(315) 536-9821 e-mail: pyfbc@peoplepc.com
Rev. John R. Tharp,
Pastor
November
services of worship and praise:
Nov. 2 The “Thanks” Part of Thanksgiving
I Corinthians 1:4-9
Nov. 9 The “Giving” Part of Thanksgiving
II Corinthians 9:6-15
Nov.16 Holidays and Holy Days
Romans 14:5-12
Nov. 23 Bring In The Full Tithe
Malachi 3:6-12
Nov. 30 The Giving of Good Gifts
James 3:13-18
Serving the
Church in November:
Date Lay
Readers Greeters
Nov. 2 Tammy Miller Kathryn Warren & Marge Cornell
Nov. 9 Pat Ames Lisa
Wood, Brittany Griffin & Betty Johnson
Nov. 16 Stan Ovens Cathy & Paul MacDougall
Nov. 23 Greg Miller Sean Ahearn & Lyle Conrad
Nov. 30 Margaret Mills Pat Ames & Necia Smith
November
Birthdays:
2 Jeanette
O’Brien 21 Judi Gibbs
20 Marge
Cornell 27 Margaret Drakely
A message from Pastor John:
BEHOLD I AM DOING A NEW THING Isaiah 43:19
Have you
ever seen an advertisement that says: “This is the same old thing that we did
before, but we hope you will buy it anyway.” That product is doomed to sit on
the shelf. The presidential candidates are working feverishly to distance
themselves from anything that ties them to the past. Churches, businesses,
fashions, and even financial organizations want the “new look”, fresh appeal,
and a future momentum. Some of you may remember the 50’s Chrysler ad for cars
with the “Forward Look”. It is
instructive for us to realize that those “Forward Looking” cars now show up at
“cruisin’ nites” as classical reminders of a by gone era.
But as Bob
Dylan (1964) used to sing, “the times they are a chang’n”. And the times are
speeding up. A group that follows trends in our culture, Electronics Industry
Alliance, did a study on how quickly Americans assimilate new technology. Their
stats show the time between certain important inventions and the time when
those inventions are in half of the American homes. For example:
from invention
to presence in ½ the homes:
·
Telephones 71 years
·
Electricity 52 years
·
Radios 28 years
·
Personal
Computers 19 years
·
Color
Televisons 18 years
·
Cable
television 15 years
·
Cell phones 14 years
·
Video
Recorders 12 years
·
Compact Disk
(cd’s) 11 years
·
Internet
Access 10 years
Do we see
a trend here? We are sponging up technology at an ever increasing rate.
However, there is something even more important shown us by this list. Every
one of these (except electricity, which powers the rest) is related to
communication. People want to relate to other people, get the new information,
post their views, be part of the world mix, and find others who share their
values.
Let’s take
a little deeper look at the message of Isaiah.
“Watch for
the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already - you can see it now.
I will
make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”
In a day
of world-wide instant communication, people are still looking for the streams
of living water that God offers through faith in Jesus Christ. In the words of
Isaiah 43:21, “They are my people I made for myself, and they will sing my
praises.” Six billion people on our planet make a great babble sound, but in
the midst of the noise and the confusion there is a stream of living water that
wells up where ever the people are singing the praises of God. In a manner of
speaking, praise to God is the Lord’s internet. Praise, thanksgiving, worship,
prayer, service, and expressions of Christian joy is the link that brings us together. It is the source of refreshment for God’s people.
It is constantly new and renewing.
Pastor John
COMING UP:
Stewardship Drive Events:
Sunday, Oct. 26
The Proposed Budget will be available.
Sunday, Nov. 2
Questions & Answers Session during coffee
hour
This is your time to ask the questions about
the budget.
Sunday, Nov. 9
Stewardship Kick-Off Luncheon
Meat Beverages and table service is provided
Bring a dish to pass
Annual Fall Fest Bazaar!
November 15 - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Great Room
·
Silent
Auction of themed baskets, quilts and more
·
Baked
goods and handmade items for sale
·
Soup
or Chili lunch starting at 11:30 a.m.
Embrace the fall season by joining the ABW, family and
friends at this year’s Annual Fall Fest Bazaar. The traditional silent auction
of theme baskets and quilts will be the perfect thing to start out your holiday
season shopping. Gift ideas as well as items to enrich your home décor can
surely be found in the baskets or the baked goods and handmade items for sale.
The ladies of the Circle will hold their next
meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Marge Cornell will lead devotions and Helena
Cranmer will bring dessert for the group, just remember to bring your own
sandwich. We plan to roll bandages.
