First Things First APRIL. 2020

NEWS FOR THE CHURCH FAMILY AT FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH STERLING, COLORADO

Join us for worship (virtually)!

Sundays at 10:30am

Access Online or By Radio

Radio: AM 1230

Online: https://www.facebook.com/fpc.sterling/

(you do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the service on Facebook)

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Community Worship Service – Wednesdays at Noon

Access Online or By Phone

Instructions for Joining the Community Lent Worship Service

Online:

https://www.facebook.com/fpc.sterling/

or https://zoom.us/j/351205787

Telephone:

Dial +1 669 900 9128

You will need to put in the Webinar ID: 351 205 787

When it asks for you participant ID, just press #

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Let’s come together in the ways we can.

The church isn’t where we go, it’s who we are.

A Message from Michelle. . .

Well I never imagined just

how deeply we’d be invited to

connect with the “Wilderness”

theme this Lent. As someone

said, “Honestly, I didn’t

intend to give up so much this

Lent.” But, here we are.

I shared with you at our last in

-person worship service the

idea that “The church has left

the building,” but the ministry

of the church goes on. Or, as a friend of mine put it, “Church isn’t where we go, it’s who we

are.” So, rather than cancel our services and events, we are doing our best to move what we do to

a virtual space. This is all new and strange for all of us (myself included) so I appreciate your

grace and openness as we try new things as we seek to continue our ministry together in ways

that are responsible and good for the wellbeing of all during this time.

As you all know by know we’ve suspended all in-person gatherings at the church indefinitely.

We are doing everything we know to do (and learning new things we didn’t know how to do!) in

order to offer ways for us to continue to be the church with and for each other during this time.

There’s more information in this newsletter about how we might do that.

One of my favorite stories from the bible is about Elijah who is on the brink of despair when he

is visited by an angel, who helps him with the most basic needs: food and rest. Elijah then has a

profound experience: wind, earthquake, and fire! But, following that chaos what follows is the

sound of sheer silence. And God meets Elijah in the sound of sheer silence. You can find

that story in 1 Kings 19.

I believe God still offers us the gift of stillness and quiet in the face of chaos and despair. Let’s

remind each other that God is with us in the wilderness, and God can bring calm to the storms,

and God can give us quiet peace even in times of uncertainty.

Please keep in touch in whatever way make sense for you — I’d love to hear from you.

With you in this wilderness...

It feels utterly wrong to ask people to stay away from church, and yet… in this moment,

staying home is the best way we can love our neighbors and look out for the good of our

community and our nation. Here’s an excerpt of an article that explains a little bit about the

rationale for social distancing.

Why ‘flattening the curve’ may be the world’s best bet to slow the

coronavirus

By Helen Branswell | March 11, 2020 | https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/11/flattening-

curve-coronavirus/

“If you look at the curves of outbreaks, they go big peaks, and then come down. What we

need to do is flatten that down,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy

and Infectious Diseases, told reporters Tuesday. “That would have less people infected. That

would ultimately have less deaths. You do that by trying to interfere with the natural flow of

the outbreak.”

The notion that the curve of this outbreak could be flattened began to gain credence after Chi-

na took the extraordinary step of locking down tens of millions of people days in advance of

the Lunar New Year, to prevent the virus from spreading around the country from Wuhan, the

city where the outbreak appears to have started. Many experts at the time said it would have

been impossible to slow a rapidly transmitting respiratory infection by effectively shutting

down enormous cities — and possibly counterproductive.

But the quarantines, unprecedented in modern times, appear to have prevented explosive out-

breaks from occurring in cities outside of Hubei province, where Wuhan is located.

“I think the whole notion of flattening the curve is to slow things down so that this doesn’t hit

us like a brick wall,” said Michael Mina, associate medical director of clinical microbiology at

Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It’s really all borne out of the risk of our health

care infrastructure pulling apart at the seams if the virus spreads too quickly and too many peo-

ple start showing up at the emergency room at any given time.”

“But we know from pandemic planning and previous experiences that the sooner we imple-

ment these measures, the more effective that they are,” she said.

Pray for our Church Family

Military Personnel Luke Brigham (Randy & Terry’s son) Thomas Gage Snyder (Kim Schlup’s son) Cameron Venn (Doris Ramsel’s grandson)

For those with special needs or concerns….

