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Inside this issue:
A Monthly Publication of First Presbyterian Church
January 2016
Worshipping, learning, and serving together in the name of Jesus
Keep in Prayer 2
Directory 2
New Officers 2
Snow Days 2
Bakers 2
Installation Service 3
Ladies Lunch 3
Annual Meeting 3
Supper Sisters 4
Storage Areas 4
Pastor continued 4
Online Giving 5
Recycling Information 5
Financial Information 5
Habitat for Humanity 6
Welcome School 6
Children’s Ministry 7
Youth Fellowship 8
Calendar 9
Birthdays 10
Hard Blessings Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi 4:4-7)
As far as my taste in music goes, I am definitely a fan of pop music from the 60’s til today and a huge fan of New Wave/Punk Rock music from the 80’s. I know it’s a little weird, but it’s just what I like to listen to! Country music is definitely at the bottom of the list of music I like. Sorry folks, don’t judge me!!! Driving to New Mexico for Thanksgiving, I had a lot of time, like 16 hours worth of time in my car to listen to my Sirius radio. I will admit that even I got tired of my usual musical fare after some hours and started scanning the stations. I finally settled on one that played only Christmas music. At one point, Dolly Parton’s version of “Hard Candy Christmas” came on and I must admit that the song and its message really intrigued me. As I thought about what the lyrics were saying, and with my mind in Thanksgiving mode, the Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Philippi came to mind. I think that Paul and Dolly would have understood each other! Later that week, as Sharon and I were sharing Thanksgiving dinner together, I used the phrase “hard blessings” to summarize what this year has been like for us. Sharon told me that would make a good sermon title, but it seems to fit so much more as a Newsletter Article as we come to the end of 2015 and prepare for the beginning of a brand new year.
From The Pastor
Continued on page 4
Your Per Capita Apportionment In your 2016 envelopes you received a special blue per capita apportionment envelope. Please use that envelope to pay $34.58 for each member in your household as soon as possible. For example, if there are two members, please pay $69.18. To go above and beyond what you do for your own per capita, please consider adding an additional amount for our confirmands or shut-ins. Per capita is assessed by the Presbytery in January for each person on the active rolls of our church. Our church is asked to pay our total amount of around $11,342.24 by February 15, 2016. Per Capita apportionments are the way Presbyterians share governance expenses to make mission and programs possible. The annual amount due from each congregation is a combined request from the Presbytery of Missouri River Valley, Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and the General Assembly – of which each congregation is a part. Thanks – Stewardship Committee
Shirley Jones, sister of Sharon Elliott as she struggles with cancer
Jody Graham going through cancer treatment
Sarah Robertson going through cancer treatments
We Keep In Prayer
Page 2 Hilltop Highlights
Directory Updates and Additions
Valerie Yates– No land line just a cell # 402-682-2141, New email [email protected]
There are directories on the table in the foyer. Please look at your information and update with current information. If you have a child listed
that resides elsewhere, please provide their current information and a listing of their own will be created. If all the information is current just
write the word okay next to your information. You only need to update one directory. New directories should be ready to distribute during the Annual
Meeting on January 24th.
New Officers for 2016
Deacons
Karen Albert Kathy White
Lisa Lewis Judy Thompson
Foundation Board
Tom Miller
Curt Hart
Elders
Steve Renner Rebecca Horton
Dawn Matthews Sue Tabler
Brian Wells Sandra Ryks
Snow days are here!!
When the Bellevue Public School system closes for bad weather the church office will also be closed and any event scheduled that
day will be cancelled.
Please Re-Enroll
Baker’s is going to offer the community rewards program again in 2016.
Each person would need to log in to www.bakersplus.com
and re-enroll after January 1st for it to count towards the new year. So please take a few moments after the
first of the year and re-enroll or enroll for the first time. It truly helps the church with a monetary donation from
Bakers each quarter.
Page 3 Hilltop Highlights
Pastor Mike’s Installation Service will be held on Sunday, January 3rd, at 2:00 pm here at First Presbyterian Church. Pastor Mike is a great addition to our church family and to the Presbytery. Please come to the
service and officially welcome him to the Presbytery. Refreshments will be served after the service.
Installation Service
Change to Ladies Lunch!
Join us for Ladies’ Luncheon in 2016!
We’ll start meeting on the first Thursday at noon beginning January 7th, we’ll meet at
La Mesa in Bellevue. Make your reservation by calling the church office at 402-291-
1104 or e-mailing [email protected]
De-Greening of the Church On Sunday, January 3,
join us immediately following the Worship Service when we
pack up the Christmas decorations for another year in
preparation for all that 2016 has to offer!
February 7 is not only Scout Sunday, it’s
also the day of the Troop 467 Pancake
Feed. The troop, which meets here at the
church on Thursday night, invites you to
join them following the worship service
Pancake Feed
for pancakes and sausage for $5 per
person, $10 per family. The troop has
helped us with several projects around the
church, Won’t you help them by
attending this fund raiser?
Women’s Bible Study
Do you have a New Year resolution to study the Bible more? Why not consider joining the Women’s Evening Bible Study group? We will meet on January 14, 2016, at 7:00pm at the home of Marilyn Schlafman,
911 Hopkins. We are studying biblical images of water. New participants are welcome to join us any time. Contact Anne Webster at 402.733.8250 to get a study book and further details.
Annual Meeting
The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, January 24, immediately following
the Worship Service. Lunch will be served by the youth and a free-will offering will support the youth’s mission trips
in 2016. The 2015 annual report, 2016 budget will be reviewed. Their will be activities for the children during the
meeting. Join us and find out what's happening at First Presbyterian Church.
Come Fellowship in 2016!
As you get out your planner for
2015, you’ll want to pencil in
these great events the Fellowship
committee has planned for 2016:
· Love Dinner ~ February 6
· Spaghetti Dinner ~ April 2
· Garage Sale ~ April 30
There will be more information
for each event in the newsletter as
the time draws near, however, be
sure to save these dates now!
Page 4 Hilltop Highlights
How has 2015 been for you? Has it been a good year or a hard year? As you get ready to put 2015 to bed, ask yourself this. Has it been a year of hard blessings or a year of easy blessings? Or to use Dolly’s words, has it been a time like a “Hard Candy Christmas?” Hard blessings are those thing that you are thankful for, but. But. Like having a job that pays the bills BUT it is not your dream job. Or having an amazing family BUT you are not together as much as you would like. Or having a roof over your head BUT not the kind you want or where you want it. Or becoming closer to a friend or a relative BUT because of a serious illness. Has 2015 been a year of hard blessings or easy blessings for you? Will this be a “Hard Candy Christmas” or something more for you and your family? Hard blessings, like hard candy may not always be what we were hoping for in our lives, but they are things that God has chosen to bless us with. Paul reminds us “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” As we leave 2015 behind us, let us takes Paul’s advice to heart. While it may not be easy to rejoice in everything, particularly in those hard blessings that God sends our way, they are blessings indeed. Even if they are disguised pretty well! For 2016, I will be working on finding words and finding ways to rejoice in my hard blessings. It is not going to be easy…trust me on that! But I will try. My prayer for you and my challenge to you is that you would join me in this venture in the year ahead. It’s funny how listening to a station you would normally never listen to and keeping a song on that you do not like can get the gears in your mind turning. Perhaps that is a hard blessing in itself! May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus in
the year ahead.
Yours in Christ, Pastor Mike
From The Pastor
Supper Sisters
Come join us! We usually meet on the last Monday of each month at 6:00 pm at a different restaurant (we
talk about it the month before as to where we are going the next month). In January we will be meeting on
Monday, January 25th at 6:00pm at Applebee’s in Bellevue. Please contact Kathy White if you are
planning to attend. Her home phone is 402-292-3639 and her cell # is 402-619-1043.
Time to Clean House
We are overflowing in all of our storage areas and need all committees and our groups to identify there belongings with a note on each container that is wished to
be kept. Items that do not have a note will be thrown out at the end of January when we bring in a dumpster. This includes any items in the furnace room.
