First Presbyter ian Church of Avon

November

2015 T h e We a t h e r Va n e

From the Pastor

At our Annual Meeting on January 25th I announced my retire-ment effective December 31, 2015. I can’t believe that ten months have already passed. Feelings and thoughts I had nine months ago are still with me.

I profoundly feel that I have been so blessed to be welcomed into your community, your lives and your families. You have been incredibly patient and gracious with me, especially as I grew into the honor of being your pastor.

As I have contemplated my retirement I have had so many feelings coursing through me – gratitude, sadness, expectations, anxiety, a profound joy. People who have come and gone and those who have stayed – all - appear in my mind’s eye and I am filled with memories. And as I have remembered I am amazed at the richness, variety, deepness and wonder of our times together.

Of course over these three decades Connie and I have made our home here. We will be staying in our home for the foreseeable future. (Our boys never want us to move!) And for now our house is a great gathering place for our sons and grandchildren.

Since we will still be here I will certainly run into you after my retirement. However there are some important changes we all will need to honor. I will obviously no longer be your pastor and so I will not be doing baptisms, funerals or weddings. When we meet I will not comment on your church life, its leadership, worship or programs. You will be working with presbytery and your Committee on Ministry representative to find interim pastoral service and eventually invite another lucky person to be your pastor. There are steps in this process and your Session and you will be guided through them.

We are in the final stretch now. December 31st is fast approaching. Christmas is less than two months away! As we wrap up I am looking forward to celebrating with you our ministry

(Continued on page 2)

The Session

Nancy Toland- Clerk of Session/ Nominating

538-2519

Ken Hallett– Presby. Rep. 733-0623

Julie Mead—Fun Raisers/Fellowship

230-1358

Sue Orman— Crisis Aid/Nominating

734-8424

Kay Pfluke—Personnel/Stewardship

226-2461

Jerry Rothrock– Trustees/Spec Accounts/Rummage Sales

226-8602

Scott Schlesing– Fellowship/Fun Raisers/Venture Crew 86

410-0969

Duane Staples– Rummage Sale 226-6498

Christian Trewer—Christ.Ed 748-7943

Chris Turk– Mem./Worship Stewardship

624-1399

Board Of Deacons

Lisa Schillinger– Memorial 346-2789

Carl Hogan—Nom./Personnel 226-2951

Julie Witzel– Flowers 261-0421

Betty Taromino- Chair 226-2048

Ashley Schillinger– Youth Helper

Sandy Chambers– Flowers/Crisis Aid

226-6517

Elaine Neth– Candles/ Christmas Post Office

226-6366

Susie Rothrock– Crisis Aid 226-8602

Jackie Staples—Sun./Cheer 226-6498

The WeatherVane Page 2

C H U R C H S T A F F

Minister : The Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Taylor

Parish Associate: The Rev. Dr. S. Sauvé

Organist/Bell Choir: Joanne Cole

Choir Director: Isaac Hutton

Secretary: Debi Leinbach 226-3387

Email for WeatherVane articles:

debileinbach@outlook.com

Treasurer: Lori Cruz

Church: 226-6460

www.avonchurch.com

together. We have had a wonderful and amazing journey of faith together. God has been so good to all of us, and I feel especially to me. Each of you, every single one of you, is a blessing to me that I never deserved. I am so grateful for you all.

While after December 31, 2015 I will no longer fill the pulpit or lead worship or Bible studies or moderate the Session, all of you will always be in my heart. You are my heart. Our Apostles’ Creed affirms that we are a communion of saints, a communion of the faithful. While I am not claiming to be a saint, I am claiming you as my communion of the faithful. You have embraced me and my family and in God’s grace we are a family, a family of faith. My prayer and my faith is that you will eventually welcome another servant of God to be your pastoral leader, and that you will make him or her a part of your wonderful family of faith.

