FINLEY FOCUS

September 2007

Founded 1891 Picture by Karen Brown

From the Editor’s Desk

Just a little note about how the Finley Focus is published. In order to include all activities for a month, and give everyone a chance to plan to attend meetings, etc., we try to print the Focus for the last Sunday of the previous month. For example, if you are at worship, you are receiving this September publication on the last Sunday of August. This means that plans for upcoming activities need to be to the church office for inclusion by the last Saturday, AT THE LATEST! So in order to keep everyone informed and involved, we need to work together to get information out in a timely manner.

This is YOUR Finley Focus, and all articles, stories, poems or items of interest are welcome. Please feel free to send in suggestions, information or written items. Don’t forget, if something has been previously published by another author, that does not mean it is in the public domain and can be freely reprinted.

I am very grateful, and feel blessed, for all the help and support I receive for this communication ministry. Thank you all.

Special Note to High School seniors: If you are interested in a possible scholarship to Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA (a liberal arts college related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)) please ask Ann Willey for further info. They offer a 4-year, $60,000 scholarship to students; you must have a 3.5 GPA or higher, be a PC(USA) member and be nominated by our congregation. This nomination must be submitted by 10/31, and student applications are due 11/15, so don’t delay if you think you are interested.

We are beginning our Fall Sunday School classes; there will be classes for all ages, so please plan on joining us at 9:45 Sunday mornings to learn more about faith and God’s Word.

From the Frontier

At the Crossroads

Friends,

Over the past couple of years you may have read or heard me speak of Mutabar. I have met with Mutabar and her husband on several occasions in my two trips to Central Asia. Mutabar is an amazing, brilliant, courageous, and faithful woman and is constantly startling me with things she says.

When she was telling of her young children being very fearful of their father’s impending arrest she paused thoughtfully and said “but that is a good thing, the children need to know what it is to be a Christian in (the country).”

Some months later we received an email from Mutabar talking about a raid on “believers” at the University where she and her husband serve. She described how 15 students and professors were implicated, and how some were in hiding from the government and how some were facing the government in different ways. She and her husband were being harassed and the secret police were harassing Mutabar’s extended family over the incident. Mutabar concludes the email by again startling me with her words “…but this is a good thing, God does not need weak Christians in (name of country).”

It seems to me Finley has been on a bit of a roller coaster these last several months. Lots of things have happened, some of it very quickly. Perhaps like many of you, I do not know or understand many of the details. I sincerely hope that Dan finds exactly the job that he feels is right for him and I hope and pray for the well being of the whole family that is predictably going through a difficult time of adjustment and change.

I have been encouraged by what seems to me positive energy at Finley in the past several weeks. People are smiling, people are sharing ideas, people are planning, and conducting the business of the church. I am excited. I sense there are a lot of people excited about moving to the next place at Finley, whatever that turns out to be.

What would Mutabar say about Finley today? I am not sure but she might say something like: “but this is a good thing, Finley Memorial needs to listen anew and respond with freshness and energy to what ever God is calling them to in God’s plan for their future.”

We are blessed to be a blessing, together ~ mike

Handbell Choir – Third Octave Purchase

We made it! Thanks to your generous support we have paid for the new octave of bells, and are excited and ready to begin practicing and learning new music to share with our congregation. We have a lot of Christmas music planned, and will be looking over a number of new pieces when we begin practice on Tuesday, August 28 at 7pm. Thank you again for helping to expand our ministry of worship through music!

Our monthly Men’s Fellowship Breakfast will be served on Sunday, September 2, at 8:30 am. All men are encouraged to join us for food, fellowship and service. We are having a speaker this month from Rebuilding Together Greater Augusta. This is an organization that helps low-income elderly and disabled homeowners and families with children with repairs and maintenance on their homes to keep them warm, safe and dry. We will learn how we can help through sharing our skills and/or donations to support this program. If you have not attended yet, or not in a while, consider making time to attend this month and learn about a local program helping local people in need.

Don’t forget to pick up your pictorial directory in the narthex!

THE HUNGER SITE: Charitable giving that doesn’t cost you a cent!

For those of you concerned about world hunger, there is a quick and easy way for you to contribute everyday. Visit www.thehungersite.org and learn about how you can contribute to feeding hungry families around the world. There are 2 ways to contribute that only cost you the time it takes to point and click your mouse.

1. Click daily to help.

The world produces enough food for everyone. Yet over 800 million people remain chronically hungry. The Hunger Site was founded in 1999 to focus the power of the Internet on a specific humanitarian need; the eradication of world hunger. With a simple daily click on the gold button at www.TheHungerSite.com, you can give over a cup of free food to someone in need. It costs you nothing! Site sponsors fund the food your clicks generate. 100% of sponsor funding is given to the nonprofit organizations Mercy Corps and America’s Second Harvest. These leading hunger-relief charities work in over 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America. Annually, they reach 35 million people in need.