Hilltop Highlights Page 5
Financial Information
November YTD Income $39,264.91 $338,979,79 Expenses $27,827.54 $326,910.24 Difference $11,437.37 $12,069.55
Sufficient Grace: Abundant Blessing
the current year tax statement must be dated and received in the current year. Contributions received after December 31st will be entered in the 2016 record and will appear on your statement in 2016.
If you haven’t returned you pledge card for 2016 please consider doing so. Pledge cards are available on the badge table. Completed cards should be returned to Eric Van Sky, Financial Secretary. Please remember that all contributions intended for
Online Giving Made Easy
Very soon our church will offer our members and guests a safe and easy way to make contributions and donations online. We will still pass the offering plate as usual, but for those that want the convenience of online giving, they will now be able to just “click” on the website and make donations via ServantPC using debit cards, credit cards or checking accounts. Once available, this new service will be available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This service will also offer a pull down menu where members can select specific events (dinners, youth outings, missions, etc.) that they wish to donate to.
Look for more information in the next month.
We have two dumpsters at the side of the building. One is strictly for trash and one is for strictly for recycling. Be sure when you take out the trash that you use the dumpster:
without the yellow strip for regular trash
with the yellow stripe for recycling. It is very important not to get the two reversed. Thank you for taking the time to keep our environment clean.
Hilltop Highlights Page 6
Welcome School Update from Becky
December has been full of hustle and bustle! During this month, Welcome School has welcomed a few new babies being born and has welcomed the holiday season with energized spirit!!
We’ve enjoyed our monthly visit from the library ladies and a few surprise visits from Santa!
Besides reading, singing, making patterns with colors, science experiments and lots and lots of glitter, we have had fun learning about the weather, December and giving. If you would like to volunteer some time in a classroom or read a story to the kids, please let me know! Welcome School’s Winter break is from Dec. 21-Jan 4th. School resumes Tuesday, Jan. 5th, 2016.
Thank you and have a blessed holiday, Becky McClanathan, Director of Welcome School
Do You Know Anyone In Need Of A Home??
Habitat for Humanity of Sarpy County is in the process of selecting families for homes in the Sarpy County
area. Applicants will be evaluated based on the family’s need for adequate housing, ability to pay, and
commitment to work as a Habitat partner in the construction of the homes. In order to qualify, applicants
must complete a Pre-Screening Questionnaire which determines if their income qualifies according to HUD
income limits for the Sarpy County Area.
Pre-Screening questionnaires are available on their website at http:/www.hfhsarpy.org or call 402-292-6560.
The forms may also be picked up at their office at 1001 Ft. Crook Rd. N. # 208 (East side of Southroads Mall)
in Bellevue.
If you are remodeling etc. and have surplus working appliances or
other useful items, contact the Habitat Home Store and make a tax
deductible donation.
Page 7 Hilltop Highlights
Children’s Ministry
Happy New Year! As I write this, it’s not even Christmas yet so this feels a little funny to say that, but I truly do wish you a glorious 2016 and I am excited about Children’s Ministry in the upcoming year.
First off, thank you so much to everyone who helped with the Young Family Christmas Eve worship service at 3:30. It was so encouraging to have so many people excited about the idea of that service and stepping forward in big and small ways to help. I loved how many children and youth were willing to help provide music or scripture
readings and it was awesome to get 2 and sometimes 3 generations involved in different parts of the worship.
Sunday School took December 27th off, but is starting back up on January 3rd. WOW begins it’s 2nd semester on January 6th at 5:30 PM. Dinner on the 6th will be grilled cheese sandwiches and soup and I’m encouraging participants and helpers to wear crazy socks that night.
