FINLEY MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

P O BOX 256

STUARTS DRAFT VA 24477

FINLEY FOCUS

February 2006

Founded 1891 Picture by Karen Brown

From the Pastor’s Desk

People will often say to me, “The youth are the church of tomorrow” to which I usually reply, “They are the church of today.” As we all know, children and youth hold a vital place in the life of the church. They are not only our future, they are our present. They are an important link between what is and what is to come, and the success and effectiveness of a church depends greatly on how well a church understands their important role in it’s mission and ministry.

In his first letter to the Church in Corinth (12:14-27), the Apostle Paul talks about how the body of Christ “does not consist of one member but of many,” yet even though there are many members, “there is still one body.” Paul’s letter is a reminder for the church today that the body of Christ is not composed of just those who have made a public profession and joined a church, but of all those who have been joined together as one in the waters of baptism. This is why each member of the body of Christ is an integral part of the whole. Without each member, the body of Christ would not just be unable to function – it would not be a body! As Paul writes,

“…the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect…God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

Over the last three and a half years, I have been blessed to be able to work with and serve our children and youth. They have made me laugh and sometimes cry. They have challenged me and kept me honest. They have surprised me and encouraged me. But most of all, they have reminded me of what it means to be a part of God’s kingdom.

I want them to know that here at Finley they have a place of guidance and refuge along their journey of faith. I want them to have a faith that is rooted and grounded upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. I want them to know that the Bible, prayer, Sunday school, Worship, youth group, fellowship and mission are important for them in their lives as God’s children. I want them to have no doubt that here at Finley they will experience the love, grace, mercy, and presence of God. I want them to have all of this and more, and they can through us parents and adults. We set the example for them. They see in us and through us what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and member of his body. Trust me when I say that they are watching and listening and learning.

Our children and youth face many challenges living in today’s world, many challenges that you and I never had to face, never had to deal with, never even knew about. They are confronted by these challenges at school, on TV and in movies, and even sometimes in our own homes. May they know that here at church, they are a part of us, a person that is indispensable to our identity as Christ’s body, a person that plays an integral role in our faith and life, ministry and mission.

Therefore, let us parents and adults set the example. Help them to learn God’s word in Scripture. Pray with them and for them. Teach them in Sunday school and VBS. Lead them in youth group. Go with them to camps and conferences. Give to them as they have given to us. They do not want much. All they want is for you to be with them. All they want is you.

Jesus once said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs." Yes, it does indeed.

Email Changes

The church is in the process of changing our Internet service provider from ntelos to Verizon. With this change, we will also be changing the email for the church and for the pastor. Please make a note of these changes and update your email address book. The church’s new email address is finleypc1@verizon.net. Dan’s new email is fmpcpastor@verizon.net.

Dear Finley Family,

    Thank you for all of the kind words, thoughts, cards and prayers, especially the prayers, that you sent during my mom's illness and passing.  It has been a very difficult few months for my family-- my dad's fall and passing in September, and now my mom's.  Words cannot begin to express how important your prayers have been to me.  May God continue to richly bless each and every one of you.    Sheri Nelson and Family 

Hurricane Relief Update

The hurricane relief effort along the coast of Mississippi is progressing day by day. Each day the people down there experience new successes, but there are still people and areas that have not been reached yet. Currently, work crews are being used mainly to put new roofs on homes and to go scout out new areas to help. What they need the most are willing people to come and give their time and energy to help restore the lives of those in need.

On Sunday, February 12, the Mission and Outreach Ministry will join together for lunch downstairs after worship to begin working on the plans to 1. send a work crew to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and 2. to collect and transport currently needed supplies. If you are interested in joining a work crew team to go to Mississippi sometime this fall, please come to the lunch. We will need all skill levels for the work crew from skilled carpenters, electricians, and roofers to those who can swing a hammer and take direction. If you are interested in helping to coordinate the collection and transportation of currently needed supplies, please come to the lunch. We will need help in advertising, sorting, boxing, and labeling the supplies and then we will need help in getting the supplies to the coast.

Below is a list of the supplies that are currently needed.

CLEANING SUPPLIES:
Bleach! Lysol Mop Liquid
Sponges Windex
Mops and buckets Work gloves
Rags Filter masks
Paper Towels Clorox wipes
Elbow Length Latex Gloves Hand disinfectant
Lysol Spray

FIRST AID SUPPLIES:
Band Aids Triple Antibiotic Ointment
Ace Bandages Disposable Ice Packs

We hope you will plan on joining us for lunch on February 12 after worship. If you are interested in helping with food or drinks, please talk to Beverley Ellis, Jacquelyn May, or Dan Matthews. We are anxious to get started in doing our part to help those whose lives have been devastated by the hurricane, but who everyday see God’s grace at work in and through the hearts and hands of God’s people.