Fellowship Class
On the fourth Wednesday of each month
the ladies Fellowship Class meets at noon in the library. This month they meet
on Wednesday, November 26.
Milly Bloomquist will bring dessert for the
group and will lead devotions. Remember to bring your sandwich.
Report from the Trustees:
·
The Len
Ortenzi Science presentation netted $196.85
·
The Mark Lawrence
concert netted $474.00
·
Thank you
notes were written to Len, Mark, and Mark’s accompanist.
·
Much of the
meeting was devoted to making final preparations for the Stewardship Drive.
~ On Oct. 26,
the proposed budget will be available before and after the service.
~ On Nov. 2,
people will be available during the Coffee Hour to answer questions concerning
the budget.
~ On Nov. 9,
there will be a kick-off luncheon. Meat, beverages and table service will be
provided. Please bring a dish to pass. The pledge envelopes will be out for you
to pick up.
~ The deadline
for returning pledges is Nov. 30.
·
The Board
worked on setting the budget for items they are responsible for.
We will be
taking our World Mission Offering the last week of October and the first week
of November. If you missed the collection in October and would like to
contribute please use the envelope attached to this newsletter.
The
Board of Missions thanks you for your attention throughout the year as we have
presented information on each of the recipients of your mission dollar. Please
feel free to continue to provide us with your input.
Our
plan for 2009 is to increase the mission budget by only $15.00 to cover an
increase in the cost of the Secret Place. Some minor changes in the
distribution of the money collected for missions, is under discussion at this
time. We will make this information available when we present our 2009 budget.
Thank you
for your support.
The Board of
Missions
The Penn Yan Area Council of Churches invites
you to celebrate
as a community of faith at the annual
Community Service of
Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 23, at 7
p.m. at Penn Yan
United Methodist Church.
An ecumenical choir will bring special music
and the Rev. David Smith, pastor of
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, will bring the
Thanksgiving Message. A special offering will be received for “Food for the
Needy.”
Please
join with others from our faith community,
as we
give thanks for all God’s blessings in our lives.
Are you caring for elderly family members?
The Yates Office for the Aging would like to inform you of services available
to support and assist family caregivers of the elderly.
·
Respite
services *Caregiving
Magazine Subscriptions
·
Alzheimer’s
Support group * Home
Assessments
·
Counseling *
Much more!
·
Information
on choices for Long Term Care
There are pamphlets available at the church
bulletin board for more information. Or you may wish to call the Yates Office
for the Aging at 536-5515.
Event
To Honor Caregivers - We Need Your Help! - Please Make Nominations
In recognition of National Caregivers Month,
the Yates Office for the Aging is planning to honor full-time family
caregivers. We would like caregivers to be our guests at our Thanksgiving
Dinner on November 19, 2008, where we will acknowledge their heroic efforts
assisting their loved ones who are age 60 or older. We will provide traditional
Thanksgiving fare and special transportation, and if needed someone to stay
with the care receiver. If you provide a name and address (536-5515) we will
send an invitation to that individual. Deadline is Oct. 31.
*If anyone is willing to volunteer to be a
companion that evening to a care receiver, call YO for the Aging at 536-5515.
Some of you might be interested in the
current issue of THE CHRISTIAN CITIZEN. Two years ago they devoted an
issue to the 12,000,000 children, that’s right, twelve million children living
in poverty in the USA. This issue is devoted to how local churches, like FBC,
are responding to this crisis. See the Readers Table in the foyer.
The summer issue of LEGACY, a pamphlet put
out by the American Baptist Foundation contains an article on Lawrence and
Wanda Rice of Newark, NY. It describes how they used their wills to assist
ABCNYS Camps and Boy Scouts. You might find it interesting. See the Readers
Table.
The Board of Missions is always collecting
cancelled stamps from your mail, Box Tops for Education from General Mills
products and Campbell’s bar codes with the soup boy. Now that it’s turning
cooler, lots of us are eating soup. Save your collections and drop them off in
the church office or to a Bd. of Missions member. It takes just a moment of
your time and helps so many different services.
Thank You!
Signs and Wonders
Sign outside a Minnesota church:
“Come
in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush.”
FAT
TURKEY
(Sung to the tune of “The More We Get
Together”)
Gobble, gobble, gobble; fat turkey am I
Gobble, gobble, gobble; fat turkey am I
I’m not here for living, I’m here for
Thanksgiving
Gobble, gobble, gobble; fat turkey am I!