April

5 Steve Burnham

8 Kathy Campbell

Jocelyn Knutson

Ashley Roberts

9 Emily Werner

10 John Guenzi

12 Rena Morrison

14 Kaleb Knutson

16 Tim Lister

19 Grayson Steele

20 Robert Hall

Mike Burnham

22 Adalyn Sonnenberg

23 Quentin Roberts

24 Austin Foos

Ted Propst

25 Melissa Kaan

Layton Miller

Hadley Jackson

28 Pam Trimble

29 Don Lebsack

Darla Korrey Gertner

Stacy Annan (Jack & Flo’s daughter-in-law)

Carol Arnold Carol Barrett Norm Blackburn Gabe Chapin Cooperating Ministry Jeanne Crouch & family Cierra Davis (friend of Becky Cranwell) Family Resource Center Norman Foos Jim Gay Bryce Gilliland Under the Umbrella Norma Wagner (Jana Lock’s mom) Derek Weingardt (Rick’s nephew)) Masi Wells (friend of Taylor Cranwell) Jeff Weskamp Zach Westramus\ (Tom Westfall’s nephew Jim & Jean Williamson

Condolences to Ashlee Glaser on the death of her grand-mother, Delores Pedersen (Sandy’s mom) on March 10. Congratulations to Bryce & Michelle White on the bir th of their baby boy, Milo, on March 10.

Stacia Annan (Jack & Flo’s Daughter-in-law) Carol Barrett Wally Beardsley (friend of McDowells) Norm Blackburn Gabe Chapin Cooperating Ministry Jeanne Crouch & family Cierra Davis (friend of Becky Cranwell) Family Resource Center Norman Foos Jim Gay Mike Gertner Bryce Gilliland (friend of Kaans) David Hashman, SCF Inmate Sonja Holden (friend of Arden Fennell) Chris Jutz Josh Jutz & Kaylee Robert Koehler (friend of Laura Guenzi) Debby Korrey (Darla’s sister) Glenna Langshaw (Cheryl Kaan’s mother) Gary & Deb Lauer (friend of Propsts) Dona Lightsey Delinda Korrey McDowell

Alya Neff (friend of Lena Witherspoon) Jeni Porter (In-law of Blackburn's) IdaMae Prince (Tanna’s mother) Frances Rhodes (Dave’s mother) Ben Skeen (Mike Gertner’s nephew) Darrell Smith Dorothy Swanson Barb Thiele Charlie & Roseanne Thompson (friends of Nebletts) Amy & Byron Uhrich (Jill Vollmer’s parents) Under the Umbrella Norma Wagner (Jana Lock’s mom) Declan Nash Warner (Jason Rose’s grandson) Derek Weingardt (Rick’s nephew) Masi Wells (friend of Taylor Cranwell) Jeff Weskamp Zach Westramus (Tom Westfall’s nephew) Jim & Jean Williamson

Food need for April canned entrees such as

spaghetti, ravioli, tamales and/or stew.

Please take your dona-

tions directly to the Ministry (10-3:30 M-F)

From the February 18, 2020 Session Meeting

It was voted to seat Deacon, Laura Guenzi and give her voice.

There was one funeral during the month.

One person joined the church by letter of transfer.

One person was removed from inactive mem-bership due to death.

Connie from Finance, Pam from Stewardship, and Tom from Mission and Nominating will give brief presentations about their respective committees and the work done in 2019 during the Annual Congregational Meeting.

It was voted to approve a request from Ster-ling Correctional Facility to receive approxi-mately six offenders at our Easter Sunday ser-vice and possibly provide transportation to/from the church for these specifically chosen offenders (non-violent and non-sexually based crimes; appropriate mental health; document-ed good behavior; no violations/infractions of rules in the last year; no warrants/wants/detainers; and no escapes from a secure facili-ty).

81 pledges have been received totaling $253,887. This amount exceeds the budgeted pledges of $240,000 and is excellent news.

A trip to the Holy Land is being put together and would be a tour of members of the church

There will be a “Super Sunday Salad Sale” on May 17 with the proceeds going to support the Youth Asset Program which is a mission of the church.

The Compilation Report prepared by Johnson & Associates, CPA’s PC for2019 was re-ceived.

The grant request to the State Historic Fund was not approved.

It was voted to cover the additional $2,980 stained glass window repair cost from the Building Fund.

