august 2017 - montgomery presbyterian...

The Montgomery Presbyterian Church Newsletter

THE CHIMES

AUGUST 2017

The Sixth Great End of the Church:

The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World The guiding team has gathered input from members and the community to discern MPC’s role. On July 16th, members of Session, Deacons and the Guiding Team met in a session facilitated by Troy Bronsink, a founder of The Hive, an alternative wor-ship community formed by the Presbytery of Cincinnati. Specifically, based on our guiding team work, this session focused on steps MPC can take to increase its posi-tion as a community resource and venue. MPC serves the community by hosting Boy Scouts, Skyward Academy and New Horizons Orchestra. Churches once held the position of the community meeting place where neighbors caught up with one anoth-er. Today, churches are rarely in neighborhoods. Many find their community venue at places like Starbucks – where they most often sit in silence with one another – or in megachurches, where membership is so widespread that the only common communi-ty is the church. In trying to expand MPC as a community resource, our workshop first focused on the MPC story we hear ourselves most often telling: welcoming, hospitable, friendly, physical and emotional help, thoughtful, caring for families with long term needs, good food, good music, and needing more families with children. Second, we dis-cussed the rewards of holding on to this story: community, support, stability, com-fort, fellowship, relationships, finding your voice and opportunities for leadership. Lastly, we discussed the costs of holding on to this story: fear of confrontation, fear of change, fear of accepting anything new or different, so caring that our focus is al-ways inward, overconfident, and focusing on each other on Sundays so we some-times miss talking with visitors. At MPC, we welcome our neighbors through our amazing fish fries and beautiful Wassail Hour, but we want to be more to the community. We are talking with Sky-ward about optimizing the use of our “backyard” and just received news the Special Olympics wants to install a Bocce Ball Court along one side of the yard. To increase community engagement, we are hosting an End of Summer Celebration on Saturday, August 26. We will send invitations to all our neighbors for a celebra-tion including ice cream and games, and, depending on logistics, a family friendly movie in the evening. This day will focus on interacting with the community and members engaging our neighbors in conversation. We seek to determine from our neighbors how MPC can become a community resource and venue. We are considering other ways to engage the community on an on-going basis like hosting the Montgomery Farmers’ Market in our fellowship hall during the winter months. We would need volunteers to serve on the Farmers’ Market board if we want to proceed down this path. We hope these acts of outreach help us to demon-strate The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World and also bring MPC and its neighbors closer together.

Beth Doebereiner and Greg Simpson Session Elders

SUNDAY

SCHEDULE

Adult Christian

Education 8:45 am

Coffee & Fellowship:

10am-10:25am

Worship: 10:30am-11:30 am

Children are dismissed

for Godly Play on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th

Sundays

To receive the newsletter via

email, forward your email address to

[email protected] with the subject line:

“NEWSLETTER”

CALENDAR 2

MPC EVENTS 3-4

PRESBYTERY 5

COMMUNITY 6

AUGUST 2017

S u n d a y M o n d a y T u e s d a y W e d n e s d a y T h u r s d a y F r i d a y S a t u r d a y

1 2 3 4 5

Ladies Circle, 12pm

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Bethel Murdoch Ice Cream

10:30a-11:30a: Worship Lunch Bunch, 12pm Social (performance by Men

of Montgomery)

Service and Celebration of

Communion

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Back to School for kids at Memorial Service for Marjorie

10:30a-11:30a: Skyward Academy Ferrari, 11am (visitation at

10am)

Worship Service

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Habitat for Humanity Work

10:30a-11:30a: Worship Day

Service End of Summer Celebration

Session

27 28 29 30 31

Choir rehearsals resume,

10:30a-11:30a: Worship 6:30pm

Service

AUGUST 2017 MPC EVENTS

2017 MPC Picnic

Thank you to all who came out to enjoy the fun

and fellowship at the MPC Picnic. Thanks to all

who brought food; to Kami, Mitch and Quinn

Mitchell and Mike Doebereiner, who set up the

pavilion so it was all ready when we arrived; and to those who stayed behind to help clean up.

HALF YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Acknowledgement of donations for the first six months of 2017 are being generated and will be mailed out

soon. Please contact the office if you have any questions or corrections upon receipt of your statement.

WANTED: A FEW GOOD MEN (& WOMEN) This year as part of the children’s CE

program we would like to have a guest

teacher once a month. This will give the

kids a chance to get to know some of

the other adults in our church be-sides

Pam Koester and me, Kay Sad- ler. So, if you have a talent you can share with them, they would enjoy some new experiences. If you play a particular instru-ment, if you like to garden, if you’re an old boy scout who can tie knots, we welcome you to share with the kids for a half hour one Sunday this year. Call, text or email me to volunteer. My contact info is in the new directory.

Kay Sadler, Elder for Children’s Ed.

CELEBRATION FOR DOTTIE DITTOE

A 50 year member of MPC, Dottie

will be moving to Texas soon to

join her family. During Worship on July 30 we will appreciate Dottie’s presence

among us and bid her a fond farewell.

End of the Summer Celebration Saturday, August 26 MPC will host a first time event

to mark the end of summer and celebrate our commu-

nity. As with our Fish Fries and Wassail, we will invite

our neighbors and our own friends and family. This

celebration will feature food, games, a movie and oth-

er summer time classics. If you would like to be in-

volved in planning or volunteering for this event, please contact

Beth Doebereiner, Bertie

Spicker or Sue Poulos.

