World Communion Sunday

As an expression of our oneness in Christ, on October 1, followers of Jesus around the world will

take part in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The global community continues to be fraught

with division, conflicts, and wars that separate us one from another, but World Communion Sun-

day reminds us that no matter our geographic, racial, cultural, political, and

social boundaries, we are all God’s children. We will gather in a circle around

the Lord’s table and remember Jesus and our brothers and sisters around the

world. By sharing the Bread of Life, we will act out Jesus’ command to share

the feast he prepared and to live as one body—his body—in the world. A vari-

ety of breads on the table will symbolize the diverse family of God. We are

One in Christ!

Also, our denominational Peace and Global Witness Offering will be received on October 1 and

the local portion will support the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program of Vermilion County - which

helps children in our school system.

Dedication of New Organ

We will dedicate our new organ to the Glory of God during worship on Octo-

ber 29 and will recognize the many generous gifts that were given to fund the

organ. We will hear more about the organ and its features and Rick will play a

variety of hymns so we can begin to appreciate its quality and capability. The

organ is scheduled to be installed on September 29 and 30 and will be enrich-

ing our worship for years to come! Thanks be to God. Rick has a message

about the organ on page 5 inside.

Movie Night: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie

Come and enjoy pizza, popcorn, and a movie on Sunday, October 22 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. The

movie this time will be Still Alice, an adult oriented movie that tells the story of early-onset Alzhei-

mer’s Disease and how it affects family, friends, and careers. The movie opened in 2015 and re-

ceived highly acclaimed reviews. It’s a life affirming story of a woman deter-

mined to hold onto her identity and relationships while disease slowly

wounds her body and mind. Themes of bravery and sensitivity run through-

out the film. We all have family or friends who live with some sort of demen-

tia and the film provides a story of hope and understanding. A short discus-

sion will follow. Remember to look for the Good News in movies.

First Presbyterian Church

Hoopeston, Illinois

October 2017

The Bridgebuilder

Inside this issue:

Pastor’s Letter 2

Presbyterian Faith 3

Finance,, Mission 4

Organ, Prayers 5

Youth, Pasta, Dea-cons

6

Preschool, Dates

7

First Presbyterian Church

915 E Orange St

PO Box 297

Hoopeston, IL 60942

Phone: 217-283-6229

Fax: 217-283-6229

E-mail: church@fpchoopeston.com

W e ’ r e o n t h e w e b !

w w w. f p c h o o p e s to n . c o m

F i n d us o n F a c e b o o k

First Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 297

915 E. Orange St

Hoopeston, IL 60942

Return Service Requested

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 49

Hoopeston, IL 60942

First Presbyterian Church of Hoopeston

Head of the Church Jesus Christ

Ministers of the Good News All of Us

Session Elders

Lent/Easter Season Planning Laura Flint, Janet Smith

Pentecost Summer Season Joe Steiner, Julie Stump

Pentecost Fall Season Karl Steiner, Wayne Bandy Advent/Christmas Season Debby Dixon, Linda Martin Epiphany Season Gloria Jahn, Julie Stump

Deacons Shirley Wagoner, Rita Carter, Dale Smith

Organist and Music Director Rick Brackmann

Custodian Gary Deck

Preschool Director Julia Eisenmann

Pastor Wade Meranda

Administrative Assistant Betsy Schellhardt

Preschool Assistant Teacher Sarah Tribbey

Youth Group Director Kathy Watson

Page 2

Pastor’s Letter

Page 7

Preschool, Dates

Pastor’s Letter

Dear Friends,

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation which was a major reform of the way the people of Europe experienced their rela-tionship with God and one another. The Reformation coincided with the Renaissance period of cultural changes that was going on, and between the two, life in Europe and the church would never be the same.

The Reformation of the Church and the Renaissance of the culture all happened over a period of many years in 16th century Europe, with Columbus discovering the new world in 1492 and with a Catholic priest named Martin Luther posting 95 theses of complaints on the church door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Ger-many on October 31, 1517. Life for common men and women had not been going well in Medieval Europe and the call for change had come.

