October 2013 Gleaner

Pastor’s Notes

As many of you know or have heard I’m planning to retire in January 2015. And with that decisions have to be made, both by the Walnut church and by me.

          What are we going to do? What is the church going to do? What is God calling or leading me to do next? How can we know, for sure, what to do?

          I read, or heard, (I can’t remember which) something the other day that went like this: Retirement is that time in our lives when we can do those things God has been preparing us for through the savings we’ve accumulated over the years of our employment.

          We can do this because of our life experiences and our savings. Whether we realize it or not we’ve gained some insights into “life” and wisdom is showing us how we can now work to improve “life” for someone else.

          You may have heard me say, once or twice, that there is no early retirement from the work God has called us to therefore I will not cease to work I will just be doing something different, maybe in a different place, but still, I believe, working God’s plan here on earth, whatever and wherever that may be.

          So, what about the church? The church isn’t retiring; it’s still here at 406 Antique City Drive, Walnut, Iowa. What is it going to do?

          Good question, what is it going to do? For the last six months the session has been studying that very question. What is our mission and how are we involved in that mission? Would the community miss this church if it wasn’t here? What are we doing now? Should we continue to do what we’ve always done? Should we do something different? What are the needs of this community? Are they being met? Can this church make a difference?

          The answers to these questions don’t come easily. There has to be time for prayer, study, and thought, time to sit with God in silence and let God speak to us.

God speaks? Yes, God speaks, maybe not with a voice we can hear with our ears but with a voice that speaks to our souls, a very real voice. A voice we need to heed.

          That’s why it takes time to know what to do. Prayer, study, and contemplation, listening for God to speak, it all takes time and we don’t all hear the same things. So, we have to listen to each other and discern what God is saying to the church. And that can be frustrating, because it’s not fast like getting a meal at the drive-through at McDonald’s.

          So, what can you do for us? You may not be on a committee or session but you can help. You help by praying for the church. You help by letting the committee know what you think the church should be doing in the community. You help by sitting with us and listening to our frustrations, our concerns, our desires for this church. You help by being there and supporting the church with your prayers and your words.

          Walnut First Presbyterian Church is our home, yours and mine. We’re a family, brothers and sisters, who believe that God loves us and cares for us. He loved us enough to sacrifice himself for us through Jesus, taking our sins upon himself so we can come before God wholly forgiven, wholly righteous.

          As this family in this home let’s come together to pray and talk and listen and together move ahead in the work God has for us here in Walnut, Iowa.

God’s grace and peace be with you all,

Pastor David                   

                                     

            A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaratan..  She asked the class, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?”  A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, “I think I’d throw up.”

Food Pantry

The Food Pantry has a need for these items in October:

Egg noodles

Oatmeal

Pancake mix and syrup

Juice

Jell-o pudding mix

Soup & crackers

Macaroni

Shampoo

Bar soap

Put them in the basket at the back of the sanctuary and Pastor David will be happy to deliver them to the Food Pantry.

                ‘The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk.’

                                                        Joseph Joubert

                                            

       *Grandma Still Drives ---Priceless*

Grandma is eighty-eight years old and still drives her own car. She writes:

Dear Grand-daughter,
  The other day I went up to our local Christian book store and
saw a 'Honk if you love Jesus' bumper sticker ..I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a thunderous prayer meeting..
  So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper. Boy, am I glad I did; what an uplifting experience that followed.
  I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, and I didn't notice that the light had changed.
It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn't honked, I'd never have noticed. I found that lots of people love Jesus!
  While I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, 'For the love of God!''Go! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, GO!' What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus!
  Everyone started honking! I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those loving people. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love!
There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach..I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air.
  I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant. He said it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something.
Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii , so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign right back. My grandson burst out laughing. Why even he was enjoying this religious experience!!
  A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me. I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed.
So, grinning, I waved at all my brothers and sisters, and drove on through the intersection.
  I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared. So I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away.
Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!! Will write again soon,

Love,

Grandma

           

  November Ushers and Communion Servers

Ushers: Teri Abel, Darlene Stuart, Margo Matthies & Cathy Shutters

Communion Servers:  Cathy Shutters - chm, Darlene Stuart, Bobbie & Jim McDermott.  October ushers and communion servers are at bottom of calendar.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes and come out wrinkle free and 3 sizes smaller?

          Flowers for Pulpit

                                                             October 6 -------Margo Matthies

                                                 October 13------ Cathy Shutters

                                                 October 20 ------Teri Abel

                                                 October 27 ------Bobbie McDermott

                                                     

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss, dream?  Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt only by our hearts.

A New Day For Peace Haven

Who:  Community Members and Friends of Peace Haven

What:  Town Hall Meeting

When:  Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013 at 2:00 PM

Where:  Peace Haven Dining Room

Why:  To be in on the ground level to hear and see the most exciting thing to happen at Peace Haven and          

            Walnut in the last 50 years!  You don’t want to be left out!  Come hear first hand from our Board

            Members, Administrator and Architects what a “New Day For Peace Haven” will look like.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Session Minutes

September 10, 2013

The session of Walnut First Presbyterian church met in regular session on September 10, 2013 at 7 pm in the Sunday School south annex. Session members present were: Linda Ploen, Jack Ploen and Cathy Shutters. Absent were: Jim McDermott, Kathy Hansen, Allan Sievers, Jim Tooley and Michelle, Greg and Mike Mertz. Moderator David Krueger opened the meeting with prayer. Our reflection was entitled “Salvation Through Jesus” from Colossians 1:18-20. We were asked to reflect on what we need Jesus to save us from, and to realize that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace- it is a gift.

The minutes of the August meeting were read and approved. The treasurer’s reports for July and August were approved as given.

David’s pastor report was approved as given. He traveled 426 miles due to two trips to Calvin Crest. There were also many visitations.

Stewardship and Mission

We would still like to have a blanket drive again this fall. Kathy also reported that she had received five quilts donated from Trinity Lutheran Church in Avoca.

Christian Education

Sundae Sunday went well. We may have a few less children this year as several are getting older now. Maybe we will do youth group more often.

Worship

Communion was served to eleven residents at Peace Haven on September 1. Jim McDermott was the serving elder. Our Saturday night worship in October will be on the 19^th with a fish fry following.

Finance and Property

David reported that letters need to be sent to all employees for the Affordable Care Act.

Personnel

Linda Ploen looked over the copy of By-Laws for our church. We need to have a special meeting to OK them.

New Business

There will be a congregational meeting on Sept.15 after worship to elect a Pastor nominating committee to work with United Church of Avoca. The nominating committee to look for new elders this year is Linda Krueger, Chuck Ploen and Robin Heilig. The meeting was closed with The Lord’s Prayer.

Linda Ploen

Clerk of Session

Special Congregational Meeting September 15, 2013

Moderator David Krueger called the special congregational meeting of First Presbyterian Church to order after worship on September 15, 2013. A quorum was present. The meeting was opened with prayer. The purpose of the meeting was to elect a pastor nominating committee to work with United Church of Avoca to share a pastor. Pastor David plans to retire on January 1, 2015.

Larry Shepherd nominated Leo Rechtenbach, Mike Shutters and Chuck Ploen. Leo declined to accept the nomination, so David Woltmann’s name was added. Chuck Ploen nominated Cathy Shutters. Charlotte Shepherd moved to accept these four members. Mary Ellen Woltmann 2^nd the motion. Motion carried. Linda Ploen will inform Lon Jacobsen of Avoca to let them know of decision.

Linda Krueger moved to adjourn the meeting and Jim McDermott 2^nd the motion.

