Dear Friends and Family,
February is here and I think one of the things that most people look forward to in February is Valentine’s Day. And when we think of Valentine’s Day, we equate it to the giving of gifts to those we love. We send cards or text messages. Give small gifts or large, depending on who you are sending them to. But do those who receive them, really feel that our love is sincere?
Paul wrote in Romans chapter 12 about the “Living Sacrifices” Christians must make. In verse one he wrote. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God‘s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.” Then farther down in chapter12 starting at verses 9-21 he wrote about how we are to show our love. He began by stating, ”Love must be sincere.”
Love must be sincere! This month the word love gets thrown around a lot. We love our families. We love our best friends. You may love the taste of chocolate and the fragrance of flowers, the latest Star Wars or Romance movie. But then there’s the way God loves us, and we love him. And one of the primary ways we show our love for him is by the way we love others—sincerely. We usually think of sincere as meaning genuine, earnest, unpretentious, and open about our feelings. But what does sincere really mean?
While we are uncertain about the root of the word sincere, some experts believe it comes from two Latin words, sine (meaning “without”) and cera (meaning “wax”). In ancient Rome, sometimes slaves and builders would take shortcuts and use wax to gloss over gaps and imperfections when constructing homes. Saying someone was “without wax” meant they could be trusted as the real deal, not a phony.
Don’t we want our attitudes and actions around other people to be just as strong. In order to love sincerely, we must remain committed to God with a rock-solid faith. When we focus on Jesus and love the way he loved, then others will know our love is sincere.
Maybe we all should start each morning this month by praying; “Lord, I want to be sincere and authentic in my faith and in the way I love others. I’m sorry for those times when I glossed over opportunities to serve others. Show me how to love like Jesus and give others my best today.”
In His Service, Pastor Joe
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sunday School – 8:15 AM in the Community Building
Choir Practice Thursdays at 1pm
You may reach Pastor Joe at 570-465-7303 or his cell #570-267-4570 Every Thursday Pastor Joe will be at the church from 11:00am to 1:00pm
Thursday, February 9th – Presbyterian Women’s meeting – 11am
Sunday, February 12th – Lincoln’s Birthday
Tuesday, February 14th – Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Wednesday, February 15th – Men’s Group Meeting and breakfast – 8am
Sunday, February 19th – Transfiguration Sunday
Monday, February 20th – President’s Day
Wednesday, February 22nd – Ash Wednesday
Wednesday, February 22nd – Washington’s Birthday
Tuesday, February 28th – Newsletter Deadline
Listen to WPEL 96.5 for church cancellation if your internet is down during a storm this winter.
Choir practice will be Thursday’s, at 1 o’clock at the church. Please consider joining us in singing God’s praises!
Plastic Grocery Bags – Please give bags to Bonne Travis – these are used to crochet sleep mats for the homeless.
Please sign up to host one of the social hours on the Sunday after Communion Service on the first Sunday of the month. Hosting only means setting out what is brought and cleaning up afterward. It does not mean bringing everything to share.
Men’s Action Group ***For help with small projects for church family and neighborhood, please call Pastor Joe Travis at #570-465-7303 or email him at joe.s.travis@gmail.com
The Souper Bowl of Caring began in 1990 with a simple prayer said by Reverend Brad Smith at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina: Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat. The Souper Bowl of Caring empowers and unites communities to tackle hunger using the energy of the Big Game. Its vision is to transform the Big Game into a nationwide movement inspiring people to give locally and make a collective impact on hunger. People collect monetary and food donations traditionally during the weeks leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. All of the money and food is then given directly to local charities of the group’s choice. The Franklin Hill Presbyterian Church will be collecting monetary donations until Super Bowl Sunday, which is February 12th. The Session will distribute these contributions locally through our Local Missions Outreach Program.
Our friends in Kenya continue to improve their community. Their school year starts in January. Several of their students have qualified for High school. Now they just need help to pay school fees for the year. Their elementary students are keeping the doors open for their students. They struggle to keep teachers and the students fed with food for body and mind and soul. The people from Bungoma, Kenya, are always very gracious with their thanks for the sacrifices that we have made to help their causes to help their community. Sometimes Silvanus’ wife, Julia responds and expresses her thanks too for our support for their school and children. They remain very dedicated to their community. Submitted by Jim Kessler
Don’t forget our card ministry – 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 Cathe. 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 Cathe will address the envelopes and mail them.
