PresbyNews

Faith Presbyterian Church

Volume 32, Number 7 April 3, 2007

625 Florin Road, Sacramento, CA 95831

916-428-3439

www.faithpresby.org

Faith Happenings

Sunday Services:

9:00 and 11:00

Graded Sunday School  P - 5th  9:00  

Adult Ed 9:30-1030am and 10:30-11:30am

Graded Sunday School P-5th   11:00

Munchies Bible Study 9:00am

Munchies

(Jr. High School Fellowship)

Thursdays 7-9:00pm

Patrick Vaughn

CREW

Sr. High Fellowship

Wednesdays 7-8:30 pm.

Quinn Vaughn

April 5  Maundy Thursday   Dinner at 6:00pm.  Worship at 7:00pm

April 6  Good Friday  4:00pm through 8:00pm  Self Guided tour of the stations of the cross in Link Hall.

April 8  Easter Sunday   Services at 6:30am, 9:00am and 11:00am

April 15  Reception for Sue Nolan after second service

April 28 Rebuilding Together in Meadowview

May 29 Baptism Sunday

Invite a Friend Along This Holy Week

As you may know, there will be several opportunities for our community to gather for worship this coming week.  Perhaps you can consider inviting along some others you know who do not already have a church home.  Though Faith Presbyterian Church regularly majors in hospitality, it seems that this congregation does an extraordinary job at welcoming others during these sorts of celebrations.  Who knows, maybe an invitation is all it would take to have somebody hear about the life-transforming love and grace of Jesus Christ.  As a reminder, here’s our schedule this week:

-Maundy Thursday: Dinner in Link Hall at 6:00.  Worship at 7:00, including the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

-Good Friday: Self-guided prayer and reflection in the sanctuary anytime between 4:00 & 8:00 p.m.

-Easter Sunday: Services, as usual at 9:00 & 11:00.  Also, a very different service will be held at sunrise on our patio (6:30 a.m.), with refreshments and fellowship to follow.

Town Hall to be Held April 29th

Mark your calendars and plan on being here for another Faith Town Hall.  Last year, Session decided to hold at least two of these gatherings a year to give members of the congregation to ask questions or share concerns and joys with the church leadership (i.e. elders and staff).  The Town Hall will be held after each worship service that day.

Help Us say Thank You to Sue Nolan

Sue Nolan, Faith’s office manager, is retiring. Her last day in the office will be April 13th.  If you would like to contribute funds for a farewell gift for Sue, please send them to the church office in an envelope clearly marked “Gift for Sue --- attention Joyce Hathaway.”  They need to arrive by April 11 or you can place them in the offering plate on Sunday, April 8. Make checks payable to Faith Presbyterian church and marked “Sue Nolan Gift”.Also, please note that there will be a reception for Sue on Sunday, April 15th, after the 11:00 worship service.  (By the way, we will be organizing similar opportunities to express our appreciation for May Tucker and Dennis Merwin for their faith service here at Faith.  Listen closely for details to come.)

For Those Who Have Never Been Baptized

(And Even For Those Who Have)

I wanted to let you all know of an exciting decision that our pastors and elders have recently made.  Beginning this year, we have decided that twice a year we are going to schedule Baptism Sundays.  Briefly, here is our thinking.

More and more, we as pastors come across people who have been active in the life of the church but who have never been baptized or have never had their children baptized (in the Presbyterian tradition, we baptize children of believers as well as adult believers).  Part of the reason for this, I’ve become convinced, is that many people simply don’t understand baptism and/or they don’t know how to go about getting baptized. 

On top of this, there are many of us who were baptized long ago, some of us before we even can remember, and yet our baptism is so distant that we seem to have lost connection with the event.  Many people I have met truly long to re-experience their baptism in some way.  To be honest, I’ve often felt the same way.

With these concerns in mind, we are going to hold our first Baptism Sunday on May 27th here in worship at Faith.  That day also happens to be Pentecost, the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to earth and the birth of the church.  On that Sunday we would like to offer two things. 

One, we would like to offer to baptize those who are ready to make a commitment of their life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but who have not already been baptized.  We would also welcome parents who are already committed followers of Jesus Christ to have their children baptized at that same time. 

Two, we are also planning to have all of us who have already been baptized participate in the wonderfully rich (and woefully underutilized) practice of re-affirming our baptismal vows.  This is a practice which many of our Christian brothers and sisters regularly utilize (including our Ethiopian Orthodox friends), but has been recently neglected in our congregation. 

All in all, we think that this Baptism Sunday, and ones that will follow, promise to be wonderful celebrations in the life of our community here at Faith.  If you would like to explore baptism that day for yourself or for your children, please contact me here at church.  We will hold a baptism class on Tuesday evening, May 15th, for all those who would like to be baptized.  This will be an opportunity for us to explore the meaning and significance of this wonderful sacrament.

As always, if you have questions along these lines (or any other lines), don’t hesitate to contact me.  I look forward to worshipping with you, and others you may invite along, this coming Resurrection Sunday!

Grace & Peace,

Jeff

Better Off Red

Beans may be a near-perfect health food---especially if they're red.

We already know that beans are a great source of fiber and vegetable protein.  But

red kidney beans are also stellar when it comes to packing an antioxidant punch.

In fact, red beans are right up there with blueberries when it comes to total

antioxidant value.  So brighten up your salads and stews by tossing in some

crimson-colored beauties.

In additions to red kidney beans, other antioxidant champions

include artichokes, russet potatoes, pinto beans, sweet cherries, plums and

pecans.  What's so great about antioxidants?  They help guard against the cell

damage that can lead to cancer, heart disease, and early aging by swiftly mopping

up free radicals--cell-process by-products that can damage DNA.

Here are some antioxidant winners in a recent study:

Fruits:  Cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Vegetables:  beans (red, kidney, pinto and black) artichokes and

russet potatoes.

Nuts:   Pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts.

Children's Ministry

Parent Meeting April 15th

This will be a short informational meeting in Room 5. Please come and see what is going on at Faith with the kids. Melinda Lewis, Interim C.E. Director, will let us know what’s happening.

Our third graders received their Bibles March 11. We hope they will open their own Bibles and learn about the love of Jesus.

Pam Rock CE Elder.

Questions??? Call Pam Rock, C.E Elder at 393-1493 or Melinda Lewis, C.E. Director at 428-3439   ext 306.

Attention Musicians:

Easter is coming and here are some important rehearsal and performance dates:

 April 5 Maundy Thursday. Adult Choir will perform at 7:00pm  And then rehearse with the Brass Band at 8:00pm in preparation for Easter.

April 8 Easter

                            Sunrise Service               Brass Band         6:30am.

Adult Choir and Brass Band rehearsal at 8:00am to play at both the 9:00am and 11:00am services.

Rebuilding Together

On Saturday April 28, a team of Faith folk will refurbish a house in Meadowview for a person who is unable to do so. Georgianne Becker is signing people up at the Welcome Center in the Narthex. She says about 35 Faith people volunteered last year and that they had a fun time with an amazing sense of accomplishment. Call Georgianne Becker at 393-5906 to be added to the volunteer list.

Family Promise Founder Speaks in Sacramento

Faith Church has been involved with the local and national Family Promise organization for over 2 years.  It was 20 years ago in 1986 that Karen Olson brought together 11 church congregations in New Jersey to begin this program for homeless families called the Interfaith Hospitality Network.  This year the 8th National Conference will be held in Sacramento at the Sheraton Grand Hotel from April 20th to 22nd.  If you would like more information about the conference and the national organization you can obtain it on the national website at: nihn.org. 

Due to the Sacramento location of the conference, Karen Olson will be speaking to the volunteers of Family Promise in our area.  She will make her presentation at Carmichael Presbyterian Church on Sunday April 22nd at 7:00.  A dessert reception will follow at the church.  If you would like to attend please RSVP to Cynthia Crow by phone (392-9141) or email (cynthiacrow@sbcglobal.net) before April 15th.  It is very important that Carmichael Presbyterian know how many people will be attending. 

              The church is near the corner of Fair Oaks Blvd. and Marconi (1/2 block from the Carmichael Library).  Parking is in the rear.  Enter on the far left (west) side via Myrtle.

NETWORKERS MOTHER'S DAY PROJECT

              MOSQUITO NETS FOR AFRICA

    The Presbyterian Women are again this year for Mothers Day (May 13) sponsoring Mosquito Nets for Africa.

The NetWorkers Mother's Project is an opportunity for Presbyterians to help protect

women and children in Africa from malaria, while we honor our own mothers.  Working together,  International Health Ministries and Presbyterian Women make attractive Mother's Day cards available ,  in exchange for donations to NetWorkers Malaria Prevention Program.  Donations to this mission activity provide mosquito nets and malaria prevention education to families in Africa.  Thousands of women and children have been

protected from malaria, thanks to the generosity of Presbyterians who have sent over 100,000 NetWorkers Mothers Day cards to loved ones since the project began in 2001.

    Each year in sub-Saharan Africa, malaria causes more than one million deaths,  most of them are children under five and pregnant women.  Malaria is the number one killer of children under age five in Africa, claiming 3,000 young lives every day.  Women are four times as likely to contact malaria during pregnancy and twice as likely to die from it.  Using insecticide-treated mosquito nets,  coupled with malaria prevention

education, has been shown to significantly reduce these tragic statistics.

     Look for any P.W. woman in the Narthex on Mother's Day (which is May 13) and make a donation to this worthy cause, and receive a Mother's Day card.  We are asking for a $10.00 donation but any amount will be accepted.

Faith Gained All These Members in February and March

Cassandra Kamvon                                Dwayne Thiessen                                   Jennifer Gallagher

Jeri & Lauren Michaelson                                  John & Stephanie Popham                  Joyce Gallagher

Jon & Kathy Coupel                               Meridith Bagdazian               Rebecca Durfee

Richard & Sam Matsunaga                          Rod & Melody Tactaquin                      Lora & Willy Warpness

John, Ann & Erica Noe                                    Kathy Ellis                                          Kristi Culpepper

                                                                                                                 Marianne Jenkins

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Worship Helpers

Published by Faith Presbyterian Church

625 Florin Road, Sacramento CA

(916) 428-3439, FAX 428-0248

www.faithpresby.org

Editing staff:

Jim Park (jamespark02@comcast.net)

Dianne Brown (Sierraskymktg@netscape.net)

Susie Hughes (susan_hughes@synectics.net)

Kathy Pehrson (kkpehrson@yahoo.com)

Marthe Sweet (marthesweet@earthlink.net)

Jeff Chapman, Pastor

Jim Zazzera, Quinn Vaughn and Patrick Vaughn

Associate Pastors

Worship 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.

Presby-NewsPublished twice monthly

Faith Presbyterian Church