Casting My Care

By M. S. Lowndes

Lord, I continually set before you,
My requests and all my needs
With thanksgiving I come unto you,
My concerns unburdened to thee.

I wait for your intervention, Lord,
In quietness of soul and mind
And worship at your footstool,
Leaving my cares behind.

And Lord, I express my thanks for you,
For all you are to me,
I thank you, Lord, that I matter to you,
Though at times, I cannot see.

Because of the circumstances in life,
The things that I go through,
I find my eyes are on the storm,
When they should be looking to you.

So help me, Lord, each precious day,
no matter what life brings me,
To carry on with hope and faith
And to rest in you with peace.

Worship Notes

Upcoming Worship

Worship Services.

• January 8 - Communion - Rev. Edward McNulty

• January 15 - Josh Sweeney

• January 22 - Rev. Edward McNulty

• January 29 - TBA

Combined Church Services

This year we will celebrate New Year’s worship services in combination with the St Luke Presbyterian Church congregation. We will worship together at St Luke Presbyterian Church, 280 N. Breiel Blvd on New Year’s morning at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Dick Sedgwick preaching.

Fellowship Hour

Join us for Fellowship Hour in the Gathering Area before or after the worship service on Sundays. Stop by for fellowship and refreshments and snacks.

Session Notes

Session met on December 15. Armed with information from Presbytery on various descriptions of pastoral options, we began to discern what might be best for our congregation. There is a newer category in addition to Interim Pastor, called Designated Pastor, which seemed to be the group's consensus. This would allow the Designated Pastor to lead our congregation for a 3-year time period with the possibility of being called to serve as the Installed Pastor after that time, if that were to be the wish of the congregation. During previous pastoral searches, the Interim Pastor could not be called as Installed Pastor. We will continue to meet with Shelley Wiley from Presbytery, currently serving as our Moderator, and Marc van Bulck from the Presbytery's Commission on MInistry. Your Session members are Larry Anderson, Anne Frantz, Marty Hensler, Lynne Mack, Barb Nein, Tricia Neeley, Tina Newlin, Julie Ramsey, Bill Roggenkamp, Tim Rudd, Allan Smillie, Darrell Templeton, Sarah Thornbery and Rod Thomson. Pray for our Session as they go about this important work of the church.

Notes from the Director of Music

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and blessed new year! We are looking forward to more inspiring and beautiful music.

Sanctuary Choir practice resumes on Wednesday, January 11, at 7:30 p.m.

Joyce, Janet, Brian, and Susan

Christian Education Notes

Shadow & Light: Cocoa, Cookies, and Carols!

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” - John 1:5 Thank you to all who participated in this event on December 18! It was especially fun to include some mix & mingle activities from the Playology event in September. Everyone left with a little extra sparkle as we carried the Light with us in celebration of the coming Christ Child and Epiphany! The luminarias on Fisher Ave. were a beautiful expression of Light in the darkness, God with us. Thanks be!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study for Advent

Weekly Bible Study will resume January 10 in the Youth Room at 10:00 a.m. In December, we enjoyed exploring the Godly Play stories of Creation, Advent, and Baptism paired with other scripture passages as we reflected on the theme, “Shadow & Light.” Inspired by some of the planning efforts for the spring youth retreat, our study in January will explore familiar stories from new perspectives.

Wednesday Fellowship and Knitting

An informal group of people from the church knit and crochet at Triple Moon Coffee, 1100 Central Avenue, around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. If you are interested in joining this group, contact Lisa Kaufer.

Wednesday Prayer

We meet for a time of prayer in the Memorial Room at 1:00 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays each month. All are welcome!

In-person Nursery Care and Sunday School

The Christian Education Committee continues to prayerfully consider and implement safe practices to support the full participation of all ages. We continue to require universal indoor masking in these classrooms by all individuals (age 2 and older), regardless of vaccination status.

• Nursery Care is available for infants and children up to 5 years old, located next to Room 110. Two childcare workers, Monique Watkins and Ingrid Cuadra, provide exceptional care for which we are grateful. (Nursery Care will not be provided on January 1.)

• Sunday School (children ages 6-12) is offered most Sundays* in the Godly Play Room following the Passing of the Peace at which time leaders will escort children to Sunday School. When worship concludes, parents/guardians will need to come to the Godly Play Room to pick up their child(ren). (*Note: This month, Sunday School will meet on 1/15, 1/22, 1/29. We especially want to include children and youth in special worship celebrations such as Communion, etc.)

Christian Education Team: Sharon Dowden, Lisa Kaufer, Barb Nein, Martha Robertson, Ann Veith.

Odds and Ends

Men’s Monthly Meeting

Men’s Monthly Meeting is an opportunity for the men of the church to get together and socialize over dinner. On Tuesday, January 10, the meeting will be at Wildwood Golf Club, 601 Aberdeen, at 5:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

In Memoriam

We give thanks to God for the life of. . .

. . . Mary Enochs, who died on December 22.

Online Calendar

The church calendar is now online! Go to https://www.fpcmiddletown.com/calendar.