Church, Community Building and Property Report for 2022
Year ending report for 2022 on work completed in the church, community building and property is as follows:
1. Handicap parking area by community building was re-sealed. Asphalt patch and sealer was purchased. Cracks filled before sealer applied.
2. New sign boxes built and installed in parking area across from Church.
3. New Church sign box in front of Church.
4. Access door to oil tank for community building was repaired.
5. Cinder blocks purchased to rebuild fire pit in the park.
6. Speakers purchased to be hung on the tent in the park for better sound for Sunday Services.
7. Work done to get better WI-FI in the community building. Work done to the camera in the Church and TV in the community building to enable the services to be seen. Sound bar installed in Community
8. Front door to community building was sanded and painted. Door was repaired to close correctly.
9.. Work done in the flower garden in front of Church. (Looks beautiful)
Money donated from the congregation and taken from the memorial fund for the following:
10. Snow blower purchased.
11. Duct work in Church was cleaned.
12. Piano repair was done.
Men’s Group Work for 2022
1. Power washed the community building and shed.
2. Painted trim on the shed. Touch up painting done on the ramp and mail box post.
3. A park bench was repaired and painted.
4. Clean up work done in the park. This work consisted of clearing brush and fallen tree limbs due to storms during the winter and spring. This was all burnt in the fire pit.
5. Wood in park that could be used for winter burning was cut, split and taken to a Partner of the Church.
6. Fire pit was rebuilt from new cinder blocks that were purchased.
7. Men filled cracks in the handicap parking area by community building, put down asphalt coming off road to fill in the hole and re-sealed the entire area.
8. Volunteers from the men’s group helped a family in Montrose with a drainage ditch and sidewalk.
9. Set park up for Sunday services and picnics.
10. Took a truck load of junk to Joe’s Disposal from old hall.
11. A refrigerator that was donated to the Church was brought to the old hall. The refrigerator that is presently in the old hall will be cleaned out and disposed of
Presbyterian Women
It has been my privilege to serve as President of the Presbyterian Women’s group this past year. January started with the installation of new officers by Bonne Travis, our past President. Bonne graciously led us for many years and has been a blessing to us all.
The 2022 officers were: Vice-President: Julie Gray, Treasurer: Carolyn White,Secretary: Debbie Stalker, President: Gwenn Pope (myself). We start our monthly meeting with prayer, saluting of the flag, devotions and the Treasurer and Secretary’s reports followed by discussion of old and new business. This past year we had devotions with a variety of topics including: A Woman of Faith, God’s Love, The Resurrection, All Mother Figures, Revenge Hurts Twice, Types of Love, Value of a Penny, Worth and Worry. We take two monthly collections. One if for the local Women’s Resource Center and the other to be used for projects close to the hearts of our members. We raised money by compiling a cookbook that was published in 2021 and sold. We also have an annual soup and bake sale. We have used this money to make donations to WPEL Christian broadcasting, helping a young mother in need, electric for the old hall, purchasing animals for the Heifer project, supporting the Montrose food bank, aiding the people of Ukraine along with several miscellaneous church gifts and projects. Other things we’ve done this year included cleaning the community building, hosting guest speaker Kathy on the topic of Bible study and enjoying a Mother’s Day luncheon. Baby showers were thrown for two expectant Mom’s, Emily and Jess. We helped to provide for the church’s summertime picnics in the park and taco bar. Jim Kessler helped us by building an ice box for church use. We cleaned the church flags and helped with a funeral luncheon. We sent to the Ladies Christmas tea at the Montrose Bible conference We’ve made cards and collected small gift for the local nursing homes and some of our members lead a sing-along with the patients. We also had the joy of Secret Santa and contributing to a collection of gifts given to a local family by the Meadowview Nursing Home staff and families. In December some of us participated in Secret Sisters, by secretly choosing the name of another member to bless during the next year. At the end of the ear there is a Christmas party. Also, this ear Bonne made directories that will be helpful for us to keep in touch outside the meetings. Presbyterian Women or “PW” has been a true blessing to me as I have gotten to know and love all these ladies as close friends. I would encourage anyone to join. You need not be a member of our church to be welcome. In closing, I would like to leave you with my favorite Bible verse…May the God of Hope will you with all the joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV. Sincerely, Gwenn January 2023
Loose Change Offerings ( coins and bills)
1st Sunday – Local Missions
2nd Sunday – General Fund
3rd Sunday – Kenya/Rev. Malabo
4th Sunday – General Fund
5th Sunday – Trehab Local Food Bank (whenever there is a 5th Sunday)