Marion C. Fitch Education Fund

Marion C. Fitch was a faithful member of Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church for over twenty years. She was an elder, active in the Presbyterian Women, active in Sunday School and she loved music. Marion loved asking questions, playing scrabble and she added a sparkle to the events in which she participated. Marion also had a love for education and for the youth of this congregation. So much so that upon her death she left a sizable estate for the purpose of helping the youth of Finley Memorial receive education beyond high school.

The Trustees of Finley Memorial have managed the Marion C. Fitch Education Fund for almost ten years in accordance with Marion’s wishes. Marion believed in investing and being a good steward of her resources, and her gift has allowed that in a very significant way. To invest in and be stewards of our youth who make the decision to seek education beyond high school and to encourage these young people to better themselves through education is at the very heart of Marion’s bequest.

Wachovia Bank is the administrator of The Marion C. Fitch Education Fund, which was established on October 31, 1996 by Marion’s will in the amount of $555,403. It is fully invested by the Bank Trustee and the balance as of December 19, 2005 was $780,521. Since its inception the fund has paid $258,799 to children of our members in the form of scholarships. The average number of scholarship recipients each year has been 14 and is expected to rise to 30 by 2010. All scholarship payments are made directly to the recipients by Wachovia Bank in the name of the Marion C. Fitch Scholarship Fund of Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church.

We are very blessed to be able to continue to provide this financial support to our children through Marion’s wonderful gift to our church.

Spreading the Joy of Reading

Many, many thanks to all of you who have been clipping and saving those General Mills BoxTops coupons for the library at VSDB.  I sent in a bunch in November and recently received a check for our library for $205!!  This will go a long way toward purchasing more books for the deaf and the blind students at VSDB.  I will be sending in another bunch in March, so keep clipping!

Sincerely, Margie Robison, librarian at VSDB”

"Words are the outer clothing of ideas."  Hercule Poirot

Treasurer’s Report

By Jack R. Blacka, disbursing treasurer

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your faithful giving to support the budget of Finley Memorial. Without your generous support over the years, we would not have been able to do some of the things that were necessary to improve the quality of experience here at Finley. Improvements such as; the new piano, updated speakers for the organ, state-of-the-art copy machine and printer, new computers for the secretary, pastor and the treasurer, modern fire alarm system tied into the fire department, high speed internet service, new hymnals and bibles, a complete termite treatment with yearly inspections for our building, updates and modernization of our offices and session room, and, most of all our beautiful new sanctuary and expanded basement with modern kitchen equipment. None of this would have been possible without your gifts and contributions – many thanks!!

With constant management and astute insight by the session we have been able to control the everyday expenses and have been able to give a cost-of-living increase to all our employees and our pastor. We have been able to do this without having to draw from savings except for certain times when we have larger expenses than the income will cover. January is usually one of those times. At the end of January we have Presbytery per capita to pay (for 2006 it is $2963.76 – at $12.72 per head) and payroll taxes for the fourth quarter 2005 ($1950.51). Payroll taxes will come due again in April, July, and October and will be approximately $2000.00 each time. Vacation time in the summer is another period when funds are slow coming in. Please keep in mind if you miss a Sunday or so – make up your contribution when you return.

Our budgets for the past few years have fluctuated between $100,000 and $150,000.

A major accomplishment for 2006 is the conversion of our accounting software from the Lotus 123 system with the smart suite addition to the 2005 version of Peachtree Accounting (called Peachtree Today, accountant’s version). The biggest difference in the two systems is that Lotus is a single entry system and Peachtree is a double entry system. Peachtree allows us to go from 61 accounts to 131 accounts. This will give us a lot more detail in our income and expenses, thus giving us a better insight as to where our money comes from and where it goes. Other accounts will be added as the need arises.

The session sent me to school last fall at Valley Vocational Technical School to learn the Peachtree system. The class began Sept 15^th and ended the week before Christmas. I have now converted everything to Peachtree, and will keep a duplicate record in Lotus for the firs quarter of 2006 as a double check to make sure all is well. The Peachtree system is much more elaborate (and complicated) than the one I inherited from Van Forbes in 1988 when I took over the treasurer’s job at his request. I will now be able to produce dozens of reports, depending on what the session would like to see. So far we have settled on an income and expense statement, a cash account register, and a balance sheet. These three reports give a more accurate picture than the Lotus income and expense reports.

As we enter a new year and you plan your giving for 2006, here are a few interesting facts to help you in your decision making.

• We need to average $2648.44 in giving each week to meet our budget of $127,718.00.
• Salaries and benefits (including the pastors’) make up 59% of the budget. It will take $1565.00 average per week to meet this portion of the budget.
• As of January 24^th, when this article is being written, we were averaging $2174.09 (a $474.35 shortfall).
• It takes 5-$55 per week pledges to fund the utilities expenses.
• It takes 2-$67 per week pledges to fund general maintenance expenses.
• It takes 3-$81 per week pledges to fund Christian Education/Fellowship expenses.
• It takes 10-$23 per week pledges to fund Mission and Benevolent expenses.
• It would take $1252.00 per family (based on 110 families) to fund the budget if all families contributed.
• Based on average household income, if each household gave 2.5% of their income we could fund a budget of $165,000.00.
• If each household gave 5% of their income the budget could be $264,000.00.
• If each household gave 10% (tithe) of their income the budget would be $660,000.00.

I hope that this information has given you some “food for thought” and some helpful suggestions as you plan your year and your participation in the life of Finley. If you have any questions about our finances, please don’t hesitate to ask me or any member of the session. If I don’t know the answer I will find it out.

Yours in Christ

Jack

Presbyterian Women

    Presbyterian Women have been and are busy! First, thanks to you all who contributed to the angel tree. $755 was collected for shoes for the needy children and all of the adult gift wishes were fulfilled. What a wonderful feeling to be able to report this. Thank you so much for making Christmas bright for these people. PW also provided a Thanksgiving dinner to the deaf couple that were also aided in 2004. This couple was extremely thankful as they had had medical problems and a hospital stay that had threatened their holiday. The dinner was delivered by Denise Brady and Pastor Dan. 

    Our Feb. meeting will be Feb. 7, at 7:00 pm and we will cover Lesson Six, Lent, A time to Keep, and a Time to Throw Away, in our Study Book. At the February meeting our entire collection will be donated to Sunnyside Communities Links of Love, and if anyone else would like to donate to this worthy cause, you may give your donation to PW treasurer, Esther Winton, or to a PW member before the meeting.

    A Prayer Shawl was completed and blessed at the Jan. meeting, for Barbara French. If anyone knows of a person in need of comfort and prayer, and would like to work on a prayer shawl for them, contact Karen Bing-Wo (337-3008).

    PW Moderator, Yvonne Simmons, attended a meeting at Mt Horeb Presbyterian Church and was happy to report that the church has been rebuilt since its devastating fire, and is beautiful.

From The Fellowship Committee

Our February Men’s breakfast will be on the first Sunday of the month, the 5^th. All men are welcome to join us and share in service, fellowship and a great breakfast.

We will be participating in the luncheon after worship on Sunday, February 12. Join us and find out how you can help with the Hurricane Relief efforts here at Finley.

On Sunday, February 26 we will have our monthly coffee after worship. Everyone is invited to attend and share in some snacks and good fellowship.

Our Active Youth

Attention Parents and Adults:

The Middle School and Senior High youth groups are in the process of planning for their summer camps and conferences, and we are in need of adult advisors. Without adult advisors, our youth will not be able to attend these important and fun times of learning, growth, and fellowship. The Middle School youth will be going to Massanetta Springs in Harrisonburg. The Senior High youth will be going to Montreat in North Carolina. Even though Montreat is coordinated through the Presbytery, Finley’s youth comprises the majority of those attending. I promise that you will have a great time and will get just as much out of it as they youth does – maybe more. If you are willing to be an adult advisor to either Massanetta or Montreat, please let Dan know as soon as possible.

Middle School Youth Group: We are in the process of taking applications for the 2006 Massanetta Springs Middle School Conference. This year’s conference is entitled: “Out of Sight.” We will be going either July 6-9, or July 11-14. Please see Dan for an application. Applications are due by Sunday, February 12.

High School Youth Group: Sun. Jan. 29    7:00-9:00 pm   Fellowship & Devotion at the Coble's.  We'll continue our study of "The Interview with God".  Remember to bring your guitars (or other stringed instruments) if you are interested in learning to play with Tim.  Feel free to bring your bible and your friends.

Sun. Feb. 5    Beginning at 4:00 pm  SOUPER BOWL COLLECTION / SUPER BOWL CELEBRATION at the Elliott's.  We'll meet at the Elliott's at 4:00 pm to go door to door with our decorated carts (one for the Steelers and one for the Seahawks) collecting canned food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as part of Souper Bowl Sunday.  Following, we'll watch the Super Bowl at the Elliott's, where we'll enjoy food, fellowship and continue rooting for our favorite teams.  Don't forget to: WEAR YOUR FAVORITE TEAM'S COLORS (Black & Gold for the Steelers, Blue & White for the Seahawks),  BRING SOMETHING DELICIOUS TO EAT and share with your friends, BRING A FRIEND (the more the merrier), and most important, DRESS WARM (remember we'll be outside for 1-2 hours prior to the game!) 

Sun. Feb. 12, 19, 26  7:00-9:00 pm   Fellowship & Devotion at the Coble's.  Bring your bibles, guitars, and friends.

Baja Builders:   Good news for procrastinators!  The deadline for signing up for the Baja house-building mission trip has been extended to 2/15.  More good news!  There are now 2 different weeks to choose from.  The first week, July 16-22, is the Highland-Augusta Mission Community (HAMC) trip which is sponsored by and partially funded by the HAMC.  Although this week is open to any member of Shenandoah Presbytery, it has been mainly "advertised" to HAMC congregations.  Sixty slots have been reserved for this trip.  The second week, July 23-29, was intended to be for any member of Shenandoah Presbytery and was initially offered to two congregations who had expressed interest last year in sending large contingents that were not able to be accommodated.  The first week works better for one of these congregations so that leaves openings for the second week.  Thirty slots have been reserved for this date.  You can find information on the Shenandoah Presbytery web site:  http://www.shenpres.org/mc/mce1.html.  Marti and Courtney Elliott will also be happy to talk with you about this fantastic opportunity.

	Nursery Schedule	Visitation Schedule
Feb 5	Allison & Randy Fink and Jacquelyn May	Esther Winton & Beverley Ellis
Feb 12	Lisa & David Seaman and Linda Cohron	John Gibson & Gloyd May
Feb 19	Coble family & Yvonne Simmons	David Wenner & Don Markle
Feb 26	Leslie & Lance Allen and Linda Peery	Darlene Bowles

Usher List

Keith Boswell (CH)

John Gibson

Beverley Ellis

Dave Wenner

Brian Boswell

Dustin Henderson

February 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Chancel Choir 7:30 pm	2 Groundhog Day	3	4
5 Kyle Seaman’s Birthday Men’s Breakfast 8:30 4Cents a Meal Offering Souper Bowl of Caring	6	7 Presbyterian Women 7 pm	8 Chancel Choir 7:30 pm	9	10	11
12 Hurricane Relief Luncheon after worship	13 Session 7 pm	14 Sue Brubaker’s Birthday Valentine’s Day	15 Chancel Choir 7:30 pm	16	17	18 David Brubaker’s Birthday
19	20 Presidents’ Day	21	22 Chancel Choir 7:30 pm Deadline for Finley Focus articles	23 Kelly Hughes’ Birthday	24 Art Hendrickson’s Birthday	25
26 Coffee after worship	27	28	Donna Swink’s Birthday on February 29^th

Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church

Presbytery of Shenandoah, Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

24 Finley Drive

P.O. Box 256

Stuarts Draft, Virginia 24477

Church Office Telephone: (540) 337-3561

E-mail: finleypc1@verizon.net

Web address: www.finleypres.org

Pastor’s e-mail: fmpcpastor@verizon.net

Session Members

2006	2007		2008
Denise Brady – Clerk	Beverley Ellis		Sue Brubaker
Keith Boswell	Donnie McCormick		Jacquelyn May
Linda Cohron	Andy Wenner		Jill Matthews
Paul Swink
	Treasurers
Ann E. Willey, Receiving Jack R. Blacka, Disbursing
Trustees
Jack R. Blacka James L. Wellborn Donald Splaun
Presbyterian Women
Yvonne Simmons, Moderator Karen Brown, Vice Moderator Nancy Southworth, Secretary Esther Winton, Treasurer Shirley Hendrickson, Historian
Church School Superintendent – David Brubaker		Secretary – Ann Willey
Music Director – Kelly Hughes		Librarian – Art Hendrickson
Choir Director – Elise Blacka
Stated Meetings
Church School 9:45 am Morning Worship 11:00 am
Session – Second Monday of the month 7:00 pm Chancel Choir – Wednesday 7:30-8:30 pm
Presbyterian Women – First Tuesday of the month 7:00 pm
Youth Fellowship – Sunday evenings 7:00-8:30pm
Finley Men – First Sunday of the month 8:30 am