I hope to see you soon. Tom

(Continued from page 1)

A Note of Profound Gratitude

The October 10th Retirement Open house prepared by our Transition Team and their minions was amazing, fabulous, wonderful, and, frankly, perfect. I thank all of you who prepared this delight-ful occasion, and all who came, taking time out of their busy holiday weekend schedules. Connie and I are overwhelmed with the love, thoughtfulness, generosity and grace that all of you have shown us. I am grateful for all the cards, gifts, remembrances, well wishes and conversations we shared on the 10th.

Connie and I are especially thankful for all the hard work the Transition Team has done and is doing – so hats off to them, and those they have enlisted in their efforts: Kay and Joe Pfluke, Nancy and Russ Toland, Susie and Jerry Rothrock, Susan and Jim Blease, Ken and Sheila Hallett, Ed and Sandy Chambers and Scott and Maryann Schlesing. And while I have used a number of words here, there real-ly are no words adequate enough to express the depth of the thankfulness I feel for all of you and for all you have blessed me with.

Thank you, Tom

The WeatherVane Page 3

2016ProposedNarrativeBudgetforFirstPresbyterianChurchofAvon,NewYork “Youmustmakeupyourownmindastohowmuchyoushouldgive.Don'tgivereluctantlyorinresponsetopressure.ForGodlovesthepersonwhogivescheerfully.AndGodwillgenerouslyprovideallyouneed.Thenyouwillalwayshaveeverythingyouneedandmorethanenoughinordertosharewithothers.”IICorinthians9:7‐8 Youarelookingatthestoryofourministryandmissioninourchurch,communityandtheworld.Yes,oureffortstakefinancialresources,butevenmoreimportantlyourministriesareonlypossiblewhenwegivegenerouslyofourtime,talents,imagination,energyandsincerelove.Inseeingthestoryofourministryandmission,itisclearthatsomanyofyoudowillinglygiveofyourself,yourtime,talentsandtreasure.AllofusaretrulygratefultoGodandtoyouformakingourministrytogetherpossible. Asyoureflectonourworktogetherandallthatgoesintomakingour“story”alivingrealitymayGodcontinuetoabundantlyblessyouandus.InthiswaywecancontinueallthegoodworksGodhasplacedbeforeus–andevenmore!NarrativeBudgetSummary:

1. EnthusiasticMissioninourCommunityandintheWorld$20,617.00

2. InspiringandEquippingthePeopleofChristtoServe46,750.00

3. MaintainingourHomeBaseforMission38,349.00

4. CaringforthePeople17,332.00

5. PreparingtheNextGenerationandNurturingYoungChristians14,212.00

TotalExpense$137,260.00Wherewegetthemoneytoaccomplishourministryandmission:

EstimatesofGiving$118,410.00McMillanRoyalty$0.00 Looseplate2,500.00BakeSale1000.00 Useoffacilities1750.00 ManseInvestmentIncome6,000.00RummageSales4,000.00 MemorialGolfTournament2,500.00ChristmasCookieExchange1,100.00 TotalIncome$137,260.00

Page 4 The WeatherVane

“We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before ourGod…your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” -

Paul to the Thessalonians

November 1, 2015 Dear Friends and Members:

Paul could have been writing these words to our family of faith gathered here in East Avon. Indeed we

have been doing our best to put our faith in practice, literally laboring out of love for our church and ministries,and remaining dedicated to our true hope, which is ours in Christ Jesus. Over the past year and always lookingforward we have been blessed with the following:

Again in a major transition in our worship ministry we have lived our hope and have been

blessed with a talented new Choir Director, Isaac Hutton Through our work of wise and faithful stewardship we have been able to repave our driveway to

further preserve, beautify, and protect our church home We have seen our hope and trust in God’s guidance begin to bear fruit through our information

technology investment with enhanced Bible studies, youth group work, and communications. Our faith in God's abundance has been affirmed in our Second Annual Memorial Golf

tournament with double the participates. Again we have not only supported our ministriesfinancially, but also had fun, engaged more of our congregation and the community, and honoredour beloved brothers and sisters who have gone on before us.

