November 2015 Newsletter
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Our October storyteller, Rev. Cindy Maybeck used the story of Ananias and Sapphire to talk about stewardship. She entitled her sermon, “Your Money or Your Life. What an amazing sermon she did! I have never heard this scripture used for a stewardship sermon, but wow, it worked! She reminded us of what stewardship meant to the early church. It meant that all shared in what they had and that each received what they needed.
She helped us to remember all of the things that we have done as a church and as disciples of Christ. She talked about our ministries at our church and how important they are for our community and for the part that we play in the greater ministry of the world. She helped us understand that stewardship is something that we hear a lot of talk about, but not a lot of understanding. Understanding what stewardship is and how it applies to our lives will change the way we make decisions each day. If we really understand what it means to be good stewards, we will begin to not only see our lives change, but also the world around us.
Stewardship applies to everything we have been given. Our time, our money, our God given gifts and abilities, our influence, it all comes from God. Money tends to be the area that most people refer to when speaking of stewardship. I think the main reason is that often money is one of the most difficult things for people to give. At least for me that used to be the case. I was okay giving my energy, time, or sharing my abilities, but money was not something that I was interested in giving away. That is probably why God had to work on me for so long to help me lose my attitude!
I have learned very clearly that the more I give, the more I receive. That amazed me at first, I did not think that was possible, but I have learned to look at all my possessions as being “on loan” from God. I came into the world with nothing and I will leave the same way. But while I am here, on my earthly journey, God has given me time, gifts and abilities and asked that I used them for God’s kingdom here on earth. I have learned to think of myself as more of a steward rather than a possessor.
As we talk about stewardship again this year, we need to remember that stewardship is not just a November happening. Stewardship is an essential part of our everyday lives. I invite you to reconsider what stewardship has meant to you and to your faith journey.
Yours in Christ,
Bonnie
ANNUAL HAM DINNER
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Serving 4:00 pm to 7:00
Mayfield Presbyterian Church
Adults $10.00
Children 5-12 $4.00
Takeouts available
Call 661-6566 for free delivery within 5 miles
NovemberBible Study
The Bible Study groups will continue to meet in November on Mondays at noon and Tuesdays at 5:30 pm. Come join us!
November Knitters
The knitters and Quilters continue to meet every week on Thursdays (except Thanksgiving) at noon. Come work on a project or if you want to learn to make hats or mittens for the mitten tree with us we have needles, yarn and instructions.
November 7Annual Ham Dinner
The Twenty-second Annual Ham Dinner is on Saturday, November 7 from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm (or until we run out of food). The cost is $10.00 for adults and $4.00 for children (5-12). Take-out is available in Mayfield by calling the church (661-6566). We will be serving ham, scalloped potatoes, squash, cole slaw, rolls and apple crisp or gingerbread with whipped cream for dessert. Please come help in whatever way you can. On Friday, November 6 about 1:00 p.m. cole slaw will be prepared and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. the potatoes will be prepared and tables set. Contact Janet Kucel or Colleen Ulrich with any questions.
November 23Session Meeting
The next Session meeting will be held on Monday, November 30 at 6:30 pm. If you have anything that should come before the Session please contact Janis Frisch or Rev. Bonnie.
LOOKING AHEAD
December 9Christmas Pot Luck Dinner
Save the date of December 9 at 6:00 pm to join in fellowship and food atthe annual pot luck dinner.
December 16Blue Christmas Service
This year we will be having a Blue Christmas service on Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. This service is a service of healing and wholeness. We recognize that for many Christmas is a difficult time of year. This is a quiet contemplative service for those who want to remember the greatest gift that God has given to us, but are not happy and joyous because of the present circumstances of their lives. Please mark your calendars to join us. If you would like to help with the service, please see Pastor Bonnie.