Communion count: Sunday, February 2, - 74 Home Communion, February 11 - 16

Plans are in place for the Annual Congrega-tional Meeting/Fellowship lunch, Lenten Wor-ship & Lunch and Ash Wednesday supper.

Three members-at-large are still needed for the Nominating Committed and will be elected at the Congregational Meeting.

It was voted to approve a request to take up an offering at First Friday for the Orpheus Club to benefit the Johnnie Milligan Scholar-ship Fund (for music scholarships.)

Upcoming Meetings/Important Dates

Annual Congregational Meeting, Sunday, Feb-ruary 23, 2020 during the fellowship lunch following worship.

Session - Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 6:00.

From the March 14, 2020 Called Session Meeting

It was voted to approve suspending

in-person worship, after March 15, 2020, until the session determines it is advisable to resume in-person wor-ship

It was decided that an ad hoc team would convene to discuss other church meetings/events, church com-munity needs and staff work practices during this time. Tom Westfall, Jeff Rice, Nancy Mann and Linda Meis-ner volunteered and Trae Miller, Per-sonnel Committee Chair, will also be invited along with Kim Jackson, Dea-con Moderator and Elsie Fetzer.

Session. . .

Finance Information February, 2020 February 2020 Year to Date 2020 Income/Offerings $20,017.67 $54,942.83

Expenses (32,325.28) (62,466.97)

Income / Loss) (12,307.61) (1,198.97)

Investment Transfers 0.00 180.49

Income / (Loss) after ($12,307.61) ($1,018.48) Transfers

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb taking the spices that they had prepared, They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them; “Why do you look for the living among the dead: He is not here, but has risen.”

Luke 24:2-5 - New Revised Standard Edition

Happy Easter!

Around the world, millions of people lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education and opportunity. The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing — Pres-byterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of Peo-ple — all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, substance and hope. Received during Lent, each gift to OGHS helps to improve the lives of people in these challenging situations. The offering provides us a way to share God’s love with neighbors in need. In fact, OGHS is the single, largest way that Presbyterians come together every year to work for a bet-ter world. We will receive the offering on March 29.

WAYS TO GIVE — Through your congregation—Write OGHS on the memo line of your check and mail to

First Presbyterian Church, 130 S 4th St., Sterling, Colorado 80751

Donate by credit card online at www.presbyterianmission.org/give-oghs

Text OGHS to 20222 to give $10

Lenten Weekly Worship Services Led by Community Pastors/Churches

Wednesdays at 12:00 (virtual)

https://www.facebook.com/fpc.sterling/ ~or~ https://zoom.us/j/351205787

April 1 Pastor Kristie Firme Christ United Methodist Church

April 8 Pastor Dan Hays Peace Lutheran Church

Sponsored by the Logan County Ministerial Alliance

First Things First News for the Church Family at First Presbyterian

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Sterling, Colorado

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

WORSHIP

Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Morning Worship

Fellowship Coffee follows Sunday worship service.

SUNDAY SCHOOL (September—May)

Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - All ages

RADIO MINISTRY

Sunday, 10:30 a.m. On KSTC (AM 1230)

OFFICE HOURS:

Monday — Friday 8:30am-12noon & 1-4pm

Staff:

PASTOR MICHELLE WITHERSPOON

E-mail michelle@firstpressterling.org

Cell Phone 970.580.4358

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR/BOOKKEEPER

E-mail bevc@firstpressterling.org BEVERLY CUMMING

MUSIC COORDINATOR/ORGANIST ELSIE FETZER

ASSISTANT ORGANIST MARSHA DAVIS

CO-CHOIR DIRECTORS KAY BRIGHAM RICH

DARLA KORREY GERTNER

BELL CHOIR DIRECTOR LINDSEY JACKSON

PROPERTY MANAGER JANET KLOBERDANZ

DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRY JANET FOOS

NEWSLETTER EDITOR NANCY MANN

E-mail namann@bresnan.net

FIRST THINGS FIRST

If you wish to be taken off this Newsletter mailing list, please call the church office at 522-2708.

Newsletter Deadline is the 15th day of the month prior to publication. Items may be submitted on flash drive, on CD or in text format to Nancy Mann c/o the church office, by e-mail (namann@bresnan.net) or phone (522-5477).

CHURCH PHONE 970.522.2708

Fax 970.522.1365

WEBSITE www.firstpressterling.org

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

130 SOUTH 4TH STREET

STERLING, COLORADO 80751

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

April