PresbyNews Sunday Services July 2011 9:00 and 11:00 Volume 36 Number 7 Published at th 625 Florin Road Sunday School P-5 : 9 and 11 Sacramento CA 95831 916-428-3439 6th – 8th Grade: 9 am www.faithpresby.org th th 9 – 12 Grade: 11 am Pastor Jeff Chapman Adult Class: 10 – 11 Associate Pastors Jim Zazzera, Patrick Vaughn, Quinn June 28-July 4 Vaughn Fireworks Sales See page 6 Next PresbyNews Deadline July 22 July 6 Faith at the Movies Begins See page 8 July 23 Youth Fun at the Park Mission Updates See page 9 Abaya, Albania, and the Central Valley – This July 31 issue is full of mission information! Hope Sunday See page 4 See pages 4, 5 and 6 for updates on the Chapman family and Natalie Reyes’ trip to July 31 – August 6 Summer Mission Trip Albania, news about the projects in Abaya, See page 6 and our upcoming mission to build homes in the Central Valley. August 20 Youth Fun at the Park See page 9 If you’re not able to attend the mission trip, be sure to check out Faith’s Firework stand – September 9 - 11 all proceeds go to support the Mission Team. Faith Family Retreat See page 10 Speaking of fireworks: Happy Independence Day to all! The PresbyNews is published monthly by a team of volunteer writers. Please send your submissions to Editor Suzy Hughes at [email protected] 2011 July PresbyNews.docx.docx Page 1 of 12 Church Updates Keep Our Pledge Secretaries Busy, and Make a Joyful Noise! Family Promise Estate Sales Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart called the organ the Helping One Family at a Time "king of instruments." And, as many of you Family Promise of Sacramento has begun a new service to know, Faith Presbyterian Church is getting a new the community as a means of raising funds for the church organ! organization. The new concept is called Family Promise Estate Sales. Brochures explaining the process are posted This organ is a sound investment for us; one that on the wall in the narthex next to the Ask Me Table. As will be an integral part of our services for years the brochure states, “Handling a loved one’s estate or to come. Please keep our pledge secretaries liquidation of your own personal assets can be a difficult busy by making a generous donation to the and emotional task.” organ fund, if you haven't done so already. When the new church organ arrives....we will all There are many reasons to have a sale: a death in the sing better. family; downsizing; moving to a new home; poor health; or altered financial circumstances. No matter what the reason they will handle your sale with dignity, honesty and compassion. Family Promise will make the process worry free for you with no out of pocket expense. They will group, setup/display, clean, price and label the merchandise. They will advertize your sale and the staff will be in every room to assist with sales. Within a few days after the sale they will send you a certified letter with a cashier’s check for 65% of the sale with an outline of the items sold and a receipt. Left over items can be kept by you, donated to Family Promise for our homeless families or given to the charity of your choice. The 35% commission to Family Promise will be used to help homeless families achieve self-sufficiency and regain a home for themselves and their children. If you would like more details you can look for the brochure in the narthex or call the Family Promise Day Center at 443-3107. The Executive Director, Marsha Spell, will be visiting our church in September along with a successful graduate to inform us about the progress of Family Promise of Sacramento. 2011 July PresbyNews.docx.docx Page 2 of 12 Pastor’s Column Senior’s Banquet Pastor Quinn Vaughn Celebration is so beautiful, especially at the end of a long journey together. Every May for the last fifteen years the Crew Advisors and Youth Pastors (in particular Cindy Canaday and Pat Tatro) have been hosting a Senior Banquet to honor Graduating Seniors. The vision started fifteen plus years ago with Cindy Canaday and Cheryl Finch. The details of how this all started are hazy, but the legacy is clear; to mark in the Seniors’ and Youth Workers’ lives that “God has brought us thus far” together. The Senior Banquet serves as an Ebenezer of sorts (not Ebeneezer Scrouge, rather a “stone of help”) to celebrate that “thus far the Lord has helped us”(1 Samuel 7:12). Whether the forerunners of this Senior Banquet knew they were falling in line with Samuel (who set up an Ebenezer to mark the Israelite's victory against impossible odds) or Jesus (who loved