Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Each spring arrives in God’s perfect timing and this year is no different. Flowers are bursting forth, the buds are on the trees, the grass is turning green. Several mornings I awoke to the music of birds chirping loudly and the sound of squirrels skipping through branches. The refreshing sights and sounds of spring bring winter to a close and new life is ushered in. Sweet breezes blow fresh air through open windows and the natural seasonal celebration begs to be accompanied.
As I’ve walked through the house, I’ve felt the itch. You know the one? The desire to restore a crisp, clean feel to all surfaces, purging or refurbishing the old and embracing the new. This unexplainable urgency to scrub and declutter every nook and cranny encourages a new spirit of energy.
I am joining in by breaking out the mops, brooms and dusters. Extra cleaning supplies and vinegar have already been purchased in preparation for the time I’ve set aside to work on extra scouring and eliminating the staleness of winter from my home.
In addition to the windows, and curtains and all of the stale stuff of winter being cleaned and put away, I am also still de-stuffing my home of things that I do not need, things that take up space and create clutter.
Once a year we grab a mop, broom, and garbage bag to make our homes sparkle. We don’t think twice about rolling up our sleeves in an effort to partake in an annual spring cleaning, but how many of us put half that effort into cleaning up our emotional clutter as well?
The Bible encourages us to draw close to God and allow our hearts and bodies to be cleansed. This is the first step in our spring cleaning project. We can't clean ourselves. Instead we must draw near to God and ask God to do the cleansing. Psalm 51 cries out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
Where do we start? We can begin with asking God to scrub our hearts clean so that we can have a right spirit within us, a spirit of forgiveness and a spirit of forgiving. We can clean the cobwebs of negative thoughts out of our minds and replace, “I can’t” with “Let me try this.” We can purge any old attitudes along with the extra stuff from our homes and move into the new season.
During May, let’s commit to spending some quiet time with God, perhaps while we are cleaning, dusting and decluttering and invite God to create a clean heart in us and to renew a right spirit within us.
Yours in Christ,
Bonnie
Monday and Tuesday Bible Study
Bible Study groups meet at the church Mondays at noon (bring lunch if you wish) and Tuesdays at 5:00. We will be studing the book Half Truths by Adam Hamilton with videos each week. The subtitle is “God helps those who help themselves and other things the Bible doesn’t say”. Come join us!
ThursdaysKnitters and Quilters
The Knitters and Quilters meet at noon in Fellowship Hall. Some of us are knitting hats and mittens and others are working on projects of their own or quilting. Call Libby Van Nostrand if you have questions.
May 2 & 16Food Pantry
The Food Pantry will be open on Tuesdays May 2nd and 16th. There is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowshop Hall or contact Crystal Hinkle to help.
May 10Mother-Daughter Banquet
PW will hold its annual Mother and Daughter Potluck Dinner on Wednesday, May 10th in Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m. Please bring a dish to pass and table service for you and your guests.
May 17Presbyterian Women
PW will meet on Wednesday May 17 at 4:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. We will be discussing the Networking Dinner in the fall and other upcoming events. The Bible verse letter is “L”.
May 18Parkinson Group
Erica Winney, Nutritionist at Nathan Littauer Hospital, will be the speaker at the Parkinson Group on May 18 at 2:00. She will address the problems of eating, medications and food and answer questions related to problems arising with Parkinsons.
May 23Rise Against Hunger
We will be working with the High School staff and students on Tuesday, May 23 at 3:30 pm to pack 10,000 meals in 90 minutes. Sign-up on the board in Fellowship Hall.
LOOKING AHEAD
June 2 & 322nd Annual Quilt Show
Our 22nd annual Quilt Show will take place on Friday, June 2nd from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.and continue on Saturday, June 3rd from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday evening, Sue Pfau, quilt pattern designer and teacher, will present a trunk show at 6:30. Sue is our Featured Artist this year. She is very talented and lots of fun. Plan to come see her beautiful quilts that will be displayed throughout the show. See Quilt Show Notes below for more information.
June 4Ecumenical Service
Join us for an ecumenical service of music and sharing at the Knesseth Israel Synagogue in Gloversville, at 4:00 pm. Hazzan Abbe Lyons, Cantor, teacher, ritual guide will lead this service. We will be taking part in the program and our choir will be participating in the service.
June 17Golf Tournament
Please mark June 117th on your calendar for our annual Golf Tournament and spread the word. Don’t golf? We need lots of help, making food, serving food, gathering door prizes, etc. See Golf Tournament Notes.
June 26 Outdoor Worship & Church Picnic
The annual worship service and picnic will be held on Sunday, June 26th at the Dahls’ on Priddle Point.