Our next Family Movie Night is coming up quick! It will be Sunday, January 10th at 5 PM. We will offer a FREE dinner of BBQ beef sandwiches or hot dogs before we settle in to watch the movie Paddington. After the movie there will be some crafts available for people to try, if they choose. I encourage all attendees to bring their favorite teddy bear and a blanket and pillow to get comfy on the floor of Fellowship Hall for movie watching. For those who prefer, you can stay seated in your chair from dinner. I would also encourage everyone to invite friends, family, neighbors, etc to this fun and free night. We draw a pretty good crowd and it’s a really fun environment. Paddington was a new release in the fall of 2015 and it is highly rated, including a rating of 5 Doves for being a quality, family-friendly movie.
I am exploring the possibility of offering CPR training at the church for youth and adults who are interested. I would anticipate doing the training on a Saturday and it takes about 4 hours and is very low cost. Please let me know if this might be something you would be interested in participating in.
I also want to mention a couple of dates for the future, just so you can get them on your calendar now. Our last WOW for the school year will be April 13th. We will have a special dinner that night and a graduation ceremony for our 6th graders. We have a good sized class of very involved 6th graders and I’m already worried about crying that night. But it should be really nice. And it’s a great opportunity for our youth to help the 6th graders to transition up into our youth program. April 15th will be our annual 4th through 6th grade lock-in at the church and another very important event is VBS, which will run July 11th through the 15th from 9 AM to Noon.
Linda Reffert
Hilltop Highlights Page 8
January Youth Fellowship (YF)
News
Matthew 2: 1-2, 11 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the
Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ On coming to the house, they
saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”
The Christmas Cantata this year included a reading that I think is important for all of us to remember. Christmas is not done on Christmas day. The Magi did not arrive with the rest of the folks in the manger. Verse 11 says “On coming to the house” so it was long after Jesus was born that they found him. We celebrate Epiphany in January which is Jesus introduction to the Magi and through them to the world of the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). I think this is a great reminder that it takes some of us a bit longer to recognize Christ among us or to realize how important He is in our lives. Some people get it right away, like the shepherds on
Christmas day and others, like the Magi, wander around asking for directions for awhile. I hope we are patient with all those seeking Christ and meet them where they are in their faith journey. I pray that we give the right answers and directions to those still seeking Christ. December was a busy time with Panera Peeps, Sunday School, Hanging of the Greens, the last two Illuminates and a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. We received donations from a number of people to purchase gifts for the remaining angels and the youth broke up into teams of two and each group had a budget and 3 - 4 angels gifts to buy. I think it’s a great budgeting exercise and
also a good reminder of how difficult it can be for some people to purchase gifts with limited income. It was a great way to end the first half of the year with gifts then B&B Dogs for dinner and games. We had wonderful turnout for our BID Board Luncheon and Silent Auction. Thank you so much to the people who donated for both events and helped make it such a successful event. We collected over $2,700 for Youth Mission. This money is used to offset part of the costs of Mission Trips and Youth Events. This also allows us to offer scholarships to trips and events. Thank you all for your dedication and support! We have one last December event on the 30th. A joint work day then lock-in with the Youth from Church of the Master. We will meet at PCM at 9 a.m. and proceed to our work sites from there.
January we resume Sunday School on the 3rd and Illuminate on the 6th. WinterJam is January 21st this year. This is a fantastic Christian Concert with lots of different types of music and many different bands. It is on a school night and is a late night which we will need to discuss. Regular tickets are $10 but some of the youth that went last year were interested in the upgraded tickets so we could get in earlier and get closer seats. We will need to discuss this at our first Illuminate.
