July 2016

In This Issue:

Pastor’s Message The Church Mouse

2 3

Greeters, Fellowship, Liturgists, Deacons, Birthdays, Anniversaries

4

Announcements

5 6 7 8

Calendar 9

Church Information 10

July 2016

BELLVIEWS FIRST PRESBYTERIAN

CHURCH DALLAS CENTER, IA

UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 9

The Carpenter’s 3rd

Annual Vintage Equipment Show & Pig Roast

July 17

Blessing of the Pets

July 24-27

VBS

We at FPC have a vision to… Know Jesus:

To listen to his story, to sing his praises, To paint His portrait for all to share

First Presbyterian Church of Dallas Center

Page 1

General Office Hours 9:00 a.m.—12:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday

Pastor’s Office Hours 8:00 a.m.—Noon Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

Your Desires, God’s Desires – Called and Chosen

First Presbyterian Church in Dallas Center has a rich history and a rich heritage both from

within the congregation and in the community of Dallas Center. Talk with Mary Lou Myers,

Sue Beavers, Mouse McClure, and so many others and you ’ll learn just how potent and pro-

found the life and ministry of FPC has been, and just how much it has changed over the

years. The stories of neighborly love, community get -togethers, impactful small groups for

fellowship and continued faith development, conflict resulting in opportunity to serve Christ

in new and powerful ways, a strong music program that continues to passionately worship

God. The list goes on and on.

And just like in every congregation’s story, ours has had its share of change and transfor-

mation; sharp turns and gradual inclines leading to different places. And yet the congregation

has remained faithful servants of God, of each other, and of the community.

In every generation, with every new pastor that is called to partner with the congregation,

with every new member that joins the congregation in its life and ministry, each of us is con-

fronted with questions of identity as things change around us: Who am I & what are my de-

sires in the life and ministry of the church? When things change in our midst, our mind be-

gins to reassess these questions of identity, purpose, and our call from God.

For many, the temptation is to just ask the personal, “What do I want?” question. That is, af-

ter all, an important part of understanding how one fits in as a covenant member of a congre-

gation. But the deeper question that challenges us further as disciples of Jesus Christ, is,

“What does God want? What does God call me to do? This question requires deeper discern-

ment, listening to Scripture, praying, and listening to brothers and sisters we are in covenant

relationship with in our congregation in whom the Holy Spirit is at work.

Pastor Adam, why do you bring this up? What a great question! In the 5+ years I have served

as your pastor, we have seen a lot of change in our midst. We have seen beloved brothers and

sisters go home to be with their Lord and Savior; we have seen children who grew up in our

congregation join us once again with their families in covenant relationship; we have seen an

influx of new members from different denominational backgrounds, with new ideas about be-

ing Church in the world. Our membership is quite a bit different than it has been in the past;

unique, diverse, and still faithful. We have committed to another 5 years in partnership with

our brothers and sisters in the Canton Virginia; we have augmented our worship and educa-

tion spaces with technology to better worship, learn, and serve God in our midst. We have

restarted a children’s Sunday School program and began developing a youth program/

ministry. We began a service auction to help the community of Dallas Center, raising over

$7,000 this year alone.

And right now, in our ever-changing, growing community of faith, we are praying and dis-

cerning about our needs for ministry in terms of space: a Fellowship Hall and other enhance-

ments to help us best live into our vision: “seeking to know Jesus: to listen to his story, to

sing his praises, to paint is portrait for all to share.” (continued on page 7)

July 2016 Page 2

July 2016 Page 3

Isn’t Life a Wonder?

I have yet to meet people who did not determine their lifetime’s worth but by the major events occurring

within his or her own life. Others – family and friends – quite often have a radically different opinion of your

life than how you perceive it to be. Some better, some worse.

What is it about any life then that qualifies as a major event? First steps, first words, maybe it’s that bad fall

you took leaving in its aftermath that telltale dead-white scar as a reminder of what took place or perhaps it is

a time of excelling in school and feeling great about it or conversely unable to comprehend what is being

taught and feeling mad, sad, and depressed. Maybe it is that first secret crush or making the team or eighth-

grade graduation or getting a driver’s license, or high school graduation. Seniors across the country generally

look forward to that very last day of school and then FREEDOM! Exhilaration; trepidation; and the sense of I

can do anything I want because I’m free. Riiiiight. Suddenly seniors go from being at the top of the ladder to

right back down to that first rung. The world has a way of crowding in and it becomes imperative to either

move on to higher education or enter service or join the workforce in order to pay all those pesky bills that

magically appear and reappear.

