FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH of PENN YAN
May 2012
We, as God's people, will use
our gifts and talents to seek out and bring people to Christ
by
maturing in our faith, by deepening our fellowship,
and by
caring for people for the honor and glory of God.
Dear Members and Friends:
It is with joy at your success in finding a
new pastor and with sadness as I prepare to say good-bye and transition to
whatever God has in store for me next that I write my last newsletter greeting!
I have enjoyed my time in Penn Yan. First Baptist
Church, the community and
a great clergy group have all contributed to memories that I will carry with
me.
This church has so much to be proud of. I
will look forward to hearing about the new directions that you take and the
ministries that you strengthen!
May God Bless you
all and grant success to you and the Sanden's in your ministry together.
Blessings for the Journey, Rev. Linda J. Foody
p.s. Sunday, May 20, will be my last time in
worship with you. Please come and plan to stay for coffee hour so that we have
adequate time to say our good-byes.
Philippians 1:6 - For
I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will
perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
May Worship Schedule
May 6 Communion Sunday
“Fulfill
Your Ministry” - John 3:1-17
May 13 Mother's Day & Blanket Sunday
“Be
A Person of Integrity” - Psalm 15
May 20 “A Farewell Admonition” - 1
Corinthians 16:13-14
May 27 Guest Pastor
Wish These Friends a Happy Birthday!
3 ~ Lyle Conrad 20 ~ Kathi
Lawrence
3 ~ Paul Nash 22
~ Janice Knecht
5 ~ Ethel Clancy 23 ~ Jennifer Slocum
6 ~ Erma Mullins 23 ~ Mary Fullagar
7 ~ Ed Castillo 25 ~ Cliff LaBarr
16 ~ Trevor Conrad 27 ~ Eileen Modaffari
18 ~ Helena Cranmer 31 ~ Erik Miller
From the Search Committee
The turnout for the reception held on April
21, for candidate Rev. Stephen Sanden and his wife Karen was very well
attended. Refreshments were provided by the Hospitality Committee and everyone
had a good time. Rev. Sanden conducted the worship service on April 22, with a
sermon entitled, “The God of All Comfort”. The congregation was introduced to
Rev. Sanden's wonderful sense of humor, his ability to preach a meaningful
sermon and his exceptional singing voice.
The business meeting held following the
worship service resulted in a unanimous vote to accept Rev. Sanden as our new
minister. There were 58 members voting. A reception following the service and
business meeting gave additional members an opportunity to get acquainted with
our new minister. Following the reception, a letter officially offering the
pastorate to Rev. Sanden was signed by the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees,
Sheryl Robbins. The Search Committee and Rev. and Mrs. Lawrence completed the
afternoon's activities by taking our new minister and his wife out to dinner at
the Antique Inn.
We will now anxiously await the arrival of
Rev. Sanden to take over the leadership of our Church on June 1, 2012. The
Search Committee would like to thank everyone involved in this
weekends activities for such an outpouring of support for the Committee
and our new pastor and his wife.
God has blessed us.
ABW Association Spring
Rally - Saturday, May 5
Ladies of First Baptist Church, you are
invited to attend the Spring Rally, (here at FBC PY) for the American Baptist
Women Finger Lakes Association. Come, gather with
other Christian Women for fellowship and encouragement, you don't need to currently
be an ABW member. Please come! Continental Breakfast – 8:30 am ~ Program: Song &
Scripture led by Diane DeLooza and Sheryl Robbins
Mary & Martha Circle - Tuesday, May 8
Attention Ladies! The last meeting of the
season for the Mary & Martha
Circle will be a “Date for Lunch” at the Antique Inn on Route 54a. If you would like to attend, please contact Marge Cornell at
536-6607 or Erma Mullins at 536-8730 by Friday, May 4th for
reservations.
Blanket Sunday – May
13
Put Your Caring Into
Action... blanket
the world with love! Providing
blankets and other humanitarian assistance in emergency situations has long
been what the CWS Blanket Program is all about. The “plus” enables CWS to help
displaced families rebuild their lives in the months and years after a
disaster. When people identify what it will take to reconstruct their
communities and restore livelihoods to area residents, the Blankets+ funds
provide the resources they need. Something as simple as a blanket can grow... and
grow... into a community restored. If
we raise $350 that will provide blankets to 70 people displaced by a
disaster! Let's make that our goal!!! Meeting emergency needs and building
food security in partnership around the world.
On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13,
we
will receive our Blanket+ Offering.
Our First Baptist
Church challenge:
a
gift of $5 from every member of the congregation;
that's
the cost of a blanket!
Kidz Klub – Friday, May 25
The next meeting of the Kidz
Klub will be on Friday, May 25th at 6 pm.
