PASTOR’S NOTES
As I sit to write today I’m thinking
about the worship service yesterday, September 23rd. The sanctuary
was full, so full that there were folks standing at the back. Not only was it
full there were 21 young people at worship.
Now that may not mean much to some but
our attendance at Sunday morning worship has been way less. Let me just say
that there haven’t been any people standing in the back searching for a place
to sit.
The reason the pews were full was
two-fold. We had a cute little girl to baptize and the Sunday school had new
study Bibles to handout to those who were advancing to our older class. So, we
had parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends here to support the
new Mom and Dad and the young folks receiving their new Bibles. That’s why the
sanctuary was overflowing.
The last few weeks I’ve been reading
and thinking about worship, why we worship on Sunday morning, how we worship,
and is it pleasing to God.
Most folks, my age and older, come to
worship every Sunday morning because that’s what they’ve always done. It’s part
of the Sunday morning ritual; it’s an ingrained habit that started way back
when. Some Sunday’s their hearts may be
lifted with an inspiring sermon and other Sundays maybe not so much. So why do
we continue to come?
When we look at the bulletin do we
ever ask ourselves why we do this prayer here and sing this song there and say
the Lord’s Prayer here…and why do we pray two or three different prayers? Why
do we have a prayer of confession?
Does
anyone ever ask these questions or are we more concerned with getting the whole
process over in 60 minutes? As a pastor
I think about these things. I wonder if the words spoken during worship have
any impact on those listening…and is God pleased.
Whether
we think about it or not God’s the one who calls us together to worship. He’s
the one who began this process by calling every one of us into being. And so we
respond to his call by gathering Sunday morning, the day of Jesus’
resurrection, to give God our thanks and praise and focus our thoughts on God
and His kingdom.
That’s
why we worship. The how is a different thing because God in his ultimate wisdom
created each of us with different characteristics which means we don’t all
worship or process things in the same way. And so, every person receives
something different than their neighbor sitting beside them at the exact same
worship service.
I
may not have answered the question why we worship but I pray that now you will
consider why it is you do what you do when you come to worship on Sunday
morning...or Saturday evening.
May
God bless your day today and forevermore,
Pastor David
Thank-You
Thank-you to Jim
Tooley, Kathy Hansen, Margo & Doug Matthies, Chuck & Linda Ploen,
Pastor David & Linda Krueger, and Dennis & Nancy Hullinger for
providing and serving a Sunday evening meal at Peace Haven. We had a really fun time and the residents
not only complimented the food but remarked that they loved hearing so much
laughter.
Thank-you to Jim
Tooley and Barb Eslick for providing us with special music on Sept 9th
and 23rd.
Thank-you to our
Sunday School for a HUGE ice cream party celebrating the start of a new Sunday
School year. I don’t know how many
different toppings there were but I do know they were all delicious.
Thank-you to Dave
Heilig, Jim, Justen and Robin Tooley for hanging the big cross which had been
taken down for the painting of the sanctuary and the new cloth which was put up
behind the cross.
If you think you are too
small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to
Wilma Newton and Dennis Hullinger on becoming members of our church on Sept. 9th. We welcome them from the United Church
Congratulations to
Shane and Tara Lohoff on the baptism of baby Brielle on Sept. 23rd.
Congratulations to
Eric and Cheyenne Mertz of Council Bluffs on the birth of their baby boy, Ruger
Michael Hegner Mertz, on Sept. 20th.
He weighed 6 lb 1 oz. Eric is
George Mertz’s grandson and Dennis Mertz’s son.
Cheyenne
is the daughter of Louis and Rose Mary Pedersen and the granddaughter of Edna
Kutnink.
Congratulations to
Brian and Nellie Popp on the birth of their daughter Teagan on Sept. 23rd. Nellie is the daughter of Jim and Bobbie
McDermott and the granddaughter of Leo Rechtenbach.
A thief broke into my house last night…he
started searching for money so I woke up and searched with him.
Golden Oldies
The Golden Oldies will meet for lunch at Trinity Lutheran
Church
Sympathy
Our sympathy to the
family of Sylvia Reddie. Sylvia passed
away on August 28th at the age of 87 in Washington State
My memory’s not as sharp as
it used to be. Also, my memory’s not as
sharp as it used to be.
November Ushers and Communion Servers
Ushers: Teri Abel, Darlene Stuart, Margo Matthies and
Cathy Shutters
Communion Servers:
Kathy Hansen chm, Bobbie McDermott, Darlene Stuart, Jim McDermott. October ushers and communion servers are at bottom
of calendar.
It’s scary when you start making the same noises as
your coffee maker.