Life happens so rapidly. You fall in love, get married, find a new home and possibly a new church, and start

a family. Have you ever been in a grocery store and actually looked in a young couple’s eyes as they shopped

with their boisterous children? Sometimes they look tired, worn to a frazzle, and often have a look of “life has

passed me by” and the sparkle that was in their eyes as they finished their high school days and embarked on

new adventures is decidedly absent.

In the next aisle of the grocery store you might encounter an affluent appearing man or woman dressed in

business attire. Often when you look in their eyes, you see someone with a strong purpose – get these grocer-

ies and get out of here. They sometimes have a brittle look about them as if they have forgotten there is life

outside the office. You wonder if they attend church or if they even think about God in all His glory.

You move forward up and down the aisles and as you glance up, you smile. Walking toward you in a slow,

shuffling gait is obviously a husband and wife. Each is very solicitous of the other as they both stretch to try

to reach a can on an upper shelf. Before you can get there to help, he reaches it and puts in the cart. She slips

a badly arthritic hand into his and with a twinkle in her eye and a sweet smile says, “Thank you.” On her third

finger is a broad band of gold. As you walk by, they are totally engrossed in helping one another and each has

that special sparkle in their eyes. Each appears to have shrunk in height and it takes a moment before you real-

ize there are tremendous amounts of sags and flab and lines and wrinkles and age spots that you simply never

noticed because all you can see are their young eyes each smiling into the other with love. When was the last

time you really looked at someone you deeply loved; a child, husband, wife, another relative, or a dear and

trusted friend; and said fervently thank you.

Life happens so quickly. Some of my older friends got into a deep discussion while looking back on their

lives and it was interesting to hear what they considered their milestones to be. One mentioned for her it was

confirmation, another the fact that she wanted to become a nun and another said that without a doubt it was

their children. One person mentioned the Kennedy assassination and the World Trade disaster. Some men-

tioned deaths of spouses, friends, and the murder of a child. All exclaimed that the busyness of life overtook

their dreams and aspirations and left them wondering where on earth the time had gone. They concluded life’s

busyness overtook God’s business of life.

(continued on page 7)

GREETERS for

July/August July 03—Ken & Jeani Shepherd July 10—Mike & Donna McClure July 17—Tom & Karla Pinegar July 24—Arlene Swendsen July 31—Jordan Lint & Amanda Niebuhr-Lint Aug 07—Jeanette Bodermann Aug 14—C. J. & Erin Lane Aug 21—John & Carol Arrasmith Aug 28—Laura & Audie Carman If you are not able to serve on the day scheduled, please trade with someone and contact the church office.

Fellowship for

July/August July 03—Ken & Jeani Shepherd July 10—Aaron & Sarah Wilson July 17—Dennis & Barb Britson July 24—Kara Gannon & Lisa Luellen July 31—Nancy Lister-Settle & Norma Jean Lister Aug 07—Troy & Paige Fenn Aug 14—Ryan & Corey Coon Aug 21—Jeff Van Houten & Shelley Horak Aug 28—Ben & Denise Kelly

If you are not able to serve on the day scheduled, please trade with someone or call Richard Myers, 515-710-1445.

Birthdays in July

July 04—Eric Yoerger July 04—Gina Gibson July 06—Adam Smith July 07—Darren Madole July 10—Lorry Hoksch July 10—Jon Johnson July 12—Betsy Bejarno July 14—Niah Howard July 14—Aidan Bryan July 15—Elsa Lint July 16—Cindy Carpenter July 17—Lincoln Harris July 21—Janice Miles July 21—Melinda Bryan July 21—Darci Kidd July 23—Scott Kopecky July 24—Chuck Beavers July 25—Shelby Johnson July 26—Brice McCleary July 27—Shirley Thomas July 27—Brooklyn Myers

Page 4 July 2016

LITURGISTS For July July 10—Gary Wilson July 17—John Arrasmith July 24—Julie Kopecky July 31—Cindy Carpenter

Deacons FOR

July/August July 03—Jeff Van Houten July 10—Kara McClure July 17—Jeff Van Houten July 24—Marco Bejarno July 31—Craig Ivers Aug 07—Amanda Niebuhr-Lint Aug 14—Jeff Van Houten Aug 21—Shelby Johnson Aug 28—Kara McClure

