation that goes into each activity.
Volunteers must be coordinated to help, supplies purchased, and donations must
be sought so as to keep costs down as much as possible. Please keep the Bd of
Christian Ed in your prayers as they work together on these projects.
A special thanks needs
to go out to Greg Marion for his many years of service to Christian Education.
Greg no longer serves on the board, however, he still works closely with the
current board and does most of the work with the children. He is a true asset
to the church and our Christian Education department.
THANKS GREG!
THANK YOU!
A special thank you
goes out to Ken Gillette for crafting the wonderful gifts for the Utica Refugee
Children and the children of Food for the Needy. Ken handcrafted sets of wooden
blocks and Queen Anne Tea Table and Chairs. Thank You, Ken for your gifts!
St. Patrick’s Celebration