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Volcano in Guatemala The First Presbyterian Church July/August 2018 of Howard County Issue 7 Volcano in Guatemala Dr. O. Morton Harris, Jr. Volcan de Fuego erupted in Guatemala on Sunday, June 4, just seventeen days Co-Pastor before a small delegation from First Pres headed to Guatemala for a scheduled Dr. Sue Lowcock Harris visit. We knew that our partner presbytery, Union Maya Quiche Boca Costa, Co-Pastor wasn’t impacted; I’d gotten replies to my email queries the day after the Virginia Callegary eruption. The message was, “Thank you for checking on us. We’re ok, but please Director of Christian Education pray for those who are hurt, displaced or can’t find their family members.” The James Galdieri Boca Costa region is west of Volcan de Fuego, and the winds blew the ash cloud Director of Music Ministries to the east. Our partners were safe, but we saw evidence of the damage as we Caroline Smith traveled between the Boca Costa region and Guatemala City. Church Administrator Patricia Travers We didn’t see any evidence of the eruption as we drove to our hotel in Bookkeeper Mazatenango from Guatemala City, but our return trip at the end of our visit Woody Collins took us closer to the volcano. Our usual route was impassable with as much as Church Sexton 3 meters (about 10 feet) of ash covering portions of the road. Even the detour Marla Youkers didn’t take us close enough to see too much of the impact. We crossed rivers Child Care Coordinator whose courses were diverted by large rocks deposited in river beds and saw gray Kathy Moore clouds that continue to rain ash near the cone of the volcano. Godly Play Coordinator We saw first-hand the power of nature in Guatemala, but this wasn’t the only The Rev. Ruth Bell Parish Visitor time a mission team from First Pres has dealt with the aftermath of a natural disaster. In recent years we’ve sent teams to help with disaster recovery in North Carolina, West Virginia, New York and Mississippi. We recently sent money to Cuba to repair the roof of our partner church there after a hurricane damaged it. Church member Pat Curran is a member the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) National Response Team. Our collective compassion is equally evident locally; individuals and groups within First Pres are involved in outreach projects is available online! too numerous to list here. We care about each other and creation. from the menu bar of www.firstpreshc.org Compassion and caring are part of the culture of our church family, and we do it and on well. If you want to be involved in any of the First Pres mission or other outreach activities, please talk with a Session member, Deacon or our Co-Pastors. http://www.facebook.com/firstpreshc. There’s something here for everyone! Becky, member of the Guatemala Project Leadership Team Pa ge 2 Tidings July/August 2018 Worship, Art & Music (WAM) An Offering of Flowers Summertime gardens are full of beautiful flowers - the fruits of our gardens. Let’s share the beauty of God’s world in worship on Sunday! Borrowing from a worship Continues through tradition in Trinidad, this summer there are two more September 2, 2018 special days for you to share floral offerings from your own gardens. 9:00 a.m. First Worship On Sundays, July 29 and August 26 you are invited to bring flowers cut Thirty good minutes from your own gardens to worship. Bring your flowers, in a vase of especially friendly your own choice, to the sanctuary 15 minutes before the service you for families with plan to attend (either 9:00 or 10:00 a.m.). Please write your name on young children. the bottom of your vase on masking or painters tape, so that you are Everyone is welcome! sure not to lose it. 10:00 a.m. If you can donate your flowers to the Deacons’ flower ministry, please Summer Worship All summer we explore the best let the Deacon of the day know, and she or he will transfer your of First Presbyterian’s flowers to a church vase following worship for delivery. worshipping tradition! We can use as many arrangements as everyone can bring. You can It’s a gathering of the whole bring two or three blooms in a bud vase, or an arrangement. Any size, church to glorify God and any color combination, any shape – let’s just enjoy the bounty of enjoy God together. God’s earth this summer with an offering of fruits and flowers from Childcare available the garden! at both services August 2018 Sunday Morning Worship 9:00 a.m. — First Worship 10:00 a.m. — Summer Worship August 5 August 26 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Communion Special Guests Exodus 16:1-2, 