January 24th is our Congregational Luncheon and this is our Potato Bar Luncheon, our last big fundraiser. A Sign-up Genius will go out in early January for items to donate. Wisemen still seek Him, help us to be the light that points others to Jesus. Shelli
January Youth Events
Sunday School 9:00 a.m. January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Illuminate 5:30 p.m. January 6, 13, 20, 27
Panera Peeps 7:00 a.m. January 14, 28
1/10 5:00 p.m. Family Movie Night
1/21 5:30 p.m. Winter Jam at Mid America Center
1/24 9:00 a.m. Congregational Luncheon/Potato Bar
1/31 10:00 a.m. 5th Sunday, Youth Usher & Liturgist
Hilltop Highlights Page 9
~ J
an
uary
20
16 ~
Su
n
Mo
n
Tu
e
Wed
T
hu
F
ri S
at
1
New
Year's D
ay C
hurch Office is C
losed T
he Defenders/W
ichita-F
H
2
The D
efenders/Wichita-
FH
3
10:30a Worship S
ervice 2p P
astor Mike's Installation
Service
5p Fam
ily Movie N
ight 7p V
enture Crew
26
4
1:15p Heritage R
idge 2p H
armony C
ourt 2:45p R
ichmont V
illage 6p G
irl Scouts
7p Deacons M
tg (VV
R)
5
10:30a Staff M
eeting (C
R)
6p Mission M
tg (VV
R)
7p Bell C
hoir Rehearsal
6 E
piphany 7p C
hoir Rehearsal
7
10a P.E
.O. (V
VR
) 12p Ladies Lunch (La M
esa) 7p F
ellowship M
tg (VV
R)
7p Troop 467
8
10a Bellevue W
omen's
Club (F
H)
9
8:30a Men's G
roup (VV
R)
10a Book C
lub
10
10:30a W
orship Service
11:30a Foundation B
oard M
eeting (CR
)
11
10a W
elcome B
oard Mtg
(CR
) 10:30a P
.E.O
. (FH
/VV
R)
6p Girl S
couts
12
6p C
hristian Education
Mtg (F
H)
7p Bell C
hoir Rehearsal
13
8:45a P
EO
(VV
R/F
H)
7p Choir R
ehearsal
14
9:30a B
uilding & G
rounds M
tg (P/L)
3:30p Worship M
tg (P/L)
6p Personnel M
tg (VV
R)
7p Bible S
tudy (S
chlafman H
ome)
7p Finance M
tg (VV
R)
7p Mem
bership Mtg (F
H)
7p Troop 467
15
16
17
10:30a W
orship Service
18
Martin Luther K
ing 7p V
enture Crew
26 19
7p B
ell Choir R
ehearsal 7p P
ieceMakers Q
uilt G
roup
20
7p C
hoir Rehearsal
21
7p T
roop 467 22
23
3p B
ellevue West F
und-raiser D
inner
24
B
ellevue West F
undraiser D
inner 10:30a W
orship Service
25
6p S
upper Sisters
26
7p B
ell Choir R
ehearsal 27
7p C
hoir Rehearsal
28
7p S
ession (VV
R)
7p Troop 467
29
30
31
10:30a W
orship Service
No
tes:
Staff Rev. Dr. Michael G. Elliott Pastor [email protected] June Kouba Church Administrator [email protected] Shelli Dart Youth Ministry [email protected] Linda Reffert Children’s Ministry [email protected]
First Presbyterian Church
1220 Bellevue Blvd. South
Bellevue, NE 68005
Phone:402-291-1104
Nonprofit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Bellevue, Nebraska
Permit No. 16
1 Mel Hess
1 Jane Watson
2 Cassi Norton
3 Dianna Morton
6 Sara Oxtoby
7 Mariah Kilpatrick
8 Gene Farley
8 Tim Lehr
8 Jean Anticoli
8 Elizabeth Van Sky
10 Lisa Beasley
11 Lauren Wondra
January Birthdays:
We're on the web! www.bellevuefpc.org
Mailing Address Line 1
Mailing Address Line 2
Mailing Address Line 3
Mailing Address Line 4
Mailing Address Line 5
12 Liane Kirmis
13 Katie Crick
14 Libby Grenon
16 Zachary Keaton
17 Teri Radil
17 George Thompson
19 Emily Fettes
20 Judy Medakovich
20 Curt Hart
21 Shelli Dart
21 Beth Sanborn
22 Norm Grenon
23 Elijah Fenster
24 David McCon
24 Jack Syphers
25 Tom MacKinnon
25 Nancy St.Clair
25 Lou Worm
26 Zach Winkler
29 Kim Grenon
29 Lloyd Johnson
30 Carter Kirsch
31 Jim Davis
31 Kayla Dunlap