June 26 – June 30VBS
Join us the week of June 26 for our 2017 Vacation Bible School. This year’s theme is Maker Fun Factory – Created by God, Built for a Purpose. Please mark the dates on your calendar and volunteer to help make this a success for all the youth of Mayfield. We will need lots of help with snacks, group leaders, craft leaders, decorating, etc.
July 29Barbecue
Getting geared up for this year’s chicken BBQ on Saturday, 7/29! We are making some changes this year because Brooks will be cooking the chicken and bringing it to us. We also have to guarantee to sell more chickens this year so talk it up!
OUTREACH NOTES
CROPWALK
Our seventh annual CROP Hunger Walk will be held on Sunday, May 7 at 12:30 pm, registration at noon. We are again promoting a “RE-use your t-shirt” day and no new t-shirts will be distributed on walk day. We are asking folks to make healthy snacks for the walkers and asking the walkers to bring their own water bottles for the walk so we do not have to purchase water. Refreshments will be available after the walk. Our route will be the same as last year, around the elementary school track and back. You can find us on the internet by going to CROPHUNGERWALK.org and search for a walk or contact Janis Frisch, our on line consultant. .
CROP Hunger Walks began in 1969 and to many they are viewed as the “granddaddy of charity walks”.
The first walk was in Bismarck, North Dakota on October 17th, 1969, where over a thousand people participated and it raised $25,000 to help stop hunger. The first time it took the official name CROP Walk for the Hungry was 1970 in York County, Pennsylvania. From that point on thousands of walks take place nationwide. Currently well over 2,000 communities across the United States hold hunger walks each year!
Today CROP Hunger Walks are interfaith hunger education and fundraising events sponsored by Church World Service (CWS).
Crop Hunger Walks help to support the overall ministry of Church World Service and 25% of all funds raised stays within our community to assist with our own hunger-fighting efforts. Please mark your calendars for our very own Mayfield Presbyterian Church’s 7th Annual CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, May7th and join the thousands who participate in communities nationwide to support the mission to feed the hungry and help those in need!
Food Pantry
Thanks to the three lovely ladies who worked the pantry last Tuesday. Without these and all the special volunteers this important ministry would not be so successful. Thanks to all who have helped pick up food from Regional and put the bags together.
We could use soup of any kind and jams and jellies are always needed. The next Food Sunday is May 21st but you can bring food in and put it on the counter in the Food Pantry at any time. I expect that the postal workers will be doing their food drive again soon and I will need help picking it up, sorting and getting it on the shelves. More information on this when I get it.
The signup sheet is always posted and if you have never done it before I’m usually available to help. Thanks again, Crystal
Fifth Sunday Mission Collection
There is a fifth Sunday in April and the mission collection that Sunday will go to the Niles Scholarship Fund. A donation container will be on the table as you enter Fellowship Hall. Look for the jar with the graduation cap on it to make your donation.
Rise UP Against Hunger
Fundraising continues (we’re half way there) for Rise Up Against Hunger and we are looking forward to working with the Mayfield High School to pack 10,000 meals for distribution around the world. If you would like to participate, there is s sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. If you would like to donate, you can mail a check or drop money in the bucket on Sundays and watch us meet our goal.
SESSION NOTES
Two applications were received for the Niles Scholarship Fund. The committee will meet in May for a decision. The fifth Sunday mission collection on April 30th will go to the Niles Scholarship Fund.
The Building and Grounds committee has been busy dealing with ants, putting up pictures and checking on running toilets. Clean up day is April 29 at 9:00 am when they will work outside at removing the grit of winter.
Session approved supporting the Mayfield Elementary School Backpack program which will provide 12-15 lbs of food to 30 students over a 30-week period who demonstrate chronic hunger. The program will take place through the Regional Food Bank. The school needs to raise $5,500 by September 1, 2017. The session would like to ask the congregation to donate to this cause throughout July and on July 30th the fifth Sunday in July.
While Pastor Bonnie is away the elders will check the church answering machine and handle things along with Rev Linda Martin. Elders on call in May are Crystal Hinkle and Laura Hime.
The next Session meeting will be on May 22nd at 6:30 because the last Monday is Memorial Day. Please let Janis Frisch know of matters to be discussed.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NOTES
The Sunday School children wish to thank everyone who supported their children in Africa at coffee hour on Palm Sunday. They are planning another coffee hour in May. This time the money will go to the elementary school for a program that supplies food for children to bring home over the weekends when there is a need. The next couple of months we will also be practicing for the end of the year performance on June 18.