God's blessings have truly shined through our work of faith, labors of love and steadfastness of our hope.

Take a moment and look through our 2016 Narrative Budget. 2016 will bring a time of transition with theretirement of Tom and beginning of new pastoral leadership. We pray that you might find a way you cancontinue to live your faith, put your love of God into action and have your hope renewed. With you we canbecome an even brighter witness to our loving God. Also, please note that we continue our tradition ofgiving at least 10% of what we spend on our home ministries to mission beyond our walls.

We invite each of you to join in this adventure of faith, love and hope with us. With your prayers,commitment, time, talent, energy and financial support we can continue to know that our hope is realized in theliving of our faith and love.

Please come on Sunday, November 1, for our 2016 Narrative Budget presentation, and again onSunday, November 15, as we celebrate God's generosity to us, dedicate our financial commitments to ourministries, and enjoy a delicious Celebration Brunch.

Yours in mission and ministry,Your Stewardship Committee

Page 5 The WeatherVane

From the Church Family

Recently we have prayed for the families and friends of: Sylvia Ryan, Gladys Smith, Mamie Dansbach, Jean-nie Frisbie, Mitch Gibbs, Beatrice Burley, Ruth Jesse, Frank Guessford, and Betty Deragon.

We have also included in our prayers the following: Dorothy Stevens, Sue and George Rocklein, Mike Hallett, Don LeFeber, Ray Fawcett, Dick Gruschow, Carole Webster, Nancy Toland, Darlene Frisbie and Lawton, Diane Kempf, Dylan DeCarlo, John Mclaugh-lin, Clara Elkins, Dinah Mayer, Seldon Chase, Hildegarde Turk, the Webster family and Pat Budd, Madeline Perry, Ricky Voss, Dawn Hanna, Millie Sackett, Jean Tummonds, Russell Toland, Marian Marshall, Ron Rothrock, Bob Neth, Roger Morey, Dylan Gruschow, Amanda Joy Mayer, Warren Brill, Jeanette Ryan, Orris and Arvilla Staples, Mary Ford, Warren Brill, Noble Staples, John Gorsage, Paul Gorsage, Irene Klink, James Ayers, Georgia Robbins, June Brown, Jon deChauny, Maryann Cooley, Marie Versage, Anne Gerber, Carol Belic, Carl and Bev Hogan, Dottie Benzee, Robert Chambers, Lisa Holtz, Dottie Benzee, Corie Bloom, the Rev. Mark Stigler, Bill Hockey, Kate Rothrock, Betina Johnson, Rob LaFave, Helmud Smuk, Ed Minekiem, Don McFadden, Ken Freese, Darcy Teed, Jim Leyhugh, Betty Mulvaney, Dorothy Brown, Barb Rogers, Sheila Kildae, Marty Willoughby, Cindy McNaulty, Denise Friends, Zantra Stella, and Kaylin Toter.

We prayed for safe travel for: Carole Webster’s family; Alice and Walt Maylin; Ron and Kathy Russell.

We continue to pray for all of our first responders and their families.

We also have prayed for all those who serve our nation at home and abroad, especially: Joshua Davidson, Kyle Bilanic, Kyle Cameron, Derek Dumas, Ian Hall, Marty Cole, Richard Darcy, Sean Thurston, Robbie Webster, Dylan Smoot, Michael Cook, Adam Barrett,

Steven Jervis, Nelson Powell, Jr., Devon Schlesing, Nelson Powell, Jr., Zack McGee, Serena Strozewski, Tony Fusco, Anthony Ruscitto, Michael Tripp, Tom Kasulke, Benjamin Mongeau, Jason Geddes, Laura Gaxiola, Jeff Fox, Nicky Cole, Cody Staudinger, Brennen Fusco.

