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Announcements Week of June 2, 2024
Starting this Thursday, June 6 from 11 a.m. to Noon in the Koinonia Kafe, Jeanette Levellie will be teaching an eight week class on her bestselling book, Hello, Beautiful: Finally Love Yourself Just as You Are, an interactive devotional for women. For more information, please contact Jeanette at 217-465-5118 or jeanettelevellie@gmail.com
Reminder to Session: Our next meeting will take place Tuesday June 11, from 5:00 to 6:00.
June 16 worship: We will expand the “Father’s Day” holiday a little, and also celebrate “Men of the Church Day,” expressing our appreciation for all the gifts that men bring to the church.
The Vermilion and Otterbein Methodist Churches ask for your prayers as they again send a group to Red Bird Mission, which provides assistance to low income people in the Appalachian Mountain region around Beverly, KY. They will be there June 23 to 28, and ask for prayers for safe travel, and that they could be a blessing through their work there.
The Methodist/Presbyterian Cooperative Vacation Bible School will take place the evenings of July 7 to 11, at First Methodist Church this year. “Presbyterian Night” to provide the 5:30 dinner and the Bible lesson will be Tuesday July 9, with our church and New Providence working together. Please let your young friends (age 3 through finishing 5th grade) know about VBS; and please let Rodger know if you can help serve the dinner or teach the lesson.
Please remember your opportunity to serve as liturgist on a Sunday of your choice. The sign-up sheet is on the table at the back of the sanctuary. Since we have remote hand-held microphones, you can be liturgist from your seat in the pew (or anywhere else in the room!).
The 200th birthday of Paris Presbyterian Church is November 6, 2024! Since we are a Presbyterian Church, we are, of course, forming a committee to plan the celebration. If you would like to serve on the committee to contribute your good ideas, please let the church office or Rodger know.
November 2022 Newsletter
“BIG CONVERSATIONS”
The usual annual schedule for the meetings of the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois is four meetings, often in February, May, August, and November. Since March 2020, almost all of those meetings have been by ZOOM/telephone. The usual activities of these meetings include a worship service; conducting business such as the election of officers and committee members, and passing a budget;
welcoming new pastors to the presbytery; and often an educational component. On August 18, September 22, and October 22, however, there were three special meetings (also by ZOOM/phone) that were about something other than the usual activities. They were called “Big Conversations,” and gave elders and ministers the opportunity to discuss their hopes and dreams for the future of
the Presbytery. Questions included things like: What are the best ways for
Presbytery to use its resources? How can it best support its congregations? What is
the most important work of the Presbytery? What kinds of structure and processes
would best facilitate that work?
At each meeting the participants were divided into four groups, to have a series
of conversations with each other about these kinds of questions.
By the time we began the third conversation, on October 22, we had been
presented with a long list of possible action steps and priorities, and were asked to
pick our top four choices in each of four categories. Examples of the possibilities
included “Providing training opportunities to equip church leaders,” and “Make
grants available to churches to help them buy technology,” “Develop weekly
newsletter to share successful initiatives in our churches,” and “Develop networked
youth ministries in regions of the Presbytery.”
Leaders kept track of which ones got the most “votes” and the reasons people
gave for choosing what they did. Now the General Council of the Presbytery will
use that input to develop some proposals to bring to future Presbytery meetings.
If you would like to read more about the possible priorities (there were forty
altogether), let me know. And I will keep Session and others who are interested
posted on where the “Conversations” go from here.
–Rodger
“. . . FALL BACK:” Be sure to turn your
clocks back this Saturday evening,
November 5, so you won’t arrive at the
wrong time for worship November 6. Or
don’t turn them back, and be here in plenty
of time to visit before the service!
“Gratitude is the key to miracles.”
–Anonymous
SANCTUARY CHOIR NEWS
First, let’s backtrack a little. In the last Profile, I said that Paul Lynch was
planning to sing for us on September 18 –and he did indeed! – and that we would
have a ladies trio on September 25. The members of that ladies trio were Jane
Blair, Jeanette Levellie, and Susan Farris. We thank them for adding special music
to our worship.