July Anniversaries

July 01—Troy & Paige Fenn 2000 July 02—Dave & Sheryl Shields 1988 July 08—Marco & Betsy Bejarno 2006 July 10—Gary & Nancy Wilson 1971 July 12—Chuck & Georganna Beavers 1980 July 15—Ben & Fran Kelly 1977 July 20—Curt & Cindy Pion 1996

Page 5 July 2016

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a new season in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as witnessed by the actions of the 222nd General Assembly (2016). The body of 594 commissioners who gathered June 18-25 in Portland, Oregon, elected Co-Moderators Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston, and J. Herbert Nelson as the Stated Clerk. Both were historic, and both signal a new way forward for our church. The business decisions made by the body also were transformative for the 1,572,660 members and 9,642 churches of the PC(USA). The work wasn’t easy, and involved care-ful deliberations. Collectively, the body acted on nearly 100 overtures by discerning the will of Christ. Among other things, we now have a new addition to our Book of Confessions – the Con-fession of Belhar. It is the first of our confessions that comes from the global south. And, the PC(USA) has a new Directory for Worship; and Child/Youth/Vulnerable Adult Pro-tection Policy and Procedures. God is truly guiding us to be more faithful and just to all of God’s creations. Much discussion has been taking place around the identity and purpose of the denomina-tion, and this week the assembly voted to create a 12-member Way Forward Commission “to study and identify a vision for the structure and function of the General Assembly agencies of the PC(USA),” and a 15-member 2020 Vision Team to “develop a guiding statement for the denomination and make a plan for its implementation.” To quote Stated Clerk-elect J. Herbert Nelson, “We are not dead ... we are alive, we are reforming and we are transforming this world, one person at a time.” Looking outward, the assembly voted to engage in selective, phased divestment from fossil-fuel companies through the PC(USA)’s Mission Responsibility Through Invest-ment committee, and re-affirmed a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine. Please know this is only a snapshot of the actions taken, and just a glimpse at where God is leading this denomination. Complete business actions can be viewed at www.pc-biz.org. We are, brothers and sisters, in a new season. It’s exciting, but also a little scary. Yet in the midst of it all, take comfort that God is still guiding and controlling all – and we need not fear. God is calling us to hope, and to God be the glory! The Reverend Gradye Parsons Stated Clerk of the General Assembly The Reverend Denise Anderson and the Reverend Jan Edmiston Co-Moderators of the 222nd General Assembly (2016) Ruling Elder Tony De La Rosa

Interim Executive Director, Presbyterian Mission Agency

PC(USA) leaders issue post-General Assembly letter to the church

JUNE 25, 2016

July 2016 Page 6

SUMMER WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES!

As we know, summer is a busy time for all of us! The worship committee has some

things planned that you will want to get on your summer calendar!

First of all, we have decided not to have the Wednesday worship services this summer. This will be a busy summer for Pastor Adam, as he works on his doctorate. He will be gone also to the Youth Triennial at Purdue with some of our youth, So it was hard to

schedule consistent worship times. We'll take a hiatus this summer and re-evaluate! Please let us know your thoughts!

Sunday, July 17 - Blessing of the Pets service! We will hope to have a lovely day so we can have this outside! Details to follow!

Sunday, August 21 - Worship in the Park! This year, instead of going to the Brenton Arboretum, we will be going to Mound

Park! We are working with the Evangelism committee to publicize this to any folks who may bike to our community, inviting them to worship with us too! The Fellowship committee will be helping those down for "coffee and fellowship" time to have cookies and cold drinks after the service, rather than a potluck, which would be more difficult as we don't know if we will have "guests"!! Held at the church if the weather is inclement!

Both the above services will be at 10:00! Get them on your calendars and plan to attend! Contact Jeani Shepherd if you have questions!

VBS 2016: Surf Shack! Catch the Wave of God's Amazing Love! The VBS registration website is up and run-ning! You can register now and will receive a confirmation email when you have com-pleted the process. Please let me know if you have any problems or questions. Heads up - it will ask for a t-shirt size when you register, but we are not ordering t-shirts. It is just part of the basic generated registration form. As always you can register your child the first night of VBS, but registering in advance helps us more accurately prepare. Feel free to pass this information along to anyone who you think might be interested in attend-ing. VBS is at First Presbyterian Church Ju-ly 24-27 from 5:30-7:45 p.m. for kids ages four through fifth grade (grade complet-ed). Dinner is included and there is no fee to attend! Volunteers do not need to complete the registration process. It is just to register the kids who will be attending! Register at http://cokesburyvbs.com/DCFPCUMC.