Among the many things for which we are grateful we have lifted prayers of thanks for: Our wonderful Sunday School Staff and children; the world wide family of faith in Christ; the baptism of Elsa Jae Lang, daughter or Elyse and Rob; the 43rd anniversary of Dick and Elaine Neth; that no one was injured in Linda Heeler’s recent accident; and for our dear sister in faith, Barb Stanley. We also received lovely “thank you” notes from Julie Witzel and Dinah Mayer.

Page 6 The WeatherVane The WeatherVane

Our Rally Day activities were changed due to the weather, but the pot luck lunch and inside activities were enjoyed by many. It was reported that the profit from our second golf tournament was $2,000 +. A great day was enjoyed by many members and friends. The nominating committee will begin its work shortly, and an effort will be made to fill the two vacant spots on Session, as well as the other scheduled offices need-ed. We have hired Isaac Hutton to be our Choir Director. Isaac is a Master’s student at Nazareth, and resides in Henrietta with his family. We welcome Isaac to our Choir. The job descriptions of Session members have been reviewed and will be shared with our new officers. We offer our Thank You to Paul Turk for his restoring of the railings around the church building, and the restoration of the memorial bench in the front park. Thanks, Paul. Also, a Thank You to Jim Rogers for taking care of the trimming of the bushes in the front. Always appreciated, Jim.

News and Notes from Session:

Page 7 The WeatherVane The WeatherVane The WeatherVane

This Separation Ethics and Boundaries Covenant is provided by the Genesee Valley Presbytery to provide assurance of a right relationship between the pastor, the session and the congregation following his retirement. It was reviewed by the Session, and the congregation approved it at the meeting on Sept. 20, 2015.

PRESBYTERY OF GENESEE VALLEY

COMMITTEE ON MINISTRY

Policy Regarding Former Pastors: Separation Ethics and Boundaries Covenant

Boundaries Covenant is a reminder of the importance of the relationship between the former pastor and congregation. To ensure a healthy transition from the current called pastor to a transitional pastor and then to the newly installed pastor, the congregation and departing pastor must exercise great self-restraint in order to allow time for the congregation to reflect on past ministry, dream about future ministries and allow for a relationship with future pastors to grow. How pastors and congregations say “Goodbye” is just as important as how they say “Hello” and “Welcome”. So we all (pastors, congregational leaders and members) need to model for one another healthy boundaries as our roles and responsibilities change. To effectively and graciously maintain such boundaries requires clarity and positive support of one another. This Boundaries Covenant should be shared throughout the congregation so that others may understand the changes in the pastoral role and responsibilities and can cooperate as the church and pastor move into another phase of their respective lives. This covenant will guide the future relationship between The Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Taylor (hereafter referred to as “the pastor”) and the First Presbyterian Church of Avon, NY (hereafter referred to as “the church”) effective on this date of dissolution December 31, 2015. Both understand and accept the terms of this Boundaries Covenant in order that all pastoral staff can develop in positive ways.

A. The Pastor agrees to communicate to the entire congregation, friends of the church, and staff prior to the departure, so that it is clear that although the departing pastor has greatly valued their friendships, the pastor desires and has covenanted not to be in communication regarding the congregation, its life, any pastoral care or discussion of future leadership, congregational issues or events.

B. It is agreed that the Pastor will not ordinarily expect to have the freedom to use the services of the church office or support staff after the dissolution date. It is also expected that all church property, including all church keys, will be returned to the Clerk of Session on the last day of service.

C. It is agreed that the Pastor and the Church will hold one another in prayer for their emotional and spiritual well-being. It is agreed that the Pastor and the Church will refrain from all intentional pastoral interaction online or in person until a suitable period of time has passed.

D. The Pastor agrees that he will not provide pastoral services for weddings, baptisms or funerals in the former congregation or with members of the former congregation. Planning and counseling are to be performed by the resident pastor, either inter-im or installed, or the Moderator of the Session. Former pastors may be invited to share in the former congregation’s life only by invitation of the current Moderator or in the absence of a moderator, the Session. The Pastor agrees to notify the Moderator or the pastor of any requests received from members of the congregation with regards to pastoral services.

E. The Pastor and the congregation agree to eliminate all social media connections and contacts that maintain a formal pastoral relationship that has been dissolved. Any social media contacts relating to normal friendships should be exercised with ex-treme caution not to violate any boundaries regarding discussions of the church, the pastor, policies, programs, staff, etc.

F. The Pastor agrees that he will neither say nor listen to any uncomplimentary or critical remarks with members of the con-gregation concerning transitional or installed clergy.

G. The Church and the Pastor agree that after a suitable period of time, if there is a desire on the part of any party to this Boundaries Covenant to review it, they may do so with all parties involved. Any additions and/or exceptions to this Boundaries Covenant must be agreed to prior to signing this covenant and attached as an appendix and transmitted to the COM as part of the covenant. In signing, the parties indicate a commitment to abide by the above Separation Ethics Policy and Boundaries Covenant and that they have received and understand and will abide by the COM decisions relative to this policy.

Page 8 The WeatherVane

PW Crafters Fall Craft Bazaar & Bake Sale & Luncheon

LUNCHEON AVAILABLE 11:00 AM—1:30PM

HANDCRAFTED ITEMS FOR ALL SEASONS!

HOMEMADE JAMS, JELLIES, CANDIES, PICKLES, BAKE GOODS AND MORE!

Come shop for holidays, birthdays or maybe YOURSELF!

DRAWINGS AT 2:30 PM for VARIOUS ITEMS

Proceeds will go to our church and to local missions.

Gift certificates are available for purchase. (Contact Sandy)

COME SEE WHAT YOUR CRAFTERS HAVE BEEN DOING ALL YEAR!!!

NOV. 21, 2015

10:00 AM—3:00 PM

Church Fellowship Hall

Page 9 The WeatherVane

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 10:00am Worship

9 11am Dr. Taylor leads worship at Avon NH

10 11 1:00pm WeCare Lesson #4

12 13 14

15 10:00am Celebration Sunday Worship and Brunch

16 7:00pm Session

17 4:00pm Presby. at Gates Pres. Church

18 19 7:00pm Interfaith Coun. At Central Pres.

20 21 PW Crafter’s Holiday Bazaar

22 10:00am Worship

23 24 25 26 Happy Thanksgiving!

27 28

29 10:00am First Sunday in Advent Worship

30

November 2015

Each Thurs 12:15AA 7:30pm AA & Alanon

Dec./Jan. WV Articles due Nov.15

10am Worship w/

Holy Com. *

* Nov 1 All Saints Day Worship with Holy Communion and 2016 Proposed Budget Presentation

Each Sat. 12 Noon SIS

Each Mon. PW Crafters meet 9am

7:00om Seekers

PW Crafter’s Bazaar Preparation

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO.21

AVON, NY 14414

First Presbyterian Church 5605 E. Avon Lima Rd. PO Box 189 Avon, NY 14414

Nov. 2015 WeatherVane

Dec./Jan. 2015

WeatherVane Articles

Due Nov. 15, or earlier if able

Or current resident

Seekers has begun! This Fall we will be looking at topics such as being too busy; why God doesn’t always give us what we want; the struggle to forgive and the healing power of forgiveness; losing someone in our life; and finding our true self.

As usual we will begin at 7:00pm in the Fellowship Hall with prayer and meditation, and then dessert! We then view a 5-8 minutes DVD on the subject and discuss our thoughts and questions. We will the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Everyone is welcomed and the classes are structured so that you can come to one or as many has you have time and interest for. We hope to see you.

Seekers Rummage Sale a Success!

A profit of $1,218.00 was made from the Fall Rummage Sale. Thanks to all who donated, worked and shopped.

This event is an exercise in recycling as well as a benefit to our community.

Thank you!

Please remember your Avon Food Pantry. Details of specific items needed are on the bulletin board in the fellow-ship hall. All donations are appreciated.