We will be planning a summer fund-raiser! Come, enjoy a snack and let's
brain-storm!
Farm Day! – June 3
As a part of the Penn Yan
Area Council of Churches, on Sunday, June 3, Milo Center
United Methodist
Church will host Farm
Day. This afternoon event will be a community blessing of our farmers and
tractors and prayers for a plentiful harvest.
The event will begin at 2 pm. All communities are welcome to come
together!
Congratulations to
Brittany Griffin!
Brittany
has received the “Outstanding Junior Award” from the Future Farmers of America at PYA. This is the 3rd
year Brittany
has received this award; as she was named Outstanding in her Freshman
and Sophmore year as well. At the awards ceremony it
was also mentioned that Brittany
has shown proficiency at Sheep Production. Congratulations Brittany!! Can't wait to see what you do at
National Level in the summer!!!
Our Congratulations to
Ralph Clancy!
We want to
congratulate Ralph on having an art piece selected for showing. Ralph attends
school in Sanibel, Florida where a collection of art was on
display for the community. Students in grades 1-5 had pieces that were designed
around a “Values” theme, Picasso, Van Gogh or O'Keefe. Only 8 students from each
grade were selected. Congratulations Ralph!
Church World Service Kits
and White Cross
17 School kits and 24 hygiene kits are now on
their way to the Church World Service distribution center in New Windsor, Maryland.
These kits are then dispersed as need arises, often as a result of a natural disaster,
both here in the United States
and overseas.
Our White Cross quota is also on its way to
hospitals in the Democratic Republic
of Congo.
~
The packages of 4”x4” fabric squares will be used for a variety of things – much like we would use a tissue or a piece of cheesecloth.
~ The 60 rolled bandages – (torn and
rolled by the Mary Martha Circle)
are an ongoing necessity to the doctors there.
~
The 6 baby gowns will be given to newborns leaving the hospital.
Our ABW will also be sending a check of $150
to White Cross – International Ministries in Valley Forge.
This money will be used to purchase other supplies needed by hospitals in the Congo.
Thank you to everyone who helped with or
contributed to these projects in any way.
Mission Report as of April 15th:
1. The
America
for Christ total for the year to date is $697.50. We have received $108.46 for
the “Pennies” for the Backpack Program at Milly's
Pantry. The Easter Offering has reached $633 toward a budgeted goal of $800.
2. In
March we were only able to pay $900 for United Mission
Basics. Thanks to your generosity at Easter and every Sunday, we expect to pay
the following on April 30, Penn Yan Council of
Churches dues and Jail Ministry $250; United Mission
Basics $900; Camping Scholarship $250. The “Pennies” will be sent in also. Any
received after that will be sent in at the end of the year. Thank You.
3.
Don Lawrence, Richard Davis and Ed Castillo will attend the ABC/NYS Mission Conference on May 4th. Rev. Dr.
Jeffrey Johnson will be speaking on personality based evangelism- “Got Style?”
4.
The Bd of Mission
put on a simple meal for “Stepping Stones.” Stepping Stones is a local program
assisting families to improve their lives.
5. We
reviewed “Life Style of a Congregation.”
We viewed two short video of Dr. Tony Campolo's
invitation to the World Mission Conference at Green Lake, WI.
32 Missionaries and 14 Global Christian Leaders will be in attendance.
6. The
Community CROP Walk will be May 6. 25% of money raised goes to Food for the
Needy here in Penn Yan. The Walk starts at the
Presbyterian Church at 1:30 pm.
7.
ABC/NYS Biennial will be held at various locations in Sept. and Oct. See the
Bulletin Board for further information.
8.
Christian Community Credit Union donated $50,000 to AB International
Ministries.
Trustees Meeting
Highlights:
Mortgage
Payment: We agreed to apply another lump sum payment
of $5,000 to the mortgage principle, bringing our balance down to $44,461.17.
BT&T Drive:
We will be doing our annual drive in June 2012. We are excited that we are
below $50,000 and are on the homestretch now!
Exterior
Doors: We are going to have the main doors
re-painted this year. Look for other renovations throughout the building too!
Mechanical
Room: We will be cleaning out the mechanical room
(located off the library) by the end of the month. If anyone has any items
currently stored in there, please remove them.
Sunday Bulletin
Dedications –
A fun way to remember someone's birthday,
anniversary or accomplishment!
A loving way to remember someone who has
passed on.
Sunday Bulletin Dedications are a way to do
that. With a $10 donation we will print the information that you provide in the
bulletin. Proceeds will go towards the FBC Building
Fund. Leave this information in the
offering plate or send to the church office
In Honor of ________________________________________
In Memory of ______________________________________
From
_____________________________________________
Preferred print date
_______________
Life's Most Urgent Question Is:
What Are You Doing For Others?
~ Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr.