FINLEY
FOCUS
May
2007
Founded 1891
Picture by
From
the Pastor’s Desk
When I lived in
One day, as I was sitting out
watching the planes come in to land, I looked out into the sky and saw a Boeing
747 on final approach, and, yes, a 747 is a big plane, one of the biggest that
comes and goes at the
As the 747 passed over my head to a
safe landing on the runway, I could still hear and feel the invisible wind
rushing off the wingtips, swirling all around me. The technical term for this invisible wind
that comes off the wingtips is called vortices.
The vortices are made as the air passes over the wing and off the
wingtips, which continues to swirl even after the plane passes. It is this invisible wind which keeps a plane
in the air and makes it possible for a plane to fly. (Yes, Engineers and Pilots, I know that
planes also need thrust.) But whatever
you want to call the invisible wind, it is life to the plane. Without the invisible wind over the wings, an
airplane cannot and will not fly.
In the Bible, there are two great
words for wind. One is found in the Old
Testament, especially in Genesis 1:2, which says, "the earth was formless
void and darkness covered the face of the deep while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters." This word for wind is the Hebrew word, ruwach. But ruwach (roo’-akh) means much more
than wind, it means “spirit” or literally “breath of God.”
The second word is found in the New
Testament, especially in Acts 2:2, which says, "And suddenly from heaven
came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,
and it filled the entire house where the disciples were sitting." This word for wind is the Greek word, pnuema.
But pnuema (pnyoo’ mah) also means much more than wind. In fact, like ruwach, it also means
“spirit” or literally “breath of God.”
Whatever you call it, the ruwach or pnuema of God, is
life, not to a plane, but to us.
It is the driving force of the
Spirit or breath of God, which goes over, through, and around us that lifts our
hearts and minds to heaven and unites us with Christ. Just like airplanes cannot and will not fly
without the invisible wind, we cannot and will not be lifted up without the
power and presence of the breath of God, the same breath of God that swept over
the waters at the beginning of creation, the same breath of God that filled the
disciples on the day of Pentecost.
As you go through your life with the living Christ, do not be afraid to put your gear down, extend your flaps and speed brakes, and pull back on the power relying solely on the sheer force of the power and breath of God to keep you up in the air and to bring you in for a safe landing. And as you pass by others and witness to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let the last sound they hear be the sound of the invisible, swirling wind of the Holy Spirit, which we know as the breath of God.
May
the Spirit of Christ be with you,
Dan
Summer Sunday School
TEACHERS NEEDED!!
To start with, we would like to thank all of the
dedicated Christian leaders that have been teaching the Sunday school classes
each week from September through May.
Summer Sunday school will start the first Sunday in June
and run through the first Sunday in September. The class will be an
intergenerational class for all of the youth of the church. We will meet in the basement at
In order to give the teachers of the youth classes a
break we are asking volunteers to teach the class during the summer. There is a sign-up sheet on the board under
the Windows Three, and on the bulletin board in the narthex. Everyone who is interested can sign up to
teach one or more weeks. High school
youth are invited to join the intergenerational class or if they prefer they can
sign up to teach the class.
If you have never taught a youth Sunday school class you
have no idea what you are missing! This
will give you the opportunity to get to know the youth of the church; you can
make a difference in the life of a child!
When you became a member of Finley, you became part of the church
family. All of us are responsible for
the spiritual upbringing of the youth in our Church. Please do your part and volunteer to teach
for a week or more this summer; you might make memories that you or a child
will never forget!
If you are not volunteering because you think you do not
know how to teach or do not know what to teach, do not worry we have that
covered! We will have an easy to follow
curriculum so that even someone that has never taught Sunday school can follow
it without any problems. If you have any
questions please contact Sue Brubaker or Don Markle, we will be happy to answer
any questions that you have.
May the Lord bless you and keep you safe from all harm.
Sue Brubaker and Don
Markle
Christian Education
Learn about God’s Word
On
any given Sunday morning at Finley, you will find 7 to 9 able teachers
dedicated to doing the work God has given us all to do; spread the gospel. These
teachers are here with lessons prepared and the only complaint I ever hear from
them is that sometimes no one shows up to listen, learn and share their
efforts.