a good celebration) is beside the point. Their vision has served to mark an important time in the youth's faith journey. At the four Senior Banquets I have attended I have eaten food prepared with love, drunk drinks chilled with care and sat at a table set with joy, but that is not what makes this night so special; it’s that Jesus is present with us. Cindy and Pat are adamant about this night being a night of program but simply a night to be together at the end of a long road traveled. Doesn’t that sound like Jesus! As I said, celebration is so beautiful, especially at the end of a long journey together. Now, I should correct myself here. The journey with these students is not over; it is just taking a different road. These students need us just as much after graduation as they do before it. They may be graduating from high school but they are never graduating from God’s school or God's unfolding story. We are all in God’s school and story for the rest of our lives and He is the best, most persistent, wise and good teacher of all, who in His great wisdom has given us each other. So, reach out to a high school graduate and college student. Let them know they will never graduate from our Faith Family. Ask them “what do you sense God is up to now?” Thanks Cindy and Cheryl for starting such a wonderful tradition and thanks to all those who keep it going! 2011 Seniors: Preston Tucker, Sklyer Brown, Zoe Bill, Jessica Mendoza, Missie Aldrich, Bradley Forerr, Shayne Tactaquin, Kegan Meyers and Jazmine Fortez 2011 July PresbyNews.docx.docx Page 3 of 12 Abaya Update! Faith-funded Water Project Underway In recent news from Abaya, Ethiopia, we have learned that the $20,000 water project which was funded by the generous donations of a few Faith individuals earlier this year is underway. This photo shows a portion of the project. When completed, the project will provide clean drinking water to nearly 5000 people in the village of Odomka. This is a project which, no doubt, will save countless lives in the days to come! As we continue our partnership with Abaya through World Vision, one of the best ways we can be of support is through prayer. Recently Aynalem Mekuria, the director from the Abaya Area Development Project e- mailed us these prayer requests: 1. Pray for the continued health of our World Vision staff in Abaya 2. Pray that the Abaya community would be receptive and understanding of our efforts for development 3. Pray for the successful accomplishment of our development activites, including this water project. How exciting it is to see that God is uniting us as partners with these faithful brothers and sisters to work towards the elimination of extreme poverty among children and families in this area of our world. Hope Sunday Coming in July By: Rudy Buehler More than 8,000 miles separate Faith Church and the people of Abaya, Ethiopia. But in many ways we are closer than we have ever been. Since we began our relationship and ministry with Abaya in the summer of 2010, our congregation has sponsored more than 75 children and sent more than $20,000 to help improve their lives, both physically and spiritually. At the same time, we have grown in our understanding of what God calls us to do for our brothers and sisters around the world. Join us on Sunday, July 31st to celebrate our ongoing relationship and ministry with the people of Abaya, Ethiopia. The service – called Hope Sunday – will devote time to celebrate what God has done in the past year, pray for our community and Abaya’s, and honor those who are working for Abaya through child sponsorships. On Hope Sunday, we will also kick off a new fundraising effort to help build a school for the children of the Abaya region. We already have $20,000 donated to the school and we are hoping to triple, even quadruple, that number by the end of August. Please consider contributing to the building of this school. It could bring much- needed education to hundreds of children. For questions about the school effort or Hope Sunday, contact Mission Elder Rudy Buehler at (916) 376-7079 or [email protected]. 2011 July PresbyNews.docx.docx Page 4 of 12 Greetings from Albania! By Natalie Reyes The Chapman family and I arrived in Albania on June 21st and took a 6 hour taxi ride from Tirana, the capital city, to Erseke which is in Southern Albania near the Greek Border. In Erseke is the Crossroads summer camp which is run by Torchbearers International, a Christian organization, and is directed by Mark Stocher, a childhood friend of Jeff.