Hang it on the Cross

By Lisa O. Engelhardt

If you have a secret sorrow,
A burden or a loss,
An aching need for healing…
Hang it on the Cross.

If worry steals your sleep,
And makes you turn and toss,
If your heart is feeling heavy…
Hang it on the Cross.

Every obstacle to faith
Or doubt you come across,
Every prayer unanswered…
Hang it on the Cross.

For Christ has borne
Our brokenness
And dearly paid the cost,
To turn our trials to triumph…
Hanging on the Cross.

Worship Notes

Upcoming Worship

Worship Services.

• February 5 - Communion - Rev. Randall Brakemeyer

• February 12 - Rev. Ed McNulty

• February 19 - Josh Sweeney

• February 22 - Ash Wednesday Service - Rev. Ed McNulty

• February 26 - Lisa Kaufer

Fellowship Hour

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

Session Notes

Your Session met on January 19 with Shelley Wiley, Pastor at Slifer Presbyterian Church, as our Moderator. Assigned by Presbytery, she will be guiding us during this time of transition. Items considered:

• Held discussion regarding next steps in the search for a new pastor.  A Pastor Nominating Committee will need to be appointed and called by vote of our congregation.

• Marty Hensler, chair of Administration and Personnel, is meeting monthly with our church staff.  Sandy Fisher has worked to find pulpit supply pastors and worship assistants through April.  She is also meeting with the Deacons to provide some coordination at this time.

• Accepted reports from various committees, including plans for the Lenten Season, thanks to Christian Education and Worship and Music.

• Reviewed the financial reports and approved the proposed budget for 2023.

Please continue to pray for your Session members as they work to further God's will for our church.

Notes from the Director of Music

“Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds.” Psalm 98:1

“Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing., It finds an echo in my soul, How can I keep from singing?” (Quote from “How Can I keep from Singing” by “Pauline T” and Robert Lowry). This text is asking us how can we keep from making music? The answer is, we can never stop making music. In this topsy-turvy tumultuous time, the Music Ministry Team (both staff and volunteers) have stepped up to continue to praise God with wonderful music each Sunday. We hope and pray that each Sunday there is something in the music and the lyrics that touches each of you in a special way. We will continue to do our best to praise and glorify God and to lift up this congregation with our music. “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds.” Psalm 98:1

The season of Lent begins with an informal Ash Wednesday Service in the Gathering Area. The Lenten lunches will be on each Wednesday in March. The theme this year is “Poems, Prayers, and Pastries”. Bring a sack lunch and be inspired by the poems, prayers, and fellowship.

Holy Week will begin on Palm Sunday, April 2. On Maundy Thursday, April 6, the combined choirs of First Presbyterian and St. Luke Presbyterian Churches will present the beautiful and inspiring “From the Shadows.” Palm Sunday and Easter will follow with wonderful music presented by the Sanctuary Choir, Renaissance Ringers, and instrumentalists. More information about Holy Week will be in the March PresbyNews. What a wonderful time to come together to worship our risen Lord!

Christian Education Notes

Journeying Together during the Lenten Season

The mystery of Easter is such a big mystery that the church sets aside six weeks as a time of getting ready. People can walk right through a mystery without even realizing it. We hope you will join us in the many opportunities to gather in community as we share this journey to Jerusalem during the season of Lent.

Palm-burning, February 19, following worship

Come to the courtyard by the entrance in the Gathering Area and participate in a simple prayer and burning of the palms as we prepare for Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday Prayer Gatherings, February 22

Please join us for a time of welcome, prayer, and invitation to receive the imposition of ashes at 1:00 p.m. in the Memorial Room and 6:30 p.m. in the Gathering Area.

Lenten Lunch Series: Poems, Prayers, and Pastries!

We value gathering during the season of Lent and sharing fellowship and faith together. In this season of transition, a new idea formed, honoring the tradition of the Lenten Lunches in a new way. In this new format hosted by The Purple Table, you are invited to bring your own lunch along with a poem or prayer you might like to share during the event. Coffee, tea, and pastries will be provided. Our event hosts will guide us through a time of welcome with an opening poem, an invitation for others to share their poems and prayers, and a closing prayer or blessing. Invite your friends to this time of fellowship and a shared meal. It will certainly be fun to hear the variety of poems and prayers offered in this shared journey in faith and community.

What is The Purple Table? The Purple Table is a pop-up welcome space, online and in-person, that builds community, affirms, and supports healing. Let us encourage one another as we play, share stories, listen, and find a way through life and faith, together!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study for Lent

This month, weekly Bible Study will meet in the Youth Room at 10:00 a.m. on February 7, 14, and 21 (no meeting on 2/28.) Inspired by some of the planning efforts for the spring youth retreat, our current study continues to explore familiar stories from new perspectives. In March, we’ll begin a new study as we journey through Lent.

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.

• Sunday School (children ages 6-12) is offered most Sundays* in the Godly Playroom 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 Playroom to pick up their child(ren). (*Note: This month, Sunday School will meet on 2/12, 2/19, & 2/26. We especially want to include children and youth in special worship celebrations such as Communion, etc.)

PYC Retreat at Kirkmont: April 14-16, 2023

Students in grades 7-12 are invited to this retreat hosted by our Presbytery’s Presbyterian Youth Connection. We’ll explore familiar Bible stories in a new way through the theme “Be Curious.” We look forward to keynote leadership from Marcus Hong, who serves at Louisville Theological Seminary as the Director of Field Education and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology. Marcus is also the Project Director for a new grant to facilitate innovation in youth ministry that emerges out of a collaborative, co-creative, and embodied way of being together inspired by the ideals and practice of community-engaged art. Students and adults from our congregation at First Presbyterian Church, Middletown are part of the Planning Team, and we are so excited to share this adventure with you!

Women’s Spiritual Nurture Retreat at Kirkmont: April 21-23

Registration is now open! Would you like to spend a weekend growing in relationship with God and with other women in our Presbytery and beyond? Are you in need of rest, renewal, and recreation? Are you interested in learning more about God’s call for us as stewards of the living creation? With the theme, “Creation: Help! Thanks! Wow!”, and leader Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Nowak, we will share time in study, fellowship, and a variety of activities! All who participated last year found the weekend to be deeply meaningful, and we hope you’ll join us in April!

For more information about Faith Formation opportunities, contact Lisa Kaufer (lisa@fpcmiddletown.com).

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, February 14, 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. . .

. . . Isabel Bursk, who died on January 16

. . . Mildred Miller, who died on January 17

. . . John Stitzel, who died on January 21

Online Calendar

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