Proverbs 22:6 says “bring up your children in the ways of
the Lord and when they are older they will not stray from them.” I believe our
Sunday school program is helping to do just that, nurturing our children as
each one of us promised to do when we stood up in response to that question at
their baptisms. Most of us learned the stories and lessons of the Bible as
small children either in the home or in a Sunday school setting and have kept
these important stories and lessons with us as we have grown. These important
lessons go a long way in helping us make right decisions as we grow and are faced
with difficult situations.
There are many activities today that compete for our time,
but I believe we all make time for the things we think are important to our
families or us. Sometimes the opportunity to sleep in a little longer or relax
and have another cup of coffee on Sunday morning can be very appealing, but I
ask you to remember that there are those who took time to prepare a lesson for
you and your children. They are giving of their time because they feel this is
important.
Presently, on an average Sunday morning at Finley these 7
– 9 teachers I mentioned earlier would have an opportunity to teach 11 children
and 15 adults. On this same Sunday morning, our Sunday school roster shows 75
children, and our membership roll shows approximately 200 total members. Yet,
only 25-30 people make it to Sunday school. I hope this is not an example of
the importance we put on taking the time to get up on Sunday morning and bring
our children as well as ourselves to Sunday school.
It is surely very
clear that this letter was written with the hopes and expectations of getting
more children involved in our Sunday school programs. Of course, they cannot
drive themselves, so when you bring them, you now have the chance to join one
of our two adult classes. In doing so
you become an example to your children. I hope you will all decide to become
more involved with our Sunday school programs
Thanks,
David
Brubaker
Sunday
School Superintendent
A musical
note from Elise:
On Friday evening, May 11 at
There is no admission fee for the concert,
but a love offering will be taken and the money received will be shared between
the Randolph Macon Chamber Singers and the Finley Bell Choir. The bell choir,
as you know, has committed to the purchase of another octave of bells and will
use their share of the money received at this concert to help offset the cost
of the bells.
Transportation will be provided to the
event for those people who either do not drive or who do not drive at night
(young and old alike). We just need to know who you are. So, please either call
the church and leave a message with your phone number or sign the
"Request for Transportation" register in your pew so that we can
contact you to set up transportation for you.
Please, consider honoring your mother or
her memory by being at Finley on that Friday night and by sharing a ride with
someone else who might otherwise not be able to attend. I hope to see you there
and encourage you to get the word out about this event to the rest of the
community.
2006
Relay for Life
May 18-19 there will be a local RELAY FOR
LIFE at
Everyone is invited to join us (no
reservations required!) for our annual Mother’s Day luncheon after worship on
Sunday, May 13. Our youth will be preparing and serving the meal, and they
always do a wonderful job! This will be our only fellowship lunch in May; there
will not be a luncheon on the last Sunday. Please make the time to attend this
special event and celebrate our moms and all the love and care they have given
us.
Our prayer chain is being re-organized. If
you would like to join this group to pray for needs of our church family as
well as community friends and family, please notify Jacquelyn at 337-0935 (H)
or 949-8187 (W) or smithjb@ntelos.net. Thanks to all who pray with us now –
your time is greatly appreciated.
Presbyterian Women will meet on Tuesday,
May 1 at
We are collecting paper products (toilet
paper, paper towels, tissues, etc.) and cleaning products (Lysol, Windex,
Pledge, Mr. Clean, etc.) for the Presbyterian group home in
In May, the Presbyterian women will have a
birthday celebration! In 1922, a leader of women’s work saw a need at a girls’
school in
- Hope’s Promise Orphan Ministries,
- National Organization of the Korean Presbyterian
Women, House of Peace in
- Living Waters for the World, Clean Water U
Program Expansion in
Finley’s Presbyterian Women
welcome all who would like to participate in this celebration. Donations may be
given to any PW member.
Handbell
Choir – Third Octave Purchase
Our Handbell choir is expanding our musical
horizons! The Session has approved the purchase of a third octave of
Schulmerich handbells to add to the two octaves of handbells given to Finley by
the Shipp family in memory of James H. Shipp, Jr. in 1983. The cost of the
third octave and necessary accessories totals $3,450.
We would like to ask for your help in
meeting our goal of raising $3,450 by July 1st. So far $700 has been
received. This leaves $2,750 to go. For those interested there is the option to
“Buy-A-Bell,” where one contributes the cost of a particular bell ($166-$366)
and a plaque will be installed on the case. Contact Ann Willey for details.
Contributions of any amount may be given with the weekly offering or mailed to
the church with “Handbell Fund” designated on the checks. If you have any
questions please contact
Our monthly Men’s Fellowship Breakfast will
be served on Sunday, May 6, at
Youth News
Middle School Youth Group:
Meetings will
be at the Nelson’s house Sunday nights at
High School Youth Group: Fellowship & Devotion at the Coble’s
We will prepare and serve our annual
Mother’s Day lunch after worship on Sunday, May 13.
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Nursery Schedule |
Visitation Schedule |
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May 6 |
Leslie & |
Marjorie Shreckhise |
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May 13 |
Allison & |
Esther Winton &
Beverley Ellis |
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May 20 |
Sue & Jessica
Brubaker; Gina Henderson |
John Gibson & Gloyd
May |
|
May 27 |
Coble family & |
David Wenner & Don
Markle |
|
Dan
Hatter (CH) |
Jeff Crist |
|
|
Buck Earhart |
|
Ray Snyder |
Art Hendrickson |
|
Shannon Wimer |
|
PERFECT
POTATO SALAD
6 medium baking potatoes
½ cup mayonnaise
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons minced onions
(optional)
1 teaspoon mustard (I like
to use half dry mustard and half brown (prepared) mustard. All dry makes a
spicier salad)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup milk
About 1 hour before serving, or early in the
day, bring potatoes to a boil (unpeeled) in water to cover. Cover and reduce
heat to medium-low and cook 25-30 minutes. Drain. Cool slightly. Peel potatoes
and cut into bite sized chunks. In large bowl, mix mayo, salt, vinegar, onion,
mustard, pepper and milk. Stir in potatoes. Tastes great warm or cold.
Bon appétit!
When doubling, cut
salt to 2 teaspoons total.
A school
teacher asked a boy this question about fractions: “Suppose your mother baked
an apple pie, and there were seven of you – your parents and five children.
What part of the pie would you get?
“A sixth,
Ma’am,” the boy answered.
“But there
are seven of you,” said the teacher. “Don’t you know anything about fractions?”
“Yes,”
replied the boy, “I know all about fractions, but I know all about Mother, too.
She would say she did not want any pie.”
-First Christian Church
Birthdays and Anniversaries in
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Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
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|
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1 Kati Robison’s & Alisha Alcala’s
Birthday |
2 Lauren Brady’s Birthday |
3 |
4 Doris Willey’s Birthday |
5 LeAnne Wenner’s Birthday John Mimms & Mary Beth Early’s
Anniversary |
|
6 Paul Swink’s Birthday |
7 Allison Fink’s Birthday |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 Emily Nelson’s & Steve Nelson’s
Birthday |
|
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 Lance & |
24 |
25 Ben Coble’s Birthday |
26 |
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27 Shirley Meijer’s Birthday |
28 |
29 |
30 Ben Schumin’s Birthday |
31 |
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Life is a
splendid gift. There is nothing small in it. For the greatest grow by God’s law
from the smallest. But to live your fife, you must discipline it. You must not
fritter it away. Make your thoughts, your words, your actions work toward the
same ed – not self, but God and others.
-
2007
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Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
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1 Presbyterian Women |
2 Chancel Choir practice |
3 National Day of Prayer |
4 |
5 |
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6 Men’s Breakfast 4¢-a-Meal |
7 |
8 |
9 Chancel Choir practice |
10 |
11 |
12 |
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13 Mother’s Day Luncheon after worship |
14 Session |
15 Pray for the Nations |
16 Chancel Choir practice |
17 |
18 |
19 |
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20 |
21 |
22 |
23 Chancel Choir practice Focus article deadline |