Next Ladies Circle Meeting

Ladies Circle will meet Thursday, Aug. 3 at noon.

Memorial Service for Marjorie Ferrari

A memorial service for Marjorie Ferrari is planned for 11am on Saturday, August 19 in the MPC sanctuary. The service will be preceded by visitation at 10am.

MPC EVENTS

The Chimes

The next Lunch Bunch will be Wednesday, August 9 at noon in the Gathering Room, and will feature a speaker from The Civic Garden Center, who will discuss their program to teach students how to plant and care for a garden. (Our own Skyward Academy will participate in this program.) Pictured below is the group from our July field trip to Old World Res-toration in Fairfield, which was followed by lunch at Frisch’s.

Pictured above are volunteers from the July 22 HFH work day. MPC’s next scheduled work (and lunch) date is Sat. Aug. 26. Please sign up if you can support this important mission. For questions, call Dave Daniels at 300-9073.

Mission Collection for August

We will collect and donate sham-poo, conditioner and deodorant to the kids at Lighthouse Youth Services. Please leave donations in the Gathering Room.

Thanks to Ron Godby and the MPC Deacons Muffin Ministry for the tasty muffins in recognition of my recent re-

tirement. I still take my afternoon coffee break,

so the muffins will be put to good

use. Thanks!

A new sign up sheet extending through the fall is now available in the Gathering Room.

Highlights of the Session meeting June 25,2017 Session took these actions: * Elected a Clerk of Session, Bertie Spicker, and a Treasurer, Beth Doebereiner. * Approved the reallocation of funds from Fellowship hall painting, a portion of snow-plowing, and new hymnals to improve sound in Fellowship Hall. * Approved for RLA Utilities to park vehicles in parking lot and 8x5-foot metal plates in the grass in northwest corner of lot upon re-ceipt of a signed letter from RLA Utilities agreeing to repair the grass with a completion date not to exceed 30 days for removal of plates from grass area, * Approved to postpone a motion to create a written policy about political activities within the church facility to allow for research. * Session received and discussed correspondence from members of the congregation. Session members will schedule times to meet with these individuals to listen to and discuss their concerns. Session recommended a second correspondence go out to the congregation with further explanation of the time constraints and our discernment process regarding a member’s request. * Session held a retreat in July working with Troy Bronsink on Contemplative Mission Design. The session (the governing body of MPC) meets after Worship on the third Sunday of the month. Members of the session will be available in the Gathering Room during Coffee Hour before their monthly meetings for conversation and to answer any questions. If you have an item that you wish to add on to the Session meeting agenda, please submit a written communication to the Clerk of Session, Bertie Spicker, at [email protected].

Dave Daniels

AUGUST 2017 PRESBYTERY

Bethel Murdoch Ice Cream Socials

Bethel Murdoch Presbyterian Church (9602 Murdoch-Goshen Road, in

Loveland) will hold its final Ice Cream Social of the season on Saturday, August 12 from 3:00-6:30 pm. The Men of Montgomery will perform.

Best Future From Today

The Presbyterian Church of Rwanda has created a program for youth to get the training to start small businesses. With the support of World Mission’s regional liaison Nancy Collins, and a grant from Presbyterian Women, the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda creat-ed a program that is showing strong results called, “Best Future from Today.”

The church’s youth coordinator, Epimu Epimaque Munyankindi, took the initial grant from Presbyterian Women to buy equipment to start a small recording studio. Presbyterian Church choirs can record their own music and sell CDs. Individuals and groups outside the church have also used the studio for a fee, creating an additional revenue stream.

“The PC(USA) knows that with a good idea, you can go even beyond what you expect,” says Munyankindi. “We are really thankful for them and Presbyterian Women, thanks to them for the funding. It has been like a dream.”

Rwanda youth have been able to start 10 separate projects, under the “Best Future from Today” project thanks to the Presbyterian Women grant, including a public relations project known as “Sophia” that started last year.

“If we’re looking at the issue of sustainability and if a project can continue after initial funding,” says Collins, “this one is really

great example of how a project can both continue and expand.”

COMMUNITY

The Chimes

Celebration Concert at Greenacres Art Center

August 5 6:00-9:30pm

Concert begins at 7:30pm (Gates open at 6:00pm) Greenacres Arts Center Grand Tent

(8400 Blome Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243)

Please join us for our celebration of music and the arts at the grand Greenacres Arts Center! This year’s concert will feature performances by the Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet and May Festival Chorus with John Morris Russell conducting. Performances will take place in the Greenacres Grand Tent at the Greenacres Arts Center. Tickets are $25 per person. For more information or to pur-chase tickets, visit http://www.green-acres.org/index.php/event/celebration-concert/

THE CHIMES Montgomery Presbyterian

Church Newsletter

Reverend Michelle Bacon, Pastor Office

Hours: 8:30a-4:30p Mon—Thurs

[email protected] 513-891-

8670

SUBMISSIONS for THE CHIMES are due by NOON on the 15th day of each month.

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MontgomeryPresbyterianChurch

Looking Ahead...

Upcoming Dates of Note

September

Thurs. Sept. 7 Ladies Circle

Wed. Sept. 13 Lunch Bunch

Sun. Sept. 17 Session

Mon. Sept. 18 Caregivers Meeting

Sat. Sept. 23 Habitat for Humanity Work Day

Montgomery Presbyterian Church

9994 Zig Zag Road—Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

august 2017 - montgomery presbyterian...

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