Linda Ploen

Clerk of session

	~ October 2013 ~
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2 Salem Lutheran 9AM Service P. W. 1:30 Choir 7:15 Steve Sunderman	3 George Mertz	4	5
6    Church 9:00    Communion    Peace Haven 11:00    Sunday School 10:15  Alex Ehlers	7	8 Allen House 11:00 Session 7:00 PM	9	10 Dennis/Nancy Hullinger	11 Jack Ploen	12 Pilgrimage Mtg 10 AM Florence P.C.
13   Church 9:00    Sunday School 10:15   Justen Tooley   Ross/Tina Gregory	14	15    Jim Tooley	16   Gloria Walters Connor Sievers	17 Peace Haven 7:00 PM Judy Ploen	18 Katie Myers Adele Pedersen	19 Church 6:00 PM Fish Fry following Service David Mertz
20  No Church     Sunday School 10:15 Peace Haven Town Hall Meeting 2:00  Madison & Morqan Heiny	21 Greg Mertz John /Vicki Weihs	22 COM meeting, 2 PM New Horizon P.C.	23   Jackson Shutters Pastor Gone Pilgrimage---------------	24 --------------------------------	25 Teresa Griffith ----------------------------------	26   Robert Sieck ------------------------------
27      Church 9:00    Sunday School 10:15 Pastor home 6:00 PM	28	29 Avoca Nursing & Rehab 2 PM	30 Tristan Heiny Phyllis Hansen	31

October Communion Servers:  Jim Tooley-chm, George Mertz, Robin Heilig, Pam Nielsen

October Ushers:  Jim Tooley, Dave & Robin Helig

September Gleaner 2013

Pastor’s Notes

      Who am I? Through the church season, until October 6^th, in worship we will be asking that question and exploring who we believe we are. What do we think about ourselves…our faith…our relationship with God?

     What we believe is reflected in how we live. You and I have experienced our children saying inappropriate things at the most inopportune times. We ask ourselves, “Where and how did they learn these words?” Often, if we’re honest with ourselves, they are copying what they see us doing and saying. They are living mirrors of how we are living our lives. Sometimes, that can be embarrassing and other times our chests swell with pride.

     So, for the next six Sundays, if you would like to read ahead, the lessons with be centered on the gospel lessons from Luke 14-Luke 17:10. Luke 14 begins with Jesus attending a banquet at a Pharisee’s house. He continues with Jesus teaching his disciples and the crowds that surround him through many different parables.

     Each story Jesus told was intended to get them, and us, to look in the mirror and see ourselves as others see us. 

     Some mornings when I look in the mirror I wonder how in the world my hair could have gotten so twisted and snarled. I never remember tossing and turning enough to cause such a mess. But with a little water and a comb and brush the mess is transformed and made more presentable for my love and the rest of the world. And that’s just what I see on the outside…

     It’s probably a good thing there aren’t mirrors that let us see what our souls are like. I can’t imagine a comb or brush or a little water being enough to straighten all the tangles and snarls on the inside.

     For the next six Sundays we will be listening to God’s word for us, Jesus’ parables about serving the lost, inviting those who don’t have the means to repay to the banquet God has prepared for all his children.

     Come and join us as we hear again Jesus’ parables and learn how to love and serve and be served by our gracious God.

        Yours in Christ,

        Pastor David

SYMPATHY

Louis Edwin “Ed” Myers, Jr. died at his home on Sunday, June 30, 2013 having attained the age of sixty-two years, eleven months, and six days. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Gloria in May of this year.
    

He is survived by his daughters Tina Ann and her husband Ross Gregory of Brighton, Colorado, and Katie-Lynne Myers of Northglenn, Colorado; one grandson Xavier Gregory; other family members and friends.
    

Upcoming Events

Super Sunday will be September 8^th. Please join the Sunday school in the church basement for ice cream and all the fixings as they begin this new year of Sunday school.

The 6 PM Saturday contemporary worship service for October will be on the 19^th followed by a fish fry. The fish are those brought back from Minnesota from the Youth Retreat.

October Ushers and Communion Servers

Ushers:  Jim Tooley, Dave & Robin Heilig

Communion Servers:  Jim Tooley-chm., George Mertz, Darlene Stuart, Jim McDermott

                                           Flowers for Pulpit

                                                            Sept. 1 -------Carla Johnk

                                                Sept. 8------Avis Mortensen

                                                Sept. 15------Karla Helms

                                                Sept. 22------Julie Nash

                                                Sept. 29------Dixie Schirm

August 2013 Session Minutes                                                                             

August 13, 2013

The session of Walnut First Presbyterian church met in regular session on August 13, 2013 at 7 pm in the Sunday School south annex.  Session members present were: Linda Ploen, Jim McDermott, Kathy Hansen, Allan Sievers, Cathy Shutters and Jim Tooley.  Absent were: Jack Ploen, Michelle, Greg and Mike Mertz.