December 24Fulton County Jail Christmas Eve Service
We will be doing a Christmas Eve service at the Fulton County jail. We will do at least three services (two for men and one for women) and possibly a fourth if there is someone in solitary confinement. This is always a very special service for those who participate. We are allowed to bring no more than four people along with Pastor Bonnie. If you would like to go this year, please talk to Pastor Bonnie. This will be on a first come, first serve. You will need to provide a copy of your driver’s license so that a background check can be run.
December 24 Christmas Eve Service
We will have a communion Christmas Eve service in our sanctuary on Wednesday, December 24 at 7:00 pm Join us to wish Jesus Happy Birthday.
SESSION NOTES
At the last session meeting the annual meeting date was set for January 24, 2016 and ordination of new elders will be held on January 31, 2016. The next Session meeting will be held on Monday, November 30.
Stewardship Sunday will be November 15. Prior to this time members should be getting a letter and a pledge card which should be returned that Sunday or can be mailed to the church. This gives the finance committee time to plan the budget for next year.
The labyrinth is finished except the landscaping around it. It can be used as a labyrinth now and will be landscaped and finished in the spring.
Fifth Sunday Mission Offering will be received on Sunday, November 29 and will be used to support the Food Pantry. This year we will be doing food baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
OFFERING ENVELOPES
Offering envelopes for 2016 will be available for pick up in Fellowship Hall in December. Envelopes will be given to those who used them last year and any who requested them with their pledge slips. If any other members and friends would like to have offering envelopes, please contact Ann Mallin at 773-8198 or at amallin1@nycap.rr.com. Note: PLEASE do not use 2015 envelopes in the new year. Your envelope number may not be the same.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE NOTES
In preparation for the October 18th storyteller, Rev. Cindy Maybeck, worship committee members planned for a variety of soups with bread and crackers for coffee hour that day. Thank you to Vickie Kucel, Libby VanNostrand, Debbie Lair, Mary Seaman, Mary Lou Bryan, Sharon Brower and Nancy Frank for making soup and to Joan Rorick for the wonderful bread. Table decorations of gold (chocolate) coins and fall flowers (by Joan Montgomery) added to the theme. “Talent” cards and talking point suggestions were also on the tables. Many thanks to anyone who brought a dessert to share that day. Thank you, also, to Chris Dahl and Joan Montgomery for their organizing skills for coffee hour! We appreciate the efforts of Ginnie Hall and Art Dahl with the signs in front of the church.
The third in our storyteller series was based on the stewardship theme of “Your Money or Your Life” from Act 4:32-5:11. Rev. Maybeck was very interesting as well as amusing with her “story” and made it very personal to the Mayfield Presbyterian Church – stating how fortunate we are to have our Pastor Bonnie and how fortunate she is to have this particular congregation.
In the coming week we will move on to plans for the next storyteller event that will take place on November 8 with Thelma Ruffin Thomas who comes to us from New York City. She will share the “Book of Ruth” using her skill as a rapper! This is sure to be a one-of-a-kind event – one not to be missed. It will take place on the Sunday after our annual ham dinner, with lunch to follow during coffee hour. It is quite possible that we will have left-over apple crisp and gingerbread for dessert! Please share the information about this event with your family, a friend or neighbor. Better yet, invite them to attend the service with you that day!
MUSIC NOTES
This year’s cantata with orchestra has been performed before and is one of our favorites. It contains the new songs (well not so new anymore) “Mary, Did You Know” and “Breath of Heaven”. We hope to include some children in this performance. Luke Horst will conduct the chorus and Noel Wing the orchestra. Come sing with us. I have books and CDs available. The performance is Sunday, Decembr 13 at 4:00pm. The rehersals will be Sat. Dec. 5 from 10 – 2 with a light lunch provided and Sat. Dec. 12 from 10 – noon with an additional practice during the week of Dec. 6 with the orchestra (TBA).
Call me at 725-2041 or see me at church for music. Mary Lou Bryan
MISSION NOTES
Are you aware that Mayfield Central Presbyterian Church has many missions that we support?
Among them are the Food Pantry, CROPWalk, Friday’s Table and Midnight Run. We hold a service at the Nathan Littaurer Hospital Extended Care Facility giving communion once a month and many of our members participate in a choral group which sings for the patients. We also have gone to the Fulton County Correctional Facility to hold a service for inmates.
Many things have been done for the people of Guatemala including providing water filters, work camp trips, support of CEDEPCA and Pastor Bonnie’s work with domestic violence. A group of people will be going to Guatemala in February 2016 to once again help the people there and provide dental care.
Fair Trade coffee is sold and used at our church and Katie Frisch also sells Fair Trade items. We have a Prayer Wheel and our fifth Sunday giving helps Domestic Violence Agency, a Scholarship Fund and other projects. The Knitting Group makes prayer shawls and hats and mittens to be distributed at Chrismas along with Santa’s Hotline gifts that our members contribute to.
Also we are very proud of our Sunday School children who are supporting three children in Africa to go to school. They also pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
During the next few months we will update you on just what each mission does and how you can help with the success of these missions. If you have any mission that you would like us to be involved with or to help serve on this committee please call Casey Warner (661-5746).
FOOD PANTRY
The number of people we have coming in for food on the first and third Tuesdays is increasing to nearly 40 families which indicates a greater need. The Regional Food Bank food we receive is working out very well
especially since we are in need of more and more food. We also are getting items we have never been able to get before, like meats, paper goods and a lot of fruit juices, and other items that are very much appreciated by our clients.
I want to thank the people who are signing up for running the pantry on those two Tuesdays, it is such a help. We still need people who have a large vehicle for pick ups on every other Friday so please let me know
if you can do this. It requires a large SUV or truck for the pickups and a few hours of your time on every other Friday. The food is delivered to Gloversville presently. So please use the sign up sheets in fellowship hall for helping in any way you can .
Thank you.
Ginny Mei 725-2970
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOXES
Our Sunday School classes will be filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child on November 15. A list of suggested items and things not to be included is under Sunday School Notes. A box is in the hall for donations. We will also need shoeboxes with lids that come off that will be wrapped ahead of time. Twenty-nine boxes were sent last year and $7.00 is sent with each box to cover the freight costs to get these boxes around the world. If you would care to contribute to this cost please contact Chris Dahl.
MITTEN TREE
The knitters have been knitting away all year and have many pairs ready for Christmas distribution. There is still time to knit a pair or two or even buy them. Give them to Libby VanNostrand by the first week in December.
SANTA HOTLINE
This holiday season we will again take part in the Santa Hotline project for children in the Mayfield Central School District who are in need of Christmas gifts. A tag with the description of a gift and a number will be available in Fellowship Hall on November 22. Gifts must be purchased, wrapped and returned with the tag by December 6. The Santa Hotline number this year is (518) 883-1243. Call between November 3 and December 3 if you have a request for a Mayfield School District child in need of a gift. In addition, if you have any very gently used games, toys, or clothing for children, you may also bring them to the church Please wait until December and mark it For SANTA HOTLINE.
GUATEMALA 2016
30 people will be traveling to Pachaj, Guatemala from February 13 to February 21, 2016. Two dentists, one oral surgeon, a dental hygienist, a physician and a nurse practitioner will be providing much needed dental and medical care to the village. We will be doing a work project, we will do a one day self-care retreat for the women of the village and we will be visiting the local school bringing school supplies. This is the largest group we have ever taken and we are very excited about this opportunity. Our friends from CEDEPCA are busy planning our trip along with Pastor Bonnie and our group will have the opportunity to meet our mission co-workers who will receive our special October collection.
What can you do to help our mission? First of all, pray. Pray for Pastor Bonnie as she plans the trip and gets everything in order, pray for those going on the trip, it is a big financial commitment on their part to do God’s work. Second, begin to collect supplies. We need school supplies of all kinds, glue sticks, pencils, pens, rulers, etc. We need knitted hats for adults and children, We will need bandaids, antibiotic ointments, aspirin and acetaminophen, Third, if you would like to offer some financial support, there are expenses that the group must share. We pay for the work project and all the supplies we need to complete it, we will need to take a bus back and forth to NYS airports because we could not get reasonably priced flights from Albany. We also bring extra suitcases for supplies and meds and we incur extra charges for luggage.
When we return, we will share our experiences with you during a worship service. We now have a relationship with the people of Pachaj and we look forward to returning once again to share God’s love with them.
PW NOTES
After a successful Night is Scotland with 40 in attendance and raising $689.00 and a rummage sale we are planning to go out to lunch at the Casola Dining Room at SCCC on December 2. Reservations must be made two weeks ahead of time on Wednesday, November 18. We will try to get 12 places since they only give six to any one person. Please let Chris Dahl (661-5800) or Mary Lou Bryan (725-20410) know if you would like to join us.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NOTES
We will be packing Shoeboxes on November 15th. Don’t forget to bring in things for the shoeboxes. Below is a list of suggested gifts:
Toys: small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, plastic kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, small Etch-A-Sketch, toys that light up or make a noise (with extra batteries), Slinky, etc.
School supplies: pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, coloring books, writing pads, paper, solar calulators, etc.
Hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, comb, washcloth, etc.
Other: hard candy, lollipops, mints, gum, sunglasses, flashlights with extra batteries, baseball hats, socks, t-shirts, toy jewelry sets, hair clips, watches, small picture books, etc.
Do NOT include the following items:
Used items, Perishable items such as chocolate, Liquids of any kind (shampoo, lotion, bubbles, etc.), Medicines of any kind (vitamins, cough drops, etc.), Breakable items (mirrors, china dolls, etc.), Toy guns, knives or other war-related items
All the gifts should be new and fit in a shoebox!
Sunday School children will soon be starting preparation for their Christmas Progam which will be held this year on December 20th and they will be having their traditional Thanksgiving Feast on November 22nd so come join the fun.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Happy Birthday to these members and friends
Vicki Kucel November 2 Colleen Ulrich November 8
Anna King November 4, 1999 Gloria Thomas November 24
Mike Frank November 5 Judy Giesler November 26
Jean Gifford November 8 Wilma Bant November 27
DID YOU KNOW?
… that Katie Frisch is selling Equal Exchange coffee, tea, chocolate and olive oil on Sunday mornings. These purchases help small producers of goodsin other countries receive a fair price for their products in the marketplace.
…that there were almost 60 people at the Friday’s Table meal on October 23rd. Our next meal will be served in December or January. Those interested in helping please call Mary Disanto-Rose at 518-224-2080 or email her at mdisanto@skidmore.edu.
…that the radiant heat in the floor has been turned on for the winter and it should feel a little warmer this year because
…that Sunday School children sent cards to shut-ins and they were so well received that they are going to be doing it more often and extend their list.
The October special offering to support Sandi Thompson-Royer a PCUSA mission co-worker was $265.
Food Pantry update:
It was decided at the October 26th Session meeting that we will add the Thanksgiving baskets back to our fall mission this year. With that in mind, we are asking for your help. At this time, we have enough stuffing and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving baskets. However, we are hoping for donations of the following to fill at least 40 baskets for both Thanksgiving and Christmas:
turkey, ham or gift certificate to purchase
5 lb. potatoes
canned gravy and vegetables
boxed dessert (ie. cake mix and frosting)
stuffing and cranberry sauce (for Christmas only)
bread
dozen eggs
Non-perishable items can be brought to the church at any time and placed in the conference room (not in the food pantry).
Perishable items (potatoes, bread, eggs) can be brought on November 21st or 22nd (for Thanksgiving baskets)
- or December 19th or 20th (for Christmas baskets).
It would be most helpful if frozen turkeys or hams could be brought to the church on Nov. 22nd or Dec 20th. (subject to change)
Donations of money to purchase items would also be appreciated.
Helpers to fill the boxes on November 22 (for November 24th pickup)
and December 20 (for December 22nd pickup) are needed.
See sign-up sheet in Fellowship for donations or helpers. Thank you!