Today’s Protestant denominations, including the Presbyterian denomination, were born out of the Refor-mation. On page 3 you will see some highlights of the Presbyterian Faith. We are among the first denoi-mations to ordain women, African Americans, and les-bian and gay individuals into ministry. The United States government was modeled in many ways by Presbyterian polity of shared power of elected officers and with many checks and balances.

Many of the principles of our church and secular life today are rooted in the hard-fought struggles of the Reformation period, and 500 years lat-er, we are grateful for their gallant efforts to change and reform the church and world to better serve the common people. This new and hopeful outlook on God and the world includes: salvation by grace through faith, Bible as Word of God, God is sovereign over all, freedom of conscience (God alone is Lord of the con-science), plurality in society, toleration, individualism, freedom of religion, equality for all humans, lives of service to others, community care of the poor, literacy and universal education, and something called the Priesthood of All Believers.

Yes, all Christians are now priests and all priests are Christians. Yes, all are sinners and all are worthy of direct communication with God. The principles of the Reformation are imbedded in our Presbyterian DNA. We are all free to speak to God and we all belong to God and to no one else. Happy 500th birthday to our Protestant faith and freedom. Blessings, Rev Wade

Fall at Small Wonders

Where did September go? We already have the first

month of school behind us! The children are getting

used to new routines, making new friends, and learn-

ing more each day. With this hot weather, even though

it doesn’t feel much like fall outside, we are looking

forward to some fun fall ac-

tivities, more play time on

our playground with our

bikes and balls before the

winter weather sets in.

October will be a busy but

fun month. We will be learning and talking about “Life

on the Farm” to prepare us for our fall field trip to Fair

Oak Farms.

We will also be busy with our fall fundraiser, selling

Beef House rolls, strawberry jam, and apple butter to

help fund our spring field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Please sign up to purchase any of these items! Sign up

sheets will be available around October 9. The items

will be delivered early in November, just in time to

serve at Thanksgiving dinner!

Also, we will be having our Hallow-

een parties at the end of the month!

We would like to thank the church

members who donated supplies and snacks for our fall

semester. We are blessed to have such an amazing

place to teach our students. Thank you for your contin-

uing support! - Julie Eisenmann, Director

Fall Congregational Meeting

Our stated fall congregational meeting will be held af-

ter worship on October 29. The congregation will be

asked to affirm the slate of officers as provided by the

Nominating Committee. The NC has been working

faithfully to discern whom God has called to fill these

offices and its slate will include four candidates for El-

der, one for Deacon, and three for the 2018 Nominating

Committee. At congregational meetings, only members

of the church may speak and vote and our bylaws iden-

tify a quorum as thirty

members. The pastor mod-

erates congregational

meetings but is not a vot-

ing member of the congre-

gation.

Fall Work Day

After worship and refreshments on

October 22, we will work on a list of

fall chores: washing windows, cleaning

furnace rooms, cleaning shed, and pre-

paring the church for the upcoming

Pasta Dinner and holiday season.

Trunk or Treat!

A favorite event for children and adults returns this

month. Kids may wear their Halloween costumes to

church on October 29, and then following worship

we’ll have our own Halloween party in the parking lot

with “Trunk or Treat.” As the children make their way

from car to car, adults (who

can also dress up or decorate

their vehicles if they like) are

invited to hand out treats—

homemade or store-bought.

All Hallows Eve is the evening before All Saints’ Day

(Nov. 1), a time when many Christians celebrate the

mystery of life after death using a variety of playful

costumes and traditions. We will celebrate All Saints’

Day in worship on November 5 and we will remember

the Saints in our lives.

Small Wonders Students

We pray for this year’s class of 3- and 4-year-old stu-

dents who are enrolled in Small Wonders for fall se-

mester. We hope their preschool

experience is warm and friendly

and helps them discover the

“small wonders” they really are!

We prayer for our teachers too:

Julia Eisenmann and Sarah Trib-

bey.

4-year-old class: 3-year-old class:

Brenna Ball Jaxson Cannon

Paislee Baughn Grayson Goodrum

Rylie Brown Easton Handy

Lucas Clark Beckett Leslie

Liam Elliott Reagan McCord

Colton Fell Avery Price

Michael Fell Peyton Silver

Lilah Fenstermacher Kassidy Taflinger

Ace Goodner Sammy Tyler

Wyatt Goodner Jayden Williams

Avery Goodrum Griffin Young

Myla Lavender

Clara Leslie

October Birthdays

02 Logan Robinson 03 Peg Clem 10 Gina Morgan 15 Cameron Flint 15 John Lindley 17 Ashley Morgan 23 Betty Huffman 23 Wayne Carter 30 Marge Foster 31 Jeff Schellhardt

October Anniversaries

10/03/2015 Jordan and Destini Flint 10/10/1992 Brad and Sue Burton 10/12/1996 Wade Meranda and Ann Schwartz 10/29/1966 Dale and Janet Smith

Youth, Mail, Pasta, Deacons Presbyterian Faith

Page 6

Pasta Dinner

The countdown to the November 3 Pasta Dinner has

begun—our 26th Pasta Dinner! Sign-up sheets will be

posted before long for dessert contributions and work-

ers. Once again, Vera Keller will guide us as we pro-

vide our community a special meal, fellowship, music

and gift shopping. There will be a job for everyone!

Many beautiful items

from our SERRV craft sale

will be on display. SERRV

is a mission project that

support artisans around

the world and helps them

receive a fair price for

their work. This is not a

fundraiser for us. We

thank Linda Martin and Barb Park for organizing the

SEERV sale once again.

Our parking lot Christmas lights will be hung the week

before the dinner. Contact Wade if you can help.

Pasta Dinner tickets will be available soon. Please sell

tickets and help promote the dinner throughout town.

Deacon Ministry

Behind all the busy and visible activities our congrega-

tion does is the quiet and prayerful ministry of our dea-

cons. Our deacons and pastor meet about every two

months to talk and pray for members and any difficult

situations they may be living through. Deacons pro-

vide cards, prayers, meals, and compassion throughout

the year. Those currently serving as deacons are:

Shirley Wagoner, Rita Carter, and Dale Smith. Please

pray for them as they pray for you.

“The ministry of deacon is set

forth in Scripture is one of com-

passion, witness, and service in

the redeeming love of Jesus

Christ for the poor, the hungry,

the sick, the lost, the friendless,

the oppressed, those burdened

by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress.

Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exempla-

ry lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compas-

sion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this

ministry.” (Book of Order)

We’ve Got Mail

For gift to begin new school year:

Friends at FPC, thank you for the gift card. So very thoughtful of all of you. I’m looking forward to watch-ing these young children grow this year! - Sarah Trib-bey, preschool teacher

For Milk Club support:

Th staff and students at John Greer want to express our appreciation for your generous contribution of milk money. We have many children who come from homes that cannot afford this extra expense. Charity begins at home and we appreciate the care you show to the chil-dren of our community. - Dan Walder, Principal

Youth Ministry

Our youth ministry includes the Youth Group (5th-8th

grade) and Discipleship Class (9th-12th). Sometimes

the meet separately and sometimes they do activities

together. The youth ministry in October includes:

October 1 12:00 p.m. YG and DC leave to serve at Fair Hope Children’s Ministry in Danville

October 15 5:30 p.m. YG and DC, movie, discussion

The youth will be serving at Fair Hope Children’s Min-

istry in Danville and delivering the donation of socks.

They will leave the church at 12:00 p.m. and will stop

for ice cream before returning at approximately 3:45

p.m. The youth will help sort and organize children’s

clothing, shoes, coats, and school supplies. Fair Hope

provides items for children in the area all year long.

The youth will meet on October 15 from 5:00-7:30 p.m.

to watch the movie Woodlawn. Youth should dress com-

fortably (pajama pants are fine!) and bring a blanket,

pillow, and their own drink with lid. Snacks will be

provided. The movie tells the story of a football player

who must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he

battles racial tensions on and off the field. It’s a moving

and inspirational new film based on the true story of

how love and unity overcame hate and division in ear-

ly 1970’s Birmingham, Alabama.

The youth will once again be selling Georgia Peacans

later in the fall. Please keep this in mind for your up-

coming holiday baking and candy making. - Kathy

Watson, Youth Program Director

Page 3

Page 5

Organ, Prayers

Page 4

Finance, Mission, Session

In Our Prayers

Those who grieve: The families of Evelyn Swartz, Wanda Ervin, Bob Alkire, Matt Schertz (G. Jahn’s nephew), Mark Drollinger (Police Chief), Richard “Dick” McFarland, Jinnie Siewert (past pastor of FPC, Rossville), Lorraine McBeath (P. Clem’s sister), Brett Hufford and Brian Hodge. Those with immediate concerns: Julia Territo (B. Park’s sister), Patti Root (K. Root’s mom), Verna Rieches (J. Steinier’s friend), Kim Smith, Mary Zemke (L. Martin’s friend), Chet Catron, Paul Roberts, Nate Bushong (G. Morgan’s friend), Marshall Smith (J & D Smith’s son), Brenda Pelman (K. Cox’s mom), Bill Couch (C. Lee’s dad), Nathan Allis (C. Newman’s nephew), Neta Odle (S. Eckersley’s sister), Blake Kinnett (BHHS student), Brian Leme-nager (M. Foster’s grandson), Stephanie Crabtree (E. Donley’s friend), Sue Davia (D. Dixon’s sister), Mary Kane (K. Root’s aunt), Lucy Hines (kidney recipient at Riley’s), Natalie Zollar (E. Donley’s niece), Lois Lankford, Joyce Cottingham (L. Martin’s friend), Amy Buhr (S. Burton’s friend), Marla Haas (S. Burton’s

friend), Loretta Tarr (K. Watson’s aunt), Linda Brown (R. Stump’s friend), Ian Anderson (J. Stump’s neph-ew), Vickie Anderson (J. Stump’s sis-ter), Carly Chase (R. Brackmann’s friend), Ann Coffman, Gary Fritz (H. Steiner’s dad), Ann Wise (L. Martin’s friend), Holly Brown (K. Steiner’s friend), Howard Kellum (C. Flint’s brother), Mort Young (G. Morgan), Martha Barner, John and Carole Ronane (J. Stump’s friends), Beth

Meese (G. Morgan’s friend). Those with long-term concerns: Paula Sims, Ruth Highfill, Chalmers Flint, Carol Kloska, Steve Johnson (S. Wagoner’s friend), Rob Burton (J. Stump’s brother), Larry Betka, Mason Steiner, Doug Harper (Huffman’s son-in-law), Ken Bryant (pastor), John Lindley, Gary Deck, Dennis and Renne Carter (R. Carter’s brother-in-law), John Masengale (S. Burton’s dad), Ma-son Whitaker (G. Deck’s grandson), Glen Hoel (J. Gaddis’ uncle), Sue Burton, Charlie Pajor, Linda Briscoe (L. Huffman’s niece), Betty Kilgore (L. Huffman’s sister), Lori Egnew Vaughan (G. Morgan’s friend), Sophia Voyda (E. Donley’s niece), Debbie Ca-tron. Those homebound or in assisted living or nursing homes: Dee Schellhardt, Vader Clements, Mike Blankenship, Pat Vacketta, Louise Donley (E. Donley’s grandma). Those in church leadership: Our Session and Deacon Board, Rev. Wade, Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston (General Assem-bly co-moderators), J. Herbert Nelson (G.A. clerk), Laurie Fields (Presbytery moderator), Bill McLean (Pres. PCC), Cindy Bean (Pres. clerk).

General Fund Giving

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His Love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.” - Thomas Merton

2017 2016 2015

Given as of Sept 30 $72,305 $82,874 $81,122

Total for Year tbd $107,438 $107,211

Pledges for Year $101,880 $107,363 $108,436

Change for Change Mission

On September 17 our mission offering was $316 and

will support our Milk Club ministry

for children at Maple and John

Greer schools. Thanks to all who

gave!

On October 15 the offering will pro-

vide Christmas Gifts for kids through the Grant Town-

ship Miracle Tree program.

Join the Milk Club!

Every $45 gift you give to our Milk Club ministry pro-

vides milk to one child for the entire school year. Please

join the Milk Club and support a child or two or three!

We have committed to provide Maple and John Greer

schools with $2,700 ($300 per month) this school year,

which will fund about sixty children each day. Many

children have parents who are unable to pay for the

mid-day milk break and we can help.

Session Highlights

From the September 18 stated meeting:

• 8 out of 10 present

• Shared good news about organ fund, movie night,

Church in the Park, preschool start-up

• Elected elders Wayne Bandy, Linda Martin, and

Julie Stump to serve on the 2018 nominating com-mittee.

• Met with Donna Boyer and welcomed her into

membership, worship reception on Oct 15.

• Directed Oct C-C offering to Miracle Tree Christ-

mas gifts for kids and the Nov offering to the Be-hold! group who will sing for us on Dec 3.

• Heard new organ will be installed on Sept 29/30.

• Set Milk Club support for Maple and John Greer

students at $150 per month for each school for this school year.

• Approved the Behold! group

to sing on Dec 3.

• Set the schedule of events for

the Advent season.

• Heard report on the Aug 24

presbytery meeting from our commissioner, Dale Smith

• Directed alternative gifts for

the Advent Season to the Mar-ion Medical Mission Malawi Wells program, $400 funds one well.

• Directed the local portion of the Peacemaking Of-

fering (Oct 1) to support the Big Brothers/Big Sis-ters of Vermilion County.

• Reviewed and approved financial report for Au-

gust; all is in good order.

New Organ Update

Our new organ, a Rodgers 4-manual instrument, is

scheduled to be installed September 29-30. It may be

ready for use on October 1 but, at the latest, it should

be ready on Sunday, October 8. Before I talk more

about the new organ, I want to say a few things about

the organ we will say “goodbye” to this week.

Our current organ, a Rodgers Providence 330, was pur-

chased and installed in 1978 at the same time our won-

derful building was first used for worship. The organ

committee first met in the spring of 1975 and ultimate-

ly, after visiting several churches and listening to at

least three different types of organs, recommended to

the congregation that they purchase the Rodgers 330

organ. This organ has served us well these past four

decades and I have enjoyed the many hours sitting on

its bench and playing the keys and pedals! Our thanks

go out to the 1975 organ committee: Bob Thomas, Leo

Huffman, Rev. Nord and Gloria Jahn.

Our new organ, a Rodgers 4589,

has four manuals (versus three on

our old organ), 51 stops and 324

total “voices.” I am not going to

try to explain what all those num-

bers mean in this article as that

will be easier to explain while

standing by the organ sometime. Included in these

“voices” are authentic pipe organ sounds and many

different instruments from an orchestra, such as strings,

clarinet, oboe and trumpets.

In addition to the multitude of sounds that I and other

organists will be able to choose from, we can also rec-

ord songs for playback at a later date. For example, if I

am going to be gone and we can’t find a substitute, I

could record all of the music ahead of time and it

would play out of the new speakers just as though I

was sitting at the organ. The organ also has 350 hymns

pre-recorded and part of the organ’s computer system.

These are just a few of the features that our new organ

will provide for us.

I want to express my personal thanks

to all of you - members, former mem-

bers and friends of the congregation -

for your generous gifts that made this

purchase possible. I am very excited to start playing the

new organ so it can help lead the music portion of our

worship services! - Rick Brackmann, Organist

Join the Milk Club!

Every $45 gift given to our Milk Club ministry

provides milk to one child for the entire school

year. Help us help the kids!

Name: ____________________________________

I/We wish to support _________

children with milk at $45 for each

child.

Total Enclosed: $____________

Make checks payable to the church and mail to:

First Presbyterian Church

915 E Orange Street, Hoopeston, IL 60942