Moderator David Krueger opened the meeting with prayer.  Our reflection was from Genesis 12: 1-15 entitled God’s Rescue Plan-A Special People.  We were challenged to find three people to be a blessing to.

The minutes of the June meeting were read and approved.

The treasure’s report for June and July were approved as given.  The pastor’s report for June and July were approved as written, David traveled a total of 298 miles.  Worship and communion was served at Peace Haven each month.  Kathy Hansen served as elder.  There were many visits, a wedding and two funerals.

Linda read a letter from the board of pensions.  There will be an increase in 2014.

David officiated at the Celebration of Life service for Ed Myers on July 12, 2013 at the First Presbyterian Church in Walnut, Iowa.  He died June 30, 2013 in Broom field, Colorado and was interred at Fullerton Cemetery in Fullerton, Neb.

Stewardship and Mission

Kathy delivered another “Welcome Basket” to Katie Shepherd.  She would also like to have another blanket drive this year.  As our part in the Funfest parade we will not have a float, but we will be “Walking With Jesus”.  We will be throwing hats and popcorn and candy. Salem Home in Elk Horn has a list of needs.  Perhaps we could help with that.  She also stated that we need some things for our youth group which is now meeting regularly.  We could use some plastic spatulas and a new electric griddle.  She mentioned that we could also keep some supplies on hand in case of snow storms where we have to help with stranded travelers. 

Christian Education

Sunday School will be starting on September 8^th followed by an ice cream “Super Sundae” after church.  We may be using the Sparkhouse curriculum.  Vacation Bible School went well with over 30 children attending.  It was also mentioned that we start up game night again.  Jim M. reported that the fishing trip went really well and the kids were great.  They will be having a presentation and fish fry on the 3^rd Saturday evening of October after our contemporary service, so there will be no church service on the 4^th Saturday of October.

Worship

We will be using the “Spill the Beans” worship ideas for several Sundays to try something different for our services.

Finance and Property

We grossed over $9,000 during the Antique Walk. A very successful year.  We need to get one more bid for new heating and air.  We need to get this done.  It was also discussed that the Ad hoc committee needs to meet soon.

Personnel

We need to work on our By-laws!  Linda will look over these.

New Business

David received a letter from the Gloria Myers estate attorney.  United Church of Avoca has contacted us about possibly sharing a pastor with them after David’s retirement.  We decided to meet with them since we would be interested.  David also reported that there will be Stephen Ministry training at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church in Omaha on September 21 from 9-1.  Also mentioned was the use of our church basement, as it doesn’t always get cleaned up after some events.  Perhaps we need a sheet for renters telling them what to clean up after use. 

The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

The next meeting will be September 10, 2013 at 7 pm.

Linda Ploen

Clerk of Session

	~ September 2013 ~
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1  Church 9 AM  Communion  Peace Haven 11 Brian/Nellie Popp	2  Labor Day   Wilma Newton	3 Shannon Wood James Ploen	4 Pres. Women Meet at the church at 9:45 AM Salem Lutheran Home         9 AM service Choir Practice 7:15 Kristen Hoffman	5	6 Cael Woltmann	7 Jim McDermott
8  Church 9 AM  Super Sunday  School 10:15 Jill Woltmann	9 Dustin Jensen	10 Allen House 11:00 AM Session 7 PM	11 Devin Wood	12 Ryne Johnk Luke Woltmann Craig/Linda Woltmann	13	14
15  Church 9 AM  Sunday School  10:15	16	17 Samantha Jensen	18 Betty Roberts	19 Peace Haven evening Worship 7 PM Wendy Grieb	20	21
22  Church 9 AM  Sunday School  10:15 Troy Schaben	23	24  Avoca Nursing & Rehab Worship 2:00 PM PMRV COM mtg. 4:30 PM at New Horizon P.C.	25 Chuck Ploen	26	27	28 Evening Service 6:00 PM Daniel Shirley
29  Church 9 AM Sunday School 10:15	30	Notes: September Ushers:  Larry & Charlotte Shepherd, Kathy Hansen Communion Servers:  Jim McDermott, chm., Larry & Charlotte Shepherd