FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
“For thou art my hope, O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth.
Psalm 71:5
In June, we celebrate Father’s Day. I hope you had a father that gave you a positive meaning for the word.
My father taught me so many things. I used to help him fix our old car when you didn’t need a computer to fix things. He taught me to give a good days work for a dollar. He taught me that family is one of the most important things in life.
He was not an active participant in church. He got into trouble as a child by acting up there. He often made fun of my mother and grandmother for their interest in the actions of the church. His mother did a lot of sighing about Roy’s attention to the message of the day.
However, even though he seemed not to be taking anything in, he certainly lived a life that could pass the test of Jesus’ instructions. He fed the hungry, took care of the widow and knew that a child had most of the answers.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer just shortly after I began to preach as a layperson. I was preaching at the Hallstead United Methodist Church on Laity Sunday and shortly after the service began, I heard the squeak of the church door and in came my son, Tim, with a kitchen stool and set it in the back for his grandfather. By that time, my father was so sick that the only way he was comfortable was to sit on that kitchen stool. He wanted to hear his daughter preach so he came.
As he lay in the hospital, struggling for every breath, the last thing he said to me was, “I will be better up there!” For a man who never really used the usual way of showing his faith, he certainly showed it to me in a myriad of ways. He was really a great disciple of Jesus Christ in the way he lived his life.
If you are a father, remember to teach your children all the social things they need but more importantly, teach them that they are children of our Heavenly Father and He holds them to a standard that is different from that of the world.
- Pastor Marilyn
THE CHURCH OWL
The Tiny Cabin:
A tourist from the Atlanta area was hiking through the mountains of North Georgia when he came upon the tiniest cabin he had ever seen in his life.
Intrigued, he went up and knocked on the door. “Anybody home?” he asked?
“Yep,” came a kid’s voice through the door.
“Is your father there?” asked the tourist.
“Pa? Nope, he left afore Ma came in,” said the kid.
“Well, is your mother there?” persisted the tourist.
“Ma, Nope, she left just afore I got here,” said the kid.
“But, protested the city slicker, ‘are you never together as a family?”
:Sure, but not here,” said the kid through the door. “This is the outhouse.”
Announcements
Sunday School – 8:30 AM in the Community Building
Adult Bible Study with Pastor Joe Travis – Sunday evenings at 6:00pm
Choir Practice Every Saturday at 9:30am
Saturday, June 9th, Ice Cream Social at First Church in Hallstead from 11 to 3 on the church lawn.
Rain or Shine – tent!
Monday, June 11th at 7:00 in the Community Building – an evening of music featuring piano, vocals, and instrumentals. Join Us!
Tuesday, June 19th at 7:00 OAKLAND GIRLS CHOIR will be giving a concert at First Presbyterian in Montrose. This is a concert not to be missed and it’s FREE! Our own adopted Mary Versa is part of this group.
Thursday, June 14th – Flag Day
Saturday, June 16th Family Supper – in the Community Building – 5:30pm
Sunday, June 17th – Father’s Day
Tuesday, June 26th – Newsletter Deadline
Pastor Marilyn : You can reach her at 607-222-8261. If anyone needs to meet, or need a visit or counseling, be sure to call. The summer address is: PO Box 511, Hallstead, PA 18822
The Prayer Shawl Group will not be meeting in June, July or August. We will resume our gatherings in September, but will continue to work on our projects. If you know of anyone who is in need of a prayer shawl, please let Carolyn White know or e-mail her at whisperpines@frontiernet.net.
Adult Bible Study will not be meeting for the summer and will begin again in the fall.
We are looking for “Special Music” effective Sunday, June 3 thru Sunday, August 26 while the choir is on vacation. Please contact Pastor Marilyn.
Thank you again to everyone who donated and helped with the Rummage Sale/Bake Sale. It was a huge success. $1185.00 was raised.
Thank you to everyone – the CareNet campaign raised $471.00.
HOST FAMILIES NEEDED FOR GIRLS CHOIR, Tuesday June 19th – The Oakland Girls Choir from Pittsburgh will be on tour and present a concert in our area. They will arrive here Tuesday afternoon June 19th at First Presbyterian Church in Montrose. A light supper will be prepared for them and the concert will follow that evening, followed by a reception at the church. Host families will then take their guest or guests along home for the night, feeding them breakfast in the morning and packing them a lunch, then taking them back to town for them to board the bus for their next concert. Our very own Mary Versa, grand daughter of Dave Clemens, is part of this group and is excited to be performing for our church family. Our part in this is volunteering to be a host family, and possibly helping with the supper and/or reception on Tuesday evening. Some of the rules are: Two girls always travel together, so you need room for 2. There will be 29 girls and 8 chaperones, all needing housing. I will soon have forms to be filled out and gotten back to the trip coordinator – please give this careful consideration and if you are able to house 2 or 4 girls or a chaperone or 2, let me know. Having hosted students in the past, I know this can be a rewarding experience. First Presbyterian Church in Montrose is going to prepare the meal for the Oakland Girls’ Choir on June 19th. They ask that we provide the desserts.
Any questions, contact Joyce at 967-0858 or bjprintz@frontiernet.net
Time is drawing closer for the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” event here in Susquehanna County. The dates this year are: Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23. It will be held at the Montrose High School. Friday nights opening ceremony starts at 6 pm with a complimentary dessert reception for all survivors and caregivers, with a luminaria ceremony at dusk. Saturday morning a brunch is planned for 9 am (for survivors and caregivers) with closing ceremonies late morning. There will be food and games available for everyone attending as well as great music for this event, with an opportunity for our community to honor our folks who have struggled with cancer while raising money so that others may never have to deal with this disease You may see Debbie Stalker or contact her at home at 570-465-7429 for any information. She has the forms for registration, so that they will know who will be coming for the complimentary dessert reception and brunch and to give their t-shirt size. Debbie also has the forms for anyone interested in purchasing a luminaria to be lit at our event in honor or memory of someone who’s dealt with cancer.
Don’t forget our card ministry, the idea coming from an article in a recent Presbyterian Today magazine. If you would like a card sent to a particular person to give them a lift or let them know they are missed or offer encouragement, etc. etc., just give the name and address to Janet Decker. Cards, envelopes and postage will be provided and placed on a table in the Community Building the first Sunday of each month. As we file past the table on our way to the coffee pot, we will be able to sign each of the cards and Janet will address the envelopes and mail them. You can reach Janet at
570-967-2343 or email her at rdecker31@stny.rr.com
Our church will be hitting the 200th year anniversary in 2013. I would like peoples input into how to celebrate this major milestone. Would you recommend one big event or several smaller ones like spring, summer and fall? How would you like to mark the milestone? I plan to interview some of our members for articles for the newsletter. Also, I want to take excerpts from the old church minutes.
Does anyone have old pictures? What else can you suggest?
Thanks, Jim Perkins 570-967-2634 perkmar@stny.rr.com