The choir resumed singing in October, and they have sounded great (in my
humble opinion) even with absenteeism playing havoc with our numbers.
The traditional Community Advent service is set for December 4 at 3 P.M. in
our sanctuary. The community choir will begin rehearsals soon, all at 7:00:
Mondays, November 7 & 14
Tuesdays, November 22 & 29
And Thursday, December 1.
All interested singers are welcome to join us.
We hope you will see an attitude of gratitude on our faces this month, and
that we will see it reflected in your faces as well!
Sing praises to the Lord! –Susan
During October, members of our church volunteered at the Paris
Compassionate Clothing Closet. THANK YOU to
Tom, Joanna, Deb, Larry,
Jane, Kathy, and Liz.
November birthdays
1 Amy Church
6 Joanna Hebermehl
7 Drew Bradshaw
9 Vicky (Jewell) Wilson
12 David Boland
13 Michae Jewell
16 Wilma Johnson
25 Marty Jipp
27 Jani Howrey
29 Steve Blair
30 Phil Scott
November anniversaries
11 Jerry & Mabel Benson
29 Kirby & Chris
Clawson
Happy Birthday to US!
On November 6 this congregation celebrates 198 years of its founding.
This banner often hanging in our sanctuary notes its 1824 founding,
the 1900 date of the dedication of our current building, and our 175th
celebration in 2000. Our thanks to Jane Bittner for the design and Alice Sprague for creating
the banner!
THE CHRISTIAN CALENDAR
November 20 is “Christ the King” Sunday,
and reminds us that Jesus is Lord over all
things: “Christ reigns supreme. Christ rules
in peace. As Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, Christ is the center
of the universe, the ruler of all history, the
judge of all people. Christ triumphs over
death and, in the end, over all the forces of
evil.” (The Liturgical Year, PCUSA). You
might think of hymns like “Crown Him with
Many Crowns,” “Rejoice, The Lord is King,”
and “Majesty.”
November 27 is the first day in the Season
of Advent, which will be described in the
December newsletter.
UPDATES
We heard from both the missionary families
we support in October. The Seitz family
(Jonathan, Emily, Sam, Eva and Eli) were able
to spend a good part of the summer in the U.S.,
their first trip back from Taiwan in three years,
due to covid. A letter listing some of their
activities here is on the bulletin board. It also
mentions they are planning another trip to the
U.S. next summer.
The other family we support was also able to
travel halfway around the world to their home
country, where they were able to “reconnect
with many Christian friends, who had much to
give us in terms of encouragement. We came
away feeling strengthened.” (We cannot post
their letter, since some around them are hostile
to their work. See Rodger if you would like to see
it, including a recent photo of the parents and the teens.)
FROM LETTERS RECEIVED IN OCTOBER
“By your generous gift to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, you
have spoken the language of love in a
tangible, impactful way, offering a gift that
helps to bring renewed hope and joy to
those individuals and communities
suffering from disaster and its aftermath.
On behalf of them, we thank you. Please
know that your gift blesses those who
walk the hard road toward recovery,
letting them know they are not alone,
helping them to find hope in the midst of chaos.
Rev. Dr. Laurie A. Kraus
Director, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance”
“The world’s problems can seem so big that
people think they are insurmountable. I
can’t solve world hunger, cure mental
illness, or stop child abuse. Fortunately,
God never asked us to do any of those
things. He asks us to do our part, one step
at a time. Even though you can’t fix the
world, your contributions to Kemmerer
Village are saving a child. Your
partnership allows Kemmerer Village to
start a new year of educating children who
need the opportunity. Donors like you
make so much possible in our Village, and
we are grateful for you. Thank you for
supporting these children!
Autumn Warren”
(The full letters are on the bulletin board.)