9-15 & John 6:24-35 Dessa and Cobbie Palm Manna! PCUSA Mission Coworkers in the Philippines Preaching: Sue Lowcock Harris September 2 August 12 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Communion The Rev. Jennifer Di Francesco, preaching Last Sunday of Summer Schedule Pastor for The Slate Project, Beginning of a Sermon Series a 1001 New Worshipping Community in Baltimore on the Letter of James James 1:17-27 August 19 Preaching: Morton Harris Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Proverbs 9:1-6 & John 6:51-58 Feast! For July 2018 Preaching: Sue Lowcock Harris Worship Information see back page July/August 2018 Tidings Pa ge 3 WAM News (Continued) 2018 Summer After-Church Grab some lemonade, and gather in the Parlor for conversation. We’ll try to begin about 15 minutes after the 10:00 a.m. service Origami Butterfly Project concludes. Watch First Day throughout the summer for more opportunities. Come join in this year’s summer craft project during July 15 – GA Report Lemonade on the Lawn. We’re folding origami butterflies Pastor Sue served as a Commissioner to the this year - and they’re much easier than last year’s cranes. 223rd General Assembly of the PCUSA in The butterflies will be used in VBS decorations. So linger St. Louis last month. after the service to enjoy some lemonade, snacks and fellowship while folding paper butterflies. July 22 – Israel and Palestine, part 2 Everyone is welcome! Pastor Sue continues to share about her experience in the Holy Land. Akwaaba Sunday Flowers July 28 – Travel Anyone? Many people have been asking Pastor Sue Help decorate the sanctuary for Akwaaba Sunday, to lead a trip – To the Holy Land? September 9, 2018, with some beautiful fall pansies in To Reformation Switzerland? To Scotland? various colors! In August, order forms will be available at Sue will talk about what’s involved, how the Welcome Desk and in the bulletins. much such a trip might cost, and what we The cost is $3.50 each for a 4 inch pot. might do and see in each of these places. The deadline for ordering is Sunday, August 26. We’ll see what kind of interest there is for a If you have any questions, please contact the church office, trip and where people might like to go first! 401-730-3545 x10. If you cannot attend this After-Church conversation, but are extremely interested Free Concerts in traveling, and have an opinion about Federal Brass of the U.S. Army Field Band will perform where you’d like to travel, please talk to innovative chamber music on Thursday, August 16 Pastor Sue! at 7:00 p.m. in the Spirit Center at Glen Mar Church, August 26 – Mission work in the Philippines 4701 New Cut Road, Ellicott City. with our guests, Dessa and Cobbie Palm, Visit www.glenmarumc.org/summerconcerts/ or call 410-465-4995 ext. 209 for more information. and Young Adult Volunteer Emma Warman. WAM Wants you to remember... The Fall Worship Schedule starts with Akwaaba! Beginning on September 9, 2018, the Sunday morning schedule will be: 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:30 a.m. Education Hour 10:30 a.m. Worship 11:30 a.m. Discipleship Hour with Ministry Fair Mark your calendars—paper and electronic—so you will be ready in the Fall! See you in Church! Pa ge 4 Tidings July/August 2018 Christian Education TAKE OUT CHURCH! We try to remember that God goes with us wherever we go but sometimes that isn’t so easy. Pick up a “Take Out Church” box from the Welcome Center before your vacation to help you stay connected with God and your church while you are away. The take-out-church pizza boxes are for families with children or youth and contain individual and family activities, prayers, games, and a few tools to help you worship. There are also red folders available for adults to try Take Out Church. Pick one up today and take First Presbyterian Church on vacation with you this summer! Children’s Story Bibles: coming soon to a pew near you… Thanks to The Howard and Pat Baughman Fund and The Memorial Fund we will soon be adding Growing in God’s Love: A Story Bible to the pews in the Sanctuary. This will give children the opportunity to look at the pictures and read the stories of our faith while they are worshipping as part of the family of God. We also hope that the very presence of a children’s bible in the pews will reinforce the message that children are welcome in worship here. Look for Growing in God’s Love in the pews before the end of the summer! Christian Education News CE wants all teachers and volunteers who helped make the Education Hour a success to know how much their work is appreciated.
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