July 2016 Page 7

First Presbyterian Online!

Don’t forget to keep up-to-date with the life and ministry of FPC using the church website: www.dcpres-byterian.org. You can find information about church events, listen to Sunday’s worship messages, look through photos, download forms and monthly newsletters, lift up prayer re-quests, and the like. Also find us on Face-book at First Presbyterian Church of Dal-las Center or follow us on Twitter at First Presby. Church @ FirstPresbyDCIA. We’re always open to feedback to find ways to better communicate the life and ministry of our congregation to each other and to the world around us.

Praise Team Rehearsal

If you are interested in being a part of the praise team as an instru-mentalist, a vocalist, or even interested in run-ning the sound board and tech equipment, you are invited to join us on Saturday morn-ings @ 9a.m. for re-hearsal.

Celebration of Communion

Communion will be celebrated the first Sunday of each month. Additional Communion dates will remain for Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, & Easter services.

(continued from page 3) God gave each one of us the same amount of hours in the day. We can pray, squander, use, misuse, work, sleep, enjoy and then we soon have 24 new hours to spend productively or not. The question that was raised among friends was, “Do you feel you have spent your time on this earth wisely?” No matter where you are on the continuum of life, you might ask the same question. The question brings to mind the familiar passage from Ec-clesiastes 3 1-8: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Really life is a wonderful puzzlement, The Proverbial Church Mouse

(continued from page 2) So here are my questions to you, dear saints; questions I encour-age you to think about, pray about, join in conversation with your brothers and sisters in the congregation and community about. What are your desires in the life and ministry of FPC? How do you hope our story as a congregation continues in the future? What are God’s desires for our community of faith? How is God calling us to be Church today and into the future? What do you see as your individual contribution(s) to the com-munity of faith here at FPC? What do you see as your call in this community of faith both now and into the future of our story together? And finally, how might we build onto our building to best an-swer God’s call for our community of faith? What might we do (in terms of our space) to best live into our vision and be about God’s mission in the world? (Please answer this question only after you have thought through and prayed about the first 3). Brothers & Sisters, I encourage you to wrestle with these ques-tions. They are not cut and dry questions to be answered quickly, but are questions to pray about, listen to Scripture with, dialogue about with others, and to allow room for the Holy Spirit to be involved in answering. When you have answered these questions, I encourage you to do 2 things: 1) Find someone to share your answers with in the con-gregation. It could be within your family, but I would encourage that you chat with someone (or a group) outside your family. Talk about them with others. Maybe have a get together at your house, a restaurant, etc. and 2) Share your answers to the last question with the Capital Development Committee. Email your answers (or mail them, or drop them by the church office) to Dennis Britson: dnbritson@mchsi.com. Thank you, dear saints for who you are in Christ and for your call to ministry. With Grace & Peace, Pastor Adam

July 2016 Page 8

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July 2016 page 10 Bellviews

Church Address:

First Presbyterian Church 1204 13th Street

PO Box 368 Dallas Center, IA 50063

Contact Information: Pastor: Rev. Adam Smith

Cell: 515-528-3538 Church Phone: 515-992-3531

Church’s Website: dcpresbyterian.org

Pastor’s E-mail: pastor@dcpresbyterian.org

Church’s E-mail: office@dcpresbyterian.org

The Session Church Staff

Pastor…………..Rev. Adam Smith Secretary……….Nancy K. Zehr Choir Director…Jeani Shepherd Organists…...….Carol Arrasmith, Jeani Shepherd & Nancy Wilson Pianists……..Carol Arrasmith, Joanne Knoll, Pat Lint & Sarah Smith

Board of Deacons

Class of 2016 Kara McClure Amanda Niebuhr-Lint Class of 2017 Marco Bejarno Corey Coon Class of 2018 Craig Ivers Jeff Van Houten Youth Deacon Shelby Johnson

Class of 2016 Ann Beavers Betsy Bejarno Ryan Coon Class of 2017 Duane Heaberlin Cathy Kelly Gary Wilson Class of 2018 Darci Kidd Richard Myers Jeani Shepherd Youth Elder Haley Greiman Treasurer Sue Beavers Clerk of Session Nancy Wilson Capital Development Committee: Sue Beavers, Dennis Britson, Trent Drake, Tina Greiman, Mitch Hansen, Duane Heaberlin, Shelley Horak, and Aaron Wilson