CHURCH FAMILY OF THE WEEK
Our “Church Family of the
Week” program gives us a chance to
lift up a different family (group or
individual) of our congregation each
week, include them in our daily
prayer for our families and friends,
and to send cards or greetings or in
some other way to let them know we
are glad they are part of our
church family. The “Church Family
of the Week” is listed in our Sunday
bulletins. If you missed one or more
of those recent announcements, I’ll
bet those families wouldn’t mind if
you prayed for them this week.
Those recently listed are:
Barbara and Terry Bergdolt
15110 N. 1100th St., Paris
Jeanette and Kevin Levellie
17475 E. 390th Rd., Paris
Jane and Steve Blair
4 Waters Edge, Paris
Phil, Karen, Brittany & Emma Scott
1712 S. Ten Broeck, Paris
NEWS FROM SESSION
Items from business at the October meeting of
Session included:
The date for Christmas decorating of the
church was tentatively set for Saturday,
November 26 at 9 A.M. Property Committee will
be checking with our usual participants to see if
that day works for them.
Thank you to Carolyn Brown Hodge for
offering to serve as the Session representative to
the Nominating Committee. We still need one
church member not currently on Session or
Deacons for the committee.
Our next celebration of the Sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper will be Sunday, December 4.
At our September meeting it was reported
that financial support from the congregation had
fallen off in the last three months from its usual
level. The September Treasurer’s Report showed
some recovery, but we are still below last year’s
income at this time.
The next Session meeting will be Tuesday,
November 15, from 7 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Sept/October Newsletter
|
Pastor: Rev. Rodger Allen The Presbyterian Church of Paris Music Director: Susan Farris 241 W. Court St. Paris, IL 61944 Administrative Assistant: Jeanette Levellie 217-465-5118; fax: 217-463-1471 Custodian: Cheryl Clark www.parispresbyterian.org |
PARTICIPATING IN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA) MISSION
We have recently received several sets of reports, statistics, and thank you’s about Presbyterian Mission activities. Here is some of that information, as a review of how Presbyterian Mission works:
The first way we participate in PCUSA mission is by giving from our mission budget. In 2021 we budgeted and gave $1,500 to be divided between Presbytery, Synod, and National/Worldwide Mission. That last category includes ministries such as: financial support of 78 mission co-workers located around the world (including Jonathan and Emily Seitz, who have visited us and been reported on in recent newsletter issues); Theology, Christian Formation, and Evangelism efforts; and ministries of Compassion, Peace, and Justice. Total contributions from congregations and individuals nationwide to this national and world mission work were 37.3 million dollars in 2021.
Our other two ways of participating involve asking you to make individual donations to particular causes. The first is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. We occasionally ask you to consider a donation to help a particular place in the country or world following a disaster there, such as people fleeing Ukraine or tornadoes in our country. In 2021 you gave $500 to PDA; in 2020, $700. In 2021, thanks to donations from congregations and individuals nationwide, PDA sent out $2.35 million in response to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires, and storms in the USA, and $744, 000 to 15 other countries experiencing similar things
The other way we ask for your individual donations for PCUSA mission is for the four annual special offerings. The latest “thank you” we received, in August, for our participation in these, listed how much our congregation gave in 2021 and the total that came in from all congregations. For two of them, Pentecost and Peacemaking, congregations retain a portion for local projects they pick, so the nationwide total is only that part received by the denomination:
|
Project |
Paris Presbyterian Church |
Nationwide |
|
One Great Hour of Sharing |
$2420 |
$4.3 million |
|
Pentecost |
$250 |
$801,000 |
|
Peacemaking |
$100 |
$716,000 |
|
Christmas Joy |
$240 |
$2.8 million |
As the slogan says at the top of that thank you: “If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot!” Thank you for your support of Presbyterian Mission (and our other mission efforts).
–Rodger
Sanctuary Choir News:
Scheduling special music proved to be a little trickier than usual this summer. I hope you haven’t objected to having yours truly play the piano on more than one occasion.
We do thank the following people who sang and/or played for us in July and August: Jeanette Levellie, Betty Brinkerhoff, Barbara Bergdolt, Barbara and David Dick, Jennifer Henness, and Rev. Rodger. Paul Lynch is planning to sing for us on Sept. 18, and we will have a ladies trio on Sept. 25.
THEN: Our Sanctuary Choir will return to their important duties in our worship services. The first rehearsal will probably be Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 4 P.M. HOWEVER, check future bulletins for any changes or updates
“When we worship God through music,
words of truth we contemplate,
Earth resounds with heaven’s glory,
we rejoice and celebrate!”
—Susan
SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS:
2 Kay LeMosy
3 Todd Bergdolt
4 Lisa McCollough
10 Al Kimball
11 Peter Spung
21 Garrett Jones
30 Mary (“Mike”) Craun
SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES:
9 David & Becky Hoff ©©
12 Rick & Judy Phillips ©©
14 Alicia (Howrey) & Alan Planincic ©©
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS:
2 Marisa Hoff
4 John O’Bannon
5 Jim Farris
6 Terry Bergdolt
7 Laurie Williams
9 Kailee Gough
Judy Phillips
17 Sally Acklin
24 Jerry Benson
Carolyn Brown Hodge
OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES:
10 Marty & Deb Jipp ©©
26 Chris & Sheryl Clark ©©
31 Fred & Lanee Pfeiffer ©©
STEVE ON STEWARDSHIP
A recent Daily Hope by Rick Warren was based on 1 Corinthians 12:27 –
“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
Rick Warren also said “There are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference. “
Rodger said in his message last Sunday – “ We cannot go back to the way it was”. Yes, we can only move forward. Therefore, let us start meeting and doing the things that we need to do to thrive as Christians. As we re-start Bible Study, please attend and participate . As we re-start some Sunday school classes, please attend and participate. As we continue meeting as a congregation on Sundays, please attend and participate. Attend and participate in the life of our church in all ways, as we are each a part of Christ’s body with our participation.
It has indeed been a struggle to be part of anything since 2020 Covid. Society was pretty much shut down for a year. We and many other churches did not have services, and we are just now slowly getting back to the way we used to operate with Sunday services, Sunday schools, Bible Study, choirs, as well as starting up other church activities.
During the last two Covid years, our giving for normal offerings and special offerings has been consistent and helpful to our ministry. However, the last three months this year, giving has taken a nose-dive. I don’t know if it is a timing thing, or whether we are just unable to provide individual giving as in the past, but it is certainly difficult for us to maintain our budgeted expenses.
Please, if you are behind in your giving, prayerfully consider catching up to your pledge. Moreover, if you are able, please make an additional gift to help us catch up. I know this is difficult with the increasing household expenses we are all facing now.
God has called you to a service beyond anything you can imagine. As Ephesians 2:10 says, “He has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do” (GNT)
–For the Stewardship Committee.
SPECIAL OFFERING IN OCTOBER
Our annual October special offering is one of the four nationwide Presbyterian Church USA offerings; PCUSA describes it this way:
“Our work of peace and reconciliation is supported by gifts to the Peace and Global Witness Offering. These gifts also unite us with Presbyterian peacemakers across the country and the world who are active, not passive; who are doing, not waiting.
25% of this Offering stays with individual congregations to support local peacemaking and reconciliation efforts and ministries.
25% of the Offering will go to mid councils to join congregations in support of peacemaking throughout presbyteries and synods.
50% of this Offering supports the work for peace and reconciliation being done by Presbyterians across the globe.
We are the peacemakers. We are the Church. Together.
When we all do a little, it adds up
to a lot.
The Peace and Global Offering enables the church to promote the peace of Christ by addressing systems of injustice in our own communities and around the world. Together we are building God’s household of peace where everyone is welcome; where all can find compassion, peace and justice.”
We will begin collecting the offering on October 2, and will let you know which local organization “our” 25% will go to.
The ecumenical women’s Bible Study group conducted by local women affiliated with Bible Study Fellowship International will resume, after its summer break, every Thursday at 11 A.M. beginning September 15. All women are invited.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
Our church has been blessed with two scholarship funds for college students who are members of this church: the Mary Ann Sprouls/Cynthia Ann Idleman Scholarship Fund and the Peg Hall Scholarship. Recipients are chosen from those who apply by the Stewardship Committee and Session. If you are interested in applying, please contact the church office or
Rev. Rodger.
Help Clothe Your Neighbors
October will once again be our month to provide volunteers for the Compassionate Clothing Closet, on Mondays and Tuesdays. A sign-up sheet is on the table at the back of the sanctuary. Please begin checking your calendars to see when you might take a turn.
JOINT WORSHIP SERVICE
Our annual joint outdoor worship service with the New Providence congregation, at New Providence, will take place at 10:00 (note start time!) on Sunday September 11. Please bring lawn chairs if you have them. After the service our lunch together will be entirely potluck – no meat provided – so please bring a covered dish to share.
Special Offering for Our Deacons
As many of you know, the Deacons are not included in the church General Budget and must raise their own funds. They do so by selling flowers for Christmas and Easter; and in pre-covid years, through the Ice Cream Social. They also started an annual offering a few years back to give the members/friends of our church another opportunity to support their work. There are several Board of Deacon projects that require funds to complete. This year we will collect this offering on Sundays through September 11. You may use a “Deacons Fund” envelope from the table at the rear of the sanctuary, or any envelope clearly marked “Deacons.”
CHURCH FAMILY OF THE WEEK
Our “Church Family of the Week” program gives us a chance to lift up a different family (group or individual) of our congregation each week, include them in our daily prayer for our families and friends, and to send cards or greetings or in some other way to let them know we
are glad they are part of our church family. The “Church Family of the Week”
is listed in our Sunday bulletins. If you missed one or more of those recent announcements, I’ll bet those families wouldn’t mind if you prayed for them this week. Those recently listed are:
Mabel & Jerry Benson
106 McArthur St., Paris
Mary “Mike” Craun
109 Janice Ave., Paris
Beth & Paul Ruff
904 Clinton Rd., Paris
Bob & Alice Sprague
Attn: Robert Sprague
Room 124, Horizon Health
721 E. Court St., Paris
OCTOBER 9 WORSHIP
Our observation of “World Communion Sunday” will fall on Oct. 9 this year. The idea behind the special day is that we feel a connection with Christians of many denominations all around the world as we gather for the sacrament. “The faithful of all races and nations gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In this holy place, the many are made one, united with Christ and with the church in every place.”
NEWS FROM SESSION
Items from business at the August meeting of Session included:
- Review and discussion of the last couple monthly Treasurer’s Reports (please see the “Steve on Stewardship” page)
- As we continue to move back to our pre-covid ways of operating, the decision to encourage our committees to resume regular meetings
- And the decision to encourage Christian Education activities like Sunday School and the “Exploring Our Faith” discussion group (“Bible Study”) to resume
- We have become aware that our church Constitution’s requirements for our Nominating Committee are stricter and more difficult to meet than the requirements in the Book of Order, and will be proposing that the congregation, at a duly-called after-worship meeting, vote on a couple changes.
- Set our next meeting for Tuesday, September 20 from 5:00 to 6:00
“We are a welcoming congregation of dedicated believers who glorify and serve God through meaningful worship, caring for the needs of our congregation, reaching out as good stewards to others in need both locally and worldwide, and promoting Christian Education and spiritual development for all ages. We seek God’s purpose and guidance in our lives through the Holy Spirit and in service to Christ Jesus.”
Thank you to everyone who helped with or donated items for August 20th’s Free Rummage Sale, and especially to event coordinator Carolyn Brown Hodge.