We would love to see all the wonderful faces of our children before Sunday School is over for the summer. Get the word out that Vacation Bible School – Maker Fun Factory-Created by God, Built for a Purpose is June 26 until June 30.
MEET VICTOR DOE
Victor Doe is our summer intern from Princton Seminary. Victor graduated from high school in Liberia in December 1989 at the same time civil war broke out there. He sought refuge in neighboring Ivory Coast and returned after the conflict to continue his education in the ministry. He is an ordained minister of the gospel and currently is associate pastor at the Trinity Healing Temple Ministries International, Liberia. He is married to Marlene Nyonnie-Doe and they have three children, Jamil, Carminia and Jasmine.
He describes himself as humble, committed, dutiful and a team player as well as adaptable and have good human relations. He is looking forward to being in Mayfield this summer and feels that this is the ideal ministry environment and resources that he needs to sharpen his skills and further equip him for ministry in Liberia. While working with the church back in Liberia he also hopes to establish a Christian-based school. He has had over six years in the field of teaching – both in the church and non-church settings.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
During Lent the committee (with help from Jay) updated the “Road to Emmaus” living mural each week to coincide with Pastor Bonnie’s sermon messages. The mural has been removed and the Easter Banner is hung and will stay through all 7 weeks of Easter. This committee organized the ordering of lilies and other spring flowers for Easter as well s the palms for Palm Sunday. (Our thanks to the new flower shop in town, Sacandaga Flowers, for donating the palms.)
While Bonnie and Jay are in Africa visiting Olivia, we will have guest speakers. On April 30th, The Rev. David Haase will be leading worship. On May 7th, The Rev. Lucy Harris will be here to celebrate communion with the congregation. Mther’s Day, May 14th, worship committee members will lead the service with a service planned for that special day. We ask everyone to bring a photo of your mother to place on the “somethingbeautiful” table and possibly share a quick memory of your Mom.
New members are always welcome to the committee. See Pastor Bonnie or Nancy Frank if you would like to be included.
GOLF TOURNAMENT NOTES
Our sixth annual golf tournament will be held on Saturday June 17, registration 7:30 am, tee off 8:00, at Holland Meadows Golf Course. (Rain date June 24th ) It will be a scramble with four players (men and women) on each team - each player hits a ball from the tee and the best ball is played again by each player. If you don’t have a complete team sign-up and we will partner you up with a team. Sign-up flyers are on the table near the front door or call Art Dahl at 661-5800. If a power cart is needed reserve one by calling the course at 883-3328. (Pay the course for cart rental.) The price of the tournament is $50, which includes 18 holes of golf, prizes and a luncheon at the golf course’s picnic grove.
We also need hole sponsors and help with lunch. Call Art Dahl or fill out a flyer to order a sign to be placed at a tee. The cost is $25 if we already have a sign, $50 for new ones. We are looking for people to bring salads, hot dogs and hamburgers, buns, soda and the like.
QUILT SHOW NOTES
Our 22nd annual Quilt Show will take place on Friday, June 2nd from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.and continue on Saturday, June 3rd from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday evening, Sue Pfau, quilt pattern designer and teacher, will present a trunk show at 6:30. Sue is our Featured Artist this year. She is very talented and lots of fun. Plan to come see her beautiful quilts that will be displayed throughout the show.
Quilt registration have been mailed to many local quilters and are available at church. We also welcome quilts made by or received as gifts by church members and friends. We are looking for quilts in three categories: Large Quilts, Small quilts, “I Love the Holidays” Challenge Quilts. Our Red and White raffle Quilt: Quilt registration forms are available at the church. Our Red and White raffle quilt: “Barn Dance Pinwheel” will be on display and tickets available for only $1. The drawing for the raffle quilt will be held during our Craft Fair in October.
Lunch items will be available thanks to the PW ladies on Saturday. There will be sign-up sheets for bringing in goodies, soup and sandwiches. Quilt shop vendors have also been invited to “set up shop”. Please tell your friends and/or bring them to this show and see the church transformed with beautiful quilts. Call Nancy Frank (661-5328) or Mary Seaman (567-8341) for more information or to “get involved”.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Gary Lair May 5
Greg Putman May 6
Dan Hanna May 10
Joan Montgomery May 12
Charlotte Conyne May 14
Nancy Frank May 15
Carolyn Putman May 22
Val Warner May 22
Jean Warner May 22
Linda Smith May 25
Clarissa Putman May 29
Evan Orth May 30
Bonnie Orth May 31
Kate Annunziata May 31
DID YOU KNOW?
… that Rae Olson passed away in late March? Her memorial service will be held at the church on Mat 27th at 10:00 pm. We all express our sympathy to the family.