Flowers for Pulpit
October 7--------Cathy
Shutters
October 14--------Teri Abel
October 21 ------Bobbie McDermott
October 28 ------Janet
Grush
“If you judge people, you have no time to love
them.” Mother Teresa
Presbyterian Women
Presbyterian Women meet Wednesday, October 3, 1:30
pm in church dining room.
Business __ Annual PW Mini Bazaar and Dinner
Missouri River Valley Presbytery (PW women of churches in western Iowa and Omaha)FALL GATHERING at New Horizons Presbyterian Church in Council Bluffs, Saturday, October 6. If you plan to attend w/Charlotte please let her know by September 29 so luncheon reservations may be made.
Please have your Snicker candy bars (2.07 oz) turned in by September 30 -Sunday so they can be taken to the Fall Gathering, also if you are making Christmas stockings for HELP Adult Services please bring them by that date.
Business __ Annual PW Mini Bazaar and Dinner
Missouri River Valley Presbytery (PW women of churches in western Iowa and Omaha)FALL GATHERING at New Horizons Presbyterian Church in Council Bluffs, Saturday, October 6. If you plan to attend w/Charlotte please let her know by September 29 so luncheon reservations may be made.
Please have your Snicker candy bars (2.07 oz) turned in by September 30 -Sunday so they can be taken to the Fall Gathering, also if you are making Christmas stockings for HELP Adult Services please bring them by that date.
Today I will live in
the moment – unless the moment is unpleasant, in which case I will eat a
cookie.
Session Minutes
September 11, 2012
The session of Walnut First Presbyterian Church met in
regular session on September 11, 2012 at 7 pm in the Sunday School south
annex. Those in attendance were: Margo
Matthies, Linda Krueger, Jim Tooley Linda Ploen, Kathy Hansen and Allan
Sievers. Absent were Jim McDermott, Jack
Ploen, Michelle and Mike Mertz.
Moderator David Krueger opened the meeting with prayer. Scripture readings were from Matthew 28:19,
Mark 1:4, Mark 10:38, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 2:38-39, 1 Corinthians 12:13, and
Colossians 2:12. Our reflection was a
discussion and personal stories of baptism.
The minutes of the August meeting were read and approved.
The Treasurer’s report was accepted as given. The Antique Walk report was also given. We had a net income of $5,968.59.
The pastor’s report was given and approved. Pastor David traveled 47 miles this
month. He also thanked everyone for
their prayers and concern since the death of his sister.
There was no clerk’s report and no deaths. Dennis Hullinger and Wilma Newton were
accepted into membership on September 9th by letter of transfer from
United Church of Avoca.
Stewardship and Mission
“Bring A Friend Sunday” needs to be rescheduled, perhaps as
a community effort. Peace Offering will
begin September 16th and will run for 4 Sundays. Part of this offering stays here in walnut
for anti-bullying. We need to try the 30
hour famine program again. Also
mentioned was passing out bags for the Food Pantry and having people bring them
back with supplies. We need to keep
thinking about a mission project for our church.
Christian Education
The first day of Sunday School “Sundae Sunday” was a big
success. There has been a good
attendance with helpers: Robin Tooley, Kathy Hansen, Bonnie Holtz, Michelle
Mertz and Michelle Sunderman. Kathy
Hansen also reported that she had delivered 3 more welcome baskets to new
Walnut residents from our church. The
2013 Presbyterian Youth Triennium will be held at Lafayette , Indiana
Worship
Communion was served to 4 residents at Peace Haven on
September 2nd. Jim Tooley
served as elder. Linda Ploen also wanted
to remind everyone of our Saturday night services on the 4th
Saturday of each month at 5:30.
Refreshments are included. We are
also looking at things to make our Advent season more meaningful and
visual.
Finance and Property
Jim Tooley reported on our Wells Fargo account. It was moved and 2nd to put the
money into a CD since it was gaining only .01 percent interest. We will renew our CD with Great Western
Bank. We received a bid for new doors
and windows for the church. After discussion
we decided to list all the improvements we need or would like, to see what the
congregation feels about them and the priorities of projects. The list is as follows: interior doors, south
door, replace accordion doors, new windows, trim and molding around windows,
refinish floors, new furnace and air conditioner, and new pews or replace with
chairs. We welcome any input on these
projects. Perhaps we could have a
special fund raiser for any of these projects.
Personnel
The 2012 nominating committee is: Chuck Ploen, Greg Mertz
and Jim Tooley. We also discussed our
“Celebration of Service”. It will be an
appreciation celebration for all those who serve the church. We may try to have it in November.
New Business
Our by-laws were reviewed with suggested changes noted. We will be hosting the Sunday evening meal at
Peace Haven on September 16th at 5:30.
The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer.
Next meeting will be October 9th, 2012 at 7 pm.
Linda Ploen
Clerk of Session
