FINLEY FOCUS

May 2006

Founded 1891          Picture by Karen Brown

 

From the Pastor’s Desk

 

            With the conclusion of Holy Week and Easter Services, pastors have a tendency to go into what I call “liturgical cruise control.”  Starting in March, pastors begin to gear up for Holy Week and Easter.  We begin putting together multiple services and sometimes multiple sermons all to be done in a few short days.  In our case here at Finley, we had four worship services – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil Sunrise Service, and the Easter Service – all in the span of four days.  Come Sunday afternoon on Easter, when everything is finished, pastors usually crash and take a very long nap.  After Easter Sunday, we begin to gear down into this “liturgical cruise control,” our mental and physical and emotional, and sometimes our spiritual, capacities no longer running at a high rpm.  From here on through the rest of the summer we cruise at a smooth and constant speed making our way toward the end of the liturgical year before we gear up again in preparation for the new liturgical year that begins with Advent and Christmas.

            Of course, the only problem with gearing down into “liturgical cruise control” is that we have a tendency to overlook an equally important day of celebration in the liturgical year and in the life and ministry of the church.  There are not just three important days in our church year, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, there are actually four, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost!  All of us have a tendency to go into “liturgical cruise control” after Easter Sunday, and forget that Easter is not just one day – it is a season.  It is the season of Easter, which moves us toward the greatest event for our mission as Christ’s body in the world – the coming of the Holy Spirit who gave birth to the church at Pentecost.

As I have been working on the lesson on Pentecost for the last meeting of the Presbyterian Women before the summer, I am reminded again about how important Pentecost is for us, and just how much we have neglected this important day throughout our history.  Pentecost should be right up there with Christmas and Easter, because it too is so important for who we are as God’s people in the world.  It is Pentecost that defines our life together as the community of faith.  It is Pentecost that turns Christ’s disciples into Christ’s missionaries and evangelists.  It is Pentecost that turns God’s people into God’s sent people.  It is Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came into the lives of the faithful that gives us the purpose for our life together as the communal people of God united as one through Baptism. 

As the Father sent the Son, and the Father and the Son sent the Spirit, so too does the Father, the Son, and the Spirit send us.  The sending of us – the Church – through the work and gift of the Triune God reminds us that all of us, who have faith in Jesus Christ and hold claim to the saving death of our risen Lord, also have ownership in the mission and ministry of Christ’s Church.  All of us together have something at stake in the work we have been called and sent to do.  All of us together have something to contribute to the mission of God in the world. 

If Christmas reminds us that the Word of God came into the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and Good Friday and Easter reminds us that God saved us through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ of God, then Pentecost reminds us that God, the living Lord of life, sends us out as saved people empowered through the eternal, living Word and Spirit of God’s very self.  Pentecost reminds us that if we want to live it, we must claim it, and if we want to claim it, we must embody it, and if we want to embody it, we must take ownership of it.  The Spirit is given not just to me or to you, but to all of us, so that together we may be one as the Father, Son, and Spirit are one.  It is our oneness through water and the Spirit, which reminds us that we cannot leave the mission and ministry of the church to others, we cannot claim it for our children and not for ourselves, we cannot be Christians in isolation, and we cannot be the church if we are not one as the church.  Together as one in worship, in prayer, in fellowship, in Biblical study, in ministry, and in service – this is what it means to be the church, this is what it means to be Christ’s disciples, this is what it means to be God’s communal people in the world.

            As we make our way through the rest of the season of Easter and move our way toward the great celebration of Pentecost on June 4, let us be careful not to put ourselves into “liturgical cruise control.”  Instead, let us keep ourselves revved up and our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual engine running hot, so that as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of the Church, we too may once again be refueled in our mission and ministry here at Finley Memorial through the fire of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

                             

May the peace of Christ be with you,

Dan             

 

 

Personnel and Finance

  

 

 

Plans for Drainage Improvement

 

     Hello, my name is Brian Boswell, and I am a member of Finley and Boy Scout Troop 11. My Eagle Scout project has been progressing very nicely. If you have not heard, I will be working to correct some drainage problems in the front yard of the church.  My plan is to put in new, underground piping, which would drain the water directly down to the street. The first step will be to dig the trenches for the pipes. The existing pipes would be shortened, and the new ones would be attached. The three pipes would come down the yard at an angle, combine into one, and continue down to the bottom of the driveway. After the trenches have been refilled, new grass will be planted over them. This plan has been cleared with both the county and the church session.     
    The dates of the work will be Friday, June 9 and Saturday June 10. I would like to thank everyone who has given a donation to this project thus far; it has been a huge help in moving this project forward. If you would like more information on this, please see my display in the narthex. Thank you for your continued assistance in making this project a success.

 

 

 

 

From The Fellowship Committee

 

Sunday, May 7 – Men’s Fellowship breakfast at 8:30 am.

Sunday, May 14 – Mother’s Day Luncheon, prepared and served by our youth.

Sunday, May 28 – Coffee after worship.

 

 

Graduates Wanted

 

    Graduation from High school or College is a big step, and a proud achievement for any young person. Here at Finley, we like to celebrate this accomplishment for all our graduates.  Please let us know who is graduating this year, from where, when and possible future plans, so we do not miss anyone. You can call and leave the information at the office (337-3561), email us at finleypc1@verizon.net, or let Dan Matthews or Ann Willey know.  Thanks for helping us recognize our graduating young adults.

 

 

Gulf Coast Mission Trip Update

 

     We are progressing nicely in our planning for the upcoming Gulf Coast Mission Trip from October 7-15.  We will be having our next team meeting on Thursday, May 18 at 6:30 to continue our planning process and finalize the names of those who will be going on the trip.  If you are interested in going with us as a team member, or if you know of someone who wants to go, please let Dan know as soon as possible. 

 

 

Member Involvement Ministry

 

     Our next meeting will be Sunday, May 7 after worship.  Please join us as we finalize our work on the directory and continue to work on our plans and ideas for the remainder of the year.  Bring a lunch on May 7, we will eat together after worship and then begin our work.  We would love to have you join us!

 

 

    Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 pm the 18^th Golden Mile will begin. This is a major fund raiser for the Daily Living Center, an adult day care facility in Waynesboro that serves Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County.  Harry and Ann Colman are happy to provide more information, or accept donations for the support of this much needed service.

 

 

Presbyterian Women

 

    Presbyterian Women will meet Tuesday, May 2 at 7:00 pm. All women are invited. Our Bible study will be Lesson 9, “Pentecost and Ordinary Time" in our study guide.

    Our May offering will go to the Birthday offering which is taken annually in the spring to be sent to the Treasurer of Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery.  The Creative Ministries Offering Committee of Presbyterian Women presents the 2006 Birthday Offering recipients as:

1)     Forman Christian College Women's Hostel, Lahore, Pakistan

2)     Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Inc, Refugee Family Center, Louisville, Kentucky

3)     The River, Johnson City, Tennessee, a place where women with little or no income can meet to listen, learn, laugh, and wash clothes.

4)     Rose Advocates - Maple Tree House, Weiser, Idaho to construct a facility providing a safe haven and services for victims of domestic violence.

5)     Single Parent Resource Center, Inc., New York, N. Y.

    Anyone wishing to donate can give the money to Esther Winton through the meeting May 2.

    Thank you to all who donated items for the group home in Waynesboro. They are greatly appreciated.

    We also will be electing officers and making plans for our Mother's Day Luncheon at the May meeting. Presbyterian Women do not meet during the summer months, but will start again on the 1st Tuesday in September.

 

 

    “Oppression Just Makes Us Stronger” #2

 

    Friends, I want to start out with a big thank you to our Finley Family for the all the support you have given Margie and I in our new work with the Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship. I have felt your prayers and appreciated all of your support.  Dan and I have talked and sometime in the not too distant future we will schedule a time to make available to those interested a time to hear about my recent trip to Central Asia. Please keep an eye out for this in the bulletin if you are interested..

    Below is another short story from a young male pastor, ‘Gazan’ in an underground church with whom I met. This tells something of what it is to be a Christian in Central Asia where being a Christian comes with a cost.  I will let the story speak for itself.

    Our pastors are learning to work together better all the time.  We used not to work together so well, and would argue and disagree about small matters. In the last couple of years, though, we have learned to work together, to pray together, to help each other. We have learned that we share much in common and that much is gained by working together. Last fall the police arrested three of our pastors for “illegal religious activity.” We initially knew about only two arrests; we did not know what happened to the third pastor for a long time. Together we took care of the families. We shared in the burden so that the families of the church leaders in jail would have food and be taken care of. There was a lot of confusion and we made some mistakes. We helped the churches of the arrested pastors to continue to meet and function. The pastors were released after about three months. We are working together to be better prepared for such events in the future.

    I asked ‘Gazan’ what the effect of oppression was on the church. He thought for a moment and stated “Oppression just makes us stronger.” Barley able to find my voice I asked ‘Gazan’  if there was anyway churches in the US could help in this work. He thought for a minute and said “We don’t need your money, we don’t want your money. We want you to pray for us. It is very encouraging to know that people so far away, in the United States would pray for us.”

Blessings ~ Mike

 

 

Attention Scrapbooking Enthusiasts

 

    Scrapbooking downstairs after church on May 21^st!  Bring your supplies and work on your scrapbooks while we fellowship. (And send out for lunch.) Call Julia Crist at 943-1123 for questions.

 

 

Mission and Outreach Ministry

 

    The annual Finley yard sale to help support our children at the Gore Home in Ethiopia is scheduled for Saturday, May 20. Please start saving items to donate to the yard sale; these can be stored downstairs. If you are willing to help work on preparing for the yard sale and/or work during the yard sale, please see Jacquelyn May or Beverley Ellis.  

 

 

Waynesboro Choral Society

Presents

    “35^th Reunion” in the Louis Spilman Auditorium on May  6, 2006 at 7:30 pm and May 7, 2006 at 3:00 pm. Tickets are Adults $6.00, Students$3.00 and are available at Donna’s Hallmark, The Bookstack, Village Green Florist and Waynesboro Rapid Print.

 

 

	Nursery Schedule	Visitation Schedule
May 7	Coble family & Yvonne Simmons	John Gibson & Gloyd May
May 14	Leslie & Lance Allen’ Linda Peery	David Wenner & Don Markle
May 21	Sue & Jessica Brubaker; Gina Henderson	Darlene Bowles
May 28	Karen & Ron Bing-Wo; Esther Winton	Janet Robinette & Doris Willey

 

Usher List

Dan Hatter (CH)
Beryl Lunsford	Ray Snyder
Buck Earhart	Jeff Crist
Shannon Wimer	Art Hendrickson

 

 

 

Middle School Youth Group: Meetings Sunday evenings, 7-8:15 at the Nelson’s.  

 

High School Youth Group:

May 7 – Fellowship and Devotion at the Coble’s from 7-9 pm. Bring your bibles, guitars and friends.

May 14 – prepare and serve Mother’s Day Luncheon after worship.

May 21 – Fellowship & Devotion at the Coble’s from 7-9 pm. Bring your bibles, guitars and friends.

May 28 – Fellowship and Devotion at the Coble’s from 7-9 pm. Bring your bibles, guitars and friends.

 

 

 

Children’s Logic

 

   A grandmother was surprised by her 7-year old grandson one morning. He’d made her coffee. She drank what was the worst cup of coffee in her life. When she got to the bottom, there were three little plastic army men in the cup.

    She said, “Honey, what are the army men doing in my coffee?”

    He said, “Grandma, on TV it says – ‘The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup!’”

 

 

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries in May 2006

May 2006