By clicking just one time each day on the big yellow button, you generate cups of food paid for, not by you, but by the site’s sponsors. Sponsors consist of various businesses, industries, and organizations.

2. Shop to help more.

Every purchase in The Hunger Site store also generates funding to help the hungry through the work of Mercy Corps and America’s Second Harvest. At least 25 cups of food are given with every item! Shop our unique collections of gifts, jewelry, clothing, home décor items, garden accessories, and seasonal decorations from the comfort of home. Every item automatically generates funding to fight hunger, and those found in our Fair Trade and Gifts That Give More™ collections do even more by directly supporting those in need.

Links:

Mercy Corps and American’s Second Harvest: Visit www.mercycorps.org and www.secondharvest.org for more information about hunger worldwide and the work these organizations do to bring hope and health to those in need.

There are other causes that you can contribute to on The Hunger Site. These work the same way and are displayed as tabs across the top of The Hunger Site.

Breast Cancer: one click helps fund free mammograms for women in need.

Child Health: one click helps provide basic healthcare to children around the world.

Literacy: one click helps provide free books to needy children through the organization ‘First Book’.

Rainforest: one click helps provide funds to purchase and preserve endangered land.

Animal Rescue: one click helps provide food for animals who have been rescued or are in animal sanctuaries.

To learn more details about the specific services being provided by these sites, click on one of the tabs and then click on ‘About This Site’.

Consider making www.thehungersite your web homepage so that each day when you access the internet, this site will come up and provide you the opportunity to click on the tab of your choice.

You can also choose an option for The Hunger Site to send you an e-mail reminder each day with a link to this site, so you won’t forget to click and make your contribution. Remember, it takes no money, only a quick click to ensure that the site’s sponsors make contributions.

Youth News

Middle School Youth Group: Meeting at Beth Gibson’s house, 7-8:15. Don’t forget to invite your friends!

High School Youth Group:  THERE WILL BE NO YOUTH LABOR DAY WEEKEND (Sun., Sept. 2), but we’ll resume weekly meetings on Sun., Sept. 9, 7-9 pm at the Cobles house.

	Nursery Schedule	Visitation Schedule
Sept. 2	Greg & Amy Allen; Carolyn Palmer	Janet Robinette & Doris Willey
Sept. 9	Darlene Bowles, Jill Matthews & Kathy Boswell	Marjorie Shreckhise
Sept. 16	Karen & Ron Bing-Wo, Esther Winton	Esther Winton & Beverley Ellis
Sept. 23	Leslie & Lance Allen, Linda Peery	John Gibson & Gloyd May
Sept. 30	Allison & Randy Fink; Jacquelyn May	David Wenner & Don Markle

Donnie McCormick (CH)
Mike Robison	Steve Nelson
Paul Swink	David Seaman

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1
2 Jill Matthews’ Birthday	3 Samantha Simmons’ Birthday	4 Denise Brady’s Birthday	5	6	7	8
9	10	11 Matthew Alexander’s Birthday Art & Shirley Hendrickson’s Anniversary	12	13	14	15
16 Amanda Willey’s, Drew Matthews’ & Amy Allen’s Birthday	17	18	19 Caitlin Brady’s Birthday	20	21	22 Ray & Jane Schumin’s Anniversary
23	24	25	26	27	28 Daniel Alexander’s Birthday	29
30

2007

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1
2 Men’s Breakfast 8:30am 4¢-a-Meal	3 Labor Day	4 Presbyterian Women 7pm Bell Choir 7pm	5 Chancel choir practice 7:30pm	6	7	8
9 Christian Education Week begins Grandparents’ Day	10 Session 7 pm	11 Bell Choir 7pm	12 Chancel choir practice 7:30pm	13	14	15
16	17	18 Bell Choir 7pm	19 Chancel choir practice 7:30pm Focus article deadline	20	21 International Day of Peace	22
23	24	25 ‘See you at the Pole’ 6pm at Stump Elementary Bell Choir 7pm	26 Chancel choir practice 7:30pm	27	28	29
30 CROP Walk

Potato Pancakes

6 medium potatoes 1 small onion

2 eggs 1-1/2 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper ¼ tsp nutmeg

1 T cornstarch ¼ cup oil

Place all ingredients except oil in blender and blend till smooth. Heat oil to 375 (should be about ¼” deep in pan). Use ¼ cup batter for each pancake. Fry slowly, turning once, 3-5 minutes until crisp and golden.

8 servings

*These are scrumptious with apple sauce and/or sour cream as garnishes.

Garlic Cheese Log

Mix: 8 oz. softened cream cheese with 2 dashes garlic powder

Form into log shape, cover and place in frig overnight.