Piping Along News of Interest

OCTOBER 2020

THE PIPER

Dear Covenant Partners,

I recently did an exercise with some of the staff that I found life giving and want to commend it to you. Romans 12:9 tells us to “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Similarly Romans 12:15 tells us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” So, I asked each person to share what evil they hate that we can mourn with them and what good they are clinging to that we can rejoice with them about. We framed this in terms of the church and personally and I want to share with you some of my “church” and broader society answers.

I hate factionalism and partisanship. I hate division and bickering in the church. I hate being busy all the time. I hate that things take so much longer than they should and are way harder than they should be. I hate not being able to talk face to face, in person, inside without a mask. I hate cancer. I hate Covid. I hate suicide and depression and burnout. I hate that a record number of people are leaving ministry and that churches are closing. I hate the devil and his lies. I hate these evil things and mourn their impact on so many lives, but even naming them helps me cling to good.

And there is good to cling to and rejoice over my friends! The evidence shows that we have more people worshipping with us now than we did before Covid. Giving is strong, well ahead of last year and we are on track not to need any of our reserves to cover the 2020 budget despite Covid. Our new covenant partners are a picture of the kingdom, with folks both young and old, married and single, from South Africa, Guatemala and right here in Virginia. The current connections class is full of another diverse group of people who love Christ Jesus and who want to partner with us in boldly proclaiming Truth, serving our neighbor and growing God’s kingdom. Our officers elect are faithfully jumping into their training. We have a number of new men’s groups starting and our Ladies’ Bible Study has resumed in a hybrid fashion with strong attendance. University students are joining us for worship and staying for lunch. Our confirmation class has resumed and our youth are meeting and inviting friends. Parents are getting a little break as their children are led through a Bible lesson. We are indeed becoming a vibrant, growing church of Spirit empowered disciples mobilized to engage our neighbors with Jesus. We have much to cling to and rejoice with one another about.

Now, I don’t know how it is for you reading this but writing it has been cathartic and brought me back to the fact that God is sovereign and good and working it all for our good. So, I encourage you, try it for yourself. Name the evil you hate but then name the good you are clinging to. I think you will be encouraged. Pastor Jon

Beginning Sunday, November 1st

New Covenant Partners In the May 2020 Piper we published bios of Marvin Cana, Chase and Ada Hale, Jessica Longenecker, and Johan and Maretha Wolmarans. They were to become covenant partners in the spring, however in light of the circumstances with not meeting together as a church for a time, that date was pushed out until September. In the meantime the Harts and Tuttles also wanted to join—welcome to all, we’re glad to have each of you as covenant partners!

Mac and Louise Hart Mac and Louise are both retired and have recently moved to the Lakewood neighborhood. They first came to First Pres while visiting their daughter Caitlin Berkey. As a testimony of faith Mac says that the past two years have been difficult because of some deaths in the family and being diagnosed with a rare disease. Mac says, “However, in the midst of this grief and uncer-tainty Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is blessing me daily with His loving presence and a deep sense of peace.” Since retiring from teaching in 2012 Louise has invested considerable time in reading and studying the Bible. She says, “This has deepened my faith and relationship with Christ. Sharing my walk with a few close friends in the last five or six years has also helped me grow and mature in my walk as a Christian.” They both enjoy biking, hiking and reading.

Bob and Marilyn Tuttle Bob and Marilyn are both retired and live in the Sunnyside Retirement Community. After visit-ing First Pres they had the feeling that this was the church where they should be. Robert has had his faith in Jesus for most of his life. He worked in finance and accounting. He says that group Bible study has increased his knowledge and love for Christ. He enjoys puzzles and reading. Marilyn was raised in a Christian home and has followed Jesus since she was young. She is a retired registered nurse and enjoys reading.

Library News The Library Team, a small group appointed by the Adult Discipleship Team, has begun working in the library again as the build-ing has begun to open more. We are excited about the progress and how we anticipate the library will look, feel, and function when it is completely revamped. We ask that in the meantime no one take books from the library. You may notice lots of books on the shelves, mostly stacked. Some stacks have descriptive notes defining the content or status of the stack. The notes are for the Library Team while they are cleaning out, rearranging, and building anew. Think of highway construction. Everything appears to be torn up and in disorder but there is a plan, and after what seems like a mess the new highway is opened and is a great improvement. The highway construction metaphor describes where we are with the library. The Library Team will be working on projecting a reopening date. Our plan is to keep the large table with chairs around it open for your use throughout the time of renovation. Emily Huffman continues to be the contact person to reserve this space. Thank you for your patience. We think, like most construction projects, that First Pres will have an excellent, modern, and largely automated library when we reopen.

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends We all need a concerned, caring friend at difficult times in our lives. A Stephen Minister can listen and care for you, or for someone you know who is going through a tough time. More than ten individuals from First Pres are in training to be Stephen Ministers and will be commissioned November 22nd. Please be prayerfully thinking of people you know inside or outside the church who could use a concerned, caring friend.

Deacon Nominees

Class of 2021: Russ Lawrence

Class of 2022: Bea Ammons

Class of 2023: Marnie Godfrey, Janice Pence, and Mary Scott

Financial Peace University Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm, Showker Hall September 10th through November 5th Tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went! Financial Peace University is a nine-lesson class designed to help you build a budget, dump debt, grow your wealth, and leave money stress behind. Each lesson is based on biblical wisdom and common sense. Sign up for this class and start your 14-day free trial of Financial Peace at fpu.com/1121018. Childcare is available upon request.

Meet Our Elders for the Class of 2023 Bob Augst recently retired after 44 years in the commercial glass industry. He’s been married 43 years to Judy, his Madison College sweetheart, and they have three grown and married children and two grandchildren. His hobbies include golf, gardening, reading books on history, and playing drums. He has held several service positions in previous churches. Bob came to know Christ after a job loss, and that’s why his favorite Bible story is Genesis chapter 22. Malcolm (Mal) Lane served 19 years on the Computer Science faculty at West Virginia University and 10 years at JMU. He worked as an IT consultant in over 35 developing countries from 1983 until 2015. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 11 years. Mal served on the Board of Directors for Mercy House and the Central Valley Habitat for Humanity. He has been a Rotary Club member since 1980. Mal was baptized in 1971 and has served as a deacon in three other churches. He has been a member of First Presbyterian since 2010. Mal and his wife of 54 years, Maureen, live in Broadway and have two daughters and six grand-children. Over the years Mal has enjoyed playing trumpet in different bands. He and his wife have sung together in church choirs since they were married. Richard Ours is a 68 year old “Valley Boy”. Except for several years in the Kansas City area, he has always lived in Harrisonburg. He graduated from Eastern Mennonite High School and Eastern Mennonite University. He has two adult sons, both married. Rich and his wife of twenty years, Trish, and her two adult children, together have eleven grandchildren. Rich retired from full time employment after 31 years with Merck & Company at their facility in Elkton. His time there was in the Quality Control Department. At the present time, he continues in a part time consulting capacity. Rich and Trish enjoy traveling. Rich enjoys listening to music, reading and golf. Mike Robison and his wife Margie have two daughters. In 1993 Mike was certified by PCUSA as a Lay Pastor. He worked at Woodrow Wilson Rehabili-tation Center as a teacher and vocational school principal from 1977-2006. Mike describes 1994 as the year God opened a door into global mission and pushed him through it. He worked in Ethiopia ministry from 1994-2005 and with Frontier Fellowship from 2006-2016. In January of 2015 he joined First Pres. Mike finds Matthew 28:18-20 particu-larly compelling when Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disci-ples of all nations. Don Shiflet is a native of the Valley, but has lived in many other areas because of work. He and his wife, Donna, have been members of First Pres since 1999. He is a graduate of Davis and Elkins College with a Masters from UVA. He previ-ously served on the Session twice. He loves the Lord and what He is doing at First Pres.

October 3—Jeff and Doris Martin celebrate 33 October 4—John and Karen Hart celebrate 28 October 5—Bobby and Bev Miller celebrate 35 October 8—Dick and Carol Miller celebrate 54 October 8—Dan and Anne Callahan celebrate 32 October 11—George and Ann Pace celebrate 45 October 11—Jon and Pam Heeringa celebrate 23 October 11—Phil and Heidi Saunders celebrate 6 October 15—Herman and Charlotte Landes celebrate 54 October 17—Mark and Ann Siciliano celebrate 33 October 18—Jim and Liz Knicely celebrate 34 October 21—Chad and Jessica Edwards celebrate 20 October 22—John and Rosalie Leake celebrate 66 October 24—Curtis and Colleen Long celebrate 67 October 27—William and Cathy Westwood celebrate 30 October 28—Bob and Kathy McKenzie celebrate 36 October 29—Dennis and Toni Snyder celebrate 32

October 1 – Ralph Nix, Bill Callender October 2 – Kim Harper, Kimberly Darrah, David Shull October 3 – Wilma Thomas, Judy Augst, Pam Heeringa October 5 – John Buchanan, Angel Gonzalez October 7 – Russ Lawrence, Mary Sease October 9 – Jane Brown, Walter Trobaugh October 10 – Reccy Thomas, Sterling Lorson October 11 – Suzi Smith October 13 – Brenda Spencer October 14 – Chad Edwards, Krystal Muterspaugh, Kyle Templeton October 15 – Bill Cohee, Emily Blatt, Cooper Davis October 16 – Glenda Lawrence, Cheryl Cassel, Georgie Darrah, Riley Jenkins October 17 – Tiny Palmer October 18 – Nancy Niswander, Tom Lord, Timothy Phelps, Betsy Dishman, Rebekah Good October 19 – Renee McCulloch, Craig Smith, Jr., Betty McElroy October 20 – Sandra Miller, Kathryn Kubler October 21 – Doug Gardner October 23 – Kathleen Cross, Harry McElroy October 24 – Sharon Zale October 26 – Donna Miller October 27 – Emma Jenkins October 28 – Connie Maguigan, Jessica Edwards October 30 – Dan Sanders November 1 – Ron McCoy, Jack Broaddus, Brent Godfrey November 2 – Bill Conklin, Mac Davis November 5 – Mal Lane, Matthew Knicely November 6 – Sue Smith

We Express our Sympathy to: Keith and Betsy Dishman in the passing of Keith’s step-father, Horace Brooks, 96, on August 28th. Terry and Mary Beth Rhodes in the passing of Mary Beth's mother, Joan Thompson, 93, on August 31st. Scott and Loree Dove in the passing of his aunt, Rheda Hartman, on September 5th. Stan and Judy Gray in the passing of her mother, Edith Martin, on September 7th. Gig and Sue Foster in the passing of her aunt, Edith Martin, on September 7th. Bill and Cathy Westwood in the passing of her mother, Lois Witte, on September 17th.

I want to thank everyone who sent cards for my being TLC Person this week. I miss coming to church. I am doing well, it’s a nice place, food is good, and the peo-ple are great. I walk every day to keep my legs from getting stiff. I miss everyone at church. I also want to thank Gary for stopping by when he does and leaving me information about church. Ronnie Landes